Connected network based external device control

Abstract

An example method for external device control includes identifying whether a network to which an electronic device is connected is a first network; in response to identifying that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network, converting a user account used in an application program installed in the electronic device into a converted user account corresponding to the first network; and in response to the conversion, updating an operation configuration of the external device to an operation configuration corresponding to the converted user account, the external device being under control by the application.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The user's electronic device can be controlled and used when connected to an external device in wireless or wired communication. Examples of external devices include text input devices, optical input devices, on-screen input devices, image output devices, audio output devices, image forming devices, etc. Further, there are many different types of image forming devices, including dedicated printers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, etc., as well as multi-function products (MFPs). MFPs act as an all-in-one solution to provide a combination of, for example, printing, photocopying, scanning, and faxing functions.

[0002] Such an image forming apparatus or other external device can be used together with an application installed in the user's electronic device. For example, the user can control the external device through the application by generating his / her account for the application and registering the external device with the user account. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Various examples will be described below with reference to the following drawings.

[0004] Figure 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an electronic device according to an example in which a function of controlling an external device based on a connected network may be implemented.

[0005] Figure 2 is a diagram illustratively showing the operation of an application installed in an electronic device according to an example.

[0006] Figure 3 is a diagram illustratively showing a network identifier repository according to an example.

[0007] Figure 4 is a flowchart of an operation of an electronic device updating information about an environment configuration of an external device according to an example.

[0008] Figure 5 is a simplified diagram illustratively showing operations performed by an electronic device based on an account being logged out according to an example.

[0009] Figure 6 is a diagram illustratively showing an operation performed by an electronic device according to an example, that is, selecting a corresponding user account based on a network to which it is connected and automatically updating information about configuration of an external device to information corresponding to the account.

[0010] Figure 7 is a diagram illustratively showing an operation of identifying whether a network to which an electronic device is connected is a first network according to an example.

[0011] Figure 8is a diagram illustrating an operation of configuring an application installed in an electronic device so that the application is used with a user account corresponding to a connected network according to an example.

[0012] Fig. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating a login account list of an application supporting multiple accounts to be logged in thereto according to an example.

[0013] Fig.10 is a diagram showing an example of updating information about the configuration of a device according to organizational information and policy information.

[0014] Fig.11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for external device control based on a connected network according to an example.

[0015] Fig.12 is a schematic illustration of a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including instructions for causing operations to be performed according to an example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Hereinafter, various examples will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the specification and the drawings denote like elements, and thus redundant descriptions may be omitted.

[0017] The user's electronic device may have an application installed therein to control an external device connected to the electronic device. The application may obtain information about the environment configuration of the external device or information about another configuration of the external device, wherein such configuration information is associated with a user account for the application.

[0018] Further, a user may register multiple accounts on the application. The user may switch between accounts currently available for the application, for example, based on the user's location or available network environment. While allowing the user to use multiple external devices, this switching may involve manually changing the account logged in by the multi-account user.

[0019] Therefore, according to some examples of the present disclosure, the login account for the application can be automatically converted to a suitable corresponding account according to the network environment the user is in without manual intervention of the user. Further, according to some examples of the present disclosure, the environment configuration value of the external device under the control of the application can be updated to the environment configuration value associated with the corresponding login account without manual intervention of the user.

[0020] In an example where an application is installed in a user's electronic device to control an external device and the devices are connected to each other, the electronic device may store information about a network to which it has previously been connected, and may also store a user login account for the application on the network in association with an environment configuration value of the external device. Based on detecting that a change has occurred in the network to which the electronic device is connected, the application may obtain login information about an account corresponding to the changed network environment, configure the application to be used with the corresponding account, and automatically update the operation configuration of the external device to the operation configuration corresponding to the account.

[0021] Considering the functions of various terms used in this disclosure, these terms are selected from the terminology of commonly used terms, which may be understood differently according to the user's intention, precedents or emerging new technologies. In specific examples, some terms should be interpreted as being set forth in specific embodiments. Therefore, the terms used in this article should be defined consistently with their meanings in the context of this disclosure, rather than simply defined by their simple and ordinary meanings.

[0022] The terms "comprising", "including", "having", "including" and the like are used herein to specify the presence of the elements listed below. Unless otherwise specified, these terms and variations thereof do not mean to exclude the presence or addition of other elements.

[0023] As used herein, ordinal terms "first", "second", etc. are meant to identify several similar elements. Unless otherwise specified, such terms are not intended to impose limitations, such as the specific order of these elements or their use, but are only used to refer to multiple elements individually. For example, in an example, an element may be referred to by the term "first", while in another example the same element may be referred to by different ordinals such as "second" or "third". In such examples, such ordinal terms do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the use of the term "and / or" in a list of multiple elements includes all possible combinations of the listed items, including any one or more of the items.

[0024] As used herein, the term "image forming job" may encompass any of a variety of image-related jobs involving operations of forming an image and / or other processing operations (e.g., creation, generation, and / or transmission of an image file). As used herein, the term "job" may encompass a sequence of processes that facilitate an image forming job, as well as the image forming job itself. By way of example and not limitation, an image forming device may perform an image forming job, such as a print job, a copy job, a scan job, a fax or other transmission job, a storage job, a coating job, and the like.

[0025] As used herein, the term "image forming device" or "image forming apparatus" may encompass any of a variety of devices capable of performing image forming operations, such as printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, multifunction products (MFPs), display devices, etc. In some examples, the image forming device may be a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) image forming device. Such an image forming device may provide various additional functions as well as basic functions, such as printing, copying, scanning, and faxing functions.

[0026] The term "user" as used herein may refer to a person / organization that manipulates an image forming device to operate an image forming job. The term "administrator" as used herein may refer to a person / organization that has access to the entire functionality of an image forming device. In some examples, a person may have both the roles of administrator and user.

[0027] As used herein, the term “electronic device,” “electronic apparatus,” or “user device” may refer to any information processing device that can be used by a user, such as a computer, a laptop computer, a tablet PC, a mobile phone terminal, and the like.

[0028] The term "external device" may refer to a user device that can be connected to an electronic device wirelessly or by wire. For example, an external device may include an image forming device, a text input device, an optical input device, an on-screen input device, an image output device, an audio output device, or any other type of user device that can be connected to an electronic device.

[0029] The term "universal printer driver (UPD)" may refer to a driver that facilitates single print driver control and management of the operation of a printer.

[0030] Examples of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may have examples in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein. Rather, these examples are given to provide a better understanding of the scope of the present disclosure.

[0031] These and other features of the examples will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0032] Figure 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an electronic device according to an example in which a function of controlling an external device based on a connected network may be implemented.

[0033] As in Figure 1As shown in , the electronic device 100 may include a processor 110, a memory 120, an operating system 130, and an application 140. Other configurations of the electronic device 100 are also contemplated. In an example, the electronic device 100 may also include additional components, such as a power supply unit for supplying power to the components mentioned above, a user interface unit, a communication unit for communicatively coupling to those components or external entities, etc. In another example, the electronic device 100 may include Figure 1 Further, it will be appreciated that the electronic device 100 may be a single device or may include multiple interconnected devices.

[0034] In some examples, the processor 110 can control the overall functions of the electronic device 100. For example, the processor 110 can be implemented using a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or other processing circuits to perform the operations described herein. For example, the processor 110 can execute instructions stored in the memory 120. The processor 110 can also read other information stored in the memory 120. In addition, the processor 110 can store new information in the memory 120 and can update the information stored in the memory 120. For example, the processor 110 can obtain information for controlling the electronic device 100 from the memory 120, or can store such information in the memory 120.

[0035] In an example, if an event occurs related to a network to which the electronic device 100 is connected, the electronic device 100 (e.g., its processor 110) may receive a network event from the operating system 130. Such a network event may be caused by a change in the network to which the electronic device 100 is connected, by a user starting the electronic device 100 and logging into the operating system 130, or by other circumstances. In response to receiving the network event, the processor 110 of the electronic device 100 may request and receive an address on the network to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected, such as a gateway MAC address, from the operating system that controls the network device.

[0036] The application 140 operates in conjunction with an external device (such as an external device 150) connected to the electronic device 100, and is a component for controlling the functions and environmental configuration of the external device 150. The application 140 can provide a login function for a user account, and specifically, a multi-account login function that keeps multiple user accounts logged in thereto. Therefore, a user can log in to the application 140 with multiple accounts of the user. In this regard, after receiving a network event from the operating system 130, the application 140 can receive information about the network to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected and information about the user account associated therewith. The application 140 can obtain information about the environmental configuration of the external device under control through the application, or information about another configuration of the external device, wherein such configuration information is associated with the account.

[0037] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment, the external device 150 is a user device that can be connected to the electronic device 100 in a wireless or wired manner. Examples of the external device 150 include an image forming apparatus, a text input device, an optical input device, an on-screen input device, an image output device, an audio output device, and the like.

[0038] With reference to an example where the external device 150 is an image forming apparatus, certain example configurations and operations will now be described.

[0039] Figure 2 is a diagram illustratively showing the operation of an application installed in an electronic device according to an example.

[0040] As discussed above, since the electronic device 100 is connectable with the external device 150, the application 140 may operate in conjunction with the external device 150 to, for example, control the external device 150. Figure 2 In the example of , the external device 150 is illustrated as an image forming apparatus to be controlled by the application 140. The application 140 can be installed in the electronic device 100 together with the universal printer driver 270 and the printer queue 260. Further, the application 140 can provide a login manager 141 and an event handler 142. It is understood that the application 140 may include modules or sub-applications, including the login manager 141 and the event handler 142. Any of these modules may be implemented in hardware, machine-readable instructions, or a combination thereof. It should also be understood that the hardware / machine-readable instructions / other modules may or may not be physically separated from each other, and various modules in the module may be combined into a single or multiple units.

[0041] In some examples, the login manager 141 can perform a user login function. Based on the user logging into the application with his / her user account, the login manager 141 can use information about the account, such as an identifier (ID) of the account, to receive information about the operational configuration of the image forming device (such as resolution, color / black and white output mode, print paper size), and information about other configurations of the image forming device associated with the user account. For example, the operational configuration information can be received from the user and the organization management server 220. Further, if the organization administrator manages their own corresponding group policies, the login manager 141 can receive information about the group policy to be applied to the user. The received operational configuration can be sent to the printer queue management service 250, which can include a printer queue manager 251 to apply the operational configuration to the printer queue 260, thereby operating the image forming device based on the operational configuration.

[0042] In some examples, the application can be connected to a cloud server or other types of service servers for providing its services. In the example where the server is connected to the application, the server can provide its specific services related to the external device 150. In this way, the user account logged into the application can be a cloud account, or other types of user accounts registered with the server. In other examples, different implementations are possible.

[0043] In some examples, based on the occurrence of a specific event in the electronic device 100, the event handler 142 can receive and process the event. For example, the specific event can include a network event. The network event can include starting the electronic device 100 for a new connection to a network, a change in the network to which the electronic device 100 is connected, and the like. Based on the occurrence of such an event, the event handler 142 can recognize that the user is placed in a new working environment, and can store, among other things, information about the previous configuration of the image forming device under management on the electronic device 100, such as a network ID, an account ID, credentials, and the like. For example, the current configuration information can be stored in the network identifier and account information repository 210. The event handler 142 can identify whether the changed network environment corresponds to a first network that meets specific conditions. As an example, since some network environments and their corresponding network identifiers can be stored in the network identifier repository 200, it can be identified whether the changed network environment corresponds to the first network. If it is identified that the changed network environment matches one of the network environments stored in the network identifier repository 200, the event handler 142 can obtain a network identifier that uniquely identifies the network environment, such as in Figure 2In the example, the login manager 141 may store network identifiers such as Env1, Env2, etc., which uniquely identify network environments, and login information such as account ID, credentials, etc., about user accounts corresponding to the acquired network identifiers from the network identifier and account information repository 210. For example, the user account corresponding to the network identifier may be a user account designated for use in the network environment corresponding to the network identifier and stored corresponding to the network identifier. The network identifier and account information repository 210 may store therein network identifiers such as Env1, Env2, etc., which uniquely identify network environments, and login information such as account ID, credentials, etc., about user accounts corresponding to the network identifiers, respectively. The login manager 141 may perform a login procedure on the application based on the acquired information.

[0044] In some examples, the first network may be a network that the electronic device 100 has previously connected to. Other examples of the first network are also contemplated herein, including, for example, a network previously identified by a user, the electronic device 100, an application, etc., such as a network previously selected by a user or an administrator, a network that satisfies certain conditions, etc. Other examples are also contemplated, in which the environment of the connected network can be uniquely identified and matched with login information configured to log into an application in the environment.

[0045] In some examples, the network identifier repository 200 may manage a network list including the first network as follows. In an example where the environment of the network to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected is uniquely identified by a network identifier, the event handler 142 of the application 140 may identify whether the network to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected is the first network included in the network list. Based on the identification, the event handler 142 may generate a new network identifier for the network for storage, or may obtain a network identifier corresponding to the network.

[0046] In some examples, the network identifier and account information repository 210 can manage network identifiers stored in the network identifier repository 200, and login information about user accounts corresponding to the network identifiers, respectively, the login information including, for example, account IDs and credentials. In the following example, it can be said that the company network and the enterprise account are associated with each other: based on the electronic device 100 being connected to the company network, the enterprise account can be used for the electronic device 100 and other accounts are not available for the electronic device. In this example, the network identifier repository 200 can store the network identifier of the company network therein. The event handler 142 of the application 140 can make the network identifier correspond to the login information about the enterprise account to store the network identifier and the login information in the network identifier and account information repository 210. In another example, based on receiving a network event after the network event occurs, the event handler 142 can obtain the login information about the account corresponding to the identifier of the network to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected from the network identifier and account information repository 210, and the obtained information can be transmitted to the login manager 141.

[0047] In some examples, logging into a user account may require credentials, including, for example, a password for the user account. The credentials may be managed by an operating system 130 installed in the electronic device 100.

[0048] In some examples, based on a user logging into an application 140, the user and organization management server 220 may read information about the operational configuration of the external device 150 corresponding to his / her login account, information about the organization to which the account belongs, information about policies set for the organization, and the like from the user management repository 230 and the organization management repository 240.

[0049] The user management repository 230 may store each individual user account in association with information about the environment configuration of the external device corresponding to the user account. In an example where the external device is an image forming apparatus, the configuration information may include information about the image forming apparatus, information about its driver settings, information about its user preferences, etc. Further, the user management repository 230 may store therein the organization to which the corresponding account belongs in association with the first network.

[0050] The organization management repository 240 may store associated information about each individual organization to which the corresponding user account belongs. For example, the organization information may include information about policies for the organization. In an example where the external device is an image forming apparatus, the organization policy information may include default values ​​for configuring a specific driver, activation or deactivation of a specific configuration item, and the like.

[0051] In an example, the user and organization management server 220 may be a cloud server or other type of server connected to the application. In this example, the user management repository 230 and the organization management repository 240 may be retained in a device separate from the electronic device 100. Other examples of the user management repository 230 and the organization management repository 240 are also contemplated herein. For example, the user management repository 230 and the organization management repository 240 may be retained locally in the memory 120 of the electronic device 100, or in another repository accessible by the electronic device 100 without the user and organization management server 220.

[0052] In the example where the external device is an image forming apparatus, additional components may be provided, including a printer queue management service 250, a printer queue 260, and a universal printer driver 270. The printer queue management service 250 may apply some information received via the login manager 141 to the printer queue, including environmental configuration information about the image forming apparatus, and organizational information. For example, the printer queue 260 may store attribute information therein, including information, user preference information, organizational information, policy information, etc., where the value is configured for use by the universal printer driver 270. The printer queue 260 may be configured to signal the image forming apparatus of an image forming job, and is connected to the universal printer driver 270. In the example, the printer queue may have an attribute information repository for retaining information about the printer queue, such as information about its destination printer (i.e., the image forming apparatus), information about user preferences, information about the organization including the user, and information about the policy applied to the organization. The universal printer driver 270 may be used as a single driver for controlling and managing the operation of the printer.

[0053] Figure 3 is a diagram illustratively showing a network identifier repository according to an example.

[0054] In some examples, the network identifier may be an identifier that uniquely identifies the environment of the network to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected. The network identifier may be generated in association with the address of the network to which the electronic device is currently connected (such as the MAC address of the gateway of the network). The network identifier may be stored in the memory 120 of the electronic device 100 or in a separate repository accessible by the electronic device 100. In an example, the electronic device 100 may be connected to one or more networks and has a network device, such as a network interface card (NIC) for each network connection. For example, the electronic device 100 may have two NICs, each of which supports connection to a wired network, and one NIC supports connection to a wireless network. Since the NIC is connected to its corresponding gateway, the MAC address of the gateway may be combined so as to uniquely generate a network identifier using its value. Therefore, information about the environment of the (multiple) networks to which the electronic device 100 is currently connected may be stored in the network identifier repository 200 corresponding to the network identifier. Further, it may be identified whether the first network is the currently connected network of the electronic device 100.

[0055] exist Figure 3 In the example of , the electronic device 100 has three NICs, referred to as NIC1, NIC2, and NIC3. Network identifier 1 can be generated using a unique value of the MAC address of NIC1 (e.g., 10:20:30:40:50:60) to identify an environment in which NIC1 is connected to a specific network and neither NIC2 nor NIC3 is connected to any network. In this way, network identifier 1 and the MAC address of NIC1 can be stored in association with each other. Network identifier 2 can be generated to identify an environment in which NIC1 is connected to a specific network, NIC2 is connected to another network, and NIC3 is not connected to any network. Network identifier 3 is an example of an environment for identifying that NIC1, NIC2, and NIC3 are respectively connected to specific networks. Network identifier 4 is an example identifier generated to identify an environment in which NIC1 is connected to a network other than those specified for network identifier 3. In this way, the electronic device 100 can obtain a network list including a first network, identify whether it is currently connected to the first network, and obtain a network identifier of the currently connected network. It should be understood that other example ways of identifying whether the environment of the (multiple) networks to which the electronic device 100 is connected corresponds to the first network are also possible.

[0056] Continuing with reference to the example in which the external device 150 is an image forming apparatus, an example in which the electronic device operates based on a user logging in or out of the application 140 will be described below.

[0057] Figure 4 is a flowchart of an operation of an electronic device updating information about an environment configuration of an external device according to an example.

[0058] exist Figure 4 In the example of , a user account is logged into the application at operation S410.

[0059] At operation S420, an operation configuration of an external device (such as external device 150) and a request for a network to which it is connected corresponding to the account are made using the ID of the logged-in user account. In an example where the external device is an image forming device used by a user using an account, the operation configuration of the image forming device may include information about the image forming device, information about its driver settings, information about its preferences, and information about the organization to which the account belongs. For example, the request for the operation configuration of the image forming device may further include a request for organizational information. The organizational information may also indicate policies set for the organization and the organization itself.

[0060] At operation S430, an operation configuration of an external device corresponding to the account is received.

[0061] At operation S440, the received operation configuration is used to generate an updated operation configuration of the external device. In an example where the external device is an image forming device, the application 140 may transmit the operation configuration of the image forming device, etc. to the printer queue management service 250. The printer queue management service 250 may apply the configuration information received from the login manager 141 and possible organization information to the printer queue to generate an updated operation configuration of the image forming device corresponding to the account. Some of the received information may be applied to obtain information about attributes of the printer queue, and the attribute values ​​may be used based on the printer driver creating an image forming job, signaling an image forming job to the image forming device, or displaying III for setting the printer driver.

[0062] The above-mentioned operation can realize such update by automatically obtaining the operation configuration of the external device 150 that has been previously used for the account. Therefore, the user does not need to manually change the operation configuration of the external device 150 connected to the electronic device on the electronic device, and thus can conveniently use the external device.

[0063] In addition to the image forming apparatus, other examples of external devices 150 are contemplated, including, for example, text input devices, optical input devices, on-screen input devices, image output devices, audio output devices, or other types of devices that can be connected to the electronic device 100 so that its operational configuration can be controlled by an application. In such examples, the electronic device 100 can be operated to receive an operational configuration from a server, which is used to use the external device 150 connected to the electronic device 100. Other example ways of updating the operational configuration of the external device 150 and applying the operational configuration to the electronic device 100 are also possible and are contemplated herein.

[0064] Figure 5 is a simplified diagram illustratively showing operations performed by an electronic device based on an account being logged out according to an example.

[0065] At operation S510, the account is logged out from the application. At operation S520, the operation configuration of the external device 150 maintained before the logout is acquired. In an example where the external device 150 is an image forming apparatus, the login manager 141 of the application 140 may acquire the operation configuration of the external device 150 maintained before the logout from the printer queue manager 251.

[0066] At operation S530, the acquired operation configuration is stored corresponding to the ID of the cancelled account. For example, the acquired operation configuration can be sent together with the ID of the cancelled account to the user and organization management server 220, which can store the ID of the cancelled account and the operation configuration maintained before the cancellation in the user management repository 230 and the organization management repository 240 in correspondence.

[0067] Similarly, the above-mentioned operations can be performed based on the application converting the currently used user account to another account. In the example where the user account used in the application for controlling the electronic device 100 is converted to the converted user account corresponding to the first network, the operation configuration of the external device 150 connected to the electronic device 100 can be stored corresponding to the user account before the conversion.

[0068] The above-mentioned process may enable the operation configuration of the image forming apparatus most recently used by the user to be stored in a server or the like together with a specific account.

[0069] An example in which the electronic device 100 operates to automatically select a login account to update a device configuration is described below.

[0070] Figure 6is a diagram illustratively showing an operation performed by an electronic device according to an example, that is, selecting a corresponding user account based on a network to which it is connected and automatically updating information about configuration of an external device to information corresponding to the account.

[0071] In an example, the electronic device 100 may use a processor of the electronic device 100 or an application program, module, or other machine-readable instruction component implemented by the processor to execute Figure 6 Therefore, these operations should be interpreted as being capable of being performed by the illustrated specific components as well as other components of the example electronic device 100.

[0072] At operation S600, it is identified whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network. In some examples, the first network may be a network to which the electronic device has previously been connected. Other examples of the first network are also contemplated herein, including, for example, a network previously identified by a user, an electronic device, an application installed thereon, etc., such as a network previously selected by a user, a network that satisfies a specific predetermined condition, etc. Other examples are also contemplated, in which the environment of the connected network can be uniquely identified and matched with login information configured to log into an application in the environment.

[0073] References below Figure 7 Example operations are described that may be performed if the first network is a network to which the electronic device has previously been connected.

[0074] Figure 7 is a diagram illustratively showing an operation of identifying whether a network to which an electronic device is connected is a first network according to an example.

[0075] At operation S601, after a network event occurs in an electronic device, the network event is received. For example, the network event may include an event that the network to which the electronic device 100 is connected is changed. In an example, a network-related event that has occurred in the electronic device may be received from the operating system through an event handler of an application installed in the electronic device. Such a network event may be caused by a change in the network to which the electronic device is connected, by a user starting the electronic device and logging into the operating system, or by other circumstances.

[0076] At operation S602, if a network event is received, it is identified whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network.

[0077] The operation may include an operation of obtaining a list of networks for identification. In an example, the network list may include network identifiers, each of which corresponds to a network to which the electronic device has previously been connected. In this example, the network identifier of the first network may be one of the network identifiers included in the network list. In other words, identification may include identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is currently connected is a network to which the electronic device has previously been connected. Other examples of networks included in the network list are also contemplated herein, including, for example, networks previously identified by a user, an electronic device, an application, etc., such as networks previously selected by a user or an administrator, networks that meet specific conditions, etc.

[0078] If it is identified at operation S602 that the network to which the electronic device is connected is not the first network, in other words, the connected network is a new network to which the electronic device has not been previously connected, a new network identifier may be generated at operation S603 and the new network identifier may be stored corresponding to the connected network. Thus, the electronic device may store information about the network to which it was initially connected, thereby preparing so that, based on the electronic device being later reconnected to the network, automatic selection of a login account and automatic updating of an operation configuration of an external device may be performed. In the event that the electronic device is connected to a network to which it has not been previously connected, there is no account that has previously been used with the new network. Therefore, this operation is terminated without changing the login account and the operation configuration.

[0079] In an example, based on the electronic device connecting to a network that it has not previously connected to and the user account logging into an application on the new network, the login information about the account can be paired with the network identifier of the new network. Further, such a pairing can be stored in a network identifier and account information repository.

[0080] Other examples of identifying whether the network currently connected to the electronic device is the first network at operation S602 are also contemplated. For example, such identification can be performed periodically or whenever an installed application is executed on the electronic device, rather than based on receiving a network event at operation S601.

[0081] In an example, the network list may include a pairing of each of the network identifiers corresponding to the respective networks to which the electronic device has previously been connected and login information about the user account corresponding to the respective network. For example, the user account corresponding to the network may be a user account designated for use in the network, and may therefore be stored in correspondence with the network identifier of the network. As discussed above, login information about the user account may include an account ID and credentials. The credentials may be used together with the ID of the user account to log in to the account. For example, the credentials may be a password, etc. Therefore, if the electronic device is connected to a network whose identifier corresponds to one of the network identifiers included in the network list, login information about the user account corresponding to the network may be obtained at operation S604. The login information about the account may be used to convert a user account used in an application installed in the electronic device into a user account corresponding to the first network, i.e., an account designated for use in the first network.

[0082] In an example, the application can be connected to a cloud server or other type of server. In this regard, the user account logged into the application can be a cloud account or other type of user account registered with a server that is connected to the application to provide specific services related to the external device. In other examples, different implementations are possible.

[0083] In the example of obtaining login information about the account currently being used in the application as above, it is possible to identify whether the ID of the account currently being used is the same as the ID of the user account corresponding to the connected network based on the acquired login information at operation S605. As an example, the user's account can be said to be currently being used in the application in the following cases: the user is using the application on the laptop computer in the office after logging into the application on his / her laptop computer (i.e., electronic device) from home and then moving to his / her office without logging out of the application; or the network connected to the application is changed when multiple accounts remain logged in to the application. If it is identified that the two IDs are the same as each other, the account currently being used in the application can be the same as the account corresponding to the current network (i.e., the account used on the currently connected network). The operation can be terminated without changing the login account and the operation configuration. If it is identified that the two IDs are not the same, the account currently being used in the application may not be the account corresponding to the current network. Therefore, operation S610 can be performed, and a conversion is performed at this operation so that the application can be used with the account corresponding to the current network.

[0084] In some examples, operation S605 may be omitted based on the user starting the electronic device and not having logged into any account of the application. Instead, the account associated with the connected network may be directly set for use in the application. In other examples, different implementations are possible.

[0085] Back to Figure 6 If the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network, then at operation S610, the account used in the application installed in the electronic device is converted into a user account corresponding to the first network, that is, an account designated for use in the first network. Figure 8 Describes example operations for the transformation.

[0086] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation of configuring an application installed in an electronic device so that the application is used with a user account corresponding to a connected network according to an example.

[0087] In the example of performing operation S610, when it is recognized that the ID of the account currently used in the application and used to log in to the application is different from the ID of the account designated for the first network, a message asking whether to convert to the user account corresponding to the first network may be output at operation S611. At operation S612, a response to the message may be received. If a response indicating not to convert is received, the operation is terminated. Figure 8 The operation process is performed without changing the account used in the application. If a response indicating that the conversion is to be performed is received, the account used in the application is converted into an account corresponding to the first network, as described below.

[0088] In some examples, operations S611 and S612 may be omitted. In other words, user account conversion may be performed without outputting a message and receiving a response thereto. For example, operations S611 and S612 may be omitted based on the absence of any account currently being used in the application, or where the application supports multiple account logins and an account associated with the network to which the electronic device is connected is not logged in. In other examples, different implementations are possible.

[0089] Before the user account is converted, it can be identified at operation S613 whether the application installed in the electronic device supports a multi-account login function. The term "multi-account login function" refers to a function that allows a user to log in to an application using multiple accounts at the same time. Multiple accounts of the user can remain logged in to the application at the same time. That is, the application can use multiple accounts in a manner of converting from one of the accounts to another account without performing an additional logout / login procedure.

[0090] If it is identified that the application does not support the multi-account login function, the account currently being used for the application is logged out at operation S614. In the example, the currently used account can be logged out so that the account designated for the first network (i.e., the network to which the electronic device is connected) can be logged in. If it is identified that the application supports the multi-account login function, the account currently being used in the application is converted into a user account corresponding to the first network at operation S615.

[0091] In some examples, if the application supports multiple account login functionality, but the user account corresponding to the first network is not logged into the application, such a login may be requested. In other examples, different implementations are possible. After login, some operations, such as those shown in the operations generally referred to as 400, may be performed to update information about the environment configuration of the external device.

[0092] At operation S616, in response to the currently used account being logged off or converted, information about the operation configuration of the external device is stored corresponding to the user account used in the application before the conversion, and the operation configuration is set before the conversion. In an example, operation S616 can be performed as illustrated with respect to the operations generally referred to as 500.

[0093] After the account logged into the application is logged out and the information about the current configuration of the image forming apparatus is stored together with the ID of the account, the account used in the application is converted into an account corresponding to the first network at operation S617. That is, based on logging into the application with an account associated with the currently connected network, or based on the application providing a multi-account login function, conversion to an account corresponding to the currently connected network can be performed.

[0094] In an example where the application supports a multi-account login function, the operation S617 of converting the account used in the application into the account corresponding to the first network may include the following operations: if there is a user account corresponding to the first network among the multiple accounts of the user logged into the application, the application is configured to be used with the user account corresponding to the first network. That is, after obtaining the account corresponding to the first network from the multiple accounts logged in at the same time, the conversion is performed so that the application is used with the corresponding account.

[0095] After operation S617, the operation configuration of the external device connected to the electronic device may be updated to the operation configuration of the external device corresponding to the converted user account at operation S620. In an example where the external device is an image forming apparatus, the operation configuration of the driver installed in the electronic device may be updated. In the example, the operation of the electronic device updating the operation configuration of the external device may be performed as illustrated with respect to the operation generally referred to as 400.

[0096] In the examples mentioned above, the external device is an image forming device. However, other examples of external devices are also contemplated herein, including text input devices, optical input devices, on-screen input devices, image output devices, audio output devices, or other types of user devices that can be connected to the electronic device. Further, it should be understood that several suitable variations of the examples are suitable for specific environments in which the application is installed to control the external device connected to the electronic device.

[0097] The operations of automatically selecting a login account and updating the device configuration discussed above can help users reduce the inconvenience of manually changing login accounts according to changes in the network environment, and can also enable storage and restoration of basic configurations specific to the user's desired account and network environment, thereby providing convenience to the user. For example, when a user is at his / her office and then uses his / her laptop computer at his / her home, the operations mentioned above may involve configuring an application to be used with a corporate account for use in a corporate network within the office, and then configured to be used with a personal account for use in a network at home. Further, configuration information about an image forming device recently used by a user may be stored in a server or the like in association with a corporate account used on a corporate network. If a network event in which a new connection is established to a corporate network subsequently occurs, such as if the user goes to the office the next day and uses a laptop computer, the stored information may be used to configure the application to be used with a corporate account associated with the corporate network, and may enable automatic updating to information about the configuration of the image forming device used at the office the day before yesterday.

[0098] Fig. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating a login account list of an application supporting multiple accounts to be logged in thereto according to an example.

[0099] As mentioned above, the term "multiple account login function" refers to a function that allows users to log in to an application using multiple accounts at the same time. Fig. 9As shown in , a personal account 901 indicated as “personal@gmail.com” is currently used in the application. Further, although a business account 902 indicated as “user1@business.com” is not currently used in the application, accounts 901 and 902 remain logged into the application at the same time. In some examples, the account used in the application can be converted to the business account 902 based on the electronic device in which the application is installed being connected to a network associated with the business account 902. For example, based on the user using the electronic device for his / her personal use at his / her home, the user can use the personal account 901 as the user account for the application. Likewise, based on the user bringing the electronic device to his / her office and using the application at the office, the account used in the application can be converted to the business account 902.

[0100] Fig.10 is a diagram showing an example of updating information about the configuration of a device according to organizational information and policy information.

[0101] As discussed above, information about the operational configuration of the external device corresponding to the user account corresponding to the first network may include information about the organization to which the account belongs. Further, the organizational information may include information about policies applied to the organization. For example, the account used by the user at the office may be his / her corporate account, which may belong to two organizations, Org1 and Org2. The Org1 and Org2 organizations are located at Office 1 and Office 2, respectively, with their respective different network environments.

[0102] In some examples, accounts may be converted or changed based on the occurrence of a network event, as described above with respect to Figures 4 to 8 In some other examples, in response to a network event, a transition or change can be made between organizations to which an account belongs, wherein the account remains logged in.

[0103] refer to Fig.10In the box 1000 at the upper portion of the , in the case where the user moves from Office 1 to Office 2, the organization set for the logged-in account is changed from Org1 to Org2, as indicated in boxes 1001 and 1002, respectively. For example, each of Office 1 and Office 2 may have a different image forming device, and thus the image forming device may have a different operation configuration as well as a different network. If the user moves from Office 1 to Office 2, a network event occurs, in which a change is made from Network B to Network C. In this regard, the account designated for Office 1 may be the same as the account for Office 2. In such a case, the account used in the application may remain unconverted. Further, as discussed above, the two separate offices, Office 1 and Office 2, may have their corresponding different image forming devices, whose operation configurations may be different from each other. Therefore, based on the occurrence of the network event and the change of the organization set for the account logged in on the currently connected network from Org1 to Org2, the operation configuration of the image forming device associated with the organization may be updated accordingly.

[0104] Reference Fig.10 In the box 1010 at the lower part of the, in the case where the organization set for the logged-in account is changed from Org1 to Org2 based on the occurrence of the network event, as indicated in boxes 1011 and 1012 respectively, the information about each of the organizations may include information 1013 or 1014 about the policy specified by the administrator. Therefore, updating the operation configuration of the image forming device may involve updating the policy information. For example, the policy information 1013 may be set by the administrator to impose a restriction on Org1 to perform printing in grayscale. Further, the information 1014 may be set by the administrator to impose a restriction on Org2 to perform double-sided printing instead of single-sided printing. The operation configuration of the image forming device may be updated based on the occurrence of the network event and the subsequent change of the organization to which the logged-in account belongs, including such policy information.

[0105] An example of controlling an external device based on a connected network will now be described.

[0106] Fig.11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for external device control based on a connected network according to an example.

[0107] In an example, the method 1100 for external device control based on a connected network may be performed by an electronic device in which an application is installed to control an external device connected to the electronic device.

[0108] The method 1100 includes identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network at operation S1110. At operation S1120, in response to identifying that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network, converting a user account used in the application to a converted user account corresponding to the first network, the application is installed in the electronic device. At operation S1130, in response to the conversion, updating an operation configuration of the external device to an operation configuration corresponding to the converted user account, the external device is under control through the application.

[0109] An example of operation S1110 will be provided. The identification performed at S1110 as to whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network may include an operation of obtaining a network list. In the example, the network list may include network identifiers, each of which corresponds to a network to which the electronic device has previously been connected. Further, in this example, one of the network identifiers included in the network list may be a network identifier of the first network. In other words, the identification may include identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is currently connected is a network to which the electronic device has previously been connected. Other examples of networks included in the network list are also contemplated herein, including, for example, networks previously identified by a user, an electronic device, an application, etc., such as a network previously selected by a user or an administrator, a network that meets specific conditions, and the like. Other examples are also contemplated in which the environment of the connected network can be uniquely identified and matched with login information configured to log in to an application in that environment.

[0110] In an example, the network list may include a pairing of each of the network identifiers with login information about a user account corresponding to a corresponding network in the network. For example, the user account corresponding to the network may be a user account designated for use in the network. Therefore, based on the network identifier of the network to which the electronic device is connected corresponding to one of the network identifiers included in the network list, login information about the user account corresponding to the network may be obtained. This information may be used to convert an account used in an application installed in the electronic device into an account corresponding to the first network.

[0111] An example of operation S1120 will be provided.

[0112] The conversion may be made based on identifying that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network. A message may be outputted to inquire whether to make a conversion to a user account corresponding to the first network. Further, a response to the message may be received. If a response indicating that no conversion is to be made is received, then the process is terminated. Fig.11 The method does not change the account used in the application. If a response indicating that the conversion is to be performed is received, the account used in the application is converted into an account corresponding to the first network.

[0113] In some examples, the above-mentioned inquiry and response can be omitted. In other words, the user account conversion can be performed without outputting a message and receiving a response thereto.

[0114] Before the user account is converted, it can be identified whether the application installed in the electronic device supports the multi-account login function. As mentioned above, the term "multi-account login function" refers to a function that allows a user to log in to an application using multiple accounts at the same time. The user's multiple accounts can remain logged in to the application at the same time. That is, the application can use multiple accounts in a manner of converting from one of the accounts to another account without performing additional logout / login procedures.

[0115] If it is identified that the application does not support the multi-account login function, the account currently being used for the application is logged out. Specifically, the currently used account can be logged out so that the account designated for the first network (i.e., the network to which the electronic device is connected) can be logged in. If it is identified that the application supports the multi-account login function, the account currently being used in the application is converted into a user account corresponding to the first network.

[0116] Further, based on the currently used account being converted or logged out, the operation configuration of the external device set before the conversion can be stored corresponding to the user account used in the application before the conversion. Such operations can be performed as illustrated with respect to the operations generally referred to as 500.

[0117] After the account logged into the application is logged out and the information about the current operation configuration of the external device is stored together with the ID of the account, the account used in the application is converted into the account corresponding to the first network at operation S1120. That is, based on logging into the application with the account corresponding to the currently connected network, or based on the application providing a multi-account login function, conversion to the account corresponding to the currently connected network can be performed.

[0118] As discussed above, the network list may include a pairing of a network identifier of the first network and login information about a user account corresponding to the first network. Therefore, operation S1120 may be performed using the login information included in the network list, i.e., converting an account used in an application installed in the electronic device into a user account corresponding to the first network.

[0119] In an example where the application supports a multi-account login function, the operation S1120 of converting the account used in the application into the account corresponding to the first network may include the following operations: if there is a user account corresponding to the first network among the multiple accounts logged into the application, the application is configured to be used with the user account corresponding to the first network. That is, after obtaining the account corresponding to the first network from the multiple accounts logged in at the same time, the conversion is performed so that the application is used with the corresponding account.

[0120] At operation S1130, based on the account used in the application installed in the electronic device being converted into a user account corresponding to the first network, the operation configuration of the external device connected to the electronic device and under control by the application can be updated to an operation configuration corresponding to the converted user account. Operation 1130 can be implemented in a manner similar to that described with respect to the operations generally referred to as 400.

[0121] Fig.12 is a schematic illustration of a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including instructions for causing operations to be performed according to an example.

[0122] As in Fig.12 As shown in FIG. 1 , the non-transitory computer readable recording medium 1200 stores a computer program that can be executed by a processor and can be programmed to implement some operations of the above-described example method, such as the above-described Figures 1 to 10 The operation of the electronic device described above, and Fig.11 Operation of the method described.

[0123] The computer program on the non-transitory computer-readable recording medium 1200 may include a set of program instructions that direct the processor to perform specific operations. Fig.12 , an example of a computer program stored in the non-transitory computer-readable recording medium 1200 will be described.

[0124] As in Fig.12 As shown in , the computer program includes: instructions S1210 for identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network; instructions S1220 for converting a user account used in an application into a converted user account corresponding to the first network in response to identifying that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network, the application being installed in the electronic device; and instructions S1230 for updating an operating configuration of an external device to an operating configuration corresponding to the converted user account in response to the conversion, the external device being under control through the application.

[0125] As can be seen, when executing the computer program stored in the non-transitory computer readable recording medium 1200, the computer (eg, the electronic device described above) can be executed. Fig.12 Instructions S1210, S1220 and S1230 illustrated in Figures 1 to 10 The example operations described above are Fig.11 The example operations described.

[0126] The computer-readable recording medium described above may be a non-transitory readable medium. As used herein, the term "non-transitory readable medium" refers to a medium that can semi-permanently store data and can be read by a device, rather than a medium that temporarily stores data, such as a register, a cache, a volatile memory device, etc. For example, the aforementioned program instructions may be stored and provided in a CD, a DVD, a hard disk, a Blu-ray disc, a USB, a memory card, a ROM device, or any other type of non-transitory readable medium.

[0127] In a specific example, the example methods disclosed herein can be incorporated into a computer program product. The computer program product can be obtained as a product in a transaction between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product can be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)) or through an application store (e.g., PlayStore). TM ) Online distribution. For online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product may be temporarily stored or temporarily created in a storage medium such as a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or a storage medium such as a memory of a relay server.

[0128] The foregoing description has been presented to illustrate and describe examples. It will be appreciated that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. In various examples, suitable results may be achieved if the techniques described above are performed in a different order, and / or if some of the components of the systems, architectures, devices, circuits, etc. described above are coupled or combined in a different manner, or are substituted or replaced with other components or their equivalents.

[0129] Although the foregoing examples are described in the context of an image forming apparatus, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to image forming apparatuses and is applicable to other cases where an application is installed to control an external device connected to an electronic device.

[0130] Thus, the scope of the disclosure should not be limited to the precise forms disclosed, but should be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an external device, the method comprising: identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network; in response to identifying that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network, converting a user account used in an application installed in the electronic device into a converted user account corresponding to the first network; as well as In response to the conversion, the operation configuration of the external device is updated to the operation configuration corresponding to the converted user account, and the external device is under control by the application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Get a list of networks including network identifiers, wherein each of the network identifiers on the network list corresponds to a respective network to which the electronic device has previously been connected; and The network identifier of the first network corresponds to one of the network identifiers on the network list.

3. The method according to claim 2, in, The network list includes a pairing of each network identifier with login information regarding a respective user account corresponding to the respective network; and Wherein, converting the user account used in the application into the converted user account corresponding to the first network includes: converting the user account used in the application into the converted user account corresponding to the first network by using the login information included in the network list.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: Based on the application supporting a multi-account login function of keeping multiple accounts logged in at the same time, converting the user account used in the application into the converted user account corresponding to the first network includes: if the user account corresponding to the first network exists among the multiple accounts logged in to the application, configuring the application to be used with the user account corresponding to the first network.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Prior to the converting, the operation configuration of the external device is stored in correspondence with the user account used in the application.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: A message asking whether to perform the conversion is output.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein: The user account includes a cloud account, or an account of a server used to connect with the application.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, comprising instructions for causing a processor of an electronic device to perform an operation for external device control, the non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising: an instruction for identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network; instructions for converting a user account used in an application installed in the electronic device into a converted user account corresponding to the first network in response to recognizing that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network; as well as Instructions for updating, in response to the conversion, an operating configuration of an external device to an operating configuration corresponding to the converted user account, the external device being controlled by the application.

9. The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of claim 8, further comprising: instructions for obtaining a list of networks including network identifiers, wherein each of the network identifiers on the network list corresponds to a respective network to which the electronic device has previously been connected; and The network identifier of the first network corresponds to one of the network identifiers on the network list.

10. The non-transitory computer readable recording medium according to claim 9, in, The network list includes a pairing of each network identifier with login information regarding a respective user account corresponding to the respective network; and Among them, the instructions for converting the user account used in the application into the converted user account corresponding to the first network include: instructions for converting the user account used in the application into the converted user account corresponding to the first network by using the login information included in the network list.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 8, wherein: Based on the application supporting a multi-account login function of keeping multiple accounts logged in at the same time, the instructions for converting the user account used in the application into the converted user account corresponding to the first network include the following instructions: if the user account corresponding to the first network exists among the multiple accounts logged in to the application, the application is configured to be used with the user account corresponding to the first network.

12. The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of claim 8, further comprising: Instructions for storing the operation configuration of the external device in correspondence with the user account used in the application prior to the converting.

13. The non-transitory computer readable recording medium of claim 8, further comprising: Instructions for outputting a message asking whether to perform the conversion.

14. An electronic device comprising: A memory, the memory being used to store instructions; as well as A processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions so that the processor performs the following operations; identifying whether the network to which the electronic device is connected is a first network; in response to identifying that the network to which the electronic device is connected is the first network, converting a user account used in an application installed in the electronic device into a converted user account corresponding to the first network; as well as In response to the conversion, the operation configuration of the external device is updated to the operation configuration corresponding to the converted user account, and the external device is under control by the application.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein: The instructions further cause the processor to perform the following operations: Get a list of networks including network identifiers, wherein each of the network identifiers on the network list corresponds to a respective network to which the electronic device has previously been connected; and The network identifier of the first network corresponds to one of the network identifiers on the network list.

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