Communication Device DNS Switching Between Encrypted and Plain Text

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing communication systems lack a mechanism to uniformly set the use of encrypted communication for name resolution across an entire system or apparatus, leading to laborious and incomplete settings due to application-specific configurations.

Innovation Solution

A communication apparatus with a setting unit to enable or disable encrypted communication for name resolution, a storage unit to exclude certain targets, and a communication control unit to switch between encrypted and plain text resolution based on settings, ensuring appropriate destination selection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If encrypted communication (DoH) is set for each application individually, then security is improved, but setting complexity and labor increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesecurityVSAvoidsetting complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a system-wide DoH setting mechanism that applies encrypted communication configuration across all applications in the communication apparatus. The setting unit configures DoH at the system level rather than requiring individual application settings, making the security mechanism universal across multiple applications and reducing setting complexity while maintaining security improvements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If encrypted communication (DoH) is set for each application individually, then security is improved, but completeness of setting decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesecurityVSAvoidsetting completeness
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system-wide setting mechanism ensures that DoH configuration is applied uniformly across all applications, eliminating incomplete settings that occur with individual application configuration. The communication control unit automatically manages DoH implementation for all applications, ensuring complete and consistent security configuration throughout the system

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If system-wide encrypted communication is implemented, then setting labor is reduced, but flexibility for specific applications decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesetting easeVSAvoidapplication-specific flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by allowing specific applications or protocols to be excluded from DoH configuration through the storage unit. While the default system-wide setting applies DoH to all applications for ease of operation, the exclusion mechanism enables selective opt-out for applications that require different communication modes, thus maintaining both setting ease and application-specific flexibility

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4131216B1Communication device, communication device control method, and program
Publication Date: 2025.09.17 CANON KK
  • EP4131216B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4131216B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4131216B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The communication apparatus stores a condition for excluding from a target of the name resolution using the encrypted communication. The communication apparatus requests, in a case where name resolution of a host name requested from an application is to be performed, a first Domain Name System (DNS) server to perform the name resolution of the host name via an encrypted communication path established with the first DNS server at least based on a fact that use of the encrypted communication is set. On the other hand, the communication apparatus requests a second DNS server to perform the name resolution of the host name by plain text based on a fact that non-use of the encrypted communication is set.