Support program and display program

Abstract

To provide a technique for notifying information related to a service applied to a printer to a user in an information processing device in which an OS-standard general-purpose print program is installed.SOLUTION: A general-purpose program 41 that is preinstalled in an OS 21 of a PC 1 handles data for displaying a print setting screen on a display 13a of the PC 1. An auxiliary program 42 for supporting the general-purpose print program 41 obtains, when processing is requested from the general-purpose print program 41 by selection of a printer 2, service information 31 (or service information 421, 202) that is information on a service corresponding to the printer 2. Then, based on the obtained service information, it generates notification data indicating a content to be notified to a user; and passes the generated notification data to the general-purpose print program 41, thereby displaying the notification data on the print setting screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program and a display program that support control of a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technology that uses a printer driver to display information about services that are applied to a printer. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a printer driver acquires location information of a printer, acquires a URL that matches the location information, and displays a consumables ordering dialog on a browser based on the URL. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-323508 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, a technology has been put into practical use that controls printers without using a printer driver, but rather with a general-purpose printing program that is built into the operating system (OS). With this technology, when the OS detects a printer, it associates it with the OS's standard general-purpose printing program, and thereafter, when a print instruction is received for that printer, it becomes possible to print using the OS's standard general-purpose printing program without using a printer driver.

[0005] However, in an information processing apparatus using a general-purpose print program that is standard to an OS, a configuration for notifying a user of information about services that are applied to individual printers, such as printer drivers, is not known. Therefore, there is room for improvement in notification techniques in an environment using a general-purpose print program that is standard to an OS. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The support program developed for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is executable by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-integrated into the operating system of the information processing device, wherein the general-purpose printing program is capable of handling data for displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing device, and is configured to cause the computer to execute, when a process is requested from the general-purpose printing program upon selection of the printer, an acquisition process for acquiring service information that is information relating to a service corresponding to the printer, a generation process for generating notification data indicating notification content to be notified to a user based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process, and a display process for passing the notification data generated in the generation process to the general-purpose printing program and displaying the notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device.

[0007] Another support program created for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is a support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-integrated into the operating system of the information processing device, and is configured to cause the computer to execute an acquisition process that acquires service information, which is information regarding services that can be applied to the printer, when processing is requested by the general-purpose printing program, and a support program display process that displays notification information based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process on a display of the information processing device.

[0008] Another support program created for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is a support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose printing program that is pre-integrated into the operating system of the information processing device, and is configured to cause the computer to execute an acquisition process that acquires service information, which is information regarding services that can be applied to the printer, when processing is requested by the general-purpose printing program, and a printer output process that causes the printer to output a notification image based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process.

[0009] The support program disclosed in this specification obtains service information on services applicable to the printer when processing is requested by the general-purpose printing program. It then generates notification data based on the service information, passes the generated notification data to the OS-standard general-purpose printing program, and causes the general-purpose printing program to display the notification data on a print setting screen. Alternatively, it causes the notification information based on the service information to be displayed on a display of an information processing device. Alternatively, it causes a notification image based on the service information to be output to a printer. In other words, in an information processing device using the OS-standard general-purpose printing program, it is possible to notify a user of information on services applicable to a printer, and as a result, the user can learn information on services applied to the printer.

[0010] Furthermore, a display program made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is a display program executable by a computer of an information processing device, the information processing device having an operating system in which a general-purpose printing program is incorporated, and a support program that corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device and supports the general-purpose printing program, the support program is capable of causing the computer to execute a startup process to start the display program when processing is requested from the general-purpose printing program, and the display program started from the support program is configured to cause the computer to execute a display program acquisition process to acquire service information, which is information regarding services applicable to the printer, and a display program display process to display notification information based on the service information acquired in the display program acquisition process on a display of the information processing device.

[0011] The display program disclosed in this specification is started by a support program requested to process by a general-purpose print program, and acquires service information related to services applicable to the printer. Then, notification information based on the service information is displayed on the display of the information processing device. In other words, in an information processing device using a general-purpose print program that is standard to the OS, information related to services applicable to the printer can be notified to a user via the support program, and as a result, the user can learn information related to services applied to the printer.

[0012] A display program launched by the above support program, an information processing device incorporating the support program or the display program, a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program or the display program, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program or the display program, and a printing system including the support program or the display program and a printer are also novel and useful. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a technology is realized in which, in an information processing apparatus in which an OS-standard general-purpose printing program is installed, information relating to services applied to a printer is notified to a user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of a PC. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected in the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an information screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a print setting screen. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a notification data generating process. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification image. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification image. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification image. [Figure 9] 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when a change in print settings is accepted. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when a print instruction is received. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected in the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification image. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected in the third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure when printing is selected in the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] A personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as "PC") using the support program of the first embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses a support program executed by a PC. Note that the support program is not limited to a PC, and can also be executed by a smartphone or a mobile computer.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 1, the PC1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC1 is an example of an information processing device. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The PC1 also includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in Fig. 1 is a collective term for hardware and software used to control the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the PC1.

[0017] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to the programs read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operation. The memory 12 stores various programs and various data. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. The buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of a memory. Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC 1, but may be a storage medium that can be read and written by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

[0018] The user IF 13 includes a display 13a, which is hardware that displays a screen for notifying the user of information, and hardware that accepts operations by the user. The user IF 13 may be a combination of the display 13a capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, or the like having an input acceptance function, or may be a touch panel equipped with the display 13a and an input acceptance function.

[0019] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as the printer 2. The communication standards of the communication IF 14 are Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. The PC 1 may be connectable to the Internet 100 via the communication IF 14. The PC 1 may also be provided with a plurality of communication IFs 14 compatible with a plurality of communication standards.

[0020] 1, an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 including a general-purpose printing program 41, an auxiliary program 42, and various application programs (hereinafter referred to as "apps") are stored in the memory 12 of the PC 1. The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or Android (registered trademark). The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program.

[0021] In the PC 1 of the present embodiment, various applications, for example, an information application 43 and a display application 44, are incorporated. The information application 43 is, for example, a map application, a calendar application, and a browser, and has a function of displaying various information on the display 13a in response to a user request. The information application 43 is an example of an application program. Note that the information application 43 itself does not need to have a function of printing the displayed information.

[0022] The display application 44 is, for example, a program that displays information about the printer 2 on the display 13a of the PC 1. The display application 44 is an example of a display program. The display application 44 is activated, for example, from the auxiliary program 42, and has a function of creating and displaying information based on information acquired from the printer 2 or the like.

[0023] The OS 21 includes a generic printing program 41. The generic printing program 41 is a standard OS program prepared by the OS 21 vendor and provided as part of the OS 21. In other words, the PC 1 is equipped with the OS 21 having the generic printing program 41. The generic printing program 41 is not configured to use a printer driver specific to each printer.

[0024] The generic printing program 41 is a program that has the function of printing on multiple models of printers provided by multiple vendors based on user instructions. The generic printing program 41 supports generic functions that allow printing on many printers. Unlike printer drivers specific to each printer, the generic printing program 41 does not support functions specific to each printer or printer driver, particularly functions that require complex processing.

[0025] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program including a function of receiving image data designated as a print target in a print instruction output from various applications based on a user instruction, and generating intermediate data based on the image data. The intermediate data is, for example, XPS data. The general-purpose printing program 41 further has a function of generating print data in a format that can be used for printing by various printers based on the intermediate data. The print data is, for example, PWGRaster data or PDF data. The general-purpose printing program 41 also has a function of transmitting the generated print data to a printer designated as a device to execute printing via a communication function of the OS 21.

[0026] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that executes processing based on instructions from the OS 21 in association with the processing of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2 connected to the PC 1, and is provided, for example, by the vendor of the printer 2. The general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 when the printer 2 is selected as the device that will execute printing, when an instruction for detailed print settings is received while the printer 2 is selected, when an instruction to execute printing on the printer 2 is received, etc. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support app (abbreviated as PSA) or a hardware support app (abbreviated as HSA).

[0027] The auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of multiple programs that each accept an execution command, or a single program that can execute different processes according to commands. The auxiliary program may also be a program prepared by a printer vendor for each printer type. For example, an auxiliary program for inkjet printers and an auxiliary program for laser printers may be prepared. There may be an auxiliary program prepared not only for each printer type, but also for each printer model or series of printer models.

[0028] For example, when a new printer is connected to the PC 1, the OS 21 of the PC 1 can download an appropriate auxiliary program from a server or the like according to the type and model of the connected printer and install it in the PC 1. The OS 21 stores in the memory 12 the identification information of the installed auxiliary program in association with the printer information of the newly connected printer.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 of this embodiment is connected to the printer 2. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. The printer 2 of this embodiment stores service information 31. The service information 31 will be described later. The printer 2 is also connectable to the Internet 100, and can communicate with a server 200 via the Internet 100.

[0030] The printer 2 also has an operation panel 32 that has a function of accepting operations from a user and a function of displaying information. The operation panel 32 is composed of, for example, a display and a plurality of hardware keys. The display may be a liquid crystal display for display only, or may be a touch panel with an input acceptance function. The operation panel 32 is an example of a display device.

[0031] The server 200 is, for example, a cloud server operated by the vendor of the printer 2, and stores service information 202, which is information on various services provided by the vendor. The service information 202 is information on services provided for each model for a plurality of models including the model of the printer 2. The various services provided by the vendor include, for example, a subscription-based printer usage service for a limited period of time, a prepaid printer usage service for a limited number of prints, and a service for using various extended functions that are set to be unselectable at the time of shipment from the factory.

[0032] In this specification, a "service" refers to a function that requires a contract or other procedure with a vendor or the like when or after the printer is installed, and cannot be used without the procedure. Note that various services may be provided free of charge or for a fee. Also, the types of services available to each printer may differ depending on the model of the printer.

[0033] The service information 202 stored in the server 200 includes, for example, information on services and consumables applicable to each printer model, information on the terms of use of the services for each printer, and information indicating the procedure for activating the service. For example, when a procedure for activating a service is performed for each printer, information on the procedure is transmitted to the server 200. The server 200 stores information on the activated service as the terms of use of the service in association with the printer identification information. If restrictions are set for the activated service, such as the period of use or the number of pages that can be printed, the server 200 receives a usage notification from the printer and updates the terms of use as appropriate.

[0034] Furthermore, server 200 incorporates procedure application 201 for carrying out procedures for enabling various services. Procedure application 201 is an example of a specific application program. Procedure application 201 is provided in response to a request from PC1 or the like, and becomes executable on PC1 or the like by being incorporated into PC1 or the like that is the request source.

[0035] On the other hand, the service information 31 provided in the printer 2 is information on services corresponding to the printer 2. The service information 31 includes, for example, information indicating the type of service applicable to the printer 2, and information indicating whether each service is currently valid. Furthermore, if there is a valid service, the service information 31 includes, for each valid service, information on the start date and time when the service was started to be used, the cumulative number of prints performed using the service, limit information such as the period and number of sheets during which the service can be used, and remaining information such as the remaining period during which the service is valid and the remaining number of printable sheets. The service information 31 also includes, for example, information corresponding to the amount of consumables used based on the cumulative number of prints and the number of prints. Note that, if there is no applicable service, the printer 2 may store information indicating that there is no service as the service information 31.

[0036] The service information 31 may further include information about the printer 2 itself, such as information about the usage status of the printer 2, information about the remaining amount of consumables installed in the printer 2, and information about the timing and method of replacing the consumables. The service information 31 that can be acquired from the printer 2 may include not only information stored in the printer 2, but also information that the printer 2 can acquire by inquiring of the server 200. The service information 31 may also include a URL indicating a web page where a contract for a service applicable to the printer 2 can be accepted, or a link with the URL embedded therein.

[0037] The auxiliary program 42 also has service information 421 related to various services applicable to the printer corresponding to the auxiliary program 42. The service information 421 included in the auxiliary program 42 may be, for example, information acquired when the auxiliary program 42 is installed. The auxiliary program 42 may also be a program corresponding to a plurality of models including the model of the printer 2, in which case the service information 421 may be information on services applicable to a plurality of models compatible with the auxiliary program 42. The service information 421 of the auxiliary program 42 may also include, for example, information that can be acquired from the server 200 or information that can be acquired from the printer 2. The service information 421 may also include information indicating the type of service applicable to the printer 2, a URL indicating a web page where a contract for a service applicable to the printer 2 can be accepted, and a link in which the URL is embedded.

[0038] Next, the printing procedure including the operation of the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment, and the procedure by each program when printing is selected in the information application 43, will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 2. Note that Fig. 2 and other sequence diagrams described later show the operation when the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is installed in the PC 1.

[0039] Note that the processes and each processing step of the flowchart in this embodiment basically indicate the processes of the CPU 11 according to the instructions written in a program such as the auxiliary program 42. The processes by the CPU 11 also include hardware control using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the operation of each program will be explained without a detailed description of the OS 21. Also, "obtain" is used as a concept that does not necessarily require a request.

[0040] At the beginning of the procedure, the user launches the information application 43 (A01). The information application 43 displays an information screen including various information on the display 13a in response to a user instruction (A02). When the user wants to print an image of the displayed information screen, the user selects print on the information screen (A03). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the information screen D1 includes a setting button SW1. When the user operates the setting button SW1, a pull-down menu DL including "print" is displayed as shown in FIG. 3. When the user selects "print" in the pull-down menu DL, the information application 43 passes a display request and data of the information screen to the general-purpose print program 41 of the OS 21 (A04).

[0041] The general-purpose printing program 41 displays a print setting screen on the display 13a in response to a request (A06). The print setting screen is a screen that accepts instructions for print settings and instructions for printing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the print setting screen D2 includes a printer selection field 51 that accepts the selection of a printer, a notification field 52 that displays a notification image, a print setting field 53 that accepts the designation of various print settings, a preview field 54 that displays an image of the information screen to be printed, a detailed setting button SW2 that accepts an instruction to perform detailed print settings, and a print button SW3 that accepts an instruction to execute printing. The notification image displayed in the notification field 52 is an image that indicates the notification content to be notified to the user. The general-purpose printing program 41 can handle data for displaying the print setting screen D2.

[0042] The user can select a printer by operating the printer selection field 51 on the displayed print setting screen D2 (A07). If the selected printer is printer 2, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to printer 2 and requests processing corresponding to the selection of the printer (A08). In A08, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes information about the selected printer and information about the print settings that were set when the printer was selected to the auxiliary program 42.

[0043] When printer 2 is set as the printer normally used by the OS 21, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays the print setting screen D2 with printer 2 selected (A06) and starts the auxiliary program 42 (A08), for example, as shown in Fig. 4. That is, printer 2 is automatically selected by the OS 21, and the general-purpose printing program 41 executes A08 based on the information of the selected printer 2. In this case, the user does not need to operate A07.

[0044] Instead of the general-purpose printing program 41 displaying the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 may be configured to display the print setting screen D2. In this case, the information application 43 starts the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to the selection of printing in A03, obtains data to be displayed on the print setting screen D2 from the general-purpose printing program 41, and displays the print setting screen D2 on the display 13a. Then, in response to the selection of the printer 2 or in response to the selection of the printer 2 in A07, the information application 43 passes information on the selected printer 2 to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 in A08.

[0045] In response to being started, the auxiliary program 42 requests the OS 21 for capability information of the printer 2 (A11). In response to the request from the auxiliary program 42, the OS 21 transmits an acquisition request for the capability information to the printer 2, and acquires the capability information from the printer 2 (A12). The OS 21 passes the capability information acquired from the printer 2 to the auxiliary program 42 (A13).

[0046] The OS 21 communicates with the printer 2, for example, by communication according to IPP (abbreviation of internet printing protocol). Note that the auxiliary program 42 may obtain capability information directly from the printer 2, for example, by using MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base), instead of making a request to the OS 21.

[0047] The capability information acquired from the printer 2 includes, in addition to information on parameters that can be set as print settings, for example, status information, information on remaining amounts of consumables, information on the installed trays, paper information for the paper set for each tray, and information on the print resolution that can be supported. The printer 2 may also have a function of performing image processing based on the accepted print job and printing based on the data after the image processing, such as a function of performing aggregate printing such as Nin1, composite printing such as watermarks, and economical printing that saves on coloring agents. If the printer 2 has an image processing function that can be executed by the printer 2, the printer 2 may pass information on that function to the OS 21 as capability information.

[0048] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the printer 2 passes capability information including the service information 31 to the OS 21 at A12. The auxiliary program 42 can acquire information on services applicable to the printer 2 based on the service information 31 included in the capability information received from the OS 21. In this case, A12 and A13 are an example of an acquisition process.

[0049] The service information 31 may be information that is acquired separately from the capability information. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may request the OS 21 to acquire the service information 31 separately from the A11, or the auxiliary program 42 may directly communicate with the printer 2 to acquire the service information 31.

[0050] Instead of acquiring the service information 31 from the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 may read and acquire the service information 421 stored in itself. The auxiliary program 42 may also access the server 200 via the communication IF 14, for example, and acquire the service information 202 corresponding to the model of the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 may acquire the service information 421 or the service information 202, for example, when the auxiliary program 42 is unable to acquire the service information 31 from the printer 2 via the A13 or direct communication. The auxiliary program 42 may also attempt to acquire the service information 31, the service information 421, and the service information 202, and use each piece of information that has been acquired in subsequent processing.

[0051] The auxiliary program 42 stores the capability information notified from the OS 21 at A13 in a predetermined area in the memory 12 that can be used by the auxiliary program 42 (A14). If the capability information has already been stored in the memory 12, the auxiliary program 42 overwrites the stored capability information and stores the current capability information.

[0052] The auxiliary program 42 executes a notification data generation process based on the capability information notified at A13 (A21). The notification data generation process is a process for generating notification data indicating a notification image to be displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. The notification image to be displayed in the notification field 52 may include, for example, text, a still image, a video, an object with a link with an embedded URL, or a combination of these. The display form of the object may be text, a button, or a banner. The notification data generation process will be described in detail later.

[0053] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes display information including the generated notification data and information on print setting values ​​based on the capability information to the general-purpose printing program 41 (A22), and ends the process. The general-purpose printing program 41 displays a notification image in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 displayed on the display 13a based on the display information received from the auxiliary program 42 (A23). In A23, a notification image based on the notification data is displayed in the notification field 52, and information based on the capability information of the printer 2 is displayed in the print setting field 53 as the initial value of each print setting. A23 is an example of a display process. Note that, in the process of A23, when the information application 43 is configured to display the print setting screen D2, the information application 43 receives the notification data and displays the notification image in the notification field 52.

[0054] 4 shows the print setting screen D2 including one notification field 52, but the arrangement, shape, size, number, etc. of the notification field 52 are not limited to the example in this figure. The auxiliary program 42 may acquire information of the notification field 52 from the general-purpose printing program 41, and determine notification data to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the acquired information. For example, if there are multiple arrangements in which the notification field 52 can be displayed and the display location can be specified by the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 may pass notification data including information specifying the display location to the general-purpose printing program 41. Also, if the size of the notification field 52 can be selected, the auxiliary program 42 may pass information specifying the size to the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0055] Next, the procedure of the notification data generation process executed by A21 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 5. The notification data generation process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC 1 based on the description of the auxiliary program 42.

[0056] In the notification data generation process, the CPU 11 first determines whether the printer 2 is a model to which various services can be applied (S101) based on the capability information and service information 31, 421, 202 acquired in A13 of Fig. 2. If it is determined that the printer 2 is a model that supports the service (S101: service support), the CPU 11 determines whether the supported service is enabled (S103).

[0057] When it is determined that the service is enabled (S103: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the valid display condition is met (S111). The valid display condition is a condition for determining whether or not a valid notification showing information about an enabled service is to be included in the notification content. The valid display condition is determined based on, for example, the number of times printing has been performed using the service, the number of times the valid notification has been displayed, the elapsed time since the last display, and the elapsed time since the use of the service began. The valid notification includes information showing that the service is being used.

[0058] For example, the auxiliary program 42 can obtain information on the number of times printing has been performed using a service for each type of service based on the service information 31 of the printer 2. If the number of times printing has been performed for a service to be displayed exceeds a predetermined limit number of times printing, the CPU 11 determines in S111 that the valid display condition is not satisfied. The information on the number of times printing is included in the service information 31 is an example of the cumulative number of times printing, and the limit number of times printing is an example of a first value.

[0059] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 counts up and stores the number of times the service information is displayed when the information on the service is displayed in S113 described later. If the number of times the validity notification has been displayed for the service to be displayed exceeds a predetermined limit number of times, the CPU 11 determines in S111 that the validity display condition is not satisfied. The number of times the service is displayed is an example of a cumulative number of times the service is displayed, and the limit number of times the service is displayed is an example of a second value.

[0060] Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 stores the display time when the service information is displayed at S142 described later. If the time elapsed since the last valid notification was displayed does not exceed a predetermined interval based on the latest stored display time, the CPU 11 determines at S111 that the valid display condition is not satisfied. The interval is an example of a first time. Note that if the display time is not stored, the CPU 11 determines that the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined interval.

[0061] The auxiliary program 42 can also obtain information on the start date and time when the use of the service started for each type of service based on the service information 31 of the printer 2. If the number of days elapsed since the start date and time for the service to be displayed exceeds a predetermined initial number of days, the CPU 11 determines in S111 that the valid display condition is not satisfied. The initial number of days is an example of the second time.

[0062] If none of the above conditions apply and it is determined that the valid display condition is met (S111: YES), the CPU 11 adds a valid notification to the notification content (S112). The valid notification includes, for example, a notification indicating that the service is valid and a notification indicating how to use the service. Furthermore, the CPU 11 counts up the number of times the valid display has been displayed (S113). S113 is an example of a number-of-times storage process. If it is determined that the valid display condition is not met (S111: NO), the CPU 11 skips S112 and S113.

[0063] If a valid notification regarding a service is displayed when the service is valid, the user can recognize that the service is available. However, even if the information is about a valid service, it may be stressful for the user if it is displayed every time the printer 2 is selected. Since the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment determines whether or not to add a valid notification to the notification content based on the validity display conditions, it is unlikely that the same notification will be displayed multiple times or too frequently. Therefore, the user's stress caused by the frequent display of validity notifications regarding services is avoided.

[0064] Then, the CPU 11 acquires remaining information about the service based on the service information 31, and judges whether the remaining valid period or remaining number of printable pages for the service is low (S115). If it is judged that the remaining period is low (S115: YES), the CPU 11 adds upgrade information to the notification content (S116). The upgrade information is a notification that indicates guidance about the valid service, such as extension or renewal of the valid period, change in the number of printable pages, and prepaid billing.

[0065] The upgrade information may be, for example, an image including a linked object with an embedded URL of a web page that accepts these procedures. By displaying a linked object with an embedded URL, a user can easily access the web page indicated by the URL by operating the displayed object, and can carry out the service procedure based on the web page.

[0066] Furthermore, when a procedure application 201 (see FIG. 1) that accepts procedures such as upgrades related to valid services is incorporated in the PC 1, the upgrade information added in S116 may be an image including an object associated with a start command of the procedure application 201. By displaying such an object, the user can easily start the procedure application 201 and use the procedure application 201 to carry out procedures for the service.

[0067] After S116, or if it is determined that the remaining time is not short (S115: NO), the CPU 11 adds a usage condition notification including information such as the remaining valid period and the remaining number of printable pages to the notification content (S118). By notifying the user of the usage conditions of the printer 2, the user can know, for example, how much longer he or she can use the service of the printer 2.

[0068] An example of a notification image of a validity notification including a usage conditions notification and upgrade information is shown in Fig. 6. The validity notification in the example of Fig. 6 includes an object 61 with a link in which the URL of a web page including upgrade information is embedded. By displaying the notification image including the validity notification in notification field 52 of print setting screen D2, the user can easily grasp the status of printer 2, etc. on print setting screen D2.

[0069] On the other hand, if it is determined that the model of the printer 2 is not compatible with any of the services (S101: Service not compatible), or if it is determined that the compatible services are not enabled (S103: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether the guide display conditions are met (S121). The guide display conditions are conditions for determining whether or not to include a guide notice showing a guide to a service that is not being used in the notification content. The guide display conditions are determined based on, for example, the number of times the guide notice has been displayed and the elapsed time since the last display.

[0070] As in the case of the valid display condition, the auxiliary program 42 stores the number of times the information notification has been displayed in S123, which will be described later. If the number of times the information notification has been displayed for the service to be displayed exceeds a predetermined display limit, the CPU 11 determines in S121 that the information display condition is not satisfied. In this case as well, the display count is an example of the cumulative display count, and the display limit count is an example of the second value.

[0071] Similarly to the case of the valid display condition, if the time elapsed since the last time a guidance notification was displayed does not exceed the predetermined interval time, the CPU 11 determines in S121 that the guidance display condition is not satisfied. In this case, the interval time is also an example of the first time.

[0072] When it is determined that the notification display conditions are met (S121: YES), the CPU 11 adds a notification to the notification contents (S122). The notification for a service that is compatible with the printer 2 but not yet enabled includes, for example, a notification indicating that the service can be enabled by signing a contract, a notification indicating the procedure for enabling the service, and a notification indicating functions that become possible by using the service. Furthermore, the notification when there is no service that is compatible with the printer 2 includes, for example, information on the model that supports the service, and a notification indicating functions that become possible by using the service. Furthermore, the CPU 11 counts up the number of times the notification display is displayed (S123). S123 is an example of a count storage process.

[0073] In addition, if a web page containing information for enabling the service is available on server 200 or the like, CPU 11 may add a notification including an object with a link embedded therein that points to the web page.

[0074] Furthermore, in the case where the above-described procedure application 201 has a function of accepting a procedure for activating a service, the CPU 11 may, in S122, add a guidance notification including an object associated with a start command of the procedure application 201. Furthermore, in the case where the procedure application 201 is not incorporated in the PC 1, the CPU 11 may add a guidance notification including a procedure and a URL for downloading the procedure application 201.

[0075] By displaying an object associated with a start command of a specific procedure application 201 capable of performing a procedure for a service, the user can easily start the procedure application 201 and perform a procedure for activating the service by using the procedure application 201. Note that the procedure application that accepts the procedure for activating a service and the procedure application that accepts the procedure related to the activated service may be different applications.

[0076] Fig. 7 shows an example of a notification image of a notification including information about a service that is available but not enabled on the printer 2. The notification in the example of Fig. 7 includes information about an extended function that can be enabled by a procedure, and an object 62 with a link embedded therein in which is a URL of a web page including information about the extended function.

[0077] If a compatible service is not enabled, displaying the information about the service allows the user to recognize that the service can be enabled. Displaying a notification image including the information notification in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2 increases the possibility that the user will consider using the notified extended function. However, if information about the compatible service or information about another model is displayed every time the printer 2 is selected, it may cause stress to the user. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment determines whether or not to add the information notification to the notification content based on the information display conditions, so that the same notification is unlikely to be displayed multiple times or too frequently. Therefore, the user's stress caused by the frequent display of information notifications about services is avoided.

[0078] After S118, after S123, or when it is determined that the guidance display conditions are not met (S121: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the consumable display conditions are met (S131). The consumable display conditions are conditions for determining whether or not a consumable notification including information on the remaining amount of the consumable is to be included in the notification content. The auxiliary program 42 can acquire information on the usage and remaining amount of the consumables installed in the printer 2, and information on the replacement timing and replacement method of the consumables, based on the service information 31 of the printer 2. For example, when it is determined that the remaining amount of the consumable is less than a predetermined amount, the CPU 11 determines that the consumable display conditions are met.

[0079] If it is determined that the consumable display conditions are met (S131: YES), the CPU 11 adds a consumable notification to the notification content (S132). The consumable notification includes, for example, a notification that the consumable is low in quantity, an object with a link embedded with a URL indicating a page for purchasing the consumable, and a notification of how to replace the consumable. By notifying the user of the need to replace the consumable when it is approaching, the user can know when to replace the consumable. On the other hand, if it is determined that the consumable display conditions are not met (S131: NO), the CPU 11 does not add a consumable notification to the notification content.

[0080] An example of a notification image for a consumables notification when the printer 2 is a model that does not support the service and the remaining ink level is low is shown in Fig. 8. The example in Fig. 8 shows a notification image that includes a consumables notification, an object 63 with a link that embeds the URL of the ink purchase page, and a guide notification that provides information about models that can use a service that cannot be used with the printer 2. By displaying the notification image that includes this information in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2, the user can easily grasp information about the remaining amount of consumables, etc.

[0081] The auxiliary program 42 may notify the information on the consumables even if it is determined that the remaining amount of the consumables is not less than the predetermined amount. For example, the CPU 11 may notify the information on the consumables when there is no other notification content. By displaying information based on the usage amount of the consumables, such as the remaining amount of the consumables or the number of times it has been used, the user can estimate, for example, when to replace the consumables.

[0082] Next, the CPU 11 generates notification data showing an image to be displayed in the notification field 52 based on the added notification content (S141). S141 is an example of the generation process. When a plurality of notification contents are added, the CPU 11 may generate notification data showing one image in which all the added notification contents are arranged, as shown in, for example, FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, or may generate notification data showing a switching video in which the notification contents are switched in sequence. When there are a large number of notification contents, the CPU 11 may not notify notification contents with a low priority. When there is no added notification content, the CPU 11 may generate notification data that leaves the notification field 52 blank, or may generate notification data showing a predetermined image such as a vendor's logo or the latest information.

[0083] The auxiliary program 42 may have information on various messages and objects indicating the notification contents in advance for each type of notification content. Alternatively, the auxiliary program 42 may obtain information on messages and objects corresponding to the notification contents from the printer 2 or the server 200.

[0084] 2, the CPU 11 passes the notification data generated in S141 to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, in A23, a notification image based on the notification data is displayed in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. That is, an image based on the notification data generated by the auxiliary program 42 is displayed on the print setting screen D2. The CPU 11 stores the time when the generated notification data was passed to the general-purpose printing program 41 (S142), ends the notification data generation process, and returns to the process of the sequence diagram in FIG. 2. S142 is an example of a time storage process.

[0085] Next, the procedure of each program when an instruction to change the print settings by a user's operation on the print setting field 53 is accepted while the print setting screen D2 shown in Fig. 4 is displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 9. As described above, the print setting screen D2 can accept an instruction to change the print settings by an operation on the print setting field 53, and an instruction to execute printing by an operation on the print button SW3.

[0086] The general-purpose printing program 41 changes the display contents of the print setting field 53 of the print setting screen D2 (B02) based on an instruction from the user to change the print settings (B01). Furthermore, when the print settings are changed, the general-purpose printing program 41 also starts the auxiliary program 42 and requests processing corresponding to the change in the print settings (B03). In B03, the auxiliary program 42 receives information on the changed print settings from the general-purpose printing program 41.

[0087] Based on the changed print settings, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether or not it is necessary to change the notification data to be displayed in the notification field 52. If it is determined that a change is necessary (alt: [change required]), the auxiliary program 42 generates the changed notification data, passes it to the general-purpose printing program 41 (B05), and ends the process.

[0088] For example, if there is a lot of information determined to be notified in the notification data generation process executed in A21 of Fig. 2, it may not be possible to display it all at once in the notification field 52. In that case, the auxiliary program 42 may pass part of the notification to the general-purpose printing program 41 in A22, and pass notification data including the remainder of the notification to the general-purpose printing program 41 in B05. If it is determined that a change in the display is not necessary, the auxiliary program 42 notifies the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end of processing without executing B05.

[0089] Next, the procedure of each program when a print command is received by a user operating the print button SW3 while the print setting screen D2 shown in Fig. 4 is being displayed will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 10. The print command from the user may be directly input to the general-purpose print program 41, or may be input to the information application 43 and output from the information application 43 to the general-purpose print program 41.

[0090] The general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 based on a user's instruction to execute printing (C01), and requests processing corresponding to the instruction to execute printing (C02). In C02, the auxiliary program 42 receives from the general-purpose printing program 41 information on the print settings that were set when the instruction to execute printing was accepted. The general-purpose printing program 41 may also pass image data indicating the image to be printed to the auxiliary program 42. In addition, the general-purpose printing program 41 closes the print setting screen D2 that is being displayed. As a result, the information screen of the information application 43 becomes active.

[0091] In response to the print instruction, the auxiliary program 42 acquires the information on the main body capabilities of the printer 2 stored in A14 of FIG. 2 (C03). Note that in C03, the auxiliary program 42 may communicate with the printer 2 to acquire the information on the main body capabilities from the printer 2. The information on the main body capabilities may include, for example, information on image processing that can be executed by the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 checks the print setting information received in C02 based on the acquired information on the main body capabilities (C04). In C04, the auxiliary program 42 checks, for example, whether there is any discrepancy between the print settings and the main body capabilities of the printer 2. Furthermore, the auxiliary program 42 passes the print setting information of the confirmation result to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C05).

[0092] Depending on the result of the confirmation in C04, the auxiliary program 42 may change and pass the print settings in C05. For example, if the print settings received in C02 include information on image processing that is more preferably executed by the printer 2 than by the general-purpose printing program 41 or the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 may change the print settings to those excluding that image processing. In that case, the auxiliary program 42 may store the information on the removed print settings so that it can be passed to the printer 2 in a later procedure, and pass the changed print setting information to the general-purpose printing program 41 in C05.

[0093] The general-purpose printing program 41 uses the print settings received from the auxiliary program 42 to convert the format of the image data of the image to be printed into the format of intermediate image data, thereby generating intermediate image data, and passes the generated intermediate image data to the auxiliary program 42 (C11). Image data included in the information application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate image data suitable for generating print data. Note that if the image data to be printed is suitable for generating print data, the generation of the intermediate image data may be omitted and the image data may be used as is as intermediate image data. The intermediate image data is, for example, XPS data.

[0094] The auxiliary program 42 executes rasterization based on the intermediate image data received in C11, and generates print data indicating the image to be printed (C12). The print data generated in C12 is data in a format that can be used for printing by the printer 2, for example, PDL data dedicated to the model of the printer 2.

[0095] Rasterizing with the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 provides greater freedom than rasterizing with the general-purpose print program 41, and there is a high possibility that print data suitable for printing on the printer 2 will be generated. Note that the print data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may be data in a format that can be used for printing on printers other than the printer 2 model.

[0096] The auxiliary program 42 sends the print data generated in C12 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the printer 2 to execute printing (C13). C13 is an example of a sending process. If the auxiliary program 42 has determined in C04 that there is image processing to be executed by the printer 2, it generates a print command that also includes information about that processing. The auxiliary program 42 may further notify the general-purpose printing program 41 that it has finished sending the print data.

[0097] The printer 2 receives the print data and the print command, and executes printing of the image of the print data based on the received print command (C15), thereby generating a printed matter.

[0098] Note that the general-purpose printing program 41 may generate the print data instead of the auxiliary program 42. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the intermediate image data and print execution information received in C11 to the general-purpose printing program 41, and the general-purpose printing program 41 may rasterize the intermediate image data to generate the print data. In this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 passes the generated print data to the auxiliary program 42. Then, when the auxiliary program 42 receives print data from the general-purpose printing program 41, it transmits the print data received from the general-purpose printing program 41 to the printer 2 together with a print command instructing the execution of printing.

[0099] The print data generated by the general-purpose print program 41 is print data in a format that can be used for printing by various printers, such as PWGRaster data or PDF data. If the data is rasterized by the general-purpose print program 41, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 is reduced, which is expected to prevent an increase in processing time and reduce the program size of the auxiliary program 42.

[0100] The printing data and printing commands may be sent to the printer 2 by the general-purpose printing program 41. In other words, the auxiliary program 42 may pass the generated printing data to the general-purpose printing program 41 so that the data is sent from the PC 1 to the printer 2 as the destination. In this case, the general-purpose printing program 41 sends the printing data and the like received from the auxiliary program 42 to the printer 2. In this case, the process in which the auxiliary program 42 passes the printing data and the like to the general-purpose printing program 41 is an example of a sending process.

[0101] As described above in detail, in the first embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 acquires the service information 31 (or the service information 421, 202) which is information on services applicable to the printer 2, generates notification data based on the acquired service information 31, 421, 202, and passes it to the general-purpose printing program 41. As a result, the general-purpose printing program 41 displays an image based on the notification data in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. Therefore, the user can know information on services applicable to the printer 2 on the print setting screen D2.

[0102] In addition, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment determines whether to add a notification according to the valid display conditions and the guide display conditions, so that the same notification is unlikely to be displayed repeatedly or frequently, and stress on the user can be avoided. In addition, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment notifies the user of information required by the information on a valid service, such as a notification indicating that the service is valid, a notification indicating the terms of use such as the validity period, upgrade information, etc., according to the conditions. In addition, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment notifies the user of information required by the information on an inactive service, such as service information, a notification regarding the procedure for enabling the service, etc., according to the conditions, so that the user may consider introducing the service.

[0103] In addition, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment acquires at least one of the service information 31 stored in the printer 2, the service information 421 stored by the auxiliary program 42, and the service information 202 stored in the server 200, and generates notification data. By acquiring the service information 31 stored in the printer 2, the auxiliary program 42 can notify the information of the service applied to the printer 2 and the information of the service usage status in the printer 2. By acquiring the service information 421 stored by the auxiliary program 42, the auxiliary program 42 does not need to communicate to acquire the service information, and the influence on other processes can be reduced. By acquiring the service information 202 stored in the server 200, the auxiliary program 42 can notify the information of the latest service provided by the vendor of the printer 2.

[0104] Next, the auxiliary program 42 of the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the auxiliary program 42 itself performs processing for display on the user IF 13, and the general-purpose print program 41 displays the program in the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2. In the following, the same reference numerals are used to omit descriptions of configurations and procedures common to the first embodiment, and differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

[0105] As shown in the sequence diagram of Fig. 11, after the steps A01 to A21 similar to those shown in Fig. 2, the auxiliary program 42 of the second embodiment displays information about the service on the display 13a of the user IF 13 based on the notification data generated in S141 of the notification data generation process shown in Fig. 5 (D01). D01 is an example of the support program display process.

[0106] In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 acquires service information, which is information on services applicable to the printer 2. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 acquires at least one of the service information 31 stored in the printer 2, the service information 421 stored by the auxiliary program 42, and the service information 202 stored in the server 200.

[0107] Then, the auxiliary program 42 opens a new window in D01 in addition to the print setting screen D2 (see FIG. 4) displayed by the general-purpose print program 41 in A06, and displays a notification image in the window as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may open a window of an appropriate size depending on the notification data to be displayed. The auxiliary program 42 may also pass the notification data to the OS 21, thereby causing a pop-up display including the notification image to be displayed in addition to the print setting screen D2.

[0108] In this case, the auxiliary program 42 may display, for example, the notification images shown in Fig. 6 to Fig. 8 or a notification image as shown in Fig. 12. The notification image shown in Fig. 12 includes a notification of information about a service applicable to the printer 2, and an object 65 with a link embedded therein that has an embedded URL of a web page where a contract for that service can be accepted. By displaying this notification image, a user who wishes to sign a contract for the service can carry out the contract procedure via a web page that is displayed by operating the object 65.

[0109] Furthermore, the notification data to be displayed may be URL information indicating a web page. When the notification data is URL information, the auxiliary program 42 may start a web browser and pass the URL information to the web browser, thereby causing the web browser to display the web page. For example, instead of displaying the object 62 shown in Fig. 7, the auxiliary program 42 may pass URL information of a web page including information of an extended function to the web browser, and cause the web browser to display the web page.

[0110] In addition to the selection of a printer, the auxiliary program 42 may display information about a service when it is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 based on an instruction to execute printing (C02 in FIG. 10). For example, the auxiliary program 42 may display information different from the display content of D01 accompanying the selection of a printer.

[0111] As described above in detail, the auxiliary program 42 of the second embodiment also displays information on services applicable to the printer 2 on the display 13a. Therefore, the user can know information on services applicable to the printer 2.

[0112] The auxiliary program 42 in the second embodiment simplifies the process for displaying information related to the service by itself, instead of generating notification data and passing it to the general-purpose printing program 41. Furthermore, by displaying information by the auxiliary program 42, there is no restriction on the information that can be displayed due to the size of the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2, and for example, multiple pieces of information can be displayed simultaneously.

[0113] Next, as a third embodiment, the display application 44 activated by the auxiliary program 42 will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In this embodiment, the display application 44 displays service information instead of the auxiliary program 42 and the general-purpose print program 41. In the following, the same reference numerals are used to omit the description of the configurations and procedures common to the first and second embodiments, and differences from the first and second embodiments will be mainly described.

[0114] In the third embodiment, the auxiliary program 42 also executes the steps A01 to A14 similar to the steps shown in FIG. 2, as shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 13. Thereafter, the auxiliary program 42 starts the display application 44 (E01). E01 is an example of a start-up process. After being started in A08, the auxiliary program 42 may start the display application 44 before the steps A11 to A14 for acquiring capability information. The auxiliary program 42 may also start the display application 44 when it is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 based on, for example, an instruction to execute printing (for example, C02 in FIG. 10) in addition to the selection of a printer.

[0115] The display application 44 acquires various information related to the service in response to being started by the auxiliary program 42. The display application 44 acquires the service information 31 from the printer 2, for example, by making a request to the printer 2 (E02). E02 is an example of a display program acquisition process.

[0116] The display application 44 may acquire the service information 421 from the auxiliary program 42. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may add the service information 421 and start the display application 44. The display application 44 may also acquire the service information 202 corresponding to the model of the printer 2 from the server 200. The display application 44 may acquire any one of the service information 31, 421, and 202, or may acquire a plurality of these pieces of information.

[0117] The display application 44 generates notification information regarding the service based on the acquired service information, and displays the information on the display 13a of the user IF 13 via a screen provided by the display application 44 (E03). E03 is an example of a display program display process.

[0118] The display application 44 may generate notification data including images such as those shown in Figs. 6 to 8 and 12, open a new window, and display the image. The display application 44 may also pass the generated notification data to the OS 21, causing the OS 21 to display the image in a pop-up. The display application 44 may also be a web browser. For example, when the display application 44 acquires URL information of a web page related to a service as the service information 31, 421, 202, the display application 44 may display the web page.

[0119] As described above in detail, the display application 44 of the third embodiment also displays information about services applicable to the printer 2 on the display 13a. Therefore, the user can know information about services applicable to the printer 2.

[0120] By displaying the information related to the service by the display application 44, it is possible to reduce the impact on the printing process by the auxiliary program 42 and the general-purpose printing program 41. In particular, there is a high possibility that a certain amount of time will be required when acquiring the service information 202 from the server 200. If the display application 44 acquires the information from the server 200, it is possible to display the latest information while suppressing the impact on the printing process.

[0121] Next, the auxiliary program 42 of the fourth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment performs processing to cause the printer 2 to output a notification image showing information related to the service, i.e., causes the printer 2 to notify the information related to the service, which is different from the first embodiment in which the general-purpose print program 41 notifies, the second embodiment in which the auxiliary program 42 itself notifies, and the third embodiment in which the display application 44 notifies. In the following, the same reference numerals are used to omit descriptions of configurations and procedures common to the first embodiment, and differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

[0122] As shown in the sequence diagram of Fig. 14, the auxiliary program 42 in the fourth embodiment generates a notification image to be output by the printer 2 based on the notification data generated in S141 of the notification data generation process shown in Fig. 5 after the steps A01 to A21 similar to those shown in Fig. 2 (F22). The service information for generating the notification data may be obtained from the printer 2 as shown in A12 and A13, or, for example, the auxiliary program 42 may access the server 200 to obtain it, or the auxiliary program 42 itself may store service information for each printer model and obtain the service information corresponding to the model of the printer 2 from there.

[0123] After F22, the auxiliary program 42 sends an instruction to output a notification image to the printer 2 (F23). The output instruction is associated with the generated notification image, and the generated notification image is sent to the printer 2. As in the first to third embodiments, the notification image is an image depicting information related to a service applicable to the printer 2. For example, the notification image may be one of those shown in Figs. 6 to 8 or 12, or may be an image customized according to the output mode of the printer 2. F23 is an example of printer output processing.

[0124] The format of the generated notification image differs depending on the output mode of the printer 2, i.e., the type of output instruction. For example, if the output instruction is a display instruction to display the notification image on the operation panel 32 of the printer 2, image data that can be displayed on the operation panel 32, such as XPS data, is generated. If the output instruction is a print instruction to print the notification image, print data that can be handled by the printer 2, such as PDF data, is generated. Note that a link to a web page may be included in the notification image if the operation panel 32 has a browser function. Also, instead of the link, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) that stores the link may be displayed.

[0125] The printer 2 that has received the output instruction acquires the notification image and outputs the notification image in accordance with the output instruction (F31). For example, if the output instruction is a display instruction, the notification image is displayed on the operation panel 32. If the output instruction is a print instruction, the notification image is printed. The output instruction may be sent to the printer 2 directly by the auxiliary program 42, or may be sent via the general-purpose print program 41.

[0126] Furthermore, when the auxiliary program 42 is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 based on an instruction to execute printing (C02 in FIG. 10), the auxiliary program 42 may also generate a notification image and send an instruction to output the notification image to the printer 2. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may cause the printer 2 to output a notification image including information different from the display content of D01 accompanying the instruction for print settings.

[0127] As described above in detail, the auxiliary program 42 of the fourth embodiment also causes the printer 2 to output information about services applicable to the printer 2. Therefore, the user can know information about services applicable to the printer 2.

[0128] The auxiliary program 42 of the fourth embodiment notifies the printer 2 of the information related to the service instead of having the PC 1 notify the service information, so that, for example, if a notification image is displayed on the operation panel 32, the user can know the service information at the timing of operating the printer 2. Also, for example, if a notification image is printed, there is no restriction on the information that can be displayed due to the size of the notification field 52 of the print setting screen D2, and multiple pieces of information can be printed on one sheet.

[0129] The auxiliary program 42 may cause the printer 2 to notify the user of service information in a fourth mode, in addition to causing the PC 1 to notify the user of service information in one of the first to third modes.

[0130] It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can be naturally improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the technology. For example, the device connected to PC1 is not limited to a printer, but may be any device having a printing function, such as a multifunction device, a copier, or a fax machine. Furthermore, the number of printers connected to PC1 is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be two or more.

[0131] 6 to 8 are merely examples and are not limited to the examples shown in the drawings. Furthermore, any wording, object shape, background, etc. may be displayed in the notification image.

[0132] In addition, in this embodiment, the content of the notification to be added and whether or not to add a notification are determined depending on various conditions such as whether the model of the printer 2 supports the service, whether the service is valid, and valid display conditions, guide display conditions, etc., but these conditions do not have to be present. In other words, information on various services may be displayed regardless of the model of the printer 2 or the status of the service.

[0133] Furthermore, when the user operates the OS 21 to change the normally used printer from another printer to printer 2 after the print setting screen D2 is displayed by the general-purpose printing program 41, the general-purpose printing program 41 may also start the auxiliary program 42. In this case, similar to when printer 2 is selected, the auxiliary program 42 may perform processing to display information about the service. Specifically, the auxiliary program 42 may execute a notification data generation process and pass the notification data to the general-purpose printing program 41, or may display the notification data itself, or may start the display application 44 to display it.

[0134] In the embodiment, only the printing operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles. The program that executes the process of the present embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, but may be any program that receives instructions from the OS 21 or the general-purpose printing program 41 when printing is performed using the general-purpose printing program 41. For example, it may be a print workflow application (Print workflow) whose specifications have been published by Microsoft.

[0135] Furthermore, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, the auxiliary program 42 may be executed in response to a direct execution instruction from the OS 21, or the auxiliary program 42 may be resident. If the auxiliary program 42 is resident, it is sufficient that the auxiliary program 42 performs the above-mentioned operation upon receiving an execution command.

[0136] In addition, in any of the flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments, the order of execution of multiple processes in any of the steps can be arbitrarily changed or the processes can be executed in parallel as long as no contradiction occurs in the process content.

[0137] The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as ASIC, or a combination of these. The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be realized in various forms, such as a recording medium having a program for executing the processes recorded thereon, or a method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0138] 1 PC 2. Printer 11 CPU 13a Display

Claims

1. a support program that can be executed by a computer of an information processing device, corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supports a general-purpose print program that is pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, the general-purpose print program being capable of handling data for displaying a print setting screen on a display of the information processing device; The computer includes: When the printer is selected and a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, An acquisition process for acquiring service information which is information related to a service corresponding to the printer; a generation process for generating notification data indicating notification content to be notified to a user based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process; a display process for passing the notification data generated in the generation process to the general-purpose print program and displaying the notification data on the print setting screen displayed on the display of the information processing device; Execute the A support program configured to:

2. 2. The support program according to claim 1, the support program has at least the service information corresponding to the printer connected to the information processing device, In the acquisition process, acquiring the service information corresponding to a model of the printer connected to the information processing device; A support program configured to:

3. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The service information for each printer model is stored in a server connectable to the information processing device, In the acquisition process, acquiring, from the server, the service information corresponding to the model of the printer connected to the information processing device; A support program configured to:

4. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The service applied to the printer is provided with terms of use for the printer, and the service information includes information indicating the terms of use; In the generation process, generating the notification data including the use conditions in the notification content based on the use conditions included in the service information acquired in the acquisition process; A support program configured to:

5. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The service information includes information indicating whether the service is valid or not, In the generation process, If the service information acquired in the acquisition process includes information indicating that the service is valid, the notification data is generated, the notification content of the notification including information indicating that the service is being used; If the service information acquired in the acquisition process does not include information indicating that the service is valid, the notification data is generated so that the notification content includes a guide to the service. A support program configured to:

6. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The service information includes information indicating whether the service is valid or not, The computer includes: When the printer is selected and a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, if the service information acquired in the acquisition process does not include information indicating that the service is valid, the generation process and the display process are executed, and in the generation process, the notification data is generated, the notification content of which includes a guide to the service; If the service information acquired in the acquisition process includes information indicating that the service is valid, the generation process and the display process are not executed. A support program configured to:

7. 2. The support program according to claim 1, In the generation process, generating the notification data including a link having a URL indicating a web page embedded in the notification content based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process, the web page including information regarding a procedure for the service; A support program configured to:

8. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The service information includes a cumulative number of times printing has been performed, The computer includes: When the printer is selected and a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, If the cumulative number of prints included in the service information acquired in the acquisition process does not exceed a first value, the generation process and the display process are executed. If the cumulative number of prints included in the service information acquired in the acquisition process exceeds the first value, the generation process and the display process are not executed. A support program configured to:

9. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The computer includes: Executing a count storage process for storing a cumulative number of times the notification data is displayed on the print setting screen; The computer further comprises: When the printer is selected and a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, If the cumulative display count stored in the count storage process does not exceed a second value, the generation process and the display process are executed. If the cumulative display count stored in the count storage process exceeds the second value, the generation process and the display process are not executed. A support program configured to:

10. 2. The support program according to claim 1, The service information includes a start date and time when the use of the service started, The computer includes: When the printer is selected and a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, if the elapsed time from the start date and time included in the service information acquired in the acquisition process does not exceed a second time, execute the generation process and the display process; If the elapsed time from the start date and time included in the service information acquired in the acquisition process exceeds the second time, the generation process and the display process are not executed. A support program configured to:

11. A support program according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The computer includes: When a print instruction is output from an application program installed in the information processing device, the print instruction being to cause the general-purpose print program to print an image on the printer, and processing is requested from the general-purpose print program, acquiring image data representing the image from the general-purpose printing program, and executing a transmission process for transmitting a print command to the printer based on the image data; A support program configured to:

12. A support program executable by a computer of an information processing device, corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supporting a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, The computer includes: When a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, An acquisition process for acquiring service information, which is information regarding services applicable to the printer; a support program display process for displaying notification information based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process on a display of the information processing device; Execute the A support program configured to:

13. The support program according to claim 12, the service information is stored in the printer connected to the information processing device, In the acquisition process, acquiring the service information from the printer; A support program configured to:

14. The support program according to claim 12, The service information for each printer model is stored in a server connectable to the information processing device, In the acquisition process, acquiring, from the server, the service information corresponding to the model of the printer connected to the information processing device; A support program configured to:

15. A display program executable by a computer of an information processing device, the information processing device having an operating system in which a generic print program is embedded, and a support program corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device and supporting the generic print program, the support program being capable of causing the computer to execute a startup process for starting the display program when a process is requested by the generic print program; The display program started from the support program, The computer includes: A display program acquisition process for acquiring service information that is information regarding services applicable to the printer; a display program display process for displaying notification information based on the service information acquired in the display program acquisition process on a display of the information processing device; Execute the A display program configured to:

16. 16. The display program according to claim 15, the service information is stored in the printer connected to the information processing device, In the display program acquisition process, acquiring the service information from the printer; A display program configured to:

17. 16. The display program according to claim 15, The service information for each printer model is stored in a server connectable to the information processing device, In the display program acquisition process, acquiring, from the server, the service information corresponding to the model of the printer connected to the information processing device; A display program configured to:

18. 16. The display program according to claim 15, the support program is capable of causing the computer to execute an acquisition process for acquiring the service information when a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program upon selection of the printer, In the display program acquisition process, acquiring, from the support program, the service information acquired by the support program in the acquisition process; A display program configured to:

19. A support program executable by a computer of an information processing device, corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device, and supporting a general-purpose printing program pre-installed in an operating system of the information processing device, The computer includes: When a process is requested by the general-purpose printing program, An acquisition process for acquiring service information, which is information regarding services applicable to the printer; a printer output process for outputting, to the printer, a notification image based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process; Execute the A support program configured to:

20. 20. The support program according to claim 19, the support program has at least the service information corresponding to the printer connected to the information processing device, In the acquisition process, acquiring the service information corresponding to a model of the printer connected to the information processing device; A support program configured to:

21. 20. The support program according to claim 19, The service information for each printer model is stored in a server connectable to the information processing device, In the acquisition process, acquiring, from the server, the service information corresponding to the model of the printer connected to the information processing device; A support program configured to:

22. A support program according to any one of claims 19 to 21, In the printer output process, displaying the notification image based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process on a display device of the printer; A support program configured to:

23. A support program according to any one of claims 19 to 21, In the printer output process, causing the printer to print the notification image based on the service information acquired in the acquisition process. A support program configured to:

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