Communication apparatus

• US 9,801,069 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2015
• Issued: 10/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Shibata, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahman, Mahfuzur
• Application Number:
  US14/792,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20160007200A1
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/205 involving negotiation or determination of the one or more network security mechanisms to be used, e.g. by negotiation between the client and the server or between peers or by selection according to the capabilities of the entities involved negotiation of communication capabilities H04L69/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/16 Involving different core network technologies, e.g. a packet-switched [PS] bearer in combination with a circuit-switched [CS] bearer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A communication apparatus may receive a first wireless profile and a second wireless profile from an access point after a wireless connecting operation for establishing a wireless connection in accordance with a predetermined wireless connection scheme has been performed, the first wireless profile being used in a first wireless network, and the second wireless profile being used in a second wireless network; may select a particular wireless profile from among the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile, the particular wireless profile being used in a wireless network having a relatively high security level among the first wireless network and the second wireless network; and may try to establish the wireless connection with the access point using the particular wireless profile. The particular wireless connection scheme may be a scheme for establishing the wireless connection without an identifier for authentication for establishing the wireless connection being inputted.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing computer-readable instructions therein, the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the communication apparatus to perform;

receiving a first wireless profile and a second wireless profile from an access point after a wireless connecting operation for establishing a wireless connection with the access point in accordance with a predetermined wireless connection scheme has been performed by a user, the first wireless profile being used in a first wireless network formed by the access point, and the second wireless profile being used in a second wireless network formed by the access point, the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile being used in each network formed by the same access point;

selecting a particular wireless profile from among the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile by comparing a security level of the first wireless profile and a security level of the second wireless profile,

the particular wireless profile being;

the first wireless profile in a case where the security level of the first wireless profile is higher than the security level of the second wireless profile, and

the second wireless profile in a case where the security level of the second wireless profile is higher than the security level of the first wireless profile; and

trying to establish the wireless connection with the access point using the selected particular wireless profile,

wherein the particular wireless connection scheme is a scheme for establishing the wireless connection with the access point without an identifier for authentication for establishing the wireless connection being inputted by the user to any of the communication apparatus and the access point.

2. The communication apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

the receiving includes receiving a plurality of wireless profiles including the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile from the access point,

each of the plurality of wireless profiles is used in one of a plurality of wireless networks formed by the access point, and

the selecting includes selecting, from among the plurality of wireless profiles, the particular wireless profile used in a wireless network having the highest security level among the plurality of wireless networks.

3. The communication apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

the first wireless profile includes a first authentication scheme,

the second wireless profile includes a second authentication scheme, and

the selecting includes selecting, as the particular wireless profile, the first wireless profile which includes the first authentication scheme having a security level which is higher than a security level of the second authentication scheme, in a case where the security level of the first authentication scheme and the security level of the second authentication scheme are different.

4. The communication apparatus as in claim 3, wherein:

the first wireless profile further includes a first encryption scheme,

the second wireless profile further includes a second encryption scheme, and

the selecting includes selecting, as the particular wireless profile, the first wireless profile which includes the first encryption scheme having a security level which is higher than a security level of the second encryption scheme, in a case where the security level of the first authentication scheme and the security level of the second authentication scheme are identical.

5. The communication apparatus as in claim 4, wherein:

the receiving includes sequentially receiving the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile from the access point in a particular order, and

the selecting includes selecting the particular wireless profile using the particular order, in a case where the security level of the first authentication scheme and the security level of the second authentication scheme are identical and the security level of the first encryption scheme and the security level of the second encryption scheme are identical.

6. The communication apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

the first wireless profile includes a first encryption scheme,

the second wireless profile includes a second encryption scheme, and

the selecting includes selecting, as the particular wireless profile, the first wireless profile which includes the first encryption scheme having a security level which is higher than a security level of the second encryption scheme, in a case where the security level of the first encryption scheme and the security level of the second encryption scheme are different.

7. The communication apparatus as in claim 6, wherein:

the first wireless profile further includes a first authentication scheme,

the second wireless profile further includes a second authentication scheme, and

the selecting includes selecting, as the particular wireless profile, the first wireless profile which includes the first authentication scheme having a security level which is higher than a security level of the second authentication scheme, in a case where the security level of the first encryption scheme and the security level of the second encryption scheme are identical.

8. The communication apparatus as in claim 7, wherein:

the receiving includes sequentially receiving the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile from the access point in a particular order, and

the selecting includes selecting the particular wireless profile using the particular order, in a case where the security level of the first authentication scheme and the security level of the second authentication scheme are identical and the security level of the first encryption scheme and the security level of the second encryption scheme are identical.

9. The communication apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising:

an interface configured to execute a first type of wireless communication using a carrier wave of a first frequency, wherein the interface is not configured to execute a second type of wireless communication using a carrier wave of a second frequency different from the first frequency,

wherein the selecting includes selecting the particular wireless profile used in a wireless network in which the first type of wireless communication is executed among the first wireless network and the second wireless network.

10. The communication apparatus as in claim 9, wherein:

a wireless profile used in a wireless network in which the first type of wireless communication does not include a particular character string,

a wireless profile used in a wireless network in which the second type of wireless communication includes the particular character string, and

the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to further perform;

identifying a wireless profile which does not include the particular character string from among the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile,

wherein the selecting includes selecting the identified wireless profile as the particular wireless profile.

11. The communication apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to further perform:

judging, for each of the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile, whether the wireless profile is used in a wireless network in which the first type of wireless communication is executed or used in a wireless network in which the second type of wireless communication is executed,

wherein the selecting includes selecting the particular wireless profile, in a case where it is judged that each of the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile is used in the wireless network in which the first type of wireless communication is executed.

12. The communication apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising:

an interface configured to execute a first type of wireless communication using a carrier wave of a first frequency and execute a second type of wireless communication using a carrier wave of a second frequency being different from the first frequency,

wherein the selecting includes selecting the particular wireless profile used in a wireless network in which the second type of wireless communication is executed among the first wireless network and the second wireless network, in a case where a security level of the first wireless network and a security level of the second wireless network are identical.

13. The communication apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising:

an interface configured to execute a first type of wireless communication using a carrier wave of a first frequency and execute a second type of wireless communication using a carrier wave of a second frequency being different from the first frequency,

wherein the selecting includes;

selecting the particular wireless profile used in a wireless network in which the first type of wireless communication is executed among the first wireless network and the second wireless network, in a case where a security level of the first wireless network and a security level of the second wireless network are identical and a field intensity of the first frequency is larger than a field intensity of the second frequency; and

selecting the particular wireless profile used in a wireless network in which the second type of wireless communication is executed among the first wireless network and the second wireless network, in a case where the security level of the first wireless network and the security level of the second wireless network are identical and the field intensity of the first frequency is equal to or less than the field intensity of the second frequency.

14. The communication apparatus as in claim 13, wherein

the second frequency is larger than the first frequency.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions for a communication apparatus,

wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by a processor of the communication apparatus, cause the communication apparatus to perform:

receiving a first wireless profile and a second wireless profile from an access point after a wireless connecting operation for establishing a wireless connection with the access point in accordance with a predetermined wireless connection scheme has been performed by a user, the first wireless profile being used in a first wireless network formed by the access point, and the second wireless profile being used in a second wireless network formed by the access point, first wireless profile and the second wireless profile being used in each network formed by the same access point;

selecting a particular wireless profile from among the first wireless profile and the second wireless profile by comparing a security level of the first wireless profile and a security level of the second wireless profile

the particular wireless profile being;

the first wireless profile in a case where the security level of the first wireless profile is higher than the security level of the second wireless profile, and

the second wireless profile in a case where the security level of the second wireless profile is higher than the security level of the first wireless profile; and

trying to establish the wireless connection with the access point using the particular wireless profile,

wherein the particular wireless connection scheme is a scheme for establishing the wireless connection with the access point without an identifier for authentication for establishing the wireless connection being inputted by the user to any of the communication apparatus and the access point.