Cloud print server, cloud print system, cloud print setting method, and program

Abstract

To improve operability of settings in associating a printing device with a virtual printer of a first cloud print service.SOLUTION: A cloud print server of the present invention comprises: management means that manages printing devices and the device attribute of the printing devices, wherein a device type included in the device attribute has information indicating the type of the printing device; reception means that displays a list of the printing devices managed by the management means while not displaying a specific type of a printing device or changing a display form of the specific type of the printing device, and receives manager's selection of a printing device from the displayed list; and association means that associates the selected printing device with a virtual printer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cloud print server, a cloud print system, a cloud print setting method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In conventional printing services, printing is performed by a user directly sending a print job from a client terminal such as a PC to a printer. Meanwhile, a cloud printing service using a cloud service provided on the Internet has been proposed (Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the cloud printing service, a client terminal that submits a print job and a printer that executes printing are registered in a print server that provides the cloud printing service, and the print server functions as a virtual printer. A virtual printer is a logical printer that is associated with a print queue and is virtually treated as one printer. The outline of the printing process in the cloud printing service is as follows. A user issues a print job submission instruction to a virtual printer from a client terminal. The print job submitted by the user is stored in the print queue of the virtual printer and is kept until the user issues an instruction to the printer. A user logs in to a nearby printer and issues a print instruction. The printer receives the print job from the print server and executes printing. This printing method is called pull printing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-67893 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2023-141093 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Cloud print services support pull printing, which allows a print instruction to be issued without specifying a printer, and when printing is to be performed, a printer is identified and printing is performed. However, it has not been considered until now that multiple cloud print services can be operated in cooperation with each other. The present invention has an object to provide a cloud print system that operates multiple cloud print services in cooperation with each other. On the other hand, when multiple cloud print services are operated in cooperation with each other as described above, when printing is performed, it is necessary to specify a print job in each cloud print service. Some users do not like such an operation. Therefore, it is another object of the present invention to enable a setting not to register a printer of another cloud print service as a virtual printer, thereby improving the convenience of the user when registering a printer that performs pull printing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The cloud print system of the present invention is characterized in that a first cloud print server comprises a management means for associating and managing a second virtual printer of a second cloud print server with a first virtual printer of the first cloud print server, a storage means for storing a print job submitted to the first virtual printer in association with the first virtual printer, and a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the first virtual printer to the second virtual printer in accordance with instructions from a user. The cloud print server of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a management means for managing printing devices and device attributes of the printing devices, the device type included in the device attributes having information indicating the type of printing device, a reception means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by the management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of a specific type of printing device, and accepting selection of a printing device from the list by an administrator, and an association means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the cloud print system of the present invention, a plurality of cloud print services can be linked together, and a print job submitted to a cloud print service can be printed by any printing device associated with another cloud print service. In addition, since it is possible to set a printer associated with a virtual printer of a first cloud print service so that the virtual printer of another cloud print service cannot be associated with the virtual printer of the first cloud print service, a user does not need to specify a print job twice when executing printing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 4 is a process sequence diagram of a cloud print service according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation panel of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a cloud print server according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of a cloud print server according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a pull print configuration in a cloud print service according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a pull print configuration in a plurality of cloud print services according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a pull print configuration in a plurality of cloud print services according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 6 is a diagram showing device attribute information when a printing device according to an embodiment registers with a cloud print service. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram showing management information of printing devices managed by a cloud print service according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen for setting a virtual printer displayed by the cloud print service according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for the cloud print service according to an embodiment to display a setting screen for a virtual printer. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a screen for setting a virtual printer displayed by the cloud print service according to an embodiment. [Figure 15] 5 is a diagram showing device attribute information of the pull print function of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a configuration of a print connector in a cloud print service according to an embodiment. [Figure 17] 5 is a diagram showing device attribute information of a print connector of the printing device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted. EXAMPLES

[0009] First, the processing sequence of cloud print, which is the premise of the present invention, will be described with reference to Fig. 1. It is assumed that the printing device 101 supports a cloud print function and a WebUI function for operating the printing device 101. It is assumed that the client terminal 100 supports a cloud print client function and a WebUI client for operating the WebUI. Also, a cloud print service 102 represents a cloud print service on the Internet.

[0010] First, the user uses the WebUI client of the client terminal 100 to send a cloud print service registration request 111 to the printing device 101 via the WebUI. Upon receiving the request 111, the printing device 101 sends a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102. Upon receiving the request 112, the cloud print service 102 sends a cloud print service registration request response 113 including a registration URL 130 for cloud print registration to the printing device 101. Upon receiving the response 113, the printing device 101 sends registration URL display screen information 114 including the cloud print service registration URL to the client terminal 100 via the WebUI.

[0011] When the client terminal 100 receives the screen information 114, it displays a registration URL on the WebUI client. The user operates the WebUI client of the client terminal 100 to access the displayed registration URL. As a result, the client terminal 100 transmits a cloud print service registration approval request 115 including a cloud account 131 to the cloud print service 102. When the cloud print service 102 receives the registration approval request 115, it transmits a cloud print service registration approval response 116 to the client terminal 100. The cloud account 131 indicates a user who has the authority to use the cloud print service 102, and the user has registered a user account with the cloud print service 102 in advance.

[0012] The printing device 101 transmits a cloud print service registration confirmation request 117 to the cloud print service 102. Upon receiving the request 117, the cloud print service 102 transmits a cloud print service registration confirmation response 118 including a cloud printer ID 132 to the printing device 101. At this stage, the printing device 101 is registered with the cloud print service 102 and can use the cloud print service 102.

[0013] When the printing device 101 completes registration through the above sequence, it then transmits a cloud print service printer information update request 119 to the cloud print service 102. The request 119 includes printer attributes 135 of the printing device 101. Here, the printer attributes 135 refer to the printer name, manufacturer, model name, etc. When the cloud print service 102 receives the request 119 from the printing device 101, it transmits a cloud print service printer information update response 120 to the printing device 101.

[0014] Next, the printing apparatus 101 transmits an event request 121 to the cloud print service 102. In the event request 121, a job receiving event is specified as the type of the requested event.

[0015] The client terminal 100 sends a cloud printer information request 122 to the cloud print service 102. The cloud printer information request 122 includes a cloud account 131. When the cloud print service 102 receives the cloud printer information request 122, it acquires printer information that is available to the cloud account 131 included therein. Then, it sends a cloud printer information response 123 to the client terminal 100, which stores a cloud printer ID 132 and printer attributes 135 indicating the printer information. Here, the printer attributes 135 were sent by the printing device 101 to the cloud print service 102 in response to the cloud print service printer information update request 119.

[0016] The client terminal 100 sends a print request 124 including a cloud printer ID 132, print data 134, and a cloud account 131 to the cloud print service 102. Upon receiving the print request 124, the cloud print service 102 sends an event response 125 to the printing device 101. The event response 125 is sent as a response to the event request 121, and a job reception event is specified as the event type.

[0017] When the printing device 101 receives the event response 125, it sends a print job request 126 to the cloud print service 102. The cloud print service 102 sends a print job response 127 including print data 134 and a cloud account 131 to the printing device 101. The printing device 101 prints the received print data.

[0018] The hardware configuration of the printing device 101 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The printing device 101 includes a control unit 201, a printer 207, a scanner 209, and an operation panel 211. The control unit 201 includes a CPU 202, a RAM 203, a ROM 204, a system bus 205, a printer I / F 206, a scanner I / F 208, an operation panel I / F 210, and a network I / F 212.

[0019] A control unit 201 including a CPU 202 controls the overall operation of the printing device 101. The CPU 202 reads out a control program stored in a ROM 204 and performs various controls such as communication control. A RAM 203 is used as a temporary storage area such as a main memory and a work area for the CPU 202. A HDD 214 stores data, various programs, or various information tables. The printer I / F 206 serves as an interface for outputting an image signal to a printer 207 (printer engine). The scanner I / F 208 serves as an interface for inputting a read image signal from a scanner 209 (scanner engine). The CPU 202 processes the image signal input from the scanner I / F 208 and outputs it to the printer I / F 206 as a recording image signal.

[0020] The operation panel I / F 210 connects an operation panel 211 to the control unit 201. The operation panel 211 includes a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function, a keyboard, and the like. The network I / F 212 transmits information to external terminals such as the client terminal 100 and the cloud print service 102, and receives various types of information from these external devices. The individual blocks within the control unit 201 are connected via a system bus 205 .

[0021] The software configuration of the printing device 101 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The software of the printing device includes an operation control unit 300, a cloud print service registration control unit 301, a cloud print print control unit 302, a cloud print job information management unit 303, a cloud print event control unit 304, a cloud print device information management unit 305, a storage unit 306, an image processing unit 307, and a print processing unit 308. Each functional unit shown in Fig. 3 is realized by the CPU 202 of the printing device 101 reading out a control program stored in the ROM 204 or HDD 214 into the RAM 203 and executing it.

[0022] The operation control unit 300 controls the operation panel 211. It displays an operation menu on the operation panel 211, waits for an instruction input from a user, notifies other functional units of the received instruction, and displays the result of the instruction on the operation panel 211. A cloud print service registration control unit 301 analyzes a cloud print service registration request 111 received from the client terminal 100, and transmits a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102. In this way, the cloud print service registration process is controlled. The cloud print control unit 302 transfers the print data 134 received from the cloud print service 102 to the image processing unit 307 .

[0023] An image processing unit 307 performs processing for rendering a print job into image data for printing. The print processing unit 308 performs processing to print the image data rendered by the image processing unit 307 . A cloud print job information management unit 303 manages job information of the printing device 101 and notifies the cloud print service 102 of the job information. A cloud print event control unit 304 controls event transmission and event reception processing between the printing device 101 and the cloud print service 102 . A cloud print device information management unit 305 manages the device information of the printing apparatus 101 and notifies the cloud print service 102 of the device information. The storage unit 306 stores designated data in the ROM 204 or HDD 214, or reads out stored data, in response to instructions from other functional units. An example of data managed by the storage unit 306 is print job information.

[0024] The operation panel 211 of the printing device 101 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The operation panel 211 is provided with a display panel 405, directional keys 406, an OK key 407, a numeric keypad 408, a black and white button 409, a color button 410, a stop button 411, a menu button 412, and a status check / cancel button 413. The display panel 405 is a display panel that utilizes an LCD or the like. A copy button 401, a fax button 402, and a scan button 403 are displayed on the display panel 405.

[0025] The copy button 401 is a button that is operated when making a copy using the printing device 101, and by operating the copy button 401, a copy operation screen is displayed on the display panel 405. The fax button 402 is a button that is operated when making a fax using the printing device 101, and by operating the fax button 402, a fax operation screen is displayed on the display panel 405. The scan button 403 is a button that is operated when making a scan using the printing device 101, and by operating the scan button 403, a scan operation screen is displayed on the display panel 405. The display panel 405 also displays a dialog for communicating with the user. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a user login screen and a print job list display screen are also displayed.

[0026] The numeric keypad 408 is used to input numbers, etc. The OK key 407 is used when deciding the display content of the display panel 405, etc. The directional keys 406 are used when selecting a menu displayed on the display panel 405, etc. The black and white button 409 and the color button 410 are used when performing black and white copying and color copying, respectively. The stop button 411 is used to stop processing. The menu button 412 is used to display a menu screen for setting up the printing device 101. The status check / cancel button 413 is used when checking the status of the printing device 101, such as a list of print jobs being received by the printing device 101.

[0027] The hardware configuration of a cloud print server on which the cloud print services 102, 804, and 904 according to this embodiment are executed will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The cloud print server has a control unit 501, which includes a CPU 502, a RAM 503, a ROM 504, a HDD 505, a system bus 506, and a network I / F 510. The blocks in the control unit 501 are connected to each other via the system bus 506.

[0028] The control unit 501 including the CPU 502 controls the overall operation of the cloud print services 102, 804, and 904. The CPU 502 performs various controls such as communication control by reading out a control program stored in the ROM 504 into the RAM 503 and executing it. The RAM 503 is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and work area of ​​the CPU 502. The HDD 505 stores data, various programs, or various information tables. The network I / F 510 transmits information to external terminals such as the client terminal 100 and the printing device 101, and receives various information from these external devices.

[0029] The software configuration of the cloud print server on which the cloud print services 102, 804, and 904 according to the present embodiment are executed will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The cloud print service 102 will be described as an example, but the cloud print services 804 and 904 are similar. The software of the cloud print server includes a cloud print service registration control unit 601, a cloud print print control unit 602, a cloud print event control unit 603, a cloud print device management unit 604, a storage unit 605, a cloud print job information management unit 606, a virtual printer control unit 607, a registered printer control unit 608, and a WebUI control unit 609. Each functional unit shown in Fig. 6 is realized by a CPU 502 of the cloud print server reading a control program stored in a ROM 504 into a RAM 503 and executing the program.

[0030] A cloud print service registration control unit 601 receives a cloud print service registration request 112 from the printing device 101 and executes processing to register the printing device 101 in the cloud print service 102. A cloud print print control unit 602 receives a print request 124 from the client terminal 100 and executes processing to send print data 134 included in the print request 124 to the printing device 101. A cloud print event control unit 603 receives an event request 121 from the printing device 101 and executes processing to send an event response 125 depending on whether an event has occurred. A cloud print job information management unit 606 manages information and status of print jobs.

[0031] The cloud print device management unit 604 manages multiple printing devices 101 registered in the cloud print service 102. Specifically, it stores and manages the capability information of the printing device corresponding to each printing device 101 and the information of the print queue in which print jobs are spooled. The storage unit 605 stores specified data in the ROM 504 or HDD 505, or reads out stored data, in response to instructions from other functional units. Examples of data managed by the storage unit 605 include print data 134, event information, and capability information of the registered printing device 101. Here, capability information is information related to the functions of the printing device, such as whether double-sided printing is possible, whether color printing is possible, whether layout printing is possible, and paper type.

[0032] The virtual printer control unit 607 manages information about virtual printers registered in the cloud print services 102, 803, and 903. Here, a virtual printer is a conceptual printer object that exists on the cloud print service 102. For example, the virtual printer 720 of the cloud print service 102 does not directly correspond to the printing device 101, which is an actual printer. The information about the virtual printer 720 includes the capability information of the virtual printer 720, the print queue, and information about the associated registered printer 710.

[0033] The registered printer control unit 608 manages information about registered printers 710 registered in the cloud print service 102. Here, the registered printer 710 is a conceptual printer object that exists on the cloud print service 102. The registered printer 710 is generated when the printing device 101 registers with the cloud print service 102, and has a one-to-one correspondence with the registered printing device 101. The information about the registered printer 710 includes capability information about the registered printer 710, print queue information, and the like.

[0034] A WebUI control unit 609 performs control for setting the cloud print service 102 via the Web. Specifically, in response to a request from a client, the WebUI control unit 609 generates a setting screen as Web content and responds to the client. The software configuration of the cloud print server on which the cloud print services 804 and 904 are executed is also the same as that in FIG.

[0035] Hereinafter, a specific description will be given of the execution of printing by the cloud print service 102. In this embodiment, in pull printing in a cloud print service environment configured so that a plurality of cloud print services operate in cooperation with each other, a user executes printing by performing a pull print operation in each cloud print environment.

[0036] 7 is a network diagram showing the configuration of pull printing in the cloud print service of this embodiment. In the cloud print service 102, there are registered printers 710 that correspond one-to-one to the printing devices 101. The registered printers 710 reflect the status of the corresponding printing devices 101 and the status of the job being printed there. In this embodiment, the printing device 701 corresponds to the registered printer 711, the printing device 702 corresponds to the registered printer 712, and the printing device 703 corresponds to the registered printer 713. The mobile terminal 750 can display a list (732) of print jobs of the logged-in user. This is realized by the mobile terminal 750 acquiring (751) the print jobs of the logged-in user from the cloud print service 102.

[0037] Furthermore, the user of the mobile terminal 750 can issue a print instruction (733) to the cloud print service 102 by specifying the printing device 101 and a print job. This is realized by the mobile terminal 750 transmitting (752) the print job and information about the printing device 101 to the cloud print service 102. Furthermore, the cloud print service 102 includes a virtual printer 720. The virtual printer 720 can be associated with a plurality of registered printers 710. In this embodiment, the virtual printer 720 is associated with registered printers 711, 712, and 713.

[0038] The process flow of pull printing using the virtual printer 720 will be described below. First, the user registers a print job in the virtual printer 720 from the client terminal 100 (731). The user logs in to the mobile terminal 750 and displays a list of his / her print jobs (732). Then, the user specifies the desired printing device (the printing device 701 in this embodiment) and the desired job, and instructs printing to be performed (733). The virtual printer 720 moves the print job 740 to the registered printer 711 corresponding to the printing device 701 (736). The printing device 701 requests the corresponding registered printer 711 for a print job (734). This request process may be polling. The registered printer 711 sends the print job 740 to the printing device 701 as a response to the print job request 734 (737). The printing device 701 prints the received print job 740. This allows the user to print a print job input to the virtual printer 720 on any printing device 101 associated with the virtual printer 720. The cloud print service 102 and the printing device 701 configure a pull print system.

[0039] With reference to FIG. 8, pull printing in a cloud print system configured in this embodiment in which a plurality of cloud print services operate in cooperation with each other will be described. The cloud print service 102, and the client terminal 100 and printing device 101 connected thereto are the same as those described in FIG. 7. Here, the cloud print service 102 and the cloud print service 804 operate in cooperation with each other. Specifically, a registered printer (here, registered printer 821) registered in the cloud print service 102 corresponds to a virtual printer (here, virtual printer 822) of the cloud print service 804. That is, in FIG. 8, the registered printer 821 is associated with a virtual printer 822 of another cloud print service, not with an actual printing device. The cloud print service 804 is composed of the virtual printer 822 and a registered printer 840. The virtual printer 822 is associated with the registered printer 841 and the registered printer 842.

[0040] The cloud print service 102 and the cloud print service 804 have different authentication methods. The cloud print service 102 uses an authentication method that collectively manages cloud services. On the other hand, the cloud print service 804 supports on-premise authentication within a company. The authentication method of the cloud print service is not limited to these, and may be another method or the same method.

[0041] The cloud print service 804 has registered printers 840 that correspond one-to-one to the printing devices 830. The registered printers 840 reflect the status of the corresponding printing devices 830 and the status of the job being printed there. In this embodiment, the printing device 831 corresponds to the registered printer 841, and the printing device 832 corresponds to the registered printer 842. A user can check his / her own jobs on the cloud print service 804 by logging in to the cloud print service 804 from the printing device 831 (864). This is realized by the printing device 831 obtaining the print job of the logged-in user from the cloud print service 804.

[0042] Furthermore, in the printing device 831, the user can specify a print job to issue a print instruction to the cloud print service 804 (865). This is realized by the printing device 831 transmitting information about the print job to the cloud print service 804 and requesting the print job (866). The following describes a process in which a print job submitted to the cloud print service 102 is pull-printed by a printing device 830 of the cloud print service 804.

[0043] First, the user registers (861) a print job 860 in the cloud print service 102 from the client terminal 100. At this time, the client terminal 100 can select either the virtual printer 820 or the registered printer 821 to register the print job. The process of registering the print job in the virtual printer 820 and performing pull printing by the printing devices 801 to 803 is the same as in FIG. 7, so a description thereof will be omitted. Here, the user selects a registered printer 821 and registers (861) a print job 860. Meanwhile, the virtual printer 822 of the cloud print service 804 requests (862) a print job from the corresponding registered printer 821. This request process may be by polling. The registered printer 821 transmits (863) the print job 860 to the virtual printer 822 as a response to the print job request 862. The virtual printer 822 of the cloud print service 804 receives the print job.

[0044] The user logs into the cloud print service 804 from the printing device 831 and displays a list of his / her print jobs (864). Then, the user specifies the desired print job and instructs printing to be performed (865). The printing device 831 requests the corresponding registered printer 841 to print the job specified in 865 (866). The registered printer 841 requests the print job from the virtual printer 822. The virtual printer 822 transfers the print job 860 to the registered printer 841 (867). The registered printer 841 sends the print job 860 to the printing device 831 as a response to the print job request 866 (868). The printing device 831 prints the received print job 860.

[0045] This allows the user to print a print job submitted to a registered printer 821 of the cloud print service 102 on any printing device 801 associated with a virtual printer 822 of the cloud print service 804. Also, print jobs submitted to the cloud print service 102 can be managed by the cloud print service 804, and jobs submitted to printing devices can be centrally managed by the cloud print service 804. Also, in addition to the cloud print service 804, the cloud print service 102 that supports access from outside the company can be used. EXAMPLES

[0046] In the embodiment of FIG. 8, when submitting a print job to the cloud print service 102, the virtual printer 820 and the registered printer 821 must be selected. This requires the user of the cloud print service 102 to take the trouble of selecting a printer when submitting a print job. In addition, a print job submitted to the cloud print service 102 cannot be printed on both an arbitrary printing device associated with the cloud print service 102 and an arbitrary printing device associated with the cloud print service 804. Depending on whether the virtual printer 820 or the registered printer 821 is selected, the print job can only be printed on a printing device associated with one of the cloud print services.

[0047] With reference to FIG. 9, pull printing in a cloud print system configured to operate in cooperation with a plurality of cloud print services according to the second embodiment will be described. The cloud print service 102, and the client terminal 100 and printing device 101 connected thereto are the same as those described in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. In this embodiment, the cloud print service 102 and the cloud print service 904 also operate in cooperation with each other. Specifically, a registered printer (here, the registered printer 913) registered in the cloud print service 102 corresponds to a virtual printer (here, the virtual printer 922) of the cloud print service 904. That is, the registered printer 913 is associated with the virtual printer 922, not with an actual printing device. The cloud print service 904 is composed of a virtual printer 920 and a registered printer 940, like the cloud print service 102. Here, the registered printer 941 and the registered printer 942 are associated with the virtual printer 922. Until now, when a virtual printer 922 of another cloud print service 904 is registered in the virtual printer 920, even if an attempt is made to execute pull printing from the printing device 930, printing cannot be executed because the print job is reserved in the virtual printer 920. This embodiment makes this possible.

[0048] The cloud print service 102 and the cloud print service 904 have different authentication methods. The cloud print service 102 uses an authentication method that collectively manages cloud services. On the other hand, the cloud print service 904 supports on-premise authentication within a company. The authentication method of the cloud print service is not limited to these, and may be another method or the same method.

[0049] The cloud print service 904 has registered printers 940 that correspond one-to-one to the printing devices 930. The registered printers 940 reflect the status of the corresponding printing devices 930 and the status of the job being printed there. In this embodiment, the printing device 931 corresponds to the registered printer 941, and the printing device 932 corresponds to the registered printer 942. A user can check his / her own jobs on the cloud print service 904 by logging in to the cloud print service 904 from the printing device 931. This is achieved by the printing device 931 acquiring (967) the print job of the logged-in user from the cloud print service 904.

[0050] Furthermore, in the printing device 931, the user can specify a print job to issue a print instruction to the cloud print service 904 (968). This is realized by the printing device 931 sending information about the print job to the cloud print service 904 and requesting the print job (969). The following describes the process flow of pull printing using the virtual printer 922. The first half of this process flow is the same as the process flow of pull printing in the cloud print service 102 described with reference to FIG.

[0051] First, the user registers a print job 960 in the virtual printer 920 from the client terminal 100 (961). The user logs in to the mobile terminal 950 and displays a list of his or her print jobs (952). The user then specifies a desired printing device (registered printer 913 in this embodiment) and a desired job, and issues an instruction to execute printing (953). The virtual printer 920 then moves the print job to the registered printer 913 (964).

[0052] Meanwhile, the virtual printer 922 of the cloud print service 904 requests a print job to the corresponding registered printer 913 (965). This request process may be by polling. The registered printer 913 sends a print job 960 to the virtual printer 922 as a response to the print job request 965 (966). The virtual printer 922 of the cloud print service 904 receives the print job 960.

[0053] The user logs into the cloud print service 904 from the printing device 931 and displays a list of his / her print jobs (967). Then, the user specifies the desired print job and instructs printing to be performed (968). The printing device 931 requests the corresponding registered printer 941 to send the print job specified in 968 (969). The registered printer 941 requests the virtual printer 922 to send a print job (970). The virtual printer 922 moves the print job 960 to the registered printer 941 (971). The registered printer 941 sends the print job 960 to the printing device 931 as a response to the print job request 969 (972). The printing device 931 prints the received print job 960.

[0054] According to this embodiment, a user can print a print job submitted to a virtual printer 920 of the cloud print service 102 on any printing device 901 associated with a virtual printer 922 of the cloud print service 904. The user can also print by pull printing on a printing device associated with either the cloud print service 102 or the cloud print service 904. The print job submitted to the cloud print service 102 can be managed by the cloud print service 904, and the management of jobs submitted to the printing device can be centrally managed by the cloud print service 904. In addition to the cloud print service 904, a cloud print service 904 that supports access from outside the company can also be used. EXAMPLES

[0055] In the second embodiment, it was necessary to specify a print job twice: a print instruction 953 by the mobile terminal 950 in the cloud print service 102, and a print instruction 968 by the printing device 930 in the cloud print service 904. This caused a problem in that it was difficult for the user to understand the instruction to execute pull printing after the first print instruction 853 by the mobile terminal 950. In the present embodiment, the user is prompted to issue a second print instruction 968 by the printing device 930.

[0056] A third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. First, a user registers a print job 960 in the virtual printer 920 from the client terminal 100 (961). The user logs in to the mobile terminal 950 and displays a list of his or her print jobs (952). The user then specifies a desired printing device (in this embodiment, the virtual printer 922 of the cloud print service 904) and a desired job, and issues an instruction to execute printing (953). In response, the virtual printer 920 moves the print job to the registered printer 913 (964).

[0057] Meanwhile, the virtual printer 922 of the cloud print service 904 requests a print job to the corresponding registered printer 913 (965). This request process may be polling. The registered printer 913 transmits a print job 960 to the virtual printer 922 as a response to the print job request 965 (966). The virtual printer 922 of the cloud print service 904 receives the print job 960. Up to this point, it is the same as in the second embodiment.

[0058] A message such as "Please continue to execute the print instruction in 'cloud print service 904'" is output to the mobile terminal 950 that has selected another cloud print service 904 as the output destination and instructed to execute printing. Following this message, the user logs into the cloud print service 904 from the printing device 931 associated with the cloud print service 904 and displays a list of their own print jobs (967).

[0059] The user then specifies the desired print job and issues an instruction to execute printing (968). The printing device 931 requests the corresponding registered printer 941 to send the print job specified in 968 (969). The registered printer 941 requests the virtual printer 922 to send the print job (970). The virtual printer 922 moves the print job 960 to the registered printer 941 (971). The registered printer 941 sends the print job 960 to the printing device 931 as a response to the print job request 969 (972). The printing device 931 prints the received print job 960.

[0060] It is also possible to log in to the cloud print service 904 from the printing device 931 using an existing IC card or an IC chip in a mobile terminal. In this case, the message displayed may be changed to "Please continue by touching the mobile terminal to the printing device of "Cloud Print Service 904"," to encourage the user to log in. According to this embodiment, a message prompting a print instruction is output to the user's mobile terminal 950 in another cloud print service 904, so that the second print job can be specified without delay. EXAMPLES

[0061] Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, in pull printing in a cloud print service environment configured to operate in cooperation with a plurality of cloud print services, a user performs a pull print operation to print. In the second and third embodiments, as described above, a print job input to the cloud print service 102 can be printed by any printing device 901 associated with the cloud print service 904. However, in FIG. 9, in order to execute printing by the printing device 901, two operations of specifying a print job are required, that is, specifying a print job on the mobile terminal 950 and specifying a print job on the printing device 901. Some users may not like specifying a print job twice. For this reason, in the fourth embodiment, when associating a printing device with a virtual printer, the user is notified that the virtual printer is a virtual printer of another cloud print service, and the user is reminded to set only in the case of a real printer. If the user does not associate a virtual printer of another cloud print service with the virtual printer, the user will link a plurality of cloud print services in the form of FIG. 8 in the first embodiment. The administrator can switch the setting as to whether or not a virtual printer of another cloud print service can be registered in the virtual printer, as necessary.

[0062] A fourth embodiment will be described below. In the fourth embodiment, the printing device 101 and the cloud print service 102 communicate with each other using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). In the fourth embodiment, when registering the printing device in the cloud print service, the user determines whether or not to associate the printing device with a virtual printer based on the device type (device_type) of the printing device.

[0063] With reference to FIG. 10, the device attribute information when registering a printing device with a cloud print service will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 101 transmits a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102. The cloud print service registration request 112 includes the device attribute information of the printing device 101. The device attribute information in FIG. 10 explains this. The device attribute 1011 indicates the item of the device attribute. The value 1012 indicates the value stored corresponding to each device attribute. The device attribute name (1001) indicates the name set in the printing device. In this embodiment, K16F-Printer01 is set. The device attribute manufacture (1002) indicates the manufacturer of the printing device. In this embodiment, Conon is set. The device attribute model (1003) indicates the model name of the printing device. In this embodiment, iR-ADV C3835F is set. The device attribute device_type (1004) indicates the type of the printing device. In this embodiment, printer indicating the printing device is set.

[0064] With reference to Fig. 11, the management information of printing devices managed by the cloud print service 102 in this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the printing device 101 performs cloud print service registration by sending a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102. At that time, the cloud print service 102 acquires the device attribute information described in Fig. 10 from the printing device 101. Fig. 11 shows the device attribute information of each printing device 101 acquired by the cloud print service 102, and the cloud print service 102 manages the device attribute information of the printing device 101 in Fig. 11 as management information.

[0065] In this embodiment, three printing devices are registered in the cloud print service 102. As management information, device information for each of the printing devices 1111, 1112, and 1113 is stored and managed. The first printing device 1111 is the printing device described in FIG. 10. The second printing device 1112 has a device attribute name (1001) of K16F-Printer02. The device attribute manufacture (1002) is Conon. The device attribute model (1003) is LBP590. The device attribute device_type (1004) is printer. The third printing device 1113 has a device attribute name (1001) of K16F-Printer03. In this embodiment, the third printing device 1113 is the virtual printer 822 in FIG. 8. The device attribute manufacture (1002) is CloudPrintService2. The device attribute model (1003) is CloudPrintService2. The device attribute device_type (1004) is virtual_printer.

[0066] With reference to FIG. 12, a screen for setting a virtual printer in the cloud print service 102 of this embodiment will be described. Screens 1201, 1211, and 1212 are management screens for the cloud print service 102 that can be accessed from a client terminal 100 such as a PC via a browser. Screen 1201 is a top screen for cloud print service settings. Selecting device management 1202 transitions to a device management screen (not shown). On the device management screen, it is possible to check the status of a device and change settings. Selecting job management 1203 transitions to a job management screen (not shown). On the job management screen, it is possible to check the status of a job and cancel a job. Selecting virtual printer settings 1204 transitions to a virtual printer setting screen 1211. On the virtual printer setting screen, it is possible to set a virtual printer.

[0067] On the virtual printer setting screen 1211, selecting virtual printer 1 (1212) transitions to a setting screen 1221 for virtual printer 1. Selecting virtual printer 2 (1213) transitions to a setting screen for virtual printer 2. Selecting virtual printer 3 (1214) transitions to a setting screen for virtual printer 3. Operating the plus button (1215) transitions to a screen for adding a virtual printer. Operating the back button (1216) returns to the cloud print service setting screen 1201.

[0068] On the setting screen 1221 of the virtual printer 1, it is possible to set a printer to be associated with the virtual printer 1. In this embodiment, three registered printers are displayed: K16F-Printer01 (1222), K16F-Printer02 (1223), and K16F-Printer03 (1224). The attribute of device_type (device type) in FIG. 11 is displayed for each printer. It is shown whether each printer is a real printer or another virtual printer. By enabling the check box of each registered printer, the selection of the registered printer is accepted and associated with the virtual printer 1. The check box is an example of a receiving means for accepting the selection of the printer.

[0069] In this way, depending on the needs of the administrator user, it is possible to avoid selecting a virtual printer that requires two pull print operations, and it is also possible to associate a virtual printer with another virtual printer as in the second embodiment. The device type on the setting screen 1221 may display only real printers or only virtual printers. Also, the device type may not be displayed, and the printer display format may be changed to alert the administrator user when registering the printer. Also, without displaying the device type, when an administrator user checks "K16F-Printer03" and attempts to associate the device, a message such as "K16F-Printer03 is a virtual printer. Are you sure you want to associate the device?" may be displayed to alert the administrator user. EXAMPLES

[0070] In the fourth embodiment, the attribute of whether the printer is a real printer or a virtual printer is displayed in the list of printers associated with the virtual printer. In the fifth embodiment, if the device type is not a printer, it is not displayed on the setting screen of the virtual printer. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 13, a process in which the cloud print service of the fifth embodiment displays the setting screen of the virtual printer will be described. The process described below is realized by, for example, the CPU 502 of the cloud print server of the cloud print service 102 reading a program stored in the ROM 504 or HDD 505 into the RAM 503 and executing it. In the following, the step numbers of each process included in the flowchart are indicated by numbers beginning with "S". The flowchart in FIG. 13 is a flowchart when the cloud print service displays the setting screen 1421 of FIG. 14.

[0071] In S1301, the cloud print device management unit 604 of the cloud print service 102 reads out the management information of the registered printing devices described in Fig. 11 from the storage unit 605. The virtual printer control unit 607 of the cloud print service 102 repeats the processes from S1302 to S1306 for the number of registered printing devices. In S1303, the virtual printer control unit 607 of the cloud print service 102 reads the device type of the registered printing device, and the process proceeds to S1304. In S1304, the virtual printer control unit 607 of the cloud print service 102 determines whether the device type of the printing device is a printer. If the device type is a printer (YES), the process proceeds to S1305, and if the device type is not a printer (NO), that is, if the device type is a virtual printer, S1305 is skipped. In S1305, the virtual printer control unit 607 of the cloud print service 102 adds the printing device to the printing device list.

[0072] When the process from S1302 to S1306 is repeated for all registered printing devices, only real printers are stored in the printing device list from among the registered printers, and virtual printers are not stored in the printing device list. Taking the management information in Fig. 11 as an example, printing device 1111 and printing device 1112 are stored in the printing device list, but printing device 1113 is not stored. In S1307, the WebUI control unit 609 of the cloud print service 102 displays the printing devices stored in the printing device list as candidates for the printer to be associated with the virtual printer on the virtual printer setting screen 1421 in FIG. In this embodiment, only real printing devices are displayed as candidates for printing devices to be associated with a virtual printer, so that virtual printers are not associated with each other. This improves the ease of setting up a virtual printer for users who do not like to select print jobs multiple times. EXAMPLES

[0073] Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the value of the device attribute device_type (device type) stored in the device attribute information is used to determine whether or not a device can be associated with a virtual printer. In the sixth embodiment, a new device attribute indicating whether or not a pull print function is available is defined, and the value of the device attribute is used to determine whether or not a device can be associated with a virtual printer. In the following description, the parts that overlap with the fifth embodiment will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

[0074] With reference to Fig. 15, device attribute information when registering a printing device with a cloud print service in the sixth embodiment will be described. In Fig. 1, the printing device 101 transmits a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102. The cloud print service registration request 112 includes device attribute information of the printing device 101. Fig. 15 shows this device attribute information. Explanation of parts of the device attribute information in Fig. 15 that overlap with Fig. 10 will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

[0075] The device attribute pull_print (1501) indicates whether or not the printing device has a pull print function. If the value of this attribute is set to true, it indicates that the printing device has the pull print function. On the other hand, if the value is set to false, it indicates that the printing device does not have the pull print function. In the example of FIG. 15, the pull_print attribute is set to true. In the above description, the device attribute information indicating the pull print function is notified when the cloud print service registration request 112 is sent, but it may be notified as an IPP attribute in the cloud print service registration confirmation response 118 in FIG.

[0076] In the sixth embodiment, the determination in S1304 in the flowchart of FIG. 13 in the fifth embodiment is changed to "Does it have a pull print function?" If the pull print function is present (pull_print is true) in S1304, the printing device is added to the printing device list in S1305. On the other hand, if the pull print function is not present (pull_print is false), S1305 is skipped and the printing device is not added to the printing device list. This determination in the sixth embodiment may be made by both the determination based on the device type and the determination based on the pull print function in the fifth embodiment, or may be made only based on the pull print function. This eliminates the need to associate a printing device that does not have a pull print function with a virtual printer, improving the convenience of the printing device setting operation for the virtual printer. EXAMPLES

[0077] Next, a seventh embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the value of the device type stored in the device attribute information is used to determine whether or not a virtual printer can be associated with the virtual printer, and in the sixth embodiment, the presence or absence of a pull print function is used to determine whether or not a virtual printer can be associated with the virtual printer. In the following description, the same parts as in the fifth and sixth embodiments will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

[0078] The seventh embodiment is an embodiment in which printing is performed by a printing device via a print connector. The system configuration of the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 16. In order to cause a printing device to print using the cloud print service 102, the printing device needs to be directly connected to the cloud print server. As shown in FIG. 16, there are cases in which a printing device 1632 and a printing device 1633 are connected via a print connector 1631 of a PC or the like, without the printing device being directly connected to the cloud print service. When the cloud print service 102 causes a printing device 1632 connected to the print connector 1631 of a PC or the like to print, the print connector 1631 of the PC or the like needs to be registered as a connector 1630 in the cloud print service 102.

[0079] FIG. 17 shows device attribute information in the sixth embodiment. Explanation of the parts overlapping with FIG. 10 will be omitted, and only the differences will be explained. The device attribute (device_type) of connector (1704) indicates that the printing device is a print connector. In the sixth embodiment, in the judgment of "Is the device type a printer?" in S1304 in the flowchart of the fifth embodiment in FIG. 13, if it is a printer, the process proceeds to S1305, and the printing device is added to the printing device list. On the other hand, in the case of a virtual printer or a connector, S1305 is skipped, and the printing device is not added to the printing device list. In addition to this judgment in the seventh embodiment, both judgments based on the pull print function in the sixth embodiment may be made, or judgments based only on the device type may be made. This eliminates the need to associate a print connector with a virtual printer, improving the convenience of the printing device setting operation for the virtual printer.

[0080] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0081] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention.

[0082] The disclosure of this specification includes the following cloud print server, pull print system, cloud print setting method, and program. (Item 1) a management means for managing a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device type included in the device attribute having information indicating a type of the printing device; a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by said management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection of a printing device from the list displayed by an administrator; an associating means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer; a storage unit that stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; A cloud print server equipped with (Item 2) The list display includes displaying a list of information for identifying the printing device managed by the management unit and the type of the printing device of the device type. Item 1. The cloud print server according to item 1. (Item 3) The device type includes information on whether the printing device is a real printer or a virtual printer, the list display does not display the printing device which is a virtual printer, or changes the display form of the printing device which is a virtual printer, and displays a list of the printing devices managed by the management means; 3. The cloud print server according to item 1 or 2. (Item 4) The device type includes information on whether the printing device is a real printer or a print connector, The list display does not display the printing device which is a print connector, or changes the display form of the printing device which is a print connector, and displays the printing devices managed by the management means in a list. The cloud print server according to any one of items 1 to 3. (Item 5) The device type has information on whether or not a pull print function is available, the list display does not display printing devices that do not have a pull print function, or changes the display form of printing devices that do not have a pull print function, and displays a list of printing devices managed by the management means; 5. The cloud print server according to any one of items 1 to 4. (Item 6) a management means for managing a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device type included in the device attribute having information indicating a type of the printing device; a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by the management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection by an administrator of the printing devices displayed in the list; an associating means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer; a storage unit that stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a cloud print server including a transmission unit that transmits the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; the printing device performing the instruction from a user, receiving the print job, and executing printing; A cloud printing system equipped with (Item 7) A cloud print setting method in a cloud print server including a management unit that manages a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device attribute including a device type that indicates a type of the printing device, the cloud print setting method comprising: a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by the management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing a display form of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection of a printing device from the list displayed by an administrator; An associating means associates the selected printing device with a virtual printer; When printing, A storage unit stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; How to set up cloud printing. (Item 8) A program for operating a computer of a cloud print server having a management means for managing a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device attribute including a device type that indicates a type of the printing device, The computer, a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by said management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection of a printing device from the list displayed by an administrator; an associating means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer; a storage unit that stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; Program to make it work. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 100: client terminal, 101: printing device, 102, 804, 904: cloud print service

Claims

1. a management means for managing a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device type included in the device attribute having information indicating a type of the printing device; a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by said management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection of a printing device from the list displayed by an administrator; an associating means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer; a storage unit that stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; A cloud print server equipped with

2. The list display includes displaying a list of information for identifying the printing device managed by the management unit and the type of the printing device of the device type. The cloud print server according to claim 1 .

3. The device type includes information on whether the printing device is a real printer or a virtual printer, the list display does not display the printing device which is a virtual printer, or changes the display form of the printing device which is a virtual printer, and displays a list of the printing devices managed by the management means; The cloud print server according to claim 1 .

4. The device type includes information on whether the printing device is a real printer or a print connector, The list display does not display the printing device which is a print connector, or changes the display form of the printing device which is a print connector, and displays the printing devices managed by the management means in a list. The cloud print server according to claim 1 .

5. The device type has information on whether or not a pull print function is available, the list display does not display printing devices that do not have a pull print function, or changes the display form of printing devices that do not have a pull print function, and displays a list of printing devices managed by the management means; The cloud print server according to claim 1 .

6. a management means for managing a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device type included in the device attribute having information indicating a type of the printing device; a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by the management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection by an administrator of the printing devices displayed in the list; an associating means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer; a storage unit that stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a cloud print server including a transmission unit that transmits the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; the printing device performing the instruction from a user, receiving the print job, and executing printing; A cloud printing system equipped with

7. A cloud print setting method in a cloud print server including a management unit that manages a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, the device attribute including a device type that indicates a type of the printing device, the cloud print setting method comprising: a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by the management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing a display form of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection of a printing device from the list displayed by an administrator; An associating means associates the selected printing device with a virtual printer; When printing, A storage unit stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; How to set up cloud printing.

8. A program for operating a computer of a cloud print server including a management unit that manages a printing device and a device attribute of the printing device, and a device type included in the device attribute has information indicating a type of the printing device, The computer, a receiving means for displaying a list of printing devices managed by said management means by not displaying a specific type of printing device or by changing the display format of the specific type of printing device, and receiving a selection of a printing device from the list displayed by an administrator; an associating means for associating the selected printing device with a virtual printer; a storage unit that stores a print job input to the virtual printer in association with the virtual printer; a transmission means for transmitting the print job stored in association with the virtual printer to the associated printing device in accordance with an instruction from a user; Program to make it work.

Images