Application program, storage medium, method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: when a portable terminal searches for a printer, a desired printer may not participate in a wireless LAN network in which the portable terminal participates, and in this case, the portable terminal cannot find the desired printer through the search.SOLUTION: A portable terminal displays a guide screen for causing a printer to participate in a wireless LAN network in which the portable terminal participates. An SSID of an access point to which the portable terminal is connected is displayed on the guide screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile terminal that searches for a printing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A mobile terminal equipped with a wireless LAN function connects to an access point and searches for a printing device via the access point. The mobile terminal then transmits a print job to a printing device selected by the user from the search results. The printing device, upon receiving the print job, executes printing processing on a sheet based on the received print job. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a mobile terminal connects to multiple access points in sequence and searches for a printing device via each of the multiple access points. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-11671 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Suppose a user wants to send a print job from a mobile device to a printing device in front of the user. In order for the mobile device to find the printing device through a search, the printing device must also be a member of the wireless LAN network to which the mobile device is connected. However, the printing device may not necessarily be a member of the wireless LAN network to which the mobile device is connected, and the printing device may not even be connected to an access point. In such cases, the printing device cannot be found through a search performed by the mobile device.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the possibility of finding a desired printing device through a search. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the mobile terminal provided by the present invention is a mobile terminal that is equipped with a search means that connects to an access point and searches for printing devices via the access point, and a display means that displays the results of the search for printing devices, and is characterized in that, in response to the mobile terminal receiving a predetermined instruction from a user, the display means displays a guide screen for allowing the printing device to join a wireless LAN network to which the mobile terminal is participating, and the guide screen displays the SSID of the access point to which the mobile terminal is connected. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the SSID of the access point to which the mobile device is connected is displayed on the guide screen displayed by the mobile device, allowing the user to easily identify which access point the printing device should be connected to in order to perform wireless LAN communication between the mobile device and the printing device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal 100. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the mobile terminal 100. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the mobile terminal 100. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the mobile terminal 100. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the mobile terminal 100. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0010] (Embodiment) First, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The mobile terminal 100 of this embodiment is assumed to be a smartphone, but may be any other device equipped with a wireless LAN function, such as a digital camera, a digital game console, or a notebook PC.

[0011] CPU 101 reads out the control program stored in flash memory 103 and executes various processes for controlling the operation of mobile terminal 100. RAM 102 is used as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and work area of ​​CPU 101. Flash memory 103 is a non-volatile storage medium that stores the control program for mobile terminal 100 and various data such as photographs and electronic documents.

[0012] In the mobile terminal 100 of this embodiment, one CPU 101 executes each process shown in the flowcharts described below, but other configurations are also possible. For example, multiple CPUs may cooperate to execute each process shown in the flowcharts described below. Also, some of the processes in the flowcharts described below may be executed using a hardware circuit such as an ASIC.

[0013] The operation panel 104 has a touch panel function that can detect a user's touch operation and displays various screens. The user can input desired instructions to the mobile terminal 100 by inputting touch operations to the operation panel 104. The mobile terminal 100 is also provided with hardware keys (not shown), and the user can also input operation instructions to the mobile terminal 100 using these hardware keys.

[0014] The speaker 106 and microphone 107 are used when the user makes a call to another mobile terminal or a landline phone. The camera 108 takes a picture in response to a user's instruction. The picture taken by the camera 108 is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the flash memory 103.

[0015] The Bluetooth (registered trademark) I / F 109 performs wireless communication using Bluetooth (registered trademark), and the NFC I / F 110 performs near field radio communication using NFC (Near Field Radio Communication).

[0016] The wireless LAN I / F 105 executes wireless LAN communication such as IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ac, etc. By connecting to an external access point, the wireless LAN I / F 105 participates in the wireless LAN network formed by the access point.

[0017] Next, the software configuration of the mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram realized by the CPU 101 executing the control program stored in the flash memory 103.

[0018] The OS 201 is software that controls the operation of the mobile terminal 100. Various applications, including a print application 202 described below, can be installed on the mobile terminal 100. The OS 201 controls the operation of the mobile terminal 100 in accordance with instructions received from each application and user operation instructions input via the operation panel 104.

[0019] The print application 202 is an application that provides a print function to the user. The print application 202 instructs the OS 201 to search for a printing device, generate a print job, send the generated print job, etc. Various applications other than the print application 202 are installed on the mobile terminal 100, but a description of these other applications will be omitted.

[0020] Next, the user's operation procedure and the screens displayed by the mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0021] Search screen 300 in Fig. 3(A) is a screen displayed by operation panel 104 in response to an instruction from print application 202, and is a screen for the user to instruct the start of a search for printing devices. When the user selects search start button 301 (or touches it in the case of a touch panel), mobile terminal 100 starts searching for printing devices. This search for printing devices is realized by wireless LAN I / F 105 sending a search packet via the access point to which mobile terminal 100 is connected. When the search for printing devices starts, mobile terminal 100 displays search in progress screen 310 in Fig. 3(B).

[0022] Searching screen 310 in FIG. 3(B) is a screen displayed by operation panel 104 in response to an instruction from print application 202. Searching screen 310 displays message 312 indicating that a search for a printing device is in progress. Furthermore, when the user selects guide screen display button 311, mobile terminal 100 ends the search for a printing device and displays guide screen 400 in FIG. 4(A) or error screen 410 in FIG. 4(B). Guide screen 400 and error screen 410 will be explained later. If a printing device is found through the search, mobile terminal 100 displays search result screen 320 in FIG. 3(C). On the other hand, if a printing device cannot be found through the search, mobile terminal 100 displays search result screen 330 in FIG. 3(D).

[0023] The search result screen 320 in Fig. 3(C) is a screen displayed by the operation panel 104 in response to an instruction from the print application 202. The search result screen 320 displays a list of identification information (e.g., model name and IP address) of printing devices found by the search. When the user selects the desired printing device and presses the confirm button 322, the print application 202 specifies the printing device selected by the user as the destination of the print job. Furthermore, when the user selects the guide screen display button 321, the mobile terminal 100 displays the guide screen 400 in Fig. 4(A) or the error screen 410 in Fig. 4(B). The guide screen 400 and the error screen 410 will be described later.

[0024] 3(D) is a screen displayed by the operation panel 104 in response to an instruction from the print application 202. A message 332 indicating that no printing device was found is displayed on the search result screen 330. When the user selects the guide screen display button 331, the mobile terminal 100 displays the guide screen 400 in FIG. 4(A) or the error screen 410 in FIG. 4(B). The guide screen 400 and the error screen 410 will be described later.

[0025] The guide screen 400 in FIG. 4A is a screen displayed by the operation panel 104 in response to an instruction from the print application 202. The guide screen 400 is displayed when the user selects one of the guide screen display buttons 311, 321, or 331 and the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an access point. If the desired printing device cannot be found through a search, it is highly likely that the printing device is not present in the wireless LAN network to which the mobile terminal 100 is participating. The guide screen 400 displays the SSID 401 of the access point to which the mobile terminal 100 is connected, and further displays a message 402 urging the user to connect the printing device to the SSID 401. By checking this guide screen 400, the user can add the desired printing device to the wireless LAN network to which the mobile terminal 100 is participating. The guide screen 400 also displays a manual confirmation button 403. When the user selects the manual confirmation button 403, the mobile terminal 100 displays a manual showing the operating procedures for configuring the wireless LAN settings of the printing device.

[0026] 4B is a screen displayed by the operation panel 104 in response to an instruction from the print application 202. The error screen 410 is a screen displayed when the user selects any of the guide screen display buttons 311, 321, and 331 and the mobile terminal 100 is not connected to an access point. The error screen 410 displays a message 411 that prompts the user to connect the mobile terminal 100 to an access point.

[0027] Next, the processing executed by mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Each step shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5 is processed by CPU 101 expanding a control program stored in flash memory 103 into RAM 102 and executing it. The processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5 is executed when any of guide screen display buttons 311, 321, and 331 is selected by the user.

[0028] In step S501, the print application 202 determines whether a search for a printing device is in progress. If a search for a printing device is in progress, the process proceeds to step S502. On the other hand, if a search for a printing device is not in progress, the process proceeds to step S503.

[0029] Step S502 will now be described. In step S502, the print application 202 ends the search for printing devices.

[0030] Step S503 will be described. In step S503, the print application 202 determines whether the mobile terminal 100 is currently connected to an access point. The print application 202 queries the OS 201 as to whether it is currently connected to an access point. The print application 202 confirms the response from the OS 201 to this query, thereby realizing the processing of step S503. If the mobile terminal 100 is currently connected to an access point, the processing proceeds to step S504. On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 100 is not currently connected to an access point, the processing proceeds to step S505.

[0031] Next, step S504 will be described. In step S504, the print application 202 instructs the OS 201 to display a guide screen 400. Under the control of the OS 201, the operation panel 104 displays the guide screen 400. The print application 202 acquires the SSID of the access point to which the mobile terminal 100 is connected from the OS 201. The SSID acquired from the OS 201 is displayed on the guide screen 400. By checking the guide screen 400, the user can easily identify which access point the printing device should be connected to in order to perform wireless LAN communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the printing device.

[0032] Next, step S505 will be described. In step S505, the print application 202 instructs the OS 201 to display the error screen 410. The operation panel 104 displays the error screen 410 under the control of the OS 201.

[0033] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 100 mobile devices 101 CPU 104 Operation Panel 105 Wireless LAN I / F 201 OS 202 Printing Application

Claims

[Claim 1] a search means for connecting to an access point and searching for a printing device via the access point; a display unit for displaying a search result of a printing device; In response to the mobile terminal receiving a predetermined instruction from a user, the display means displays a guide screen for allowing a printing device to join the wireless LAN network in which the mobile terminal is participating; The mobile terminal is characterized in that the guide screen displays the SSID of the access point to which the mobile terminal is connected.

Images