# US 11,910,473 B2 · Wireless communication device, wireless communication system, wireless communication method, and recording medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,910,473 B2 - Document ID: US11910473B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/929,278 - Filed: 2020-04-21 - Published: 2020-10-29 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2019-04-23 - Assignees: Casio Computer Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Casio Computer Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Shota Nakahara - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11910473B2 ## CPC - H04W 8/005: {Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals} - H04W 48/20: Selecting an access point - H04W 48/14: using user query {or user detection} - H04W 48/16: Discovering, processing access restriction or access information - H04W 76/14: Direct-mode setup - H04W 76/30: Connection release - H04W 84/12: WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] - H04W 76/25: Maintenance of established connections - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract A wireless communication device includes a processor and a memory configured to store a program for establishing a wireless connection with a terminal device. The processor establishes, in accordance with the program stored in the memory, the wireless connection with the terminal device upon request for the wireless connection from one of the wireless communication device and the terminal device. Upon establishment of the wireless connection with the terminal device, the processor queries the terminal device with which the wireless connection is established to check a state of an application program for causing the wireless communication device to execute a specific function. The processor maintains or cuts off the wireless connection with the terminal device based on a state of a response of the terminal device with respect to the query. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A wireless communication device comprising: a first function control circuit configured to execute a first function; and a processor; wherein the processor is configured to: establish a wireless connection with a terminal device upon request for the wireless connection from one of the wireless communication device and the terminal device, query, upon establishment of the wireless connection with the terminal device, the terminal device with which the wireless connection is established to check whether a first application program for causing the wireless communication device to execute the first function is in a state of being executed or run by the terminal device, maintain or cut off the wireless connection with the terminal device based on a response from the terminal device to the query, after a predetermined period has elapsed since a time at which the wireless connection with the terminal device is maintained based on the response from the terminal device to the query, re-query the terminal device with which the wireless connection is maintained, and cut off or continue to maintain the maintained wireless connection based on a response from the terminal device to the re-query, and identify, as a connection-prohibited terminal device, a terminal device not responding to at least a predetermined number of queries, cut off the wireless connection with the connection-prohibited terminal device, and prohibit the connection-prohibited terminal device from reconnecting to the wireless communication device within a connection prohibition period, the connection prohibition period being updated in accordance with a number of times that the wireless connection has been cut off. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: the query includes information decipherable only by the first application program, and when there is no response to the query from the terminal device, the processor cuts off the wireless connection with the terminal device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: the processor executes the query a certain number of times, and when there is no response from the terminal device to the query executed the certain number of times, the processor determines that the wireless connection is not requested by a user, and cuts off the wireless connection with the terminal device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: the wireless communication device is a coating device, the first function is a function of applying ink, and the first function control circuit is an ink head control circuit. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: the query is a query to which the terminal device can respond to when the first application program is in the state of being executed or run by the terminal device and cannot respond to when the first application program is not in the state of being executed or run by the terminal device. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: when the wireless connection with the terminal device is maintained, the processor controls the first function by the first function control circuit based on the wireless connection with the terminal device by which the first application program is being executed. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: when a state of a response of the terminal device with respect to the query indicates that the first application program is in the state of being executed or run by the terminal device, the processor maintains the wireless connection with the terminal device, and when a state of a response of the terminal device with respect to the query indicates that the first application program is not in the state of being executed or run by the terminal device, the processor cuts off the wireless connection with the terminal device. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: when the processor cuts off the wireless connection with the terminal device, the processor stores information for identification of the terminal device in a connection-prohibited terminal list. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The wireless communication device according to claim 8, wherein: the processor is configured to store a media access control address of the terminal device, a connection prohibition start time, and the connection prohibition period in the connection-prohibited terminal list when the first application program is not in the state of being executed or run by the terminal device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection prohibition period is set by a user. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection prohibition period is set longer with each increase in a connection prohibition count. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: when the wireless connection with the terminal device is cut off immediately after elapse of the connection prohibition period, a next connection prohibition period is set longer than the connection prohibition period. ### Claim 13 A wireless communication system comprising: a wireless communication device and a terminal device configured to wirelessly communicate with each other, the wireless communication device comprising a first processor and a first function control circuit configured to execute a first function, and the terminal device comprising a second processor, wherein: the first processor of the wireless communication device is configured to: establish the wireless connection with the terminal device upon request for the wireless connection from one of the wireless communication device and the terminal device, query, upon establishment of the wireless connection with the terminal device, the terminal device with which the wireless connection is established to check whether a first application program for causing the wireless communication device to execute the first function is in a state of being executed or run by the terminal device, maintain or cut off the wireless connection with the terminal device based on a response from the terminal device to the query, after a predetermined period has elapsed since a time at which the wireless connection with the terminal device is maintained based on the response from the terminal device to the query, re-query the terminal device with which the wireless connection is maintained, and cut off or continue to maintain the maintained wireless connection based on a response from the terminal device to the re-query, and identify, as a connection-prohibited terminal device, a terminal device not responding to at least a predetermined number of queries, cut off the wireless connection with the connection-prohibited terminal device, and prohibit the connection-prohibited terminal device from reconnecting to the wireless communication device within a connection prohibition period, the connection prohibition period being updated in accordance with a number of times that the wireless connection has been cut off, and the second processor of the terminal device is configured to respond to the query from the wireless communication device. ### Claim 14 A wireless communication method executed by a wireless communication device for communication with a terminal device, the method comprising: establishing a wireless connection with the terminal device upon request for the wireless connection from one of the wireless communication device and the terminal device; querying, upon establishment of the wireless connection with the terminal device, the terminal device with which the wireless connection is established to check whether a first application program for causing the wireless communication device to execute a first function is in a state of being executed or run by the terminal device; maintaining or cutting off the wireless connection with the terminal device based on a response from the terminal device to the query; after a predetermined period has elapsed since a time at which the wireless connection with the terminal device is maintained based on the response from the terminal device to the query, re-querying the terminal device with which the wireless connection is maintained, and cutting off or continuing to maintain the maintained wireless connection based on a response from the terminal device to the re-query; and identifying, as a connection-prohibited terminal device, a terminal device not responding to at least a predetermined number of queries, cutting off the wireless connection with the connection-prohibited terminal device, and prohibiting the connection-prohibited terminal device from reconnecting to the wireless communication device within a connection prohibition period, the connection prohibition period being updated in accordance with a number of times that the wireless connection has been cut off. ### Claim 15 A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored thereon a program for causing a computer included in a wireless communication device to execute processing comprising: establishing a wireless connection with a terminal device upon request for the wireless connection from one of the wireless communication device and the terminal device; querying, upon establishment of the wireless connection with the terminal device, the terminal device with which the wireless connection is established to check whether a first application program for causing the wireless communication device to execute a first function is in a state of being executed or run by the terminal device; maintaining or cutting off the wireless connection with the terminal device based on a response from the terminal device to the query, after a predetermined period has elapsed since a time at which the wireless connection with the terminal device is maintained based on the response from the terminal device to the query, re-querying the terminal device with which the wireless connection is maintained, and cutting off or continuing to maintain the maintained wireless connection based on a response from the terminal device to the re-query, and identifying, as a connection-prohibited terminal device, a terminal device not responding to at least a predetermined number of queries, cutting off the wireless connection with the connection-prohibited terminal device, and prohibiting the connection-prohibited terminal device from reconnecting to the wireless communication device within a connection prohibition period, the connection prohibition period being updated in accordance with a number of times that the wireless connection has been cut off.