Printer

Abstract

To provide a preferable procedure for creating a message which is output from a printer to a client and transmits a state of a job.SOLUTION: A printer 1 may perform printing based on printing jobs received from a terminal device 3. The printer 1 notifies the terminal device 3 of a state code indicating a current state of a predetermined printing job in response to a job state request from the terminal device 3. The printer 1 notifies the terminal device 3 of a reason code indicating a reason for the current state of the predetermined printing job in response to a reason information request from the terminal device 3. The printer 1 notifies the terminal device 3 of a reply message, in which a state message in a natural language indicating the current state of the predetermined job and a reason message in the natural language indicating the reason for the current state of the predetermined job are combined, in response to a message request from the terminal device 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a technique for notifying a status of a job input to a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, print application programs and print services on the cloud have made it possible to control printers according to the IPP standard (Internet Printing Protocol). Non-Patent Document 1, for example, is a document disclosing technology related to IPP. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a procedure in which a printer conveys the status of an input job to an IPP client that generates print jobs according to the IPP standard, using a message written in natural language. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] RFC8011 Internet Printing Protocol / 1.1:Model and Semantics https: / / www.rfc-editor.org / rfc / rfc8011 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although a printer can transmit a message in a natural language to a client generating a print job, the printer is responsible for how to create the message. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the process of creating the message on the printer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A printer made for the purpose of solving this problem is a printer capable of printing based on a print job received from an external device, and is configured to: in response to a first request from the external device for a specified job submitted to the printer, notify the external device of a status code which is a code indicating the current status of the specified job, in response to a second request from the external device for the specified job, notify the external device of a reason code which is a code indicating the reason why the specified job is in its current status, and in response to a third request from the external device for the specified job, notify the external device of a first job status message which combines a status message which is a message composed of a natural language indicating the status of the specified job and a reason message which is a message composed of a natural language indicating the reason why the specified job is in its current status.

[0006] When a third request is received from an external device, the printer disclosed in this specification notifies the external device of a first job status message written in natural language that combines a status message indicating the current status of a specific job submitted to the printer with a reason message indicating the reason why the specific job is in that state. This allows the external device to display the first job status message, making it easier for the user to understand the detailed status of the specific job.

[0007] A control method for implementing the functions of the printer, a computer program, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program are also novel and useful. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a suitable procedure for creating a message that is output from a printer to a client and that notifies the client of the status of a job is realized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a notification process. [Diagram 3] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a message generation process. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a state table. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a reason table. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message displayed on the terminal device. [Figure 7] 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of messages displayed on an operation panel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printer will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment discloses a printer capable of executing printing based on a print command conforming to the IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) standard.

[0011] 1, the printer 1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The printer 1 also includes an operation panel 13, a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, a print engine 15, and a transport mechanism 16, which are electrically connected to the controller 10.

[0012] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to the programs read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operations. Note that the controller 10 in FIG. 1 is a collective term for the hardware and software used to control the printer 1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware that actually exists in the printer 1.

[0013] The memory 12 of the printer 1 of this embodiment stores various programs and various data, including an IPP response program 21, an IPP print program 22, a status table 23, and a reason table 24. Note that the IPP response program 21 and the IPP print program 22 may be a single program that has both functions. Details of each program and data will be described later. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed.

[0014] Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the printer 1, but may be a storage medium that is readable and writable by the CPU 11. For example, an external memory such as a USB memory or HDD connected to the printer 1 via the communication IF 14, or a memory or HDD provided in a device connected to the printer 1 via the communication IF 14 are also examples of the memory 12. A buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of the memory 12.

[0015] It should be noted that computer-readable storage media are non-transitory media. In addition to the above examples, non-transitory media also include storage media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. Non-transitory media are also tangible media. On the other hand, electrical signals that carry programs downloaded from servers on the Internet are computer-readable signal media, which is a type of computer-readable medium, but are not included in non-transitory computer-readable storage media.

[0016] Operation panel 13 includes hardware for displaying a screen for notifying a user of information, and hardware for accepting operations by the user. Operation panel 13 may include a touch panel having a notification function and an operation acceptance function. Operation panel 13 may include an indicator lamp, various buttons, and a numeric keypad. Operation panel 13 is an example of a user interface.

[0017] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as the terminal device 3. The communication standards of the communication IF 14 include Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. The printer 1 may include a plurality of communication IFs 14 compatible with a plurality of communication standards.

[0018] The print engine 15 includes a configuration for printing an image based on image data onto a print medium such as a sheet. The print method of the print engine 15 is, for example, an electrophotographic method. The printer 1 of this embodiment may be equipped with the print engine 15 capable of color printing using a plurality of toners of different colors.

[0019] Transport mechanism 16 is a mechanism for transporting print media, such as sheets, through print engine 15 .

[0020] The printer 1 of this embodiment is capable of communicating with the terminal device 3 via the communication IF 14. The terminal device 3 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer, and is provided with an application program (hereinafter, referred to as an "IPP client application") 31 that can execute various processes in accordance with the IPP standard. By executing the IPP client application 31, the terminal device 3 can send printing instructions to the printer 1 as an IPP client. The terminal device 3 is an example of an external device.

[0021] Next, the operation of the printer 1 regarding IPP printing will be described with reference to a flowchart. The following process basically indicates the processing of the CPU 11 according to the instructions written in the program. That is, the processes such as "judgment", "extraction", "selection", "calculation", "decision", "identification", "acquisition", "acceptance", and "control" in the following description indicate the processing of the CPU 11. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the API of the OS. In this specification, the description of the OS will be omitted to describe the operation of each program. That is, in the following description, a description to the effect that "program B controls hardware C" may also mean that "program B controls hardware C using the API of the OS". In addition, the processing of the CPU 11 according to the instructions written in the program may be described in abbreviated terms. For example, it may be described as "performed by the CPU". In addition, the processing of the CPU 11 according to the instructions written in the program may be described in abbreviated terms such as "performed by program A".

[0022] Note that "obtaining" is used as a concept that does not require a request. In other words, the process of receiving data without the CPU 11 making a request is also included in the concept of "the CPU obtaining data." In addition, "data" in this specification is represented as a bit string that can be read by a computer. Data that has the same substantial meaning but different formats is treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in this specification. In addition, "requesting" and "instructing" are concepts that indicate outputting information indicating a request or information indicating an instruction to the other party. In addition, information indicating a request or information indicating an instruction is also simply referred to as "request" and "instruction."

[0023] Furthermore, the process by CPU 11 to determine whether information A indicates event B may be conceptually described as "determining whether event B is determined from information A." The process by CPU 11 to determine whether information A indicates event B or event C may be conceptually described as "determining whether event B or event C is determined from information A."

[0024] The procedure of the notification process executed by the printer 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 2. This notification process is executed by the CPU 11 of the printer 1 based on the IPP response program 21 when an information response request is received from an external device such as the terminal device 3.

[0025] The IPP client application 31 has a function of communicating with the printer 1, which is a device that executes printing, and requesting the printer 1 to send information. For example, after transmitting a print job to the printer 1, the IPP client application 31 may request information indicating the status of the transmitted print job from the printer 1. For example, when the printer 1 receives a response request from the terminal device 3, the printer 1 can generate the requested information based on the command included in the response request and respond to the terminal device 3.

[0026] When the received response request includes a request for information about a specific print job, the CPU 11 determines whether there is a specific print job for which information is being requested (S101). When it is determined that there is no specific print job for which information is being requested (S101: NO), the CPU 11 ends the notification process. The CPU 11 may respond with information indicating that there is no specific print job for which information is being requested.

[0027] The IPP client application 31 can identify the print job for which it has sent an execution instruction to the printer 1 based on the user name indicating the logged-in user when the execution instruction was accepted, the name of the file to be printed, etc. Then, the IPP client application 31 can identify the print job submitted to the printer 1 based on, for example, an instruction from the user, and request information about the identified print job from the printer 1.

[0028] Furthermore, when the printer 1 receives a print job from the terminal device 3 or the like, it generates, for example, identification information for identifying the submitted print job and manages information about the print job at least until processing of the print job is completed. When the printer 1 receives a request for the specification of the submitted print job and information about the specified print job, it determines whether or not it has information about the print job. Note that the printer 1 may delete information about a print job whose processing has been completed, or may retain the information even after processing is completed.

[0029] When it is determined that there is a specific print job for which information is requested by the response request (S101: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether the received response request includes a request for job status information, which is information indicating the status of the specific print job (S103). Job status information is information that indicates the current status of a specific job. The request for job status information is an example of a first request. A request for job status information based on the IPP standard is, for example, a "job-state" command.

[0030] If it is determined that a request for job status information is included (S103: YES), the CPU 11 acquires the status of the print job (S104). The print job status may be, for example, pending, running, canceled, aborted, or completed.

[0031] Furthermore, the CPU 11 adds a status code, which is information indicating the status of the acquired print job, to the notification information (S105). The status code is information defined for each job status based on the IPP standard to which the terminal device 3 conforms. The notification information is information that is responded to the terminal device 3 in a procedure that will be described later. Note that at the start of the notification process, the notification information does not contain any information.

[0032] After S105, or when it is determined that the received response request does not include a request for job state information (S103: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether the received response request includes a request for job state reason information (S111). Job state reason information is information indicating the reason why a print job is in that state. There are various reasons for the state of a print job, which are greater than the number of states. For example, a job may be in a canceled state due to cancellation by a user, cancellation by an operator other than the user, cancellation from an operation panel, and the like. The request for job state reason information is an example of a second request. A request for job state reason information based on the IPP standard is, for example, a "job-state-reasons" command.

[0033] When it is determined that the received response request includes a request for job status reason information (S111: YES), the CPU 11 acquires the reason why the print job is in that status (S112). Note that if the reason for the print job status has already been acquired in S104, the CPU 11 may skip S112.

[0034] Furthermore, CPU 11 adds a reason code, which is information indicating the reason why the print job is in that state, to the notification information (S113). The reason code is information defined for each reason of the job state based on the IPP standard to which terminal device 3 conforms. Note that if there are multiple reasons for the job state, CPU 11 acquires the multiple reasons and adds all of the multiple reason codes corresponding to the acquired multiple reasons to the notification information.

[0035] Also, depending on the state of the job, there may be no reason. For example, when a job is waiting to be executed, there is no particular reason for it to be in a waiting state. If the CPU 11 cannot obtain the reason in S112, that is, if there is no reason, then in S113, it adds a reason code indicating "none." The reason code indicating "none" is a reason code indicating that there is no reason, and is an example of a special code.

[0036] Furthermore, if the CPU 11 acquires a reason in S112 but the reason code corresponding to the acquired reason is not defined based on the IPP standard, then in S113, it adds a reason code indicating "other." The reason code indicating "other" is a reason code indicating that there is no reason code corresponding to the reason, and is an example of a special code.

[0037] After S113, or when it is determined that the received response request does not include a request for job status reason information (S111: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether the received response request includes a request for job status message information (S121). Job status message information is a message expressing in natural language the current state of a specific job and the reason for that state. A request for job status message information is an example of a third request. A request for job status message information based on the IPP standard is, for example, a "job-state-message" command. Note that in this specification, a message in English is exemplified as a natural language message.

[0038] Although the status code added in S105 and the reason code added in S113 are predefined based on the IPP standard, the job status message information requested in S121 is not predefined based on the IPP standard. The printer vendor can freely prepare the job status message information to be responded to. This allows for a high degree of freedom in the messages. The printer 1 prepares one message for one reason code as the message information to be responded to the request based on the IPP standard. Therefore, the printer 1 responds with predetermined message information for each reason code.

[0039] When it is determined that the received response request includes a request for job status message information (S121: YES), the CPU 11 executes a message generation process (S122). The message generation process is a process for generating a response message to be sent as job status message information.

[0040] The printer 1 responds to an external device such as the terminal device 3 with a response message created in a message generation process, using a procedure described below. When the IPP client application 31 of the terminal device 3 receives a response message as a response to the response request sent to the printer 1, the IPP client application 31 can display the message on a display or the like of the terminal device 3.

[0041] The procedure of the message generation process will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 3. CPU 11 determines whether the status and the reason for the status of a specified print job have been acquired (S201). If it is determined that the status and the reason for the status have not been acquired (S201: NO), CPU 11 acquires the status of the specified print job and the reason for the status (S202). S202 is the same process as S104 and S112 of the notification process. Note that if CPU 11 has already executed S104 and S112 of the notification process, it is not necessary for it to be acquired again.

[0042] The CPU 11 acquires a status message based on the job status (S211). The CPU 11 can acquire the status message based on a status table 23 stored in the memory 12. The status table 23 is a table showing the relationship between the job status and the message returned as the job status, as shown in Fig. 4, for example.

[0043] For example, if the specified print job is in progress, the status message is "Job is processing" as shown in Fig. 4. In other words, this status message expresses in natural language that the print job is in progress. Status table 23 stores messages expressed in natural language for each print job status.

[0044] Furthermore, the CPU 11 acquires a reason message based on the reason for the job status (S212). The CPU 11 can acquire the reason message based on a reason table 24 stored in the memory 12. The reason table 24 is a table showing the relationship between the reason why the job is in that status and the message returned as the reason for the job status, as shown in Fig. 5, for example. Note that if there are multiple reasons, the CPU 11 acquires reason messages for all the reasons in S212.

[0045] For example, if the printer 1 has stopped and the execution of the print job is on hold, the reason message is "Printer is stopped." as shown in Fig. 5. Note that the reason message need only be written in a natural language that conveys its meaning to the user, and does not have to be in the form of a sentence. For example, if the printer 1 has stopped processing the print job because there is an error in the format of the document to be printed, the reason message may be "Document format error." as shown in Fig. 5.

[0046] Note that no reason message is associated with a state without a particular reason or a state for which the user does not need to be notified in the reason table 24. As shown in Fig. 5, no reason message is stored in the reason table 24 when the reason for the state is "none" or "receiving". If the CPU 11 determines in S212 that the corresponding reason message is not stored in the reason table 24, the CPU 11 obtains information indicating a blank column.

[0047] For example, if there is no reason, notifying the user of a message saying there is no reason is likely to confuse the user. Also, if there is a reason but no code indicating that reason, notifying the user of a message saying there is no code indicating the reason is likely to confuse the user. By leaving the reason message blank in these cases, the printer 1 can prevent unnecessary messages from being displayed on the terminal device 3 and reduce user confusion.

[0048] Then, CPU 11 determines whether the status message acquired in S211 and the reason message acquired in S212 are an overlapping combination (S213). When major parts of the two messages, such as words or phrases, overlap, CPU 11 determines that they are an overlapping combination. For example, when the status message is "Job is canceled" and the reason message is "Job is canceled by user," the part "Job is canceled" overlaps. A combination in which a status message and a reason message overlap is an example of a specific combination.

[0049] If the job status is canceled, aborted, or completed, there is a possibility that the status message and the reason message are a combination that overlap. For example, if the job status is canceled, aborted, or completed, the CPU 11 determines whether the status message acquired in S211 overlaps with any of the reason messages acquired in S212. Also, if the job status is not canceled, aborted, or completed, the CPU 11 may determine that the status message and the reason message do not overlap.

[0050] If it is determined that there is an overlapping combination (S213: YES), the CPU 11 deletes the status message acquired in S211 and changes to no message (S214). Note that an overlapping combination is not limited to a combination in which a status message is included in a reason message, but may also be, for example, a combination in which a status message overlaps with at least a major part of a reason message, or a combination in which the status message and the reason message overlap in meaning. The printer 1 may determine whether there is an overlap based on each acquired message, or may have information about overlapping combinations in advance.

[0051] Depending on the combination of status and reason, including both messages may be redundant and confuse the user. Since the printer 1 responds only with the reason message for overlapping combinations, duplicate messages are not displayed on the terminal device 3, making it easier for the user to understand the messages.

[0052] After S214, or if it is determined that there is no overlap (S213: NO), the CPU 11 creates one response message by concatenating the status message and the reason message (S221). The CPU 11 creates a response message by appending all the reason messages acquired in S212 to the status message. The response message created in S221 when it is determined that there is no overlap is an example of a first job status message. If there are multiple reasons, the CPU 11 creates and responds with a response message including a reason message corresponding to each of the reasons. Therefore, if the terminal device 3 displays the response message, the user can understand the reason for the status in detail.

[0053] Also, if there is no reason for the job status, or if a reason message corresponding to the reason is not stored in the reason table 24, the CPU 11 creates a response message including only the status message in S221, since it has acquired information indicating a blank in S212. The response message created in S221 when there is no reason message is an example of a second job status message.

[0054] Furthermore, if it is determined that there is a duplication and the status message is deleted in S214, the CPU 11 generates a response message including a reason message but no status message in S221. For example, as described above, if the status is "canceled" and the reason is "cancelled by user," the response message will be "Job is canceled by user." The response message including a reason message but no status message is an example of a third job status message.

[0055] In addition, if the CPU 11 acquires multiple reason messages in S212 and one of them overlaps with the status message acquired in S211, it is preferable to create a response message in S221 in which the reason message that overlaps with the status message is placed at the top. For example, if "Job is aborted." is acquired as a status message indicating the job status, and two reason messages, "Document format error." and "Job is aborted by system.", are acquired as reason messages indicating the reason, the printer 1 places the latter message that overlaps with the status message first, and creates a response message that reads "Job is aborted by system.Document format error.". In this way, when the terminal device 3 displays this response message, the message indicating the job status is displayed first, making it easier for the user to understand the content of the message.

[0056] Then, the CPU 11 obtains the number of characters of the response message created in S221, and judges whether the number of characters is within a range not exceeding a predetermined upper limit (S223). The printer 1 prestores a predetermined upper limit value in addition to the upper limit value of the number of characters defined in the IPP standard. The upper limit value stored in the printer 1 of this embodiment is shorter than the upper limit value of the number of characters defined in the IPP standard. The printer 1 may set the upper limit value to, for example, the number of characters that can be displayed on the operation panel 13. Note that the number of characters that can be displayed on the operation panel 13 may be the number of characters that can be displayed at one time without accepting an operation such as scrolling, or may be the number of characters included in one screen that can be displayed by accepting an operation such as scrolling. By setting an upper limit on the number of characters of the response message, the printer 1 can communicate the detailed reason for the state to the user while avoiding the response message becoming redundant.

[0057] If it is determined that the number of characters in the response message exceeds the upper limit (S223: NO), the CPU 11 subtracts one reason message from the response message (S224). For example, the CPU 11 deletes the last reason message. Then, the CPU 11 performs the determination of S223 again for the response message after the deletion.

[0058] Furthermore, even if there are multiple reasons, the CPU 11 may include only one reason message in the response message. When there are multiple reasons, including all reason messages corresponding to the reasons may be redundant and may make it difficult for the user to understand the reasons. In addition, the processing procedure becomes complicated, such as obtaining the number of characters in the response message and comparing it with an upper limit value. If only a reason message corresponding to one reason is included in the response message, the user can easily read the message for the reason of that state.

[0059] If it is determined that the number of characters in the response message does not exceed the predetermined upper limit (S223: YES), the CPU 11 adds the response message to the notification information (S225), ends the message generation process, and returns to the notification process.

[0060] Returning to the explanation of the notification process in Fig. 2, after the message generation process (S122) is executed, or if it is determined that the received response request does not include a request for printer status message information (S121: NO), the CPU 11 responds with notification information (S131) ​​and ends the notification process. As a result, notification information including all requested information is sent.

[0061] By notifying the terminal device 3 of this response message, the terminal device 3 can display the message in natural language notified from the printer 1 as a response message 311 on the display, for example, as shown in FIG.

[0062] Note that the printer 1 may be capable of displaying information about the accepted print job on the operation panel 13 regardless of a request from the terminal device 3. For example, the printer 1 may be capable of accepting, via the operation panel 13, the designation of a print job and an instruction to display the status of the designated print job and the reason for the status.

[0063] Then, when the printer 1 receives an instruction to display information about a print job by operating the operation panel 13, it may generate a message including a status message and a reason message, similar to S201 to S224 of the message generation process shown in Fig. 3, and display it on the operation panel 13, for example, as shown in Fig. 7. For example, by creating a response message in S223 with the number of characters that can be displayed on the operation panel 13, it becomes more likely that the same message as that displayed on the operation panel 13 will be displayed on the display of the terminal device 3, making it easier for the user to understand.

[0064] As described above in detail, when the printer 1 of this embodiment receives a request for job status message information from the terminal device 3, it creates a response message in natural language that combines a status message indicating the status of a specific job submitted to the printer 1 with a reason message indicating the reason for that status, and notifies the terminal device 3. This allows the terminal device 3 to display the notified response message, making it easy for the user to understand the detailed status of the specific job.

[0065] It should be noted that this embodiment is merely an example and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the present invention can be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the printer 1 is not limited to a dedicated printer, but may be a multifunction machine, a copier, a fax machine, etc. Furthermore, the printing method of the printer 1 is not limited to an electrophotographic method, but may be an inkjet method, a thermal transfer method, a thermal method, etc.

[0066] In addition, in the embodiment, the job status request, the reason information request, and the message request are each individual information and are included in one response request, but, for example, one piece of request information may include three requests. Also, one or more of the above requests may be included in each of multiple response requests. For example, when the printer 1 receives a message request separately from the job status request and the reason information request, in response to receiving the message request, the printer 1 obtains the job status and the reason for that status and creates a message.

[0067] Furthermore, the information requested by the terminal device 3 is not limited to the job status, reason, and message. If other information is requested, the printer 1 responds with the other information in response to the request. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the procedure for generating a response message for one job has been described, but the printer 1 may be capable of accepting a response request for information about multiple jobs. When a request for information about multiple jobs is accepted, the printer 1 may create a response message for each job and respond by associating it with each job.

[0068] In the embodiment, the response request includes information specifying a print job in addition to the job status request, reason information request, and message request, but the information specifying a print job may be associated with each request. In that case, when CPU 11 judges YES in each of S103, S111, and S121 of the notification process, it may determine whether or not there is a specified print job based on the information associated with the request.

[0069] In addition, in the embodiment, the reason code indicating "other" is included as the reason for the job status, but the reason code indicating "other" does not have to be included. Furthermore, the printer 1 may be capable of acquiring a detailed reason that does not correspond to a reason code that can be responded to the terminal device 3, and when the detailed reason is acquired, the acquired detailed reason may be displayed on the operation panel 13.

[0070] In the embodiment, the printer 1 creates a response message by following a status message with a reason message, but the order may be reversed. However, it is easier for the user to understand the contents of the message if the reason message follows the status message. In the embodiment, the message is written in English, but it is not limited to English and may be written in any natural language.

[0071] In the embodiment, the printer 1 stores the upper limit of the number of characters in the response message in advance, but the upper limit may be determined based on the IPP standard, or the upper limit may be set by the user. Also, the upper limit is not limited to the number of characters, and there may be an upper limit on the number of reason messages to be included in the response message.

[0072] Also, in the embodiment, the printer 1 leaves the reason message blank if there is no reason, but if there is no reason code but there is a reason, the reason may be displayed on the operation panel 13, and, for example, the response message may include a message encouraging the user to look at the operation panel 13.

[0073] In the embodiment, the printer 1 responds to a request for information according to the IPP standard, but it does not have to be the IPP standard. The printer 1 may respond to a request according to, for example, a standard defined by the OS of the terminal device, a standard defined by the vendor of the printer 1, or a standard defined by a platform provider on the Internet.

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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]

[0076] 1. Printer 3 Terminal Equipment

Claims

1. A printer capable of printing based on a print job received from an external device, The printer includes: notifying the external device of a status code, which is a code indicating a current status of the specified job, in response to a first request from the external device for the specified job input to the printer; notifying the external device of a reason code in response to a second request from the external device for the specified job, the reason code being a code indicating a reason why the specified job is in its current state; notifying the external device of a first job status message, in response to a third request from the external device for the specified job, the first job status message being a combination of a status message, which is a message written in a natural language indicating a status of the specified job, and a reason message, which is a message written in a natural language indicating a reason why the specified job is in its current status; It is configured as follows.

2. 2. The printer according to claim 1, The printer includes: in response to the third request from the external device, If the reason code corresponding to the reason why the specified job is in its current state is not a special code, notify the external device of the first job status message, which is a combination of the status message and the reason message; if the reason code corresponding to the reason why the given job is in its current state is the special code, notifying the external device of a second job status message that includes the status message but does not include the reason message; It is configured as follows.

3. 3. The printer according to claim 2, The special code is the reason code indicating that there is no reason. It is configured as follows.

4. 3. The printer according to claim 2, The special code is the reason code indicating that there is a reason but no code indicating that reason. It is configured as follows.

5. 3. The printer according to claim 2, The special code is the reason code to which the message is not associated. It is configured as follows.

6. 2. The printer according to claim 1, the status code and the reason code are defined by a standard to which the external device complies; the status message and the reason message are not defined by the standard to which the external device complies; It is configured as follows.

7. 2. The printer according to claim 1, The printer includes: There may be a plurality of reasons why the specified job is in the current state, and in response to the second request from the external device, notifying the external device of the reason code corresponding to each of the plurality of reasons why the specified job is in the current state; notifying the external device of the first job status message, which is a combination of the status message and the reason message, in response to the third request from the external device, and in a case where there are multiple reasons why the specified job is in its current state, of the first job status message, which is a combination of the reason messages corresponding to each of the multiple reasons; It is configured as follows.

8. 8. The printer according to claim 7, The printer includes: notifying the external device of the first job status message, in response to the third request from the external device, the first job status message including the status message and, if there are a plurality of reasons why the specified job is in the current state, including the reason messages corresponding to the respective plurality of reasons within a range in which the number of characters of the first job status message does not exceed an upper limit value; It is configured as follows.

9. 2. The printer according to claim 1, The printer includes: There may be a plurality of reasons why the specified job is in the current state, and in response to the second request from the external device, notifying the external device of the reason code corresponding to each of the plurality of reasons why the specified job is in the current state; notifying the external device of the first job status message in response to the third request from the external device, the first job status message being a combination of the status message and the reason message, wherein if there are multiple reasons for the specified job being in its current state, one of the multiple reasons is selected, and the combined reason message is the reason message corresponding to the selected reason; It is configured as follows.

10. 2. The printer according to claim 1, The printer includes: in response to the third request from the external device, if a combination of the current state of the specified job and a reason why the specified job is in its current state is not a specific combination, notifying the external device of the first job state message, the first job state message being a combination of the state message and the reason message; notifying the external device of a third job status message that includes the reason message but does not include the status message if the combination of the current status of the specified job and the reason for the specified job being in the current status is the specific combination; It is configured as follows.

11. 11. The printer according to claim 10, a combination in which the status message indicating the status overlaps with at least a major part of the reason message indicating the reason is determined as the specific combination; It is configured as follows.

12. 2. The printer according to claim 1, The printer includes: According to the IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) standard, notifying the external device of the status code when a job-state is received as the first request; notifying the external device of the reason code when job-state-reasons is received as the second request; notifying the external device of the first job status message when a job-state-message is received as the third request; It is configured as follows.

Images