Information processing apparatus, device registration method, program, and device registration system

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The system addresses usability issues in screen customization by grouping devices and applying customization settings from one printer to similar devices, enhancing the efficiency of screen customization in image forming device linkage applications.

JP2025166635APending Publication Date: 2025-11-06CANON KK

Patent Information

Application Number: JP2024070805
Authority / Receiving Office: JP · JP
Patent Type: Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date: 2024-04-24
Publication Date: 2025-11-06

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing image forming device linkage applications lack usability in screen customization, requiring users to manually reconfigure settings for newly registered devices, which is inefficient and cumbersome.

Method used

A system that allows devices to be grouped and register customization settings for one device to be automatically applied to similarly grouped devices, simplifying the customization process by reusing settings across devices within the same group.

Benefits of technology

Enhances usability by allowing printers to be grouped, enabling automatic reuse of customization settings during registration, thereby simplifying the customization process and improving operability.

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Abstract

To facilitate customization settings and improve operability by reusing and registering the customization settings for each group when printers are registered in an application.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus searches for devices through communication by a communication unit, and registers a device selected from the discovered devices in association with settings related to the device. When registering, if there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the settings registered in association with the registered device are customized settings, the selected device is registered in association with the customized settings.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that instructs an image forming apparatus to execute a job, a device registration method and program, and a device registration system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, high-performance mobile devices known as smartphones have become widespread. Among the applications installed on mobile devices are image forming device linkage applications (hereinafter also referred to as linkage applications) that provide specific functions in cooperation with image forming devices (also called printers). Image forming device linkage applications provide functions such as scanning, printing, and job transmission. For example, the job transmission function, which scans and transmits an image, searches for devices on a LAN and creates a transmission job by adding the destination email address and various scan setting information (e.g., color, double-sided settings, etc.) set by the user. The created transmission job is then sent from the mobile device to the image forming device that was found. This allows the mobile device to execute the series of processes required for transmission.

[0003] Image forming device linkage apps have a UI that instructs the execution of various functions, but some apps also allow users to customize the UI to suit their needs, such as by configuring the UI and adding, deleting, and rearranging buttons.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which, in the printer driver update process, the current customization settings are saved, and after the printer driver is updated, the saved settings are written back to take over the customization settings. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-150757 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] As screen customization methods such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 become more widespread, there is a demand for improving the usability of screen customization.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the usability regarding screen customization. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a communication means is provided. a device search means for searching for a device through communication by the communication means; a registration means for registering a device selected from the discovered devices in association with settings related to the device; and The registration means registers the selected device in association with the customized setting if there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the setting registered in association with the registered device is a customized setting. An information processing device characterized by the above features is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, printers can be grouped, and when registering a printer in a linked app, the customization settings can be reused and registered for each group, thereby simplifying the customization settings and improving operability. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing the data processing system configuration [Figure 2] Block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a data processing device [Figure 3]Block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus [Figure 4] Block diagram showing the software configuration of the data processing device [Figure 5] Block diagram showing the software configuration of the data processing device [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing a process of taking over customization settings when registering a device in the data processing device of the first embodiment. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the data processing device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 7B] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the data processing device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 7C] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the data processing device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a data processing device according to the second embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a data processing device according to the second embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention claimed. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0012] [Embodiment 1] The data processing system according to this embodiment and embodiments 2 and 3 relates to a system for printing from a data processing device such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, etc. using an image forming device. In particular, this embodiment and embodiments 2 and 3 disclose technology related to a system that improves usability when registering an image forming device to be used with a data processing device.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a data processing system according to this embodiment. The data processing system 100 includes a data processing device 101, a wireless LAN terminal 102, and image forming devices 104, 105, and 106. These devices are connected via a wired network 103 such as a wired LAN. In this embodiment, one of the purposes of the data processing system is printing, and so it can also be called a printing system. Alternatively, since devices such as printers are registered in the data processing device 101, it can also be called a device registration system that executes a device registration method.

[0014] The data processing device 101 may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, and may run an operating system for small terminals or a program for controlling calls and data communications. Alternatively, the data processing device 101 may be an information processing device such as a personal computer that does not have voice control, position detection control, mobile phone data communications, etc. Furthermore, the data processing device 101 serves as a wireless LAN client, communicating wirelessly with a wireless LAN terminal 102, which is a master device, and is connected to a network 103 via the wireless LAN terminal 102.

[0015] The wireless terminal 102 is a base station for a wireless LAN that has general network functions and router functions, and provides a wireless LAN within a home or office.

[0016] The image forming devices 104 and 105 are small digital multifunction peripherals for home use that are equipped with various job execution functions such as a printer function, a copy function, a scan function, and a fax transmission function. In this embodiment, the image forming devices 104 and 105 may be inkjet printers. By operating the data processing device 101, a user can instruct the image forming device 104 to execute a job and execute various functions of the image forming device 104.

[0017] The image forming apparatus 106 is a large digital multifunction peripheral. In addition to the same functions as the image forming apparatuses 104 and 105, it also has office-oriented functions such as an email sending function. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 106 may be an electrophotographic printer.

[0018] Furthermore, the data processing device 101 and the image forming devices 104, 105, and 106 are capable of wireless communication via wireless LAN and short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication) and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The image forming devices 104, 105, and 106 have information (such as IP addresses and MAC addresses) for connecting to the image forming devices 104, 105, and 106 via wireless LAN in their NFC communication units or BLE communication units (described later), and the data processing device 101 acquires connection information via short-range wireless communication. Then, based on the acquired information, communication between the data processing device 101 and the image forming devices 104, 105, and 106 is initiated. If the information acquired via short-range wireless communication is information for a direct connection, the data processing device 101 and the image forming devices 104, 105, and 106 communicate directly via wireless LAN.

[0019] Direct connection is a function in which an apparatus such as an image forming apparatus is equipped with a software-implemented wireless LAN access point and communicates with a client apparatus as a wireless LAN master apparatus. In direct connection, in addition to the address information of the connection destination, information such as the wireless LAN SSID and password is required for access. This information required for direct connection can be considered direct access information. In the configuration of FIG. 1, if image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106 are devices that support direct connection, wireless LAN communication can be performed between these apparatuses and data processing apparatus 101 without going through wireless LAN terminal 102 or network 103.

[0020] In the following description, the wireless LAN connection between the data processing device 101 and the image forming device includes, and may be, a connection via the wireless LAN terminal 102 and the network 103, and communication via a direct connection. Furthermore, the network 103 may be wired or wireless. Furthermore, communication via wireless LAN refers to communication performed via a wireless LAN connection in the above sense.

[0021] ●Device hardware 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a data processing device 101 according to this embodiment. The data processing device 101 has a controller unit 201. The controller unit 201 controls various communication units, such as an NFC communication unit 210, a BLE communication unit 211, a wireless LAN communication unit 212, and a mobile phone data communication unit 218, as well as various UI units, such as a microphone / speaker 213, a display 214, and a touch panel 215.

[0022] The controller unit 201 has a CPU 202, a ROM 203, a RAM 204, a network I / F 205, a voice control unit 206, a display control unit 207, an input control unit 208, a storage unit 209, and a telephone function control unit 217, which are connected by a system bus 216.

[0023] The CPU 202 executes programs stored in a memory such as a RAM, and controls the entire system of the data processing device 101. The ROM 203 stores an operating system for the data processing device 101 and application programs (hereinafter referred to as applications) that control calls and data communications, and the CPU 202 executes the various programs. The RAM 204 is a memory for the CPU 202 to execute the various programs, and is a work memory area in which the applications execute the programs. The storage unit 209 is a non-volatile storage device, and records various operation mode settings that need to be retained even after the data processing device 101 is restarted, operation logs, etc.

[0024] The network I / F 205 is connected to an NFC communication unit 210, a BLE communication unit 211, a wireless LAN communication unit 212, and a mobile phone data communication unit 218, and controls various wireless communications with the image forming apparatus 104 and various servers and base stations not shown.

[0025] The audio control unit 206 controls the input and output of audio data via a microphone and speaker 213. The display control unit 207 controls the output of image data to be displayed on a display 214. The input control unit 208 controls the input of information specified by the user via buttons or a touch panel 215. Various applications executed by the data processing device 101 are provided to the user using the audio control unit 206, display control unit 207, and input control unit 208. The telephone function control unit 217 controls making a call to a destination specified by the user, and communicates with a base station that handles telephone lines via a mobile phone data communication unit 218.

[0026] 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 104 according to this embodiment. The image forming apparatuses 105 and 106 also have a similar configuration. The image forming apparatus 104 has a controller unit 301, which controls various communication units, such as an NFC communication unit 310, a BLE communication unit 311, and a wireless LAN communication unit 312, as well as an operation unit 307, a scanner 313, and a printer 314. When a user uses the copy function, the controller unit 301 controls the scanner 313 to acquire image data of an original, and controls the printer 314 to print and output the image on paper.

[0027] Furthermore, when a user uses the scan function, the controller unit 301 controls the scanner 313 to acquire image data of an original, convert it into code data, and transmit it to a destination via the network 103 or via a wireless LAN connection. In the case of pull scanning, the destination is the data processing device 101, which is the source of the execution instruction. The image forming device 106 for offices can also set the destination to an email address, and can be used as an email sending function.

[0028] Furthermore, when a user uses the print function, the controller unit 301 receives print data (code data) from the data processing device 101 or the like via the network 103 or a wireless LAN connection. The controller unit 301 then converts the received print data into image data and sends it to the printer 314. The printer 314 prints and outputs an image on paper based on the received image data.

[0029] The image forming device 104 also has a fax receiving function that receives and prints data from a communication network such as ISDN, and a fax sending function that sends scanned data to a communication network such as ISDN. Instructions for executing processing for each of these functions are called jobs, and the image forming device 104 executes predetermined processing in accordance with the jobs corresponding to each function.

[0030] The controller unit 301 is composed of a CPU 302 , a RAM 303 , a ROM 304 , a HDD 305 , an operation unit I / F 306 , a network I / F 308 , and a device I / F 309 , which are connected by a system bus 312 .

[0031] The CPU 302 controls the entire system of the image forming apparatus 104. The RAM 303 is a system work memory for the operation of the CPU 302 and an image memory for temporarily storing image data. The RAM 303 also stores programs and data such as the operating system, system software, and application software. The RAM 303 also stores scanned image data read by the scanner 312 and print image data received from the data processing apparatus 101 via the network 103 or a direct connection. The ROM 304 stores a system boot program. The hard disk drive (HDD) 305 stores the operating system, system software, application software, image data, setting data, etc.

[0032] An operation unit I / F 306 is an interface unit with an operation unit 307, and outputs information to be displayed on the operation unit 307 to the operation unit 307. In addition, the operation unit I / F 306 receives information input from the operation unit 307 by the user.

[0033] The network I / F 308 is connected to an NFC communication unit 310, a BLE communication unit 311, and a wireless LAN communication unit 312, and controls various wireless communications with the data processing device 101 and various servers. The wireless LAN communication unit 312 forms a wireless LAN with the data processing device 101 via a wireless connection. The NFC communication unit and the BLE communication unit 311 form a short-range wireless communication network with the data processing device 101 via wireless signals. The wired LAN communication unit 313 forms a wired LAN via the network 103 when the network 103 is a wired network. The image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106 send and receive job setting information and image data to and from the data processing device 101 via the network I / F 308, and execute jobs by receiving execution commands for various functions of the image forming apparatuses 104, 105, and 106.

[0034] A device I / F 309 connects the controller unit 301 to a scanner 313 and a printer 314 that read and print image data, and inputs and outputs image data.

[0035] ●Software configuration 4 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the data processing device 101 according to this embodiment. The application 401 is software executed by the CPU 202 of the data processing device 101 and is stored in the RAM 203. There are various types of applications, but the application 401 is an application for utilizing the functions of the image forming device and is also called a link application or an MFP application. In the following description, the image forming device 104 is used as a representative image forming device, but the same applies to the image forming devices 105 and 106.

[0036] A user interface (UI) control unit 402 accepts job setting information input by the user via the touch panel 215, and transmits the accepted job setting information to a job setting management unit 406 via an input control unit 208. The UI control unit 402 also receives responses from the job setting management unit 406 and the job control unit 407, and outputs the received responses to the display 214 via a display control unit 207. The UI control unit 402 also accepts authentication information input by the user via the touch panel 215, and transmits the authentication information to an authentication information management unit 403 via an input control unit 208.

[0037] The authentication information management unit 403 transmits authentication information to the network control unit 405 based on the user information received from the UI control unit 402. The authentication information is transmitted to the image processing device 104 via a wireless LAN and is used in authentication processing in the image processing device 104, which will be described later.

[0038] The device connection unit 404 establishes wireless LAN communication between the data processing device 101 and the image forming device 104 using short-range wireless communication such as NFC or BLE between the data processing device 101 and the image forming device 104. For example, in the case of NFC, the device connection unit 404 starts short-range wireless communication when the user brings the NFC communication unit 210 of the data processing device 101 and the NFC communication unit 310 of the image forming device 104 close to each other and they come into contact. In the case of BLE, the user brings the BLE communication unit 211 of the data processing device 101 close to the BLE communication unit 311 of the image forming device 104, and the device connection unit 404 determines that they are within a distance where the BLE strength is equal to or greater than a certain strength, thereby starting short-range wireless communication.

[0039] In this way, when the user performs an operation (called a touch operation) of bringing the NFC or BLE communication units of the data processing device 101 and the image forming device 104 close to each other, the device connection unit 404 communicates with the image forming device 104 and acquires its device information. Using the acquired device information, a connection with the image forming device 104 is initiated. As already mentioned, the connection between the data processing device 101 and the image forming device 104 may be a connection via the wireless LAN terminal 102 or a direct connection. However, the wireless LAN established using short-range wireless communication between the data processing device 101 and the image forming device may be a direct connection.

[0040] The network control unit 405 transmits job settings, job execution instruction commands, image data, user authentication information, and the like to the image forming apparatus 104 via a connection established with the image forming apparatus 104 .

[0041] The job setting management unit 406 stores the job setting information input by the user via the UI control unit 402 in the RAM 204 or the storage unit 209. At this time, the job setting management unit 406 manages this job setting information as "favorites" that are settings that the user frequently uses. The job setting management unit 406 also manages the custom job settings stored in the RAM 204 or the storage unit 209 when the application 401 is installed as "presets."

[0042] The job control unit 407 generates job execution instruction information from the job settings such as "favorites" and "presets" registered in the job setting management unit 406, and transmits a job execution request to the image forming apparatus 104 via wireless LAN. The job control unit 407 also acquires the job execution status and the operating status of the scanner 313 and printer 314 from the image forming apparatus 104 via wireless LAN, and transmits this to the UI control unit 402.

[0043] The device search unit 408 searches for image forming devices on the network using the network control unit 405. At the same time as the search, it also acquires configuration information of the discovered image forming devices. Furthermore, during the search, it is also possible to search only for devices that can execute the job settings stored in the job setting management unit 406.

[0044] The device list management unit 409 stores device information of a device selected by the user from the devices searched by the device search unit 408. The device information also includes configuration information of the device. In this embodiment, the selected device is registered by the application 401, so the device information of the selected device can also be said to be device information of the device to be registered.

[0045] The customization information storage unit 411 stores customization information for the top screen that is initially displayed when a device is selected in an application, for example, the application 401. The customization information is stored for each registered device, i.e., each image forming apparatus.

[0046] 5 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the image forming apparatus 104 according to this embodiment. The image forming apparatuses 105 and 106 have the same configuration.

[0047] The application 501 is software executed by the CPU 302 of the image forming apparatus 104 and is stored in the RAM 303 .

[0048] A user interface (UI) control unit 502 receives job setting information input by the user via the operation unit 307 and transmits it to a job execution management unit 506. The UI control unit 502 also receives responses from the job execution management unit 506 and job control unit 507 and outputs them to the operation unit 307. The authentication unit 503 performs user authentication processing based on authentication information received from the data processing device 101 or the like, and returns the result. The device connection unit 504 establishes wireless LAN communication by performing handover with the data processing device 101 through short-range wireless communication. The wireless LAN established at this time may be a direct connection.

[0049] The network control unit 505 receives job settings, job execution instruction commands, image data, user authentication information, configuration information acquisition commands, and the like from the data processing device 101 via the wireless LAN.

[0050] The job execution management unit 506 stores job setting information input by the user via the UI control unit 502 and job setting information received from the data processing device 101 via the network control unit 505 in the RAM 203 or HDD 305. At this time, the job execution management unit 506 manages this job setting information as "favorites" that are frequently used by the user. The job execution management unit 506 also has a permission status for executing an email sending job from outside, and if permission is not granted, job execution from the data processing device 101 is processed as an error. The permission status is changed by receiving a user operation from the UI control unit.

[0051] The job control unit 507 controls the scan processing unit 511, copy processing unit 512, print processing unit 513, and fax processing unit 514 in accordance with the received job settings, and executes various jobs. At this time, the job control unit 507 executes various jobs based on job settings set by the user via the operation unit 307 and job settings such as "favorites" and "presets" registered in the job execution management unit 506. Furthermore, the job control unit 507 receives job execution requests from the data processing device 101 via wireless LAN, and executes various jobs in accordance with the received job settings and job execution instructions. The job control unit 507 also transmits job execution status and device operating statuses of the scanner 313 and printer 314 to the data processing device 101 via wireless LAN.

[0052] ●Example of display screen Next, using Figures 7A to 7C, we will explain the screens displayed on the display 214 of the data processing device 101 during device registration and customization operations. Note that in the following explanation, a device with a printing function may be referred to as a printer. The printer in the following explanation does not refer to the printer 314 in Figure 3, but is a device with a printing function, and includes single-function or multi-function image forming devices.

[0053] When the data processing device 101 is started, a home screen 7000 of the data processing device 101 is displayed. The home screen 7000 displays icons of programs, i.e., apps, installed in the data processing device 101. The MFP app icon 7001 is an icon representing the MFP application 401, and when the MFP app icon 7001 is tapped, the MFP application 401 is started.

[0054] When an application 401 is selected and launched from the home screen 7000, a printer list screen 7010 is displayed. The printer list screen 7010 displays a list of registered image forming devices (printers). That is, in this embodiment, it is assumed that multiple printers can be registered in the application 401. Then, by selecting one of the registered printers on the printer list screen 7010, the printer with which the application 401 will communicate is identified. The printer selected here is the selected printer, which will be described later. However, this is not a limitation, and a configuration in which only one printer can be registered and the single registered printer is treated as the selected printer may also be used. Furthermore, if no printers are registered in the application 401, no registered printers are displayed on the printer list screen 7010, and a message indicating that there are no registered printers or a message prompting the user to search for and register a printer is displayed.

[0055] FIG. 7A is an example of a printer list screen 7010 that is displayed when there are no registered printers in the application 401. A group of tab buttons 7012 is displayed at the bottom of the screen displayed by the app. The group of tab buttons 7012 includes a home tab 7011, a function list tab 7012, a printer list tab 7013, and a menu tab 7014. The operator can switch screens from the screen displayed by the app by selecting a tab. On the other hand, if there are registered printers, a registered printer list is displayed. The registered printer list displays a list of printers, similar to the printer search screen 7020 shown in FIG. 7A. However, the printers displayed in the list are registered printers, and it is desirable that the title indicate that it is a registered printer list, such as "Registered Printer" rather than "Register Printer."

[0056] When a printer is selected from the printer list displayed on the printer list screen 7010 and the home tab 7011 is selected, the screen switches to an application home screen 7030 that displays the function buttons for the selected printer. The application home screen 7030 is also called a function button screen, a function operation screen, or simply a home screen. Note that even if no printer is selected from the printer list, if there is a selected printer at that time, that home screen may be displayed in response to selection of the home tab 7011. If there is no selected printer, the home tab 7011 may be displayed in a manner that makes it impossible to select, or the screen may not change even if it is selected. Furthermore, a message may be output indicating that no printer is selected.

[0057] When the function list tab 7012 is selected, an application function list screen 7040 (FIG. 7B) is displayed.

[0058] When the printer list tab 7013 is selected, if there are any registered printers, a printer list screen containing a list of those printers is displayed. If no printers are registered, a printer list screen 7010 containing search messages and the like is displayed. This screen is also called a printer search screen or simply a search screen. When the menu tab 7014 is selected, an application menu (not shown) is displayed, allowing various application information to be set.

[0059] 7A shows a printer list screen 7010 with the printer list tab 7013 selected, and is also the initial screen that is displayed when the application 401 is launched with no registered printers. When no registered printers are present, the printer list screen 7010 includes a search start button 7016, which is a button for starting a search; when tapped, a printer search is performed and the screen transitions to a printer search screen 7020. If no printers are found, the printer list may be displayed blank, or a message indicating that no printers were found may be displayed.

[0060] The printer search screen 7020 is a screen that displays printers discovered by a search, and the search results are displayed as a list of discovered printers. When the printer search screen 7020 is displayed, the application 401, for example, searches for printers that exist on the Wi-Fi network to which the data processing device 101 belongs. The printers discovered by this search are displayed on the printer search screen 7020. Note that the application 401 may, for example, further search for devices that exist around the data processing device 101 and have the Wi-Fi Direct (registered trademark) function enabled. The printer search screen 7020 shows an example in which printers 7021, 7022, 7023, and 7024 are displayed as the printer search results. When a printer is selected by the user from this printer list, the screen transitions to the home screen 7030. This printer selection is performed, for example, by touching the field for the target printer.

[0061] As explained in the flow of FIG. 6, a printer selected from the printer list is registered by the application 401, and therefore the printer search screen 7020 is labeled "Register Printer." Printer registration may be performed incrementally. The home screen 7030 shows the home tab selected. The printer icon 7031 represents a printer selected from the list of printers registered in the application 401. A printer selected from the list of printers registered in the application 401 will be referred to below as the "selected printer." The home screen 7030 is an example of a screen indicating that the selected printer is a home printer with the model number or name TS1000. In this embodiment, the home printer is an inkjet printer. The home screen 7030 is an example of a home screen with default settings for an inkjet printer.

[0062] In this embodiment, at least some of the types of function buttons that can be placed on the home screen differ depending on the type of selected printer. Specifically, some of the function buttons that can be placed on the home screen when the selected printer is an inkjet printer differ from some of the function buttons that can be placed on the home screen when the selected printer is an electrophotographic printer. Furthermore, the default settings applied to the home screen differ depending on the type of printer selected from the printers registered in application 401. Specifically, the default settings applied to the home screen when the selected printer is an inkjet printer differ from the default settings applied to the home screen when the selected printer is an electrophotographic printer.

[0063] When the selected printer is an inkjet printer, function buttons that can be arranged on the home screen 7030 include, for example, a document print button 7032, a photo print button 7033, a scan button 7034, a cloud button 7035, and a New Year's card button 7036. The setting that controls the arrangement of all of these buttons on the home screen is considered to be the default setting for an inkjet printer. The home screen 7030 is the initial screen for an inkjet printer. The initial state is a state that follows predefined default settings and is not customized. In addition, a customize button 7037 is displayed in the center of the screen.

[0064] The document print button 7032 is a button for printing a document. Pressing this button allows you to select a document file to print on a file selection screen (not shown), configure print settings on a print setting screen (not shown), and then press a print button (not shown). In response to these operations, the selected document is printed using the specified print settings by the selected printer.

[0065] The photo print button 7033 is a button for printing photos. Pressing this button allows you to select the image file to print on a file selection screen (not shown), configure print settings on a print setting screen (not shown), and then press a print execution button (not shown). In response to these operations, the selected image is printed using the specified print settings by the selected printer.

[0066] The scan button 7034 is a button for scanning. Pressing this button displays a scan setting screen (not shown), and pressing a scan execution button (not shown) on that screen scans the document using the scanner of the selected device. The obtained image data is sent to, for example, a destination specified in the scan settings.

[0067] A cloud button 7035 is a button for linking with a cloud server. Pressing this button displays a cloud server linking screen (not shown), allowing users to upload and download files and use other functions for linking with a cloud server.

[0068] The New Year's card button 7036 is a button for linking to a New Year's card application. When this button is pressed, a New Year's card application (not shown) is started, and functions for creating a New Year's card can be used.

[0069] The customize button 7037 is a button for customizing the home screen. Pressing this button transitions to a customization setting screen 7050 (see FIG. 7B).

[0070] 7B displays a list of all functions that can be used with the selected printer. A document print button 7041, a photo print button 7042, a scan button 7043, a cloud button 7044, and a New Year's card button 7045 perform the same functions as pressing the document print button 7032, the photo print button 7033, the scan button 7034, the cloud button 7035, and the New Year's card button 7036 on screen 7030, respectively.

[0071] The customization settings screen 7050 allows users to customize the function buttons displayed on the home screen of the selected printer. Specifically, users can rearrange the buttons by dragging them, or delete them by pressing the corresponding delete button 7051. To add a button, users press the add button 7502 to transition to the function button addition screen 7060. Pressing the complete button 7053 saves the customized settings, including the layout of the function buttons, in association with the selected printer, and the customized home screen is displayed. The home screen displayed at this time is the screen customized on the customization settings screen 7050, with the function buttons arranged as shown in home screen 7070, for example. The home screen 7070 is the home screen 7030 before customization, with the “New Year’s Card” button 7036 deleted through customization. Pressing the cancel button 7054 discards the settings in progress, and the home screen is displayed. The home screen displayed at this time is the home screen displayed immediately before transitioning to the customization settings screen 7050.

[0072] Pressing (or tapping) the Add Function Button screen 7060 allows the user to add a function button to the home screen. Function buttons 7061, 7062, 7063, 7064, and 7065 are function icons corresponding to the functions displayed on the function list screen 7040 of the selected printer. Function icons not set to display on the home screen display a Display Setting Off 7067 in the Display Settings field. Function icons set to display on the home screen display a Display Setting On 7066 in the Display Settings field. In FIG. 7B, the Display Settings field is a checkbox, and the checked or unchecked box indicates the on / off status. To add a function button to the home screen, the operator simply taps the corresponding function icon. Tapping a function icon adds the corresponding function button to the home screen, and the Display Settings field switches to display Add Function On 7066. Pressing the Done button 7068 saves the selected state of the function buttons to be displayed on the home screen, and the screen returns to the Customization Settings screen 7050. The function button layout may be a predetermined default layout. The initial layout may be, for example, such that the added function button is added to the end of the function buttons that have already been set to be displayed. The layout of the function buttons can also be adjusted on the customization setting screen 7050.

[0073] Pressing the cancel button 7069 discards the selection and returns to the customization settings screen 7050. Home screen 7070 is an example of a customized home screen. In this way, the customization function allows you to customize the types of function buttons displayed on the home screen and their placement. The customized settings are saved in association with the selected printer.

[0074] As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to customize a home screen corresponding to a printer registered for application 401. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to register multiple printers for application 401. In the past, in this configuration, the home screen corresponding to a newly registered printer was always set to default settings. Therefore, if a user wanted to apply the customization content of an already customized home screen corresponding to an already registered printer to the home screen corresponding to a newly registered printer, the user had to manually customize the home screen corresponding to the newly registered printer, which was a problem. To solve this problem, this embodiment describes a configuration in which the customization content of an already customized home screen is automatically applied to the home screen corresponding to the newly registered printer.

[0075] Home screen 7080 in FIG. 7C is an example of a home screen when the selected printer is a commercial printer. In this embodiment, the commercial printer is an electrophotographic printer. Function buttons that can be arranged on the home screen when the selected printer is an electrophotographic printer include, for example, a document print button 7081, a photo print button 7082, a scan button 7083, an email send button 7084, and a remote operation button 7085. The default setting for the electrophotographic printer is one in which all of these buttons are arranged on the home screen. Home screen 7080 is an initial screen for the electrophotographic printer.

[0076] A document print button 7081 and a photo print button 7082 are similar to the document print button 7032 and photo print button 7033, respectively, which are function buttons that can be arranged on the home screen when the selected printer is an inkjet printer.

[0077] The email send button 7084 is a function for sending image data (scan data) read by the scanner using the email send function of the image forming apparatus itself. When the email send button 7084 is pressed, a scan setting screen (not shown) is displayed, where scan settings can be configured. When the execute button is pressed, scan settings and an execution instruction are sent to the image forming apparatus 106. Upon receiving the scan settings and execution instruction, the image forming apparatus 106 executes scanning in accordance with the scan settings and sends the results by email.

[0078] The remote operation button 7085 is a button for operating an operation panel (main body panel) provided on the image forming apparatus 106. When the remote operation button 7085 is pressed, the screen displayed on the operation unit 307 of the image forming apparatus 106 is displayed on the display 214 of the data processing apparatus 101, and the operation unit 307 can be operated remotely from the data processing apparatus 101.

[0079] Home screen 7090 is an example of a home screen when a printer TS2000 is registered in the same group as a registered printer TS1000. When a new printer is registered in the same group as a registered printer, the customization settings for the registered printer's home screen are applied to the home screen of the newly registered printer. This allows the printer TS2000 to be registered so that it displays a home screen similar to that of the TS1000. Whether the printers are in the same group is determined by attribute values acquired from the printers. Groups may be based on purpose, such as home use and commercial use. In this embodiment, home use and commercial use are inkjet printers and electrophotographic printers, respectively. Therefore, if the names of the printers contain a character string indicating whether they are inkjet printers or electrophotographic printers, the determination can also be made based on the names.

[0080] If the home screen has not been customized, there are no customization settings to apply, and the home screen is displayed with a predetermined setting (default setting). The default setting could be, for example, to display function buttons for all functions of the registered printer.

[0081] Here, the printer you are trying to register may support new features that are not supported by registered printers in the same group. Even in such cases, if the registered printer in the same group has been customized, those customization settings will be applied preferentially to the printer you are trying to register. Specifically, the home screen of the newly registered printer will look like this:

[0082] When a TSX100 printer that supports new functions is registered in the same group as the registered TS1000 printer, the home screen will look like home screen 7100 in Figure 7C. The TSX100 printer has a new remote control copy function that the TS1000 does not have, but just as when the TS2000 is registered, the settings of the customized home screen 7070 (Figure 7B) take priority. As a result, the settings on the TS1000 home screen are applied, and the function buttons for the new functions do not appear on the home screen of the TSX100 printer.

[0083] On the other hand, function buttons 7111, 7112, 7113, 7114, 7115, and 7116 are displayed on a function list screen 7110 for the printer TSX100, which has new functions. Function buttons 7111, 7112, 7113, 7114, and 7115 have the same functions as function buttons 7041, 7042, 7043, 7044, and 7045 on the function list screen 7040 for the printer TS1000. In contrast, remote control copy button 7116 is a function button for a new function that the TSX100 has but the TS1000 does not have. Remote control copy button 7116 is a function that allows remote control copying to be instructed for a printer that does not have a panel. If customization settings have not been made for registered printers that belong to the same group as the newly registered printer, all of the function buttons on the function list screen will be displayed on the home screen of the newly registered printer. A case where a registered printer belonging to the same group as the newly registered printer has not been customized includes a case where a registered printer in the same group exists but has the default settings, and a case where a registered printer in the same group does not exist.

[0084] ●Printer registration process Next, the processing flow of the data processing device 101 will be described using the processing flowchart of FIG. 6. Each operation (step) shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is realized by the CPU 202 reading into the RAM 204 a program for implementing each control module stored in the ROM 203 or the storage unit 209 and executing the program. Note that in the description of the flowchart, a printer whose home screen settings have been customized may be referred to as being customized, and such a printer may also be referred to as a customized printer. This also applies to FIGS. 8 and 9 of the second and third embodiments.

[0085] In step S601, when the CPU 202 detects that the icon 7001 on the home screen 7000 has been tapped, the CPU 202 launches the application 401. In step S602, when the CPU 202 detects that the search button 7016 on the printer list screen 7010 has been pressed (tap operation), the CPU 202 executes a printer search. In the printer search, for example, if the data processing device 101 is connected to the wireless LAN terminal 102 via wireless LAN, the image forming devices 104 to 106 connected to the network 103 are discovered. Alternatively, if the data processing device 101 is directly connected to one of the image forming devices 104 to 106, that printer is discovered.

[0086] In step S603, the CPU 202 displays the search results on the printer search result screen, for example, a printer list such as the printer search screen 7020. In step S604, the CPU 202 determines the number of printers found as a result of the search, and if one or more printers are found, the process proceeds to step S605. If not, the process ends. Note that in step S603, the printer search screen 7020 may be displayed even if no printers are found. If no printers are found, nothing may be displayed in the printer list, or a message indicating that no printers were found may be displayed. Alternatively, the printer list screen 7010 may remain displayed.

[0087] In step S605, the CPU 202 determines whether or not a printer has been selected by the user from the printer search screen 7020. If a printer has been selected, the process proceeds to step S606; otherwise, the process returns to step S605.

[0088] In step S606, the CPU 202 determines whether the printer is registered in the application 401, and if not, the process proceeds to step S609. If a registered printer is present, the process proceeds to step S607.

[0089] In step S609, the CPU 202 associates the printer selected from the printer list with information indicating a home screen corresponding to the printer, registers the printer in the application 401, and terminates the process. When registering a printer, for example, information to be registered may be stored in association with identification information for identifying the printer, obtained from the printer. As described above, in this embodiment, the application 401 manages and stores the screen contents to be displayed as the home screen for each printer registered in the application 401. Specifically, the application 401 associates and registers the printer with information indicating a home screen corresponding to the printer, thereby managing and storing the information. The information indicating the home screen corresponding to the printer includes information on which function buttons are controlled to be displayed on the home screen and which function buttons are controlled not to be displayed on the home screen. The information indicating the home screen corresponding to the printer includes information on the positions of the function buttons controlled to be displayed on the home screen. In the process of S609, information indicating a default screen is associated with the printer and registered as information indicating the home screen corresponding to the printer. The default screen is a screen displayed when home screen customization has not been accepted from the user. In this embodiment, the default screen is a screen in which all function buttons that can be displayed on the home screen are arranged in predetermined positions. In other words, the function buttons that can be displayed on the home screen are also function buttons that can be controlled so as not to be displayed on the home screen through customization.

[0090] The information to be registered also includes information indicating the group to which the registered printer belongs. This information may also be acquired from the printer. For example, if there is an attribute value indicating the group, this is associated with the printer's identification information and stored. Alternatively, if the printer name includes a character string indicating the group to which the printer belongs, this name may be stored as information indicating the group. If the application 401 is provided by the printer manufacturer, it is easy for the application 401, i.e., the CPU 202 that executes it, to identify the information indicating the group from the information acquired from the printer.

[0091] In step S607, the CPU 202 determines whether a printer in the same group as the printer selected from the printer list is already registered in the application 401. As described above, whether the printer is in the same group is determined based on attribute values, etc., acquired during the search. If it is determined that a printer in the same group is already registered, the process proceeds to step S608; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S609. In this embodiment, the same group refers to, for example, models with the same model number. However, this is not limited to this, and several different model numbers may be defined as one group. Furthermore, for example, groups may be defined by the printing method of the printer. Specifically, for example, a group of printers that print using an inkjet method (inkjet printers) and a group of printers that print using an electrophotographic method (electrophotographic printers) may be defined. Then, in step S607, if the printer selected from the printer list is an inkjet printer, the CPU 202 may determine whether any of the inkjet printers are already registered in the application 401.

[0092] In step S608, CPU 202 determines whether the home screen corresponding to the printer that is in the same group as the printer selected from the printer list and that is registered in application 401 has been customized. This determination is made by referencing information indicating the home screen corresponding to the printer that is in the same group as the printer selected from the printer list and that is registered in application 401 and that is associated with the printer. If the determination is YES, CPU 202 identifies the content of the customized home screen corresponding to the printer that is in the same group as the printer selected from the printer list and that is registered in application 401. Here, the content of the customized home screen includes the content of which function buttons are controlled to be displayed on the home screen through customization and which function buttons are controlled not to be displayed on the home screen through customization. The content of the customized home screen also includes the content of the positions of the function buttons that are controlled to be displayed on the home screen after customization.

[0093] The CPU 202 then proceeds to step S610. If the determination is NO, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S609. Note that if there is at least one customized home screen that corresponds to a printer that is in the same group as the printer selected from the printer list and that is registered in the application 401, the determination may be YES. Note that if there are multiple applicable home screens, the CPU 202 may display information indicating those home screens and information indicating the printers associated with those home screens, and allow the user to select one of them. The CPU 202 may then identify information indicating the home screen that corresponds to the information selected by the user. An example of a selection method will be described later in embodiment 3.

[0094] In step S610, CPU 202 registers information indicating the customized home screen identified in step S608 in association with the selected printer. That is, control is performed so that the home screen corresponding to the printer selected from the printer list is the same as the home screen corresponding to a printer that is in the same group as the printer selected from the printer list and is registered in application 401. Hereinafter, information indicating the customized home screen is also referred to as a customization setting. At this time, the customization setting identified in step S608 may be applied as is to the newly registered printer. As a result, regardless of the functions provided to the newly registered printer, function buttons that are not included in the reused customization setting are not displayed on the home screen of the newly registered printer.

[0095] Furthermore, for the printer selected in S605, information indicating that it is in a selected state may be held in a storage unit or the like until another printer is selected. Alternatively, the selection may be a temporary state for registration purposes.

[0096] As explained above, according to this embodiment, when registering a printer in a data processing device, particularly its print app, if there is a registered printer in the same group whose home screen has been customized, the customization settings of that home screen are applied to register the new printer. As a result, the home screen, i.e., the function button screen, of the newly registered printer will be customized, reducing the effort required to register a printer and improving usability.

[0097] [Variations] If it is determined in step S606 that a registered printer exists, it may be determined before step S607 whether the registered printer and the selected printer are the same printer. If they are the same printer, the process may end. If they are not the same printer, the process may branch to step S607. This prevents the same printer from being registered multiple times. This also applies to the second and third embodiments.

[0098] Furthermore, in step S610 described above, functions provided by the selected printer may be compared with function buttons set for placement on the home screen in the reused customization settings. If the result of the comparison shows that the customization settings include a function button for a function not provided by the selected printer, that function button may be deleted from the customization settings of the newly registered printer. Conversely, if the result of the comparison shows that the customization settings do not include a function button for a function provided by the selected printer, that function button may be added to the customization settings of the newly registered printer. This also applies to embodiments 2 and 3.

[0099] [Embodiment 2] In the first embodiment, if the home screen of a registered printer in the same group was customized, the settings of that home screen were always reused and registered. However, since it is likely that the customized settings of a printer that is not used often are not being utilized, it is conceivable that the customized settings of a printer that has not been used for a certain period of time will not be reused. Therefore, in this embodiment, the date and time when a function button is pressed on the home screen 7070 is stored in the customization information storage unit 411, and the date and time of last use can be determined. Since it is only necessary to know the date and time of last use, the stored date and time may be overwritten with the latest value.

[0100] 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of the data processing device 101, and the differences from the first embodiment will be explained. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0101] Steps S601 to S608 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0102] If the CPU 202 determines in step S608 that the home screen of the registered printer in the same group as the printer to be newly registered has already been customized, the process proceeds to step S801.

[0103] In step S801, CPU 202 determines whether a printer that is a registered printer in the same group and whose home screen has been determined to be customized in step S608 has been used within a predetermined period of time by referencing the date and time the printer was last used. The predetermined period may be, for example, within one year from the present. If the printer has been used within the predetermined period of time, the process proceeds to step S610; if not, the process proceeds to step S609.

[0104] Steps S609 and S610 are the same as in the first embodiment. That is, even if a printer in the same group as the printer to be newly registered has already been registered and its home screen has been customized, if that registered printer has not been used within a specified period of time, the home screen settings associated with the printer to be registered will be the default settings. That is, in such a case, the home screen settings associated with the registered printer will not be applied to the home screen of the printer to be newly registered. On the other hand, if a printer in the same group as the printer to be newly registered has already been registered and its home screen has been customized, and the registered printer has been used within a specified period of time, the home screen settings associated with the printer to be registered will inherit the customized settings. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0105] As explained above, according to this embodiment, even if a printer in the same group that can reuse customized settings is already registered, if that printer is not used often, it is possible to prevent the reuse of customized settings for that printer. This prevents the adoption of a home screen that imitates the home screen of an infrequently used printer, which would actually reduce convenience. This further improves usability.

[0106] In the above example, the condition determined in S801 was actual usage within a specified period, but other methods may be used, such as counting the usage frequency of each printer and comparing that usage frequency with a threshold. In this case, if the usage frequency is lower than the threshold, the process may branch to S609, and if not, the process may branch to S610. The usage frequency may be calculated, for example, by accumulating the number of times a registered printer is used and dividing the accumulated number of times by the period from when the usage frequency count began to the present.

[0107] [Embodiment 3] If the home screen settings of multiple registered printers in the same group have been customized, it is necessary to determine which printer's associated customization settings to reuse. Reusing the settings of a printer with a higher usage history is thought to improve usability, so it is conceivable to reuse the customization settings of the home screen of the printer with the most recent usage history. Therefore, in this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the date and time when a function button was pressed on the home screen 7070 is stored in the customization information storage unit 411, making it possible to identify the date and time of last use. In this embodiment, since it is only necessary to know the date and time of last use, the stored date and time may be overwritten with the latest value.

[0108] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing performed by the data processing device 101, and the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[0109] Steps S601 to S609 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0110] If it is determined in step S608 that the home screen settings of registered printers in the same group have already been customized, the process proceeds to step S901. Note that if there is at least one registered printer in the same group that has already been customized, it can be determined that the home screen settings of registered printers in the same group have already been customized. In other words, if there is at least one matching printer in S608, the process proceeds to S901.

[0111] In step S901, the CPU 202 determines whether there are multiple registered and customized printers in the same group. If there is one, the process proceeds to step S610; if not, the process proceeds to step S902.

[0112] In step S902, the CPU 202 references the last use date and time of each of the relevant registered printers, identifies the printer that was last used among those printers, and then associates the home screen customization settings of the identified printer with the newly registered printer and stores them to perform device registration (printer registration).

[0113] S610 is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0114] As described above, according to this embodiment, even if there are multiple registered printers in the same group that can share customized settings, the customized settings of the appropriate printer can be used for registration, thereby improving usability.

[0115] In the first to third embodiments, the target of customization is the button layout setting on the home screen. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other settings may also be customized by linking a new printer to a registered and customized printer in the same group and applying the registered customization settings.

[0116] [Other Examples] 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.

[0117] Summary of embodiments The above embodiments can be summarized as follows: (Item 1) means of communication; a device search means for searching for a device through communication by the communication means; a registration means for registering a device selected from the discovered devices in association with settings related to the device; and The registration means registers the selected device in association with the customized setting if there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the setting registered in association with the registered device is a customized setting. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 2) Item 1. The information processing device according to item 1, The registration means registers the selected device in association with the customized setting when there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device, the setting registered in association with the registered device is a customized setting, and the registered device has been used within a predetermined period. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 3) Item 1 or 2, the information processing device If there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the setting associated with the registered device is a customized setting, the registration means registers the selected device by associating it with the customized setting that is associated with the registered device that was last used among the corresponding customized settings. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 4) The information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 3, a display means for displaying a home screen on which function buttons for using the functions of the selected device are arranged; The customized settings include customized settings that customize settings for the home screen. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 5) Item 4. The information processing device according to item 4, The home screen customization settings include settings for the types of the function buttons displayed on the home screen and the layout of the function buttons. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 6) Item 5. The information processing device according to item 5, the device comprises a printer; The function buttons include function buttons for using the functions of the printer. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 7) Item 5 or 6, the information processing device according to item 5 or 6, the device has a scanner for reading an image; The function buttons include a function button for utilizing a function of the scanner. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 8) The information processing device according to items 4 to 7, The device further includes a list display means for displaying a list of function buttons for using the functions of the selected device. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 9) Item 8. The information processing device according to item 8, The display device further includes a customization unit for selecting the type and layout of the function buttons to be arranged on the home screen from among the function buttons displayed by the list unit. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 10) Item 10. The information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 9, The group is based on the use of the device. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 11) Item 11. The information processing device according to item 10, The groups based on the use include a home use group and a business use group. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 12) An information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 11, the group is a group based on the printing method of a printer included in the device, The printing method includes an inkjet method and an electrophotographic method. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 13) An information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 12, The registration means registers the selected device by associating it with a predetermined initial setting if there is no registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device or if a customized setting associated with the registered device is not registered. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 14) Item 14. The information processing device according to item 13, a display means for displaying a home screen on which function buttons for using the functions of the selected device are arranged; the predetermined initial settings include a predetermined initial setting for the home screen; The predetermined initial setting of the home screen is a setting to display all of the function buttons of the selected device on the home screen. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 15) An information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 14, The communication means communicates with the device by wireless communication. 1. An information processing device comprising: (Item 16) An information processing device according to any one of items 1 to 15; a device capable of communicating with the information processing device; A device registration system comprising: (Item 17) An information processing device having a communication means, a device search means for searching for a device through communication by the communication means; a registration means for registering a device selected from the discovered devices in association with settings related to the device; A program for making the device function as a The registration means registers the selected device in association with the customized setting if there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the setting registered in association with the registered device is a customized setting. A program characterized by: (Item 18) A device registration method for an information processing device having a communication means, a search means, and a registration means, comprising: the search means searches for devices through communication by the communication means; the registration means registers a device selected from the discovered devices in association with settings related to the device; The registration means registers the selected device in association with the customized setting if there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the setting registered in association with the registered device is a customized setting. A device registration method comprising:

[0118] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0119] 101 data processing device, 104 image forming device, 202 CPU, 203 ROM, 204 RAM, 212 wireless LAN communication unit, 401 application (data processing device)

Claims

1. means of communication; a device search means for searching for a device through communication by the communication means; a registration means for registering a device selected from the discovered devices in association with settings related to the device; and If there is a registered device that belongs to the same group as the selected device and the setting registered in association with the registered device is a customized setting, the registration means registers the selected device in association with the customized setting.