Mobile terminal that performs wireless communication and control method for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10503449-B2
Application number	US-201615334584-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2016
Priority date	Oct 30, 2015
Publication date	Dec 10, 2019
Grant date	Dec 10, 2019

Abstract

A mobile terminal with which an intended image forming apparatus can be easily paired is provided. A search unit searches for an image forming apparatus. A display unit displays, as a result of searching by the search unit, a list containing a plurality of image forming apparatuses. A specifying unit specifies, from the plurality of image forming apparatuses, one image forming apparatus to which the mobile terminal is brought closer. A connection unit connects to the image forming apparatus specified by the specifying unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile terminal comprising:
a communicator that receives a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio wave;
a memory device that stores a program; and
at least one processor that executes the program to:
search for a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be displayed in a list, based on an intensity of the BLE radio wave received by the communicator from each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses and a first predetermined value;
display a screen containing both the list of the plurality of image forming apparatuses of which the intensity of the BLE radio wave received by the communicator from each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is greater than the first predetermined value and a prompting message that prompts to a user of the mobile terminal to bring the mobile terminal closer to an image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses displayed in the list;
specify, based on (i) an intensity of the BLE radio wave further received by the communicator from each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses while displaying the screen containing both the list and the prompting message and (ii) a second predetermined value being different from the first predetermined value, one image forming apparatus, to which the mobile terminal has been brought closer than when the list was first displayed and which has been located within a predetermined distance from the mobile terminal, from the plurality of image forming apparatuses contained in the list, without receiving, from the user prompted by the prompting message, any operation through the screen displaying the list; and
connect to the specified one image forming apparatus.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile terminal receives the BLE radio wave from each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and
the at least one processor executes the program to specify, based on an amount of change in radio wave strength of each of the received BLE radio waves, the one image forming apparatus to which the mobile terminal has been brought closer.

3. The mobile terminal according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor executes the program to specify, as the one image forming apparatus to which the mobile terminal has been brought closer, an image forming apparatus of which the amount of change in radio wave strength is largest.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein in a case where a user selects one image forming apparatus from the plurality of image forming apparatuses displayed in the list, the at least one processor executes the program to connect to the image forming apparatus selected by the user.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein when a plurality of image forming apparatuses are found by the search, the at least one processor executes the program to display the list, and
when one image forming apparatus is found by the search, the at least one processor executes the program to connect to the found image forming apparatus without displaying the list.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein when a radio wave strength of the BLE radio wave received by the mobile terminal from an image forming apparatus is greater than a predetermined radio wave strength, the at least one processor executes the program to display the image forming apparatus in the list.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor executes the program to search for an image forming apparatus by using BLE communication.

8. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein a device name of an image forming apparatus is displayed in the list.

9. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein a radio wave strength of the BLE radio wave received by the mobile terminal from an image forming apparatus is displayed in the list.

10. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 , wherein:
in a case where the intensity of the further received BLE radio wave from any image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is greater, by at least a threshold amount, than intensities of the further received BLE radio waves from all remaining image forming apparatuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the mobile terminal specifies and connects to the any image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and
in a case where the intensity of the further received BLE radio wave from any image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses is not greater, by at least the threshold amount, than the intensities of the further received BLE radio waves from all remaining image forming apparatuses of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the mobile terminal specifies and connects to an image forming apparatus based on an amount of change in radio wave strength that is determined using the further received BLE radio waves.

11. A control method for a mobile terminal having a communicator that receives a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio wave, comprising:
searching for a plurality of image forming apparatuses to be displayed in a list, based on an intensity of the BLE radio wave received by the communicator from each of the plurality of the image forming apparatuses;
displaying, after the searching, a screen containing both a prompting message that prompts a user of the mobile terminal to bring the mobile terminal closer to an image forming apparatus among the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the list of the plurality of image forming apparatuses obtained by the searching;
specifying, based on an intensity of the BLE radio wave further received by the communicator from at least one of the image forming apparatuses while displaying the screen including the list, one image forming apparatus to which the mobile terminal has been brought closer than when the list was first displayed and which has been located within a predetermined distance from the mobile terminal, from the plurality of image forming apparatuses contained in the list, without receiving, from the user prompted by the prompting message, any operation through the list being displayed; and
connecting to the specified one image forming apparatus.

12. The control method according to claim 11 , wherein the BLE radio waves are received from the plurality of image forming apparatuses, and
in the specifying, the one image forming apparatus to which the mobile terminal has been brought closer is specified based on amounts of change in radio wave strength of the received BLE radio waves.

13. The control method according to claim 12 , wherein in the specifying, an image forming apparatus of which the amount of change in radio wave strength is largest is determined as the one image forming apparatus to which the mobile terminal has been brought closer.

14. The control method according to claim 11 , wherein in a case where one image forming apparatus is selected by a user from the plurality of image forming apparatuses displayed in the list, a connection is made to the image forming apparatus selected by the user.

15. The control method according to claim 11 , wherein when a plurality of image forming apparatuses are found in the searching, the list is displayed, and
when one image forming apparatus is found in the searching, a connection is made to the found image forming apparatus without displaying the list.

16. The control method according to claim 11 , wherein in the displaying, when a radio wave strength of the BLE radio wave received by the mobile terminal from an image forming app

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Ito Morikazu

Classifications

• H04W40/24

  Connectivity information management, e.g. connectivity discovery or connectivity update · CPC title

• H04N1/00307

  with a mobile telephone apparatus (constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/1236 Primary

  Connection management · CPC title

• G06F3/1205

  resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets · CPC title

• H04N2201/0075

  by a user operated remote control device, e.g. receiving instructions from a user via a computer terminal or mobile telephone handset · CPC title