Information processing device, image generating device, printing system control method and storage medium

Abstract

Information processing device (120) capable of communicating with a service provision device (130) providing a print service and an image generation device (110) performing printing by using the print service, with: a transmission device (351) for transmitting a registration request at the service provision device to a plurality of image-generating devices; a receiving device (351) for receiving location information for accessing the service provision device, corresponding to each image-generating device, from the plurality of image-generating devices that have accepted the registration requirement; and a display device (350) for receiving and displaying an authentication screen for entering authentication information by accessing the service provision device based on the received location information, where user information corresponding to authentication and the multitude of image-generating devices are related and managed by the service-providing device after the authentication information is entered on the displayed authentication screen.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a service providing apparatus, a printing system control method, and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] A printing system has been proposed in which a print instruction is transmitted from a client to a web server, and the web server, having received the print instruction, converts content into print data for printing. Traditionally, a configuration in which the web server provides a web service to a client has been proposed. In recent years, cloud computing has also received attention as a configuration for providing a service from a web server to a client. A key feature of cloud computing is that data conversion and processing are performed in a distributed manner using multiple computing resources to process requests from many clients simultaneously. Currently, providers provide various types of services in a disorganized manner by implementing web services in a cloud computing environment to realize cloud computing.

[0003] For example, Google (registered trademark) has developed a data communication mechanism designed to provide services in conjunction with image forming devices and has publicly disclosed interfaces designed to enable image forming devices to perform data communication in a cloud computing environment established by Google (registered trademark) (see Google Developers Service Interface; https: / / developers.google.com / cloud-print / docs / proxyinterfaces?hl=ja). By implementing this interface in image forming devices, it is possible for a client to specify an image forming device for performing printing even when the image forming device and the server are connected via the Internet.

[0004] To use the aforementioned web server (hereinafter referred to as a "service providing device"), a user who is a client needs to obtain an account of the service providing device and register a printer. First, the user causes an image forming device to connect and communicate with a service providing device via a network. The user who registers the image forming device directly operates an operation unit of the image forming device or remotely operates the operation unit using an information processing device such as a mobile phone via a network to initiate printer registration processing. Alternatively, the user can use an application created by respective providers for registration.For example, a printing system disclosed in JP 2010-160579 A receives a request to register an image forming device with a service providing device from an information processing device, and transmits configuration information for the image forming device and access information for accessing the service providing device to the information processing device. Then, the service providing device performs printer registration by associating the configuration information for the image forming device, which is transmitted from the information processing device to the service providing device based on the access information, with the user information.

[0005] As another example, consider an information processing device configured in which a user uses a printer registration application provided by a provider to register an image forming device from the information processing device to the service providing device via a network. In this environment, the user first activates the printer registration application on a screen provided on the information processing device. The user issues instructions regarding printer registration to the service providing device using the printer registration screen displayed by the activated application.Through this instruction, the application issues instructions regarding a registration request to the service providing device to the image forming device to be registered, and the image forming device to be registered accesses the service providing device. The service providing device accessed by the image forming device transmits a login screen for logging into the service providing device on the login screen. When the user enters account information and the like on the login screen and login to the service providing device is successful, printer registration is executed by associating the accessed image forming device with the information processing device.

[0006] In a printing system or a printer registration method using the printer registration application disclosed in JP 2010-160579 A, ​​when a user registers a plurality of image forming devices in / to the printing service, the user must register the image forming devices to the service providing device one by one and repeat the registration depending on the number of image forming devices. For example, in a corporate environment, when many image forming devices are available on a network, the user requires a lot of time for printer registration work, and should constantly be careful of registration leaks.

[0007] Furthermore, US 2012 050794 A1 discloses a relay device in a printing system in which a print server, the relay device and a plurality of printing devices are connected to a network and which performs print processing. [Summary of the invention]

[0008] The information processing apparatus of the present invention provides a configuration in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are searched and the obtained image forming apparatuses are collectively registered to the service providing apparatus.

[0009] The information processing apparatus of one aspect according to the present invention, which includes a service, is communicable with a service providing apparatus that provides a print service and an image forming apparatus that performs printing by using the print service.The information processing device includes a transmission device for transmitting a registration request at the service providing device to a plurality of image forming devices; a reception device for receiving location information for accessing the service providing device corresponding to each image forming device from the plurality of image forming devices that have accepted the registration request; and a display device for accessing the service providing device based on the received location information, and for receiving and displaying an authentication screen for inputting authentication information. A user corresponding to the authentication and the plurality of image forming devices are associated and managed after authentication information is inputted on the displayed authentication screen.

[0010] According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of image forming apparatuses are searched, and the obtained image forming apparatuses can be collectively registered to the service providing apparatus.

[0011] Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings] Fig. 1 illustrates a configuration example of a printing system in a first embodiment. Fig. 2 illustrates hardware configuration examples of devices and a print server that construct a printing system. Fig. 3 illustrates software configuration examples of each device and a print service. Fig. Figure 4A illustrates management information stored in a print service. Fig. Figure 4B illustrates management information stored in a print service. Fig. Figure 5 illustrates a login screen for logging into a print server. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a printer registration screen. Fig. 7A illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. 7B illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. Figure 7C illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. Figure 7D illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. 8 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the first embodiment. Fig. 9 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in a second embodiment. Fig. 10 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the first embodiment. Fig. 11 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the second embodiment. Fig. 12A illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. 12B illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. Figure 12C illustrates a printer registration screen displayed by a registration application. Fig. 13 represents data collected by a registration application through a printer search. Fig. 14 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in a third embodiment. Fig. 15 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the third embodiment. Fig. 16 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in a fourth embodiment. Fig. 17 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the fourth embodiment. Fig. 18A represents data stored by the registration application. Fig. 18B represents data stored by the registration application. Fig. 18C represents data stored by the registration application. Fig. 19 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in a fifth embodiment. Fig. 20 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the fifth embodiment. Fig. 21 illustrates a configuration example of a printing system in a sixth embodiment. Fig. 22A illustrates a screen displayed by the image generating device on a web browser. Fig. 22B illustrates a screen displayed by the image generating device on a web browser. Fig. 22C illustrates a screen displayed by the image generating device on a web browser. Fig. 23 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in a sixth embodiment. Fig. 24 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the sixth embodiment. Fig. 25 illustrates a configuration example of a printing system in a seventh embodiment. Fig. 26A illustrates a user interface displayed on an operation panel of an image forming apparatus. Fig. 26B illustrates a user interface displayed on an operation panel of an image forming apparatus. Fig. 26C illustrates a user interface displayed on an operation panel of an image forming device. Fig. 27 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the seventh embodiment. Fig. 28 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the seventh embodiment. Fig. 29 illustrates processing for registering an image forming apparatus to a print server in the seventh embodiment. [Description of Embodiments](First Embodiment)

[0012] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a printing system 1000. The printing system 1000 includes a client 120 and an image forming device group 110 having one or more image forming devices. The client 120 and the image forming device group 110 are located in a user environment and are connected to each other via a network 100. The network 100 is connected to the Internet 101. The client 120 and the image forming device group 110 may be connected via the Internet 101. The printing system 1000 also includes a print server group 130. Each device and each server constituting the printing system 1000 can communicate with each other and perform data communication via the Internet 101. Note that a client device may be constructed from a plurality of devices.Also, the image forming device group 110 and the print server group 130 are configured with multiple units, but one unit is sufficient. Also, a user using the printing system 1000 is not limited to one user; the client 120 can be provided to any user.

[0013] Next, a description will be given of an example hardware configuration of each device and server that construct the printing system 1000. Each device and server respectively denotes the image forming device, the client 120, and the print server group 130 that configure the printing system 1000. Fig. 2 illustrates a configuration example of each device and server configuring the printing system 1000. Reference numeral 201 denotes each device and server configuring the printing system 1000. Reference numeral 202 denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a unit that executes various programs to realize various functions. Reference numeral 203 denotes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a unit that stores various programs. Reference numeral 204 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory), where the CPU 202 executes programs stored in the ROM 203 by loading them into the RAM 204. The RAM 204 is also the unit used as a temporary working memory area.

[0014] An input / output interface 205 is an interface that transmits data to a display (not shown) connected to each device and server, and receives data from a pointing device (not shown). A NIC (Network Interface Card) 206 is a unit for connecting each device and server configuring the printing system 1000 to the network 100. The aforementioned units can transmit and receive data via a bus 207. Also, each print control unit provided in the image forming device group 110 installs a print unit (not shown), and the print unit can transmit data to and receive data from each of the units via a bus 207. The print unit is a unit that can print a raster image on a paper medium.

[0015] Next, a description will be given of software configuration examples of each device and server constituting the printing system 100. Fig. 3 illustrates software configuration examples of each device and server that make up the printing system 1000. As shown in Fig. 3, the printing system 1000 includes an image forming device group 110, a print server group 130, and a client device 120. Programs that each in Fig. 3 are stored in the ROM 203 of each device and each server, and the CPU 202 implements functions of the respective device and server by loading the programs into the RAM 204 and executing them.

[0016] The print server group 130 is a service provider that provides the client 120 with web services. The web services include a print service explained below, and they include services required to implement the print service. The print server group 130 virtualizes a plurality of servers so that they are regarded as one server, and implements functions of the print service 340 in one server. Note that the print server group 130 activates a plurality of virtual machines in the one server and causes the respective virtual machines to implement the functions of the print service 340. The print service 340 denotes one of the servers. Of course, only the one server can implement the print service 340.

[0017] The print service 340 includes an information storage unit 341, a printer management unit 342, a control unit 343, a print job management unit 344, a printer registration acceptance unit 345, a web application 346, and a user management unit 347. The control unit 343 controls the cooperation between the respective units that configure the print service 340. The information storage unit 341 is a database that stores information about a registered image forming device and a user. The printer management unit 342 manages the registered image forming devices and an image forming device for which registration is requested.The print job management unit 344 performs control to generate a print job upon receiving a print instruction from the web browser 350, and transmits the print job to the image forming device designated from the image forming device group 110. The print service from the print server group 130 can be offered to the printer 110a by the print job management unit 344. "Print service" refers to a service in which a print job generated based on print data transmitted to the print server group 130 is transmitted to the printer 110a, and the printer 110a performs printing based on the print data. The printer registration acceptance unit 345 accepts a registration request of a printer in the print service 340 from the image forming device and instructs the printer management unit 342 to manage the printer.The web application 346 accepts various requests from the web browser 350 and provides a login screen for logging into the print service 340, a printer management screen, or the like with the web browser 350. The user management unit 347 manages user information of a user who uses the print service 340.

[0018] The client 120 represents an information processing device that executes a print instruction using the print service 340. The client 120 includes a web browser 350 and a registration application 351. The web browser 350 acquires a login screen for logging into the print service 340 and a printer management screen by communicating with the web application 346 of the print server group 130, thereby implementing various operations. The registration application 351 searches for one or more image forming devices that configure the image forming device group 110 and performs processing for registering the acquired image forming devices in / to the print service 340. The image forming device group 110 consists of a plurality of image forming devices, such as a printer 110a or a printer 110b. Fig. 3, only a configuration of the printer 110a is described, and the printer 110b or the like has the same configuration.

[0019] The printer 110a can communicate with the client 120 and the print server group 130 via the network. The printer 110a includes a print control unit 310, a control unit 311, a printer registration management unit 312, and an operation unit 313. The control unit 311 controls the cooperation between the print control unit 310, the printer registration management unit 312, and the operation unit 313 of the printer 110a. The print control unit 310 controls print processing in the printer 110a through the print service 340. The printer registration management unit 312 controls processing related to printer registration in / on the print service 340. The operation unit 313 is a user interface such as an operation panel provided in / on the image forming device.The print control unit 310 and the printer registration management unit 312 are connected to the network 100 to thereby communicate with each other.

[0020] Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B are diagrams illustrating information stored in the information storage unit 341 of the print service 340. The information storage unit 341 stores user information and printer information registered in / on the print service 340. As shown in Fig. 4A, the information storage unit 341 stores a printer name 401, a PID 402, a printer IP address 403, capabilities 404, a user account 405, and a password 406. The information storage unit 341 associates user information with printer information generated by the printer registration and stores it.

[0021] The printer name is a name assigned to the printer 110a and is used when the printer 110a is called. Note that since the printer name is different from identification information, there may be a case where the printer names of the respective printers are the same. The PID is unique identification information assigned to each printer. For example, a MAC address is unique identification information, but it is not limited to this. By specifying the PID, the installation location of the printer 110a is specified. The printer IP address is information indicating an address (addressing) of the image forming device on the network.

[0022] The capabilities include information indicating whether the printer 110a can perform duplex printing, color printing, a paper size that the printer 110a can output, or the like. Of course, the capabilities are not limited to the above, and may include any information related to printing functions of the image forming device. This information is recorded in a capability file (not shown), and the capability file is maintained by the information storage unit 341. The capabilities 403 according to Fig. 4A denotes a method example in which capabilities are managed by the capability file name. The user account 405 is user identification information assigned to a user. The password 406 is a character string required for user authentication when logging into the print service 340 with the user account, and it may be encrypted. A description of Fig. 4B is given hereinafter.

[0023] With reference to Fig. 5 to Fig. 8, a description will be given of the processing for registering the image forming device group 110 in / to the print service 340. Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the processing for registering the image forming device group 110 in / on the print service 340 in a first embodiment. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a user account / password pair is registered in / on the print service 340 in advance, and a user account / password pair for the print service 340 is issued and managed by the print service (this configuration is also applied to other embodiments described below).

[0024] When a user activates the registration application 352 on the client 120, the registration application 351 displays a user interface as shown in Fig. 7A, to start a search of one or more image forming devices to be registered in / at the print service 340. A Fig. The execution screen shown in FIG. 7A consists of a message display section 701, a search start button 702, and a cancel button 703. The message display section 701 displays a message for inquiring a user whether to start a printer search. The search start button 702 is a button for instructing the registration application 351 to start the printer search. The cancel button 703 is a button for exiting the registration application 351 without causing the registration application 351 to execute the printer search. Upon detection of a user operation pressing the search start button 702, the registration application 351 functions as a search device and starts the printer search (S1001). The registration application 351 searches for image forming devices connected to the same network.WS-Discovery, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) or the like is used as a printer discovery protocol.

[0025] As an example, a description using WS-Discovery is given. WS-Discovery is one of the device discovery techniques and is defined by ASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards). Note that WS-Discovery is described in XML format in the example, but is not limited to it.

[0026] The registration application 351 performs multicast transmission of PROBE packet data as a device search script to the network 100 (S1001). A packet transmission area at this time is an area within which a user can use the network. Upon receiving the PROBE packet data, the printers 110a, 110b included in the image forming device group 110 transmit PROBEMATCH packet data in response to the registration application 351 (S1002). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the printer 110a (a first image forming device) and the printer 110b (a second image forming device), namely a plurality of printers, have responded.

[0027] The registration application 351, which has received the PROBEMATCH packet data, requests a printer name, PID, printer IP address, and capabilities from each image forming device on the printers 110a, 110b. The registration application 351 also transmits GetMetaData packet data to the printers 110a, 110b for acquiring information about whether the image forming device is compatible with the print service 340. The information transmitted by the registration application 351 at this time is not limited to the aforementioned information; information requesting icon image data representing the printers 110a, 110b may be transmitted. The printers 110a, 110b, which have received the GetMetaData packet data, return the requested information in response to the registration application 351. Information returned by the image forming device is described in XML and the like, where Fig. 13 illustrates an example of XML. The registration application 351 confirms information about whether the printers 110a, 110b are compatible with the print service 340 from the acquired GetMetaData packet data, and maintains information of the image forming device compatible with the print service 340. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the printer 110a and the printer 110b are compatible with the print service 340.

[0028] The registration application 351 terminates the printer search after a predetermined search time has elapsed. Optionally, the registration application 351 terminates the printer search upon detection of a pressing of the Fig. 7A. The registration application 351 maintains the image forming devices compatible with the print service 340 among the image forming devices that responded as a result of the printer search by providing them with response information in a list (referred to as the search result list, see Fig. 18A). Even for the image forming devices that responded as a result of the printer search, the registration application 351 deletes or strikes off those image forming devices that are not compatible with the print service 340 from the search result list. In the present embodiment, the printers 110a, 110b are registered in the search result list.

[0029] Fig. 18 illustrates data held by the registration application 351. Fig. 18A illustrates a search result list. The search result list consists of a printer name 1401, a PID 1402, capabilities 1403, and a printer IP address 1404. The registration application 351 registers image forming device information in the order in which a printer search response was received and at the top of the table. The above processing is the flow of device search by WS-Discovery.

[0030] Next, the registration application 351 checks the number of printers registered in the search result list (S1003). The registration application 351 extracts printer IP addresses acquired and retained by the printer search with respect to all image forming devices, namely, the printers 110a, 110b registered in the search result list. Then, the registration application 351 instructs the printers 110a, 110b to access a registration application URL of the print service 340 and request registration (S1004). In other words, the registration application 351 functions as a transmission device that causes a plurality of image forming devices to transmit a registration request to the print service 340.The order in which the registration application 351 transmits an access instruction to the registration application URL to the printers 110a, 110b may be the order registered in the search result list. In S1004, the registration application 351 communicates with the control unit 311 of the printer 110a and the printer 110b.

[0031] In S1005, each control unit 311 instructs the printer registration management unit 312 to request a printer registration with reference to the printer registration acceptance unit 345 of the print service 340. Upon receiving the printer registration request, the printer registration acceptance unit 345 transmits printer information to the printer management unit 342. The printer management unit 342 stores the received printer information in the information storage unit 341. Printer information registered in this phase includes the printer name 401, the PID 402, the printer IP address 403, and the capabilities 404. At this time, user information of a user using these image forming devices is not related to printer information in the print service 340.After storing the printer information, the printer management unit 342 generates a user authentication URL, a printer authentication ticket, and a printer polling URL. The printer polling URL and the user authentication address are related to each other and are created individually for all image forming devices to be registered.

[0032] Information such as the printer's IP address is included in the printer polling URL transmitted by the print service 340, and therefore the print service 340 can identify the image forming device that performed polling. The printer polling URL is a URL through which the printer registration management unit 312 requests and acquires the printer authentication ticket from the printer registration acceptance unit 345 of the print service 340. Since authentication is required for access from the printer 110a to the print service 340, the printer management unit 342 must acquire the printer authentication ticket. Also, the user authentication URL is location information, so the registration application 351 or the web browser 350 requests authentication at the print service 340.Although not limiting, the printer IP address and the like of each image forming device are included in the user authentication URL, and therefore, the print service 340 can associate the image forming device that accessed the user authentication URL with the one corresponding to the client 120. Then, the printer registration acceptance unit 345 of the print service 340 transmits this information to the printer registration management unit 312 of the printers 110a, 110b (S1006).

[0033] The printers 110a and 110b each transmit the user authentication URL to the registration application 351 (S1007). The registration application 351 functions as a receiving device and receives the user authentication URL for accessing the print service 340 corresponding to the image forming device. The registration application 351 confirms the user authentication URL by the number of image forming devices checked in S1003. The registration application 351 associates the received user authentication URL with each image forming device to update the search result list. In this way, the search result list consists of the printer name 1401, the PID 1402, the capabilities 1403, the printer IP address 1404, and the user authentication URL 1405 ( Fig. 18B). Although not limiting, at this time, the registration application 351 registers printer information in the order in which the user authentication URL was received and at the top of the search result list. In this case, the order in the search result list is that printer 110a is registered first, followed by printer 110b. Next, the registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to access the user authentication URL according to the order registered in the search result list.

[0034] With reference to Fig. 9, processing in S1009 to S1026 is indicated. In S1009, the registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to access the authentication URL related to the printer 110a. In S1010, the web browser 350 acts as a display device and accesses the user authentication URL, thereby acquiring and displaying a login screen as an authentication screen from the web application 346 of the print service 340. Fig. 5 illustrates a login screen 500 for logging into the print service 340. The login screen 500 consists of a user account input section 501, a password input section 502, and a login button 503. The user enters the user account 405 and password 406 on the login screen 500 displayed by the web browser 350. When the login button 503 is pressed, the web browser 350 detects a transmission instruction to the print service 340 to transmit the user account 405 and password 406 to the print service 340.

[0035] According to the processing in S1010, the print service 340 performs authentication (S1011). At this time, the web browser 350 accesses the web application 346 of the print service 340. The user management unit 347 performs authentication by verifying the user account 405 and password 406 registered in the information storage unit 341 by querying the user management unit 347. If the user authentication is successful, the user management unit 347 requests the printer management unit 342, via the control unit, to associate the account information and the printer information acquired in the printer registration processing of S1005 (S1012). The user authentication URL used by the web browser 350 to access S1010 is a URL intended for or used by the printer 110a.is assigned, and thereby an association of the user account information with printer information of the printer 110a can be realized.

[0036] Optionally, the association processing in S1012 may be executed if the print service 340, after the processing in S1011, has a Fig. 6 to the web browser 350, and when the print service 340 explicitly receives a printer registration instruction from the web browser 350 through a user operation. Fig. 6 is the printer registration screen. The printer registration screen consists of a printer registration button 601 and a cancel button 602. The printer registration button 601 is a button for transmitting an instruction to register the printer. The cancel button 602 is a button for transmitting an instruction to cancel the printer registration.

[0037] When the user information and the printer information are associated with each other in S1012, the print service 340 sets a printer authentication ticket in the printer polling URL (S1013). The printer authentication ticket is authentication information through which the image forming device acquires access information (namely, the access ticket) for using the print service 340. In S1014, the printer registration management unit 312 of the printer 110a polls the printer polling URL, acquires a printer authentication ticket, and terminates the polling. The printer 110a that has acquired the printer authentication ticket accesses an access ticket acquisition URL with the printer authentication ticket (S1015).The printer registration acceptance unit 345 of the print service 340 confirms that the information of the printer authentication ticket is correct and issues an access ticket to the printer 110a (S1016). The printer registration management unit 312 transmits the received access ticket to the print control unit 310 via the control unit 311. Subsequently, the print control unit 310 accesses the print job management unit 344 of the print service 340 according to the information of the access ticket, thereby performing processing such as detecting a print job. At this time, the printer 110a that has received the access ticket can perform printing to notify a user of registration completion. The aforementioned processing is the printer registration processing in / on the print service 340 by the printer 110a, which was started in S1009.

[0038] Completion detection up to the processing in S1016 is required for the registration application 351 to register subsequent printers after the first printer in / on the print service 340 depending on the order. In the present embodiment, the registration application 351 periodically polls the printer 110a to confirm that the access ticket has been acquired (S1017). In other words, the registration application 351 functions as confirmation means and confirms whether or not the image forming device has been registered in / on the print service 340. In the present embodiment, the fact that the printer 110a has acquired the access ticket is regarded as printer registration completion in / on the print service 340 by the printer 110a.The detection method in S1017 may be a method in which, when the printer 110a detects the access ticket, the printer 110a notifies the registration application 351 of the detection so that the registration application 351 detects the detection.

[0039] After confirming registration completion of the printer 110a in / on the print service 340, the registration application 351 starts access processing to the user authentication URL with respect to a printer (the printer 110b) registered second in the search result list. In the present embodiment, the registration application 351 implements processing from S1018 to S1025 with respect to the printer 110b in a manner similar to the processing from S1009 to S1016. The registration application 351 also implements the same processing in a manner similar to the processing in S1017 with respect to the printer 110b (S1026). Through the above processing, the plurality of image forming devices obtained through the device search can be registered in / on the print service 340.In this way, there is no need for a user to perform the device search by himself and to register the searched image forming devices in / to the printing service one by one, and this leads to a reduction of a load or burden on the user.

[0040] The registration application 351 terminates processing upon detection of access ticket reception by all image forming devices for which the registration processing has been executed and which are described in the search result list. The registration application 351 displays the fact that the processing is terminated on the user interface ( Fig. 7D), and the user can perform an exit operation. The Fig. The user interface shown in Figure 7D is a screen displayed when printer registration in / on the print service 340 is completed. This screen consists of a printer registration status display section 711 and a close button 712. A printer registration status related to the print service 340 is displayed in the printer registration status display section 711. For example, information that printer registration in / on the print service 340 has been completed and information of the registered image forming devices are displayed. The close button 712 is a button that allows the registration application 351 to be terminated by a user operation.

[0041] Although the registration application 351 activated in S1001 has the Fig. 7A, the registration application 351 may display a Fig. 7B. The screen shown in Fig. The screen shown in Fig. 7B includes a function for determining a printer registration method in / on the print service 340, and includes a printer registration method determination section 704, a search start button 705, and a cancel button 706. The printer registration method determination section 704 has a function for determining how to register the printers obtained through the printer search in / on the print service 340. For example, the following two methods are proposed as the printer registration method that can be determined in the determination section 704.

[0042] The first method is to register all the image forming devices obtained through the printer search in / on the print service 340. The registration application 351 can display all the obtained image forming devices on the interface (not shown) provided by the registration application 351. The registration application 351 executes the processing after S1001 using the same method as the processing of the aforementioned first embodiment. The second method is to register the image forming devices in / on the print service 340 by selecting image forming devices for registration in / on the print service 340 from among the image forming devices obtained through the printer search.When the printer registration method is determined in the printer registration method determination section 704 by a user operation and the search start button 705 is pressed, the registration application 351 executes the printer search processing and the registration request processing according to the selected printer registration method. If the cancel button 706 is pressed, the registration application 351 may end processing without the printer registration request processing.

[0043] If the second method is selected, the registration application 351 displays a screen as shown in Fig. 7C, when the registration application 351 performs the printer search to thereby receive a response from the printers. Fig. The screen shown in Figure 7C includes a search result display area 707, a printer selector 708, a registration button 709, and a cancel button 710. Although printer names and IP addresses of printers obtained through the printer search are displayed in the search result display area 707, only the printer name can be displayed, and any printer information can be displayed. The printer selector 708 includes check boxes that enable selection of the image forming devices to be registered in / to the print service 340.

[0044] The registration button 709 is a button for starting the processing for requesting registration of one or more printers selected by a user with the printer selection device 708 in / on the print service 340. If no printer was obtained through the search, information indicating that no printer was obtained is displayed in the search result display area 707. Optionally, the printer selection device 708 and the registration button 709 may not be displayed, or a processing close button (not shown) may be provided. Upon pressing the cancel button 710 by a user, the registration application 351 displays the Fig. 7B without implementing the printer registration request processing to allow a user to select a printer registration method again. In this way, when the screen according to Fig. 7C one or more printers are selected, the selected printers are registered in the search result list, and the number of selected printers is maintained in the printer number confirmation processing in S1003. Of course, the respective screens shown in Fig. 7, with icons being displayed for each printer where icon display is possible, resulting in an improvement in visibility. (Second embodiment)

[0045] In the Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, in the first embodiment, login operations to the print service 340 by user operation are required for each image forming device. In a second embodiment, the registration application 351 processes these operations automatically. Referring to Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, a description will be given of the method for registering the image forming device group 110 in / to the print service 340 in this case. System configurations, hardware configurations, and software configurations for implementing the present embodiment are identical to those described in the first embodiment, and therefore, these descriptions will be omitted. Even with respect to parts not described in the second embodiment, contents described in the first embodiment apply to the second embodiment.

[0046] The registration application 351 on the client 120 is activated, the user interface ( Fig. 7A) for performing a printer search and instructing printer registration request processing at the print service 340 is displayed, and the user instructs performing a printer search via the user interface (S1101). From the processing in S1101 to the processing in which the registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to access the user authentication URL corresponding to the obtained printer 110a (S1109), the processing is the same as that from S1001 to S1009 according to Fig. 8.

[0047] With reference to Fig. 11, a description is given of the processing from S1109 to S1128. When a first printer (printer 110a) among the obtained image forming devices accesses a user authentication URL so that authentication processing is performed via the login screen in S1109, the registration application 351 starts the acquisition processing of user operation information with reference to the web browser 350 (S1110). To achieve this processing, for example, a script for transmitting user information acquired by the web browser 350 in user authentication to the registration application can be added to the instruction for accessing the user authentication URL in S1009. By a user operation on the login screen ( Fig. 5) acquired to access the print service 340, the web browser 350 implements a login process (S1111). In processing at S1110, the registration application 351 acquires a user account and password input through the login process. The print service 340, which has accepted a login request, implements authentication (S1112).

[0048] In S1112, the print service 340 transmits a Fig. 6 to the web browser 350. When the web browser 350 transmits information for instructing printer registration using a user operation (pressing the printer registration button 601), the registration application 351 also acquires this operation information. From the processing for associating user information with printer information (S1113) to the processing for issuing an access ticket to the printer 110a (S1117) by the print service 340, the processing is the same as that from S1012 to S1016 according to Fig. 8. The processing from S1109 to S1117 is registration processing of printer 110a. Also, the registration application 351 periodically queries printer 110a to confirm whether printer 110a has acquired the access ticket (S1118). If the registration application 351 can confirm that printer 110a has acquired the access ticket, it starts registration processing of subsequent image forming devices (of printer 110b) in / on the print service 340 (S1119).

[0049] When the registration application 351 registers the subsequent image forming devices in / to the print service 340 in a certain order, there is a difference in the processing in S1120 from the sequence according to Fig. 8 in the first embodiment. Except for the processing in S1120, the processing from S1119 to S1128 is Fig. 9 equal to that of S1018 to S1026 according to Fig. 8. That is, in the processing in S1119, the registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to access the user authentication URL of the printer 110b. Then, the registration application 351 notifies the web browser 350 of the user operation information (the user account, the password, and the operation information acquired in S1112) acquired in S1110 (S1120). When accessing the user authentication URL in S1121, the web browser 350 uses the user information (the user account and the password) received from the registration application 351. When the print service 340 Fig. 5, the web browser 350 uses the user account and password to instruct the print service 340 to register a printer. In other words, after displaying the authentication screen corresponding to the first image forming device, the web browser 350 no longer displays authentication screens corresponding to image forming devices to be registered after the first image forming device. The web browser 350 displays only the login screen acquired from the print service in S1111.

[0050] As stated above, an instruction of the printer registration to the print service 340, when the print service 340 has the Fig. 6, can be realized by using the user operation information (a pressing of the printer registration button 601). In this way, when the registration application 351 acquires the user operation information upon printer registration of the first printer and automatically uses this information upon printer registration of subsequent printers, login processing corresponding to the number of image forming devices by a user is not required, resulting in a reduction in the work involved in registration operations. When registering subsequent printers, the web browser 350 must Fig. 5 or Fig. 6 received from the print service 340, but may display a registration execution screen. (Third embodiment)

[0051] In the Fig. 8, in the first embodiment, login operations to the print service 340 are required by a user operation according to the number of image forming devices. In the third embodiment, the registration application 351 automatically processes login operations to the print service 340 in a manner different from the second embodiment. Similar to the second embodiment, unless otherwise stated, with respect to parts not described, the configuration in the first embodiment can be applied to the third embodiment. In the first and second embodiments, the registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to perform registration processing to perform login to the print service 340 and register the image forming device.In the third embodiment, the registration application 351 communicates directly with the print service 340, thereby implementing printer registration in / on the print service 340. The registration application 351 maintains a user account and password for logging into the print service 340, thereby directly requesting login to the print service 340. At this time, the registration application 351 automatically transmits the user account and password to the print service 340. Thus, the web browser 350 is not operated by a user.

[0052] Fig. 14 and Fig. 15 are diagrams illustrating a method for registering the image forming device group 110 in / to the print service 340 in the third embodiment. The registration application 351 on the client 120 is activated, the user interface ( Fig. 7A) for performing a printer search and instructing the print service 340 to perform a printer registration request is displayed, and an instruction to perform a printer search is issued (S1201). From the processing in S1201 to the processing in which the printers 110a, 110b of the image forming device group 110 initiate a poll to the print service 340 (S1208), the processing is the same as that from S1001 to S1008 according to Fig. 8.

[0053] Upon receipt of each user authentication URL from the printers 110a, 110b instructed to register in / to the print service 340 in S1207, the registration application 351 updates the Fig. 18A shown search result list into a Fig. 18B. Then, the registration application 351 displays a Fig. 12A shown screen. Fig. 12A is a user interface provided by the registration application 351. The registration application 351 functions as a display device and displays the user account and password entry screen for logging into the print service 340. Fig. The screen shown in Fig. 12A includes a user account input section 1001 and a password input section 1002, an input button 1003 for detecting completion of input of a user account and a password by a user operation, and a cancel button 1004 for canceling an input operation.

[0054] With reference to Fig. 15, a description is given of processing from S1209 to S1225. The registration application 351 detects the pressing of the input button 1003. Then, the registration application 351 acquires and holds a user account and a password input by a user operation to log in to the print service (wherein in S1209 and Fig. 14, the user account is expressed as "ID" and the password is expressed as "PW"). In S1210, the registration application 351 accesses the user authentication URL of the printer 110a and requests the user to log in to the print service 340 (S1210). At this time, the registration application 351 discards the login screen acquired from the web application 346 of the print service 340 and transmits the user account and password obtained in S1209 to the print service 340. Then, the print service 340 implements authentication (S1211). Subsequently, the processing from S1212 to S1216, in which the print service 340 issues the access ticket to the printer 110a, is the same as that from S1012 to S1016 according to Fig. 8, which is described in the first embodiment.

[0055] Also, the registration application 351 monitors an access ticket capture by the printer 110a, similar to the processing in S1017 according to Fig. 8 (S1217). When the registration application 351 determines that the registration of the first printer (printer 110a) in / on the print service 340 has been completed, it starts the printer registration processing of subsequent printers. The order of printer registration processing of the subsequent printers may be the order shown in the search result list ( Fig. 18B). The printer registration processing of the subsequent printers (in this case, the printer 110b) by the registration application 351, namely the processing from S1218 to S1224, is the same as the printer registration processing of the printer 110a from S1210 to S1216.

[0056] The registration application 351 also monitors the access ticket acquisition by the subsequent printers (the printer 110b) (S1225). Upon detection of receipt of the access ticket history by all of the image forming devices, the registration application 351 displays a Fig. 12B.

[0057] Fig. 12B shows a user interface that displays a registration result of the image forming devices for which the registration processing was performed. Fig. The screen shown in Figure 12B includes a result display area 1005 and a close button 1006. The registration results from all image forming devices are displayed in the result display area 1005. The close button 1006 can be pressed by a user operation, and the registration application 351, which detects the pressing of this button, suspends processing. "Close Application" or the like can be displayed on the close button 1006. While a final registration result is displayed on the Fig. 12B is displayed, a registration processing history screen as shown in Fig. 12C shown.

[0058] The Fig. The screen shown in FIG. 12C includes a registration process display area 1007 and a close button 1008. A registration history of the printers 110a and 110b in / on the print service 340 is displayed in the registration process display area 1007. In the registration process display area 1007, one or more printers registered and in / during registration are shown, and an error may be displayed if registration is impossible. Upon detecting that the close button 1008 has been pressed, the registration application 351 ends the processing. Note that a detection method for the access ticket reception history by the registration application 351 may be a method in which the printers 110a and 110b notify the registration application 351 of the access ticket acquisition, as in the first embodiment.In this way, automatic use of the user account and password acquired in advance by the registration application 351 upon registration of the image forming device group 110 results in a reduction of a user burden involved in registration processing. (Fourth embodiment)

[0059] In a printer registration method in the fourth embodiment, a plurality of image forming devices are managed as a group, and thus registration can be realized. Note that, with respect to the fourth embodiment, the contents and modifications described in the first, second, and third embodiments also apply to the fourth embodiment unless otherwise stated. A similar user authentication URL is issued to each printer for which printer registration with the same group ID has been applied.

[0060] Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 are diagrams illustrating a method for registering the image forming device group 110 in / on the print service 340 in a fourth embodiment. The registration application 351 on the client 120 is activated, the user interface ( Fig. 7A) for performing a printer search and instructing the print service 340 to perform printer registration request processing is displayed, and an instruction for a printer search is issued (S1301). The registration application 351 implements the same device search processing described in S1002 and S1003 according to Fig. 8, in S1302 and S1303. Here, the registration application 351 outputs a group ID, which is regarded as the identification information of the image forming device group, associates the identification information with the image forming devices registered in the search result list, and obtains / receives a Fig. 18C shown table (S1304, Fig. 18C).

[0061] The registration application 351 transmits the group ID to the image forming devices (the printers 110a, 110b) registered in the search result list and also instructs them to access the registration application URL (S1305). Each printer registration management unit 312 of the printers 110a, 110b transmits the group ID and performs a printer registration application at the printer registration acceptance unit 345 of the print service 340 (S1306). Upon receiving the group ID and the printer registration application, the printer management unit 342 associates the printers for each group ID and manages them in the information storage unit 341 (S1307, group ID 407 in Fig. 4B). However, a user account and password are not stored in the information storage unit 341 during this phase.

[0062] The printer management unit 342 generates the same user authentication URL for the image forming devices that have notified it of the same group ID 407. Thus, this point differs from that in the first to third embodiments in that no individual user authentication URL is generated for each image forming device. The printer management unit 342 generates a user authentication URL including the group ID. The printer management unit 342 also generates a printer polling URL including the group ID. Then, the printer registration acceptance unit 345 of the print service 340 transmits the generated user authentication URL, the printer authentication ticket, and the printer polling URL to the printer registration management unit 312 of the printers 110a, 110b (S1308).Each control unit 311 of the printers 110a, 110b transmits the user authentication URL to the registration application 351 (S1309) and initiates polling (S1310).

[0063] With reference to Fig. 17, a description is given of processing in S1311 to S1323. When the registration application 351 confirms that the user authentication URL has been received from each control unit 311 of the printers 110a, 110b, the registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to access the user authentication URL (S1311) common to the printers 110a, 110b. Then, the web browser 350 accesses the user authentication URL (S1312). In the print service 340, the image forming devices with the same group ID are associated and managed, and thus, the registration processing of the printers 110a, 110b with the same group ID is executed by only one access to the user authentication URL by the web browser 350. The authentication for the user account by the print service 340 is the same as that in S1011 described with reference to Fig. 8 is described (S1313).

[0064] In S1314, the printer management unit 342 associates the user information with the printer information. Specifically, the printer management unit 342 associates the user account for which authentication in the print service 340 was successful with the one or more image forming devices identified by the group ID ( Fig. 4B) are collectively associated. Then, in S1315, the printer management unit 342 creates the printer authentication ticket for all image forming devices (the printers 110a, 110b) associated by the group ID 407. From the processing in which the printer 110a acquires the printer authentication ticket (S1316) to the access ticket acquisition processing (S1318), the processing is the same as that from S1014 to S1016 according to Fig. 8.

[0065] The registration application 351 monitors that the printer 110a acquires the access ticket from the print service 340 (S1319). From the processing in which the printer 110b acquires the printer authentication ticket (S1320) to the access ticket acquisition processing (S1323), the processing is also the same as that from S1023 to S1025 according to Fig. 8. Next, the registration application 351 monitors whether the printer 110b acquires the access ticket from the print service 340 (S1322). If it is detected in S1319 or S1323 that the printers 110a, 110b have acquired the access ticket, the registration application 351 ends the processing by determining that all image forming devices have completed registration with the print service 340.

[0066] As stated above, in the present embodiment, the registration application uses a group ID distributed to the image forming device group 110, so that the print service 340 associates the image forming device group 110 with the group ID to manage it. In this way, the image forming devices of the image forming device group 110 can be collectively associated with the user account and registered, resulting in a reduction in the labor involved in registration processing in which a user registers the image forming devices according to the number of printers one by one. In addition, the web browser does not need to perform login processing for each image forming device, resulting in simplified processing.The print service also manages the image forming devices with a single user authentication URL, without generating individual user authentication URLs for each image forming device, resulting in simplified processing on the print service side. Note that the group ID is in . Fig. 13 is represented as “GrID”. (Fifth embodiment)

[0067] In a printer registration method in the fifth embodiment, the registration application 351 implements access processing to the user authentication URL for printer batch registration and transmits a printer list so that a plurality of image forming devices can be collectively registered in the print service 340. Regarding the fifth embodiment, contents and modifications described in the first, second, third, and fourth embodiments can be applied to the fifth embodiment unless otherwise stated.

[0068] Fig. 19 and Fig. 20 are diagrams illustrating a method for registering the image forming device group 110 in / to the print service 340 in the fifth embodiment. The registration application 351 on the client 120 is activated, the user interface ( Fig. 7A) for performing a printer search and instructing the print service 340 to perform printer registration request processing is displayed, and a printer search is instructed (S1501). In S1502, the printers 110a, 110b respond to a printer search. The registration application 351 generates the search result list ( Fig. 18A) (S1503) and confirms the number of image forming devices registered in the list (S1504).

[0069] The registration application 351 instructs the web browser 350 to access a user authentication URL of the web application 346 (S1505) that is provided in the print service 340 and has been created in advance. The web browser 350 accesses the URL in the same manner as in S1010 according to Fig. 8 to the user authentication URL of the print service 340 (S1506). If the print service performs user authentication in the same manner as in S1011 according to Fig. 8 is implemented and authentication was successful (S1507), the print service 340 transmits an authentication response to the web browser 350 (S1508). The web browser 350 transmits the authentication response to the registration application 351 (S1509).

[0070] Here, the registration application 351 transfers the search result list ( Fig. 18A) as a printer list to the print service 340 (S1510). In other words, the registration application 351 functions as a providing device that provides a list of image forming devices that are target objects to be registered in / on the print service 340 to the print service 340. Upon receipt of the search result list ( Fig. 18A), the print service 340 brings the user account for which the user authentication was successful with the printers that are in the search result list ( Fig. 18A) are registered, and stores them in the information storage unit 341 (S1511, Fig. 4A). That is, in the fifth embodiment, the login processing to the print service 340 is not performed for each image forming device, but printer information is transmitted from all image forming devices to the print service, and the printer registration request is executed when authentication through the login processing is successful. The print service 340 places the printer authentication ticket in / on the printer polling URL in the same manner as in S1013 according to Fig. 8 (S1512), and the print service 340 transmits the printer polling URL to the registration application 351 (S1513).

[0071] With reference to Fig. 20, a description is given of the processing from S1514 to S1518. The registration application 351 transmits the printer polling URL to the printers 110a, 110b registered in the search result list (S1514). Upon receiving the printer polling URL, each control unit 311 of the printers 110a, 110b initiates polling of the printer polling URL. Subsequent processing from S1515 to S1518 is similar to the access ticket acquisition processing from S1014 to S1017 and from S1023 to S1026 described in the first embodiment.

[0072] In this way, the image forming devices of the image forming device group 110 can be collectively registered by associating each image forming device with the user account, resulting in a reduction in the labor involved in registration processing in which a user registers the image forming devices one by one according to the number of printers. Also, the web browser does not need to perform login processing for each image forming device, resulting in simplified processing. Furthermore, the print service can manage the image forming devices with one user authentication URL without generating individual user authentication URLs for all image forming devices, resulting in simplified processing in the print service. (Sixth embodiment)

[0073] In a sixth embodiment, it is assumed that the registration application 351 described up to the fifth embodiment is located in the image forming device. A printer registration method in the sixth embodiment is a method in which the web browser 350 external to the image forming device instructs the registration application 351 of the image forming device to perform registration processing and realizes registration of a plurality of printers. It is assumed that the web browser 350 is located in one client 120.

[0074] Fig. Fig. 21 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printing system 1000 in the sixth embodiment. In contrast to the Fig. 3, the client 120 does not include the registration application 351. On the other hand, the printer 110a includes the registration application 351 and a web control unit 314. The web control unit 314 generates a screen for accepting an operation instruction from the web browser 350, and controls communication with the web browser 350. If the operation instruction from the web browser 350 is a printer registration instruction by which the registration application 351 registers a printer in / on the print service 340, the web control unit 314 transmits the instruction to the registration application 351 via the control unit 311. The registration application 351 of the printer 110a, which has received the printer registration instruction, not only instructs the control unit 311 to search for printers in the network 100, but also causes the searched-for printer to be printed.located printer 110b to initiate registration processing in / on the print service 340. The configuration of the printer 110b is the same as that of the printer 110a. However, in the present embodiment, the registration application 351 of the printer 110b does not perform any processing, and the configuration of the printer 110b is the same as the configuration of the printer described with reference to FIG. Fig. 3. Note that functions of other units are the same as those of units described in the first embodiment, so descriptions of those functions are omitted.

[0075] Fig. 23 and Fig. 24 are diagrams illustrating a method for registering the image forming device group 110 in / on the print service 340 in the sixth embodiment. The web browser 350 accesses the printer 110a. The web control unit 314 of the printer 110a transmits a Fig. 22A to the web browser 350. Fig. 22A shows a menu screen for performing an operation instruction from the device external to the printer to the printer by operating the web browser 350 and prompting a user to select the type of operation instruction. Fig. For example, the screen shown in Figure 22A includes a button 1701 for confirming printer settings and a button 1702 for registering the image forming device in / on the printer service. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the button 1702 for registering the image forming device in / on the print service was pressed by a user operation.

[0076] The web control unit 314 transmits a Fig. 22B to the web browser 350. Fig. 22B is a screen for instructing a printer registration in / at the print service 340 by operating the web browser 350. The Fig. The screen shown in Figure 22B includes a registration method selection means 1704 for confirming how the printer registration is to be implemented in / on the print service, and a start button 1705 for issuing an instruction to start processing according to the selected registration method. Fig. 22B also includes a cancel button 1706 for canceling the printer registration processing in / at the print service 340. When the cancel button 1706 is pressed on the screen shown in Fig. 22B is pressed, the web control unit 314 again displays the screen according to Fig. 22A, so that a user reselects the content of the operation instruction to the printer. In this example, assume that a method "REGISTER THIS PRINTER ONLY" is selected by the registration method selector 1704 and by a user operation, and then the start button 1705 is pressed. In this way, the web browser 350 instructs the printer 110a to activate the registration application 351 (1801).

[0077] The web control unit 314 of the printer 110a instructs the registration application 351 included in the printer 110a to activate (S1802). Since the method "REGISTER THIS PRINTER ONLY" is specified, the registration application 351 does not implement the printer search, but only registers the printer 110a in the list ( Fig. 18A), and checks the number of printers (S1805). Subsequent processing from S1806 to S1819 is the same as that from S1004 to S1017 according to Fig. 8, which is described in the first embodiment.

[0078] While a procedure “SEARCH FOR AND REGISTER A PRINTER IN THE AREA” appears on the screen according to Fig. 22B is selected and the start button 1705 is pressed, the registration application 351, which was activated in S1802, searches for printers in the network 100 (S1803). The processing from S1803 to S1828 is the same as the printer registration processing according to Fig. 8.

[0079] Even if the procedure “SEARCH FOR AND REGISTER ANY PRINTERS IN THE AREA” is performed on the Fig. 22B, the registration application 351 may allow a user to select one or more printers. In this case, the registration application 351, after generating the Fig. 18A, the web control unit 314 in S1805 to generate a search result list in Fig. 22C based on the search result list and transmitting the generated screen to the web browser 350. The Fig. The screen shown in Fig. 22C includes a printer selection section 1707, a registration button 1708 for issuing an instruction to start registration to the selected printer, and a cancel button 1709 for canceling the printer registration processing.

[0080] Upon detection of the pressing of the registration button 1708 by a user operation, the web browser 350 transmits the printer information of the printer selected in the printer selection section 1707 to the registration application 351. The registration application 351 updates the search result list according to Fig. 18A such that only the selected printer is registered. Then, the registration application 351 implements the processing in S1806 on the printers registered in the search result list. In this case, assume that the printer 110a and the printer 110b are displayed on the screen according to Fig. 22C can be selected. As in Fig. 23 and Fig. 24, the processing from S1806 to S1828 is the same as that from S1004 to S1026 according to Fig. 8.

[0081] According to the method in this embodiment, in the configuration in which the image forming apparatus has the registration application 351 and the printer registration is instructed by an operation of the web browser 350, a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be searched and registered in / to the print service 340 in a certain order. (Seventh embodiment)

[0082] A printer registration method in a seventh embodiment is a method in which the registration application 351 is located in the image forming device, and registration of a plurality of image forming devices is realized by operation panel operation of the image forming device. By operating an operation panel (the operation unit 313) of an image forming device (the printer 110a), the registration application 351 of that image forming device is activated. The registration application 351 of the printer 110a instructs the registration application 351 of nearby printers (the printer 110b) in the network 100 to perform printer registration in association with the printer 110a. In this way, the printers 110a and 110b of the image forming device group 110 implement printer registration processing in / on the print service 340.It should be noted that the registration application 351 of the printer 110b neither searches for other image forming devices nor instructs the printer registration to the registration application 351 of the other image forming devices.

[0083] Fig. Fig. 25 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system 1000 in the seventh embodiment. In contrast to the Fig. 3 and Fig. 21, the printing system 1000 does not include the client 120. The printer 110a further includes a printer cooperation application 315 (hereinafter referred to as “cooperation application 315”) in addition to the configuration of the image forming apparatus described with reference to Fig. 21. The printer 110a includes a browser function, and the web control unit 314 controls the browser function. The web control unit 314 provides a user interface of the browser via the operation unit 313. This browser function is used for user authentication in the print service 340 in a user login process. The web control unit 314 communicates with the web application 346 of the print service 340. The printer cooperation application 315 controls synchronization with printers in the network 100 and data exchange. The printer cooperation application 315 also functions as an instruction device, and it instructs a plurality of image forming devices that have been received to execute processing that a self-device executes in response to the accepted request in association with the self-device whenever the self-device executes the processing.The printer cooperation by the cooperation application 315 of the printers 110a and 110b includes cooperation in which the printer 110a transmits user operation information to the printer 110b, so that control is performed so that the printer 110b performs the same operation in synchronization. Also, functions of other units are the same as those of the units described in the first embodiment, and therefore, descriptions of these functions are omitted.

[0084] Fig. 27, Fig. 28 and Fig. 29 are diagrams illustrating a method for registering the image forming group 110 in / to the print service 340 in the seventh embodiment. A screen as shown in Fig. 26A is displayed on the control panel of the printer 110a. Fig. 26A shows a user interface for enabling a user to select functions provided in the image forming device. First, a menu selection screen is displayed on an operation panel screen 2000, and includes buttons for selecting functions provided in the image forming device, such as a copy button 2001 and a scan button 2002, as well as a printer registration button 2003 for registering one or more image forming devices in / to the print service 340. When the printer registration button 2003 for the print service 340 is pressed by a user operation, the operation unit 313 detects a Fig. 26B from the web control unit 314 and displays it on the control panel. Fig. 26B, a user can select a printer registration method for the print service 340. The Fig. The screen shown in Figure 26B includes a registration button 2004 for “REGISTER THIS PRINTER ONLY”, a registration button 2005 for “SEARCH FOR AND REGISTER A PRINTER IN THE AREA” and a button 2006 for “RETURN TO MENU SELECTION” according to Fig. 26A.

[0085] When the registration button 2004 for "REGISTER THIS PRINTER ONLY" is pressed by a user operation, the operation unit 313 instructs the registration application 351 of the printer 110a to activate (S2101). Since the method indicating "REGISTER THIS PRINTER ONLY" is selected, the registration application 351 does not implement a printer search, but only registers the printer 110a in the search result list ( Fig. 18A), and checks the number of printers (S2106). Subsequently, the processing of S2107, S2112 to S2115, S2117, S2119 to S2125 and S2127 is implemented (see Fig. 28). This processing is the same as the printer registration processing of the first printer from S1004 to S1017 according to Fig. 8 described in the first embodiment. In the case where the selected registration button 2004 for "REGISTER ONLY THIS PRINTER" is pressed, the registration application 351 determines that one image forming device is to be registered and can skip the check of the number of printers.

[0086] On the other hand, if the registration button 2005 for “SEARCH FOR AND REGISTER NEARBY PRINTERS” on the Fig. 26B is pressed, the operation unit 313 instructs the registration application 351 to activate (S2101) and searches for printers in the network 100 (S2102). At this time, the registration application 351 of the printer 110a instructs the collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a to perform a printer search (S2105). The collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a implements the printer search on or for the one or more collaboration applications 315 of the image forming device group 110 in the network 100 (S2103).

[0087] The collaboration application 315 of the printer 110b transmits a response to the printer search to the collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a (S2104). The collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a transmits the response to the printer search to the registration application 351 of the printer 110a (S2105). The registration application 351 of the printer 110a generates the Fig. 18A and checks the number of printers (S2106). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that printer 110a and printer 110b have been registered in the search result list.

[0088] The registration application 351 of the printer 110a instructs the printer 110a to access the registration application URL (S2107). At this time, in S2108, the registration application 351 of the printer 110a causes the collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a to transmit an instruction to access the registration application URL through the image forming device (the printer 110b) to an image forming device other than the printer 110a (the printer 110b).

[0089] The collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a transmits an access instruction to access the registration application URL to the collaboration application 315 of the printer 110b (S2109). In other words, the collaboration application 315 of each printer acts as a receiving device and performs reception processing to receive location information for accessing the print service corresponding to its own device by transmitting a registration request to the print service 340. The collaboration application 315 of the printer 110b transmits the access instruction to access the registration application URL to the registration application 351 of the printer 110b (S2110). The registration application 351 of the printer 110b instructs the printer 110b to access the registration application URL (S2111). Through this processing, both printers 110a and 110b can access the registration application URL.The respective printers 110a and 110b access the registration application URL via the printer registration management unit 312 to implement the printer registration application to the print service 340 (S2112). Then, the printer management unit 342 of the print service 340 transmits the user authentication URL, the printer authentication ticket, and the printer polling URL to the printers 110a, 110b (S2113). The printers 110a, 110b can initiate polling to the print service 340 (S2117).

[0090] In S2114, printer 110a transmits the user authentication URL to the respective registration application 351 of its own printer (S2115), and in S2116, printer 110b transmits the user authentication URL to the respective registration application 351 of its own printer. In the case of printer 110a, registration application 351 instructs web control unit 314 to access the user authentication URL of printer 110a (S2115). In the case of printer 110b, registration application 351 instructs web control unit 314 to access the user authentication URL of printer 110b in S2130 after waiting for the processing in S2129 (described below). This is because printer 110b itself cannot acquire the user account and password.

[0091] The registration application 351 of the printer 110a, which has implemented the processing in S2115, monitors operation information on the operation panel (of the operation unit 313) by a user (S2118). Upon receiving the instruction in S2115, the web control unit 314 of the printer 110a accesses the user authentication URL (S2119). At this time, the web control unit 314 captures the login screen ( Fig. 5) from the web application 346 of the print service 340, and transmits the user account 405 and the password 406 entered by the user operation to the print service 340. The user account 405 and the password 406 entered by the user operation are acquired / maintained by monitoring by the registration application 351 of the printer 110a in S2118.

[0092] The web application 346, which has received the user account 405 and the password 406, implements authentication (S2120). The processing after the authentication of the printer 110a in the print service 340 is described below in S2121. It should be noted that the processing in S2120 can be implemented by the print service 340 after the print service 340 displays the screen as shown in Fig. 6, to the web control unit 314 and receives the printer registration instruction from the web control unit 314 based on a user operation on the operation unit 313. Through the processing in S2118, the registration application 351 of the printer 110a also monitors the operation information with reference to the screen according to Fig. 6, and acquires / receives it. The registration application 351 of the printer 110a transmits predetermined operation information, upon receipt, to the collaboration application 315 of the printer 110a, and instructs the collaboration application 315 to transmit the information to the printers registered in the search result list (S2126). The predetermined operation information is the operation information acquired / received in the aforementioned step S2118.

[0093] With reference to Fig. 29, a description is given of the processing after S2128. The collaborative application 315 of the printer 110a transmits the operation information to the collaborative application 315 of the printer 110b registered in the search result list (S2128). The collaborative application 315 of the printer 110b transmits the operation information to the registration application 351 of the printer 110b (S2129). Upon receiving the operation information input from the printer 110a, the registration application 351 of the printer 110b, which has completed the processing up to S2116, instructs the web control unit 314 of the printer 110b to access the user authentication URL of the printer 110b (S2130). The web control unit 314 of the printer 110b accesses the user authentication URL of the printer 110b (S2131). The web control unit 314 of the printer 110b acquires the login screen ( Fig. 5) from the print service 340, automatically enters the operation information (the user account 405 and the password 406) acquired in S2129 and transmits it to the print service 340. Then, the print service 340 implements authentication (S2132). In other words, the registration application 351 of the printer 110b acts as an access device and performs access processing for accessing the print service 340 along with authentication information input via the authentication screen based on the user authentication URL upon receiving an access request. In S2132, the web control unit 314 of the printer 110b transmits, when the print service 340 provides the printer registration screen as shown in Fig. 6, an instruction to perform the printer registration in / on the print service 340 by using the operation information (a printer registration instruction operation) acquired in S2129.

[0094] In the authentication processing of S2120 and S2132, if the authentication in the print service 340 was successful, the printer management unit 342 of the print service 340 implements processing for associating the respective user information with the respective printer information in S2121 and S2133. The processing from S2121 to S2125 (the access ticket issuance) and S2127 (the access ticket acquisition monitoring) is the same as that described with reference to Fig. 8. Also, the processing from S2133 to S2138 (the access ticket submission or issuance) is the same as that described with reference to Fig. 8 is described.

[0095] However, the registration application 351 of printer 110b, which detected the access ticket issuance by the print service 340 in S2138, should transmit information indicating that printer 110b has acquired the access ticket to printer 110a. To this end, the registration application 351 of printer 110b transmits the access ticket acquisition information to the collaboration application 315 of printer 110b (S2139). The collaboration application 315 of printer 110b transmits the access ticket acquisition information by printer 110b to the collaboration application 315 of printer 110a (S2140). The cooperation application 315 of the printer 110a transmits the access ticket acquisition information through the printer 110b to the registration application 351 of the printer 110a (S2141).The registration application 351 of the printer 110a implements closing processing of the registration application 351 at the time the access ticket acquisition was detected in S2141, while the registration application 351 of the printer 110b implements termination processing of the registration application 351 at the time the processing was implemented in S2139.

[0096] In this way, when printers cooperate with each other to share and share printer registration information, the plurality of image forming devices in the image forming device group 110 can be registered in the print service 340 by associating them with the user account. In the configuration where each image forming device in the image forming device group 110 has the registration application 351, and each image forming device shares and shares the operation on the printer operation panel, a user can reduce the labor involved in registration operations in which the user registers the image forming devices one by one according to the number of printers.In the present embodiment, through the processing in S2118, S2126, S2128, and S2129, the panel operation information by the user is transmitted from the printer 110a to the printer 110b, and the printer 110b uses the operation information.

[0097] If the screen shows Fig. 26B "SEARCH AND REGISTER PRINTERS IN NEARBY", the registration application 351 of the printer 110a may allow a user to select one or more printers. In this case, the registration application 351, after generating the search result list according to Fig. 18A in S2106, the web control unit 314 to generate a screen according to Fig. 26C based on the search result list and displaying it on the control panel of the printer 110a. Fig. The screen shown in Figure 26C includes a printer selection section 2007, a registration button 2008 for instructing the selected printer to start registration, and a cancel button 2009 for canceling the printer registration processing. Upon detection of a user operation pressing the registration button 2008, the operation unit 313 transmits printer information of the printer selected in the printer selection section 2007 to the registration application 351. The registration application 351 updates the search result list according to Fig. 18A, so that only the one shown on the screen according to Fig. 26C, and implements the processing in S2107 and S2108 on or for the printer registered in the search result list. After the processing in S2107, the above-mentioned processing is performed. In this example, according to Fig. 26C assume that the printer 110a and the printer 110b are displayed on the screen according to Fig. 26C were selected.

[0098] Aspects of the present invention can also be implemented by a computer of a system or device (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads and executes a program recorded on a storage device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiments, as well as by a method whose steps are performed by a computer of a system or device, for example, by reading and executing a program recorded on a storage device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiments. For this purpose, the program is provided to the computer, for example, via a network or from a storage medium of various types serving as the storage device (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium).

[0099] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

[0100] This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-164027, filed on July 24, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Claims

[1] An information processing device (120) capable of communicating with a service providing device (130) providing a printing service and an image forming device (110) performing printing by using the printing service, comprising: a transmission device (351) for transmitting a registration request at the service providing device to a plurality of image forming devices; receiving means (351) for receiving location information for accessing the service providing device corresponding to each image forming device from the plurality of image forming devices that have accepted the registration request; and a display device (350) for receiving and displaying an authentication screen for entering authentication information by accessing the service providing device based on the received location information, wherein user information corresponding to the authentication and the plurality of image forming devices are associated and managed by the service providing device after the authentication information is input on the displayed authentication screen. [2] The information processing device (120) according to claim 1, wherein, after displaying the authentication screen corresponding to a first image forming device (110a) among the plurality of image forming devices (110), the display device (350) does not display the authentication screen corresponding to a second image forming device (110b) to be registered after the first image forming device, and wherein the second image forming device is associated and managed by the service providing device with the user information corresponding to the authentication information through access by the second image forming device to the service providing device (130) together with the authentication information inputted on the authentication screen corresponding to the first image forming device. [3] Information processing device (120) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising confirmation means (351) for confirming whether the image forming device (110) has been registered with the service providing device (130), wherein, when the image generation device (110) has acquired access information for accessing the service providing device, which the service providing device issues upon completion of registration of the image generation device, the confirmation device (351) determines that the image generation device has been registered to the service providing device, and wherein, when the confirmation means (351) determines that the image forming apparatus has been registered, the transmission means (351) accesses the service providing apparatus together with the inputted authentication information to register a next image forming apparatus. [4] An information processing apparatus (120) according to claim 3, further comprising a search means for searching a plurality of image forming apparatuses (110) connected via a network, wherein the display device (350) displays an execution screen for causing all of the plurality of image generation devices (110) that have been received to execute the registration request on the service provision device (130), or displays a selection screen for causing one or more image generation devices among the plurality of image generation devices that have been received to execute the registration request on the service provision device, and wherein the display means (350) additionally displays a registration completion screen when the confirmation means (351) confirms that all of the image forming devices or the one or more image forming devices that are selected have been registered to the service providing device. [5] The information processing device (120) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transmission means (351) transmits the registration request with identification information of an image generation device group comprising the plurality of image generation devices (110) representing target objects to be registered at the service providing device (130) to each image generation device (110), and wherein each image forming device (110) included in the plurality of image forming devices and the identification information are accessed by access from the plurality of image forming devices that have responded to the registration request to the service providing device, and, after the authentication information is input on the authentication screen corresponding to the one image forming device to be registered, the user information corresponding to the authentication information and each image forming device corresponding to the identification information associated with the image forming device group are associated and managed by the service providing device. [6] An information processing device (120) capable of communicating with a service providing device (130) providing a printing service and an image forming device (110) performing printing by using the printing service, comprising: a transmission device (351) for transmitting a registration request at the service providing device to a plurality of image forming devices; receiving means (351) for receiving location information for accessing the service providing device corresponding to each image forming device from the plurality of image forming devices that have accepted the registration request; and a display device (351) for displaying an authentication screen for performing an authentication request on the service providing device, wherein the transmission device (351) further accesses the service providing device together with authentication information based on the location information acquired by the authentication information input on the authentication screen, so that user information corresponding to the authentication information and the plurality of image forming devices are associated with each other and managed by the service providing device. [7] An image forming apparatus (110) that performs printing by using a service providing apparatus (130) that provides a printing service via a network, comprising: a search device for searching a plurality of image forming devices (110) connected via the network upon receiving a request from an information processing device (120); a transmission device (351) for transmitting a registration request at the service providing device to the plurality of image forming devices (110) being retrieved; receiving means (351) for receiving location information for accessing the service providing device corresponding to each image forming device from the plurality of image forming devices that have accepted the registration request; and an instruction device (315) for instructing the information processing device to access the service providing device based on the received location information and for requesting an authentication screen for entering authentication information, wherein, after the authentication information is inputted on the authentication screen displayed by the information processing device, user information corresponding to the authentication information and the plurality of image forming devices are associated with each other and managed by the service providing device. [8] An image forming apparatus (110) that performs printing by using a service providing apparatus (130) that provides a printing service via a network, comprising: a search device for searching a plurality of image forming devices (110) connected via the network; instructing means (315) for instructing the plurality of image forming devices obtained to execute processing performed by a self-device in response to an accepted request in association with the self-device whenever the self-device executes the processing; receiving means (351) for accepting a registration request of the own device and executing reception processing for receiving location information for accessing the service providing device corresponding to the own device by transmitting the registration request; a display device (350) for receiving and displaying an authentication screen for entering authentication information by accessing the service providing device based on the received location information; and an access device for executing access processing for accessing the service providing device together with the authentication information input on the authentication screen based on the location information upon receipt of an access request to the service providing device, wherein, when the access processing has been executed by the own processing, the instructing means (315) instructs each image forming device that has executed the reception processing in association with the own device to execute access processing to the service providing device by providing the authentication information input in the access processing by the own device, and wherein user information corresponding to the authentication information and the plurality of image forming devices are associated and managed by the service providing device. [9] A method for controlling a printing system (1000) comprising a service providing device (130) providing a printing service, an image forming device (110) performing printing by using the service providing device, and an information processing device (120) capable of communicating with the image forming device and the service providing device, comprising the steps of: Transmitting a registration request at the service providing device to a plurality of image forming devices by the information processing device; generating, by the service providing device, location information for accessing the service providing device corresponding to each image generating device; Receiving, by the information processing device, the location information from the plurality of image forming devices that have accepted the registration request; Accessing the service providing device based on the received location information, and receiving and displaying an authentication screen for entering authentication information by the information processing device; Managing, by the service providing device, a user corresponding to the authentication information input on the authentication screen based on the location information and the image generating device by associating them; Acquiring access information for using the image generating device from the service providing device as a result of the management step in which the information processing device and the image generating device were associated with each other and managed by the image generating device; and Confirming, by the information processing device, whether the image forming device has acquired the access information in the acquiring step. [10] A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for causing a computer to execute the method for controlling the information processing system according to claim 9.

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