Patent ID: 8314945
Filing Date: 2012-11-20
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A communication device, comprising: a processing unit; a network interface that communicates with a terminal device connected to a network; a communication interface that communicates with a locally connected peripheral device; an interface control unit that controls the communication interface and transmits control data to the peripheral device, the control data being for controlling the peripheral device; a device control unit that generates the control data for the peripheral device in accordance with an instruction entered from the processing unit, and transmits the control data to the interface control unit; a relay unit that extracts the control data for the peripheral device from a packet received by the network interface, and transmits the control data to the interface control unit; a mode switching unit that switches the device control unit and the relay unit to selectively activate an internal control mode and a network control mode, the internal control mode controlling the peripheral device by means of the device control unit, and the network control mode controlling the peripheral device by means of the relay unit; a storage unit that stores mode specification data indicating which the network control mode or the internal control mode should be activated, and stores a device-identification assigned to the peripheral device which has been connected to the communication interface before; and a determination unit that determines based on the stored device-identification whether the peripheral device has been connected to the communication interface before, wherein the mode switching unit activates one of the network control mode and the internal control mode based on the mode specification data and the mode switching unit activates the internal control mode rather than the network control mode when the determination unit determines that the peripheral device has never been connected to the communication interface.