Communication apparatus, method of controlling a communication apparatus, and storage medium

• US 10,547,992 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Wada, Tomoko
• Primary Examiner(s): Kassim, Khaled M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cairns, Thomas R
• Application Number:
  US14/980,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20160198498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,492 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/18 Management of setup rejection or failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A communication apparatus operable as an AP of a wireless LAN, the apparatus comprises a transmission unit configured to transmit to another apparatus an instruction for causing a connection to a wireless LAN that the AP creates; a reception unit configured to receive from the other apparatus, which received the instruction by communication in accordance with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), a notification indicating that it is possible to connect to the wireless LAN that the AP creates; and an activation unit configured to activate a function of the AP in accordance with reception by the reception unit without activating a function of the AP in accordance with the transmission of the instruction by the transmission unit.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus operable as an AP (Access Point) or STA (Station) of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing code to be executed by the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor executes the code to

create a wireless LAN by operating as the AP;

accept from a user a first instruction for performing printing processing or a second instruction for performing a maintenance service by using a tethering function;

receive from a printing apparatus, after a direct connection to the printing apparatus by the wireless LAN cannot be established in accordance with a wireless LAN connection request that is transmitted by the communication apparatus to the printing apparatus, by communication in accordance with a predetermined wireless communication, a notification indicating that it is possible to connect to the wireless LAN, wherein the predetermined wireless communication is a wireless communication in which power consumption is lower than a wireless LAN; and

control to cause the communication apparatus to operate as the STA and connect to the printing apparatus, which operates as the AP, directly via a wireless LAN, in a case where the notification is received from the printing apparatus in a state where the first instruction has been accepted, and to control to cause the communication apparatus to operate as the AP and connect to the printing apparatus, which operates as the STA, directly via the wireless LAN created by the creating, in a case where the notification is received from the printing apparatus in a state where the second instruction has been accepted.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the processor further executes the code to, if a notification indicating that it is not possible to connect to the wireless LAN is received from the printing apparatus, start a connection with the printing apparatus in accordance with the predetermined wireless communication,

wherein the processor receives, by communication in accordance with the connection via the predetermined wireless communication, a notification indicating that it is possible to connect to the wireless LAN.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the processor further executes the code to communicate with the printing apparatus by the wireless LAN that the AP activated by the printing apparatus creates.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the processor further executes the code to, based on the communication with the printing apparatus by the wireless LAN that the AP activated by the printing apparatus creates, execute a service requested from the printing apparatus.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined wireless communication is BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy).

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the processor further executes the code to disconnect the connection, in accordance with the BLE, with the printing apparatus after the notification is received from the printing apparatus.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitter that transmits the wireless LAN connection request to the printing apparatus.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmitter transmits the request by using NFC (Near Field Communication).

9. A method of controlling a communication apparatus operable as an AP (Access Point) or STA (Station) of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), the method comprising:

creating a wireless LAN by operating as the AP;

accepting from a user a first instruction for performing printing processing or a second instruction for performing a maintenance service by using a tethering function;

receiving from a printing apparatus, after a direct connection to the printing apparatus by the wireless LAN cannot be established in accordance with a wireless LAN connection request that is transmitted by the communication apparatus to the printing apparatus, by communication in accordance with a predetermined wireless communication, a notification indicating that it is possible to connect to the wireless LAN, wherein the predetermined wireless communication is a wireless communication in which power consumption is lower than a wireless LAN; and

controlling to cause the communication apparatus to operate as the STA and connect to the printing apparatus, which operates as the AP, directly via a wireless LAN, in a case where the notification is received in the receiving in a state where the first instruction has been accepted in the accepting, and to control to cause the communication apparatus to operate as the AP and connect to the printing apparatus, which operates as the STA, directly via the wireless LAN created in the creating, in a case where the notification is received in the receiving in a state where the second instruction has been accepted in the accepting.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute a method of controlling a communication apparatus operable as an AP (Access Point) or STA (Station) of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), the method comprising:

creating a wireless LAN by operating as the AP;

accepting from a user a first instruction for performing printing processing or a second instruction for performing a maintenance service by using a tethering function;

receiving from a printing apparatus, after a direct connection to the printing apparatus by the wireless LAN cannot be established in accordance with a wireless LAN connection request that is transmitted by the communication apparatus to the printing apparatus, by communication in accordance with a predetermined wireless communication, a notification indicating that it is possible to connect to the wireless LAN, wherein the predetermined wireless communication is a wireless communication in which power consumption is lower than a wireless LAN; and

controlling to cause the communication apparatus to operate as the STA and connect to the printing apparatus, which operates as the AP, directly via a wireless LAN, in a case where the notification is received in the receiving in a state where the first instruction has been accepted in the accepting, and to control to cause the communication apparatus to operate as the AP and connect to the printing apparatus, which operates as the STA, directly via the wireless LAN created in the creating, in a case where the notification is received in the receiving in a state where the second instruction has been accepted in the accepting.