Function execution apparatus

• US 9,986,591 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2014
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Yada, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yuwen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Paul P
• Application Number:
  US14/337,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20150031404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,407 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411, 455 412, 455 413, 4553433, 455450, 455507, 455508, 455527, 358 113, 358 115, 370312, 370328, 370329, 370338, 370340, 370342, 370401, 370449, 370465, 370466, 370467, 375133, 375322, 709201, 709208, 709223, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/36 for reassigning the resources associated with the released connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

There is provided a function execution apparatus which, when a wireless connection request is received from a specific device in a specific state where wireless connections are established between the function execution apparatus and N devices which are an upper limit number of devices, transmits an inquiry signal to each of K devices among the N devices to inquire whether each device which is a final transmission destination of the inquiry signal activates a specific application program for causing the function execution apparatus to execute a specific function; select a target device, for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected, among the K devices based on a result of the inquiry; disconnect a wireless connection with the target device; and establish a wireless connection with the specific device after the wireless connection with the target device is disconnected.

Claims

1. A printer comprising:

a printing execution unit; and

a controller configured to;

in a case where wireless connections are established between the printer and N devices, receive a wireless connection request from a mobile device different from the N devices, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and is an upper limit number of devices with which the printer is capable of establishing wireless connections simultaneously;

when the wireless connection request is received from the mobile device in the case where wireless connections are established between the printer and N devices, transmit an inquiry signal to each of K devices among the N devices in order to inquire of each device, which is a final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, whether a print application program for causing the printer comprising the printing execution unit to execute printing is currently activated in each device, wherein K is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than N;

select a target device, for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected, among the K devices based on a result of the inquiry;

disconnect a wireless connection with the target device;

establish a wireless connection with the mobile device after the wireless connection with the target device is disconnected;

under a situation where the printer operates as a master station of a first type wireless network which includes no access point, in the case where the wireless connections with the N devices including one or more first type slave station devices operating as a slave station of the first type wireless network are established, receive the wireless connection request from the mobile device;

transmit the inquiry signal to each of the one or more first type slave station devices without transmitting through another device and monitor reception of an activation signal representing that the print application program is activated;

when the activation signal is received from an activation device, in which the print application program is activated, among the one or more first type slave station devices which are the final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, not select the activation device as the target device, for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected; and

when the activation signal is not received from a non-activation device, in which the print application program is not activated, among the one or more first type slave station devices which are the final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, select the non-activation device as the target device, for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected.

2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to transmit the inquiry signal to each of the K devices with a port number allocated to the print application program as a transmission destination port number.

3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

acquire type information representing a device type from the one or more first type slave station devices; and

when there are two or more non-activation devices, select one non-activation device among the two or more non-activation devices as the target device using the type information of each of the two or more non-activation devices.

4. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to broadcast the inquiry signal to the first type wireless network so as to transmit the inquiry signal to each of the one or more first type slave station devices without transmitting through another device.

5. The printer according to claim 1,

wherein the one or more first type slave station devices include a general public line connectable slave station device configured to be connected to a general public line, and

wherein the controller is configured to receive the activation signal from the general public line connectable slave station device even though the general public line connectable slave station device does not have the print application program.

6. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

disconnect the wireless connection with the mobile device after the printing is executed according to an instruction from the mobile device; and

reestablish a wireless connection with the target device after the wireless connection with the mobile device is disconnected.

7. A printer comprising:

a printing execution unit; and

a controller configured to;

in a case where wireless connections are established between the printer and N devices, receive a wireless connection request from a mobile device different from the N devices, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and is an upper limit number of devices with which the printer is capable of establishing wireless connections simultaneously;

when the wireless connection request is received from the mobile device in the case where wireless connections are established between the printer and N devices, transmit an inquiry signal to each of K devices among the N devices in order to inquire of each device, which is a final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, whether a print application program for causing the printer to execute printing is currently activated in each device, wherein K is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than N;

select a target device, for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected, among the K devices based on a result of the inquiry;

disconnect a wireless connection with the target device;

establish a wireless connection with the mobile device after the wireless connection with the target device is disconnected;

under a situation where the printer operates as a slave station of a second type wireless network including an access point, in the case where the wireless connections with the N devices including the access point are established, receive the wireless connection request from the mobile device;

transmit the inquiry signal to the access point to transmit the inquiry signal to each of one or more second type slave station devices operating as the slave station of the second type wireless network through the access point and monitor reception of an activation signal representing that the print application program is activated;

when the activation signal is received from any one of the one or more second type slave station devices which are the final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, not select the access point as the target device for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected; and

when the activation signal is not received from any one of the one or more second type slave station devices which are the final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, select the access point as the target device for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected.

8. The printer according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to broadcast the inquiry signal to the second type wireless network so as to transmit the inquiry signal to each of the one or more second type slave station devices through the access point.

9. The printer according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to transmit the inquiry signal to each of the K devices with a port number allocated to the print application program as a transmission destination port number.

10. The printer according to claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to:

disconnect the wireless connection with the mobile device after the printing is executed according to an instruction from the mobile device; and

reestablish a wireless connection with the target device after the wireless connection with the mobile device is disconnected.

11. A printer comprising:

a printing execution unit; and

a controller configured to;

in a case where wireless connections are established between the printer and N devices, receive a wireless connection request from a mobile device different from the N devices, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and is an upper limit number of devices with which the printer is capable of establishing wireless connections simultaneously;

when the wireless connection request is received from the mobile device in the case where wireless connections are established between the printer and N devices, transmit an inquiry signal to each of K devices among the N devices in order to inquire of each device, which is a final transmission destination of the inquiry signal, whether a print application program for causing the printer comprising the printing execution unit to execute printing is currently activated in each device, wherein K is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than N;

select a target device, for which the wireless connection is to be disconnected, among the K devices based on a result of the inquiry;

disconnect a wireless connection with the target device; and

establish a wireless connection with the mobile device after the wireless connection with the target device is disconnected;

under a situation where the printer operates as a master station of a first type wireless network which includes no access point and operates as a slave station of a second type wireless network which includes an access point, in the case where the wireless connections with the N devices including one or more first type slave station devices operating as a slave station of the first type wireless network and the access point are established, receive the wireless connection request from the mobile device;

transmit the inquiry signal to each of the one or more first type slave station devices without transmitting through another device and monitor reception of an activation signal representing that the print application program is activated;

transmit the inquiry signal to the access point to transmit the inquiry signal to each of one or more second type slave station devices operating as the slave station of the second type wireless network through the access point and monitor reception of the activation signal; and

when the activation signal is not received from at least one device among the one or more first type slave station devices and the activation signal is not received from any one of the one or more second type slave station devices, select the access point as the target device.

12. The printer according to claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to transmit the inquiry signal to each of the K devices with a port number allocated to the print application program as a transmission destination port number.

13. The printer according to claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to:

disconnect the wireless connection with the mobile device after the printing is executed according to an instruction from the mobile device; and

reestablish a wireless connection with the target device after the wireless connection with the mobile device is disconnected.