Information processing apparatus and method for controlling an information processing apparatus

Abstract

An information processing apparatus and a method for controlling the information processing apparatus are disclosed. The information processing apparatus described in this specification includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire configuration information of a printing apparatus from a cloud printing server system, a storage unit configured to store the acquired configuration information, a control unit configured to display a print setting screen on a display unit based on the configuration information stored in the storage unit, a transmission unit configured to transmit an acquisition request of the configuration information in a state where the configuration information is stored in the storage unit, and an update unit configured to update the configuration information stored in the storage unit using the configuration information acquired based on the transmitted acquisition request.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device and a method for controlling the information processing device. Background Art

[0002] A system is known for transmitting print data from a client terminal to a printer via a cloud server. In this system, a user configures print settings and issues a print instruction by operating a printer driver installed on the client terminal. The printer driver installed on the client terminal transmits print data based on the image data and print settings to the cloud server. The received print data is then transmitted to the printer via the cloud, allowing printing to proceed.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-238924 discusses creating a virtual printer queue on a cloud server and performing printing via the virtual printer queue.

[0004] When using a cloud print server, the client terminal must prepare a print queue for sending print data to a virtual printer queue on the cloud print server. The client terminal obtains printer configuration information and information about the virtual printer queue on the cloud print server from the cloud print service and generates a print queue for sending print data to the virtual printer queue on the cloud print server. The client terminal uses the printer configuration information and capability information obtained when generating the print queue to display the print settings screen.

[0005] The client terminal uses the configuration information acquired when the print queue was created. Therefore, even if the actual configuration of the printer changes due to a new finisher being connected to the printer, the configuration information in the client terminal is not updated, and a print setting screen for using the newly connected finisher cannot be displayed. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to one or more embodiments, the information processing apparatus described in this application is directed to enabling configuration information stored in a client terminal to be updated when configuration information of a printer registered in a cloud print server is changed.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the information processing device described in this specification is an information processing device configured to send print data to a cloud printing server system configured to send print data to a printing device, and includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire configuration information of the printing device from the cloud printing server system, a storage unit configured to store the acquired configuration information of the printing device, a control unit configured to display a print setting screen on a display unit based on the configuration information stored in the storage unit, a sending unit configured to send an acquisition request for the configuration information to the cloud printing server system in a state where the configuration information is stored in the storage unit, and an update unit configured to update the configuration information stored in the storage unit using the configuration information acquired based on the sent acquisition request.

[0008] Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0010] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a client computer according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0011] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of a cloud print service according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0012] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of a print setting extension application according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0013] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a cloud print supporting printer according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0014] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence of registering a cloud print supporting printer into a cloud print service according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0015] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence of updating configuration information stored in a client computer according to the first exemplary embodiment.

[0016] Figure 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a table indicating information about printer queues registered in a cloud print service according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0017] Figure 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of a table indicating information about a printer queue after configuration information has been updated according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0018] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen to be displayed on a client computer according to the exemplary embodiment.

[0019] Figure 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of an extended print setting screen to be displayed on a client computer according to the exemplary embodiment.

[0020] Figure 10B is a diagram illustrating an example of a message for configuration information update to be displayed on a client computer according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0021] Figure 10C is a diagram illustrating an example of an extended print setting screen to be displayed on a client computer after configuration information is updated according to the exemplary embodiment.

[0022] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing to be executed by a client computer according to the first exemplary embodiment.

[0023] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence of processing for updating configuration information stored in a client computer according to the second exemplary embodiment.

[0024] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence of processing for updating configuration information stored in a client computer according to the third exemplary embodiment.

[0025] Figure 14A is a diagram illustrating an example of information about a printer queue managed by the cloud print service according to the first exemplary embodiment.

[0026] Figure 14B is a diagram illustrating an example of information about an updated printer queue according to the first exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0028] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] The client computer 100, the cloud print service 500, and the cloud print support printer 200 are connected to the network 150. The client computer 100 and the cloud print support printer 200 can be connected to different intranets. Even if the client computer 100 and the cloud print support printer 200 are connected to different intranets, the client computer 100 and the cloud print support printer 200 can exchange print data via the cloud print service 500.

[0030] The cloud print support printer 200 is a printing device that supports a predetermined protocol supported by the cloud print service 500. For example, the predetermined protocol is a protocol such as the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). Hereinafter, the cloud print support printer 200 will be described as the printer 200.

[0031] The cloud print service 500 is a cloud print service constructed by a server system including one or more information processing devices.

[0032] The cloud print service 500 performs account management using a user ID and password. The client computer 100 or printer 200 sends the user ID and password and an authentication request to the cloud print service 500. By performing authentication processing based on the received information, the cloud print service 500 enables the client computer 100 or printer 200 to use the cloud print service 500.

[0033] Figure 1 The number of client computers 100 and the number of printers 200 shown in FIG. 1 are both one, but a plurality of client computers 100 and a plurality of printers 200 may be connected to the network 150 .

[0034] The printer driver delivery service 1400 is a server system that includes one or more information processing devices and delivers a printer driver and information for expanding a print queue to the client computer 100 .

[0035] The application delivery service 1500 is a server system that includes one or more information processing apparatuses and delivers applications to the client computer 100. In the present exemplary embodiment, the application delivery service 1500 is a server system that delivers the print settings extension application 300.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a hardware configuration diagram of a general-purpose computer (information processing device) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Needless to say, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to a single function, a system including multiple devices, and a system that performs processing via a network connection, as long as the functions of the present disclosure are performed. A detailed description will be given below.

[0037] A central processing unit (CPU) 101 controls the entire apparatus according to a program stored in a read only memory (ROM) 1021 or a random access memory (RAM) 1022 of the main storage device 102 , or the auxiliary storage device 105 .

[0038] The RAM 1022 is used as a work area when the CPU 101 executes various types of processing.

[0039] The auxiliary storage device 105 stores an operating system (OS) 1053 , applications 1051 , a print setting extension application 300 , and a cloud print driver 1052 .

[0040] The application 1051 is a general application that can edit documents and create presentation materials, different from the print setting extension application 300 that is an application associated with a driver. The user can issue a print instruction by operating a screen displayed by the application 1051.

[0041] The cloud print driver 1052 is a printer driver that supports the cloud print service 500 and is initially installed on the OS 1053. The cloud print driver 1052 is called from an application such as the application 1051 via the OS 1053 and performs processing for printing. In this exemplary embodiment, a description will be given assuming that the cloud print driver 1052 is initially stored in the auxiliary storage device 105. The client computer 100 may download the cloud print driver 1052 from another server system such as the cloud print service 500. Alternatively, the client computer 100 may download the cloud print driver 1052 from another server system such as the cloud print service 500. Alternatively, the client computer 100 may download the cloud print driver 1052 from the auxiliary storage device 1053. Figure 6 After receiving the information about the print queue in step S1609, the OS 1053 of the client computer 100 may acquire the cloud print driver 1052 from another server system. In this case, in step S1610, the OS 1053 of the client computer 100 generates a print queue by associating the information about the print queue received in step S1609 with the cloud print driver 1052 acquired from another server system.

[0042] The print setting extension application 300 is application software for performing advanced print settings specific to a printer desired to perform printing, operating in cooperation with the above-described cloud print driver 1052. A method of downloading the print setting extension application 300 will be described below.

[0043] In the following description, the primary storage device 102 and the auxiliary storage device 105 will be collectively described as storage devices.

[0044] An input device such as a pointing device 109 represented by a mouse and a touch panel, and a keyboard 108 are connected via an input interface (I / F) 103 , and is a device for a user to issue various instructions to the computer.

[0045] The output I / F 104 is an interface for outputting data to the outside, and outputs the data to an output device such as a monitor 110 and a panel 111 .

[0046] The client computer 100 is connected to the network 150 via the communication I / F 106. The system bus 107 is a path for exchanging data between modules.

[0047] Figure 3 1 is a functional block diagram of a cloud printing service 500 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The cloud printing service 500 operates as a cloud printing server system including one or more information processing devices. In the cloud printing service 500, the CPU of one or more information processing devices implements each function to be described below.

[0048] The cloud print service 500 is a service that exists on the cloud and operates on the Internet (network 150), and enables the provision of printing-related functions. In this exemplary embodiment, the cloud print service 500 includes a printer registration unit 501, a print queue generation unit 502, a printer list generation unit 503, a search response unit 504, and a printer database 510. Furthermore, the cloud print service 500 includes a print job management unit 505, a print job generation unit 506, and a print job storage area 511. These functions may be provided by another cloud print service that cooperates with the cloud print service 500.

[0049] The printer registration unit 501 is a module for registering information about a printer in the cloud print service 500 upon receiving a printer registration instruction from the printer 200. The printer registration unit 501 receives a registration request from the printer 200 and generates a print queue using the print queue generation unit 502. The printer registration unit 501 registers the generated print queue in the printer database 510 in association with the printer identification information. The state in which the printer's print queue and printer identification information are registered in association with each other in this manner will be referred to as the state in which the printer is registered. In some cases, various attributes are added to the registered printer. For example, the added attributes correspond to the location of the printer and the account information indicating the user who can access the registered printer.

[0050] The print queue generation unit 502 generates a print queue for managing print data to be processed by the printer 200 according to a request from the printer registration unit 501 .

[0051] The printer list generation unit 503 generates a list of registered printers.

[0052] The search response unit 504 transmits information about registered printers in response to a printer search event transmitted from the client computer 100 to the cloud print service 500 .

[0053] The print job storage area 511 is an area that stores print data received from the client computer 100 as a print job.

[0054] The print job management unit 505 manages the print jobs stored in the print job storage area 511 for each print queue and sends the print jobs to the printer corresponding to the print queue. Alternatively, the print job management unit 505 receives a print job acquisition request from the printer 200 and sends the print job held in the print queue corresponding to the printer 200 to the printer 200.

[0055] The print job generation unit 506 generates a print job by processing print data received from the client computer 100 as necessary.

[0056] Figure 4 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the print setting extension application 300. The print setting extension application 300 is an application for printer vendors to extend the function of the cloud print driver 1052.

[0057] The print setting extension application 300 includes a print start application unit 301 , an extended print setting unit 302 , a device application communication unit 303 , and a print job generation unit 304 .

[0058] The print starting application unit 301 is a module to be called from the OS 1053 via the cloud print driver 1052 at the time of printing. The print starting application unit 301 controls the entire print setting extension application 300 .

[0059] The extended print setting unit 302 receives print settings from the cloud print driver 1052 and displays the extended print setting screen based on the received print settings and configuration information stored in the configuration information storage unit 305 .

[0060] The device application communication unit 303 has a function for each module of the print setting extension application 300 to communicate with the cloud print service 500 via the network 150 .

[0061] The print job generation unit 304 provides a function of editing print data as needed and editing print data generated by the cloud print driver 1052. By editing print data by the print job generation unit 304, vendor-specific print settings that cannot be set by the cloud print driver 1052 can be written to the print data.

[0062] The configuration information storage unit 305 is a module for managing the configuration information of the printer 200 corresponding to the print queue of the client computer 100 .

[0063] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a printer serving as an example of an image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] The control unit 201 including the CPU 211 controls the operation of the entire printer 200. The CPU 211 executes various types of control such as print control and read control by reading out a control program stored in the ROM 212 or the storage device 214.

[0065] The ROM 212 stores control programs executable by the CPU 211. The RAM 213 is a main storage memory of the CPU 211, and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area into which various control programs are loaded.

[0066] The storage device 214 stores print data, image data, various programs, various types of setting information, and configuration information generated based on the various types of setting information. When new hardware such as a finisher is added to the printer body, the CPU 211 updates the various types of setting information in the storage device 214 and generates new configuration information based on the updated setting information. The generated configuration information is sent to the associated service or client computer via the communication unit I / F 217. In this exemplary embodiment, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) is assumed to be the storage device 214, but a non-volatile memory such as a solid-state drive (SSD) can be used instead of the HDD. In this way, hardware components such as the CPU 211, ROM 212, and RAM 213 are included in a so-called computer.

[0067] The processing unit 215 has the function of a raster image processor (RIP) that generates a print image by rasterizing the print data received via the network. The processing unit 215 also has the function of an image processing unit and can also perform resolution conversion and correction processing of the image. In this exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the image processing unit is implemented by a hardware circuit (application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) etc.), but the image processing unit is not limited thereto. For example, image processing and rasterization processing of print data can be implemented by the printer 200 including a processor intended for image processing and the processor intended for image processing executing an image processing program. In addition, image processing and rasterization processing of print data can be performed by the CPU 211 executing a program for performing image processing. In addition, image processing can be performed by any combination of these.

[0068] The operation unit I / F 216 connects the operation unit 202 and the control unit 201. The operation unit 202 includes a liquid crystal display unit with a touch panel function and various hardware keys. The operation unit 202 functions as a display unit that displays information, a receiving unit that receives instructions from the user, and a reading unit that generates a read image by reading a document. The generated read image is stored in the storage device 214 or the RAM 213. The print image generated by the processing unit 215 by analyzing the print data is transmitted from the control unit 201 to the printing unit (not shown) in the operation unit 202 via the operation unit I / F 216. The printing unit receives the control command and the print image via the control unit 201, and prints the image based on the print image onto a sheet fed from a sheet feeding cassette (not shown).

[0069] The control unit 201 is connected to the network 150 via the communication unit I / F 217 .

[0070] The communication unit I / F 217 transmits images and information to a communication device on the network 150 , and receives print data and information from a communication device on the network 150 .

[0071] A scanner unit 219 that generates image data by reading a document is connected to the scanner I / F 218. The printer 200 can perform printing based on the image data generated by the scanner unit 219 and transmit the image data to another device.

[0072] The printer I / F 220 is connected to a printing unit 221 that prints an image. The printing unit 221 performs printing based on image data generated by the scanner unit 219 and printing based on print data received from the cloud print service 500.

[0073] The hardware I / F 222 is an interface to which hardware such as a finisher is connected. Examples of the finisher include a finisher having a function of binding sheets with images formed thereon, a function of punching sheets with images formed thereon, a function of bookbinding sheets, and a function of folding sheets.

[0074] If the finisher is connected to the printer 200, the configuration information of the printer 200 changes. Therefore, the printer 200 updates the configuration information managed by the cloud print service 500. In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the print setting extension application 300 installed on the client computer 100 acquires the configuration information from the cloud print service 500 and updates the configuration information.

[0075] Figure 6 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of generating a print queue for transmitting print data to the cloud print service 500 on the client computer 100 .

[0076] First, the printer 200 is to be registered in the cloud printing service 500. In step S1600, the printer 200 sends an authentication request to the cloud printing service 500 according to the user's operation. The authentication request includes a user ID and a password. In step S1601, the cloud printing service 500 performs user authentication based on the received authentication request and information about the user ID and password, and sends the authentication result to the printer 200. In this example, the description will be given assuming that the authentication has been successful. In the case where the authentication has failed, Figure 6 The sequence shown in ends.

[0077] In step S1602, the printer 200 sends a registration request for the printer to the cloud print service 500. The registration request includes identification information and configuration information of the printer 200. The configuration information sent in this step is the configuration information acquired at the time of step S1602.

[0078] In step S1603, the cloud print service 500 generates a print queue based on the acquired information. As needed, the user sets information about users who can use the generated print queue. In this way, the registration process of the printer to the cloud print service 500 ends.

[0079] Next, the user operates the client computer 100 and makes settings for sending print data to the cloud print service 500. First, in step S1604, an authentication request is sent from the client computer 100 to the cloud print service 500. The authentication request includes a user ID and a password. The cloud print service 500 performs user authentication processing based on the received information about the user ID and password. In step S1605, the cloud print service 500 sends the authentication result to the client computer 100. In this example, the description will be given assuming that the authentication is successful.

[0080] In step S1606, the client computer 100 sends a request to the cloud print service 500 to obtain a list of print queues that the logged-in user can use. In step S1607, the cloud print service 500 sends a list of print queues that the logged-in user can use to the client computer 100. In step S1607, the cloud print service 500 sends, for example, a list of the names of the print queues that the user can use to the client computer 100.

[0081] The client computer 100 displays the list of received print queues and receives a selection from the user for a print queue to use. In step S1608, the client computer 100 sends a request to the cloud print service 500 for obtaining information about the selected print queue. In step S1609, the cloud print service 500 sends information about the selected print queue to the client computer 100. The information sent in this step includes identification information and configuration information of the printer associated with the print queue.

[0082] In step S1610, the client computer 100 generates a print queue on the client computer 100 based on the received information about the print queue. Then, the client computer 100 stores the generated print queue and the acquired identification information and configuration information of the printer in association with each other.

[0083] In step S1611, the client computer 100 accesses the printer driver delivery service 1400 and sends an acquisition request for additional information for extending the print queue to the printer driver delivery service 1400. In step S1611, the client computer 100 sends the identification information of the printer acquired from the cloud print service 500 to the printer driver delivery service 1400.

[0084] In step S1612 , the printer driver delivery service 1400 identifies additional information corresponding to the received identification information of the printer, and transmits the additional information to the client computer 100 . The additional information includes identification information of the print settings extension application 300 .

[0085] In step S1613, the client computer 100 uses the identification information of the print settings extension application 300 included in the acquired additional information to send a request to the application delivery service 1500 to obtain the print settings extension application 300. In step S1614, the application delivery service 1500 sends the print settings extension application 300 identified based on the acquired application identification information to the client computer 100. In step S1615, the client computer 100 stores the acquired print settings extension application 300 in association with the print queue. The above sequence is the sequence for generating a print queue on the client computer 100 for sending print data to the cloud print service 500.

[0086] Next, we will refer to Figure 7 The sequence diagram in describes the processing until the configuration information of the printer 200 is updated and printing is executed. Assume that Figure 6 The processing shown in has been completed.

[0087] Figure 8AThe diagram illustrates configuration information of the printer 200 before the finisher is connected to the printer 200. The configuration information is stored in the printer database 510 of the cloud printing service 500. In the printer 200, color printing and monochrome printing can be selected as color modes. As sheet sizes, the printer 200 supports A3 and A4. The printer 200 supports plain paper, thick paper, and thin paper sheet types. As a Nup function for printing multiple pages on one side of a sheet, the printer 200 supports 2up for aggregating two pages and 4up for aggregating four pages. In addition, as the orientation of the sheet in printing, the printer 200 supports portrait and landscape. The date and time information indicates the date and time when the configuration information was registered in the cloud printing service 500.

[0088] Assume that a finisher with a binding function is connected to the printer 200. The printer 200 includes a sensor in the hardware I / F 222. In step S700, the sensor detects the connection of the finisher and detects that the configuration information has changed. Another method can be used to detect a change in the configuration information. For example, the current configuration information can be stored in a memory, and the configuration information stored in the memory when the printer 200 is started can be compared with the configuration information acquired after the startup to determine whether the configuration information has changed. Alternatively, the configuration information can be periodically acquired to determine whether the configuration information has changed.

[0089] If the printer 200 detects that the configuration information has changed, then in step S701, the printer 200 sends the new configuration information and a request to update the configuration information to the cloud print service 500. At this time, the printer 200 issues a notification to the cloud print service 500 according to the IPP. For example, in the case where a binding configuration is added, the processing unit 215 of the printer 200 sets "binding" as the value of "support finishing" which is an attribute defined by the IPP. Thereafter, the processing unit 215 notifies the cloud print service 500 of the new configuration information via the communication unit I / F 217. Figure 7 In step S701, the entire updated configuration information may be notified to the cloud print service 500, or only the differences resulting from the change in configuration may be notified to the cloud print service 500. In the case where only the differences are notified to the cloud print service 500, a process of adding the newly acquired configuration information to the configuration information already stored in the cloud print service 500 is performed.

[0090] In the present exemplary embodiment, the cloud print service 500 and the printer 200 perform data exchange according to IPP, but may perform data exchange according to another protocol. Figure 7 The processing shown in .

[0091] In step S702 , the cloud print service 500 receives the update request of the configuration information, identifies the print queue corresponding to the printer for which the configuration information is to be updated from the printer registration unit 501 , and updates the configuration information. Figure 8B The configuration information shown in is thereby registered in the cloud print service 500. The configuration of the binding is added to Figure 8A The configuration information shown in .

[0092] The above sequence is a sequence for updating the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500. The description has been given assuming that the printer 200 detects that the configuration information has changed and sends a request for updating the configuration information to the cloud print service 500. The cloud print service 500 can periodically inquire about the configuration information from the printer 200 and update the configuration information when the configuration information is different from the stored configuration information.

[0093] Next, updating of the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 will be described.

[0094] The user issues a display instruction of the print setting screen by operating the application 1051. The client computer 100 receives the instruction and displays the print setting screen. Figure 9 The print setting screen 1300 shown in FIG. The print setting screen 1300 is a print setting screen to be displayed by the application 1051. Area 1301 is an area for selecting a print queue to be used in printing. The user selects a print queue to be used in printing from a list of print queues registered in the client computer 100 displayed by selecting button 1302. In this example, it is assumed that Figure 6 The print queue generated in the sequence shown in is selected.

[0095] Application 1051 is based on Figure 6 The configuration information acquired in step S1609 is displayed on the print setting screen. Area 1303 is an area for setting the number of copies to be printed. Area 1304 is an area for selecting the color mode of printing. If the user selects button 1305, then based on the Figure 6 The configuration information acquired in step S1609 displays selectable color modes.

[0096] In this example, it is assumed that the user has selected the advanced setting button 1306. In step S704, the client computer 100 starts the print setting extension application 300 based on the advanced setting button 1306 being selected. Figure 10A An example of an extended print setting screen to be displayed when the print setting extension application 300 is started is illustrated. This screen is a screen to be displayed based on the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 before the configuration information is updated. Figure 10AIn , each setting item is displayed as a button, and the user can make print settings by selecting the button to be set. Figure 9 The advanced setting button 1306 shown in FIG. 1 operates as an object for receiving a display instruction of the extended print setting screen from the user.

[0097] In step S705, the print settings extension application 300 installed on the client computer 100 sends a request to obtain configuration information to the cloud print service 500. In this manner, while the client computer 100 stores configuration information, the client computer 100 sends a request to obtain new configuration information to the cloud print service 500. In step S706, the cloud print service 500 sends information indicating that the configuration information is stored, as well as the configuration information stored in the printer database 510, to the client computer 100. If the cloud print service 500 does not store the configuration information, the print queue generation unit 502 may generate the configuration information from the information about the print queue and notify the client computer 100 of the configuration information.

[0098] The client computer 100 receives configuration information from the cloud printing service 500 and determines whether the received configuration information is different from the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. If there is a difference, the client computer 100 displays a notification and asks the user whether to update the configuration information. "Notification" refers to the push notification service in Windows (registered trademark). The relevant application can be launched by the user's operation on the displayed dialog box. Figure 10B 1800 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification to be displayed in the present exemplary embodiment. A message indicating that the configuration information of the printer has been changed and a message indicating that the configuration information acquisition button is to be selected for updating the configuration information are displayed. If the user selects the confirmation button 1800 in the notification area, the screen returns to Figure 10A The screen shown in .

[0099] If the user is Figure 10A If the configuration information acquisition button 1700 is selected on the screen shown in FIG, then in step S707, as shown in FIG. Figure 8B The configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is updated as shown in FIG. Then, in step S708, the print setting extension application 300 displays Figure 10C The extended print setting screen shown in . A button for setting stapling as a function provided by the newly added finisher is added to Figure 10C In step S708, the print setting extension application 300 determines the items to be displayed based on the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. For example, when the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is Figure 8BIn the case of the configuration information shown in , the print setting extension application 300 determines the color mode, sheet size, sheet type, aggregate printing (Nup), print orientation, and binding as settable items. The print setting extension application 300 generates an extended print setting screen on which the determined items are arranged, and displays the extended print setting screen on the client computer 100.

[0100] The user makes print settings on the displayed extended print setting screen and selects the OK button. As a result, the Figure 9 . If the user selects the Print button 1307, then in step S709, the cloud print driver 1052 of the client computer 100 generates print data. Thereafter, in step S710, the cloud print driver 1052 sends the generated print data to the cloud print service 500. In step S711, the cloud print service 500 sends the received print data to the printer 200 corresponding to the print queue. In step S712, the printer 200 executes a print process based on the received print data.

[0101] In this manner, in the first exemplary embodiment, the print setting extension application 300 is used to acquire configuration information from the cloud print service 500, and the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is updated. With this configuration, changes in the configuration information of the printer 200 can be reflected in the print setting screen and the extended print setting screen displayed on the client computer 100.

[0102] Next, we will refer to Figure 11 Detailed description Figure 7 The processing shown in steps S704 to S708.

[0103] Figure 11 The processing shown in the flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the primary storage device 102 or the auxiliary storage device 105 of the client computer 100.

[0104] The process starts in response to the user selecting the advanced setting button 1306 on the print setting screen 1300 .

[0105] In step S401, the OS 1053 starts the print setting extension application 300. The started print setting extension application 300 displays the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. Figure 10A The extended print settings screen shown in .

[0106] In step S402, the print settings extension application 300 instructs the OS 1053 to send a configuration information acquisition request. Based on the instruction from the print settings extension application 300, the OS 1053 sends the configuration information acquisition request to the cloud print service 500. At this time, the OS 1053 sends information about the print queue to the cloud print service 500. The information about the print queue includes, for example, the name of the print queue, the identification information of the printer associated with the print queue, and the identification information of the logged-in user. The cloud print service 500 uses the received information (such as the identification information of the printer) to identify the print queue and the configuration information associated with the print queue.

[0107] In step S403, the print settings extension application 300 receives a response to the configuration information acquisition request from the OS 1053. Then, in step S404, the print settings extension application 300 determines whether the configuration information is included in the response received from the OS 1053. In a case where the configuration information is not included in the response (No in step S404), the print settings extension application 300 ends the process. Figure 11 The case where the configuration information cannot be acquired due to a communication error is an example of a case where the configuration information is not included in the response.

[0108] If the response includes configuration information ("Yes" in step S404), the process proceeds to step S405. In step S405, the print setting extension application 300 determines whether the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 and the acquired configuration information are different. If the two configuration information are the same ("No" in step S405), since there is no need to update the configuration information, the print setting extension application 300 ends the process. Figure 11 The processing shown in .

[0109] In the case where it is determined that the two pieces of configuration information are different ("Yes" in step S405), the process proceeds to step S407. In step S407, the print setting extension application 300 notifies the user that the configuration information has been updated. Then, the print setting extension application 300 asks the user whether to update the configuration information. In step S407, the print setting extension application 300 displays Figure 10B The screen shown in .

[0110] In step S408, the print settings extension application 300 determines whether an update instruction for the configuration information has been issued. In a case where an update instruction has not been issued ("No" in step S408), the print settings extension application 300 ends the process. Figure 11 The processing shown in .

[0111] If the update instruction has been issued ("Yes" in step S408), the process proceeds to step S409. In step S409, the print setting extension application 300 updates the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 in association with the print queue using the configuration information included in the response received in step S403. Then, in step S409, the print setting extension application 300 displays the extended print setting screen based on the updated configuration information, as shown in FIG. Figure 10C As shown in .

[0112] In the first exemplary embodiment, the print setting extension application 300 automatically starts a process of acquiring configuration information from the cloud print service 500 upon startup. Figure 10A As shown in FIG, a configuration information acquisition button 1700 may be displayed on a screen displayed by the print setting extension application 300, and when a user selects the configuration information acquisition button 1700, the print setting extension application 300 may start Figure 11 In this manner, the configuration information acquisition button 1700 can operate as an object for receiving a configuration information acquisition instruction from the user.

[0113] In the first exemplary embodiment, Figure 11 In step S401, once the display Figure 10A After the extended print setting screen shown in is displayed, configuration information is acquired from the cloud print service 500. After the print setting extension application 300 is started, the process in step S402 may be executed without displaying the Figure 10A The extended print settings screen shown in .

[0114] In the first exemplary embodiment, when the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is different from the configuration information acquired from the cloud print service 500, the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is updated based on an update instruction from the user. The configuration information stored in the client computer 100 may be updated without receiving an update instruction from the user.

[0115] In the first exemplary embodiment, it has been assumed that the cloud print service 500 stores Figure 8A A description is given of the information about the print queue shown in FIG. 8B and updating the configuration information acquired when the information about the printer is registered. The cloud print service 500 can manage Figure 14A Or information about the print queue as shown in 14B. Figure 14A The diagram shows Figure 6 Information of the print queue generated by the cloud print service 500 in step S1603. Figure 14A The table shown in the Figure 8AThe table shown in is a table with a column of "latest configuration information" added. Since the configuration information has not been updated at the time the printer information is registered in the cloud print service 500, the "latest configuration information" is blank. Figure 6 In step S1609, the client computer 100 is notified Figure 14A The configuration information shown in "Configuration Information" in as information about the print queue.

[0116] Figure 14B The table shown in the Figure 7 The table of configuration information after updating the information about the print queue in step S702. Figure 7 The configuration information obtained in step S701 is stored in Figure 14B In the "Latest Configuration Information". Figure 7 In step S706, the client computer 100 is notified Figure 14B The print setting extension application 300 of the client computer 100 utilizes the configuration information shown in the "latest configuration information" in Figure 7 The latest configuration information obtained in step S702 updates the stored Figure 6 With this configuration, the cloud print service 500 can update the configuration information while storing the configuration information acquired when registering printer information.

[0117] In the first exemplary embodiment, the print settings extension application 300 acquires configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 and compares the acquired configuration information with the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. In the second exemplary embodiment, based on date and time information indicating the date and time when the configuration information was stored in the cloud print service 500 and date and time information indicating the date and time when the client computer 100 stored the configuration information, it is determined whether to update the configuration information stored in the client computer 100.

[0118] Figure 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing according to the second exemplary embodiment. Figure 12 The processing shown in is a process that replaces the processing in the first exemplary embodiment. Figure 7 The same step numbers are assigned to the same steps as in the first exemplary embodiment, and differences from the first exemplary embodiment will be described.

[0119] In step S1002 , the print settings extension application 300 of the client computer 100 transmits date and time information indicating the date and time when the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 was stored to the cloud print service 500 .

[0120] In step S1003, referring to the information about the print queue, the cloud print service 500 compares the update date and time of the configuration information that has been transmitted from the client computer 100 with the update date and time of the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500. The cloud print service 500 then determines whether the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is to be updated. For example, in a case where the update date and time of the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 is more recent than the update date and time transmitted from the client computer 100, the cloud print service 500 determines that the configuration information is to be updated.

[0121] In a case where the cloud print service 500 determines that the configuration information in the client computer 100 is to be updated, the processing in step S706 and subsequent steps is performed.

[0122] If it is determined in step S1003 that the date and time information stored in the cloud print service 500 is equal to the date and time information transmitted from the client computer 100, the cloud print service 500 determines that the configuration information does not need to be updated. If it is determined that the configuration information does not need to be updated, the cloud print service 500 notifies the client computer 100 that the configuration information does not need to be updated. In this case, the processing in steps S706 and S707 is not performed, and the processing in step S708 and subsequent steps is performed.

[0123] exist Figure 12 In the example, the processing shown in step S1002 is triggered when the print setting extension application 300 displays the extended print setting screen. The triggering timing is not limited to the above timing as long as it is the timing when the print setting extension application 300 is started, and the processing shown in steps S1002, S1003, S706, and S707 can be executed.

[0124] With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 needs to be updated without the client computer 100 needing to acquire the configuration information from the cloud print service 500 .

[0125] In the first and second exemplary embodiments, if a change in the configuration of the printer 200 is detected, the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 is changed. In the third exemplary embodiment, according to an instruction from the print setting extension application 300 of the client computer 100, the cloud print service 500 inquires the printer 200 for configuration information and performs update processing of the configuration information.

[0126] Figure 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing according to the third exemplary embodiment. Figure 13, the same step numbers as in the first exemplary embodiment are assigned to the same steps as in the first exemplary embodiment, and differences from the first exemplary embodiment will be described.

[0127] If the start instruction of the print setting extension application 300 is issued in step S704, the Figure 10A The extended print settings screen shown in .

[0128] In step S1701, the print setting extension application 300 of the client computer 100 receives a configuration information acquisition instruction from the user. Figure 10A A configuration information acquisition button 1700 is selected on the extended print setting screen shown in to receive a configuration information acquisition instruction.

[0129] In step S1702 , the print settings extension application 300 of the client computer 100 sends an acquisition request for configuration information to the cloud print service 500 .

[0130] In step S1703 , the cloud print service 500 transmits an acquisition request for configuration information to the printer 200 based on the received acquisition request for configuration information.

[0131] In step S1704 , the printer 200 transmits the configuration information updated in step S700 to the cloud print service 500 .

[0132] In step S702 , the cloud print service 500 stores the information on the printer queue of the printer 200 and the acquired configuration information in association with each other.

[0133] Thereafter, the processing shown in steps S706 to S712 is performed.

[0134] In this manner, in the third exemplary embodiment, configuration information is acquired according to an instruction from the client computer 100. With this configuration, even if configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 is not updated, configuration information referenced by the print settings extension application 300 can be updated.

[0135] <Other Exemplary Embodiments>

[0136] In the above exemplary embodiment, a description has been given of an example case where a function is added as an update of configuration information. In addition to the case where a finisher is attached to the printer 200 and configuration information is added, the case where the configuration information is updated also includes the case where the finisher is detached from the printer 200. In this case, similar processing to that of the above exemplary embodiment is performed.

[0137] In the above exemplary embodiment, the print setting extension application 300 displays the extended print setting screen using the updated configuration information. The application 1051, the OS 1053, and the cloud print driver 1052 display the extended print setting screen. Figure 9 The updated configuration information can be used when you open the print settings screen shown in . For example, Figure 9 In the case where stapling can be set on the print setting screen shown in , if the configuration information corresponding to the print queue includes a stapling setting, a print setting screen where stapling can be set is displayed. On the other hand, if the configuration information corresponding to the print queue does not include a stapling setting, the application 1051, the OS 1053, and the cloud print driver 1052 display a print setting screen where stapling cannot be set.

[0138] refer to Figure 7 , a description has been given of an example in which the cloud print supporting printer 200 notifies the cloud print service 500 of a change in configuration information and the client computer 100 acquires configuration information from the cloud print service 500 at the moment the print setting extension application 300 is started. Figure 13 , a description has been given of an example in which the cloud print service 500 acquires configuration information from the cloud print supporting printer 200 based on an instruction received from the client computer 100. In addition to the above example, in executing Figure 6 After the sequence shown in , the cloud print service 500 may also send an acquisition request for configuration information to the cloud print supported printer 200 at a predetermined timing. Then, when the print setting extension application 300 is started, the client computer 100 may access the cloud print service 500 and acquire the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500.

[0139] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are also implemented by performing the following processing. More specifically, the processing is to supply software (program) for performing the functions of the above-mentioned exemplary embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, microprocessing unit (MPU), etc.) of the system or device reads out and executes the program code. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium storing the computer program are included in the present disclosure.

[0140] The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by reading and executing computer-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more fully referred to as a 'non-transitory computer-readable storage medium') to perform one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments and / or a computer of a system or device including one or more circuits (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments, and by a method performed by a computer of the system or device by, for example, reading and executing computer-executable instructions from a storage medium to perform one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments and / or controlling one or more circuits to perform one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU)), and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read and execute computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or a storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a storage device of a distributed computing system, an optical disk (such as a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), or a Blu-ray disk (BD)). TM ), one or more of flash memory devices, memory cards, etc.

[0141] The embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by the following method, that is, providing software (program) that performs the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments to a system or device through a network or various storage media, and the computer or central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0142] While the present disclosure includes exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An information processing device that sends print data to a server system that sends print data to a printing device, wherein a printer driver that generates the print data is pre-stored in an operating system of the information processing device, the information processing device comprising: an acquiring component, configured to acquire identification information and configuration information of the printing device from the server system; A storage component, used for storing configuration information of the printing device; a second acquiring means for acquiring an application determined based on the identification information, the application operating in cooperation with the printer driver and capable of writing print settings that cannot be set by the printer driver into the print data; a control unit configured to cause the display unit to display a print setting screen based on the configuration information stored in the storage unit by executing the application; A sending component, configured to send a request for obtaining configuration information to the server system when the configuration information is stored in the storage component; as well as an updating component that updates the configuration information stored in the storage component using the configuration information acquired based on the acquired request sent, In a state where no configuration information is stored in the storage unit, the acquisition unit acquires the configuration information of the printing device before acquiring the application, and the update unit updates the configuration information after acquiring the application.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines items to be displayed based on the configuration information stored in the storage unit, and displays the print setting screen capable of setting the determined items. 3 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control section causes the display section to display an object for receiving an acquisition instruction of the configuration information from a user. 4 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the printing apparatus receives a registration request from a user to the server system, and transmits configuration information to the server system based on the registration request. 5 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information is information based on a configuration change of hardware connected to the printing apparatus. 6 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the configuration information acquired based on the acquisition request is configuration information sent by the printing apparatus to the server system upon detecting that the hardware configuration is changed. 7 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sending means sends the acquisition request in accordance with a display instruction of the print setting screen being issued. 8 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sending means sends the acquisition request based on an instruction from the application. 9 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the application is capable of displaying the print setting screen based on the configuration information updated by the updating means.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The printing device sends a registration request to the server system to register information of the printing device in the server system based on a user operation. The server system stores the identification information and the configuration information based on the registration request.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the application determines items to be displayed based on configuration information stored in the storage unit, and causes the display unit to display the print setting screen including the determined items. 12 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information is information based on hardware connected to the printing apparatus.

13. A method for controlling an information processing device, wherein the information processing device sends print data to a server system that sends print data to a printing device, and a printer driver that generates the print data is pre-stored in an operating system of the information processing device, the method comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring identification information and configuration information of the printing device from the server system; a storing step of storing configuration information of the printing device; a second acquisition step of acquiring an application determined based on the identification information, the application operating in cooperation with the printer driver and capable of writing print settings that cannot be set by the printer driver into the print data; a control step of displaying a print setting screen in a display step based on the configuration information stored in the storage step by executing the application; a sending step of sending a request for obtaining configuration information to the server system in a state where the configuration information is stored in the storing step; as well as an updating step of updating the configuration information stored in the storing step using the configuration information acquired based on the acquired request sent, The acquisition of the configuration information of the printing device in the acquisition step is performed before the acquisition of the application in a state where the configuration information is not stored in the storage step, and the updating of the configuration information in the update step is performed after the acquisition of the application.

14. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in the controlling step, items to be displayed based on the configuration information stored in the storing step are determined, and the print setting screen capable of setting the determined items is displayed.

15. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein in the control step, the display step is caused to display an object for receiving an acquisition instruction of the configuration information from a user. 16 . The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the printing apparatus receives a registration request from a user to the server system, and transmits configuration information to the server system based on the registration request.

17. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the configuration information is information based on a configuration change of hardware connected to the printing apparatus.

18. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the configuration information acquired based on the acquisition request is configuration information sent by the printing apparatus to the server system upon detecting that the hardware configuration is changed.

19. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein in the sending step, the acquisition request is sent in accordance with a display instruction of the print setting screen being issued. 20 . The control method of an information processing device according to claim 13 , wherein in the sending step, the acquisition request is sent based on an instruction from the application.

21. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the application is capable of displaying the print setting screen based on the configuration information updated in the updating step.

22. The control method of an information processing device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein The printing device sends a registration request to the server system to register information of the printing device in the server system based on a user operation. The server system stores the identification information and the configuration information based on the registration request.

23. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the application determines items to be displayed based on the configuration information stored in the storing step, and the print setting screen including the determined items is displayed in the displaying step.

24. The control method of an information processing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the configuration information is information based on hardware connected to the printing apparatus.

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