IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS SUPPORTING FUNCTION OF NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION AND METHOD OF SETTING NFC OPERATION MODE THEREOF

• US 20150205550A1
• Filed: 04/01/2015
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HP Printing Korea Co., Ltd. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: LEE, Jae-in, PARK, Hyun-wook, PARK, Sung-joon, KIM, Jin-hyung, KIM, Kang-yub
• Granted Patent: US 9,256,386 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1211 Improving printing performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/4005 Sharing resources or data with other data processing systems; Preparing such data for distributed printing G06K15/1859
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/4045 Managing the interface to the data source, e.g. choosing an interface for data reception
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00214 details of transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00954 Scheduling operations or managing resources H04N1/0096 takes precedence; program initiating or switching G06F9/48; allocation of computer resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/006 Using near field communication, e.g. an inductive loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0075 by a user operated remote control device, e.g. receiving instructions from a user via a computer terminal or mobile telephone handset
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/035 in self-organising networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• 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

Abstract

A near field communication (NFC) operating mode of an image forming apparatus may be set by determining a type of a job to be performed in the image forming apparatus via NFC tagging of a mobile device, determining a first NFC operating mode corresponding to the determined type of the job from among a plurality of NFC operating modes supported by an NFC module, setting the determined first NFC operating mode as an operating state of the NFC module, and performing the job by tagging the mobile device via NFC by using the set first NFC operating mode.

Claims

1. A method of setting a near field communication (NFC) operating mode of an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:

determining a type of a job to be performed in the image forming apparatus via NFC tagging of a mobile device;

determining an NFC operating mode of an NFC module corresponding to the determined type of job from among a plurality of NFC operating modes;

setting the determined NFC operating mode as an operating mode of the NFC module; and

performing the job by tagging the mobile device via NFC by using the set NFC operating mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the NFC operating mode comprises determining the NFC operating mode based on a rule table that defines a mapping relationship between the type of the job and the plurality of NFC operating modes.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the type of the job includes at least one selected from a registration job, an authentication job, a data cloning job, a Wi-Fi setup job, a trouble shooting job, a printing job, a scanning job, and a faxing job.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the authentication job is performed by using a first NFC authentication method using a printing application installed in the mobile device or a second NFC authentication method using an NFC tag mounted in the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between the first NFC authentication method and a card emulation mode, and

when the type of the job is the authentication job of the first NFC authentication method, the card emulation mode is set as the NFC operating mode.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between the second NFC authentication method and a read mode, and

when the type of the job is the authentication job of the second NFC authentication method, the read mode is set as the NFC operating mode.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a registration job performed using a first registration method, in which the mobile device is registered by using a printing application installed in the mobile device, and a card emulation mode, and

when the type of the job is the registration job of the first registration method, the card emulation mode is set as the NFC operating mode.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a registration job performed using a second registration method, in which an NFC tag of the mobile device is registered via a user interface screen of the image forming apparatus, and a read mode, and

when the type of the job is the registration job of the second registration method, the read mode is set as the NFC operating mode.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a card emulation mode and at least one of the data cloning job, the Wi-Fi setup job, the trouble shooting job, the printing job, the scanning job, and the faxing job, and when the type of the job is at least one of the data cloning job, the Wi-Fi setup job, the trouble shooting job, the printing job, the scanning job, and the faxing job, the card emulation mode is set as the NFC operating mode.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining, when the job is completed, a type of a subsequent job to be performed by NFC tagging of the mobile device;

determining a subsequent NFC operating mode corresponding to the determined subsequent job based on the rule table; and

converting the operating mode of the NFC module from the set NFC operating mode to the determined subsequent NFC operating mode.

11. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon one or more programs for executing the method of claim 1.

12. An image forming apparatus supporting a near field communication (NFC) function, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a controller that determines a type of a job to be performed in the image forming apparatus via NFC tagging of a mobile device and determines an NFC operating mode corresponding to the determined type of the job from among a plurality of NFC operating modes; and

an NFC module that activates the determined NFC operating mode,

wherein the controller controls launching of the job by using the mobile device that is tagged via NFC according to the activated NFC operating mode.

13. The image forming apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller determines the NFC operating mode based on a rule table that defines a mapping relationship between the type of the job and the plurality of NFC operating modes.

14. The image forming apparatus of claim 13, wherein the type of the job includes at least one selected from a registration job, an authentication job, a data cloning job, a Wi-Fi setup job, a trouble shooting job, a printing job, a scanning job, and a faxing job.

15. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a first NFC authentication method using a printing application installed in the mobile device, and a card emulation mode, and

when the type of the job is the authentication job of the first NFC authentication method, the card emulation mode is activated as the NFC operating mode.

16. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a second NFC authentication method using an NFC tag mounted in the mobile device, and a read mode, and

when the type of the job is the authentication job of the second NFC authentication method, the read mode is activated as the NFC operating mode.

17. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a registration job performed using a first registration method, in which the mobile device is registered by using a printing application installed in the mobile device, and a card emulation mode, and

when the type of the job is the registration job of the first registration method, the card emulation mode is activated as the NFC operating mode.

18. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a registration job performed using a second registration method, in which an NFC tag of the mobile device is registered via a user interface screen of the image forming apparatus, and a read mode, and

when the type of the job is the registration job of the second registration method, the read mode is activated as the NFC operating mode.

19. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the rule table defines a mapping relationship between a card emulation mode and at least one of the data cloning job, the Wi-Fi setup job, the trouble shooting job, the printing job, the scanning job, and the faxing job, and

when the type of the job is at least one of the data cloning job, the Wi-Fi setup job, the trouble shooting job, the printing job, the scanning job, and the faxing job, the card emulation mode is activated as the NFC operating mode.

20. The image forming apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller determines, when the job is completed, a type of a subsequent job to be performed by NFC tagging of the mobile device, and determines a subsequent NFC operating mode corresponding to the determined subsequent job based on the rule table,

wherein the set NFC operating mode of the NFC module is converted to the determined subsequent NFC operating mode.