A method in which a digital camera and a printer are connected directly by wire to perform printing has already been proposed. Control information and print data are exchanged between the printer and the digital camera by an operating flow described in, e.g., Patent Document 1 [Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-9388 (Patent Registration No. 03530847)].
Further, a technique in which a signal is switched between networks of different physical layers is disclosed in, e.g., Patent Document 2 [U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,522 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-257119)].
In the description that follows, the printer of the present invention refers to one that is connected to a digital camera physically or logically and is capable of receiving data directly from the digital camera.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wired connection between a digital camera 101 and a printer 102. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 101 and the printer 102 are connected directly by a cable 103 such as a USB cable. If image data is to be printed, it is required that the user plug and unplug the cable 102 before and after printing. A wireless system has been considered as a replacement for cables in order to reduce the plugging and unplugging burden on the user.
It is of course possible to simply adopt a wireless system for a wireless-capable digital camera and wireless-capable printer. However, there is also a need to allow a user who utilizes an existing wire-capable printer to enjoy wireless service by connecting a wireless communication device to the existing wire-capable printer.
However, operation of an existing wire-capable printer is such that when the printer is connected by cable, an operating sequence runs and connects the printer to the digital camera automatically, as set forth in Patent Document 1.
Consequently, although a wireless communication device and a printer are connected, there is no guarantee that a wireless connection between a wireless-capable digital camera and the wireless communication device will be established. When a cable is plugged into an existing printer, the printer operates as one with a connected camera. However, in a situation where the digital camera has not been properly connected logically, at an actual communication time, operation becomes unstable and normal operation cannot be guaranteed. If the printer is a wireless-capable printer, the operation of a direct communication protocol can be controlled in accordance to the wireless connection conditions. However, in the case of a wireless communication device attached to an existing printer that supports only wired connection, the device is physically separated. In addition, a printer that supports only wired connection has no wireless-related control means.