Wireless communication device, method for controlling wireless communication device, and program

Abstract

This wireless communication device acquires, from another wireless communication device, information that can be used to identify at least one information acquisition scheme that can be used by the other wireless communication device in order to acquire setup information that is used for establishing a connection with the other wireless communication device, identifies a prescribed priority degree for each of the at least one information acquisition scheme for acquiring the setup information, determines an information acquisition scheme to be used for acquiring the setup information from the other communication device in accordance with the identified priority degree when there is more than one information acquisition scheme that can be used by the other communication device, and provides a notification regarding the determined information acquisition scheme to the other wireless communication device.

Description

Wireless communication device, wireless communication device control method and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication device, a control method for a wireless communication device, and a program.

[0002] In recent years, electronic devices such as digital cameras, printers, mobile phones, and smartphones have been equipped with wireless communication functions, and these devices are increasingly being used by connecting to wireless networks. In particular, there has been an increase in the number of cases where devices communicate with each other using wireless LANs as the wireless communication function.

[0003] To connect an electronic device to a wireless network, various communication parameters such as an encryption method, an encryption key, an authentication method, and an authentication key must be set. A technique for facilitating the setting of these communication parameters is known. In Patent Literature 1, an access point encodes generated communication parameters into a QR code (registered trademark, omitted hereafter) and displays it on a screen. A digital camera captures the QR code displayed on the access point and decodes the QR code to set the communication parameters.

[0004] Furthermore, there is a technology in Wi-Fi Easy Connect (registered trademark, omitted below) that allows the user to select the method of acquiring setup information (Patent Document 2). Here, the setup information is information used when establishing a connection between an electronic device such as a smartphone and another electronic device such as a printer.

[0005] In the technology of Patent Document 2, Wi-Fi Easy Connect first provides a smartphone or the like with a list of setup information acquisition methods that can be used by an electronic device such as a printer. The user then operates a UI (user interface) displayed on the screen of the smartphone or other electronic device to select a desired setup information acquisition method. For example, consider a case where a smartphone and a printer are connected using Wi-Fi Easy Connect. In this case, the printer can use QR code scanning and NFC (Near Field Communication) communication as information acquisition methods. According to Patent Document 2, icons for QR code (registered trademark) scanning and NFC communication are displayed on the screen of the user's smartphone. If the user wants to use QR code scanning as the setup information acquisition method, the user selects the QR code scanning icon on the smartphone screen.

[0006] JP 2006-261938 A JP 2024-4365 A

[0007] Here, Wi-Fi Direct (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted) is a specification for direct connection between electronic devices, and electronic devices such as smartphones and electronic devices such as printers provide each other with an information acquisition method that they can use to acquire setup information. In this case, there may be multiple information acquisition methods included in both the list of information acquisition methods that can be used by electronic devices such as smartphones and the list of information acquisition methods that can be used by electronic devices such as printers. In this case, it has been an issue to provide a technology that easily determines the information acquisition method to use from multiple candidate information acquisition methods for acquiring setup information.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the wireless communication device of the present invention is characterized by having: an acquisition means for acquiring from the other wireless communication device information capable of identifying one or more information acquisition methods that the other wireless communication device can use to acquire setup information used to establish a connection with the other wireless communication device; an identification means for identifying a predetermined priority for each of the one or more information acquisition methods for acquiring the setup information; a determination means for determining, when there are multiple information acquisition methods that the other communication device can use, the information acquisition method to be used to acquire the setup information from the other communication device in accordance with the priority identified by the identification means; and a notification means for notifying the other wireless communication device of the information acquisition method determined by the determination means.

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for simply determining an information acquisition method to be used from among a plurality of candidate information acquisition methods for acquiring setup information.

[0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0011] The accompanying drawings are included in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present invention. A configuration diagram of a wireless communication system to which this embodiment can be applied. A configuration diagram of a printer 101. A configuration diagram of a smartphone 102. A flowchart diagram for determining an information acquisition method by the printer 101 according to the first embodiment. A flowchart diagram of the smartphone 102 according to the first embodiment. A diagram showing an example of a priority table according to the first embodiment. A diagram showing an example of a priority table according to the first embodiment. A diagram showing an example of a setup information acquisition method list according to the first embodiment. A sequence diagram for determining a setup information acquisition method according to the first embodiment. A sequence diagram for determining a setup information acquisition method according to the first embodiment. A flowchart diagram for determining a priority table by the printer 101 according to a first modification of the first embodiment. An image of the printer 101 according to a first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 1 shows an example of a UI displayed on the screen of the printer 101 in Modification 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows an example of a UI displayed on the screen of the printer 101 in Modification 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for updating a priority table in Modification 2 of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 shows an example of a UI displayed on the screen of the printer 101 in Modification 2 of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an example of a UI displayed on the screen of the printer 101 in Modification 2 of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an example of a priority table in the second embodiment. FIG. 7 shows an example of a priority table in the second embodiment.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the claims. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are required, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0013] First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a printer 101 and a smartphone 102. In this embodiment, the printer 101 and the smartphone 102 can communicate with each other using a wireless LAN and short-range wireless communication via Wi-Fi Direct. Naturally, the wireless communication system 1 may also include other wireless communication devices. The printer 101 and the smartphone 102 are examples of wireless communication devices that perform bootstrapping, which exchanges setup information used to establish a connection, and may be other devices such as a multi-function peripheral (MFP), a laptop computer, or a tablet. In this embodiment, the printer 101 operates as a Wi-Fi Direct advertiser, and the smartphone 102 operates as a Wi-Fi Direct seeker, although the roles may be reversed.

[0014] 2 shows the configuration of the printer 101. The printer 101 includes a power supply 201, a display unit 202, an operation unit 203, a control unit 204, a storage unit 205, a first wireless communication unit 206, a second wireless communication unit 207, and a printing unit 208.

[0015] A power supply 201 supplies power to each component, for example, by obtaining power from an AC power source.

[0016] The display unit 202 displays various information to the user or other devices. For example, it is configured with an LED display or the like, and can notify the user or other devices of information via the screen display. The operation unit 203 accepts various operations from the user. For example, it is configured with buttons, a keypad, and the like. Note that both the display unit 202 and the operation unit 203 may be configured as a single module, such as a touch panel.

[0017] The control unit 204 is configured with a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU), and controls the entire printer 101 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 205 .

[0018] The storage unit 205 is configured with memories such as read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), and stores programs for performing various processes described below and various information. In this embodiment, the storage unit 205 of the printer 101 stores a priority table in which priorities are set in advance for multiple methods (information acquisition methods) for acquiring setup information used to establish a connection via the first wireless communication unit 306.

[0019] The first wireless communication unit 206 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves. In one example, the first wireless communication unit 206 can perform wireless LAN control compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and the Wi-Fi standard. In this case, the first wireless communication unit 206 serves as a terminal station in infrastructure mode of the IEEE 802.11 standard, connecting to and communicating with other terminal stations via an access point. Furthermore, the first wireless communication unit 206 serves as a base station or terminal station of Wi-Fi Direct, connecting to and communicating with other terminal stations or base stations.

[0020] The second wireless communication unit 207 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves. For example, the second wireless communication unit 207 is capable of NFC (Near Field Communication) communication. In this case, the second wireless communication unit 207 can perform NFC control in accordance with NFC standards such as ISO / IEC 14443, 15693, and 18092. The first wireless communication unit 206 and the second wireless communication unit 207 may share at least a portion of their components, such as the wireless communication circuit.

[0021] Furthermore, the second wireless communication unit 207 may be a wireless communication unit for acquiring information that can be used to establish a connection via the first wireless communication unit 206, and may be capable of control processing other than NFC control. Furthermore, if the wireless communication device described in this embodiment can exchange setup information used to establish a connection via the first wireless communication unit 206 by a method other than wireless communication, the printer 101 does not need to have the second wireless communication unit 207.

[0022] The printing unit 208 prints on a printing medium such as paper. The printing unit 208 is composed of a printer head, its drive unit, ink, etc. If the wireless communication device described in this embodiment is not a printer, the printing unit 208 may be omitted.

[0023] The printer 101 may also include additional components such as an imaging unit.

[0024] 3 shows the configuration of the smartphone 102. The smartphone 102 includes a power supply 301, a display unit 302, an operation unit 303, a control unit 304, a storage unit 305, a first wireless communication unit 306, a second wireless communication unit 307, and a third wireless communication unit 308. The power supply 301 supplies power to each unit. For example, the power supply 301 may include a battery, and supply power obtained from the battery to each unit.

[0025] The display unit 302 displays various information to the user or other devices. For example, it is configured with an LED display or the like, and can notify information via the screen display. The operation unit 303 accepts various operations from the user. For example, it is configured with buttons, a keypad, and the like. Note that both the display unit 302 and the operation unit 303 may be configured as a single module, such as a touch panel.

[0026] The control unit 304 is configured with a processor such as a CPU or an MPU, and controls the entire smartphone 102 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 305. The storage unit 305 is configured with memories such as a ROM and a RAM, and stores programs for performing various processes described below and various types of information.

[0027] The first wireless communication unit 306 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves. In one example, the first wireless communication unit 306 can perform wireless LAN control compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and the Wi-Fi standard. In this case, the first wireless communication unit 306 serves as a terminal station in infrastructure mode of the IEEE 802.11 standard, connecting to and communicating with other terminal stations via an access point. The first wireless communication unit 306 may also serve as a Wi-Fi Direct base station or terminal station, connecting to and communicating with other terminal stations or base stations.

[0028] The second wireless communication unit 307 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves. In one example, the second wireless communication unit 307 is capable of NFC communication. In this case, the second wireless communication unit 307 can perform NFC control compatible with NFC standards such as ISO / IEC 14443, 15693, and 18092.

[0029] The third wireless communication unit 308 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves. In one example, the third wireless communication unit 308 can perform public wireless control in accordance with the International Multimedia Telecommunications (IMT) standard or the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.

[0030] The first wireless communication unit 306, the second wireless communication unit 307, and the third wireless communication unit 308 may share at least a portion of the same circuit. For example, the first wireless communication unit 306, the second wireless communication unit 307, and the third wireless communication unit 308 may share a portion of a wireless communication circuit.

[0031] Furthermore, the second wireless communication unit 307 may be a wireless communication unit that can exchange information used to establish a connection via the first wireless communication unit 306, and may be capable of control processing other than NFC control. Furthermore, if the wireless communication device described in this embodiment can exchange setup information used to establish a connection via the first wireless communication unit 306 by a method other than wireless communication, the smartphone 102 does not need to have the second wireless communication unit 307.

[0032] The audio input / output unit 309 inputs and outputs audio for user calls, and is composed of a microphone, a speaker, etc. The imaging unit 310 captures still images and moving images, and is composed of an image sensor, a lens, etc.

[0033] In this embodiment, a form is described in which the control unit 204 determines the information acquisition method according to a priority table in which a priority is set in advance for each information acquisition method for acquiring setup information used to establish a connection via the first wireless communication unit 306.

[0034] 4 is a flowchart for determining an information acquisition method executed by the printer 101 according to this embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 4 is realized by the control unit 204 of the printer 101 executing a program stored in the storage unit 205.

[0035] In FIG. 4, first, the control unit 204 determines a priority table to be used when determining an information acquisition method for acquiring setup information (S401).

[0036] In this embodiment, the method for acquiring setup information (information acquisition method) is determined based on a priority table stored in the storage unit 205. Examples of priority tables are shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Priority table 601 is a priority table intended for use at home, where setup information acquisition methods with high security strength are given priority. Priority table 602 is a priority table intended for use in a shared office, where setup information acquisition methods with high security strength are given higher priority.

[0037] 6A and 6B, the Pairing Bootstrapping Methods indicate the names of setup information acquisition methods. The names of the Pairing Bootstrapping Methods follow the expression of the Wi-Fi Direct standard.

[0038] Furthermore, in the priority tables 601 and 602, a setup information acquisition method with a high Security Point, which indicates a security level, has a high priority for being used to acquire setup information. In other words, the Security Point, which indicates the security level of an information acquisition method, is associated with the information acquisition method and corresponds to a priority. For example, looking at the priority table 601, PIN code input (Pin-code display and Keypad (Pin-code only)) has a higher Security Point than NFC communication (NFC tag and NFC reader). Therefore, if both are usable as information acquisition methods, Pin-code display is selected as the information acquisition method to be used.

[0039] In the priority table 602, the security points of PIN code entry and password entry (passphrase display and keypad (passphrase)) are set two points lower each than in the priority table 601. On the other hand, the security points of two-dimensional barcode photography such as QR (registered trademark) code photography (QR-code display and QR-code scan) and NFC communication (NFC tag and NFC reader) are set two points higher each. The reason why the priority of setup information acquisition methods such as PIN code entry and password entry is set low is because there is a risk of information leakage due to shoulder hacking by a third party in a shared office.

[0040] In this embodiment, assuming that the printer 101 is used in a shared office, the control unit 204 determines in step S401 to use the priority table 602. For example, the control unit 204 may use location information, such as that from a global positioning system (GPS) sensor (not shown) of the printer 101, or may use parameters acquired from the first wireless communication unit 206. For example, the parameters acquired from the first wireless communication unit 206 may be identifiers (SSIDs) of nearby access points (APs) identified from beacon signals transmitted from the nearby APs acquired via the first wireless communication unit 206. In this case, the location where the printer 101 is being used can be estimated by identifying the location information of one of the identified APs.

[0041] This allows the control unit 204 to specify a predetermined priority for each of one or more information acquisition methods for acquiring setup information.

[0042] Next, the control unit 204 creates a list of methods that can be used by the printer 101 (S402). The list of methods that can be used includes information that can identify whether each information acquisition method is usable by the printer 101. Examples of the setup information acquisition method list are shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

[0043] Fig. 7A is a usable method list created by the printer 101 in this embodiment, indicating information acquisition methods usable by the printer 101. In Figs. 7A and 7B, Pairing Bootstrapping Methods indicates the information acquisition method. In Figs. 7A and 7B, a bit of 1 indicates that the information acquisition method is usable by the printer 101, and a bit of 0 indicates that the information acquisition method is not usable. Fig. 7B also shows a usable method list created by the smartphone 102 in this embodiment.

[0044] Next, the control unit 204 transmits the usable method list 701 to the smartphone 102 (S403), and further determines whether or not to receive the usable method list 702 from the smartphone 102 (S404).

[0045] Here, the flow of processing in which the smartphone 102 transmits a usable method list to the printer 101 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing transmission of a usable method list by the smartphone 102 in this embodiment. In Fig. 5, first, the control unit 304 creates a usable method list for the smartphone 102 (S501). It is assumed that the usable method list created by the control unit 304 is the same as the usable method list in Fig. 7B.

[0046] Next, the control unit 304 transmits the usable method list to the printer 101 (S502).

[0047] Returning to the description of Fig. 4, if the control unit 204 determines in S404 that it has not received the usable method list 702, it waits for a random time (S408) and then returns to the process of S404.

[0048] On the other hand, if the result of the determination in S404 is that the usable method list 702 has been received, the control unit 204 determines whether or not there is a candidate for the information acquisition method to be used in the usable method list 702 (S405).

[0049] Here, the candidate information acquisition methods are Pairing Bootstrapping Methods, both of which have a bit set to 1 in the usable method lists of the printer 101 and the smartphone 102. In the usable method lists 701 and 702 shown in Figures 7A and 7B, the information acquisition methods for which the bit is set to 1 are PIN code input and QR code scanning. Therefore, in step S405, the control unit 204 determines that PIN code input and QR code scanning are candidate setup information acquisition methods.

[0050] If it is determined in S405 that there are no candidates for the information acquisition method to be used (NO in S405), the control unit 204 ends the processing shown in FIG.

[0051] On the other hand, if there is an information acquisition method that can be used by the printer 101 and the smartphone 102 (YES in S405), the control unit 204 determines whether there are multiple candidate information acquisition methods that can be used (S406). If there is only one candidate information acquisition method (NO in S406), the control unit 204 determines that method as the setup information acquisition method (S409). In this embodiment, since PIN code input and QR code scanning are candidate setup information acquisition methods, the control unit 204 determines in S406 that there are multiple candidate setup information acquisition methods.

[0052] If the control unit 204 determines that there are multiple candidates for the setup information acquisition method (YES in S406), it determines the setup information acquisition method in accordance with the priority table determined in S401 (S407).

[0053] In this embodiment, the control unit 204 determines in step S401 to use the priority table 602. In the priority table 602, between entering a PIN code and scanning a QR code, scanning a QR code has a higher security point and is therefore set to have a higher priority. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 204 determines scanning a QR code as the information acquisition method to use.

[0054] Next, the control unit 204 notifies the smartphone 102 of the determined information acquisition method (S410). In one example, a message including an available setup information acquisition method list shown in Fig. 7A in which only the information acquisition method determined in S407 is available is transmitted to the smartphone 102. Thereafter, the process shown in Fig. 4 ends, and setup information is exchanged using the determined information acquisition method.

[0055] In this embodiment, a method has been described in which the printer 101 determines the information acquisition method when the printer 101 and the smartphone 102 connect, but the smartphone 102 may determine the information acquisition method. Here, a sequence in which the printer 101 determines the information acquisition method and a sequence in which the smartphone 102 determines the information acquisition method will be described with reference to Figures 8A and 8B.

[0056] 8A and 8B show sequences for determining the information acquisition method to be used when connecting the printer 101 and the smartphone 102. Fig. 8A shows a sequence for determining the information acquisition method on the printer 101 side, and Fig. 8B shows a sequence for determining the information acquisition method on the smartphone 102 side.

[0057] 8A, first, the printer 101 determines a priority table (F801). Next, the printer 101 transmits an available method list indicating available information acquisition methods to the smartphone 102 (F802). Next, the smartphone 102 transmits the available method list to the printer 101 (F803). Thereafter, the printer 101 determines the information acquisition method to use based on the available method list received in F802 and F803 (F804). Next, the printer 101 transmits the determined information acquisition method to the smartphone 102 (F805).

[0058] 8B , first, the smartphone 102 determines a priority table (F811). Next, the printer 101 transmits a list of available methods to the smartphone 102 (F812). Next, the smartphone 102 transmits the list of available methods to the printer 101 (F813). After that, the smartphone 102 determines the information acquisition method to be used (F814). Next, the smartphone 102 transmits the determined information acquisition method to the printer 101 (F815).

[0059] In this embodiment, a priority table is prepared in advance, in which priorities are set in association with security strengths, and the information acquisition method to be used is selected according to the priority table, making it possible to select an information acquisition method with high security from among multiple candidate information acquisition methods.

[0060] <Modification 1> As a modification of the first embodiment, an example will be shown in which the priority table to be used for specifying the priority is selected from the priority table 601 and the priority table 602 according to a predetermined condition.

[0061] The priority table 601 in Fig. 6A is for home use, and the priority table 602 in Fig. 6B is for a shared office. If the installation location of the printer 101 is moved between home and a shared office, it will not be possible to always select a setup information acquisition method with high security strength. Therefore, in this modified example, the priority table 601 and the priority table 602 are switched according to predetermined conditions.

[0062] 9 is a flowchart for determining the priority table to be used by the printer 101 in this modified example. The process shown in FIG. 9 is realized by the control unit 204 of the printer 101 executing a program stored in the storage unit 206.

[0063] 9, first, the control unit 204 determines whether an automatic switching function for automatically switching priority tables is enabled (S901). If the result of the determination in S901 is that automatic switching is enabled, the control unit 204 determines whether the user specifies a priority table (S902). Note that the setting of whether the user specifies a priority table can be stored in advance in the storage unit 205 of the printer 101.

[0064] If the control unit 204 determines that the user has designated a priority table (Yes in S902), it inquires of the user about the priority table they wish to use (S903). Subsequently, the control unit 204 determines the priority table based on the user input in response to the inquiry in S903 (S904).

[0065] Here, an example of querying the user for a desired table will be described using Figures 10A to 10C. Figures 10A to 10C are examples of UIs displayed on the screen of the printer 101. Figure 10A is the UI that the display unit 202 displays on the screen of the printer 101 in step S903. The user uses the operation unit 203 to select either a home plan or a public place plan in accordance with the query, and the control unit 204 accepts the user selection. Note that the "home plan" is linked to priority table 601, and the "public place plan" is linked to priority table 602.

[0066] Therefore, when the user selects the "Home Plan" and presses the OK button, the control unit 204 determines in S904 that the selected priority table 601 is to be used to identify the priority.

[0067] On the other hand, if the result of the determination in S901 is that automatic switching of the priority table is disabled, the control unit 204 queries the user about the location of use (S909). An example of querying the user about the location of use will now be described with reference to FIG. 10B. FIG. 10B shows a UI that the display unit 202 displays on the screen of the printer 101 at S909. The user uses the operation unit 203 in accordance with the query to select whether the printer 101 is installed at home or in a public place.

[0068] Next, the control unit 204 controls the display unit 202 to display on the UI a message associated with the selection result of S909 (S906). Fig. 10C shows the UI that the display unit 202 displays on the screen of the printer 101 in S906. If the user selects "Home" in Fig. 10B in S909, the display unit 202 displays on the UI a message recommending the use of a home plan. Also, if the user selects "Public Place" in S909, the display unit 202 displays on the UI a message recommending the use of a public place plan.

[0069] Next, the control unit 204 determines whether the user has accepted the plan presented in S906, i.e., whether the user has accepted the use of the priority table associated with the presented plan (S907). In this modification, if the OK button in Fig. 10C is pressed, the control unit 204 determines that the user has accepted (Yes in S907). On the other hand, if the user has pressed another plan button, the control unit 204 determines that the user has not accepted (No in S907).

[0070] If the control unit 204 determines in S907 that the user has accepted the presented priority table, the control unit 204 proceeds to S904. On the other hand, if the control unit 204 determines in S907 that the user has not accepted the presented priority table, the control unit 204 presents another priority table (S908). For example, if the user has not accepted the home plan, a public place plan is presented, and the use of the priority table 602 is recommended. Then, the process returns to S907.

[0071] In this embodiment, two priority tables are provided: a priority table for home use and a priority table for public places. However, three or more priority tables may be provided. In this case, in S908, multiple priority tables other than the priority table that the user did not accept may be presented, and the user's selection may be accepted again.

[0072] If the user does not specify a priority table as a result of the determination in S902, the control unit 204 estimates the use location of the printer 101 (S905). To estimate the use location, the control unit 204 may use location information acquired from a GPS sensor or a wireless LAN received signal. For example, the control unit 204 may identify surrounding access points (APs) from the wireless LAN beacon signals acquired, and estimate the use location of the printer 101 by identifying the location information of one of the identified APs.

[0073] If the control unit 204 estimates that the installation location of the printer 101 is home as a result of the estimation in S905, then in S906 the control unit 204 controls the display unit 202 to display the UI with home selected, as shown in Fig. 10B. On the other hand, if the control unit 204 estimates that the installation location of the printer 101 is a public place as a result of the estimation in S805, then in S906 the display unit 202 displays the UI with a public place selected. Thereafter, the control unit 204 proceeds to S907.

[0074] According to this modification, even if the installation location of the printer 101 is moved between home and a shared office, it is possible to always select an information acquisition method with high security strength.

[0075] <Modification 2> As a modification of the first embodiment, a processing example in which a user changes the security point in the priority table will be described. In this modification, the priority table 602 is used as in the first embodiment.

[0076] When connecting to the printer 101 via Wi-Fi Direct, the user may wish to use a specific information acquisition method. In this case, the desired information acquisition method can be used preferentially by setting a high Security Point for the desired information acquisition method in the priority table in advance. For example, if the user wishes to use QR code photography, the Security Point for QR code photography can be set high in the priority table in advance.

[0077] Fig. 11 shows the flow of updating the priority table in this modified example. In Fig. 11, first, the control unit 204 determines whether the user wishes to change the security point in the priority table (S1101).

[0078] Here, an example of inquiring of the user as to whether or not they wish to change the Security Point in the priority table will be described using Figs. 12A to 12C. Figs. 12A to 12C are examples of UIs displayed on the screen of the printer 101 in this modified example. Fig. 12A is a UI displayed on the screen of the printer 101 by the display unit 202. Fig. 12A displays a list of information acquisition methods. Because the display area of ​​the screen of the printer 101 is not large, Fig. 12A cannot display all of the information acquisition methods included in the list. Fig. 12B shows the result of scrolling down Fig. 12A.

[0079] When the user selects one of the information acquisition methods in FIG. 12A or FIG. 12B and presses the OK button, it is determined in S1101 that the user wishes to change the Security Point in the priority table.

[0080] On the other hand, if the user presses the Use button with the default values ​​in Fig. 12A or 12B remaining, it is determined that the user does not wish to change the Security Point in the priority table (No in S1101). In this case, the control unit 204 ends the process shown in Fig. 11.

[0081] On the other hand, if the user selects one of the information acquisition methods and presses the OK button, it is determined that the user wishes to change the Security Point in the priority table (YES in S1101). In this case, the control unit 204 inquires of the user about the value to be set for the selected information acquisition method (S1102).

[0082] 12C shows a UI that the display unit 202 displays on the screen of the printer 101 in step S1102. The user can set the Security Point to any value by operating the UI in FIG. 12C. Thereafter, the control unit 204 updates the value in the priority table 602.

[0083] In this modified example, the information acquisition method to be used is also determined by the process shown in Fig. 4. As a result, when there are multiple information acquisition methods that can be used by the printer 101 and the smartphone 102, the information acquisition method that the user desires to use can be used preferentially.

[0084] Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, a process was described in which a plurality of information acquisition methods are selected based on a priority table associated with priorities corresponding to security levels. However, priorities may be associated with conditions other than security levels. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which an information acquisition method is selected by combining two tables: a priority table in which information acquisition methods are associated with security levels, and a priority table in which information acquisition methods are associated with simplicity of operation.

[0085] 13A and 13B show examples of priority tables in this embodiment. In Fig. 13A, priority table 1301 is the same as priority table 601 in Fig. 6A. Priority table 1301 is a priority table intended for use at home. Priority table 1301 sets the priority of information acquisition methods based on security level, and therefore assigns a security point to each information acquisition method.

[0086] 13B assigns a Simplicity Point to each information acquisition method in order to prioritize the information acquisition methods based on the simplicity of the operation. In the priority table 1302, QR code scanning and NFC communication have high Simplicity Points because the user operation is simple. On the other hand, PIN code entry and password entry have low Simplicity Points because the user operates the buttons on the screen frequently.

[0087] 14 is a flowchart according to this embodiment for determining an information acquisition method in the printer 101. The difference between FIG. 14 and FIG. 4 of the first embodiment is the processing in steps S1401, S1402, and S1403.

[0088] In this embodiment, first, instead of the process of S401 in the first embodiment, the control unit 204 reads a plurality of priority tables to be used when determining the information acquisition method (S1401). In this embodiment, the priority table 1301 and the priority table 1302 are used, so the control unit 204 reads the priority table 1301 and the priority table 1302.

[0089] Next, in this embodiment, instead of the process of S402 in the first embodiment, the control unit 204 creates a merge table including the table structures of the priority tables 1301 and 1302 from the priority tables 1301 and 1302 (S1402).

[0090] An example of a merge table in this embodiment is shown in Fig. 15. A merge table 1501 in Fig. 15 is an example of a merge table in this embodiment. The merge table 1501 has four columns, which are Security Point, Simplicity Point, Total Point, and Default Priority.

[0091] The Total Point indicates the sum of the values ​​indicating the priority of the same information acquisition method in multiple priority tables. In this embodiment, this is the sum of the Security Point in the priority table 1301 and the Simplicity Point in the priority table 1302. For example, the Security Point of the Pin-code display in the priority table 1301 is 5, and the Simplicity Point of the Pin-code display in the priority table 1302 is 2. Therefore, the Total Point of the Pin-code display in the merge table 1501 is 7.

[0092] Additionally, Default Priority is a predetermined priority. An information acquisition method with a smaller Default Priority value is prioritized. When the Total Points are the same, it is determined that the information acquisition method with the smaller Default Priority value will be used.

[0093] Next, in this embodiment, after creating a merge table, instead of the process of S407 in the first embodiment, the information acquisition method to be used is determined according to the merge table (S1403). Looking at the merge table 1501, QR code scanning and NFC communication have the highest Total Points. Furthermore, looking at the Default Priority for QR code scanning and NFC communication, it is clear that QR code scanning has a higher priority. Therefore, in this embodiment, QR code scanning is determined as the information acquisition method.

[0094] When the priority table to be used is switched in response to a user input, as in the first modification of the first embodiment, the merge table is created using the priority table after switching. Also, although the flow for dynamically creating a merge table has been shown in this embodiment, the merge table may be created in advance.

[0095] In this embodiment, the Security Point and the Simplicity Point are added together, but either of the priorities may be prioritized. For example, when there are multiple information acquisition methods with the same Security Point, it is possible to determine the information acquisition method with the highest Simplicity Point to be used. This makes it possible to determine the information acquisition method to be used based on multiple parameters associated with each information acquisition method.

[0096] Third Embodiment In the first embodiment, the priority table is stored in the storage unit 205 of the printer 101, and in S401 of FIG. 4 , the priority table is acquired from the storage unit 205. However, the printer 101 may acquire the priority table from an external device such as the smartphone 102 or a server device on the Internet. For example, the printer 101 may acquire the second wireless communication unit 207 from the external device and use the acquired priority table to determine the information acquisition method to be used to acquire setup information to be used to establish a connection with the smartphone 102.

[0097] This allows the smartphone 102 to determine the information acquisition method to be used, reflecting the information acquisition method that the smartphone 102 wishes to use.

[0098] In addition, in combination with the second embodiment, the priority table acquired from the smartphone 102 and the priority table held by the printer 101 may be merged to determine the information acquisition method to be used.

[0099] In this case, for each information acquisition method, the priority specified by the smartphone 102 and the priority specified by the printer 101 are associated with each other. This allows the information acquisition method that the smartphone 102 and the printer 101 wish to use to be reflected.

[0100] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program that realizes one or more of the functions of the above-described 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. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that realizes one or more of the functions.

[0101] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention.

[0102] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-105476, filed June 28, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring from another wireless communication device information that can identify one or more information acquisition methods that the other wireless communication device can use to acquire setup information used to establish a connection with the other wireless communication device; an identification means for identifying a predetermined priority for each of the one or more information acquisition methods for acquiring the setup information; a determination means for determining, when there are multiple information acquisition methods that the other communication device can use, the information acquisition method to be used to acquire the setup information from the other communication device in accordance with the priority identified by the identification means; and a notification means for notifying the other wireless communication device of the information acquisition method determined by the determination means.

2. The wireless communication device described in claim 1, characterized in that the identification means identifies a predetermined priority for each of the one or more information acquisition methods based on a priority table in which one or more information acquisition methods are associated with a priority corresponding to the security strength of each of the one or more information acquisition methods.

3. The wireless communication device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the identification means identifies a predetermined priority for each of the one or more information acquisition methods based on a priority table in which one or more information acquisition methods are associated with a priority corresponding to the simplicity of operation of each of the one or more information acquisition methods.

4. The wireless communication device according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a selection means for selecting which of the plurality of priority tables to use when there are a plurality of priority tables.

5. A wireless communication device as described in claim 4, further comprising a receiving means for receiving beacon signals transmitted from access points in the vicinity of the wireless communication device, wherein the selecting means selects which of the plurality of priority tables to use based on the beacon signal received by the receiving means.

6. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the determining means determines the information acquisition method to be used by using a plurality of priority tables.

7. The wireless communication device according to claim 6, wherein the determining means determines the information acquisition method based on the sum of the priority values ​​of two or more priority tables among the plurality of priority tables.

8. A wireless communication device as described in any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising a storage means for storing a priority table, wherein the identification means identifies the priority based on the priority table obtained from the storage means.

9. The wireless communication device according to claim 8, further comprising update means for updating at least one of the information contained in said priority table stored in said storage means in accordance with a user input.

10. A wireless communication device as described in any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising a second acquisition means for acquiring a priority table from the other device, wherein the determination means determines the information acquisition method based on the priority table acquired by the second acquisition means.

11. A wireless communication device as described in claim 10, further comprising a storage means for storing a priority table, wherein the determination means determines the information acquisition method based on both the priority table acquired from the storage means and the priority table acquired by the second acquisition means.

12. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the wireless communication device operates as an advertiser that performs communication in accordance with the Wi-Fi Direct standard.

13. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the wireless communication device operates as a Seeker that performs communication in accordance with the Wi-Fi Direct standard.

14. A wireless communication device as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the identification means identifies a predetermined priority for each of one or more information acquisition methods for acquiring the setup information by the acquisition means before acquiring information that can identify one or more information acquisition methods that can be used by the other wireless communication device.

15. A control method for a wireless communication device, comprising: acquiring, from the other wireless communication device, information capable of identifying one or more information acquisition methods that the other wireless communication device can use to acquire setup information used to establish a connection with the other wireless communication device; identifying a predetermined priority for each of the one or more information acquisition methods for acquiring the setup information; when there are multiple information acquisition methods that the other communication device can use, determining the information acquisition method to be used to acquire the setup information from the other communication device in accordance with the identified priority; and notifying the other wireless communication device of the determined information acquisition method.

16. A program for causing a computer of a wireless communication device to execute the following steps: an acquisition step of acquiring from the other wireless communication device information capable of identifying one or more information acquisition methods that the other wireless communication device can use to acquire setup information used to establish a connection with the other wireless communication device; a specification step of specifying a predetermined priority for each of the one or more information acquisition methods for acquiring the setup information; a determination step of determining, in the case where there are multiple information acquisition methods that the other communication device can use, the information acquisition method to be used to acquire the setup information from the other communication device in accordance with the priority specified in the specification step; and a notification step of notifying the other wireless communication device of the information acquisition method determined in the determination step.

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