Support program and information processor

Abstract

To provide a technique that can reduce effort of a user in setting up a printer body for wireless communication in an information processor that incorporates an OS standard general-purpose printing program.SOLUTION: An auxiliary program 42 is a program corresponding to a printer 2 connected to a PC 1, and supports a general-purpose print program 41 implemented in an OS 21. The auxiliary program 42, when started by the OS 21 in response to a print instruction from an editing application 43 included in the PC 1, causes a CPU 11 of the PC 1 to execute processing for transmitting a print command to the printer 2. The auxiliary program 42 further causes, when a communication form with the printer 2 is wired communication, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 to acquire connection information stored in the PC 1 that is necessary for wireless communication, and causes the CPU 11 of the PC 1 to associate the acquired connection information and transmit a setup command instructing setup of the wireless communication from the PC 1 to the printer 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to a support program for supporting the control of a printer and an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] In a configuration where a printer is used from an information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus searches for a printer and registers the searched printer in an operating system (OS), so that the printer can be used. As a technique related to the process for using a printer, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when installing a printer driver that is commonly used in the OS, a print extension application is downloaded using the HWID of the acquired printer as a key and associated with the printer driver. Such a configuration is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, a technique for controlling a printer using a general-purpose printing program standard for an OS that constitutes a part of the OS without using a printer driver provided by a printer vendor has been put into practical use. In this technique, when the OS detects a printer, it associates with the general-purpose printing program standard for the OS. After that, when a print instruction for the printer is received, the general-purpose printing program standard for the OS generates print data without using the printer driver provided by the printer vendor, enabling printing by the general-purpose printing program standard for the OS.

[0005] To wirelessly connect an information processing device and a printer, setup is required on the printer itself to enable wireless communication. The work involved in this setup is troublesome for the user. Since a printer driver provided by a printer vendor can provide various functions according to individual printers, it can provide a function to support the setup for wireless communication in the printer itself. However, such a function is not provided in a general-purpose printing program standard to the operating system, and there is room for improvement.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] A support program made for the purpose of solving the above-described problems is executable by a computer of an information processing device, and is a support program corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing device. The information processing device includes an operating system in which a general-purpose printing program is installed. The support program is a program that supports the general-purpose printing program. When the computer is started from the operating system due to a print instruction from an application program included in the information processing device, the computer is made to execute a printing process for transmitting a print command to the printer. When the communication form with the printer is wired communication, the computer is further made to execute an acquisition process for acquiring connection information necessary for wireless communication, which is stored in the information processing device, and a setup process for transmitting a setup command instructing a wireless communication setup to the printer in association with the connection information acquired in the acquisition process.

[0007] The support program disclosed in this specification is executable by a computer of an information processing apparatus having an OS in which a general-purpose printing program is implemented, and is a program corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing apparatus. When the communication mode with the printer is wired communication, the support program causes the computer to acquire connection information for wireless communication stored in the information processing apparatus, and associates the connection information with a setup command and transmits it from the information processing apparatus to the printer. The printer that has received the setup command can complete the setup for wireless communication using the connection information. Therefore, the work of setting up by operating the printer main body by the user can be reduced.

[0008] An information processing apparatus in which the above support program is incorporated, a computer-readable storage medium storing the support program, a control method for realizing the functions of the support program, and a printing system including the support program and a printer are also novel and useful.

Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a technology is realized that can reduce the labor of the user for setting up wireless communication on the printer main body in an information processing apparatus in which a general-purpose printing program compliant with the OS is incorporated.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") that uses the support program of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This specification discloses an auxiliary program executed on a PC.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the PC1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. The PC1 is an example of an information processing apparatus. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. Further, the PC1 includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, and these are electrically connected to the controller 10. Note that the controller 10 in FIG. 1 is a general term for the hardware and software used for the control of the PC1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually existing in the PC1.

[0013] The CPU 11 of PC1 executes various processes according to the program read from the memory 12 and based on the user's operations. The memory 12 stores various programs and various data. The memory 12 is also used as a work area when various processes are executed. The buffer provided in the CPU 11 is also an example of a memory. Note that an example of the memory 12 is not limited to the ROM, RAM, HDD, etc. built into the PC1, but may be a storage medium that can be read and written by the CPU 11, such as a recording medium like a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.

[0014] The user IF 13 includes hardware for displaying a screen for notifying the user of information and hardware for receiving operations by the user. Note that the user IF 13 may be a combination of a display capable of displaying information and a mouse, keyboard, etc. having an input reception function, or may be a touch panel having a display function and an input reception function.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with an external device such as a printer. The communication standard of the communication IF 14 is Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), USB, etc. Specifically, the PC1 is provided with a wired communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "wired IF") 141 for performing wired communication and a wireless communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "wireless IF") 142 for performing wireless communication. In this embodiment, the wireless communication standard will be described as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and the wired communication standard as USB.

[0016] Also, the PC1 can establish a wireless communication connection with a wireless LAN access point (hereinafter referred to as "AP") 143 via the wireless IF 142, and stores the connection information 44 required for the connection with the AP 143 in the memory 12. The connection information 44 includes, for example, an SSID and a password. When the PC1 establishes a wireless communication connection with the AP 143, it performs wireless LAN communication via the wireless IF 142 and the AP 143 and becomes connectable to the Internet.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1, the memory 12 of PC1 stores various programs and various data, including an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") 21 that includes a general-purpose printing program 41, and various application programs (hereinafter referred to as "apps") such as an editing app 43. The editing app 43 is an example of an application program. Note that the auxiliary program 42 shown by the dashed line in Fig. 1 is not incorporated in a PC1 that has never been connected to a printer 2 or a printer of the same model as the printer 2. The procedure for incorporating the auxiliary program 42 into PC1 will be described later. The auxiliary program 42 is an example of a support program.

[0018] The OS 21 is a multi-tasking OS that can manage and switch between multiple tasks to process multiple tasks in parallel. The OS 21 is, for example, Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark).

[0019] The general-purpose printing program 41 is implemented in the OS 21. The general-purpose printing program 41 is an OS-standard program prepared by the vendor of the OS 21 and provided as part of the OS 21. That is, the PC1 is equipped with the OS 21 having the general-purpose printing program 41. The general-purpose printing program 41 is not configured to use a printer driver specific to each printer.

[0020] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program having a function for causing printers of multiple models provided by a plurality of vendors to execute printing based on a user's instruction. The general-purpose printing program 41 supports general functions that can execute printing on many printers. Unlike a printer driver specific to each printer, the general-purpose printing program 41 does not support functions specific to each printer or printer driver, particularly functions that require complex processing.

[0021] The general-purpose printing program 41 is a program that includes a function of receiving image data specified as a printing target in a printing instruction output from various applications based on a user's instruction, and generating intermediate data based on the image data. The intermediate data is, for example, XPS data. The general-purpose printing program 41 further has a function of generating printing data in a format that can be used for printing by various printers based on the intermediate data. The printing data is, for example, PWGRaster data or PDF data. Also, the general-purpose printing program 41 has a function of transmitting the generated printing data to a printer designated as a device for executing printing via a communication function by the OS 21.

[0022] The auxiliary program 42 is a program or a group of programs that execute processes based on instructions from the OS 21 accompanying the processes of the general-purpose printing program 41, and is a program that supports the control of the target hardware. The auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment corresponds to the model of the printer 2, which is a printer connected to the PC 1 in the procedure described later. The auxiliary program 42 is provided, for example, on a server operated by the vendor of the printer 2. The general-purpose printing program 41 can activate the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 when the printer 2 is selected as a device for executing printing, when a detailed printing setting instruction is received in a state where the printer 2 is selected, when an instruction to execute printing on the printer 2 is received, and the like. The auxiliary program 42 is, for example, called a print support application (abbreviation, PSA) or a hardware support application (abbreviation, HSA).

[0023] Note that the auxiliary program 42 may be a combination of a plurality of programs each of which receives an execution instruction, or may be a single program capable of executing different processes according to instructions. Also, the auxiliary program may be a program prepared for each type of printer by the printer vendor. For example, an auxiliary program for an inkjet printer and an auxiliary program for a laser printer may be prepared respectively. Not limited to each type of printer, there may be an auxiliary program prepared for each printer model or for each series of printer models.

[0024] The editing application 43 is, for example, a program for creating and editing image data or document data. The editing application 43 may be, for example, Word (registered trademark) or PowerPoint (registered trademark) manufactured by Microsoft (registered trademark), or may be a program provided by the vendor of the printer 2. The editing application 43 can receive a print execution instruction to execute printing on the printer 2 via the user IF13. Note that the editing application 43 is not limited to a program for creating and editing data, and may be a program having a function of receiving display instructions and print instructions for various types of information such as map information and web pages according to user requests.

[0025] The PC 1 of this embodiment can be connected to the printer 2 via the communication IF14. The printer 2 is a device having at least a printing function and a communication function. When the printer 2 receives print data from, for example, the PC 1 or the like, it can execute printing based on the received print data. The printer 2 may be a device capable of color printing or may be a device capable of executing only monochrome printing. Also, the printer 2, like the PC 1, is provided with a wired IF for performing wired communication and a wireless IF for performing wireless communication, and can perform both wired communication and wireless communication with other devices such as the PC 1.

[0026] Next, the procedure for incorporating the auxiliary program 42 into the PC1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the user connects the PC1 and the printer 2 in a wired manner using a USB cable. The printer 2 is, for example, brand new and has not been set up for wireless communication. On the other hand, it is assumed that the PC1 has established wireless communication with the AP143 before the start of this procedure and is connected to the Internet via the wireless IF142.

[0027] Upon being wired-connected, the PC1 acquires the device information of the printer 2 through the USB communication function. Since the newly wired-connected USB device is the printer 2 having a printing function, the OS21 of the PC1 registers the printer 2 as a printing device and creates a printer queue indicating the printer 2 by the wired connection.

[0028] Furthermore, when a new printer is connected to the PC1, the OS21 of the PC1 can download an appropriate auxiliary program from a server of the printer vendor or the like according to the type and model of the connected printer and incorporate it into the PC1. The OS21 associates the identification information of the incorporated auxiliary program with the printer information of the newly connected printer and stores it in the memory 12. Thereby, the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is incorporated into the memory 12 of the PC1.

[0029] Next, a setup procedure for setting up the printer 2 using the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 2. Each processing step other than the user operation in this embodiment basically shows the processing of the CPU 11 according to the instructions described in programs such as the auxiliary program 42. In this specification, for various processes performed by the controller 10 or the CPU 11 according to programs such as the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose printing program 41, and the OS 21, for convenience, it may be described as if the auxiliary program 42, the general-purpose printing program 41, and the OS 21 mainly perform various processes. The processing by the CPU 11 includes hardware control using the API of the OS 21. In this specification, the detailed description of the OS 21 is omitted and the operations of each program are described. Also, "acquisition" is used in a concept that does not require a request.

[0030] The OS 21 can receive setting instructions for each part from the user, and on the screen for receiving setting instructions, it can receive device management instructions including display instructions and setting change instructions for information about various devices connected to the PC 1. For example, when the OS 21 receives a setting instruction and a device management instruction (A01), as shown in FIG. 3, for example, it can further receive a device selection. For example, when the OS 21 receives an operation on the "Printer and Scanner" button 512 on the device setting screen 51 (FIG. 3(A)) displayed by receiving an operation on the "Device" button 511, it displays a device management screen 52 as shown in FIG. 3(B) (A02).

[0031] The device management screen 52 is a screen including a list of various devices that are connected to the PC 1 and capable of executing image processing such as printers and scanners. The user can select a device to be managed from the list displayed on the device management screen 52 (A03). For example, when an operation on the button 521 for designating the printer 2 is received on the device management screen 52, the OS 21 displays a detailed management screen 53 as shown in FIG. 4(A) (A04).

[0032] On the detailed management screen 53, for example, a "Open Printer Queue" button 531, an "App Launch" button 532, and a "Print Test Page" button 533 are displayed. The "Open Printer Queue" button 531 is a button that receives an instruction to check the status of the printer queue corresponding to the selected printer. The "App Launch" button 532 is a button that receives an instruction to launch the app corresponding to the selected printer. The "Print Test Page" button 533 is a button that receives an instruction to send a test image by the OS 21 to the selected printer. On the detailed management screen 53, the OS 21 can receive operations by the user on the buttons 531, 532, 533, etc.

[0033] On the detailed management screen 53 where the printer 2 is selected and displayed, when an operation on the "App Launch" button 532 is received (A11), the OS 21 passes the information of the printer 2 which is the selected printer and an instruction to launch the program corresponding to that printer to the general-purpose printing program 41. When the general-purpose printing program 41 receives this instruction from the OS 21, it is configured to launch the program associated with the printer information of the printer 2. In this embodiment, since the identification information of the auxiliary program 42 is stored in association with the printer information of the printer 2, the general-purpose printing program 41 launches the auxiliary program 42 (A12). The operation of the user on the "App Launch" button 532 is an example of a launch instruction (also referred to as Open Printer App) for launching the auxiliary program 42.

[0034] When the auxiliary program 42 is launched from the general-purpose printing program 41 in response to an operation of the user on the "App Launch" button 532, first, it requests the connection information of the printer 2 from the OS 21 (A21), and acquires the connection information from the OS 21 (A22). The connection information is, for example, information indicating the communication mode, and includes information indicating whether it is wired communication or wireless communication.

[0035] Based on the connection information obtained at A22, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether the current communication mode is wired communication or wireless communication (A23). And when it is wired communication (opt: [wired communication]), the auxiliary program 42 executes wireless setting processing (A31). For example, when the printer 2 is wired-connected to the PC1 by a USB cable, the auxiliary program 42 determines that it is wired communication.

[0036] The procedure of the wireless setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. This wireless setting process is a process for setting up wireless communication. The wireless setting process is executed by the CPU 11 of the PC1 based on the description of the auxiliary program 42. When the user's operation on the "App startup" button 532 is received, the auxiliary program 42 is started, and the started auxiliary program 42 can start the procedure for setting up wireless communication, so the user can freely determine the timing for setting up wireless communication.

[0037] The CPU 11 causes the user IF 13 to display a wireless usage confirmation screen for confirming with the user whether to use the printer 2 via wireless communication (B01). The CPU 11 causes the user IF 13 to display, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a wireless usage confirmation screen 54 including a message asking whether to use wireless connection, a "Yes" button 541, and a "No" button 542, and receives the user's operation. The wireless usage confirmation screen 54 is an example of a guidance screen for guiding the setup of wireless communication, and B01 is an example of a guidance process.

[0038] Also, the "Yes" button 541 on the wireless usage confirmation screen 54 is an example of a predetermined operator corresponding to an execution instruction for setting up wireless communication, and B01 is also an example of a display process. Since the auxiliary program 42 displays the wireless usage confirmation screen 54, the user can grasp that wireless communication with the printer 2 will be possible.

[0039] Then, the CPU 11 waits until it receives an operation on either the "Yes" button 541 or the "No" button 542 (B02). The process of receiving an operation on the "Yes" button 541 or the "No" button 542 is a process of receiving a selection as to whether to perform setup for wireless communication, and B02 is an example of a setup selection process. Since the user is asked whether to execute the setup of wireless communication on the wireless usage confirmation screen 54, unnecessary processing is avoided.

[0040] If it is determined that the user's operation on the "No" button 542 has been received on the currently displayed detailed management screen 53 (B02: "No"), the CPU 11 does not perform the wireless communication setting and ends this wireless setting process.

[0041] On the other hand, if it is determined that an operation on the "Yes" button 541 has been received (B02: "Yes"), the CPU 11 determines whether the PC 1 is performing wireless communication, that is, whether it is connected to any AP (B11). Although only one AP 143 is shown in FIG. 1, there may be a plurality of APs around the PC 1, and the PC 1 may be connectable to any of the plurality of APs. That is, connection information of a plurality of APs may be stored in the PC 1. The CPU 11 confirms the connection to the AP by, for example, making an inquiry to the OS 21.

[0042] If it is determined that the PC 1 is connected to the AP (B11: YES), the CPU 11 acquires the connection information of the connected AP from the OS 21 (B12). B12 is an example of an acquisition process. Hereinafter, the AP to which the PC 1 is currently connected is assumed to be the AP 143. The connection information of the AP 143 is, for example, the SSID and the password.

[0043] When PC1 is connected to AP143 and performing wireless communication, it is highly likely that printer 2 also uses wireless communication via the currently used AP143. Therefore, auxiliary program 42 automatically acquires the connection information of AP143 to which PC1 is connected, omitting user operations such as selection of connection information. This can reduce the user's effort.

[0044] On the other hand, when it is determined that PC1 is not connected to an AP (B11: NO), CPU11 acquires information on available APs (B15). B15 is an example of acquisition processing. CPU11 causes, for example, the transmission of a search signal and the reception of a response signal via OS21 to detect the connection information of each AP, and acquires a plurality of pieces of connection information detected and stored in memory 12. In this case, the connection information of the detected AP may be a part of the connection information such as only the SSID that does not include a password. For example, when a plurality of pieces of connection information are stored in memory 12, CPU11 may read out all the stored connection information without performing detection.

[0045] Then, CPU11 causes the acquired connection information to be displayed on user IF13 (B16), and accepts the selection of the connection information to be set up by the user's operation (B17). CPU11 causes, for example, a selection screen 55 including a list of APs to be displayed on user IF13 as shown in FIG. 7, and accepts the user's selection. When the connection information stored for the selected AP is only the SSID and a password is further set, CPU11 accepts the input of the password (B18). B17 and B18 are examples of acquisition processing.

[0046] When there are a plurality of connectable APs, the user is allowed to select the AP to be connected, and auxiliary program 42 acquires the connection information necessary for wireless communication with the selected AP. Thereby, auxiliary program 42 can complete the setup for wireless communication desired by the user.

[0047] After B12 or B18, the CPU 11 associates the connection information obtained from the OS 21 or the connection information of the selected AP with the setup command, which is an instruction to perform its setup, and transmits them to the printer 2 (B21). B21 is an example of a setup process. The CPU 11 may, for example, cause the user IF 13 to display a standby screen 56 as shown in FIG. 8 and notify the user that the printer 2 is performing a wireless communication setup.

[0048] The printer 2 that has received the connection information and the setup command stores the received connection information in its own memory, and attempts to establish a connection with the AP using the stored connection information 244 (see FIG. 1). If the received connection information is the connection information of the AP 143, the printer 2 can establish a connection with the AP 143.

[0049] After transmitting the setup command to the printer 2, the CPU 11 searches for connectable devices on the network (B31) and searches for the printer 2 (B32). Specifically, for example, the CPU 11 transmits an inquiry signal to each device searched on the network using the MIB (abbreviation for Management Information Base), and obtains identification information such as the serial number from each device. Then, for example, when the CPU 11 can obtain identification information that matches the identification information of the printer 2 included in the information obtained from the general-purpose printing program 41 at A22 in FIG. 2, it determines that the printer 2 has been searched.

[0050] Note that the CPU 11 may perform B31 after a predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the setup command to the printer 2. Also, if the printer 2 cannot be searched for in response to the search signal of B31, the CPU 11 may perform a predetermined number of retries or may display a message for checking the communication environment.

[0051] When the printer 2 is detected, the CPU 11 causes the OS 21 to create a printer queue for wireless communication associated with the printer 2 (B35). B35 is an example of a creation process. As a result, when the PC 1 receives a print instruction with the printer queue selected, it can transmit a print job to the printer 2 via wireless communication.

[0052] After sending a setup command to the printer 2, if the printer 2 is detected via wireless communication, it can be determined that the setup at the destination printer 2 is complete. Therefore, by creating a printer queue for wireless communication corresponding to the printer 2, printing via wireless communication can be selected during subsequent printing.

[0053] That is, by connecting the purchased printer 2 to the PC 1 with a USB cable, as shown in FIG. 10, the auxiliary program 42 is incorporated into the PC 1. Further, by starting the auxiliary program 42 in that state, the connection information 44 stored in the PC 1 is automatically transmitted to the printer 2 for setup, and the connection information 244 is stored in the printer 2. As a result, both the PC 1 and the printer 2 are connected to the AP 143 and are in a state where wireless communication is possible.

[0054] After creating the printer queue for wireless communication, the CPU 11 asks the user whether to perform wired communication in the future (B37). For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the CPU 11 causes the user IF 13 to display a wired usage confirmation screen 57 including a message asking whether to use the wired connection in the future, a "Yes" button 571, and a "No" button 572, and accepts the user's operation. The process of accepting an operation on the "Yes" button 571 or the "No" button 572 is a process of allowing the user to select whether to delete the printer queue for wired communication associated with the printer 2, and B37 is an example of a deletion selection process.

[0055] When it is determined that the operation to the "No" button 572 has been received (B37: NO), the CPU 11 causes the OS 21 to delete the printer queue for wired communication corresponding to the printer 2 (B38). B38 is an example of a deletion process. Note that the printer queue for wired communication is created by the OS 21 when a wired connection is made with a USB cable as described above.

[0056] After the printer queue for wireless communication is created, even if there is no printer queue for wired communication, the user can use the printer 2. For a user who does not perform wired communication, deleting the printer queue for wired communication promotes the use of the printer via wireless communication. On the other hand, there are also users who want to continue using wired communication. Since the auxiliary program 42 accepts the selection of whether to delete the printer queue for wired communication, the degree of freedom in the communication form for using the printer 2 is high.

[0057] After B38, or when it is determined that the selection to perform wired communication in the future has been received by an operation to the "Yes" button 571 (B37: YES), the CPU 11 ends the wireless setting process and returns to the setup procedure shown in FIG. 2.

[0058] In the setup procedure shown in FIG. 2, after the end of the wireless setting process of A31 or when wireless communication is already being performed, the auxiliary program 42 displays a UI screen capable of accepting various settings (A41) and accepts the user's operation.

[0059] Subsequently, the printing execution procedure will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 11. At the start of this procedure, the printer 2 is connected to the PC 1 in a communicable state by wired or wireless communication, and the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2 is incorporated.

[0060] After the user determines the image to be printed and the printing settings for Printer 2, the user inputs an instruction to execute printing on Printer 2 in the editing application 43 (C01). Since the general-purpose printing program 41 is incorporated in the PC1, when the editing application 43 receives an instruction to execute printing from the user, it determines that it has received an execution instruction to cause the general-purpose printing program 41 to perform printing of the selected image on Printer 2.

[0061] The editing application 43 passes the information of the received print instruction to the general-purpose printing program 41 (C02). The general-purpose printing program 41 acquires, from the editing application 43, as print instruction information, image data indicating the image to be printed and information indicating the printing settings.

[0062] Based on the information acquired from the editing application 43, the general-purpose printing program 41 generates intermediate data by converting the format of the image data of the image to be printed into the format of intermediate data (C03). The image data included in the editing application 43 is of various types, and the general-purpose printing program 41 converts the image data to be printed into intermediate data suitable for generating print data. If the image data to be printed is data suitable for generating print data, the generation of intermediate data may be omitted and it may be used as intermediate data as it is.

[0063] After generating the intermediate data, the general-purpose printing program 41 starts the auxiliary program 42 and passes an execution instruction (C05). The auxiliary program 42 can request the general-purpose printing program 41 to acquire information on intermediate data and printing settings. Also, the auxiliary program 42 can edit the information on intermediate data and printing settings as necessary. Intermediate data is an example of image data.

[0064] Then, the auxiliary program 42 determines whether it is the first startup (C11). For example, if the auxiliary program 42 has not been started after installation, it stores information indicating the first startup. If it stores information indicating the first startup, the auxiliary program 42 determines that it is the first startup. Note that when started, the auxiliary program 42 deletes the information indicating the first startup.

[0065] When it is determined that it is the first startup (opt: [first time]), the auxiliary program 42 determines whether the communication mode with the printer 2 is wired communication or wireless communication (C12). If it is wired communication (opt: [wired communication]), the auxiliary program 42 executes the wireless setting process shown in FIG. 5 (C13).

[0066] When it is the first startup of the auxiliary program 42 and the communication mode with the printer 2 is wired communication, there is a possibility that the printer 2 just after purchase is only connected to the PC1 with a USB cable. That is, when it is the first startup and the communication mode with the printer 2 is wired communication, it is highly likely that the setup for wireless communication on the printer 2 body is not completed. Even in this case, the auxiliary program 42 can perform the wireless communication setting. Also, before performing the wireless communication setting, as described above, the wireless usage confirmation screen 54 is displayed on the user IF13 to receive the user's operation, so the user can determine the timing for setting up the wireless communication.

[0067] When creating a wireless communication printer queue and deleting a wired communication printer queue in the wireless setting process, the auxiliary program 42 switches the output destination of the current print job to the wireless communication printer queue.

[0068] The auxiliary program 42 passes the intermediate data to the general-purpose printing program 41 and requests the general-purpose printing program 41 for rasterization and transmission to the printer 2 (C21). C21 is a process for transmitting a print command to the printer 2 and is an example of a printing process.

[0069] The general-purpose printing program 41 rasterizes the intermediate data to generate print data which is bitmap data (C22). Further, the general-purpose printing program 41 transmits the generated print data and the print command to the printer 2 to instruct printing (C23). The printer 2 prints based on the received print data (C24). Thereby, a printed matter based on the print instruction output from the editing application 43 is generated.

[0070] Note that the auxiliary program 42 may perform rasterization instead of the general-purpose printing program 41. In that case, after being activated by an instruction to execute printing, the auxiliary program 42 acquires the intermediate data from the general-purpose printing program 41, executes rasterization of the intermediate data, and generates raster data. If rasterization is performed by the auxiliary program 42, the degree of freedom is greater compared to the case of performing rasterization by the general-purpose printing program 41, and there is a high possibility that raster data suitable for printing by the printer 2 will be generated. On the other hand, if rasterization is performed by the general-purpose printing program 41, the processing of the auxiliary program 42 is less, and the program size of the auxiliary program 42 can be reduced.

[0071] Also, the auxiliary program 42 may process the generated raster data as necessary, encode the processed raster data into PDL data, and generate print data. The print data transmitted to the printer 2 may be data in a format printable by the printer 2. Note that the PDL data generated by the auxiliary program 42 may be data in a format that can also be used for printing by a printer other than the model of the printer 2.

[0072] Also, in C21, although the rasterization instruction and the transmission instruction were passed to the general-purpose printing program 41 to cause the general-purpose printing program 41 to transmit print data to the printer 2, instead, the auxiliary program 42 may transmit a print command for instructing the execution of printing and the print data to the printer 2. For example, when the settings related to image processing executable on the printer 2 are included as print settings, the auxiliary program 42 may generate a print command that also includes the information of the processing. In this case, after the transmission of the print data is completed, it is advisable for the auxiliary program 42 to notify the general-purpose printing program 41 of the end information.

[0073] Note that before generating the intermediate data, the general-purpose printing program 41 may start the auxiliary program 42 corresponding to the printer 2, which is the specified device, and notify that the processing of the print job has started. In that case, the auxiliary program 42 may perform the processing of C11 to C13 at that time. That is, the timing at which the auxiliary program 42 is started from the general-purpose printing program 41 is not limited to after the generation of the intermediate data in C03.

[0074] As described in detail above, the auxiliary program 42 of this embodiment is a program that corresponds to the printer 2 and supports the general-purpose printing program 41. When the communication form with the printer 2 is wired communication, the auxiliary program 42 causes the CPU 11 to acquire the connection information for wireless communication stored in the PC 1, associates the connection information with the setup command, and transmits it from the PC 1 to the printer 2. The printer 2 that has received the setup command can complete the setup for wireless communication using the connection information. Thereby, the user can start the setup procedure only by connecting the printer 2 to the PC 1 by wire, and it is not necessary to install a setup application for wireless communication or the like. Therefore, the work of setting up by operating the main body of the printer 2 by the user can be reduced.

[0075] Note that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely illustrative and do not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the technology disclosed in this specification can naturally be variously improved and modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the device connected to PC1 is not limited to a printer, and may be any printing device having a printing function such as a multifunction printer, a copier, a fax machine, etc. Also, the number of printers connected to PC1 is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be two or more.

[0076] Also, for example, the examples of the screens displayed on user IF13 are all just examples and are not limited to the illustrated examples. Also, the words, object shapes, backgrounds, etc. displayed in each of the illustrated screens may be any.

[0077] Also, in this specification, as an example of wireless communication, the procedure of using an AP conforming to the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard has been described. However, any communication using the wireless communication functions provided in both PC1 and printer 2 may be used. For example, one-to-one wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used. Also, in this specification, printer 2 having a function of performing wireless communication conforming to the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard has been described. However, auxiliary program 42 may confirm the functions of printer 2 before starting the execution of the wireless setting process.

[0078] Also, in this specification, when PC1 is not using a specific AP (when NO at B11), the connection information of available APs is displayed on user IF13 for the user to select (B16, B17). However, auxiliary program 42 may automatically select. For example, auxiliary program 42 may randomly select automatically, or may preferentially select automatically a wireless communication with high security. Also, in this specification, when PC1 is using a specific AP (when YES at B11), auxiliary program 42 automatically sets up communication with the same AP as PC1 (B12). However, in that case as well, the user's selection may be accepted.

[0079] Also, in this specification, when an operation on the "App Start" button 532 is received on the detailed management screen 53 (see FIG. 4) (in the case of A11 in FIG. 2), and when wired communication is being performed (opt: [wired communication]), it was assumed that the wireless setting process would be executed. However, it may be that the wireless setting process is executed only when the start by the "App Start" button 532 is the first start. Also, when started based on a print execution instruction, the auxiliary program 42 was assumed to execute the wireless setting process if it was the first start, but it may also execute the wireless setting process every time when wired communication is being performed.

[0080] Also, the auxiliary program 42 may be able to receive the timing of executing the wireless setting process according to a user's instruction. For example, when the auxiliary program 42 is started based on an instruction for print execution or an instruction for detailed print settings, it may display a screen including a button for receiving an instruction to perform a setup for wireless communication and be able to receive the user's instruction.

[0081] Also, in the embodiment, only the print operation is described in detail as the operation of the auxiliary program 42, but the auxiliary program 42 may have other roles as well. Also, the program that executes the processing of this embodiment is not limited to the auxiliary program 42, and any program that can receive an instruction from the OS 21 or the general-purpose print program 41 when performing printing using the general-purpose print program 41 may be used. For example, it may be a print workflow app (Print workflow) whose specifications are disclosed by Microsoft.

[0082] Also, the execution timing of the auxiliary program 42 is not limited to the example of the embodiment. For example, it may be directly executed with an execution instruction from the OS 21, or it may be an auxiliary program 42 that is resident. When it is resident, the auxiliary program 42 may perform the above-described operations when it receives an execution instruction.

[0083] Also, in any flowchart disclosed in the embodiments, the plurality of processes in any plurality of steps can be arbitrarily changed in the execution order or executed in parallel within a range where there is no contradiction in the processing content.

[0084] Also, the processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, a plurality of CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Further, the processes disclosed in the embodiments can be realized in various forms such as a recording medium recording a program for executing the process or a method.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0085] 1 PC 2 Printer 11 CPU 13 User IF

Claims

1. A support program executable by a computer of an information processing apparatus and corresponding to a printer connected to the information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus includes an operating system in which a general-purpose printing program is implemented, and the support program is a program for supporting the general-purpose printing program, wherein the computer is caused to execute a printing process for transmitting a print command to the printer when the operating system is started due to a print instruction from an application program included in the information processing apparatus, and further, the computer is caused to when a communication mode with the printer is wired communication, execute an acquisition process for acquiring connection information necessary for wireless communication stored in the information processing apparatus, and execute a setup process for transmitting a setup command for instructing a setup of wireless communication to the printer in association with the connection information acquired in the acquisition process, thereby enabling the above, and the support program is configured as such.

2. In the support program according to claim 1, the computer is caused to when a communication mode with the printer is wired communication, execute a guidance process for causing a guidance screen for guiding a setup of wireless communication to be displayed on a user interface of the information processing apparatus, and the support program is configured as such.

3. In the support program according to claim 1, the computer is caused to when a communication mode with the printer is wired communication, execute a setup selection process for allowing selection of whether to perform a setup for wireless communication, when it is selected in the setup selection process to perform a setup for wireless communication, cause the acquisition process and the setup process to be executed, and when it is not selected in the setup selection process to perform a setup for wireless communication, not execute the acquisition process and the setup process, and the support program is configured as such.

4. In the support program according to claim 1, the computer is caused to After causing the setup process to be executed, search for a printer by wireless communication, and when the printer that is connected to the information processing apparatus by wire and that is the destination of the setup command is found, execute a creation process for creating a printer queue for wireless communication associated with the found printer. A support program configured as described above.

5. In the support program according to claim 4, cause the computer to after executing the creation process, be able to execute a deletion process for deleting a printer queue for wired communication associated with the found printer. A support program configured as described above.

6. In the support program according to claim 5, cause the computer to after executing the creation process, execute a deletion selection process for allowing selection of whether or not to delete the printer queue for wired communication associated with the found printer, when it is selected in the deletion selection process to delete the printer queue for wired communication, execute the deletion process, when it is not selected in the deletion selection process to delete the printer queue for wired communication, not execute the deletion process. A support program configured as described above.

7. In the support program according to claim 1, in the acquisition process, receive selection of the connection information to be used for the setup at the printer from among the plurality of pieces of connection information stored in the information processing apparatus, and acquire the selected connection information. A support program configured as described above.

8. In the support program according to claim 7, in the acquisition process, when the information processing apparatus is not performing wireless communication, cause the information processing apparatus to detect connection information, receive selection of the connection information to be used for the setup at the printer from among the plurality of pieces of connection information detected and stored in the information processing apparatus, and acquire the selected connection information, when the information processing apparatus is performing wireless communication, even if a plurality of pieces of connection information are stored in the information processing apparatus, do not receive selection of the connection information, and acquire the connection information necessary for the wireless communication currently used by the information processing apparatus. A support program configured as described above.

9. In the support program according to claim 1, cause the computer to When the communication mode with the printer is wired communication at the first startup of the support program, the acquisition process and the setup process are executed. A support program configured as described above.

10. In the support program according to claim 1, The computer is caused to execute a display process for displaying on the user interface of the information processing device a screen including a predetermined operator corresponding to an execution instruction for setting up wireless communication, and when there is an operation on the predetermined operator via the user interface and the communication mode with the printer is wired communication, the acquisition process and the setup process are executed. A support program configured as described above.

11. In the support program according to claim 1, the operating system can receive a startup instruction to start a program corresponding to a selected printer via the user interface of the information processing device, and in the general-purpose printing program, a program to be started in response to the startup instruction is associated with the printer, and the computer is caused to be capable of executing the acquisition process and the setup process when the communication mode with the printer is wired communication when the operating system is started by the operating system receiving the startup instruction in a state where the printer is selected. A support program configured as described above.

12. In the support program according to claim 1, In the acquisition process the connection information necessary for wireless LAN communication via a wireless LAN access point as wireless communication is acquired from the operating system. A support program configured as described above.

13. In the support program according to claim 1, the computer is caused to acquire image data indicating the image from the general-purpose printing program and execute the printing process for transmitting the printing command to the printer based on the image data when the general-purpose printing program is started from the operating system when there is the printing instruction output from the application program and the printing instruction for causing the printer to print the image is given to the general-purpose printing program. A support program configured as described above.

14. An information processing apparatus including an operating system in which a general-purpose printing program is implemented, wherein the information processing apparatus, has a support program that corresponds to a printer connected to the information processing apparatus and supports the general-purpose printing program, when a print instruction is received from an application program included in the information processing apparatus, the support program is started from the operating system, and the support program can execute a printing process for transmitting a print command to the printer, furthermore, the information processing apparatus, when the communication form with the printer is wired communication, by the support program, an acquisition process of acquiring connection information necessary for wireless communication stored in the information processing apparatus, and a setup process of transmitting a setup command for instructing a setup of wireless communication to the printer in association with the connection information acquired in the acquisition process, is made executable, and is configured as such an information processing apparatus.

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