1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a wireless communication system, and a method of setting association information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, technologies to make a wireless connection between communication apparatuses by wireless communication methods such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band) and WUSB (Wireless Universal Serial Bus) for data transmission and reception have been spreading rapidly. In such wireless communications, the communication apparatuses to be involved in the wireless connection share authentication information and encryption keys for encrypted communication, for example, so that outsiders would not make an unauthorized wireless connection or intercept the contents of the communications.
Before starting wireless communications, the information to be shared between the communication apparatuses (hereinafter, referred to simply as “association information”) is typically exchanged between the communication apparatuses or set into the communication apparatuses by using a secure method and the information is stored in each nonvolatile memory or the like. The stored association information is used for the subsequent wireless communications between the communication apparatuses.
The operation of exchanging or setting the association information before starting wireless communications has conventionally been performed by “cumbersome” procedures. A large number of methods have thus been proposed heretofore. The methods are broadly divided into an In-Band method where the association information is exchanged by communications that are performed between the communication apparatuses attempting to establish the wireless connection (hereinafter, referred to simply as “main communications”), and an Out-Of-Band method where the association information is set by communications other than main communications (hereinafter, referred to simply as “sub communications”). There are other known methods in which only minimum necessary authentication information is set by the Out-Of-Band method and other information is set by the In-Band method.
The Out-Of-Band method applying near field communication (hereinafter, referred to simply as “NFC”) technologies for performing low-rate proximity wireless communications has recently shown promise and been put to practical use. Such methods are characterized in that association information can be exchanged or set in a near contact state for the sake of security and it is possible to set the association information into communication apparatuses by an intuitive operation of “touching”, without connecting the communication apparatuses with a communication line.
The methods are classified into the following two types. One is a token method, in which a contactless IC card that is capable of near field communication (hereinafter, referred to simply as an “NFC token”) and a reader/writer unit (hereinafter, referred to simply as an “NFC R/W unit”) that is connected to a communication apparatus for association information to be set into perform near field communications therebetween, whereby the association information is set into the communication apparatus from the NFC token. The other is a Peer-To-Peer method, in which communication apparatuses for association information to be set into perform near field communications therebetween to exchange the association information.
For example, the Peer-To-Peer method is more usable between mobile devices or between a mobile device and an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral). For combinations such as a desktop PC and an MFP, and a fixed wireless LAN access point and a large number of MFPs, the token method is more usable. The methods may be selected for use depending on the communication apparatuses to set the association information into.
For example, in the method of setting association information disclosed in Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2008-512891, when device identification information uniquely associated with a peripheral is displayed on a host device, a user checks that the device identification information displayed on the host device matches information written on the peripheral and presses a key on the peripheral to establish wireless communications. With an NFC-capable host device and peripheral, the host device and peripheral are placed in contact with or in close proximity to each other so that a wireless connection is established between the communication apparatuses.
According to the conventional method of setting association information disclosed in Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2008-512891, however, it takes only a keystroke to complete the operation of setting association information, and wireless communications become possible between the communication apparatuses into which the association information is set. There has thus been a security problem, for example, because outsiders in the office can easily make a wireless communication to the communication apparatuses.
Meanwhile, conventional methods of setting association information using NFC tokens have the possibility that if an NFC token containing both association information and user identification information is lost, the NFC token may be abused by outsiders.
It is not troublesome at all for the administrator to only distribute NFC tokens containing both association information and user identification information to all intended members. Updating the information written in the tokens, however, requires cumbersome operations to collect the NFC tokens from all the members, update the tokens, and redistribute the same. There has thus been the problem of troublesome management of the NFC tokens for all the intended members.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the foregoing. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a communication apparatus, a wireless communication system, and a method of setting association information, wherein it is possible to set association information into the communication apparatus by a simple operation and prevent outsiders from intercepting communications or making a wireless connection.