Information processing apparatus, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a mobile terminal that allows a user to use a printing system included in an OS of the mobile terminal and a print plug-in according to purposes, in accordance with the intention of the user, without impairing the convenience for the user.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus has: receiving means that receives settings as to whether to enable or disable generating print data to be transmitted to a printer by using a standard printing function included in an operating system of the information processing apparatus; searching means that searches for the printer; and control means that, when the settings are enabled, causes display means to display an object that gives instructions to generate, by using the standard printing function, print data to be output to the printer that can print the print data generated by using the standard printing function. When the settings are disabled, the control means does not cause the display means to display the object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in mobile terminal devices such as smartphones represented by Android (registered trademark), the operating system (OS) has come to support a printing function as a standard. In a personal computer represented by Windows (registered trademark), the software that controls the printing function is a printer driver. In Android, software called a print plugin is used instead of a printer driver.

[0003] The print plugin has a search function and a printing function, presents a list of printers detected using the search function to the user in response to requests from each application of the mobile terminal device, and sends a print job to the printer selected by the user. The print plugin is provided to the user from a printer vendor or an application vendor via an application distribution service such as Google Play (registered trademark).

[0004] In order for a user to use the function of the print plugin, it is necessary to download and install the print plugin. In the initial state of the mobile terminal device, the print plugin is not installed in the mobile terminal device, and the user of the mobile terminal device cannot print.

[0005] Therefore, for example, by having the OS of the mobile terminal device be equipped with a standard search function and a printing function in advance, it is possible to perform at least minimal printing even in the initial state of the mobile terminal device. Patent Document 1 discloses a printing system that realizes a printing function unique to a printing device that is effective only for a document to be printed in an OS that can use only a standard printer driver attached to the OS.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-191645 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0007] A mobile terminal device that is pre-equipped with standard search and printing functions can increase the number of printers compatible with the mobile terminal device at low cost by focusing on specific standard technologies. Examples of specific standard technologies include Bonjour for the search protocol, PWG-Raster for the print format, and IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) for the communication protocol for data transmission.

[0008] However, depending on the printer, it may not support all standard technologies. For example, even a printer that supports Bonjour search may not support the PWG-Raster print format. In this case, the printer will be detected by the standard search function of the mobile terminal device even if the print plugin is not installed on the mobile terminal device.

[0009] Therefore, on the mobile terminal device, the printer will be displayed in the printer list as the printer to be printed. However, even if the printer is selected in the printer list, since the printer does not support the standard print format, it is not possible to print using the printer from the mobile terminal device.

[0010] In Patent Document 1, since printers that do not support the standard print format are not considered, the user cannot print unless they obtain and install the printer driver corresponding to the printer.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal capable of selectively using a printing system provided in the OS of the mobile terminal and a print plugin according to the user's intention without impairing the user's convenience when printing from the mobile terminal.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a reception unit that receives a setting for enabling or disabling generation of print data to be transmitted to a printer by a standard printing function provided in an operating system of the information processing apparatus; a search unit that searches for a printer; and a control unit that causes a display unit to display an object for instructing generation of print data to be output to a printer capable of printing the print data generated by the standard printing function when the setting is set to be valid, wherein the control unit does not cause the display unit to display the object when the setting is set to be invalid.

Effects of the Invention

[0013] According to the mobile terminal of the present invention, when printing from the mobile terminal, it is possible to selectively use a printing system provided in the OS of the mobile terminal and a print plugin according to the user's intention without impairing the user's convenience.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 5

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Figure 7

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Figure 12

Figure 13

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings and the like.

[0016] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration in the present embodiment. The mobile terminal device (mobile terminal) 2000 can access the network via the access point 2013. Printers 1000, 1001, and 1002 are connected to the network.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, each printer internally holds information on the model name and the IP address. Also, each printer has different capabilities and internally holds information indicating the capabilities.

[0018] For example, printer 1000 supports the following formats as printable formats. That is, printer 1000 supports PDF (Portable Document Format), PWG-Raster, and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). Also, printer 1000 supports LPR (Line Printer Remote) and IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) as communication protocols.

[0019] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal device 2000. The mobile terminal device 2000 includes an SoC 2001, a RAM 2002, a flash memory 2003, a Bluetooth unit 2004, a WiFi unit 2005, and an NFC unit 2006. The mobile terminal device 2000 also includes a power supply 2007, a Voice / Audio unit 2008, a touch panel 2009, an LED 2010, a camera unit 2011, and a sensor unit 2012.

[0020] The execution entity on the hardware is the SoC (System on a chip) 2001, and the control entity on the software is the program stored in the flash memory 2003. The flash memory 2003 stores various programs. The program is expanded in the RAM (Random Access Memory) 2002 and interpreted and executed by the SoC.

[0021] The Bluetooth unit 2004 communicates via Bluetooth (registered trademark). The WiFi unit 2005 performs wireless communication via the access point 2013. The NFC unit 2006 is a communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication. The power supply 2007 supplies the necessary power to each part within the mobile terminal device 2000. The Voice / Audio unit 2008 includes a microphone, a speaker, etc. and is used for voice input / output.

[0022] The touch panel 2009 is an operation input unit for the user to perform operations with their fingers. The LED (Light Emitting Diode) 2010 is used for various displays. The camera unit 2011 includes an imaging unit for taking photos and videos. The sensor unit 2012 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System), an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a proximity sensor, etc.

[0023] Each unit is connected to the SoC 2001, and the mobile terminal device 2000 can be connected to the network via the access point 2013. In this embodiment, the OS (Operating System) is assumed to be, for example, Google's Android OS (registered trademark), but it is not limited to this.

[0024] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the software configuration operating on the mobile terminal device 2000. The program of this software is stored in the flash memory 2003. The applications 112 to 114 installed in the mobile terminal device 2000 have the function of displaying and printing contents (data) such as photos, documents, and web pages via the printing system 100 provided in the OS.

[0025] The printing system 100 is composed of a UI (User Interface) unit 101, a control unit 102, a communication unit 103, a print plugin management unit 104, a detection result receiving unit 105, a standard printer search unit 106, and a standard printing unit 107. The UI unit 101 is the user interface of the printing system 100. The control unit 102 controls the operation of the print plugins installed in the mobile terminal device 2000.

[0026] The communication unit 103 performs network communication with the printers 1000 to 1002 using the WiFi unit 2005. The print plugin management unit 104 manages the information of the print plugins installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. The detection result receiving unit 105 receives the notification of the result of the print plugin detecting a printer on the network.

[0027] The standard printer search unit 106 is a printer search function pre-installed in the OS of the mobile terminal device 2000, and searches for printers on the network in response to requests from applications 112 to 114. The standard printing unit 107 is a printing function pre-installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. The standard printing unit 107, in response to requests from applications 112 to 114, converts the data transmitted from each application into a standard print format and then transmits it to the printer using a standard communication protocol.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first search protocol and the first printing method that the printing system 100 supports as standard are referred to as the standard search protocol and the standard printing method, respectively. The printing method includes a predetermined print format and a predetermined communication protocol. In this embodiment, as an example of the standard search protocol, for example, Bonjour is used. Also, as an example of a predetermined format of the standard printing method, for example, PWG-Raster is used. Also, as an example of a predetermined communication method of the standard printing method, IPP is used. In this embodiment, the data transmitted from applications 112 to 114 is in PDF format.

[0029] When the user gives a print instruction via the UI unit 101, the application transmits the PDF-formatted data to the standard printing unit 107. The standard printing unit 107 is a renderer that converts the received data into PWG-Raster, which is the standard print format. The standard printing unit 107 transmits the converted data to the printer 1000 via the communication unit 103 using the IPP protocol.

[0030] The print plugin 200 is composed of a printer search section 201, a print processing section 202, a package name 203, and a vendor name 204. The print plugin 200 supports a second search protocol and a second printing method different from the first search protocol and the first printing method. The print plugin 200 can realize functions such as searching for a printer different from the standard printer search section 106 and the standard printing section 107 of the printing system 100, generating a print job, and acquiring the printer status.

[0031] The print plugin 200 bridges between the printing system 100 and the printer to be printed. Note that FIG. 3 shows a state where only the print plugin 200 is installed, but a plurality of print plugins can be installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. The print plugin can be installed and uninstalled as needed, and the print plugin management section 104 manages the installation status of each print plugin.

[0032] The printer search section 201 searches for printers on the network using multicast or broadcast. The printer search section 201 uses SLP (Service Location Protocol), Multicast - DNS (Domain Name System), etc. as the search protocol. Note that the search protocol used by the printer search section 201 is not limited to this, and for example, it may be different for each print plugin.

[0033] The print processing section 202 performs rendering processing on PDL (Page Description Language) data or image data that can be printed by printers 1000 to 1002. The package name 203 is a unique name assigned to the print plugin 200, for example, "jp.co.efg.xxxxx". The package name 203 is assigned a different name for each print plugin and is stored by each print plugin. The vendor name 204 is the name of the vendor that provides the print plugin 200.

[0034] The print plugin settings 300 is an area for storing setting values related to the print plugin 200. The print plugin settings 300 are stored in the flash memory 2003. The corresponding print plugin table 150 is a table for storing a list of printers on the network detected by the standard printer search section 106 and the print plugins corresponding to the printers. Hereinafter, details of the corresponding print plugin table will be described.

[0035] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the corresponding print plugin table 150. The corresponding print plugin table 150 is composed of a vendor name 1101, a package name 1102, and a download site 1103. The vendor name 1101 stores the vendor name obtained by the standard printer search section 106 from a printer on the network. The package name 1102 stores the package name of the print plugin.

[0036] The download site 1103 stores the URL information of the download site of the print plugin. That is, the corresponding print plugin table 150 stores, as a list of print plugins, information related to the vendor name, package name, and download site of the print plugin in association with each other. By referring to the corresponding print plugin table 150, it is possible to associate a printer searched on the network with the print plugin corresponding to the printer.

[0037] Therefore, the printing system 100 can guide to the download site when the print plugin corresponding to the searched printer is not installed. For example, the table data 1104 shows the following information. A printer with a vendor name of "ABC" has a package name of "jp.co.abc.xxxxx" for the corresponding print plugin, and the download site of the print plugin is "http:store.abc.printplugin".

[0038] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are diagrams showing an example of a screen displayed by the printing system 100. FIG. 5(A) shows a screen 400 on which data to be printed is displayed on an application. When the user taps the print button 401 on the screen 400, the UI unit 101 of the printing system 100 is called. The UI unit 101 of the printing system 100 displays the screens shown in FIG. 5(B), FIG. 5(C), or FIG. 6(A) according to conditions.

[0039] In the present embodiment, when the user taps the print button 401 in FIG. 5(A), the UI unit 101 of the printing system 100 displays a print setting screen. Hereinafter, the processing until the print setting screen is displayed will be described.

[0040] FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are flowcharts showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 after the print button 401 is tapped. The processing shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is realized by loading a program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001.

[0041] When the print button 401 is tapped, in step S501, the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 instructs the standard printer search unit 106 to search for a printer. The standard printer search unit 106 searches for a printer on the network using Bonjour, which is a standard search protocol, via the communication unit 103. In step S502, the control unit 102 instructs the printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200 installed in the mobile terminal device 2000 to search for a printer.

[0042] In step S504, the detection result receiving unit 105 receives printer information detected from the standard printer search unit 106 and the printer search unit 201 instructed to perform the search. The printer information is received as a message compliant with the search protocol used by the standard printer search unit 106 or the printer search unit 201. For example, when Bonjour is used as the search protocol, a TXT Record is received. In step S504, the control unit 102 registers the printer information received in step S503 in the detected printer list. Hereinafter, the details of the detected printer list will be described.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the detected printer list. The detected printer list 700 is composed of a model name 701, an IP address 702, a notification source 703, standard printing support 704, a vendor 705, and a plugin 706. One line of data in the detected printer list 700 indicates the data of one detected printer. The detected printer list 700 is stored on the RAM 2002.

[0044] The model name 701 stores the model name of the detected printer. The IP address 702 stores the IP address of the detected printer. The notification source 703 stores the notification source information when the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detection result in step S503. When the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detection result from the standard printer search unit 106 in step S503, "standard search" is stored in the notification source 703.

[0045] On the other hand, when the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detection result from the printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200 in step S503, the package name of the print plugin is stored in the notification source 703. In the example shown in FIG. 9, for the detection result where the model name 701 is "Printer-D", the print plugin 200 is the notification source, and the package name of the print plugin 200, "jp.co.efg.xxxxx", is stored in the notification source 703.

[0046] The standard printing support 704 stores whether there is support for the print jobs generated by the standard printing unit 107. In the example shown in FIG. 9, when there is support for the print jobs generated by the standard printing unit 107, "〇" is stored in the standard printing support 704, and when there is no support, "×" is stored. Specifically, in the present embodiment, when the control unit 102 determines that the detected printer supports both the standard print format PWG-Raster and the standard communication protocol IPP, "○" is stored in the standard printing support 704.

[0047] On the other hand, when the control unit 102 determines that there is no support for either the standard print format or the standard communication protocol, "×" is stored in the standard printing support 704. The control unit 102 determines whether there is support for the standard print format and the standard communication protocol based on the content of the response from the printer received by the standard printer search unit 106. Note that the standard printing support 704 is stored only when the notification source of the detection result is the standard printer search unit 106, and when the notification source is the print plugin 200, "NA" meaning "not applicable" is stored.

[0048] The vendor 705 stores the name of the vendor that provides the detected printer. The plugin 706 stores information on whether a print plugin corresponding to the printer is installed on the mobile terminal device 2000. When the corresponding print plugin is installed on the mobile terminal device 2000, "installed" is stored, and when it is not installed, "not installed" is stored.

[0049] Whether a print plugin corresponding to the printer is installed on the mobile terminal device 2000 is determined by the print plugin management unit 104 by referring to whether a print plugin corresponding to the vendor name of each printer is installed. Note that the plugin 706 is stored only when the notification source of the detection result is the standard printer search unit 106, and when the notification source is the print plugin 200, "NA" meaning "not applicable" is stored.

[0050] Return to the description of the flowchart in FIG. 7. In step S505, the control unit 102 determines whether the printer indicated by the printer information received in step S503 is the printer used in the previous print via the printing system 100. Specifically, the control unit 102 makes the determination based on the printer information (not shown) stored in the flash memory 2003 when printing the previous time via the printing system 100.

[0051] If it is determined in step S505 that it is the printer used in the previous print, the process proceeds to step S506, and the control unit 102 determines the printer to be the printing target to be displayed on the print setting screen 402 shown in FIG. 5(B) as the printer used in the previous print.

[0052] The print setting screen 402 shown in FIG. 5(B) includes a target printer display area 403, a print setting area 404, and a print button 405. The target printer display area 403 is an area for displaying the printer to be the printing target. The user instructs the use of the printing system 100 by tapping the print button 405. After the user determines the desired print settings in the print setting area 404 and then taps the print button 405, the data of the application is transmitted to the printer to be the printing target displayed in the target printer display area 403.

[0053] In the example shown in FIG. 5(B), the printer with the printer name "Printer-A" and the IP address "192.168.0.10", which is determined to be the printer used in the previous print in step S505, is selected in the target printer display area 403. When changing the output destination of the data to another printer, the user taps the target printer display area 403.

[0054] When the target printer display area 403 is tapped, a printer list screen 408 shown in FIG. 6(B) is displayed. The printer list screen 408 in FIG. 6(B) is such that the UI unit 101 displays printers on the network based on the printer information stored in the detected printer list 700 (FIG. 9). Details of the processing when a printer is selected by tapping on the printer list screen 408 will be described later with reference to FIG. 10.

[0055] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S505 that the printer used in the previous print is not the printer, the process proceeds to step S507, and the control unit 102 determines whether the printer detected in step S503 is the last printer. If it is determined in step S507 that it is the last printer, the process proceeds to step S508 in FIG. 8. On the other hand, if it is determined in S507 that it is not the last printer, the process returns to step S503, and the processing of steps S503 to S507 is repeated.

[0056] In step S508, the control unit 102 determines whether the printer determined to be the printer used in the previous print in step S505 has been found. If it is determined in step S508 that the printer used in the previous print has not been found, the process proceeds to step S509, and if it is determined that it has been found, the process proceeds to step S510.

[0057] In step S509, the control unit 102 selects one printer from among the detected printer lists 700 (FIG. 9) registered in step S504. Then, the UI unit 101 displays the selected printer in the target printer display area 403 in FIG. 5(B). When the control unit 102 selects a printer in step S509, it may be selected based on any criterion. For example, the control unit 102 may preferentially select the printer first detected in step S503, or may preferentially select a printer for which the standard print support 704 in the detected printer list 700 is "○".

[0058] In step S510, the control unit 102 refers to the detected printer list 700 and determines whether the notification source 703 of the printer to be displayed in the target printer display area 403 is "standard search". If it is determined in step S510 that the notification source 703 is not "standard search", the process proceeds to step S512. If it is determined that it is "standard search", the process proceeds to step S511.

[0059] In step S511, the control unit 102 refers to the detected printer list 700 and determines whether the standard printing support 704 of the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 is "〇". If it is determined in step S511 that the standard printing support 704 is "〇", the process proceeds to step S512. If it is determined that the standard printing support 704 is other than "〇", the process proceeds to step S513.

[0060] In step S512, the control unit 102 displays, via the UI unit 101, a printing setting screen 402 including the target printer display area 403, the printing setting area 404, and the print button 405 as shown in FIG. 5(B), and ends the process. In this embodiment, FIG. 5(B) is used as an example of the printing setting screen 402. However, depending on whether the notification source in step S510 is standard search or a print plugin, the content of the printing setting screen 402 displayed in step S512 is different.

[0061] In step S513, the control unit 102 determines whether the print plugin corresponding to the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 is available in the store that is the application distribution service. Specifically, the control unit refers to the corresponding print plugin table 150 (FIG. 4), and if there is a print plugin associated with the vendor name of the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403, it determines that the print plugin is available in the store.

[0062] In step S513, if it is determined that the corresponding print plugin is available in the store, the process proceeds to step S514. If it is determined that it is not available, the process proceeds to step S515. In step S514, the control unit 102 makes the print setting area 404 invisible as shown in FIG. 5(C) via the UI unit 101, additionally displays a download button 406 instead of the print button 405, and ends the process.

[0063] That is, when the printer detected by the standard search protocol does not support the standard printing method, the control unit 102 performs display control to display an object for activating a function for downloading a plugin corresponding to the printer. In this embodiment, the download button 406 is a means for activating a function for downloading the print plugin corresponding to the printer.

[0064] When the download button 406 is tapped, as shown in FIG. 6(C), the process transitions to the store screen 410 of the print plugin corresponding to the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403. When the install button 411 is tapped on the store screen 410 in FIG. 6(C), the print plugin management unit 104 downloads the print plugin provided at the download site 1103 corresponding to the printer to the portable terminal device 2000.

[0065] Then, the print plugin management unit 104 installs the downloaded print plugin on the portable terminal device 2000. Note that in this embodiment, the download button 406 is shown as a means for activating a function for downloading the print plugin, but it is not limited thereto. For example, when it is determined in the determination of step S513 that the corresponding print plugin is available in the store, display control may be performed to directly transition to the store screen 410 of the print plugin.

[0066] In step S515, the control unit 102 makes the print setting area 404 invisible via the UI unit 101 as shown in FIG. 6(A), displays the grayed-out download button 407 instead of the print button 405, and ends the process.

[0067] Next, the process executed by the printing system 100 when a printer is selected on the printer list screen 408 shown in FIG. 6(B) will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 when the printer 409 is selected on the printer list screen 408 shown in FIG. 6(B). The process shown in FIG. 10 is realized by loading the program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001.

[0068] Suppose the printer 409 is tapped on the printer list screen 408. In step S601, the control unit 102 acquires the information of the tapped printer from the detected printer list 700 (FIG. 9). In step S602, the control unit 102 determines whether the notification source 703 of the printer information acquired in step S601 is "standard search".

[0069] If it is determined in step S602 that the notification source 703 is "standard search", the process proceeds to step S603. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S602 that the notification source 703 is not "standard search", that is, the printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200 is the notification source, the process proceeds to step S604.

[0070] In step S603, the control unit 102 determines whether the standard print support 704 of the printer information acquired in step S601 is "〇", that is, whether it is a printer supporting standard printing. If it is determined in step S603 that it is a printer supporting standard printing, the process proceeds to step S604. If it is determined that it is not a printer supporting standard printing, the process proceeds to step S605.

[0071] In step S604, the control unit 102 displays the print settings screen 402 in FIG. 5(B) via the UI unit 101 in the following state. That is, the printer 409 tapped on the printer list screen 408 is displayed in the target printer display area 403 of the print settings screen 402. Then, the control unit 102 ends the process.

[0072] In step S605, the control unit 102 determines whether the print plugin corresponding to the printer 409 tapped on the printer list screen 408 is available in the store. Since the control unit 102 makes the availability determination in the same manner as in step S513, detailed description is omitted. In step S605, if it is determined that the corresponding print plugin is available in the store, the process proceeds to step S606, and if it is determined that it is not available, the process proceeds to step S607.

[0073] In step S606, the control unit 102 displays the store screen 410 of the print plugin corresponding to the printer 409 selected on the printer list screen 408 as shown in FIG. 6(C) via the UI unit 101, and ends the process. In step 607, the control unit 102 displays an error message (not shown) indicating that there is no available print plugin via the UI unit 101, and ends the process.

[0074] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when printing from a mobile terminal, the print system provided in the OS of the mobile terminal and the print plugin can be properly used in accordance with the user's intention without impairing the user's convenience. For example, when a printer that is not compatible with the standard printing method detected by the standard search protocol is selected, if the print plugin corresponding to the printer is not installed, the user can be guided to download the print plugin.

[0075] (Second Embodiment) When the printer supports standard printing, the printer search section 201 of the installed print plugin 200 and the standard printer search section 106 of the printing system 100 can detect the same printer. In this case, in the first embodiment, the same printer is redundantly displayed on the printer list screen. It is troublesome for the user that the same printer is redundantly displayed on the printer list screen.

[0076] However, simply hiding the printer detected by the standard printer search section 106 on the printer list screen is inconvenient for users who want to continue using the standard printing function. In contrast, in this embodiment, when the print plugin and the printing system detect the same printer, it is possible to set so as not to impair the convenience for users who want to use the standard printing function while eliminating the annoyance of the same printer being redundantly displayed.

[0077] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen of the installed print plugin. FIG. 11(A) shows a print setting screen 800 of the installed print plugin. The print setting screen 800 has a print plugin list 801. In the print plugin list 801, a list of print plugins installed on the mobile terminal device 2000 is displayed. Tapping a specific print plugin on the print plugin list 801 transitions to a print plugin setting screen 810 for setting the selected print plugin.

[0078] FIG. 11(B) shows a print plugin setting screen 810 for setting the specific plugin tapped on the print setting screen 800. The print plugin setting screen 810 has an activation setting 811 of the print plugin and a printer list 812. The activation setting 811 of the print plugin enables or disables the specific print plugin targeted on the print plugin setting screen 810.

[0079] When the print plugin is disabled in the activation setting 811 of the print plugin, the printing system 100 does not call the print plugin. The printer list 812 displays a list of printers searched by the printer search section 201 of the print plugin. Tapping on a printer displayed in the printer list 812 transitions to a printer settings screen for making settings related to the selected printer.

[0080] FIG. 11(C) shows a printer settings screen 820 for making settings related to a printer tapped on the print plugin settings screen 810. The printer settings screen 820 exists for each printer searched by the printer search section 201 of the print plugin. The printer settings screen 820 has an activation setting 821 for the standard printing function. The activation setting 821 for the standard printing function enables or disables the standard printing function of the printer targeted on the printer settings screen 820.

[0081] When the activation setting 821 of the printer is set to "ON" on the printer settings screen 820, the standard printing function is enabled. Also, when the activation setting 821 of the printer is set to "OFF" on the printer settings screen 820, the standard printing function is disabled. The setting content of the activation setting 821 for the standard printing function is stored in the flash memory 2003 as the print plugin setting 300 (FIG. 3).

[0082] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 after the print button 401 in FIG. 5(A) is tapped in the present embodiment. Regarding the same processes as those of the flowcharts (FIGS. 7 and 8) described as the operation of the printing system 100 in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted. The process shown in FIG. 12 is realized by loading the program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001.

[0083] After the processes of steps S501 to S503 are executed, in step S901, the control unit 102 determines whether the source of the printer information received by the detection result receiving unit 105 in step S503 is the standard printer search unit 106. If it is determined in step S901 that the source is the standard printer search unit 106, the process proceeds to step S902. If it is determined that it is not the standard printer search unit 106, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0084] In step S902, the control unit 102 inquires of the printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200 about the activation setting of the standard printing function of the printer indicated by the printer information received in step S503. The printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200 refers to the activation setting 821 of the printer stored in the print plugin setting 300 and notifies the control unit 102 of the result.

[0085] In step S903, the control unit 102 determines whether the standard printing function of the printer is activated based on the activation setting notified from the printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200 in step S902. If it is determined in step S903 that the standard printing function is activated, the process proceeds to step S504, and the control unit 102 registers the printer information received in step S503 in the detected printer list 700.

[0086] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S903 that the standard printing function is deactivated, the process proceeds to step S507 without registering the printer information received in step S503 in the detected printer list 700. That is, a printer with a deactivated standard printing function is not displayed in the target printer display area 403 of FIG. 5(B) or the printer list screen 408 of FIG. 6(B) as a detection result of the standard printer search unit 106.

[0087] Note that, as the detection result of the printer search unit 201 of the print plugin 200, the printer is displayed in the target printer display area 403 of FIG. 5(B) and the printer list screen 408 of FIG. 6(B). In other words, a printer with the standard printing function disabled is not a printing target according to the standard search protocol, but is a printing target according to the search protocol of the print plugin.

[0088] (Third Embodiment) When printing on the same printer using the print plugin 200 and using the standard printing function of the printing system 100, differences may occur in the printing results due to different printing processing units. In such a case, it is conceivable that a user who prefers the printing result of the standard printing function will continue to use the standard printing function.

[0089] However, in this case, the extended functions of the print plugin 200 provided by the vendor cannot be used. Therefore, in this embodiment, by using the printing function of the standard printing unit 107 in the print plugin 200, while using the standard printing function for generating print data, the extended functions of the print plugin can also be used.

[0090] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operations of the printing system 100 and the print plugin 200 after the print button 405 in FIG. 5(B) is tapped. The process shown in FIG. 13 is realized by loading the program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executed by the SoC 2001.

[0091] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the print plugin 200 corresponding to the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 selected for printing in FIG. 5(B) is already installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. When the print button 405 is tapped in FIG. 5(B), the process of FIG. 13 is started. In step S1201, the control unit 102 of the print system 100 instructs the print processing unit 202 of the print plugin 200 to initialize the print job.

[0092] In step S1202, the print processing unit 202 of the print plugin 200 acquires the setting content of the activation setting 821 of the standard printing function of the print plugin setting 300 (FIG. 3) stored in the flash memory 2003. In step S1203, the print processing unit 202 refers to the print plugin setting 300 acquired in step S1202 and determines whether the standard printing function is activated.

[0093] If it is determined in step S1203 that the standard printing function is deactivated, the process proceeds to step S1204. If it is determined that the standard printing function is activated, the process proceeds to step S1205. In the determination of step S1203, the print processing unit 202 refers to the activation setting 821 of the standard printing function stored in the print plugin setting 300, but it is not limited to this. For example, the setting for activating or deactivating the standard printing function may be displayed in the print setting area 404 of FIG. 5(B) and can be set for each execution of printing, that is, for each print job.

[0094] In step S1204, the print processing unit 202 notifies the control unit 102 of the print system 100 that "PDF" is the data format of the print job. In step S1205, the print processing unit 202 notifies the control unit 102 of the print system 100 that "JPEG" is the data format of the print job.

[0095] In step S1206, the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 receives information on the data format of the print job notified from the print processing unit 202 of the print plugin 200. In step S1207, the control unit 102 refers to the information on the data format of the print job received in step S1206 and determines whether data conversion is necessary. In this embodiment, the format of the data transmitted from the application 112 to the printing system 100 during printing is the PDF format.

[0096] If the information on the data format received in step S1206 is other than the PDF format, it is determined that data conversion is necessary, and the process proceeds to step S1208. If it is determined that data conversion is not necessary, the process proceeds to step S1209. In step S1208, the standard printing unit 107 of the printing system 100 rasterizes the PDF format data transmitted from the application 112 and then converts it to the JPEG format.

[0097] That is, the print processing unit 202 requests data conversion, that is, generation of print data, from the printing system 100 by notifying the control unit 102 of the data format in step S1204. In this embodiment, an example of conversion to the JPEG format will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any format may be used.

[0098] In step S1209, the control unit 102 gives a print instruction to the print processing unit 202 of the print plugin 200. At this time, the control unit 102 transmits information on the data format of the print data together with the print data to the print processing unit 202. Specifically, if it is determined in step S1207 that data conversion is necessary, the print data whose data format has been converted in step S1208 is transmitted to the print processing unit 202.

[0099] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S1207 that data conversion is not necessary, the data in PDF format is transmitted from the application 112 to the print processing unit 202 as print data. In step S1210, the print processing unit 202 of the print plugin 200 receives the print data transmitted from the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 and the information on the data format of the print data.

[0100] In step S1211, the print processing unit 202 determines whether data conversion is necessary based on the information on the data format of the print data received in step S1210. When the activation setting 821 (FIG. 11) of the standard printing function of the printer selected as the printing target, that is, the printer indicated by the target printer display area 403 in FIG. 5(B), is set to "ON", the print data in JPEG format is received in step S1210. Therefore, in the determination of step S1211, it is determined that data conversion is not necessary, and the process proceeds to step S1213.

[0101] On the other hand, when the activation setting 821 of the standard printing function of the printer selected as the printing target, that is, the printer indicated by the target printer display area 403 in FIG. 5(B), is set to "OFF", the print data in PDF format is received in step S1210. Therefore, in the determination of step S1211, it is determined that data conversion is necessary, and the process proceeds to step S1212.

[0102] In step S1212, the print processing unit 202 of the print plugin 200 rasterizes the PDF format data received in step S1210 and then converts it into JPEG format. In step S1213, the print processing unit 202 transmits the print data together with the job attributes reflecting the set values set in the print setting area 404 in FIG. 5(B) to the printer to be printed, and ends the process.

[0103] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. Further, it can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0104] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof.

Claims

1. An information processing device, a reception unit for receiving a setting as to whether to enable or disable the generation of print data to be transmitted to a printer by a standard print function provided in an operating system of the information processing device; A searching means for searching for a printer; a control means for displaying, when the setting is enabled, an object for instructing to generate, by the standard printing function, print data to be output to a printer capable of printing the print data generated by the standard printing function, on a display means; having When the setting is disabled, the control means does not display the object on the display means.

23. An information processing apparatus comprising:

Images