COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING WIRELESS COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND CONTROL METHOD

Abstract

To provide a communication system that can prevent occurrence of a situation where a communication terminal and a communication device erroneously cooperate with each other through radio communication.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus sends radio waves from each of a plurality of antennas included in a BLE interface, and a portable communication terminal receives these radio waves and acquires angle information and radio wave intensity information, and when the terminal is determined to be in a specific area near the image forming apparatus from the acquired angle information and the radio wave intensity information, performs processing of establishing the communication between the image forming apparatus and the BLE.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device capable of wireless communication with a terminal such as a mobile communication terminal, etc. The communication device can be used in office equipment such as printers, scanners, FAX machines, copiers, and multifunction machines thereof, as well as general-purpose information processing devices such as PCs. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the use of mobile communication devices such as smartphones and tablet computers for business purposes has expanded. Accordingly, there is a demand for the expansion of functions for linking with mobile communication devices in office equipment (information processing devices) such as printers (image forming devices).

[0003] An example of the linking function is a function for linking using Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, particularly Bluetooth Low Energy (hereinafter referred to as BLE). Here, BLE is one of the Bluetooth standards, and is a standard for close-proximity wireless communication that aims to reduce power consumption compared to conventional Bluetooth.

[0004] Patent document 1 discloses a system that uses the radio wave strength of a BLE beacon emitted by an image forming device to determine the distance between the image forming device and a mobile terminal (external device), and if this distance is sufficiently close, determines that the two devices should cooperate and starts communication for cooperation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-173189 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the system described in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement in the method of determining the device to be linked. This is because the system of Patent Document 1 uses only the distance information between the two devices to determine the device to be linked, so there is a risk that a device that is close but should not be linked may be linked. For example, in the system of Patent Document 1, the linking distance is determined so that the image forming device can link with a mobile terminal that approaches the front of the image forming device. In this case, as long as the mobile terminal is within this distance range, linking will be started even if the mobile terminal is located on the back or side of the image forming device. Therefore, there is a risk that linking will be started just by a user holding a mobile terminal trying to pass by the back or side of the image forming device.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a communication system capable of suppressing the occurrence of a situation in which a communication terminal and a communication device erroneously cooperate via wireless communication. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of suppressing the occurrence of a situation in which a communication terminal and a communication device erroneously cooperate via Bluetooth wireless communication when cooperation is performed using information on the distance between the communication terminal and the communication device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to a communication system in which a communication device and a communication terminal can communicate wirelessly, the communication device comprising a first wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard and has a plurality of antennas, and the communication terminal comprising a second wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard, means for acquiring angle information and radio wave intensity information based on a result of receiving a plurality of radio waves transmitted from each of the plurality of antennas at the second wireless communication interface, and means for transmitting a request for establishing wireless communication compatible with the Bluetooth standard to the first wireless communication interface via the second wireless communication interface when the angle information and the radio wave intensity information satisfy a predetermined condition. At least one radio wave transmitted by the first wireless communication interface includes information indicating the predetermined condition. It is characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication system capable of suppressing the occurrence of a situation in which a communication terminal and a communication device erroneously cooperate with each other via wireless communication. In particular, it is possible to provide a communication system capable of suppressing the occurrence of a situation in which a communication terminal and a communication device erroneously cooperate with each other when cooperation is performed via Bluetooth wireless communication using information on the distance between the communication terminal and the communication device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a portable communication terminal. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] Fig. 4A is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit included in an image forming apparatus, and Fig. 4B is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit included in a mobile communication terminal. [Diagram 5] Fig. 5(A) is a diagram showing the surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. Fig. 5(B) is a diagram showing the top surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. Fig. 5(C) is a diagram showing the back surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. Fig. 5(D) is a diagram explaining the relationship between radio waves and a shield. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating direction detection using BLE. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a flow of establishing communication between a mobile terminal and an image forming apparatus using BLE. [Figure 8] Fig. 8(A) is a diagram of the image forming apparatus in the embodiment 1 as seen from the diagonal front right, and Fig. 8(B) is a diagram of the image forming apparatus in the embodiment 1 as seen from the right side. [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram showing an overall flow of operations of a user 900, a portable communication terminal 10, and an image forming apparatus 20 in the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the mobile communication terminal in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 12] 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between radio wave intensity and distance in the LUT used for conversion. FIG. [Figure 13] Fig. 13(A) is a diagram for explaining a communication establishment area in the embodiment 1. Fig. 13(B) is a diagram for explaining a mirrored communication establishment area. [Figure 14] Fig. 14(A) is a diagram of the image forming apparatus in the second and third embodiments as viewed from the diagonal front right. Fig. 14(B) is a diagram of the image forming apparatus in the second and third embodiments as viewed from the right side. Fig. 14(C) is a diagram of the image forming apparatus in the second and third embodiments as viewed from above. [Figure 15] Fig. 15(A) is a diagram for explaining a communication establishment region in the embodiment 2. Fig. 15(B) is a diagram for explaining a communication establishment region in a modified example of the embodiment 2. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an overall flow of operations of a user 900, a portable communication terminal 10, and an image forming apparatus 20 in the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the mobile communication terminal 10 in the third embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an overall flow of operations of a user 900, a portable communication terminal 10, and an image forming apparatus 20 in the second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process of the mobile communication terminal 10 in the second embodiment. [Figure 20] Fig. 20(A) is a diagram for explaining a communication establishment region in the embodiment 3. Fig. 20(B) is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating a communication establishment region in the embodiment 3. Fig. 20(C) is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating a communication establishment region in the embodiment 3. [Figure 21] 21(A) to 21(F) are diagrams showing examples of screens of a portable communication terminal. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining communication establishment areas in another embodiment. [Figure 23]Fig. 23A is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit included in an image forming apparatus, and Fig. 23B is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit included in a portable communication terminal. [Figure 24] Fig. 24(A) is a diagram showing the front surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. Fig. 24(B) is a diagram showing the top surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. Fig. 24(C) is a diagram showing the back surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. Fig. 24(D) is a diagram explaining the relationship between radio waves and a shield. [Diagram 25] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating direction detection using BLE. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, with a number of specific examples. Note that the configuration for realizing the present invention is not limited to the configurations described below. A part of the configuration described may be omitted or replaced with an equivalent within the scope of obtaining the same effect.

[0012] Example 1 In the first embodiment, a configuration is described in which an angle of radiation (AoD) method is adopted to obtain the relative positional relationship between an image forming device and a mobile terminal. That is, a configuration is described in which a single antenna of a mobile terminal receives a plurality of radio waves transmitted from a plurality of antennas of the image forming device, and the relative positional relationship is obtained using the received radio waves. In particular, in the first embodiment, a Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed on the front side of the image forming device 20, and a detection area with limited angle and distance is used with the Bluetooth circuit 21 at the center.

[0013] <System configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image processing system. As shown in Fig. 1, image processing system 1 (communication system) includes a mobile communication terminal 10, an image forming device 20, a client terminal 400, and a server 300. The image forming device 20, the client terminal 400, and the server 300 are connected to each other via a network 500 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0014] The image forming device 20 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having multiple functions such as a copy function, a scan function, a print function, a FAX function, and an e-mail transmission function, or a communication device such as a printer (SFP) having a single function or a scanner. In the image processing system of this embodiment, the image forming device 20 will be described as a color laser beam multifunction device.

[0015] The client terminal 400 is an information processing device such as a personal computer (PC) used by a user. The client terminal 400 issues a print job to print an electronic file stored in its own storage or an external server (not shown) by the image forming device 20. The client terminal 400 also receives image data scanned by the image forming device 20.

[0016] The server 300 is an information processing apparatus that provides various network services to the image forming apparatus.

[0017] The server 300 provides, for example, a service of storing print data that can be downloaded and printed by the image forming apparatus 20. The server 300 provides, for example, a service of accepting and storing uploads of images read by the image forming apparatus 20. The server 300 provides, for example, an email service of sending emails output by the image forming apparatus 20 to a destination apparatus, and sending emails sent from an external apparatus to the image forming apparatus 20 to the image forming apparatus. The server 300 provides, for example, a user authentication service of managing users who operate the image forming apparatus 20 using user IDs, group IDs, etc.

[0018] It should be noted that a job refers to a unit of a series of image processes (such as copying, scanning, printing, etc.) that the image forming apparatus 20 realizes using the scanner 24 and the printer 25.

[0019] The network 500 is an information and communication network such as the Internet, such as a LAN / WAN (Local Area Network / Wide Area Network).

[0020] The mobile communication terminal 10 is a communication device such as a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, or a PDA. The mobile communication terminal 10 is capable of wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 20 via Bluetooth communication, wireless LAN communication, NFC communication, or the like, and has a linking function for linking using wireless communication. The linking function includes an authentication function (login function) for performing a user authentication procedure with the image forming apparatus 20 and restricting or releasing the functions of the image forming apparatus 20. Another linking function includes a print function for transmitting print data to be printed by the image forming apparatus 20 from the mobile communication terminal 10. Another linking function includes a transmission function for transmitting an image read from a document by the image forming apparatus 20 to the mobile communication terminal 10. Another linking function includes a confirmation function for acquiring and confirming status information, setting information, and screen information of the image forming apparatus 20 from the mobile communication terminal 10.

[0021] <Mobile communication device> Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mobile communication terminal. As shown in Fig. 2, the mobile communication terminal 10 includes a controller 100, an operation panel 14, a Bluetooth circuit 11, a wireless LAN circuit 12, an NFC circuit 13, other circuits 15, a USB-IF 16, etc. The operation panel 14, the Bluetooth circuit 11, the wireless LAN circuit 12, the NFC circuit 13, other circuits 15, and the USB-IF 16 are communicatively connected to the controller 100 via a communication path such as a bus.

[0022] Further, each wireless circuit (Bluetooth, wireless LAN, NFC) included in the mobile communication terminal 10 can wirelessly connect to each wireless circuit included in the image forming apparatus 20 to exchange data.

[0023] The Bluetooth circuit 11 is an antenna module (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on the Bluetooth standard. Here, communication is performed according to the IEEE802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth (registered trademark)). Specifically, wireless communication is performed using the low-power consumption BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), which is part of the Bluetooth standard, and the 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial Scientific and Medical) band. The Bluetooth circuit 11 is also compatible with the Bluetooth 5.1 BLE communication method and is compatible with a function of detecting the direction of the image forming apparatus 20 by BLE communication. A specific method of direction detection will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0024] The wireless LAN circuit 12 is an antenna module unit (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on wireless LAN standards (Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11 standard).

[0025] The NFC circuit 13 is an antenna module unit (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on the NFC standard (type A, type B, type F, etc.).

[0026] The operation panel 14 is a user interface unit capable of displaying and inputting information. The operation panel 14 includes a display 141 that functions as a display unit that displays information, and a touch panel 142 that functions as an input unit (reception unit) that accepts input of information.

[0027] The other circuits 15 are other circuits that constitute the mobile communication terminal 10, such as a functional module for radio waves for mobile phones and a functional module for GPS. The configuration of the other circuits varies depending on the product, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0028] The USB-IF16 is an interface for connecting to an information processing device such as a personal computer and transmitting and receiving data via USB standard communications.

[0029] The controller 100 is a control unit for performing various controls of the mobile communication terminal, and includes a CPU 101, a UI controller 102, a RAM 103, a ROM 104, and a storage 105.

[0030] The CPU 101 is a central processing unit that controls the entire mobile terminal, and realizes the functions of the mobile communication terminal 10 by connecting to and controlling each functional section.

[0031] The UI controller 102 is a UI control unit that controls the display 141 and the touch panel 142 in cooperation with the CPU 101. The UI controller 102 performs processing to recognize operations received from the user on the touch panel 142. The UI controller 102 also performs processing to change the display content of the display 141 according to the operating status of the mobile communication terminal 10 and the operating status of the touch panel 142. The user can use the operation panel 14 to operate applications, which will be described later.

[0032] The RAM 103 is a work memory for the CPU 101 to operate, and stores calculation data and various programs of the CPU 101.

[0033] The ROM 104 stores programs and image data used by the CPU 101 of the mobile communication terminal 10, applications that operate in cooperation with the image forming apparatus 20, and the like.

[0034] Storage 105 is a non-volatile secondary storage device for storing large programs and data. The stored programs and data can be used by expanding them in RAM 103. Storage 105 is, for example, a memory device (storage unit, storage unit) conforming to a standard such as an SD card, eMMC, or SSD. Note that part of the functions of storage 105 may be performed by ROM 104.

[0035] <Image forming device> 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 20 includes a controller 200, a scanner 24, a printer 25, an operation panel 26, a Bluetooth circuit 21, a wireless LAN circuit 22, an NFC circuit 23 (NFC unit), a wired LAN-IF 27, a USB-IF 28, and the like. These functional units work together to realize functions such as printing, scanning, and copying. In addition, each wireless circuit (Bluetooth, wireless LAN, NFC) can wirelessly connect to each wireless circuit of the mobile communication terminal 10 to exchange data.

[0036] The Bluetooth circuit 21 is an antenna module unit (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on the Bluetooth standard. As with the mobile communication terminal 10, the Bluetooth circuit 21 performs communication according to the IEEE802.15 standard and is compatible with the Bluetooth 5.1 BLE communication method. In the Bluetooth circuit 11 of the mobile communication terminal 10, the Bluetooth circuit 21 has multiple antennas so that the radiation angle of the image forming device 20 can be recognized. A specific configuration and a specific method of direction detection will be described later.

[0037] The wireless LAN circuit 22 is an antenna module unit (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on wireless LAN standards (Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11 standard).

[0038] The NFC circuit 23 is an antenna module unit (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on the NFC standard (type A, type B, type F, etc.).

[0039] The scanner 24 is a unit (reading unit, reading device) that reads images and characters on a document using a CCD sensor or a CIS sensor and converts them into image data. The document to be read may be placed on a glass document table or may be transported by an ADF.

[0040] The printer 25 is a printer engine (image forming unit, image forming device) that prints image data on paper (sheets). The printer 25 is, for example, an electrophotographic printer, and includes a laser scanner unit, a photosensitive drum, a paper conveying unit, etc. Note that other printer engines, such as an inkjet printer, may also be used.

[0041] The operation panel 26 is a UI unit used by the user to operate the image forming apparatus 20. It is a user interface unit capable of displaying and inputting information. The operation panel 26 includes a display 262 functioning as a display unit that displays information, a touch panel 263 functioning as an input unit (reception unit) that receives input of information, and a UI controller 261 that controls these. The UI controller 261 controls the display 262 and the touch panel 263 in cooperation with the main SOC 201. The UI controller 261 performs a process of recognizing an operation received from the user on the touch panel 263. In addition, the UI controller 261 performs a process of changing the display contents of the display 262 according to the operating status of the image forming apparatus 20 and the operating status of the touch panel 263.

[0042] The wired LAN-IF 27 is an interface for performing network communication via a LAN connector.

[0043] The USB-IF28 is an interface for connecting to a computer or the like to send and receive data via USB standard communications.

[0044] The controller 200 is electrically connected to the Bluetooth circuit 21, the wireless LAN circuit 22, the NFC circuit 23, the scanner 24, the printer 25, and the operation panel 26, and controls each of them. In addition to the main SOC 201, the controller 200 also includes a RAM 205, a ROM 206, a storage 207, and the like.

[0045] The main SOC 201 (System on a Chip) is an integrated circuit component, and includes a CPU 202, image processing hard logic 203, and various IF controllers 204.

[0046] The CPU 202 is a central processing unit that controls the entire image forming apparatus 20, and realizes various functions of the image forming apparatus 20 by connecting to and controlling each functional unit.

[0047] The image processing hardware logic 203 performs image processing such as correction, processing, editing, etc. on image data received from the scanner 24, the wired LAN-IF 27, etc. In addition, the image processing hardware logic 203 performs processing such as color conversion, filtering, and resolution conversion on image data to be output to the printer 25.

[0048] The various interface controllers 204 are interface control controllers used for connection with the Bluetooth circuit 21, the wireless LAN circuit 22, the NFC circuit 23, the RAM 205, the ROM 206, the storage 207, etc. Examples of interface types include a USB interface, a SATA interface, an LVDS interface, etc. The system bus used for these connections is included in the main SOC 201.

[0049] The RAM 205 is a system work memory for the operation of the CPU 202, and stores calculation data and various programs of the CPU 202. The RAM 205 is also used as an image memory for storing image data that has been subjected to various image processes by the image processing hardware logic 203 during scanning and printing.

[0050] The ROM 206 is a boot ROM in which the boot program for the controller 200 is stored.

[0051] Storage 207 is a non-volatile secondary storage device for storing large-sized programs and data, and the stored programs and data are expanded and used in RAM 205. For example, it is a memory device (storage unit, storage section) conforming to standards such as HDD and SSD. Note that part of the function of storage 207 may be borne by ROM 206.

[0052] <Configuration of Bluetooth Circuit> The configurations of Bluetooth circuit 21 and Bluetooth circuit 11 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4(A) is a diagram showing the configuration of the Bluetooth circuit provided in the image forming apparatus. Bluetooth circuit 21 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 20, performs wireless communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard (mainly related to BLE) with the mobile communication terminal 10, and controls data input / output between the main SOC 201. As described above, Bluetooth circuit 21 teeth corresponds to the BLE communication method of Bluetooth 5.1. In Bluetooth circuit 21, an IC chip 51 and BLE antennas 45 to 48 are disposed on a substrate 49. In FIG. 4(A), although the antennas are represented in a three-strand form, this is a convenient representation for distinguishing from the solid line on the drawing, and it is not necessary to form the actual antenna shape into a three-strand form. The functions of a host I / F control section 41, a BLE baseband section 42, an RF control section 43, and an RF switch 44 are integrated in the IC chip 51.

[0053] The host I / F control unit 41 inputs and outputs data to and from the main SOC 201 in FIG. 3 via a wired interface. An example of the interface is one that can be connected via a cable 80 (see FIG. 8) that supports a serial communication method such as USB (Universal Serial Bus). The BLE baseband unit 42 performs baseband signal processing to perform digital signal processing in BLE communication. The RF control unit 43 performs modulation and demodulation processing of radio waves for RF (Radio Frequency) communication when performing BLE communication with the mobile communication terminal 10. The RF switch 44 switches each of the BLE antennas 45 to 48 to be connected, and performs switching control to connect to the RF control unit 43. The changeover switch of the RF switch 44 has four contacts, namely, a contact a, a contact b, a contact c, and a contact d. The BLE antenna 45 is an antenna formed for wireless communication, and can be used to communicate with the mobile communication terminal 10. The BLE antenna 45 is a pattern antenna that is pattern-wired on a substrate 49, and is adjusted to have antenna characteristics for performing BLE communication in the 2.4 GHz band. The BLE antennas 46 to 48 are antennas formed in the same manner as the BLE antenna 45.

[0054] The BLE antennas 45 to 48 do not have to be pattern antennas formed on the substrate 49. For example, antenna components (so-called chip antennas) having equivalent characteristics may be mounted and arranged on the substrate 49. Furthermore, these antennas do not have to be directly arranged on the substrate 49. For example, a terminal connector may be provided on the antenna terminals a, b, c, and d of the IC chip 51, and an external antenna connectable to this connector may be used.

[0055] The BLE antennas 46 to 48 are adjusted to have antenna characteristics equivalent to those of the BLE antenna 45. That is, four BLE antennas having equivalent characteristics are uniformly arranged on a substrate 49. The BLE antenna 45 is connected to a contact a of the RF switch 44, and similarly, the BLE antennas 46 to 48 are connected to contacts b, c, and d of the RF switch 44, respectively. That is, it is possible to switch which of the four BLE antennas, the BLE antennas 45 to 48, is connected to the RF control unit 43 by the RF switch 44.

[0056] 4B is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit included in the mobile communication terminal. The Bluetooth circuit 11 is mounted on the mobile communication terminal 10, and performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 20 in accordance with the Bluetooth standard (mainly related to BLE), and controls data input / output between the image forming apparatus 20 and the CPU 101. While the Bluetooth circuit 21 is equipped with multiple antennas, the Bluetooth circuit 11 is a single antenna. The Bluetooth circuit 11 has an IC chip 110 and a BLE antenna 115 disposed on a substrate 119. The IC chip 110 integrates the functions of a host I / F control unit 111, a BLE baseband unit 112, an RF control unit 113, and an RF switch 114.

[0057] The host I / F control unit 111 is configured to input and output data to and from the CPU 101 via a wired interface.

[0058] The BLE baseband unit 112 is configured to perform baseband signal processing in order to perform digital signal processing in BLE communication.

[0059] The RF control unit 113 is configured to perform modulation and demodulation processes of radio waves for (Radio Frequency) communication when performing BLE communication with the image forming apparatus 20.

[0060] The BLE antenna 115 is an antenna formed for wireless communication, and can be used to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20. The BLE antenna 115 is a pattern antenna that is pattern-wired on a substrate 119, and is adjusted to have antenna characteristics for performing BLE communication in the 2.4 GHz band.

[0061] The Bluetooth circuit 11 includes a single antenna, but is compatible with the BLE communication method of Bluetooth 5.1 in order to support a function of detecting the direction of the image forming apparatus 20. The Bluetooth circuit 11 may be configured to include multiple antennas, similar to the Bluetooth circuit 21.

[0062] <Antennas and shields> Next, the relationship between the antenna and the shield of the Bluetooth circuit 21 will be described. As described above, the Bluetooth circuit 21 includes a plurality of antennas. As shown in FIG. 5(A), the BLE antennas 45-48 are formed by pattern wiring on a substrate 49. FIG. 5(A) is a diagram showing the surface of the Bluetooth circuit substrate. By providing a plurality of antennas in this way, direction detection according to the Bluetooth standard (details will be described later) can be performed. The BLE antennas 45-48 are connected to an IC chip 51. In detail, the BLE antennas 45, 46, 47, and 48 are connected to the contacts a, b, c, and d of the RF switch 44, respectively. In addition, a connector 52 that can be connected to the controller 200 via a cable 80 (see FIG. 8) is provided on the substrate 49 of the Bluetooth circuit 21 in order to interface with the controller 200. The connector 52 is connected to the host I / F control unit 41 of the IC chip 51.

[0063] A screw hole 53 is provided on the substrate 49, and is electrically connected to the GND of the electric circuit. Generally, a wireless communication circuit that uses radio waves in a high frequency band such as BLE can maximize the antenna characteristics by obtaining an electrically stable GND. Therefore, it is desirable that the substrate 49 is fixed to the metal sheet of the image forming apparatus 20, which is an electrically stable GND.

[0064] A method of fixing the substrate 49 will be described with reference to FIG. 5(B). FIG. 5(B) is a diagram showing the top surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. The metal sheet metal 55 is a sheet metal to which the substrate 49 is attached. The metal sheet metal 55 forms the GND of the electric circuit in the main body of the image forming apparatus 20, and is grounded via a GND line or the like. The metal spacer 56 is a spacer for fixing the substrate 49 to the metal sheet metal 55, and physically connects the substrate 49 and the metal sheet metal 55 and also connects them to the GND in terms of the electric circuit. The screw 57 is a metal screw for fixing the substrate 49 to the metal spacer 56, and is fastened through the screw hole 53 of the substrate 49. The resin spacer 58 is a spacer formed of plastic resin for fixing the substrate 49 to the metal sheet metal 55, and is fixed to the metal sheet metal 55.

[0065] In addition, the metal sheet 55 functions as a shielding member that blocks radio waves transmitted from the BLE antennas 45-48.

[0066] FIG. 5(C) is a diagram showing the rear surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. As shown in FIG. 5(C), the rear surface side of the board 49, including the area where the BLE antennas 45 to 48 are arranged, is entirely covered by a metal sheet 55. The metal sheet 55 in this relationship affects the radio wave range from which the BLE antennas 45 to 48 transmit. FIG. 5(D) is a diagram explaining the relationship between radio waves and a shield. FIG. 5(D) shows the Bluetooth circuit 21 as seen from above, as in FIG. 5(B). FIG. 5(D) also shows the state of radio waves transmitted from the BLE antenna 46, which represents the BLE antennas 45 to 48. As can be seen from FIG. 5(D), the metal sheet 55 is arranged on the rear surface side of the board 49. Therefore, of the radio waves transmitted from the antenna 46, those transmitted to the rear surface side of the board 49 are blocked by the metal sheet 55. The blocked radio waves are reflected or absorbed, so the radio waves do not reach the dotted line portion indicated by the arrow 60. Strictly speaking, radio waves may be transmitted through multiple paths caused by diffracted waves or reflected radio waves, but since the radio wave strength is greatly attenuated, it can be treated as having no effect on distance detection and direction detection, which will be described later.

[0067] By utilizing these characteristics, the propagation area of ​​the radio waves emitted from the BLE antenna is limited from a concentric area to a semicircular area. This suppresses linkage with the mobile communication terminal 10 approaching from the rear side of the image forming device 20, while enabling appropriate linkage with the mobile communication terminal 10 approaching from the front side of the image forming device 20.

[0068] <Communication establishment process> Next, the establishment of BLE communication (communication establishment process from discovery to connection) will be described. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the flow of establishing communication between a mobile terminal and an image forming device using BLE. The state transition from when the mobile communication terminal 10 discovers the image forming device 20 until the connection of BLE communication is established is as follows.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 7, the link layers of both the mobile communication terminal 10 and the image forming device 20 are initially in a standby state. The standby state is a state in which no transmission or reception is taking place. When the image forming device 20 executes a program, it transitions to an advertising state and begins to transmit advertising packets at regular intervals (S701). Note that the process in S701 indicates one set of processes for transmitting packets from each of the BLE antennas 45 to 48 (four packets in total). This also applies to S702, S705, S706, and S707, which will be described later.

[0070] The advertising packet is a broadcast, not a radio wave transmission with a specified destination. The type of packet (Protocol Data Unit type) is ADV_IND because it is expected to be a response to a connection request from the mobile communication terminal 10. The advertising packet contains information such as the device name, UUID indicating the device's functions, and TX POWER level.

[0071] The mobile communication terminal 10 transitions to a scanning state according to the progress of the processing of the program (linked application). In the scanning state, advertising packets are received from the image forming device 20. This scan state in which advertising packets are received is called a passive scan. Depending on the processing steps of the program, it may be possible for the mobile communication terminal 10 to be in a state other than this scan state. In that case, it does not enter a passive scan state and does not receive a broadcast from the image forming device 20.

[0072] Here, if an associated application is running in the mobile communication terminal 10 and the Bluetooth function of the mobile communication terminal 10 is enabled, the mobile communication terminal 10 is treated as being in a scan state.

[0073] In the passive scan state, when an advertising packet arrives from the image forming device 20 (advertiser) (S702), the processing of the linked application proceeds. The mobile communication terminal 10 sends a scan request (SCAN_REQ) to the image forming device 20 (S703) and attempts to acquire further information. The scan state in which such information is acquired is called active scan. When the mobile communication terminal 10 receives a scan response, it stores the information acquired by scanning in its own storage. The information acquired here is, for example, information for realizing the direction detection function of Bluetooth 5.1, such as device information of the image forming device 20, interval d between multiple antennas, wavelength λ of radio waves, etc. After that, the mobile communication terminal 10 continues to receive advertising packets from the image forming device 20 periodically (S705, S706). When the mobile communication terminal 10 is in the scanning state state 70, it can calculate the direction from the advertising packet from the image forming device 20 and acquire the radiation angle θ. In addition, the distance can be obtained from the radio wave intensity of the received radio wave.

[0074] The mobile communication terminal 10 receives an advertising packet from the image forming device 20 (S707), and if it is determined from the acquired angle information and distance information that it is within a specific detection area, it transitions to an initiating state. The mobile communication terminal 10 then transmits a connect request (CONNECT_REQ) (S708) to negotiate and transition to a connected state. When the BLE communication connection is complete, the mobile communication terminal 10 takes on the role of the master and the image forming device 20 takes on the role of the slave, and data can be sent and received (S709, S710). This completes the series of steps for establishing BLE communication.

[0075] <Directional detection> Next, a method of direction detection using multiple antennas will be described. A method of detecting direction by transmitting BLE communication radio waves from a transmitting side having multiple antennas and receiving the radio waves at a single antenna will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining direction detection by BLE. In FIG. 6, the transmitting side of the radio waves corresponds to the Bluetooth circuit 21 of the image forming device 20, and the receiving side of the radio waves corresponds to the mobile communication terminal 10. This method is a radiation angle detection method called AoD (Angle of Departure) or DoD (Direction of Departure), and the positional relationship between the two devices is represented by a radiation angle θ. Although four antennas are used in the Bluetooth circuit 21, for the sake of simplicity, the following description will be given using two antennas, antenna 1 and antenna 2, for convenience.

[0076] First, it is assumed that the image forming device 20, which is the transmitting side, periodically transmits advertising packets (advertisement packets). At this time, the image forming device 20, which is the transmitting side, transmits advertising packets by switching between antenna 1 and antenna 2 in sequence. Then, two types of radio waves arrive at the receiving side mobile communication terminal 10: radio waves transmitted from antenna 1 and radio waves transmitted from antenna 2. Here, since there is a gap between antenna 1 and antenna 2, the distance between antenna 1 and mobile communication terminal 10 is different from the distance between antenna 2 and mobile communication terminal 10. Therefore, there is a very slight difference between the time it takes for the radio waves transmitted from antenna 1 to reach the mobile communication terminal 10 and the time it takes for the radio waves transmitted from antenna 2 to reach the mobile communication terminal 10. This very slight difference in time can be detected as a phase difference when the mobile communication terminal 10 receives the radio waves. Here, the gap between antenna 1 and antenna 2 is d, the radiation angle of the radio waves transmitted from antenna 1 and antenna 2 is θ, and the wavelength of the radio waves is λ. If the above-mentioned phase difference at this time is ψ, the following relationship holds: ψ=(2πd*cos(θ)) / λ

[0077] Therefore, the radiation angle of the radio wave is as shown below. θ=arccos((ψλ) / (2πd))

[0078] In this way, if radio waves transmitted from multiple antennas can be received by one antenna and the phase difference between the multiple received radio waves can be accurately detected, the positional relationship between the radio wave transmitter and receiver can be obtained as the radiation angle θ. In order to obtain an accurate phase difference, it is desirable that the antenna 1 and the antenna 2 have equivalent radio wave characteristics. Therefore, as described above, the BLE antennas 45 to 48 are configured to have equivalent radio wave characteristics. In order to obtain an accurate phase difference, it is desirable that the radio waves transmitted from the antenna 1 and the radio waves transmitted from the antenna 2 are direct waves that arrive at a single antenna on the receiver side in a straight line via the same propagation path. In order to determine whether the multiple radio waves received by the mobile communication terminal 10 pass through the same propagation path (are direct waves), for example, the reception strength of both radio waves may be compared.

[0079] Incidentally, to perform the above calculation, the distance d between the transmitting antenna 1 and antenna 2 and the wavelength λ of the radio wave are required. Therefore, when calculating the radiation angle in the mobile communication terminal 10, these parameters must be acquired in advance. Therefore, information on the distance d and the wavelength λ may be included in the advertising packet (or the response to the scan request) transmitted by the image forming device 20.

[0080] The following description will be given on the assumption that the radiation angle θ can be acquired. The calculation of the radiation angle is performed by the RF control unit 113 in the IC chip 51 based on the specifications of the Bluetooth standard. Therefore, the controller 100 only needs to acquire the radiation angle information output from the Bluetooth circuit 11. The radiation angle θ may be calculated by the controller 100.

[0081] <Distance detection> Next, distance detection using radio wave intensity will be described. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing the relationship between radio wave intensity and distance in the LUT used for conversion. The distance between the radio wave transmitter and receiver can be estimated based on information indicating how much the radio wave attenuates from when it is transmitted until it is received. The attenuation of the radio wave can be calculated based on the output radio wave intensity (first radio wave intensity information) when the transmitter transmits the radio wave and the received radio wave intensity (measured radio wave intensity, second radio wave intensity information) when the receiver receives the radio wave.

[0082] The general formula for calculating the propagation loss L of radio waves in free space is shown below. L=P-RSSI formula (1) L: Propagation loss P: Output radio wave strength RSSI: Measured radio wave strength

[0083] Then, distance is calculated from this propagation loss. The propagation loss is calculated, for example, as defined by formula (2). By converting formula (2), we obtain formula (3) for calculating distance. L=(4Πd / λ)^2 Equation (2) d=(λ(√L)) / (4Π) Equation (3) d: distance between sender and receiver λ: Wavelength of radio wave Π: Pi

[0084] Therefore, the distance can be calculated if the wavelength of the radio wave, the output radio wave strength, and the received radio wave strength are known. When calculating the distance with the mobile communication terminal 10, the received radio wave strength is measured when the radio wave is received, so the wavelength of the radio wave and the output radio wave strength can be obtained as an advertising packet (or a response to a scan request).

[0085] However, the values ​​obtained by the above calculations are calculated under ideal conditions, and differences in various usage environments, including individual differences in antenna placement and device shape, can cause errors in the distance values. Therefore, a table (LUT) can be created from the relationship between distance and received radio wave strength obtained during device design and used to determine the communication establishment area. This method can reflect the radio wave strength characteristics specific to the model of image forming device 20 without expressing them as coefficients for a calculation formula. When using an LUT, it is recommended to obtain an LUT corresponding to the model from the device information included in the advertising packet.

[0086] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the relationship between the received radio wave intensity and the distance in the conversion table used in the image forming device 20. As shown in the conversion example 1200 in FIG. 12, in the conversion table used in the image forming device 20, a distance of 100 cm is output for an input of an RSSI value of -65 dBm. As can be seen from FIG. 12, when an RSSI value larger than -65 dBm is input, a distance closer than 100 cm is output. On the other hand, when an RSSI value smaller than -65 dBm is input, a distance farther than 100 cm is output. Also, as can be seen from FIG. 12, the greater the distance, the smaller the change in radio wave intensity tends to become. This indicates that it is more difficult to judge the distance at a farther position. Therefore, if you want to accurately judge the distance at a farther position, it is recommended to set the output radio wave intensity high on the image forming device 20 side. When the output radio wave intensity is adjusted, it is recommended to include the value in the advertising packet as TX POWER information. By using this information, the mobile communication terminal 10 can calculate and convert the distance according to the TX POWER. For example, when the TX POWER is adjusted, the LUT to be used in the mobile communication terminal 10 is switched or corrected.

[0087] The above-mentioned conversion table is created assuming the use of an ideal mobile communication terminal 10 (reference device). Therefore, when a communication mobile terminal (used device) in a user environment having a model-specific radio wave strength characteristic is used, a discrepancy may occur between the output distance information and the actual distance. For example, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 12, the used device may have a characteristic that outputs a lower RSSI value (about -5 dBm) than the reference device. Therefore, in order to perform highly accurate distance detection, it is desirable to hold such characteristic information (individual value information) and correct the RSSI value before performing conversion using the above-mentioned conversion table. Note that such characteristic information (calibration information) can be obtained by a calibration process. The calibration process is performed by placing the used device at a specific position with respect to the image forming device 20 and measuring the received radio wave strength of the radio wave received in that state. The specific position is, for example, a position 0 cm or 100 cm from a touch mark provided on the image forming device 20. Note that the calibration process does not necessarily have to be performed. It is also desirable to perform the calibration process at a position suitable for the purpose. In addition, calibration processing may be performed at multiple positions to enable more accurate correction. In addition, the received radio wave strength may vary depending on the timing of acquisition. Therefore, it is preferable to acquire the received radio wave strength at multiple timings and use it by averaging it.

[0088] <Antenna placement> The first embodiment is characterized in that the Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 20, and a detection area with limited angle and distance is utilized with the Bluetooth circuit 21 at the center.

[0089] figure8(A) is a view of the image forming apparatus in Example 1 as seen from the right front. A user who uses the image forming apparatus 20 is likely to approach the vicinity of the operation panel 26 when using the scanner 24 or when coming to pick up a printed sheet output by the printer 25. Therefore, in this embodiment, the Bluetooth circuit 21 is arranged in the front area near the operation panel 26, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the mobile communication terminal 10.

[0090] For the same reason, the NFC circuit 23 is disposed near the Bluetooth circuit 21. Furthermore, a target mark 83 is disposed near the NFC circuit 23.

[0091] The target mark 83 is a mark that guides the user to bring the mobile communication terminal 10 close to (in contact with) this position when communicating between the NFC circuit 23 and the NFC circuit 13. The target mark 83 is also used as a guide when the user holding the mobile communication terminal approaches the detection area centered on the Bluetooth circuit 21.

[0092] Fig. 8(B) is a right side view of the image forming apparatus in Example 1. As shown in Fig. 8(B), the NFC circuit 23 is connected to the operation panel 26 via a cable 81, and the operation panel 26 is electrically connected to the controller 200 via a cable 82. On the other hand, the Bluetooth circuit 21 is electrically connected to the controller 200 via a cable 80. Each circuit is controlled by a program executed by the controller 200 to realize each function.

[0093] <Detection area> The detection area (communication establishment area) of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 13(A) is a diagram for explaining the communication establishment area of ​​the first embodiment. When the communication establishment area is defined only by distance information based on radio wave intensity as in the conventional case, it becomes a circular range centered on the Bluetooth circuit 21. This circular range is shown as a circle drawn with a dashed line. This dashed circle is formed at a position about 100 cm away from the Bluetooth circuit 21. In contrast, the communication establishment area 1300 of this embodiment is a sector-shaped area surrounded by a solid line. The threshold of this range is expressed as follows. For example, this threshold is assumed to be registered in advance in the linked application. This threshold may be managed on the image forming device 20 side and transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 10 by including it in the above-mentioned scan response. R≦100cm, 5°≦θ≦135°

[0094] That is, in this embodiment, the communication establishment area is narrowed down to a specific direction by using not only distance information based on radio wave intensity but also angle information obtained based on radio waves transmitted from multiple antennas. By limiting the communication establishment area in this way, it is possible to prevent unintended communication establishment from occurring.

[0095] <Usage sequence> First, the flow of using the system described in the first embodiment will be described. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the overall flow of the operations of the user 900, the mobile communication terminal 10, and the image forming device 20 in the first embodiment. The overall flow will be described here, and the details of the process will be described in the process flow charts of Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. 9 will be described as an example in which the "approach login" setting has been made.

[0096] Assume that a user 900 holding a mobile communication terminal 10 is standing at a position away from the image forming apparatus 20. In this state, the image forming apparatus 20 continues to periodically transmit advertising packets until BLE communication is established (communication establishment) (S901). The user 900 who desires the image forming apparatus 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10 operates the mobile communication terminal 10 to instruct the start of a linking app (S902). The mobile communication terminal 10 starts the linking app in accordance with this instruction. When the linking app is running, the mobile communication terminal 10 becomes able to respond to advertising packets from the image forming apparatus 20.

[0097] When the link app is activated, a screen for the link app is displayed on display 141 of mobile communication terminal 10. Figs. 21(A) to 21(F) are diagrams showing example screens of a mobile communication terminal. Fig. 21(A) is a top screen of the link app, which is a screen for selecting a function to be executed in cooperation with image forming apparatus 20. From this screen, the user can select a desired function such as print or scan. Also, by specifying a device selection function from other functions, a device selection screen 2101 shown in Fig. 21(B) can be displayed.

[0098] 21(B), a button for "manual connection", a button for "touch to log in", a button for "approach and connect", and a button for "approach and log in" are arranged on a device selection screen 2101. "Manual connection" is a function for selecting a device from the device list on the screen, performing a procedure for establishing Bluetooth communication, and establishing wireless LAN communication (Wi-Fi Direct communication) by exchanging wireless LAN connection information via Bluetooth communication.

[0099] "Touch to log in" is a function that allows the user to touch (bring close to) the target mark of the image forming device 20 with the mobile communication terminal 10 to establish Bluetooth communication and exchange user authentication information via Bluetooth communication. This allows the user to log in to the image forming device 20.

[0100] "Get close and connect" is a function for approaching within about 100 cm of the image forming apparatus 20, performing a procedure for establishing Bluetooth communication, and exchanging wireless LAN connection information via Bluetooth communication. This allows wireless LAN communication (Wi-Fi Direct communication) to be established.

[0101] "Approach and log in" is a function for logging in to the image forming apparatus 20 by approaching within a distance of about 100 cm from the image forming apparatus 20, carrying out a procedure for establishing Bluetooth communication, and exchanging user authentication information via Bluetooth communication.

[0102] When the mobile communication terminal 10 receives an advertising packet from the image forming device 20 while the linking application is running (S901), the mobile communication terminal 10 recognizes the packet as a packet from a link target device (S903). Then, the mobile communication terminal 10 transmits a scan request to the image forming device 20 (S904) and receives a scan response from the image forming device 20 (S905). As a result, the mobile communication terminal 10 acquires detailed device information of the image forming device 20 (S906). Then, the mobile communication terminal 10 displays a list of devices that can be linked via Bluetooth based on the detailed device information. Furthermore, when the mobile communication terminal 10 receives an advertising packet (S901), it acquires distance information and angle information from the information acquired when acquiring the advertising packet (S907). Then, using this information, information such as radio wave intensity, direction detection status, and direction detection support status is displayed on the screen 2100 and updated as needed.

[0103] Thereafter, when the user 900 selects the function "approach and log in" on the device selection screen 2101, the mode switches to one in which a connection destination device is determined based on distance information and angle information.

[0104] In this mode, the mobile communication terminal 10 acquires its own position information relative to the image forming apparatus 20 from distance information and angle information calculated from the advertising packet (S907). Then, based on this position information, it determines whether or not the mobile communication terminal 10 is located within the detection area where the collaboration will start.

[0105] When user 900 is in the initial position, mobile communication terminal 10 determines that the distance is sufficient and therefore outside communication establishment area 1300 (S909). When user 900 moves to the side or rear of image forming device 20 (S910), mobile communication terminal 10 determines that the angle is not appropriate and therefore outside communication establishment area 1300 (S909). On the other hand, when user 900 approaches the front of image forming device 20, the angle and distance are appropriate and therefore mobile communication terminal 10 determines that the user is within communication establishment area 1300 (S912).

[0106] When the communication establishment area becomes 1300, the mobile communication terminal 10 transmits a connect request packet to the image forming apparatus 20 and establishes BLE communication (S913, S914). After BLE communication is established, the mobile communication terminal 10 approaches and transmits authentication information for logging in. The image forming apparatus 20 receives the authentication information, verifies the authentication data, and if OK, performs the login procedure (S915, S916). The logged-in user 900 is permitted to operate the image forming apparatus 20 according to the authentication authority (S917). This completes the overall flow of this embodiment.

[0107] <Control flow of image forming device> In order to realize the above-mentioned overall flow, the image forming apparatus 20 performs the control shown in the flowchart of Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram of a flowchart showing the processing of the image forming apparatus. The control shown in this flowchart is executed by the controller 200. In detail, the above-mentioned control is realized by the CPU 202 expanding a program stored in the ROM 206 into the RAM 205 and executing it.

[0108] First, in S1101, the controller 200 determines whether the Bluetooth circuit 21 of the image forming device 20 is in a connected state. If the mobile communication terminal 10 is already connected via BLE, the process proceeds to S1108 without transmitting an advertising packet, and the BLE connection state is maintained. In this embodiment, the image forming device 20 is connected as a Slave. Therefore, broadcast transmission of an advertising packet should not be performed here. On the other hand, if there is no mobile communication terminal 10 connected via BLE, the process proceeds to S1102.

[0109] In S1102, the controller 200 controls the Bluetooth circuit 21 to transition to the advertising state. In the advertising state, as shown in S1103, advertising packets are broadcast at regular intervals. This is called the advertising state. The advertising state is a standby state in which the circuit waits for a connection request from the mobile communication terminal 10. In the advertising state, the Bluetooth circuit 21 transmits packets while switching between the multiple BLE antennas 45 to 48. Four packet transmissions from the four antennas are treated as one set of advertising packet transmissions.

[0110] In S1104, the controller 200 determines whether or not a SCAN_REQ packet has arrived as a response to the advertising packet. If a SCAN_REQ packet has arrived, the process proceeds to S1105. If a SCAN_REQ packet has not arrived, the process proceeds to S1106.

[0111] In S1105, the controller 200 transmits SCAN_RESP data in response to SCAN_REQ. The SCAN_RESP data includes device information such as the model name, color / monochrome, and paper compatibility. The SCAN_RESP data also includes information such as the distance d between multiple antennas and the wavelength λ of the radio wave to realize the direction detection function of Bluetooth 5.1.

[0112] In S1106, the controller 200 determines whether or not a CONNECT_REQ packet has arrived. If there is no response to the CONNECT_REQ, the process returns to S1103 and the transmission of the advertising packet continues. If there is a response to the CONNECT_REQ, the process proceeds to S1107.

[0113] In S1107, the controller 200 performs negotiation processing with the mobile communication terminal 10 that has requested the connection, and then transitions to a connection state to establish BLE communication, completing the establishment of communication.

[0114] In S1108, the controller 200 maintains the established BLE communication. In S1109, the controller 200 performs a linking process with the mobile communication terminal 10 using Bluetooth communication. Then, a series of processes ends.

[0115] <Mobile device control flow> In order to realize the above-mentioned overall flow, the mobile communication terminal 10 performs the control shown in the flowchart of Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a diagram of a flowchart showing the processing of the mobile communication terminal in the first embodiment. The control shown in this flowchart is executed by the controller 100. In detail, the above-mentioned control is realized by the CPU 101 expanding a program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 103 and executing it. The program executed here is the program of an associated application installed in the mobile communication terminal 10.

[0116] When the cooperative application is started, in S1001, the controller 100 sets the Bluetooth circuit 11 to a scanning state.

[0117] In S1002, the controller 100 waits for the Bluetooth circuit 11, which is in a scanning state, to receive an advertising packet transmitted from another BLE-compatible device. The advertising packet is transmitted by broadcast from the image forming apparatus 20 as shown in Fig. 7. When the advertising packet is received, the process proceeds to S1003.

[0118] In S1003, the controller 100 determines whether the source of the received advertising packet is a device that is compatible with the linked application. Since the advertising packet is a wireless signal that meets a standard that can be used by various devices, it may arrive from a device that is not compatible with the linked application. Therefore, it is desirable to perform a process to determine the source of the advertising packet.

[0119] The data included in the advertising packet is used for the determination. The data included in the advertising packet may be an address for identifying the advertiser, a UUID, or an identifier that can be identified by the linked application and is embedded as arbitrary data. By using this data, it is possible to determine the image forming apparatus 20 that can be linked by the linked application.

[0120] In S1004, the controller 100 determines whether detailed device information has been obtained from the sender of the advertising packet. If the device information has not been obtained, the process proceeds to S1005. If the device information has already been obtained, the process proceeds to S1006.

[0121] In S1005, the controller 100 returns a SCAN_REQ packet in response to the received advertising packet, requesting further detailed information about the image forming device 20. As a result, SCAN_RESP is returned as a response to SCAN_REQ, and the controller 100 acquires this. SCAN_RESP contains device information about the image forming device 20. The device information includes information about the function and status of the image forming device 20, such as the distance d between multiple antennas and the wavelength λ of the radio wave. These are, for example, arbitrary data in a coded format. The acquired arbitrary data may be used as information for monitoring various functions of the device on a device list screen such as the screen 2100. The acquired device information is stored in the RAM 103 on the mobile communication terminal 10, and is used for calculation of the radiation angle of the BLE communication of the image forming device 20, etc. Also, it may be stored in the ROM 104 or the storage 105 so as to be called later.

[0122] The code embedded as optional data may be created in any manner as long as it can be consistent between image forming device 20 and mobile communication terminal 10. When adding target codes as optional data due to an increase in new models, it is advisable to incorporate a mechanism for identifying the codes by updating the linked app or for checking the codes on a network server.

[0123] In S1006, the controller 100 obtains a determination result as to whether the direction detection function of Bluetooth 5.1 is supported from the obtained device information. The determination result may be obtained from a result of checking the device information, or may be obtained from a result of determining the Bluetooth supported version included in the packet by the Bluetooth circuit 11. If the direction detection function is available, the process proceeds to S1007. If the direction detection function is not available, the process proceeds to S1014.

[0124] In S1007, the controller 100 calculates the distance from the radio wave strength of the received advertising packet and stores it as distance information. Specifically, the value of RSSI (dBm), which is the received radio wave strength when the advertising packet is received, is acquired as radio wave strength information, and this value is input to a conversion table (LUT) that converts it to an actual distance to acquire distance information R (cm). The acquired distance information is stored in the RAM 103 on the mobile communication terminal 10, and is used to calculate the position information of the mobile communication terminal 10 itself with respect to the image forming device 20.

[0125] In S1008, the controller 100 calculates the radiation angle θ based on the received advertising packet using the method described in Fig. 6. The controller 100 saves the radiation angle θ of the wireless radio wave from the image forming device 20 as angle information. The acquired angle information is stored in the RAM 103 on the mobile communication terminal 10 and is used to calculate the position information of the mobile communication terminal 10 itself with respect to the image forming device 20.

[0126] In S1009, the controller 100 calculates the position of the mobile communication terminal 10 itself, which is executing the linked application, relative to the image forming apparatus 20, based on the distance R and the radiation angle θ. In S1010, the controller 100 determines whether the position indicated by the distance R and the radiation angle θ is within a set predetermined area. For example, when the mobile communication terminal 10 is at position A in FIG. 13(A), the position indicated by the distance R and the radiation angle θ is R=98 cm, and θ=33°. Since this position is within the threshold, the controller 100 advances the process to S1011 to establish communication. Also, in the case of position B in FIG. 13(A), the position indicated by the distance R and the radiation angle θ is R=130 cm, and θ=50°. Since this position is outside the threshold, the controller 100 returns the process to S1002 without establishing communication.

[0127] In S1011, the controller 100 determines whether or not a "approach-to-connect mode" is enabled. Note that the "approach-to-connect mode" here is a conceptual mode that encompasses the "approach-to-connect" function, the "touch-to-login" function, and the "approach-to-login" function. Also, the "connection" here indicates that BLE communication is established.

[0128] In S1012, the controller 100 controls the Bluetooth circuit 11 to transmit a connect request (CONNECT_REQ) to the Bluetooth circuit 21 of the target image forming apparatus 20.

[0129] In S1013, the controller 100 performs negotiation processing with the image forming apparatus 20. As a result, the Bluetooth circuit 11 transitions to a connected state, enabling BLE communication, and communication establishment is completed.

[0130] In S1016, the controller 100 performs a link process with the image forming apparatus 20 using Bluetooth communication, and then ends the series of processes.

[0131] As described above, when the mobile communication terminal 10 and the image forming device 20 are both compatible with the Bluetooth 5.1 direction detection function, it is possible to establish communication by entering a specific area in this manner. On the other hand, when using a version of communication that does not support the Bluetooth 5.1 specifications, it is not possible to detect a communication establishment area that combines distance information and angle information. In this case, the process from S1014 onwards is executed to perform detection using only conventional distance information.

[0132] In S1014, the controller 100 calculates the distance from the radio wave intensity of the received advertising packet in the same manner as in S1007, and stores the calculated distance as distance information. This flow does not handle angle information. Therefore, the calculated distance information is used to detect the range extending in concentric circles from the Bluetooth circuit 21.

[0133] In S1015, the controller 100 determines whether the distance information is within a predetermined range. If it is not within the predetermined range, the scanning state continues and the process returns to S1002. If it is within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to S1011 and a procedure for establishing communication is performed.

[0134] <Linkage processing> A description will be given of the cooperative processing between the image forming apparatus 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10 in S1016 and S1109. As shown in Fig. 21(A), Fig. 21(B), etc., the mobile communication terminal 10 can use various cooperative functions by using cooperative applications.

[0135] A common function among the various functions is a power recovery function of the image forming apparatus 20. The image forming apparatus 20 transitions to a power saving state (sleep state) if there is no user operation or job execution for a predetermined time in a normal power state (standby state). The power saving state is a state in which power consumption is lower than that of the normal power state. In the power saving state, for example, the backlight of the display 262 is turned off, and the power supply to the operation panel 26 is partially or entirely stopped. Here, it is assumed that the power supply to the Bluetooth circuit 21 is not stopped in the power saving state. When the establishment of BLE communication is completed for the image forming apparatus 20 in this power saving state, the image forming apparatus 20 transitions (returns) from the power saving state to the normal power state.

[0136] When using the "approach to log in" and "touch to log in" functions among the various functions, authentication information is exchanged via BLE communication. In detail, first, the mobile communication terminal 10 transmits pre-registered user authentication information (user ID, password, etc.) to the image forming apparatus 20 via BLR communication. When the image forming apparatus 20 checks the registration information corresponding to the received authentication information, it manages the user information linked to the registration information as login user information, and makes some or all of the functions of the image forming apparatus 20 available based on the logged-in user information. For example, when the login is successful, the login screen transitions to a menu screen, and the menu screen can be operated. Note that the authentication process may be performed in the server 300.

[0137] When using functions such as "print," "scan," and "approach and connect" among the various functions, wireless LAN connection information is exchanged via BLE communication, and a process (handover process) is performed to switch wireless communication from BLE communication to wireless LAN communication. When BLE communication is established, a notification is given that the image forming apparatus 20 is approaching, but this notification may be given before or after an instruction to execute the various functions is received.

[0138] In detail, first, the mobile communication terminal 10 transmits a handover request (a request to switch wireless communication) to the image forming apparatus 20 by BLE communication. The image forming apparatus 20, which receives the request, transmits connection information (IP address, SSID, password, etc.) for connecting to the wireless LAN circuit 22 to the mobile communication terminal 10. The mobile communication terminal 10, which receives the request, switches the settings based on the connection information and transmits a connection establishment request from the wireless LAN circuit 12 to the wireless LAN circuit 22. The wireless LAN circuit 22 responds to this and performs the procedure, thereby establishing wireless LAN communication.

[0139] After the wireless LAN communication is established, for example, a print function is executed in which print data to be printed by image forming apparatus 20 is transmitted from mobile communication terminal 10. The print function may include a function in which mobile communication terminal 10 issues an instruction to start printing of print data transmitted from client terminal 400 to image forming apparatus 20 and held in image forming apparatus 20. The print function may also include a function in which mobile communication terminal 10 issues an instruction to start a process of downloading print data held in server 300 to image forming apparatus 20 and printing the print data.

[0140] After the wireless LAN communication is established, for example, a scan function (reading function) is executed to transmit an image read from a document by the image forming device 20 to the mobile communication terminal 10. The scan function may include a function for instructing the mobile communication terminal 10 to start a process of uploading the image read from a document by the image forming device 20 to the server 300 or the client terminal 400.

[0141] After the wireless LAN communication is established, a confirmation function is executed, for example, to acquire and confirm status information (toner remaining amount information, error information, print count information, power information), setting information (print settings, scan settings), and screen information of the image forming device 20 from the mobile communication terminal 10. The confirmation function may be realized by a method of accessing a web server provided by the image forming device 20 to acquire web page information and displaying it with a browser function of a linked application, or a method of notifying a browser application included in the mobile communication terminal 10. In this case, the mobile communication terminal 10 performs a process of acquiring URL information of the web server provided by the image forming device 20 in either the BLE communication or wireless LAN communication process.

[0142] <Notes> As described above, in this embodiment, the timing for the mobile communication terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 to start establishing BLE communication is determined based on the radiation angle and radio wave strength of the advertising packet transmitted by the image forming apparatus 20. By using the radiation angle and radio wave strength, the mobile communication terminal 10 that has entered a specific area such as the communication establishment area 1300 can automatically proceed with the procedure for establishing communication (establishing BLE communication).

[0143] In particular, in this embodiment, the radiation angle of the advertising packet is used to narrow down the area where communication establishment is started. Therefore, even if the distance from the antenna is the same, it is possible to distinguish between areas where communication is established and areas where it is not. This prevents communication from being mistakenly established with a mobile communication terminal of a user approaching from the side or back of the image forming apparatus 20, for example.

[0144] In addition, in S908, "approach and log in" is given as an example, but it may be read as "approach and connect" or "touch and log in."

[0145] Furthermore, since the inadvertent establishment of communication with the image forming apparatus 20 can be suppressed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a situation in which the image forming apparatus 20 unintentionally returns from a power saving state, resulting in a waste of power.

[0146] In addition, since it is possible to prevent inadvertent establishment of communication with the image forming apparatus 20, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a situation in which a slot for simultaneous BLE communication or a slot for simultaneous wireless direct communication is inadvertently filled.

[0147] In addition, since inadvertent login to the image forming apparatus 20 can be prevented, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which a user unintentionally logs in while another user is operating the image forming apparatus 20, resulting in an erroneous operation.

[0148] Example 2 Based on the above-mentioned basic configuration, a specific example will be described in Example 2. Example 2 is characterized in that the Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed on the rear side (opposite the front side) of the image forming apparatus 20, and a detection area (communication establishment area) with a limited angle and distance is used that is in the vicinity of a specific position on the front side of the image forming apparatus 20. That is, in Example 2, a method will be described in which the Bluetooth circuit 21 does not need to be disposed in a nearby position that determines the detection area.

[0149] The configuration and processing of the second embodiment are partially common to the configuration and processing described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same configurations and processing are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0150] <Antenna placement> It is desirable to place the Bluetooth circuit 21 in an optimal position in consideration of radio wave characteristics, etc., so as to satisfy the conditions for using the functions to be realized. When various conditions are taken into consideration, the vicinity of the operation panel 26 on the front side of the image forming apparatus 20, as in the first embodiment, is not necessarily the optimal position.

[0151] In this embodiment, the Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed at the position shown in FIG. 14(A), FIG. 14(B), and FIG. 14(C) as a place with good radio wave characteristics. FIG. 14(A) is a view of the image forming apparatus in the second and third embodiments as seen from the right diagonal front. FIG. 14(B) is a view of the image forming apparatus in the second and third embodiments as seen from the right side. FIG. 14(C) is a view of the image forming apparatus in the second and third embodiments as seen from the top. As shown in FIG. 14(C), the position of the Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 20. This position is called a physical position 1400. In contrast, in this embodiment, the center of a specific area in which BLE communication is established is controlled to be on the front side of the image forming apparatus 20. This position is called a virtual position 1401. The physical position 1400 and the virtual position 1401 are disposed in a positional relationship of a diagonal distance 1402. It should be noted that the NFC circuit 23 is disposed in the same position as in FIG. 8(A) and FIG. 8(B), and the target mark 83 is also disposed in the same position.

[0152] <Detection area> In this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, a distance R detected from radio wave intensity and a radiation angle θ detected by direction detection, which are calculated around a physical position 1400 of the Bluetooth circuit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20, are used. In addition to these, this embodiment uses an LUT corresponding to a communication establishment area around a virtual position 1401 and threshold information to determine whether communication has been established.

[0153] In this embodiment, when "touch to log in" is selected, the area 1503 in FIG. 14(A) becomes the communication establishment area. In FIG. 14(A), the circle drawn with a dashed line conveniently indicates the distance centered on the Bluetooth circuit 21 and calculated based on the radio wave intensity. The communication establishment area 1503 is an area where the calculated distance R and radiation angle θ are 110 cm≦R≦120 cm and 125°≦θ≦135°. This area is determined based on the virtual position 1401. In detail, it is defined as an area of ​​"+0 cm to +10 cm" and "-8° to +2°" based on the virtual position 1401. Here, the distance from the physical position 1400 to the virtual position 1401 is 110 cm, and the angle of the virtual position 1401 with respect to the physical position 1400 is 133°, so that the area is the area shown in FIG. 15(A). FIG. 15(A) is a diagram for explaining the communication establishment area of ​​the second embodiment. When the mobile communication terminal 10 enters this area, communication by BLE is established. Since the communication establishment area 1503 is an area that overlaps with the position of the target mark 83, BLE communication is established when the user brings the mobile communication terminal 10 close so as to touch the position of the target mark 83. In this way, by using the distance information R and the angle information θ to limit the specific area to the periphery of the target mark 83, it is possible to share the position of the NFC circuit 13 to touch the target mark 83. This allows the user to use the same feel even when using wireless communication based on either the BLE or NFC standard.

[0154] In this embodiment, when "approach and log in" is selected, the area 1504 in FIG. 14(B) becomes the communication establishment area. In FIG. 14(B), the circle drawn with a dashed line indicates the distance centered on the Bluetooth circuit 21, which is the distance calculated based on the radio wave intensity, for convenience. The communication establishment area 1504 is an area where the calculated distance R and radiation angle θ satisfy 90 cm ≤ R ≤ 130 cm and 85° ≤ θ ≤ 135°, or an area where the calculated distance R and radiation angle θ satisfy 130 cm < R ≤ 140 cm and 90° ≤ θ ≤ 130°. This is a defined area based on the virtual position 1401. Specifically, it is defined as an area where, based on the virtual position 1401, it is "-20 cm to +20 cm" and "-48° to +2°", or an area where it is "+20 cm to +30 cm" and "-43° to -3°". Here, the distance from the physical position 1400 to the virtual position 1401 is 110 cm, and the virtual position 1401 is at an angular position of 133° with respect to the physical position 1400, so it is the area shown in FIG. 15(B). FIG. 15(B) is a diagram for explaining the communication establishment area in a modified example of Embodiment 2.

[0155] When the mobile communication terminal 10 enters this area, communication by BLE is established. Since the communication establishment area 1504 overlaps with the position of the target mark 83, when the user approaches the target mark 83 while holding the mobile communication terminal 10, BLE communication is established.

[0156] In this way, by using the distance information R and the angle information θ to limit a specific area to be around the target mark 83, the target mark 83 of the NFC circuit 13 can be used as a mark for the BLE communication establishment position.

[0157] Incidentally, as described in FIG. 12, individual differences in radio wave characteristics may occur in the mobile communication terminal 10 used in the user environment. Therefore, when a communication establishment area is defined based on information of a predetermined virtual position (radio wave strength corresponding to a distance of 110 cm, angle of 133°), even if the mobile communication terminal 10 approaches the target mark 83, there is a risk that it will not be detected normally. In preparation for such a case, the linked app may be configured to be able to perform correction by a calibration process. An example of a screen for correcting the distance for "touch to log in" is shown in FIG. 21(E). In this calibration, the mobile communication terminal 10 is prompted to approach the target mark 83 in the vicinity of the virtual position 1401, and the radio wave strength and angle at that location are measured by having the user press the OK button 2104. Then, if there is a difference from information of the predetermined virtual position (radio wave strength corresponding to a distance of 110 cm, angle of 133°), the difference information (calibration information) is stored. Then, at the timing of measuring the position, the difference information is used to correct the error. Note that the virtual position information obtained by the calibration may itself be stored and used to measure the position. In this embodiment, the information obtained by the calibration includes angle information in addition to radio wave intensity information.

[0158] In the case of "Login by approaching", not only the calibration of the reference position but also the calibration for each distance may be performed. In this calibration, a line scale is provided as an attachment to the main body, and the radio wave intensity at a predetermined distance is measured by having the user press the OK button 2105. Depending on the arrangement space of the image forming device 20, it may not be possible to obtain a distance, so it is sufficient to measure the radio wave intensity only in an area where the user can enter. For this reason, a skip button 2106 is provided to skip unnecessary measurements. If there is a difference between the distance and the LUT used to convert the received radio wave intensity, the difference information is stored. Then, at the timing of measuring the position, the difference information is used to correct the error. Note that the information of the virtual position obtained by the calibration may itself be stored, and the position may be measured using this.

[0159] <Differences between usage sequence and flow> The usage sequence and the control flow of the image forming device 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10 in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment except for the characteristic parts. Therefore, only the differences will be described in detail here, and detailed explanations of other overlapping parts will be omitted. Figure 16 is a diagram showing the overall flow of the operations of the user 900, the mobile communication terminal 10, and the image forming device 20 in the second embodiment.

[0160] In FIG. 16, the image forming apparatus 20 of the second embodiment continues to periodically transmit advertising packets until BLE communication is established (communication establishment) in the same manner as in the first embodiment (S901). In a state where a linked application is activated in the mobile communication terminal 10 (S902), the image forming apparatus 20 transmits an advertising packet (S903). Then, the mobile communication terminal 10 requests and acquires detailed device information from the image forming apparatus 20 (S904, S905, S1606). In S1601 of the present embodiment, unlike S906, the acquired information includes information on the physical position 1400 and information on the virtual position 1401. The mobile communication terminal 10 creates a virtual position reference LUT based on these pieces of information and uses it to determine whether the mobile communication terminal 10 is within a communication establishment area (S909, S912).

[0161] The process performed here corresponds to the process S1701 in FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the process of the mobile communication terminal 10 in the third embodiment. When acquiring detailed device information from the image forming apparatus 20, the controller 100 of the mobile communication terminal 10 acquires information on the physical position of the Bluetooth circuit 21 and information on the virtual position. The controller 100 creates an LUT based on the range information (for example, "+0 cm to +10 cm" and "-8° to +2°"), the physical position information, and the virtual position information previously stored in the linked application. At this time, in the process of S1105 of the image forming apparatus 20, the physical position and the virtual position of the Bluetooth circuit 21 are returned in addition to the device information described in the first embodiment. The controller 100 stores the created LUT in the RAM 103 on the mobile communication terminal 10 and uses it to determine whether or not to establish communication with the image forming apparatus 20 (S1702, S1703). Furthermore, the controller 100 may store the LUT of the virtual position reference in the ROM 104 or the storage 105 so that it can be used at a later start-up timing.

[0162] <Notes> As described above, in this embodiment, the timing for the mobile communication terminal 10 and the image forming device 20 to start establishing BLE communication is determined based on the radiation angle and radio wave strength of the advertising packet transmitted by the image forming device 20, and the virtual position reference LUT. In this way, in this embodiment, a communication establishment area based on a virtual position is used, so that a special communication establishment area can be used in which communication is not established if the device is too close to the Bluetooth circuit 21.

[0163] In addition, in S908, "approach and log in" is given as an example, but it may be read as "approach and connect" or "touch and log in."

[0164] In addition, information such as range information (e.g., "+0cm to +10cm" and "-8° to +2°") may not be information that is stored in advance in the linked app, but may be information that is sent from the image forming device 20 at the timing of a scan response, etc.

[0165] Example 3 The third embodiment is characterized in that the Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 20, and a detection area (communication establishment area) is utilized in which the angle and distance are limited centered on a specific position on the front side of the image forming apparatus 20. That is, the third embodiment describes a method in which the Bluetooth circuit 21 does not need to be disposed at the reference position of the detection area.

[0166] The configuration and processing of the third embodiment are partially common to the configuration and processing described in the second embodiment. Therefore, the same configurations and processing are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0167] <Detection area> In the third embodiment, similar to the second embodiment, the Bluetooth circuit 21 is disposed at the position shown in Fig. 14(A), Fig. 14(B), and Fig. 14(C). Also, similar to the second embodiment, a communication establishment area is formed at a position away from the Bluetooth circuit 21. On the other hand, the third embodiment has a different feature from the second embodiment regarding the shape of the detection area.

[0168] Fig. 20(A) is a diagram for explaining a communication establishment area in the third embodiment. The position of the Bluetooth circuit 21 at this time is the physical position 1400 as in Fig. 14, and a position away from this physical position is the virtual position 1401. In this embodiment, the area surrounded by a solid line in a sector shape with the virtual position 1401 at the center is the communication establishment area 2000. The communication establishment area 2000 is an area similar in shape to the communication establishment area 1300 described in Fig. 13(A).

[0169] <Calculation of correction distance and correction angle> In this embodiment, a calculation is performed to convert a distance R and a radiation angle θ centered on a physical position 1400 of the Bluetooth circuit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 into a corrected distance R' and a corrected angle θ' centered on a virtual position 1401. This conversion is performed on a linked application executed by the mobile communication terminal 10.

[0170] The corrected distance is R' and the corrected emission angle is θ'. Then, the case is classified according to the detected emission angle θ, and the following correction conversion is performed.

[0171]

number

[0172] As described above, the distance R' and the corrected emission angle θ' can be expressed. All of the variables used in this calculation, such as the distance R, the emission angle θ, the side a, the side c, and the angle B, are values ​​obtained by the processing flow described later.

[0173] It should be noted that, here, trigonometric functions are used as a method for converting the distance R and the radiation angle θ into the corrected distance R' and the corrected angle θ'. However, trigonometric functions are merely one example, and other methods may be adopted as a method for performing the above conversion.

[0174] <Differences between usage sequence and control flow> The usage sequence and the control flow of the image forming device 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10 in the second embodiment are the same as those in the second embodiment except for the characteristic parts. Therefore, only the differences are described in detail here, and detailed explanations of other overlapping parts are omitted. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing the overall flow of the operations of the user 900, the mobile communication terminal 10, and the image forming device 20 in the second embodiment.

[0175] 18, the image forming apparatus 20 of the second embodiment continues to periodically transmit advertising packets until BLE communication is established (communication establishment) as in the first and second embodiments (S901). In a state where a link application is activated in the mobile communication terminal 10 (S902), the image forming apparatus 20 transmits an advertising packet (S903). Then, the mobile communication terminal 10 requests and acquires detailed device information from the image forming apparatus 20 (S904, S905, S1801). In S1801 of the present embodiment, unlike S906, the acquired information includes information on the physical position 1400 and information on the virtual position 1401.

[0176] The process performed here corresponds to the process S1901 in FIG. 19. This is a flowchart showing the process of the mobile communication terminal 10 in the second embodiment. In this process, the controller 100 requests detailed information of the image forming device 20 by returning a SCAN_REQ packet in response to the received advertising packet. This allows the device information to be received. At this time, in the process of S1105 of the image forming device 20, in addition to the device information of the first embodiment, the physical position 1400 information and virtual position 1401 information of the image forming device 20 itself are returned. These pieces of information are numerical data capable of expressing the positional relationship of the sides a, b, and c and the angles A, B, and C of the triangle formed by the physical position 1400 and the virtual position 1401 shown in FIG. 20(B) and FIG. 20(C). FIG. 20(B) is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating a communication establishment area in the third embodiment. FIG. 20(C) is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating a communication establishment area in the third embodiment. These pieces of information are assumed to be stored in advance in the ROM 206 and the storage 207 of the image forming device 20. The device information required for this correction is stored in RAM 103 on mobile communication terminal 10 and is used to determine whether or not to establish communication for BLE communication of image forming apparatus 20. This value may also be saved in ROM 104 or storage 105 so that it can be called up at a later start. In this way, physical position 1400 and virtual position 1401 are received by mobile communication terminal 10, and can be used for correction processing by the linked app.

[0177] In a state in which the information for performing the above calculation has been acquired, the mobile communication terminal 10 acquires distance information and angle information from the radio wave intensity and radiation angle of the received advertising packet (S907).

[0178] When user 900 selects "Get close and log in" as a function of the linked application (S908), mobile communication terminal 10 determines its own position relative to image forming apparatus 20 from the distance information and angle information calculated from the advertising packet. Having acquired the distance information and angle information in S907, mobile communication terminal 10 calculates corrected distance information and corrected angle information based on the device information acquired above (S1802). The process performed here corresponds to process S1902 in FIG. 19. In S1902, controller 100 performs correction processing using distance R calculated in S1007 and radiation angle θ calculated in S1008.

[0179] In S1903, the controller 100 uses the corrected numerical value to determine whether or not the mobile communication terminal 10 has entered a predetermined area.

[0180] The area that serves as the discrimination threshold is as shown in Fig. 20(A). At this time, the threshold for determining whether to execute communication establishment is as follows. This threshold information is assumed to be stored in advance in the linked application. R´≦100cm, 5°≦θ´≦135°

[0181] For example, in the case of position C in Fig. 20(A), the above correction results in a corrected position of R' = 100 cm and θ' = 3°, which does not satisfy the conditions and is determined to be outside the specific area for establishing communication (S1803). If the calculated correction value is outside the range of the conditions, the process returns to S1002, and the scanning state is continued to repeat position determination.

[0182] After S910, in S911, it is assumed that the user 900 moves the mobile communication terminal 10 to the front of the image forming apparatus 20, for example, to position A in FIG. 20A (similar to FIG. 13A). In this case, since the Bluetooth circuit 21 is at physical position 1400, the position represented by the distance R and the radiation angle θ is R=135 cm and θ=90°. When this is calculated based on the above correction conversion, R'=98 cm and θ'=33° are derived. These values ​​are the same as the values ​​acquired at position A in FIG. 13A.

[0183] In Fig. 20, at position A, the correction values ​​are R' = 98 cm and θ' = 33°. That is, at position A, the conditions R' ≦ 100 cm and 5° ≦ θ' ≦ 135° are satisfied. Therefore, it is determined that the position is within a communication establishment area where communication can be established (S1804). Then, the process proceeds to step S1011 in Fig. 19 to establish communication.

[0184] The subsequent processes are the same as those in Fig. 9. The mobile communication terminal 10 transmits a connect request packet to the image forming apparatus 20 and establishes BLE communication (S913, S914). After BLE communication is established, the mobile communication terminal 10 transmits authentication information to the image forming apparatus by sending any data, so as to approach and log in. The image forming apparatus 20 then verifies the authentication data, and if the verification result is OK, performs the login procedure (S915, S916). The logged-in user 900 is then able to operate the image forming apparatus 20 (S917). This completes the overall flow of this embodiment.

[0185] <Notes> As described above, in this embodiment, the mobile communication terminal 10 and the image forming device 20 determine the timing to start establishing BLE communication as follows. That is, the timing is determined based on the radiation angle and radio wave intensity of the advertising packet transmitted by the image forming device 20, and the correction distance and correction angle obtained by calculation. In this way, in this embodiment, an area derived by calculation based on a virtual position can be used as the communication establishment area. Therefore, for example, even if the Bluetooth circuit 21 is not arranged on the front side of the image forming device 20, the positional relationship between the mobile communication terminal 10 and the image forming device 20 can be detected as if it were arranged on the front side of the image forming device 20.

[0186] In this embodiment, whether or not to establish communication is determined based on a distance based on a virtual position, not a distance based on a physical position. Therefore, communication can be established even when the mobile communication terminal 10 is located at position A in FIG. 20(A). Position A in FIG. 20(A) is a distance at which communication is not established when the distance is based on the physical position of the BLUETOOTH circuit 21. However, by making a correction based on the virtual position, it can be treated as a target for communication establishment. Furthermore, communication is not established when the mobile communication terminal 10 is located at position C in FIG. 20(A). Position C in FIG. 20(A) is a distance at which communication is established when the distance is based on the physical position of the BLUETOOTH circuit 21. However, by making a correction based on the virtual position, it can be treated as a target for communication not establishment.

[0187] In addition, in S908, "approach and log in" is given as an example, but it may be read as "approach and connect" or "touch and log in."

[0188] In addition, although the positional relationship is expressed as a triangle formed by the physical position 1400 and the virtual position 1401, as long as the data format can be handled by the linked app, the possible configurations are not limited, and may include coordinates, vectors, or three-dimensional applications.

[0189] In addition, threshold information (for example, "R'≦100cm, 5°≦θ'≦135°") and other information are not stored in advance in the linked app, but are instead acquired at the time of the scan response, etc. Example 4 In the first embodiment, the angle of emission (AoD) method is used to determine the relative positional relationship between the image forming device and the mobile terminal. In contrast, in the fourth embodiment, the angle of reception (AoA) method is used to determine the relative positional relationship between the image forming device and the mobile terminal. That is, radio waves transmitted from multiple single antennas of the image forming device are received by multiple antennas of the mobile terminal, and the relative positional relationship is determined using this.

[0190] The configuration and processing of the fourth embodiment are the same as those described in the first embodiment, except for the points related to the above-mentioned method. Therefore, the same configurations and processing are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted. <Bluetooth circuit of a portable communication terminal> Bluetooth circuit 100 Reference numeral 11 denotes an antenna module (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on the Bluetooth standard. 100 The Bluetooth circuit 11 is compatible with the BLE communication method of Bluetooth 5.1 and is compatible with a function of detecting the direction of the image forming apparatus 20 by BLE communication. 100 The sensor 11 has a plurality of antennas so as to detect the receiving angle (direction) of the radio wave transmitted from the image forming apparatus.

[0191] 23B is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit included in a mobile communication terminal. The Bluetooth circuit 10011 is mounted on the mobile communication terminal 10, and performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 20 in accordance with the Bluetooth standard (mainly related to BLE), and controls data input / output between the image forming apparatus 20 and the CPU 101. While the Bluetooth circuit 10021 is mounted with a single antenna, the Bluetooth circuit 10011 is mounted with multiple antennas. The Bluetooth circuit 10011 has an IC chip 10110 and BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118 disposed on a substrate 119. The IC chip 10110 has the functions of a host I / F control unit 111, a BLE baseband unit 112, an RF control unit 113, and an RF switch 114 integrated therein.

[0192] The RF control unit 113 performs modulation and demodulation processing of radio waves for RF (Radio Frequency) communication when performing BLE communication with the image forming apparatus 20.

[0193] The BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118 are antennas formed for wireless communication, and can be used to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20. The BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118 are pattern antennas that are pattern-wired on a substrate 119, and are adjusted to have antenna characteristics for performing BLE communication in the 2.4 GHz band.

[0194] Bluetooth circuit 100 The wireless communication device 11 is assumed to be compatible with the BLE communication method of Bluetooth 5.1 in order to support the function of detecting the orientation of the image forming apparatus 20.

[0195] <Bluetooth circuit in image forming device> The Bluetooth circuit 10021 is an antenna module unit (wireless communication interface) equipped with a controller based on the Bluetooth standard. 100The Bluetooth circuit 10021 communicates according to the IEEE 802.15 standard and is compatible with the Bluetooth 5.1 BLE communication method. The Bluetooth circuit 10021 has one antenna.

[0196] FIG. 23A is a diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth circuit provided in the image forming apparatus. The Bluetooth circuit 10021 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 20, and performs wireless communication with the mobile communication terminal 10 according to the Bluetooth standard (mainly related to BLE), and controls data input / output between the main SOC 201 and the Bluetooth circuit 10021. As described above, the Bluetooth circuit 10021 supports the Bluetooth 5.1 BLE communication method. The Bluetooth circuit 10021 has an IC chip 10051 and a BLE antenna 46 disposed on a substrate 49. Note that in FIG. 23A, the antenna is depicted as three-pronged, but this is a convenient representation to distinguish it from the solid line on the drawing, and the actual antenna shape does not need to be three-pronged. The IC chip 10051 has the functions of a host I / F control unit 41, a BLE baseband unit 42, and an RF control unit 43 integrated therein.

[0197] <Antennas and shields> Next, the relationship between the antenna and the shield of the Bluetooth circuit 10021 will be described. As described above, the Bluetooth circuit 10021 includes a single antenna. As shown in FIG. 24(A), the BLE antenna 46 is formed by pattern wiring on a substrate 49. FIG. 24(A) is a diagram showing the front surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. FIG. 24(B) is a diagram showing the top surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. FIG. 24(C) is a diagram showing the rear surface of the Bluetooth circuit board. FIG. 24(D) is a diagram explaining the relationship between radio waves and the shield.

[0198] In this way, a mechanism is provided for performing direction detection (described in detail later) according to the Bluetooth standard using a single antenna. The BLE antenna 46 is connected to the IC chip 10051. Also, a connector 52 that can be connected with a cable 80 (see FIG. 8) to interface with the controller 200 is provided on the substrate 49 of the Bluetooth circuit 10021. This connector 52 is connected to the host I / F control unit 41 of the IC chip 10051.

[0199] In addition, the metal sheet 55 functions as a shielding member that blocks radio waves transmitted from the BLE antenna 46.

[0200] <Communication establishment process> The communication establishment process is substantially the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to Fig. 7. However, in the fourth embodiment, the process in S701 indicates one set of processes in which each of the BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118 receives a packet. This also applies to S702, S705, S706, and S707 described later.

[0201] Also, in the fourth embodiment, in S703, the spacing between multiple antennas is not received as a scan response.

[0202] When the mobile communication terminal 10 is in the scanning state 70, it can calculate the direction from the advertising packet from the image forming device 20 and obtain the reception angle θ.

[0203] <Directional detection> Next, a method of direction detection using multiple antennas will be described. A method of detecting direction by transmitting wireless radio waves for BLE communication from a transmitting side having a single antenna and receiving the radio waves at multiple antennas will be described with reference to FIG. 25. FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining direction detection by BLE. In FIG. 25, the transmitting side of the radio waves corresponds to the Bluetooth circuit 10021 of the image forming device 20, and the receiving side of the radio waves corresponds to the Bluetooth circuit 10011 of the mobile communication terminal 10. This method is a method of detecting a reception angle called AoA (Angle of Arrival) or DoA (Direction of Arrival), and the positional relationship between the two devices is represented by a reception angle θ. Bluetooth circuit 100 In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, four antennas are used, but for the sake of simplicity, only two antennas, antenna 1 and antenna 2, will be used here.

[0204] First, it is assumed that the image forming device 20, which is the sender, periodically transmits advertisement packets. Then, the radio waves transmitted from the image forming device 20 reach the mobile communication terminal 10, which is the receiver.

[0205] At the receiving side, when focusing on two antennas, antenna 1 and antenna 2, the distance that the radio waves transmitted from the transmitting side take to reach antenna 1 is different from the distance that the radio waves take to reach antenna 2. Therefore, there is an extremely slight difference between the time that the radio waves transmitted from the transmitting side take to reach antenna 1 and the time that the radio waves transmitted from the transmitting side take to reach antenna 2. This extremely slight difference in time can be detected as a phase difference when each antenna of mobile communication terminal 10 receives the radio waves.

[0206] Here, the distance between antenna 1 and antenna 2 is d, the reception angle (radiation angle) of the radio waves received by antenna 1 and antenna 2 is θ, and the wavelength of the radio waves is λ. If the above-mentioned phase difference is ψ, the following relationship holds: ψ=(2πd*cos(θ)) / λ

[0207] Therefore, the radio wave receiving angle is as shown below. θ=arccos((ψλ) / (2πd))

[0208] In this way, if radio waves transmitted from a single antenna are received by multiple antennas and the phase difference between the multiple received radio waves can be accurately detected, the positional relationship between the radio wave transmitter and receiver can be obtained as a reception angle θ. In order to obtain an accurate phase difference, it is required that antenna 1 and antenna 2 have equivalent radio wave characteristics. Therefore, as described above, BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118 are configured to have equivalent radio wave characteristics. In order to obtain an accurate phase difference, it is desirable that the radio waves transmitted from the single antenna of image forming device 20 are direct waves that arrive at the multiple antennas of mobile communication terminal 10 via a linear propagation path.

[0209] When such direct waves reach the mobile communication terminal 10, they are received by the BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118. Then, signals based on the radio waves received by the BLE antennas 115, 116, 117, and 118 are input sequentially to the IC chip 110 by the RF switch 114, which is switched sequentially.

[0210] As described above, the phase difference can be obtained from a plurality of radio waves, and the reception angle can be calculated from this phase difference. 100 With the sensor 11, the direction of the image forming apparatus 20 can be detected as the receiving angle θ of the radio wave.

[0211] Incidentally, to perform the above calculation, the distance d between antennas 1 and 2 on the receiving side and the wavelength λ of the radio wave are required. Therefore, when calculating the reception angle in the mobile communication terminal 10, these parameters must be acquired in advance. For example, information on the wavelength λ may be acquired from an advertisement packet (or a response to a scan request) transmitted by the image forming apparatus 20. Note that the distance d is information within the mobile communication terminal, so it may be stored in advance.

[0212] In the following description, it is assumed that the reception angle θ can be acquired. The reception angle is calculated by the RF control unit 113 in the IC chip 10051 based on the specifications of the Bluetooth standard. Therefore, the controller 100 only needs to acquire the reception angle information output from the Bluetooth circuit 10011. The reception angle θ may be calculated by the controller 100.

[0213] <Antenna placement> In the fourth embodiment, a Bluetooth circuit 10021 is disposed in the front area near the operation panel 26, similarly to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

[0214] <Detection area> In the fourth embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, a communication establishment area 1300 shown in FIG. 13(A) is used.

[0215] <Usage sequence> In the fourth embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, whether or not to establish communication by "approach and log in", "approach and connect", or "touch and log in" is determined based on the relative positional relationship between the image forming apparatus 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10. However, the angle information used in the fourth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method.

[0216] <Control flow of image forming device> In the fourth embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 is controlled in the same manner as in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 11. However, the data of SCAN_RESP does not include the distance d between the multiple antennas.

[0217] <Control flow of mobile communication terminal> In the fourth embodiment, the communication mobile terminal 10 is controlled in the same manner as shown in Fig. 10 in the first embodiment. However, the angle information used in the fourth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method. Therefore, in the first embodiment, "angle information calculated from phase data before and after the received Adv Pkt and antenna information is obtained and stored" in S1008, whereas in the fourth embodiment, "angle information calculated from phase data of the Adv Pkt received by each antenna of the mobile communication terminal and antenna information is obtained and stored".

[0218] Example 5 In the second embodiment, the angle of emission (AoD) method is used to determine the relative positional relationship between the image forming device and the mobile terminal. In contrast, in the fifth embodiment, the angle of reception (AoA) method is used to determine the relative positional relationship between the image forming device and the mobile terminal. In other words, radio waves transmitted from multiple single antennas of the image forming device are received by multiple antennas of the mobile terminal, and the relative positional relationship is determined using this.

[0219] The configuration and processing of the fifth embodiment are similar to those of the second embodiment in terms of basic processing and configuration, and the processing and configuration related to the above-mentioned method are similar to those of the fourth embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations and processing, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0220] <Antenna placement> In the fifth embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the Bluetooth circuit 10021 is disposed at the position shown in Fig. 14(A), Fig. 14(B), and Fig. 14(C). That is, the Bluetooth circuit 10021 is disposed on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 20. This position is called a physical position 1400. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the center of a specific area where pairing of BLE communication is performed is controlled to be on the front side of the image forming apparatus 20. This position is called a virtual position 1401. The physical position 1400 and the virtual position 1401 are disposed in a positional relationship of a diagonal distance 1402.

[0221] <Detection area> In the fifth embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, a distance R detected from radio wave intensity and a reception angle θ detected by direction detection, which are calculated around a physical position 1400 of the Bluetooth circuit 10021 of the image forming apparatus 20, are used. Also, a LUT corresponding to a communication establishment area around a virtual position 1401 and threshold information are used to determine whether communication has been established.

[0222] <Usage sequence> In the fifth embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, whether or not communication establishment is required for "approach and log in", "approach and connect", "touch and log in", etc. is determined based on the relative positional relationship between the image forming apparatus 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10. However, the angle information used in the fifth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method.

[0223] <Control flow of mobile communication terminal> In the fifth embodiment, the communication mobile terminal 10 is controlled in the same manner as in the second embodiment shown in Fig. 17. However, the angle information used in the fifth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method. Therefore, in the second embodiment, in S1008, "angle information calculated from phase data before and after the received Adv Pkt and antenna information is obtained and stored", whereas in the fifth embodiment, "angle information calculated from phase data of the Adv Pkt received by each antenna of the mobile communication terminal and antenna information is obtained and stored".

[0224] Example 6 In the third embodiment, the angle of emission (AoD) method is used to determine the relative positional relationship between the image forming device and the mobile terminal. In contrast, in the sixth embodiment, the angle of reception (AoA) method is used to determine the relative positional relationship between the image forming device and the mobile terminal. That is, radio waves transmitted from multiple single antennas of the image forming device are received by multiple antennas of the mobile terminal, and the relative positional relationship is determined using this.

[0225] The configuration and processing of the sixth embodiment are similar to those of the third embodiment in terms of basic processing and configuration, and the processing and configuration related to the above-mentioned method are similar to those of the fourth embodiment. Therefore, the same configurations and processing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0226] <Detection area> In the sixth embodiment, as described in the third embodiment, the establishment of communication is determined using a communication establishment area 2000 shown in FIG. 20(A).

[0227] <Calculation of correction distance and correction angle> In this embodiment, the Bluetooth circuit of the image forming apparatus 20 100 A calculation is performed to convert the distance R and the reception angle θ centered on the physical position 1400 of the mobile communication terminal 21 into a corrected distance R' and a corrected angle θ' centered on the virtual position 1401. This conversion is performed on an associated application executed by the mobile communication terminal 10. The corrected distance is R', and the corrected reception angle is θ'. However, the angle information used in the sixth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method.

[0228] <Usage sequence> In the sixth embodiment, similarly to the third embodiment, whether or not communication establishment is required for "approach and log in", "approach and connect", "touch and log in", etc. is determined based on the relative positional relationship between the image forming apparatus 20 and the mobile communication terminal 10. However, the angle information used in the sixth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method.

[0229] <Control flow of mobile communication terminal> In the sixth embodiment, the communication mobile terminal 10 is controlled in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 19 in the third embodiment. However, the angle information used in the sixth embodiment is based on the AoA (Angle of Arrival) method. Therefore, in the third embodiment, in S1008, "angle information" calculated from phase data before and after the received Adv Pkt and antenna information is obtained and stored", whereas in the fifth embodiment, "angle information" calculated from phase data of the Adv Pkt received by each antenna of the mobile communication terminal and antenna information is obtained and stored".

[0230] (Other Examples) The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and are not excluded from the scope of the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes all configurations that combine the above-mentioned embodiments and their modifications.

[0231] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0232] In the first to third embodiments, as described with reference to FIG. 5(C), the back surface of the substrate 49 is covered with the metal sheet 55. If the metal sheet 55 does not cover the range of the antenna arrangement, different communication establishment areas are formed. FIG. 13(B) shows how different communication establishment areas are formed. FIG. 13(B) is a diagram for explaining a mirrored communication establishment area. In FIG. 13(B), in addition to the communication establishment area 1300, a fan-shaped communication establishment area 1301 shown with diagonal lines is formed. The communication establishment area 1301 is formed at a position (-135°≦θ≦-5°) that is a mirror image of the communication establishment area 1300, based on a virtual line X along the antenna arrangement direction. This is a result of the radio waves directed toward the back surface side of the substrate 49, including the radio waves shown by the arrow 60 in FIG. 5(D), spreading to the surroundings. In the first to third embodiments, the occurrence of such a mirrored communication establishment area is suppressed, thereby accurately realizing communication establishment based on the detection area. However, such a configuration is not essential. For example, most of the communication establishment area 1301 is on the main body of the image forming apparatus 20, and is not an area that the user enters. Therefore, if it is considered that this can be ignored, the rear side of the substrate 49 does not need to be covered with the metal sheet 55.

[0233] In the first to third embodiments, an example is described in which the wavelength λ of the radio wave is included in the scan response. However, since this value can be obtained from the frequency information of the advertising packet, it does not necessarily have to be included in the scan response.

[0234] In the first to third embodiments, a case has been described in which the communication establishment process of the BLE communication is advanced once a determination result indicating that the mobile communication terminal 10 has entered a communication establishment area has been obtained. However, the communication establishment process of the BLE communication may be advanced based on a plurality of determination results. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the moving direction of the user holding the mobile communication terminal 10 is determined based on a plurality of determination results, and the communication establishment process of the BLE communication is advanced based on the fact that the moving direction is toward the image forming apparatus.

[0235] In the third embodiment, an example has been described in which a communication establishment area determined by calculation based on a virtual position is used. The communication establishment area determined by this calculation may be applied to an area based on the physical position of the Bluetooth circuit 21. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, conditions may be set so that the communication establishment area becomes a square area 2202. FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a communication establishment area in another embodiment. Such a square communication establishment area in front is effective in an environment in which, for example, a plurality of image forming apparatuses are arranged side by side.

[0236] In the first to third embodiments, the device information of the image forming apparatus 20 is treated as information included in the scan response. For example, the advertising packet includes device information (simplified), data for identifying the device such as an address / UUID, RSSI, and TX power level. The scan response includes device information (detailed), model details, functions supported by the application, application-specific data, spacing d between multiple antennas, wavelength λ of the radio wave, and advertising transmission interval. However, if there is no problem with the transfer capacity, part or all of the device information transmitted in the scan response may be included in the advertising packet.

[0237] The abbreviations used in the specification have the following meanings:

[0238] AoD stands for Angle of Departure. AoA stands for Angle of Arrival. ASIC stands for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. BLE stands for Bluetooth Low Energy. CCD stands for Charge-Coupled Device. CIS stands for Contact Image Sensor. CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. DoD stands for Direction of Departure. DoA stands for Direction of Arrival. FAX stands for facsimile. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive. IC stands for Integrated Circuit. IF stands for Interface. IP stands for Internet Protocol. ISM stands for Industrial Scientific and Medical. LAN stands for Local Area Network. LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. LVDS stands for Low voltage differential signaling. LUT stands for Lookup table. MFP stands for Multi Function Peripheral. MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3. NFC stands for Near Field Communication. OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. PC stands for Personal Computer. PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant. RAM stands for Random-Access Memory. RF stands for Radio Frequency. ROM stands for Read Only Memory. RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator. SFP stands for Single Function Printer. SSD stands for Solid State Drive. UI stands for User Interface. USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. WAN stands for Wide Area Network. [Explanation of symbols]

[0239] 10 Mobile communication devices 20 Image forming device 11 Bluetooth circuits in mobile communication devices 21 Bluetooth circuit of image forming device

Claims

1. In a communication system in which a communication device and a communication terminal are capable of wireless communication, the communication device includes a first wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard and has a plurality of antennas; The communication terminal includes: a second wireless communication interface that complies with the Bluetooth standard; a means for acquiring angle information and radio wave intensity information based on a result of receiving a plurality of radio waves transmitted from each of the plurality of antennas by the second wireless communication interface; means for transmitting a request for establishing wireless communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard to the first wireless communication interface via the second wireless communication interface when the angle information and the radio wave intensity information satisfy a predetermined condition; having A communication system, characterized in that at least one radio wave emitted by the first wireless communication interface includes information indicating the predetermined condition.

2. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one radio wave transmitted by the first wireless communication interface includes information of either an address or a UUID for identifying the communication device.

3. The communication terminal includes:

3. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for acquiring distance information based on the radio wave intensity information.

4. 4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information indicating the predetermined condition is information indicating an area in which establishment of a connection is to be started.

5. A communication system in which a communication device and a communication terminal are capable of wireless communication, the communication device includes a first wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard and has a plurality of antennas; The communication terminal includes: a second wireless communication interface that complies with the Bluetooth standard; a means for acquiring angle information and radio wave intensity information based on a result of receiving a plurality of radio waves transmitted from each of the plurality of antennas by the second wireless communication interface; means for transmitting a request for establishing wireless communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard to the first wireless communication interface via the second wireless communication interface when the angle information and the radio wave intensity information satisfy a predetermined condition; having A communication system characterized in that at least one radio wave emitted by the first wireless communication interface includes location information regarding the positions of the multiple antennas and a reference position of the area from which connection establishment begins.

6. 6. The communication system according to claim 5, further comprising: means for acquiring distance information and angle information from the reference position based on the radio wave intensity information, the angle information, and the position information.

7. 7. The communication system according to claim 5, further comprising a shielding member disposed on one surface of the substrate on which the plurality of antennas are arranged.

8. 8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein the one surface side is the surface side opposite to the reference position.

9. 9. The communication system according to claim 5, further comprising a member having a target mark disposed in the vicinity of the reference position.

10. the communication device includes an NFC unit for performing NFC communication; The communication system according to claim 9 , wherein the NFC unit is disposed in the vicinity of a member having the target mark.

11. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the communication terminal transmits user authentication information to the communication device via the established wireless communication.

12. 12. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas is four antennas.

13. the communication device includes a third wireless communication interface that complies with the Wi-Fi standard; the communication terminal includes a fourth wireless communication interface that complies with the Wi-Fi standard; The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the communication terminal transmits information for connecting the third wireless communication interface and the fourth wireless communication interface to the communication device via the established wireless communication.

14. 14. The communication system according to claim 13, wherein the communication terminal transmits print data to the communication device after a connection between the third wireless communication interface and the fourth wireless communication interface is established.

15. the communication device includes a reading device for reading an original; The communication system according to claim 13 , wherein after a connection between the third wireless communication interface and the fourth wireless communication interface is established, an image read by the reading device is transmitted to the communication terminal.

16. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the communication terminal holds calibration information.

17. A communication terminal capable of wireless communication with a communication device having a first wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard and has a plurality of antennas, a second wireless communication interface that complies with the Bluetooth standard; a means for acquiring angle information and radio wave intensity information based on a result of receiving a plurality of radio waves transmitted from each of the plurality of antennas by the second wireless communication interface; means for transmitting a request for establishing wireless communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard to the first wireless communication interface via the second wireless communication interface when the angle information and the radio wave intensity information satisfy a predetermined condition; having A communication terminal, characterized in that at least one radio wave transmitted by the first wireless communication interface includes information indicating the predetermined condition.

18. A method for controlling a communication terminal capable of wireless communication with a communication device having a first wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard and has a plurality of antennas, the communication terminal having a second wireless communication interface that is compatible with the Bluetooth standard, comprises the steps of: acquiring angle information and radio wave intensity information based on a result of receiving a plurality of radio waves transmitted from each of the plurality of antennas by the second wireless communication interface; transmitting a request for establishing wireless communication conforming to the Bluetooth standard to the first wireless communication interface via the second wireless communication interface according to the angle information and the radio wave intensity information satisfying a predetermined condition; having A control method, characterized in that at least one radio wave transmitted by the first wireless communication interface includes information indicating the predetermined condition.

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