JP2017185684A - Communication device, method for controlling communication device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device that improves convenience of job processing in wireless communication.SOLUTION: In an image formation device 300 includes a short-range radio communication part 357 receiving an advertise signal transmitted from an image formation device 200, combines first capability information and second capability information contained in the advertise signal received by the wireless communication means and broadcasts an advertise signal of which a packet contains combined capability information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device capable of short-range wireless communication, a communication device control method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art A printing system that includes an image forming apparatus including a communication unit and a mobile terminal, and executes a printing process using a network is known. When the portable terminal establishes a connection with the image forming apparatus, the portable terminal transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus. However, an image forming apparatus connected to a network may not be able to execute printing due to an error or the like.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, when the image forming apparatus cannot print a print job, another image forming apparatus that can perform proxy printing is searched by short-range wireless communication, and the searched image forming apparatus is A method for transmitting a print job by distance wireless communication is disclosed.

JP2014-179909

  However, in Patent Document 1, a print job can be transferred to an image forming apparatus within the communication range, but cannot be transmitted to an image forming apparatus outside the communication range. Therefore, for example, even if there is an image forming apparatus capable of printing processing outside the communication range, the user cannot execute printing.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems. In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a control device, a control method, and a program that improve the convenience of job processing in wireless communication.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and is a communication device that performs wireless communication, a wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication, a processing unit that processes a job transmitted from an information processing device, And combining means for combining the first capability information indicating the capability of the communication device and the second capability information indicating the capability of the external communication device, wherein the wireless communication means is configured such that the wireless communication means is an external communication device. Receiving the advertisement signal transmitted from the wireless communication means, the combining means combines the first capability information and the second capability information included in the advertisement signal received by the wireless communication means, the wireless communication means, An advertisement signal including the capability information synthesized by the synthesis means in the packet is broadcast.

  According to the present invention, the convenience of job processing in wireless communication can be improved.

1 is a schematic diagram of a printing system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus and a mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the advertisement packet which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating capability information of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure explaining the flow which produces | generates the capability information which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 7 is a list for storing advertisement packets of image forming apparatuses that are candidates for capability merging according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence between the image forming apparatus and the mobile terminal according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the advertisement in BLE.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the relative arrangement of each component of the apparatus used in this embodiment, the apparatus shape, and the like are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to the present embodiment. The communication system includes a terminal apparatus 100 that is an information processing apparatus that transmits a job, an image forming apparatus 200 that is a first communication apparatus that processes a job, and an image forming apparatus 300 that is a second communication apparatus that processes a job. Each of the terminal device 100, the image forming apparatus 200, and the image forming apparatus 300 has a wireless communication function, and can operate as a device that performs wireless communication. In FIG. 1, the terminal device 100 exists within the communication range of the image forming apparatus 300, but exists outside the communication range of the image forming apparatus 200. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 300 and the image forming apparatus 200 exist within the wireless communication range. In this embodiment, it is possible for devices having communication functions to communicate with each other. Although not shown, it may further include one or more communication devices having a wireless communication function, thereby constructing a mesh network for constructing a star-type, bus-type, ring-type, etc. network. May be. The image forming apparatus 200 corresponds to an external communication device of the image forming apparatus 300. In addition, FIG. 1 illustrates a communication range of each image forming apparatus (200, 300) by Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus which is an example of a communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus in FIG. 2 shows an image forming function having only a printing function, but is not limited thereto, and may further include other functions such as a reading function for reading an image on a document. The communication device is a device that can perform wireless communication with the terminal device 100, and various devices can be applied as long as they can execute predetermined processing. In addition, the recording material (recording medium or recording sheet) on which the printing process is performed will be described using a roll sheet as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and cut paper may be used. Note that the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is not limited to a roll shape as long as it is a continuous sheet that can continuously print a plurality of pages on the same surface without being cut halfway. . Further, the continuous sheet may be cut automatically by the image forming apparatus, or may be cut by a user's manual instruction. The material of the recording material is not limited to paper, and various materials can be used as long as they can be printed. Further, the image forming apparatus may be an image forming apparatus capable of printing not only on a continuous sheet but also on a cut sheet that has been cut into a predetermined size. Further, the printing method is not limited to the image printing by the ink jet method using the liquid ink for image printing described later. Solid ink may be used as the recording agent, and various types such as an electrophotographic method using toner and a sublimation method may be employed. Further, the recording is not limited to color recording using a plurality of color recording agents, and monochrome recording using only black (including gray) may be performed. The printing is not limited to the printing of a visible image, but may be an invisible or difficult-to-view image printing. Other than general images, for example, a wiring pattern, a physical pattern in the manufacture of parts, a DNA base It is good also as printing of various things, such as printing of arrangement | sequences. That is, the present invention can be applied to various types of recording apparatuses as long as the recording agent can be applied to the recording material.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus using a roll sheet (a continuous continuous sheet longer than the length of a printing unit (one page) in the conveyance direction) as a recording material. The image forming apparatus includes the following components 101 to 115, which are arranged in one housing. However, these components may be divided into a plurality of cases. The control unit 108 incorporates a controller (including a CPU or MPU), an output device for user interface information (a generator for display information, acoustic information, etc.), and a control unit having various I / O interfaces, and the entire image forming apparatus. Manage various controls. The short-range wireless communication unit 117 is a unit for communicating with Bluetooth (registered trademark), and includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving data.

  Two units, an upper sheet cassette 101a and a lower sheet cassette 101b, are provided as supply units for supplying roll sheets. The user loads a roll sheet (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) on the magazine and then loads it on the image forming apparatus main body. The sheet pulled out from the upper sheet cassette 101a is conveyed in the direction a in the figure, and the sheet pulled out from the lower sheet cassette 101b is conveyed in the direction b in the figure. Sheets from any cassette travel in the direction c in the figure and reach the transport unit 102. The conveyance unit 102 conveys the sheet in the d direction (horizontal direction) in the drawing during the printing process through the plurality of rotating rollers 104. When switching from one sheet cassette to another sheet source, the already pulled out sheet is rewound into the cassette, and a new sheet is fed from a cassette in which a sheet to be newly fed is set.

  A head unit 105 is disposed above the transport unit 102 so as to face the transport unit 102. In the head unit 105, independent print heads 106 for a plurality of colors (seven colors in the present embodiment) are held along the sheet conveyance direction. In this example, there are seven print heads corresponding to seven colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), LC (light cyan), LM (light magenta), G (gray), and K (black). The Of course, other colors may be used, and it is not necessary to use all of them. The image forming apparatus forms an image on the sheet by ejecting ink from the print head 106 in synchronization with the conveyance of the sheet by the conveyance unit 102. Note that the print head 106 is disposed at a position where the ink discharge destination does not overlap the rotation roller 104. A printing unit is configured including the transport unit 102, the head unit 105, and the print head 106. The ink tank 109 stores each color ink independently. Ink is supplied from the ink tank 109 to a sub tank provided corresponding to each color by a tube, and ink is supplied from the sub tank to each print head 106 through the tube. The print head 106 has line heads of respective colors (seven colors in the present embodiment) arranged along the conveyance direction d during printing. In this embodiment, a so-called full multi-head in which nozzles are arranged in a range that covers the width of the print area of the maximum size sheet that can be used by the apparatus is used. As an ink jet method for ejecting ink from a nozzle, a method using a heating element, a method using a piezo element, a method using an electrostatic element, a method using a MEMS element, or the like can be adopted. Ink is ejected from the nozzles of each head based on the print data, and the ejection timing is determined by the output signal of the transport encoder 103. Note that the present embodiment is not limited to an ink jet printer using ink as a recording agent. The present invention can be applied to various printing methods such as a thermal printer (sublimation type, thermal transfer type, etc.), an electrophotographic method such as a dot impact printer, an LED printer, and a laser printer.

  After the image is formed on the sheet, the sheet is conveyed from the conveyance unit 102 to the scanner unit 107. The scanner unit 107 optically reads a print image or special pattern on a sheet to check whether there is a problem with the print image, and checks the state of the apparatus including the ink discharge state. In this embodiment, in the image confirmation method, the ink ejection state may be confirmed by reading a pattern for confirming the head state, or the success or failure of printing may be confirmed by comparing with the original image. You may do it.

  The sheet is conveyed in the direction e from the vicinity of the scanner unit 107 and introduced into the cutter unit 110. The cutter unit 110 cuts the sheet every predetermined printing unit length. The length of the predetermined printing unit varies depending on the image size to be printed. For example, the length in the transport direction is 135 mm for an L-size photograph, and the length in the transport direction is 297 mm for an A4 size. The cutter unit 110 cuts the sheet in units of pages in the case of single-sided printing, but may not cut in units of pages depending on the contents of the print job. In the case of double-sided printing, the cutter unit 110 continuously prints images up to a predetermined length without cutting the first surface (for example, the front surface) of the sheet in units of pages, and the second surface (for example, the front surface). When printing (back side), cut by page.

  The sheet conveyed from the cutter unit 110 is conveyed in the direction f in the drawing and is conveyed to the back surface printing unit 111. The back side printing unit 111 is a unit for printing predetermined information on the back side of the sheet when printing an image only on one side of the sheet. Information to be printed on the back side of the sheet includes information (for example, order management number) corresponding to each print image, such as characters, symbols, and codes. When the print head 106 prints an image for a double-sided print job, the back surface printing unit 111 prints information as described above in addition to the area where the print head 106 prints an image.

  The sheet that has passed through the back surface printing unit 111 is then conveyed to the drying unit 112. The drying unit 112 is a unit that heats a sheet that passes through the unit in the direction g in the drawing with warm air (heated gas (air)) in order to dry the sheet to which ink has been applied. . The sheets cut to the printing unit length pass through the drying unit 112 one by one, are conveyed in the h direction in the figure, and are conveyed to 114.

  The sorting unit 114 holds a plurality of trays (14 in this embodiment), and distinguishes the sheet discharge destination tray according to the length of the printing unit or the like. A tray name is assigned to each tray. Each tray is provided with a paper load sensor 116.

  The paper stacking amount sensor 116 can detect whether or not sheets are stacked on the tray or not. The sorting unit 114 discharges a sheet passing through the unit in the i direction in the drawing to a tray corresponding to the tray name set for each print image. There is a case where a specific tray is specified as a print job issuer (host device), or an empty tray is arbitrarily specified on the image forming apparatus side as a discharge destination of the cut sheet. . A single tray can eject paper sheets up to a predetermined number. In the case of a print job exceeding the predetermined number, the paper is discharged across a plurality of trays. The number, size, type, and the like of sheets that can be discharged from the tray vary depending on the size (type) of the tray. In FIG. 1, the trays (hereinafter referred to as large trays) arranged in the vertical (upper and lower) directions are both large size sheets (A4 size, etc., larger than 2L size) and small size sheets (2L size or less). Paper can be discharged. Also, trays (hereinafter referred to as small trays) arranged side by side (left and right) can discharge small size sheets (2L size or less), but cannot discharge large size sheets. Furthermore, the tray at the top of the trays arranged vertically (up and down) (hereinafter referred to as an extra tray) is used when the large and small trays are full. Whether or not to use the extra tray can be appropriately changed by the user setting the main body. In addition, a state such as sheet discharge or completion of sheet discharge can be identified by the user using a display (for example, an LED or the like is used). For example, a plurality of LEDs that emit light of different colors can be provided for each tray, and the user can be notified of the various states of each tray depending on the color of the LEDs that are lit or whether they are lit or blinking. In addition, priorities can be assigned to each of the plurality of trays, and when the image forming apparatus 200 executes a print job, the empty trays (sheets do not exist) are placed in order according to the priority order. Will be assigned as. By default, the large tray group has a higher priority in the upper tray, and the smaller tray has a higher priority in the left side. The priority of the small tray is higher than that of the large tray. This priority may be increased as needed by increasing the priority of the position where the user can easily take out the sheet.

  The sheet winding unit 113 winds a sheet on which the front surface is printed without being cut for each page. The sheet on which the front surface is printed passes through the unit in the j direction in the figure, and is wound by the sheet winding unit 113. Then, after the image formation on the front surface for a series of pages has been completed, the wound sheet has a surface opposite to the previous front surface that can be printed, that is, facing the print head 106. The surface to be reversed is reversed and conveyed again in the k direction in the drawing of the unit. By carrying it in this way, the image on the back surface opposite to the front surface is printed. In the case of normal single-sided printing, the sheet on which the image is printed is conveyed to the sorting unit 114 without being wound by the sheet winding unit 113.

  As described above, when performing duplex printing, the sheet winding unit 113 is used to wind the sheet, and the sheet is reversed and printed on the back side. Therefore, the sorting unit is used for single-sided printing and double-sided printing. The surface of the sheet when discharged to 114 is different. That is, in the case of single-sided printing, since the sheet is not reversed using the sheet winding unit 113, the sheet on which the image of the first page is printed is discharged with the image of the first page facing down. When a single print job is a job having a plurality of pages, the sheet of the first page is discharged to the tray, and subsequently discharged sequentially to subsequent pages, and the sheets overlap. Paper discharge in which the order of the sheets is ascending is called face-down paper discharge. On the other hand, in the case of duplex printing, since the sheet is reversed using the sheet winding unit 113, the sheet on which the image of the first page is printed is discharged with the image of the first page facing up. When one print job is a job for outputting a plurality of sheets, the sheet including the last page is discharged to the tray, and subsequently discharged to a sheet of younger pages. The sheet on which the image of the first page is printed is discharged. Paper discharge in which the order of the sheets is descending is called face-up paper discharge.

  The operation unit 115 is a unit for the user to perform various operations and notify the user of various information. For example, it is possible to check the printing status for each order such as on which tray the sheet printed with the image designated by the user is stacked, or whether the image is being printed or has been printed. In addition, the user can operate / confirm in order to confirm the various states of the apparatus such as the remaining amount of ink and the remaining amount of the sheet, and to instruct the execution of apparatus maintenance such as head cleaning.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a hardware configuration of the communication system shown in FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 200.

  The image forming apparatus 200 includes a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, HDD 204, external I / F 205, operation unit 206, image processing unit 207, engine control unit 208, scanner control unit 209, and short-range wireless communication unit 212. Each is connected via a system bus 210.

  The CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, image processing unit 207, engine control unit 208, scanner control unit 209, and short-range wireless communication unit 212 are included in the control unit 108 shown in FIG. The CPU 201 is a central processing unit in the form of a microprocessor (microcomputer), and is included in the control unit 108 of FIG. The CPU 201 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 200 by executing a program or starting up hardware. The ROM 202 stores programs to be executed by the CPU 201 and fixed data necessary for various operations of the image forming apparatus 200. The RAM 203 is used by the CPU 201 as a work area, used as a temporary storage area for various received data, and stores various setting data. The HDD 204 can store or read a program to be executed by the CPU 201, print data, and setting information necessary for various operations of the image forming apparatus 200 on a built-in hard disk. In place of the HDD 204, another mass storage device may be used.

  The operation unit 206 includes a hard key and a touch panel for the user to perform various operations, and a display unit for presenting (notifying) various information to the user, and corresponds to the operation unit 115 in FIG. . Information can also be presented to the user by outputting sound (buzzer, sound, etc.) based on the sound information from the sound generator.

  The image processing unit 207 performs development (conversion) and image processing of print data (for example, data expressed in a page description language) handled by the image forming apparatus 200 into image data (bitmap image). A color space (for example, YCbCr) of image data included in the input print data is converted into a standard RGB color space (for example, sRGB). In addition, various image processing such as resolution conversion to the number of effective pixels (image processing apparatus 200 can perform print processing), image analysis, image correction, and the like is performed on the image data as necessary. Image data obtained by these image processes is stored in the RAM 203 or the HDD 204.

  The engine control unit 208 controls processing for printing an image based on print data on a sheet in accordance with a control command received from the CPU 201 or the like. Specifically, an ink ejection instruction to the print head 106 of each color, an ejection timing setting for adjusting a dot position (ink landing position) on the recording medium, adjustment based on acquisition of a head driving state, and the like are performed. The print head drive is controlled according to the print data, and ink is ejected from the print head to form an image on the sheet. In addition, the conveyance roller is controlled such as a feed roller drive instruction, a conveyance roller drive instruction, and a conveyance roller rotation status acquisition, and the sheet is conveyed and stopped at an appropriate speed and path.

  The scanner control unit 209 controls the image sensor in accordance with the control command received from the CPU 201 or the like, reads an image on the sheet, and analog luminance data of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors. Is obtained and converted to digital data. As the image sensor, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, or the like can be employed. The image sensor may be a linear image sensor or an area image sensor. Further, the scanner control unit 209 obtains an image sensor driving instruction and acquires the status of the image sensor based on the driving, analyzes the luminance data acquired from the image sensor, and discharges ink from the print head 106 or cuts the sheet. The position is detected. The sheet on which the image is correctly printed by the scanner control unit 209 is discharged to the tray of the designated sorting unit after the ink on the sheet is dried.

  In the present embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) is used as a communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 212. That is, the wireless communication control unit 212 includes a BLE unit. That is, the short-range wireless communication unit 212 includes a BLE unit. The BLE unit includes a microcomputer, which is a microprocessor that performs wireless communication processing, and a wireless communication circuit that transmits and receives data by wireless communication. The microcomputer is equipped with a RAM and a flash memory and functions as a wireless communication control unit. The short-range wireless communication unit 212 corresponds to the short-range wireless communication unit 117 and transmits an advertisement signal to the surroundings. Further, the short-range wireless communication unit 212 receives an advertisement packet transmitted by another image forming apparatus 200. The approximate distance from the image forming apparatus can be specified from the signal strength of the received advertisement packet. The above-described components in the image forming apparatus 200 are connected via the system bus 210 and can communicate with each other.

  In the above example, one CPU 201 controls all the components in the image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3A, but other configurations may be used. That is, some of the functional blocks may be provided with separate CPUs and individually controlled by the respective CPUs. In addition, each functional block can adopt various forms such as dividing as a separate processing unit or control unit or integrating some depending on how to share other than the configuration shown in FIG. It is. Also, a direct memory access controller (DMAC) can be used to read data from the memory.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the terminal device 100. In this embodiment, the terminal device 100 is a device serving as a supply source of image data for causing the image forming apparatus 200 to perform printing, and issues various print job orders.

  The terminal device 100 includes an input interface 152, a CPU 153, a ROM 154, a RAM 155, an external storage device 156, an output interface 157, a communication unit 158, a short-range wireless communication unit 159, and the like. These are connected to each other via a system bus.

  The input interface 152 is an interface for accepting data input and operation instructions from a user via an operation unit (not shown) such as a physical keyboard, buttons, and a touch panel. The input interface 152 receives input from a display unit (not shown). The display unit includes an LED (light emitting diode), an LCD (liquid crystal display), and the like, and displays data and notifies the state of the information processing apparatus 101. A soft keyboard having keys such as a numeric input key, a mode setting key, a determination key, a cancel key, and a power key may be installed on the display unit to accept input from the user via the display unit. . As described above, at least a part of the display unit and the operation unit may be integrated. For example, the display unit and the operation unit may be received on the same screen.

  The CPU 153 is a system control unit, and controls the entire terminal device 100 by executing a program or starting up hardware.

  The ROM 154 stores fixed data such as a control program executed by the CPU 153, a data table, and an embedded operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) program. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 154 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 154.

  The RAM 155 is configured by an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) that requires a backup power source, a DRAM, or the like. Note that the RAM 155 may hold data by a primary battery for data backup (not shown). In that case, the RAM 155 can store important data such as program control variables without volatilization. The RAM 155 also has a memory area for storing setting information of the terminal device 100, management data of the terminal device 100, and the like. The RAM 155 is also used as a main memory and work memory for the CPU 153.

  The external storage device 156 stores an application that provides a print execution function, a print information generation program that generates print information that can be interpreted by the image forming apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300, and the like. The external storage device 156 stores various programs such as an information transmission / reception control program that is transmitted to and received from the image forming apparatus 300 connected via the communication unit 158, and various types of information used by these programs. Yes.

  The output interface 157 is an interface that performs control for the display unit to display data and notify the state of the terminal device 100.

  The communication unit 158 is configured to execute data communication by connecting to an external device such as the image forming apparatus 200 or the image forming apparatus 300. For example, the communication unit 158 can be connected to an access point (not shown) in the image forming apparatus 200. By connecting the communication unit 158 and the access point in the image forming apparatus 200, the terminal apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 can communicate with each other. Note that the communication unit 158 may directly communicate with the image forming apparatus 200 by wireless communication, or may communicate via an external access point existing outside the terminal apparatus 100 or the image forming apparatus 200. Examples of the wireless communication method include Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and the like. Examples of the access point include devices such as a wireless LAN router. In the present embodiment, a method in which the terminal device 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 are directly connected without using an external access point is referred to as a direct connection method. A method in which the terminal device 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 are connected via an external access point is referred to as an infrastructure connection method.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 159 is configured to perform data communication by wirelessly connecting to a device such as the image forming apparatus 200 at a short distance, and performs communication using a communication method different from that of the communication unit 158. The short-range wireless communication unit 159 can be connected to the short-range wireless communication unit 212 in the communication device 200. In the present embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) is used as the communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 159. That is, the short-range wireless communication unit 159 has a BLE unit. That is, the short-range wireless communication unit 159 has a BLE unit. The BLE unit includes a microcomputer, which is a microprocessor that performs wireless communication processing, and a wireless communication circuit that transmits and receives data by wireless communication. The microcomputer is equipped with a RAM and a flash memory and functions as a wireless communication control unit. Note that NFC (Near Field Communication) or Wi-Fi Aware may be used as the communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 159, for example.

  The terminal device 100 is exemplified by a smart phone in the present embodiment, but is not limited thereto, and various devices such as a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, and the like can be applied. The terminal device 100 can receive an advertisement packet when it exists within the wireless communication range of the image forming apparatus 200.

  The image forming apparatus 300 includes a ROM 352, a RAM 353, a CPU 354, a print engine 355, a communication unit 356, a short-range wireless communication unit 357, and the like. These are connected to each other via a system bus.

  The communication unit 356 has an access point for connecting to an external device as an access point inside the image forming apparatus 300. The access point can be connected to the communication unit of the image forming apparatus 200. Note that the communication unit 356 may communicate directly with the terminal device 100 by wireless communication, or may communicate via an access point. Examples of the communication method include Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark). Further, the communication unit 356 may include hardware that functions as an access point, or may operate as an access point by software for causing it to function as an access point.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 357 is configured to wirelessly connect to an external device at a short distance. In the present embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) is used as a communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 357. That is, the short-range wireless communication unit 357 has a BLE unit. The BLE unit includes a microcomputer, which is a microprocessor that performs wireless communication processing, and a wireless communication circuit that transmits and receives data by wireless communication. The microcomputer is equipped with a RAM and a flash memory and functions as a wireless communication control unit. Note that NFC (Near Field Communication) or Wi-Fi Aware may be used as the communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 159, for example.

  The RAM 353 is configured by SRAM, DRAM, or the like that requires a backup power source. The RAM 353 stores data by a primary battery for data backup (not shown), and can store important data such as program control variables without volatilization. The RAM 353 is also provided with a memory area for storing setting information of the image forming apparatus 300, management data of the image forming apparatus 300, and the like. The RAM 353 is also used as a main memory and work memory of the CPU 354, and stores a reception buffer for temporarily storing print information received from the terminal device 100 or the like and various information.

  The ROM 352 stores fixed data such as a control program executed by the CPU 354, a data table, and an OS program. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 352 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 352.

  The CPU 354 is a system control unit, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 300 by executing a program or starting up hardware.

  The print engine 355 forms an image on a recording medium such as paper using a recording agent such as ink based on information stored in the RAM 353 and a print job received from the terminal device 100 and outputs a printing result. At this time, since the print job transmitted from the terminal device 100 or the like has a large transmission data amount and requires high-speed communication, in this embodiment, the communication unit 356 capable of performing communication at higher speed than the short-range wireless communication unit 357. Receive via.

  Note that a memory such as an external HDD or an SD card may be attached as an optional device to the communication device 351, and information stored in the image forming apparatus 300 may be stored in the memory.

  The image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 1 operates as a broadcaster for BLE communication and transmits an advertisement signal to the surroundings. That is, the image forming apparatus 200 broadcasts an advertisement signal. Note that “broadcast” refers to transmitting information within a certain range without specifying the transmission destination of the information. Since the image forming apparatus 200 can simultaneously operate as an observer for BLE communication and is located within the signal area 301 that is the effective communication range of the image forming apparatus 300, the image forming apparatus 200 receives the advertisement packet transmitted by the image forming apparatus 300. Can do.

  The image forming apparatus 300 operates as a broadcaster for BLE communication and transmits an advertisement signal to the surroundings. At the same time, it can also operate as an observer for BLE communication, and is located within the signal area 201 that is the effective communication range of the image forming apparatus 200, so that it can receive an advertisement packet transmitted by the image forming apparatus 200.

  Since the terminal device 100 operates as an observer of BLE communication and is located inside the signal area 301 that is an effective communication range of the image forming device 300, the terminal device 100 can receive the advertisement packet transmitted by the image forming device 300.

  When the observer is within the effective communication range of a plurality of broadcasters, the observer can receive an advertisement packet of the plurality of broadcasters. Further, the approximate distance from the broadcaster can be recognized from the signal strength of the received advertisement packet.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 159 performs communication by dividing a 2.4 GHz frequency band into 40 channels (0 to 39 ch) in BLE communication. Of these, the short-range wireless communication unit 159 uses the 37th to 39th channels for transmission of advertisement information and reception of a GATT communication start request, and uses the 0th to 36th channels for data communication after BLE connection. In FIG. 9A, the vertical axis indicates the power consumption of the short-range wireless communication unit 159, and the horizontal axis indicates the time. The power consumption when transmitting advertisement information using one channel is shown for each process. Show. Tx205 indicates the total power consumption in the process of broadcasting the advertisement information (hereinafter also referred to as “transmission process”). Rx 206 indicates the total power consumption in the process of enabling the receiver for receiving the GATT communication start request (hereinafter also referred to as “reception process”). A transmission power 202 indicates instantaneous power consumption due to transmission processing. Received power 203 indicates instantaneous power consumption by the reception process. The microcomputer operating power 801 indicates instantaneous power consumption when the microcomputer in the short-range wireless communication unit 159 is operating. The reason why the microcomputer is operating before and after Tx 205 and Rx 206 is that the microcomputer needs to be activated in advance in order to execute or stop the transmission / reception process. Further, when the advertisement information is transmitted through a plurality of channels, the power consumption is increased by the number of channels through which the advertisement information is transmitted. Further, while the microcomputer is not operating and the short-range wireless communication unit 159 is in the power saving state, the sleep power 204 becomes the instantaneous power consumption of the short-range wireless communication unit 157. As described above, the short-range wireless communication unit 159 performs a transmission process using a predetermined channel, and then performs a reception process for a certain period of time using the same channel, whereby the terminal device 100 issues a GATT communication start request. Wait for it to be sent.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the short-range wireless communication unit 159 repeats the advertisement information transmission process and the reception process three times for each channel, and then stops the operation of the microcomputer to enter the power saving state for a certain period of time. Become. Hereinafter, a combination of advertisement information transmission processing and reception processing using a predetermined channel is referred to as advertisement. In addition, a time interval for transmitting advertisement information through a predetermined channel, that is, a time interval from when advertisement information is transmitted through a certain channel to the next transmission of advertisement information through the same channel is referred to as an advertisement interval. The number of advertisements repeated from the first advertisement to the power saving state can be arbitrarily changed as long as it is three or less.

  The BLE unit performs an initialization process when the power is turned on, and then enters an advertising state in which an advertisement packet is transmitted and received. In the advertising state, the BLE unit transmits the advertisement packet shown in FIG. 4 to the periphery at a settable interval (predetermined time interval). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the advertisement packet. In this embodiment, the advertisement packet has the same configuration in both the image forming apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300, but is not limited to this, and may have a different configuration.

  The advertisement packet shown in FIG. 4 includes a header 401 and its payload 402. The header 401 is an area for storing the packet type, the size information of the payload 402, and the like, and is 2 bytes in this embodiment. The payload 402 is an area in which information of a device that transmits an advertisement signal can be stored, and a predetermined size is allocated. The payload 402 stores information related to the image forming apparatus such as transmission power (Tx Power 408) in addition to the device name and the mounting profile information. In this embodiment, the payload 402 stores an image forming apparatus name 403, connection information 404 to the image forming apparatus, capability information 405, setting information 406, status information 407, NEXT Flag 427, and TxPower 408.

  The image forming apparatus name 403 stores a name for identifying the image forming apparatus. For example, a character string such as a floor name or a room name for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus in the office is set.

  The connection information 404 to the image forming apparatus stores information for the apparatus that has received the advertisement packet to connect to the image forming apparatus. In the case of BLE connection, the terminal device 100 can establish a connection with the image forming apparatus by transmitting and receiving protocol data PDU (Protocol Data Unit) described in the BLE 4.0 standard document, and then perform subsequent data communication. It can be carried out.

  The capability information 405 is information indicating the capability for processing that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 200, and indicates capability information for a print job that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 200, for example. Devices that function as observers (for example, the terminal device 100 and the image forming device 300) receive the capability information 405, and thus the device with which the image forming device functions without establishing a connection with the image forming device. Can be specified.

  The manufacturer 409 stores a manufacturer ID assigned to each manufacturer. The model number 410 stores an ID that can uniquely identify the product model of the image forming apparatus 200. The color 411 stores a flag indicating whether it is a color printer or a monochrome printer. The number of inks 412 is assigned a bit for each ink color, and can represent ink that can be mounted. Bits are assigned to the support paper size 413 for each paper size, and can represent a paper size that can be set. The support paper type 414 is assigned a bit for each paper type, and can represent a paper type that can be set. The double-sided correspondence 415 stores a flag indicating whether double-sided printing is possible. Thus, since the function of the image forming apparatus functioning as a broadcaster can be known, the terminal device 100 can determine whether the job to be executed can be executed by the corresponding image forming apparatus.

  The status information 407 includes error information generated in the image forming apparatus, job processing status information, and the like. By receiving the status information 407, the terminal device 100 can identify that an error has occurred in the image forming apparatus without establishing a connection with the image forming apparatus, and can notify the user.

  Setting information 406 is information currently set in the image forming apparatus. For example, information on a roll sheet mounted on the sheet cassette 101 or the like. By receiving the setting information 406, the terminal device 100 can specify the current setting state of the image forming apparatus without establishing a connection with the image forming apparatus.

  NEXT Flag 427 indicates that information that cannot be stored in the current advertisement packet is broadcast in the next advertisement packet. For example, in the case of an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions such as printing, faxing, and scanning, an advertisement packet can be transmitted separately for each function. In addition to a predetermined format, information such as a bit indicating a mode for transmitting an arbitrary character string or the like may be negotiated.

  Tx Power 408 is information indicating the signal strength of Tx, and the device functioning as an observer can identify the propagation loss from the information of Tx Power 408 and the received signal strength of the received packet. Then, the distance from the BLE wireless device can be estimated from the specified propagation loss.

  In this embodiment, capability information of another device functioning as a broadcaster is merged (combined) with its own capability information to generate an advertisement packet. Here, the image forming apparatus 300 merges the capability information of the image forming apparatus 300 and the capability information of the image forming apparatus 200 to generate an advertisement packet. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing capability information of the image forming apparatus 200, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing capability information of the image forming apparatus 300. FIG. 5C is a diagram showing capability information generated by merging them.

  Here, the merge method of this embodiment will be described. The color 411 in FIG. 5C is 11 (color, monochrome) from the logical sum of 01 (color) in FIG. 5A and 10 (monochrome) in FIG. 5B. Other information is similarly obtained based on the logical sum.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating generation of capability information for advertisement packets of the image forming apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 6, a combination determination is made as to whether or not the capability information received from the external communication device is combined, and a combination process is performed based on the result. The flowchart of FIG. 6 shows the flow of processing performed by the CPU 354 loading a control program stored in the ROM 352 into the RAM 353 and executing it. In this flow, the capability information of the image forming apparatus 300 is generated by synthesizing capability information according to the advertisement signal received from the peripheral image forming apparatus. This flow is periodically executed because the state of the peripheral image forming apparatus changes while the image forming apparatus 300 is powered on. The execution cycle of this flow is not particularly limited, and may be set in advance in the apparatus or may be set by the user.

  In step S <b> 601, when the image forming apparatus 300 is activated, the CPU 354 registers information included in the advertisement signal received via the short-range wireless communication unit 357 in the advertisement packet list. At this time, Tx Power 408 and information on image forming apparatuses having close distance information estimated by the received signal strength of the received packet are registered on the list. Although the advertisement packet list is stored in the RAM 353, it may be stored in a hard disk (not shown).

  Here, the advertisement packet list will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a list that stores advertisement packets of image forming apparatuses that are candidates for capabilities and merge targets of the image forming apparatus 300. The image forming apparatus registered in the list is located in a range where the image forming apparatus 300 can receive the advertisement signal. As shown in FIG. 7, the advertisement packet list includes an image forming apparatus name, information on the function of the image forming apparatus, connection information to the image forming apparatus, capability information, setting information, status information, and distance information. And capability merge information. The capability information here is information obtained by excluding the function information from the capability information of the advertisement packet. When the image forming apparatus 300 is activated, the CPU 354 registers information included in the advertisement signal received via the short-range wireless communication unit 357 in this list. In the present embodiment, the group and individual can be identified as the image forming apparatus name. Here, for example, the same group name (for example, Grp1, Grp2,...) Is set in advance for the image forming apparatuses installed on the same floor or the same room. By setting in this way, the user to be used can be limited. That is, in this embodiment, it can be said that the image forming apparatus name includes information indicating the installation location. Information indicating the installation location may be included in information other than the image forming apparatus name. Further, distance information is specified (estimated) based on Tx Power 408 and the received signal strength of the received packet, and the specified distance information is also registered in the advertisement packet list. In the present embodiment, any one of Immediate, Near, and Far is stored as the distance information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the distance (m) may be stored. Then, devices close to the image forming apparatus 300 are registered at the top of the list. Note that an initial value “unknown” is set in “capability / merging target”. The CPU 354 periodically updates the list until the power is turned off.

  In step S <b> 602, the CPU 354 sequentially reads the advertisement packet list from the top, and determines whether the Grp name of the image forming apparatus name matches the Grp name of the image forming apparatus 300. If they match (Yes in S602), the process proceeds to S603. If they do not match (No in S602), the process proceeds to S610.

In step S <b> 603, the CPU 354 determines whether the function of the image forming apparatus in the advertisement packet list matches the function of the image forming apparatus 300. If they match (Yes in S603), the process proceeds to S604. If they do not match (No in S603), the process proceeds to S610. In S604, the CPU 354 determines whether printing is possible based on the status information of the image forming apparatus in the advertisement packet list. Specifically, it is determined that printing cannot be performed when the status information indicates a service error state, the job is accumulated, and the job cannot be accepted. If it is determined that printing is possible (Yes in S604), the process proceeds to S605. Note that the state in which jobs can be accepted is, for example, a case where the number of spooled jobs is equal to or less than a predetermined number. If it is determined that printing is not possible (No in S604), the process proceeds to S610.

  In step S <b> 605, the CPU 354 sets Yes in the capability / merging target column of the image forming apparatus in the list.

  In step S610, the CPU 354 sets No in the capability / merge target column of the image forming apparatus in the list.

  In step S <b> 606, the CPU 354 merges (combines) the capability information of the image forming apparatus 300 and the capability information in which the capability / merge target column of the list is Yes. Then, it is determined whether or not all capabilities are supported. The state in which all capabilities are supported indicates a state in which the color, the number of inks, the support paper size, the support paper type, and the double-sided correspondence are all 1 in FIG. When all the capabilities are supported (Yes in S606), the process proceeds to S607. When a part of the capability is supported (No in S606), the process proceeds to S611.

    In S611, the CPU determines whether or not all Nos in the list (FIG. 7) have been processed. If all have been processed (Yes in S611), the process proceeds to S607. In S611, it is determined whether it is the end of the list, that is, whether there is unprocessed capability information. If it is not the end of the list, that is, if there is unprocessed capability information (No in S611), the process returns to S602 to process the next capability information (No) in the list. If it is the end of the list, the process proceeds to S607.

  Through the above processing, the capability information to be synthesized to be synthesized with the capability information of the own device is determined.

  In step S <b> 607, the CPU merges the capability information of the image forming apparatus 300 with the capability information in which the capability / merge target column in the list (FIG. 7) is Yes to generate new capability information. Then, the generated capability information is updated as capability information for advertisement of the image forming apparatus 300. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S608.

  In S608, the CPU 354 waits for a certain time, and proceeds to S609 when the certain time has elapsed.

  In step S <b> 609, the CPU 354 determines whether the image forming apparatus 300 is powered off. If it is being activated (No in S609), the process returns to S601. If the power is OFF (Yes in S609), this flow ends.

  Whether the capability information on the list shown in FIG. 7 is a capability merge target will be described with reference to the flow of FIG.

  No. 1 Grp2 — 001 has a different Grp name (No in S602) compared to the capability of the image forming apparatus 300 (FIG. 5A). Therefore, it is determined not to be a capability merge target. That is, No is set in the capability merge area (S610). When the groups are different, it is assumed that they are installed in different places on the floor.

  The Grp1_200 of No. 2 has the same Grp name (Yes in S602), the same function (Yes in S603), and the status information can be printed, as compared with the capability of the image forming apparatus 300 (FIG. 5A). (Yes in S604). Therefore, Yes is set in the capability merge target area (S605).

  Grp1_200 of No. 3 is the same image forming apparatus as No. 2 and the name of the image forming apparatus is the same group as the apparatus (Yes in S602), but the function is Fax and is different from the print of the image forming apparatus 300 (in S603). No). Therefore, No is set in the capability merge target area (S610).

  The No. 4 Grp1_400 has the same Grp name (Yes in S602) and the same function (Yes in S603) as compared with the capability of the image forming apparatus 300 (FIG. 5A). However, the status information is full and it is impossible to accept the job (No in S604). Therefore, No is set in the capability merge target area (S610).

  If the capability information does not enter the payload 402 of the advertisement packet, the capability information may be divided to generate a plurality of advertisement packets. In this case, this NEXT Flag 427 may indicate that information that cannot be stored in the current advertisement packet is broadcast in the next advertisement packet.

  Although the image forming apparatus 300 has been described here, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 200 has the same function as the flow shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, as described above, capability information to be merged can be determined based on distance information. In the present embodiment, capability information of an image forming apparatus closer to the image forming apparatus 300 itself can be merged. That is, the capability information of the image forming apparatus close to the image forming apparatus 300 is preferentially combined. For example, if there is a Near image forming apparatus that fully supports capabilities, only Near can be merged. As a result, the capabilities of image forming apparatuses that can execute printing more reliably with a closer image forming apparatus can be merged, and the user can execute printing with a closer image forming apparatus. If the capability is not fully supported, the merge target is extended to Far. As a result, the user can execute printing more reliably.

  In this embodiment, by setting a group, it is possible to merge only image forming apparatuses in a limited range such as the same floor or the same room. As a result, the terminal device 100 can execute printing with an image forming apparatus that can be executed by the terminal device 100 more reliably.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether the printable state is available based on the function information in the capability information. If the printable state, the merge is performed. If the printable state is not possible, the merge is not performed. Thereby, it is possible to suppress merging of capability information of image forming apparatuses that cannot perform printing.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is determined whether the printable state is based on the status information of the advertisement packet. If the printable state, the merge is performed. If the printable state is not possible, the merge is not performed. Thereby, it is possible to suppress merging of capability information of image forming apparatuses that cannot perform printing.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence of the terminal device 100, the image forming apparatus 300, and the image forming apparatus 200 from advertisement to job reception and completion. The flow of the terminal device in the flowchart of FIG. 8 shows the flow of processing performed by the CPU 153 loading the control program stored in the ROM 154 into the RAM 155 and executing it.

  In FIG. 8, the terminal device 100 is an observer waiting for an advertising packet from a broadcaster in the vicinity. The image forming apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are broadcasters that transmit advertisement packets at an advertisement interval 801. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are also observers waiting for an advertising packet from a broadcaster in the vicinity.

  For example, when the CPU 153 detects that the printing application is activated, the terminal device 100 enters a scanning state in which the advertisement information can be received.

  The CPU 201 of the image forming apparatus 200 starts a process of broadcasting advertisement information at regular intervals by the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 212. That is, the short-range wireless communication unit 212 of the image forming apparatus 200 transmits advertisement information (S795 to S797).

  Further, the CPU 354 of the image forming apparatus 300 starts a process of broadcasting the advertisement information at regular intervals by the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357. That is, the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 of the image forming apparatus 300 transmits advertisement information (S798 to S800). Here, when the image forming apparatus 300 receives the advertisement packet from the image forming apparatus 200, the wireless communication control unit generates a new capability. Then, the generated advertisement packet carrying the new capability is transmitted to the terminal device 100 via the wireless communication circuit. In FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 300 receives the advertisement packet from the image forming apparatus 200 (S841 to S843), and the wireless communication control unit generates new capability information and transmits it to the terminal apparatus 100 (S802 to S802). S804). When the image forming apparatus 300 has not received the advertisement packet from the image forming apparatus 200, the image forming apparatus 300 transmits its capability information to the terminal apparatus 100 as it is. In the present embodiment, the wireless communication control unit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 generates capability information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the CPU 354 may generate the capability information.

  The terminal device 100 can recognize the presence of the image forming apparatus 300 and specify the capability of the image forming apparatus 300 by receiving the advertisement packet from the image forming apparatus 300. At this time, according to the present embodiment, the capability of the image forming apparatus 200 can also be specified from the advertisement packet transmitted from the image forming apparatus 300. Therefore, in the terminal device 100, it can be specified that printing can be executed by either the image forming apparatus 200 or the image forming apparatus 300. If either the image forming apparatus 200 or the image forming apparatus 300 determines that printing can be performed, the terminal apparatus 100 transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 300 capable of wireless communication by BLE. Process to do.

  The terminal device 100 transmits CONNECT_REQ (connection request) which is a request for connecting to the network (S805). Upon receiving CONNECT_REQ, the image forming apparatus 300 prepares to transition to a connection event (S806). The short-range wireless communication unit 357 notifies the wireless communication control unit of LE_Connection_Complete (S807), and the terminal device 100 and the image forming apparatus 300 change to a master and a slave, respectively. Then, the master terminal apparatus 100 and the slave image forming apparatus 300 establish a connection.

  The terminal device 100 transmits the print job to the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 of the image forming apparatus 300 using the established network (S808). That is, the print job data is transmitted by GATT communication. As the print job, a print job including image data may be transmitted, or only pointer information to the print job may be notified.

  In the image forming apparatus 300, the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 passes the received print job data to the wireless communication control unit as a print job (S810). When receiving the print job, the communication control unit notifies the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 of the completion of reception (S811). The wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 notifies the terminal device 100 of the completion of reception (S812). Thereafter, the terminal device 100 and the image forming apparatus 300 return to the observer and the broadcaster, respectively, and the image forming apparatus 300 resumes advertisement (S813). Note that although there is one wireless communication circuit in the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, FIG.

  Then, the CPU 153 of the image forming apparatus 300 determines from the capability information whether or not the received print job can be printed by the own apparatus. If it is determined that printing is possible, printing is performed by the own apparatus. If it is determined that printing is impossible, an image forming apparatus that can print is searched from an advertisement packet whose capability / merge target in the advertisement packet list is Yes. That is, an image forming apparatus that can process the received print job is searched based on information in the advertisement packet list. FIG. 8 illustrates a case where the time device determines that printing is impossible. When a printable image forming apparatus (here, the image forming apparatus 200) is found, the image forming apparatus 300 connects the image forming apparatus 200 to the CONNECT_REQ (connection request) via the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357. Is transmitted (S823, S824). When the wireless communication circuit of the image forming apparatus 200 receives the connection request, the image forming apparatus 300 and the image forming apparatus 200 establish a connection (S825, S826). Then, the image forming apparatus 300 transmits print job data to the image forming apparatus 200 via the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 using the established network (S827, S828). That is, the print job is transmitted by GATT communication. When the print job pointer information is received, for example, the actual data of the job may be acquired using the external I / F 205. In the image forming apparatus 200, the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 212 passes the received print job data to the wireless communication control unit as a print job (S829). When receiving the print job, the wireless communication control unit notifies the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 212 of the completion of reception (S830). When the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 212 notifies the wireless communication circuit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 of the completion of reception, the wireless communication control unit of the short-range wireless communication unit 357 is notified (S832).

  Although not shown, the image forming apparatus 200 performs printing based on the print job. In addition, the short distance wireless communication unit 357 of the image forming apparatus 300 is notified that printing is completed in the image forming apparatus 200, and the image forming apparatus 300 completes printing on the terminal device 100 via the short distance wireless communication unit 357. Notify that it has been done. Thereby, the terminal device 100 can notify the user that the image processing has been executed by the image forming apparatus 300. Before the image forming apparatus 200 executes printing based on the print job, the user is notified by the display on the display section that the image forming apparatus 200 can execute printing, and the image forming apparatus 200 executes printing. It may be made to select whether to do. For example, a selection screen that can select whether or not to execute printing is displayed, and pressing of the selection button may be detected.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 300 generates capability information obtained by merging capability information of the image forming apparatus of the peripheral device and its capability information, and broadcasts an advertisement packet including the generated capability information. Accordingly, even if the terminal device 100 is outside the communication range of the image forming apparatus that can execute printing, the terminal device 100 that is outside the communication range can print a print job that the terminal device wants to execute. The image forming apparatus can execute printing. Therefore, the user can print without being aware of the communication range, and the convenience of print job processing in wireless communication can be improved.

  For example, in the case of an office, there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses that can be used by a user, and capability information may be different for each image forming apparatus. In some cases, the terminal device of the user exists outside the communication range of the image forming apparatus having the capability desired by the user. In this embodiment, the user can perform desired printing without moving to the communication range of the image forming apparatus having the desired capability. Specifically, when the terminal device is within the communication range of the monochrome machine and outside the communication range of the color machine, the terminal device simply acquires the capability information of the monochrome machine and transmits a print job for monochrome setting. Instead, the capability information of the color machine can be acquired. The color setting print job can be transmitted to the monochrome machine by being transmitted to the monochrome machine.

(Other embodiments)
The basic configuration of the present invention is not limited to that described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the printing process has been described as an example of the process to be executed by the communication apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be a reading process or another process. That is, the job is not limited to a print job, and may be any job that can be processed by the communication apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 have different apparatus configurations. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may have the same configuration.

  In the above-described embodiment, the print job data is transmitted / received via the BLE unit of the short-range wireless communication unit of each apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and NFC (Near Field Communication) or Wi-Fi Aware is used. May be used. That is, capability information and the like may be transmitted and received via the BLE unit of the short-range wireless communication unit, and the job to be processed may be transmitted and received by a communication method other than BLE.

  Further, the print job may include the mail address of the terminal device 100. When the printing is completed, the image forming apparatus 200 notifies the terminal device 100 of the location of the device that has performed printing by mail and the fact that the printing has been completed. You may make it do.

  The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, a process for supplying software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program. It is. Further, the program may be executed by one computer or may be executed in conjunction with a plurality of computers. Further, it is not necessary to implement all of the above-described processing by software, and part or all of the processing may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC. Further, the CPU is not limited to the one that performs all the processing by one CPU, and a plurality of CPUs may perform the processing while appropriately cooperating.

100 Terminal device 200, 300 Image forming device 159, 212, 357 Short-range wireless communication unit

Claims (13)

A communication device for wireless communication,
Wireless communication means for short-range wireless communication;
Processing means for processing a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus;
Combining means for combining the first capability information indicating the capability of the communication device and the second capability information indicating the capability of the external communication device;
Have
The wireless communication means receives an advertisement signal transmitted from an external communication device by the wireless communication means,
The combining means combines the first capability information with the second capability information included in the advertisement signal received by the wireless communication means,
The wireless communication unit broadcasts an advertisement signal including capability information combined by the combining unit in a packet. A determination unit that determines whether the job transmitted from the information processing apparatus can be processed;
The job transmitted from the information processing apparatus is transmitted to an external communication apparatus capable of processing the job transmitted from the information processing apparatus when the determination unit determines that the job cannot be processed. The communication apparatus as described in.   3. The wireless communication unit according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication unit establishes a connection with the external communication device in response to a connection request from the external communication device, and transmits the job using the established network. Communication device.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a combination determination unit that determines whether to combine the first capability information and the second capability information based on predetermined information included in the advertisement signal received by the wireless communication unit. The communication apparatus of any one of -3.   The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the combination determination unit makes a determination based on status information indicating a state of the external communication apparatus included in the advertisement signal received by the wireless communication unit.   The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the combination determination unit makes a determination based on function information included in the second capability information.   The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the combination determination unit determines based on information indicating an installation location included in the second capability information.   The said combination determination means determines the capability information of a synthesis | combination object based on the distance information specified from the advertisement signal which the said receiving means received. Communication device.   9. The communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the combination determination unit preferentially combines an advertisement signal of an external communication apparatus having a short distance specified from the advertisement signal received by the reception unit.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the advertisement signal transmitted by the wireless communication unit is larger than a predetermined capacity, the communication signal is transmitted after being divided into a predetermined size.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication by the communication unit is BLE communication. A method of controlling a communication device for performing wireless communication, wherein a wireless communication step of performing short-range wireless communication by wireless communication means;
A processing step for processing a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus;
A combining step of combining the first capability information indicating the capability of the communication device and the second capability information indicating the capability of the external communication device;
Have
Receiving an advertisement signal transmitted from an external communication device by the wireless communication means;
In the combining step, the first capability information and the second capability information included in the advertisement signal received by the wireless communication unit are combined,
In the wireless communication step, an advertisement signal including the capability information combined in the combining step in a packet is broadcast. The program which makes a computer function as each means of the control apparatus of any one of Claims 1-11.

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