COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, PRINTING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20150268904A1
• Filed: 06/04/2015
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Inoue, Go, Kawasaki, Hiroki
• Granted Patent: US 9,501,253 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1221 with regard to power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• 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 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A communication apparatus (a printing apparatus 100) according to an aspect of the present invention controls communication with an external apparatus in one of a first wireless communication mode (or a wired communication mode) and a second wireless communication mode. In the case where the communication mode is set to the second wireless communication mode, the printing apparatus 100 switches the communication mode to the first wireless communication mode (or the wired communication mode) when an operation state of the printing apparatus 100 shifts to another state such as a power saving state.

Claims

1-12. -12. (canceled)

13. A communication apparatus which is capable of operating in a direct wireless communication mode for performing direct wireless communication with an external apparatus, the communication apparatus comprising:

a processing unit configured to perform a login process for allowing a user to log in to the communication apparatus;

an accepting unit configured to accept, from a user, an operation instruction to instruct the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode; and

a controlling unit configured to, when the accepting unit accepts the operation instruction, control the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode,

wherein when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, the controlling unit controls the communication apparatus to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, the controlling unit controls the communication apparatus to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode and to start operating in a wired communication mode for performing communication with an external apparatus via a wired interface.

15. The communication apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, the controlling unit controls the communication apparatus to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode and to start operating in an infrastructure mode for performing wireless communication with an external apparatus via an access point.

16. The communication apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a displaying unit configured to display an instruction screen for allowing the user to instruct the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode,

wherein the accepting unit accepts the operation instruction from the user via the instruction screen.

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a determining unit configured to, when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, determine whether or not to need to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode,

wherein, in a case where it is determined by the determining unit to need to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode, the controlling unit controls the communication apparatus to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode, and

in a case where it is determined by the determining unit not to need to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode, the controlling unit controls the communication apparatus to maintain operating in the direct wireless communication mode.

18. The communication apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:

a setting unit configured to set, based on a user'"'"'s designation, whether or not to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode when the user logs out of the communication apparatus,

wherein in a case where it has been set by the setting unit to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, the determining unit determines to need to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode, and,

in a case where it has been set by the setting unit not to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, the determining unit determines not to need to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode.

19. The communication apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the communication apparatus is a printing apparatus which is capable of performing a printing process.

20. The communication apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein in a case where the communication apparatus operates in the direct wireless communication mode, one of the communication apparatus and the external apparatus operates as an access point.

21. The communication apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein in a case where the communication apparatus operates in the direct wireless communication mode, the communication apparatus performs wireless communication based on Wi-Fi Direct.

22. A control method for controlling a communication apparatus which is capable of operating in a direct wireless communication mode for performing direct wireless communication with an external apparatus, the method comprising steps of:

performing a login process for allowing a user to log in to the communication apparatus;

accepting, from a user, an operation instruction to instruct the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode;

when the operation instruction is accepted in the accepting step, controlling the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode; and

when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, controlling the communication apparatus to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute steps of a control method for controlling a communication apparatus which is capable of operating in a direct wireless communication mode for performing direct wireless communication with an external apparatus, the method comprising steps of:

performing a login process for allowing a user to log in to the communication apparatus;

accepting, from a user, an operation instruction to instruct the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode;

when the operation instruction is accepted in the accepting step, controlling the communication apparatus to start operating in the direct wireless communication mode; and

when the user logs out of the communication apparatus, controlling the communication apparatus to end operating in the direct wireless communication mode.