Information processing apparatus and application

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus that, when configuration information of a printer registered in a cloud print server is changed, can update the configuration information stored in a client terminal.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus described in the specification has: acquisition means that acquires configuration information of a printing device from a cloud print server system; storage means that stores the acquired configuration information; control means that displays a print setting screen on display means on the basis of the configuration information stored in the storage means; transmission means that, in a state where the configuration information is stored in the storage means, transmits a request for acquiring configuration information; and update means that updates the configuration information stored in the storage means by using the configuration information acquired on the basis of the transmitted acquisition request.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an application operating on the information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] A system for transmitting print data from a client terminal to a printer via a cloud server is known. In the above system, a user operates a printer driver installed on the client terminal to perform print settings and issue a print instruction. The printer driver installed on the client terminal transmits print data based on image data and print settings to the cloud server. The cloud server can perform printing by transmitting the received print data to the printer.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes creating a virtual printer queue on a cloud server and performing printing via the virtual printer queue.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When using a cloud print server, it is necessary to prepare a print queue on the client terminal for transmitting print data to a virtual queue on the cloud print server. The client terminal acquires configuration information of the printer and information of the virtual queue on the cloud print service from the cloud print service, and generates a print queue for transmitting print data to the virtual queue of the cloud print service. The client terminal displays a print setting screen using the configuration information and capability information of the printer acquired at the time of generating the print queue.

[0006] The client terminal uses the configuration information obtained at the time of print queue generation. Therefore, even if the actual configuration of the printer changes, such as a new finisher being connected to the printer, the configuration information of the client terminal is not updated, and a print setting screen for using the newly connected finisher cannot be displayed.

[0007] In view of the above problems, the information processing apparatus described in the present application aims to be able to update the configuration information stored in the client terminal when the configuration information of the printer registered in the cloud print server changes.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The information processing apparatus described in this specification is an information processing apparatus that transmits the print data to a cloud print server system that transmits the print data to a printing apparatus, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires configuration information of the printing apparatus from the cloud print server system, a storage unit that stores the acquired configuration information of the printing apparatus, a control unit that displays a print setting screen on a display unit based on the configuration information stored in the storage unit, a transmission unit that transmits a configuration information acquisition request to the cloud print server system in a state where configuration information is stored in the storage unit, and an update unit that updates the configuration information stored in the storage unit using the configuration information acquired based on the transmitted acquisition request.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] In view of the above problems, the information processing apparatus described in the present application can update the configuration information stored in the client terminal when the configuration information of the printer registered in the cloud print server changes.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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[0011] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described.

[0012] <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The network 150 is connected to a client computer 100, a Cloud Print Service 500, and a Cloud Print-compatible Printer 200. Note that the client computer 100 and the Cloud Print-compatible Printer 200 may be connected to different intranets. Even if the client computer 100 and the Cloud Print-compatible Printer 200 are connected to different intranets, printing data can be transmitted and received via the Cloud Print Service 500.

[0014] The Cloud Print-compatible Printer 200 is a printing device that supports a predetermined protocol supported by the Cloud Print Service 500. The predetermined protocol is, for example, a protocol such as IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). Hereinafter, the Cloud Print-compatible Printer 200 will be referred to as the Printer 200.

[0015] The cloud printing service 500 is a cloud printing service constructed in a server system composed of one or more information processing devices.

[0016] The cloud printing service 500 performs account management using a user ID and a password. The client computer 100 or the printer 200 transmits the above user ID, password, and authentication request to the cloud printing service 500. By performing an authentication process based on the information received by the cloud printing service 500, the client computer 100 and the printer 200 can use the cloud printing service 500.

[0017] In FIG. 1, one client computer 100 and one printer 200 are illustrated, but it may be assumed that a plurality of each are connected to the network.

[0018] The printer driver distribution service 1400 is a server system composed of one or more information processing devices, and distributes a printer driver to the client computer 100 or distributes information for expanding a print queue.

[0019] The application distribution service 1500 is a server system composed of one or more information processing devices, and distributes an application to the client computer 100. In the present embodiment, the application distribution service 1500 is a server system that distributes the print setting extension application 300.

[0020] Figure 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a general computer (information processing device) showing an embodiment of the present invention. Needless to say, as long as the functions of the present invention are executed, whether it is a single function, a system composed of multiple devices, or a system connected via a network for processing, the present invention can be applied. Detailed explanations will be described below.

[0021] The CPU 101 controls the entire device according to the programs stored in the ROM 1021, RAM 1022, or auxiliary storage device 105 of the main storage device 102.

[0022] The RAM 1022 is used as a work area when the CPU 101 performs various processes.

[0023] The auxiliary storage device 105 records an operating system (OS) 1053, an application 1051, a print setting extension application 300, a cloud print driver 1052, and the like.

[0024] The application 1051 is an application different from the print setting extension application 300, which is an application associated with the driver, and is a general application capable of editing documents, creating presentation materials, etc. The user can give a print instruction by operating the screen displayed by the application 1051.

[0025] The cloud print driver 1052 is a printer driver that supports the cloud print service 500 pre-installed in the OS. The cloud print driver 1052 is called from applications such as the application 1051 through the OS and executes the processes necessary for printing. In this embodiment, the cloud print driver 1052 is described as being stored in the auxiliary storage device 105 from the beginning. The client computer 100 may download the cloud print driver 1052 from another server system such as the cloud print service 500. Also, after the client computer 100 receives the print queue information in S1609 of FIG. 6, the OS of the client computer 100 may acquire the cloud print driver 1052 from another server system. In that case, in S1610, the OS of the client computer 100 associates the print queue information received in S1609 with the cloud print driver 1052 acquired from another server system to generate a print queue.

[0026] The print setting extension application 300 is application software that operates in cooperation with the aforementioned cloud print driver 1052 to perform detailed print settings specific to the printer to be printed. The method of downloading the print setting extension application 300 will be described later.

[0027] In the following description, the main storage device 102 and the auxiliary storage device 105 are collectively referred to as a storage device.

[0028] Input devices such as the pointing device 109 typified by a mouse or touch panel and the keyboard 108 are connected through the input I / F 103 and are devices for the user to give various instructions to the computer.

[0029] The output I / F 104 is an interface for outputting data to the outside and outputs data to output devices such as the monitor 110 and the panel 111.

[0030] The client computer 100 is connected to the network 150 via the communication I / F 106. Also, the system bus 107 is a path for data exchange between each module.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a cloud print service 500 showing an embodiment of the present invention. The cloud print service 500 operates as a cloud print server system composed of one or more information processing apparatuses. In the cloud print service 500, the CPU of one or more information processing apparatuses realizes each function described below.

[0032] The cloud print service 500 is a service existing in the cloud that operates on the Internet (network 150) and enables functions related to printing. In the present embodiment, it has the functions of a printer registration unit 501, a print queue generation unit 502, a printer list generation unit 503, a search response unit 504, and a printer database 510. Further, it has the functions of a print job management unit 505, a print job generation unit 506, and a print job storage area 511. Also, these functions may be in another cloud print service that cooperates with the cloud print service 500.

[0033] The printer registration unit 501 is a module that receives a printer registration instruction from the printer 200 and registers the information of the printer in the cloud print service 500. The printer registration unit 501 receives a registration request from the printer 200 and generates a print queue using the print queue generation unit 502. The printer registration unit 501 registers the generated print queue in the printer database 510 in association with the printer identification information. The fact that the print queue of the printer and the printer identification information are registered in association with each other is called that the printer is registered. Various attributes may be added to the printer registered here. For example, it corresponds to an attribute to which account information such as the location of the printer and who can access the registered printer is added.

[0034] The print queue generation unit 502 generates a print queue for managing print data to be processed by the printer 200 in response to a request from the printer registration unit 501.

[0035] The printer list generation unit 503 generates a list of registered printers.

[0036] The search response unit 504 responds with the information of the registered printer to an event of printer search for the cloud print service 500 from the client computer 100.

[0037] The print job storage area 511 is an area for storing print data received from the client computer 100 as a print job.

[0038] The print job management unit 505 manages the print jobs stored in the print job storage area 511 for each print queue and sends the print jobs to the printer corresponding to the print queue. Alternatively, the print job management unit 505 receives a print job acquisition request from the printer 200 and sends the print job held in the print queue corresponding to the printer 200 to the printer 200.

[0039] The print job generation unit 506 processes the print data received from the client computer 100 as necessary and generates a print job.

[0040] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the print settings extension app 300. The print settings extension app 300 is an application for the printer vendor to extend the functions of the cloud print driver 1052.

[0041] The print settings extension app 300 is composed of a print-time startup app unit 301, an extended print settings unit 302, a device app communication unit 303, and a print job generation unit 304.

[0042] The print-time startup app unit 301 is a module that is called from the OS 1053 through the cloud print driver 1052 at the time of printing. Also, the print-time startup app unit 301 controls the entire print settings extension app 300.

[0043] The extended print settings unit 302 is a module for displaying an extended print settings screen described later. It receives print settings from the cloud print driver 1052 and displays an extended print settings screen based on the print settings and the configuration information stored in the configuration information storage unit 305.

[0044] The device app communication unit 303 has a function for each module of the print settings extension app 300 to communicate with the cloud print service 500 via the network 150.

[0045] The print job generation unit 304 provides a function to edit print data as necessary or to edit the print data generated by the cloud print driver 1052. By editing the print data by the print job generation unit 304, vendor-specific print settings that cannot be set by the cloud print driver 1052 can be written into the print data.

[0046] The configuration information storage unit 305 is a module that manages the configuration information of the printer 200 corresponding to the print queue of the client computer 100.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the functional blocks of a printer which is an example of the image processing apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] The control unit 201 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 211 controls the operation of the entire printer 200. The CPU 211 reads out a control program stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory) 212 or the storage 214, and performs various controls such as print control and reading control.

[0049] The ROM 212 stores a control program executable by the CPU 211. The RAM (Random Access Memory) 213 is the main memory of the CPU 211, and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area for expanding various control programs.

[0050] The storage 214 stores print data, image data, various programs, various setting information, and configuration information generated based on the various setting information. When new hardware information such as a finisher is added to the printer main body, the CPU 211 updates the various setting information in the storage 214, and newly generates configuration information based on the information. The generated configuration information is transmitted through the storage unit I / F 217 to the associated service, client computer, etc. In the present embodiment, an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is assumed as the storage 214, but a non-volatile memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) may be used instead of the HDD. Thus, the hardware such as the CPU 211, ROM 212, and RAM 213 constitutes a so-called computer.

[0051] The processing unit 215 has the function of a RIP (Raster Image Processor) that expands the print data received via the network to generate a print image. Further, the processing unit has the ability of an image processing unit and can also perform resolution conversion and correction processing of images. In this embodiment, although it is assumed that the image processing unit is realized by a hardware circuit (such as an ASIC or FPGA), it is not limited thereto. For example, the printer 200 may be provided with a processor for image processing applications, and the processor for image processing applications may execute an image processing program to realize image processing and the expansion processing of print data. Further, the CPU 211 may execute a program for performing image processing, and the configuration may be such that image processing and print data expansion processing are performed. Also, image processing may be performed by any combination of these.

[0052] The operation unit interface (I / F) 216 connects the operation unit 202 and the control unit 201. The operation unit 202 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function, various hard keys, etc., and functions as a display unit for displaying information and a reception unit for receiving user instructions, or reads a document as a reading and generates a read image. It is assumed that the generated read image is stored in the storage 214 or the RAM 213. Also, the print image generated by analyzing the print data by the processing unit 215 is transferred from the control unit 201 to a printing unit (not shown) in the operation unit via the operation unit I / F 216. The printing unit receives a control command and a print image via the control unit 201, and prints an image on a sheet fed from a paper feed cassette (not shown) based on the image.

[0053] Also, the control unit 201 is connected to the network 150 via the communication unit I / F 217.

[0054] The communication unit I / F 217 transmits images and information to communication devices on the network 150, or receives print data and information from communication devices on the network 150.

[0055] Scanner I / F 218 is connected to a scanner unit 219 that reads a document and generates image data. The printer 200 can execute printing based on the image data generated by the scanner unit 219 or transmit the image data to another device.

[0056] Printer I / F 220 is connected to a print unit 221 that prints an image. The print unit 221 executes printing based on the image data generated by the scanner unit 219 or printing based on print data received from the cloud print service 500.

[0057] Hardware I / F 222 is an interface to which hardware such as a finisher is connected. As a finisher, for example, there are those having a stapling function for stapling sheets on which an image is formed, a function of punching holes in sheets on which an image is formed, a bookbinding or paper folding function, and the like.

[0058] When a finisher is connected to the printer 200, the configuration information of the printer 200 changes. Therefore, the printer 200 updates the configuration information managed by the cloud print service 500. Further, in the present embodiment, the print setting extension application 300 installed in the client computer 100 acquires the configuration information from the cloud print service 500 and updates the configuration information.

[0059] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a process of generating a print queue for transmitting print data from the client computer 100 to the cloud print service 500.

[0060] First, it is necessary to register the printer 200 with the cloud print service 500. According to the user's operation, the printer 200 sends an authentication request to the cloud print service 500 (S1600). This authentication request contains the user ID and password. The cloud print service 500 performs user authentication based on the received authentication request and the information of the user ID and password, and sends the authentication result to the printer 200 (S1601). Here, the description is made assuming that the authentication is successful. If the authentication fails, the sequence shown in FIG. 6 ends.

[0061] The printer 200 sends a printer registration request to the cloud print service 500 (S1602). This registration request contains the identification information and configuration information of the printer 200. The configuration information transmitted here is the configuration information at the time of S1602.

[0062] The cloud print service 500 generates a print queue based on the acquired information (S1603). The user can set the information of the user who can use the generated print queue as needed. Thus, the printer registration process to the cloud print service 500 is completed.

[0063] Next, the user operates the client computer 100 to set up for sending print data to the cloud print service 500. First, the client computer 100 sends an authentication request to the cloud print service 500 (S1604). This authentication request contains the user ID and password. The cloud print service 500 executes user authentication processing based on the received user ID and password information. The cloud print service 500 sends the authentication result to the client computer 100 (S1605). Here, the description is made assuming that the authentication is successful. Note that when the user logs in to the OS of the client computer 100, the authentication process to the cloud print service 500 may be performed. In that case, the processes described in S1604 and S1605 are omitted.

[0064] The client computer 100 sends a request to obtain a list of print queues that can be used by the user logged in to the cloud print service 500 (S1606). The cloud print service 500 sends a list of print queues that can be used by the logged-in user to the client computer 100 (S1607). In S1607, the cloud print service 500 sends, for example, a list of the names of the print queues that the user can use to the client computer 100.

[0065] The client computer 100 displays the received list of print queues and accepts a selection of a print queue to be used from the user. The client computer 100 sends a request to obtain information about the selected print queue to the cloud print service 500 (S1608). The cloud print service 500 sends information about the selected print queue to the client computer 100 (S1609). The information sent here includes the identification information and configuration information of the printer associated with the print queue.

[0066] Based on the received print queue information, the client computer 100 generates a print queue on the client computer 100 (S1610). Then, the client computer 100 stores the generated print queue in association with the obtained printer identification information and configuration information.

[0067] The client computer 100 accesses the printer driver distribution service 1400 and sends a request to obtain additional information necessary to expand the print queue (S1611). In S1611, the client computer 100 sends the printer identification information obtained from the cloud print service 500 to the printer driver distribution service 1400.

[0068] The printer driver distribution service 1400 identifies additional information corresponding to the received printer identification information and transmits the additional information to the client computer 100 (S1612). The additional information includes the identification information of the print setting extension application 300.

[0069] The client computer 100 uses the identification information of the print setting extension application 300 included in the acquired additional information to transmit a request for acquiring the print setting extension application to the application distribution service 1500 (S1613). The application distribution service 1500 transmits the print setting extension application 300 identified based on the acquired application identification information to the client computer 100 (S1614). The client computer 100 stores the acquired print setting extension application 300 in association with the print queue (S1615). The above is the sequence for creating a print queue for the client computer 100 to transmit print data to the cloud print service 500.

[0070] Next, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 7, the update of the configuration information of the printer 200 and the processing until printing is executed will be described. Here, it is assumed that the processing shown in FIG. 6 has already been completed.

[0071] FIG. 8A shows the configuration information of the printer 200 before the finisher is connected to the printer 200. The configuration information is stored in the printer database 510 of the cloud print service 500. The printer 200 can select color printing and monochrome printing as the color mode. The paper sizes correspond to A3 and A4. The paper types correspond to plain paper, thick paper, and thin paper. The Nup function for aggregating multiple pages on one side of the sheet for printing corresponds to 2up for aggregating 2 pages and 4up for aggregating 4 pages. And the orientation of the paper during printing corresponds to portrait and landscape. The date and time information indicates the date and time when the configuration information was registered in the cloud print service 500.

[0072] Suppose a finisher with a stapling function is connected to the printer 200. The printer 200 has a sensor in the hardware I / F 222, and the sensor detects the connection of the finisher and detects that the configuration information has changed (S700). Note that other methods may be used to detect that the configuration information has changed. For example, the current configuration information may be stored in the memory, and when the printer 200 is started, the configuration information stored in the memory may be compared with the configuration information obtained after startup to determine whether the configuration information has changed. Also, the configuration information may be obtained periodically to determine whether the configuration information has changed.

[0073] When the printer 200 detects that the configuration information has changed, it sends the new configuration information and a configuration information update request to the cloud print service 500 (S701). At this time, the printer 200 notifies the cloud print service 500 in accordance with the IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). For example, when the stapling configuration is added, the processing unit 215 of the printer 200 sets "Staple" to the value of "finishing - supported", which is an attribute defined in the IPP. Then, the processing unit 215 notifies the cloud print service 500 of the new configuration information through the communication unit I / F 217. In S701 of FIG. 7, the entire updated configuration information may be notified to the cloud print service 500, or only the difference due to the configuration change may be notified to the cloud print service 500. When only the difference is notified, the cloud print service 500 performs a process of adding the newly obtained configuration information to the configuration information already stored therein.

[0074] In this embodiment, the cloud print service 500 and the printer 200 perform data transmission and reception in accordance with the IPP, but the processes described in FIG. 7 may be executed in accordance with other protocols.

[0075] The cloud print service 500 receives a request to update configuration information, identifies the print queue corresponding to the printer that updates the configuration information from the printer registration unit 501, and updates the configuration information (S702). As a result, the configuration information shown in FIG. 8B is registered in the cloud print service 500. The configuration of stapling is added to the configuration information shown in FIG. 8A.

[0076] The above is the sequence of updating the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500. Here, it has been described that the printer 200 detects that the configuration information has changed and requests the cloud print service 500 to update the configuration information. The cloud print service 500 may also periodically inquire of the printer 200 about the configuration information and perform an update when it is different from the stored configuration information.

[0077] Next, an explanation will be given regarding the update of the configuration information stored in the client computer 100.

[0078] The user operates the application 1051 to issue an instruction to display the print settings screen. The client computer 100 receives the instruction and displays the print settings screen 1300 in FIG. 9. The print settings screen 1300 is the print settings screen displayed by the application 1051. The area 1301 is an area for selecting the print queue to be used for printing. The user selects the print queue to be used for printing from the list of print queues registered in the client computer 100 that is displayed when the button 1302 is selected. Here, it is assumed that the pre-queue generated in the sequence shown in FIG. 6 is selected.

[0079] The application 1051 displays the print settings screen based on the configuration information obtained in S1609 in FIG. 6. The area 1303 is an area for setting the number of copies to be printed. The area 1304 is an area for selecting the color mode of printing. When the user selects the button 1305, the selectable color modes are displayed based on the configuration information obtained in S1609 in FIG. 6.

[0080] Here, assume that the user selects the detailed settings button 1306. Based on the selection of the detailed settings button 1306, the client computer 100 starts the print settings extension app 300 (S704). FIG. 10A shows an example of the extended print settings screen displayed when the print settings extension app 300 is started. This screen is displayed based on the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 before updating the configuration information. In FIG. 10A, each setting item is a button, and the user can make print settings by selecting the button they want to set. Thus, the detailed settings button in FIG. 9 operates as an object that receives an indication to display the extended print settings screen from the user.

[0081] The print settings extension app 300 installed on the client computer 100 sends a request to obtain configuration information to the cloud print service 500 (S705). Thus, in a state where the client computer 100 stores the configuration information, it sends a request to obtain new configuration information to the cloud print service 500. The cloud print service 500 sends information indicating that the configuration information is stored and the configuration information held in the printer database 510 to the client computer 100 (S706). In addition, when the cloud print service 500 does not hold the configuration information, the print queue generation unit 502 may generate the configuration information from the print queue information and notify the client computer 100.

[0082] The client computer 100 receives configuration information from the cloud print service 500 and determines whether there is a difference from the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. If there is a difference, a notification is displayed and the user is asked whether to update the configuration information. The "notification" refers to something like the push notification service in Windows (trademark registration). The related application can also function according to the user's operation on the displayed dialog. FIG. 10B is a diagram showing an example of the notification displayed in this embodiment. A message indicating that the configuration information of the printer has been changed and a message indicating that it is necessary to select the configuration information acquisition button to update the configuration information are displayed. When the user selects the OK button 1800 in the notification area, the screen shown in FIG. 10A is returned to.

[0083] On the screen of FIG. 10A, when the user selects the configuration information acquisition button, the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is updated as shown in FIG. 8B (S707). Then, the print setting extension application 300 displays the extended print setting screen shown in FIG. 10C (S708). In FIG. 10C, a button for setting staple, which is a function provided by the newly added finisher, is added. In S708, the print setting extension application 300 determines the items to be displayed based on the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. For example, when the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is the configuration information shown in FIG. 8B, the print setting extension application 300 determines color mode, paper size, paper type, collated printing (Nup), print orientation, and staple as items that can be set. The print setting extension application 300 generates an extended print setting screen in which the determined items are arranged and displays it on the client computer 100.

[0084] The user performs print settings on the displayed extended print settings screen and selects the OK button. Then, the print settings screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. When the user selects the print button 1307, the cloud print driver 1052 of the client computer 100 generates print data (S709). Thereafter, the cloud print driver 1052 transmits the generated print data to the cloud print service 500 (S710). The cloud print service 500 transmits the received print data to the printer 200 corresponding to the print queue (S711). The printer 200 executes a print process based on the received print data (S712).

[0085] As described above, in Embodiment 1, the print settings extension app 300 is used to obtain configuration information from the cloud print service 500 and update the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. By doing so, changes in the configuration information of the printer 200 can be reflected in the print settings screen and the extended print settings screen displayed on the client computer 100.

[0086] Next, with reference to FIG. 11, the details of the processes described in S704 to S708 of FIG. 7 will be described.

[0087] The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the main storage device 102 or the auxiliary storage device 105 of the client computer 100.

[0088] In accordance with the user selecting the detailed settings button on the print settings screen 1300, the process is started.

[0089] The OS 1053 starts the print settings extension app 300 (S401). The started print settings extension app 300 displays the extended print settings screen described in FIG. 10A based on the configuration information stored in the client computer 100.

[0090] The printing settings extension app 300 instructs the OS 1053 to request acquisition of configuration information (S402). Based on the instruction from the printing settings extension app 300, the OS 1053 sends a configuration information acquisition request to the cloud printing service 500. At this time, the OS 1053 sends information on the print queue to the cloud printing service 500. The information on the print queue is, for example, the name of the print queue, the identification information of the printer associated with the print queue, the identification information of the logged-in user, and the like. The cloud printing service 500 uses the received information such as the printer's identification information to identify the print queue and identify the configuration information associated with the print queue.

[0091] The printing settings extension app 300 receives a response of configuration information from the OS 1053 (S403). Then, it determines whether the response received from the OS 1053 contains configuration information (S404). If the response does not contain configuration information, the printing settings extension app 300 ends the process described in FIG. 11. The case where configuration information cannot be acquired due to a communication error or the like is an example of the case where the response does not contain configuration information.

[0092] If the response contains configuration information, the printing settings extension app 300 determines whether the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is different from the acquired configuration information (S405). If the above two pieces of configuration information are the same, since there is no need to update the configuration information, the printing settings extension app 300 ends the process shown in FIG. 11.

[0093] If it is determined that the above two pieces of configuration information are different, the printing settings extension app 300 notifies the user that the configuration information has been updated (S407). Then, it asks the user whether to update the configuration information. In S407, the printing settings extension app 300 displays the screen of FIG. 10B.

[0094] The printing settings extension app 300 determines whether it has been instructed to update the configuration information (S408). If the update has not been instructed, the printing settings extension app 300 ends the process shown in FIG. 11.

[0095] When an update of configuration information is instructed, the print setting extension application 300 updates the configuration information stored in association with the print queue in the client computer 100 with the configuration information included in the response received in S403 (S409). Then, the print setting extension application 300 displays an extended print setting screen based on the updated configuration information shown in FIG. 10C (S409).

[0096] Note that in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the print setting extension application 300 automatically starts a process of acquiring configuration information from the cloud print service 500 at startup. As shown in FIG. 10A, a configuration information acquisition button 1700 may be displayed on the screen displayed by the print setting extension application 300, and when the user selects the configuration information acquisition button 1700, the process of S402 in FIG. 11 may be started. In this way, the configuration information acquisition button 1700 may operate as an object that receives an acquisition instruction of configuration information from the user.

[0097] Also, in the first embodiment, in S401 of FIG. 11, it is assumed that after once displaying the extended print setting screen shown in FIG. 10A, configuration information is acquired from the cloud print service 500. After starting the print setting extension application 300, the process of S402 may be performed without displaying the extended print setting screen shown in FIG. 10A.

[0098] In the first embodiment, when the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is different from the configuration information acquired from the cloud print service 500, the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 is updated based on an update instruction from the user. The configuration information of the client computer 100 may be updated without receiving an update instruction from the user.

[0099] In addition, in Embodiment 1, it was described that the cloud print service 500 stores the information of the print queue as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B and updates the configuration information acquired at the time of registration of the printer information. The cloud print service 500 may manage the information of the print queue as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B. FIG. 14A shows the information of the print queue generated in the cloud print service 500 in S1603 of FIG. 6. FIG. 14A is a table in place of FIG. 8A, and a column of "latest configuration information" is added. Since the configuration information is not updated at the timing when the printer information is registered in the cloud print service 500, the "latest configuration information" is blank. In S1609 of FIG. 6, the configuration information described in the "configuration information" of FIG. 14A is notified to the client computer 100 as the information of the print queue.

[0100] FIG. 14B is a table after the information of the print queue is updated in S702 of FIG. 7. The "latest configuration information" in FIG. 14B stores the configuration information acquired in S701 of FIG. 7. In S706 of FIG. 7, the configuration information described in the "latest configuration information" of FIG. 14B is notified to the client computer 100. The print setting extension application 300 of the client computer 100 updates the stored configuration information acquired in S1609 of FIG. 6 with the latest configuration information acquired in S702 of FIG. 7. By doing so, the configuration information can be updated while the cloud print service 500 holds the configuration information at the time of registration of the printer information.

[0101] <Embodiment 2> In Embodiment 1, the print setting extension application 300 acquired the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 and compared the acquired configuration information with the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. In Embodiment 2, it is determined whether to update the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 from the date and time information when the configuration information is stored in the cloud print service 500 and the date and time information when the client computer 100 stores the configuration information.

[0102] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing the processing in Embodiment 2. FIG. 12 is the processing that replaces the processing described in FIG. 7 of Embodiment 1. For the processing similar to that in Embodiment 1, the same reference numerals are added, and the differences from Embodiment 1 will be described here.

[0103] The print setting extension app 300 of the client computer 100 notifies the cloud print service 500 of the date and time information storing the configuration information stored in the client computer 100 (S1002).

[0104] The cloud print service 500 refers to the information of the print queue, and compares the update date and time of the configuration information notified from the client computer 100 with the update date and time of the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 (S1003). Then, the cloud print service 500 determines whether it is necessary to update the configuration information stored in the client computer 100. For example, when the update date and time of the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 is more recent than the update date and time notified from the client computer 100, the cloud print service 500 determines that an update is necessary.

[0105] When the cloud print service 500 determines that it is necessary to update the configuration information of the client computer 100, the processing after S706 is executed.

[0106] In addition, in the determination of S1003, when the date and time information stored in the cloud print service 500 is equal to the date and time information notified from the client computer 100, the cloud print service 500 determines that an update is not necessary. When it is determined that the update of the configuration information is not necessary, the cloud print service 500 notifies the client computer 100 that the update of the configuration information is not necessary. In that case, S706 and S707 are not executed, and the processing after S708 is executed.

[0107] In addition, in FIG. 12, the trigger for the process shown in S1002 was described as the timing at which the print setting extension app 300 displays the extended print setting screen. As long as it is the timing when the print setting extension app 300 is launched, the processes described in S1002, S1003, S706, and S707 may be performed, not limited to the above timing.

[0108] By doing so, even if the client computer 100 does not acquire the configuration information from the cloud print service 500, it becomes possible to determine whether or not it is necessary to update the configuration information stored in the client computer 100.

[0109] <Embodiment 3> In Embodiments 1 and 2, it was assumed that when a change in the configuration of the printer 200 was detected, the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 was changed. In Embodiment 3, the cloud print service 500 inquires of the printer 200 for configuration information based on an instruction from the print setting extension app 300 of the client computer 100, and performs an update process of the configuration information.

[0110] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the process in Embodiment 3. In FIG. 13, for the processes similar to those in Embodiment 1, the same reference numerals as those in Embodiment 1 are given, and the differences from Embodiment 1 are described.

[0111] When the start of the print setting extension app 300 is instructed in S704, the extended print setting screen shown in FIG. 10A is displayed.

[0112] The print setting extension app 300 of the client computer 100 receives an update instruction for acquiring configuration information from the user (S1701). In FIG. 10A, in accordance with the selection of the configuration information acquisition button 1700, the print setting extension app 300 receives an instruction for configuration information.

[0113] The print settings extension app 300 of the client computer 100 sends a request to obtain configuration information to the cloud print service 500 (S1702).

[0114] Based on the received request for obtaining configuration information, the cloud print service 500 sends a request to obtain configuration information to the printer 200 (S1703).

[0115] The printer 200 sends the configuration information updated after S700 to the cloud print service 500 (S1704).

[0116] The cloud print service 500 stores the information of the printer queue of the printer 200 in association with the obtained configuration information (S702).

[0117] Thereafter, the processes described in S706 to S712 are executed.

[0118] As described above, in the third embodiment, the configuration information is obtained based on an instruction from the client computer 100. By doing so, even if the configuration information stored in the cloud print service 500 is not updated, the configuration information referred to by the print settings extension app 300 can be updated.

[0119] <Other Embodiments> In the above embodiment, a case where a function is added as an update of the configuration information has been described as an example. As cases where the configuration information is updated, in addition to the case where a finisher is attached to the printer 200 and the configuration information is added, there may be a case where the finisher is removed from the printer 200. In that case as well, the same processing as in the above embodiment is executed.

[0120] Also, in the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the print setting extension application 300 displays the extended print setting screen using the updated configuration information. When the application 1051, the OS 1053, and the cloud print driver 1052 display the print setting screen in FIG. 9, they may use the updated configuration information. For example, if staple setting is possible on the print setting screen shown in FIG. 9, a print setting screen enabling staple setting is displayed if there is staple setting in the configuration information corresponding to the print queue. On the other hand, if the configuration information corresponding to the print queue does not include staples, the application 1051, the OS 1053, and the cloud print driver 1052 display a print setting screen on which staples cannot be set.

[0121] The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program code. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium storing the computer program constitute the present invention.

Claims

[Claim 1] An information processing device that transmits print data to a cloud print server system that transmits the print data to a printing device, An acquisition unit for acquiring configuration information of the printing device from the cloud print server system; A storage means for storing the acquired configuration information of the printing device; A control means for displaying a print setting screen on a display means based on the configuration information stored in the storage means; A transmission means for transmitting a request for acquiring configuration information to the cloud print server system while the configuration information is stored in the storage means; an update unit that updates the configuration information stored in the storage unit using the configuration information acquired based on the transmitted acquisition request; 13. An information processing device comprising:

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