Information processing device, print setting method, and program

Abstract

This provides technology for utilizing extended print settings in cloud printing services. [Solution] The information processing device of the present invention, in setting print settings for print data to be fed into a comprehensive logical printer, includes a warning display means that displays a warning on the print settings screen where the print settings are made, indicating that the extended print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer, and the print settings set by the application are sent to the print server that provides the cloud print service.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In a conventional printing method, a user directly transmits a print job from a client terminal such as a PC to a printing apparatus to execute printing. Patent Document 1 proposes a cloud printing service using a cloud service provided on the Internet. In the cloud printing service, a client terminal that inputs a print job and a printer that executes printing are registered in a print server that provides the cloud printing service, and the print server functions as a virtual printer.

[0003] A virtual printer is a logical printer that is associated with a print queue and is virtually treated as one printer. The outline of the printing process in the cloud printing service is as follows. A user gives an instruction to input a print job to the virtual printer from a client terminal. The print job input by the user is stored in the print queue of the virtual printer and is stored until an instruction to the printer is received by the user. The user logs in to a printer in the vicinity and gives a print instruction. The printer receives the print job from the print server and performs printing. Such a printing method is called hold-and-print because the print job input by the user is stored without being printed by the print server. Also, since the print job held in the print server is printed by the instruction of the user, such a printing method is also called pull printing.

[0004] Furthermore, recent operating systems (OS) come with a built-in printing function. This printing function is called the standard printing function. To provide users with print settings not supported by the standard printing function, printer vendors provide print support applications (PSAs) that can be installed on the OS. The standard printing function communicates with printers and print servers using standard protocols such as the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). With IPP, printer vendors can define their own vendor extension attributes. Patent document 2 proposes a technology that executes printing according to defined vendor extension attributes for print settings not supported by the standard printing function. By adding vendor extension attributes to the OS's standard printing function, users can use the print settings defined by the vendor extension attributes. Print settings defined by such vendor extension attributes are called extended print settings.

[0005] Using the cloud print service, it is possible to submit a print job with extended print settings configured and then perform a pull print by specifying a printer. When a user performs a pull print by specifying a printer that supports extended print settings, the printer can execute the print job according to the extended print settings configured by the user. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-184230 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5665582 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] In some cases, virtual printers in cloud printing services may be associated with printers from other vendors that do not support extended print settings. When a print job containing extended print settings is executed using a printer that does not support extended print settings, the user-configured extended print settings will not be applied to the print job. One aspect of the present invention aims to provide a technology for utilizing extended print settings in cloud printing services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The information processing device of the present invention, in setting print settings for print data to be fed into a comprehensive logical printer, includes a warning display means that displays a warning on the print settings screen where the print settings are made, indicating that the extended print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer, and the print settings set by the application are sent to the print server that provides the cloud print service.

[0009] Furthermore, the print server of the present invention includes a management means for managing a logical printer associated with a printing device, a comprehensive logical printer associated with the logical printer, and vendor information of the printing device; a storage means for receiving a print job with vendor information attached from an information processing device and storing the print job in the print queue of the comprehensive logical printer; a print instruction means for receiving an instruction to execute the print job stored in the print queue of the comprehensive logical printer on the printing device; and, upon receiving the instruction, a movement means for moving the print job to the print queue of the logical printer associated with the printing device if the vendor information attached to the print job matches the vendor information of the printing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the print server of the present invention, users can flexibly utilize extended print settings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram for explaining the configuration example of an embodiment. [Figure 2] Block diagram for explaining the hardware configuration example of a computer in an embodiment. [Figure 3] Block diagram for explaining the functional configuration example of a print server in an embodiment. [Figure 4] Block diagram for explaining the functional configuration example of an information processing apparatus in an embodiment. [Figure 5] Block diagram for explaining the hardware configuration example of a printing apparatus in an embodiment. [Figure 6] Schematic diagram for explaining the configuration example of the operation unit of a printing apparatus in an embodiment. [Figure 7] Block diagram for explaining the functional configuration example of a printing apparatus in an embodiment. [Figure 8] Sequence diagram for explaining the overall processing of cloud printing in an embodiment. [Figure 9] Network diagram showing the configuration example of a printing system in an embodiment. [Figure 10] Flowchart for explaining the installation of PSA in an embodiment. [Figure 11] Diagram for explaining the standard print setting screen in an embodiment. [Figure 12] Diagram for explaining the print setting screen by PSA in an embodiment. [Figure 13] Diagram for explaining the standard print setting and extended print setting by a vendor in an embodiment. [Figure 14] Diagram for explaining the extended print setting screen in an embodiment. [Figure 15] Network diagram showing the configuration example of a printing system including printers of multiple vendors in an embodiment. [Figure 16] Diagram for explaining the caution display screen in an embodiment. [Figure 17] Flowchart for adding vendor information to a print job in an embodiment. [Figure 18] Flowchart for explaining the printing process using vendor information in an embodiment.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these plurality of features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0013] <First Embodiment> [Configuration Example of Printing System] Referring to FIG. 1, a configuration example of a printing system according to an embodiment will be described. The printing system includes, for example, an information processing apparatus 110, printing apparatuses 120 and 121, a printing server 130, and a mobile communication apparatus 140. The number of each component of the printing system is not limited to the example of FIG. 1. Further, the printing system may have components not shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] The information processing device 110 and the printing device 120 are connected to the same local area network (LAN) 101. LAN 101 may be a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a combination of both. LAN 101 is connected to a wide area network 103 (e.g., the Internet) through a firewall 102. The printing device 121 and the print server 130 are also connected to the wide area network 103. The information processing device 110 and the printing device 120 can communicate with each other within LAN 101 (i.e., without going through the wide area network 103). Furthermore, both the information processing device 110 and the printing device 120 can communicate with the print server 130 through LAN 101, firewall 102, and wide area network 103. The printing device 121 may be connected to the wide area network 103 via a LAN or a cellular network (e.g., a network compliant with the fourth-generation communication standard (4G) or fifth-generation communication standard (5G)). The information processing device 110 and the mobile communication device 140 may also be connected to the wide-area network 103 via a cellular network. Furthermore, the mobile communication device 140 may also be connectable to the LAN 101.

[0015] Printing devices 120 and 121 have a printing function that performs printing according to a print job. In addition to the printing function, printing devices 120 and 121 may also include at least one of a scanning function and a fax function. Printing devices having multiple functions in this way may be called multifunction peripherals (MFPs). Alternatively, printing devices 120 and 121 may be single-function peripherals (SFPs) that have only a printing function. Printing may be printing on a sheet-like recording medium such as paper, or it may be forming a three-dimensional object (so-called 3D printing).

[0016] The print server 130 provides a print service that sends print jobs generated by the information processing device 110 to one or more printing devices registered with the print server 130 (for example, printing device 120). For example, the print server 130 provides a logical printer to the information processing device 110 and accepts print jobs for the logical printer. A logical printer is a virtual printing device (for example, a printer object) provided by the print server 130. A logical printer may also be called a cloud printer. The information processing device 110 can generate print queues for logical printers, just like printing devices 120 and 121. In contrast to logical printers, physical printing devices such as printing devices 120 and 121 may also be called physical printers. In the following description, logical printers and physical printers will be collectively referred to simply as printers. A physical printer may also be called a local printer if it is connected to the same LAN as the information processing device that submits the print job.

[0017] The print server 130 may be a server in an on-premises environment connected to the Internet 103, or it may be a server in a cloud computing environment (hereinafter simply referred to as the cloud). The print service provided by the print server 130 in the cloud may be called a cloud print service. An example of a cloud print service is Universal Print® provided by Microsoft. The following explanation will describe the case where the print server 130 is in the cloud. However, the following explanation also applies to the case where the print server 130 is in an on-premises environment.

[0018] The information processing device 110 provides a printing function to its user. The information processing device 110 may be a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, or another device. The information processing device 110 may also specify a physical printer (e.g., a printer 120) connected to the same LAN 101 as the output destination for the printed material. Printing performed by directly submitting a print job to a physical printer (i.e., within the LAN) may also be called local printing.

[0019] The information processing device 110 may specify a logical printer provided by the print server 130 as the output destination for printed materials. When a logical printer is specified as the output destination, the physical printer associated with the logical printer (e.g., the printing device 120) performs the printing. The information processing device 110 that uses the cloud print service may also be called a client or client terminal. Printing performed by submitting a print job to a logical printer may also be called cloud print, remote print, or remote printing. Printing performed by submitting a print job to a logical printer may be performed by the printing device 120 connected to the same LAN 101 as the information processing device 110, or by the printing device 121 which is not connected to LAN 101. In the following description, the printing devices 120 and 121 will be described as printing device 120, but the same applies to printing device 121. The printing device is not limited to the printing device 120 connected to the same LAN as the information processing device 110, but may also be the printing device 121 which is not connected to LAN.

[0020] In the example shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 110 is capable of performing both local and remote printing. Alternatively, the information processing device 110 may be capable of performing only remote printing.

[0021] The information processing device 110 may have a printing function that is included as standard in the operating system (OS). Such a printing function is called a standard printing function. A standard printing function may also be called an OS standard printing function or a native printing function. An information processing device 110 having a standard printing function does not require separate software (e.g., a driver) to use a printing device that supports the standard printing function. Examples of standard printing functions include AirPrint (registered trademark), which is included as standard in iOS (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), etc., and Mopria (registered trademark), which is included as standard in Windows (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), etc.

[0022] [Example of computer hardware configuration] Referring to Figure 2, an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 200 according to one embodiment will be described. The computer 200 may be used as an information processing device 110, a print server 130, or a portable communication device 140. The computer 200 may include the components shown in Figure 2, may not include some of the components shown in Figure 2, or may include components not shown in Figure 2.

[0023] The central processing unit (CPU) 201 is a general-purpose processing circuit that controls the overall operation of the computer 200. The random access memory (RAM) 202 is a volatile memory circuit and is used as a temporary storage area such as a work area for processing by the CPU 201. The read-only memory (ROM) 203 is a non-volatile memory circuit that stores programs and data used in the processing of the CPU 201. The storage device 204 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data used in the processing of the CPU 201. The storage device 204 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). The storage device 204 may also be called a secondary storage device. The operation of the computer 200 may be realized by the CPU 201 executing a program read from the storage device 204 into the RAM 202.

[0024] The input interface (I / F) 205 is an I / F for exchanging signals with the input device 210. The input device 210 is a device that receives input from the user of the computer 200. The input device 210 may be, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a microphone, a mouse, or any combination thereof. The output I / F 206 is an I / F for exchanging signals with the output device 220. The output device 220 is a device that provides information to the user of the computer 200. The output device 220 may be, for example, a display, a speaker, or any combination thereof. The network I / F 207 is an I / F for communicating with devices outside the computer 200. The CPU 201, RAM 202, ROM 203, storage device 204, input I / F 205, output I / F 206, and network I / F 207 are each connected to the system bus 208. In the example in Figure 2, the input device 210 and output device 220 are shown as separate devices from the computer 200. Alternatively, the computer 200 may include an input device 210 and an output device 220. For example, if the computer 200 is used as a portable communication device 140, the portable communication device 140 may include an input device 210 and an output device 220. Furthermore, the computer 200 (in particular the portable communication device 140) may have a camera 209.

[0025] [Example of print server functional configuration] Referring to Figure 3, an example of the functional configuration of the print server 130 will be described. The print server 130 may include the components shown in Figure 3, may not include some of the components shown in Figure 3, or may include components not shown in Figure 3. Each component in Figure 3 may be implemented by the CPU 201 executing a program read into RAM 202. Alternatively, some or all of the components in Figure 3 may be implemented by a dedicated processing circuit such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0026] The registration control unit 301 performs processing to register a logical printer. For example, in response to a registration start request from the printing device 120, the registration control unit 301 generates a logical printer associated with a physical printer and registers it in the printer information 311. A logical printer registered in the printer information 311 is recognized as a printer by the information processing device 110. A physical printer associated with a logical printer may be a physical printer that performs printing according to a print job submitted to the logical printer. A logical printer may be associated with only one physical printer. A physical printer may be associated with only one logical printer, or it may be associated with multiple logical printers.

[0027] The print control unit 302 performs processing related to print jobs for logical printers. For example, the print control unit 302 receives print jobs for logical printers from the information processing device 110 and, based on this, sends print jobs to the physical printer associated with the logical printer. The print control unit 302 may also control events related to print jobs. Events related to print jobs may include, for example, the receipt of a print job. The print control unit 302 may respond with events related to the physical printer in response to receiving an event request from the physical printer.

[0028] The printer management unit 303 manages information about logical printers registered with the print server 130 as printer information 311. Printer information 311 includes the name of the physical printer associated with the logical printer, capability information, a cloud printer ID uniquely assigned to the logical printer, and information about the print queue where print jobs are spooled.

[0029] The job management unit 304 manages information about print jobs received from the information processing device 110 as job information 312. The job information 312 includes information and status of the print job, and print data specified in the print job.

[0030] The memory control unit 310 stores information in the RAM 202 or storage device 204, or reads information from the RAM 202 or storage device 204, according to instructions from other components. In one embodiment, the memory control unit 310 stores printer information 311 and job information 312.

[0031] [Example of Functional Configuration of Information Processing Device] Referring to Figure 4, an example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 110 will be described. The information processing device 110 may include the components shown in Figure 4, may not include some of the components shown in Figure 4, or may include components not shown in Figure 4. Each component in Figure 4 may be implemented by the CPU 201 executing a program read into the RAM 202. Alternatively, some or all of the components in Figure 4 may be implemented by a dedicated processing circuit such as an ASIC.

[0032] The input acquisition unit 401 acquires input from the user of the information processing device 110 using the input interface 205. The information output unit 402 outputs information to the user of the information processing device 110 using the output interface 206.

[0033] The registration control unit 403 performs processing to register the logical printer with the print server 130. The print control unit 404 performs processing related to printing by the printer. The print control unit 404 generates a print job from the print data and print settings. For example, the print control unit 404 may send a print job to a logical printer registered with the print server 130 in accordance with a print instruction from the user of the information processing device 110. The print control unit 404 may also send a print job directly to a physical printer (i.e., within the same LAN) in accordance with a print instruction from the user of the information processing device 110.

[0034] The printer management unit 405 manages information about printers to which the information processing device 110 can submit print jobs as printer information 411. Printer information 411 includes the printer name, capability information, etc. The printer management unit 405 may also search for printers to which the information processing device 110 can submit print jobs.

[0035] The memory control unit 410 stores information in the RAM 202 and the storage device 204, and reads information from the RAM 202 and the storage device 204, according to instructions from other components. In one embodiment, the memory control unit 410 stores printer information 411 and an operating system (OS) 412. The OS 412 is installed as standard in the information processing device 110 (i.e., at the time of shipment of the information processing device 110). The OS 412 may be updated. The OS 412 has functions for basic management and control of the information processing device 110. The OS 412 includes a standard printing function 414.

[0036] The memory control unit 410 may further store a print support application (PSA) 413. A PSA 413 is an application (plugin) installed on the OS 412 to extend the standard printing function 414. The PSA 413 is provided by the vendor of the printing device 120. The PSA 413 allows the user of the information processing device 110 to use print settings not supported by the standard printing function 414.

[0037] The standard printing function 414 may support a standard protocol. Supporting a protocol means interpreting instructions that conform to that protocol and operating in accordance with those instructions. The standard protocol supported by the standard printing function 414 may be a protocol standardized by a standards organization (i.e., a protocol that has been formally defined), or it may be a de facto standard protocol. The following description assumes that the standard protocol supported by the standard printing function 414 is the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). The following description of IPP also applies to other standard protocols.

[0038] PSA413 may support a protocol different from the standard protocol supported by the standard printing function 414. The standard printing function 414 does not have to support the protocol supported by PSA413. The protocol supported by PSA413 may be a standard protocol different from the standard protocol supported by the standard printing function 414. For example, the protocol supported by PSA413 may be a vendor-specific protocol of the printing device 120. The following description will focus on the case where the protocol supported by PSA413 is CPCA (Common Peripheral Controlling Architecture). CPCA is a vendor-specific protocol of the printing device 120. The following description of CPCA also applies to other protocols different from the standard protocol supported by the standard printing function 414.

[0039] [Example of printing device hardware configuration] Referring to Figure 5, an example of the hardware configuration of a printing device 500 according to one embodiment will be described. The printing device 500 may be used as printing device 120 or as printing device 121. The printing device 500 may include the components shown in Figure 5, may not include some of the components shown in Figure 5, or may include components not shown in Figure 5. Since the printing device 500 is a physical printing device, it can also be called a physical printer.

[0040] The CPU 501 is a general-purpose processing circuit that controls the overall operation of the printing device 500. The RAM 502 is a volatile memory circuit used as a temporary storage area such as a work area for processing by the CPU 501. The ROM 503 is a non-volatile memory circuit that stores programs and data used in the processing of the CPU 501. The storage device 504 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data used in the processing of the CPU 501 (e.g., print jobs, image data, setting information). The storage device 504 may be, for example, an HDD or an SSD. The storage device 504 may also be called a secondary storage device. The operation of the printing device 500 may be realized by the CPU 501 executing a program read from the storage device 504 into the RAM 502.

[0041] The printer interface 505 is an interface for exchanging signals with the printer engine 520. The printer engine 520 performs printing based on signals (e.g., image signals and print commands) supplied from the control unit 510 through the printer interface 505. Printing may be electrophotographic printing, which transfers and fixes toner onto paper; inkjet printing, which prints by ejecting ink onto paper; or 3D printing.

[0042] The scanner I / F 506 is an interface for exchanging signals with the scanner engine 530. The scanner engine 530 supplies signals obtained by scanning a document (e.g., image signals) to the control unit 510 through the scanner I / F 506. The CPU 501 may process the image signals supplied from the scanner engine 530 and supply the resulting recorded image signals to the printer engine 520. Alternatively, the CPU 501 may generate image data based on the image signals supplied from the scanner engine 530 and transmit it to an external device.

[0043] The control unit I / F 507 is an interface for exchanging signals with the control unit 540. The control unit 540 is a device that receives input from the user of the printing device 500 and provides information to the user of the printing device 500. The control unit 540 may consist of, for example, a display panel (e.g., a liquid crystal display), a speaker, a touch panel, a keyboard, buttons, a touchscreen, or any combination thereof.

[0044] The network interface 508 is an interface for communicating with devices outside the printing device 500. The control unit 510 is composed of the CPU 501, RAM 502, ROM 503, storage device 504, printer interface 505, scanner interface 506, operation unit interface 507, and network interface 508. Each component included in the control unit 510 is connected to the system bus 509.

[0045] [Example of the configuration of the control panel of a printing device] Referring to Figure 6, an example of the configuration of the operating unit 540 of the printing device 500 will be described. In the example in Figure 6, the operating unit 540 is configured as an operating panel formed in a panel shape. The operating unit 540 may have the components shown in Figure 6. The operating unit 540 may also have components not shown in Figure 6.

[0046] The display panel 601 is a touchscreen that integrates a touch panel for obtaining user input and a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display) for displaying information to the user. In the example in Figure 6, the display panel 601 displays buttons 602 to 604. Button 602 is a soft button for obtaining user instructions to switch to copy mode. The printer 500 displays a copy operation screen on the display panel 601 in response to the user touching button 602. Button 603 is a soft button for obtaining user instructions to switch to fax mode. The printer 500 displays a fax operation screen on the display panel 601 in response to the user touching button 603. Button 604 is a soft button for obtaining user instructions to switch to scanner mode. The printer 500 displays a scanner operation screen on the display panel 601 in response to the user touching button 604. In addition, the display panel 601 may display a dialog box for interacting with the user or a cloud print job list.

[0047] The numeric keypad 605 is a set of physical buttons for obtaining input such as numbers from the user. Button 606 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to determine the content displayed on the display panel 601. The directional keys 607 are physical buttons for obtaining instructions from the user to select an item from a menu displayed on the display panel 601. Button 608 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to make a monochrome copy. Button 609 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to make a color copy. Button 610 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to stop the process. Button 611 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to display a menu screen for configuring the printer 500. Button 612 is a physical button for obtaining instructions from the user to display the status of the printer 500, such as a list of print jobs that the printer 500 is receiving.

[0048] [Example of printing device function configuration] Referring to Figure 7, an example of the functional configuration of the printing device 500 will be described. The printing device 500 may include the components shown in Figure 7, may not include some of the components shown in Figure 7, or may include components not shown in Figure 7. Each component in Figure 7 may be implemented by the CPU 501 executing a program read from the RAM 502. Alternatively, some or all of the components in Figure 7 may be implemented by a dedicated processing circuit such as an ASIC.

[0049] The input acquisition unit 701 acquires input from the user of the printing device 500 using the operation unit I / F 507. The information output unit 702 outputs information to the user of the printing device 500 using the operation unit I / F 507. For example, the information output unit 702 displays an operation menu on the operation unit 540. The input acquisition unit 701 acquires input for the operation menu and notifies other components of the input instructions. The information output unit 702 displays the results obtained from the other components on the operation unit 540.

[0050] The image processing unit 703 renders the print job into image data for printing. The print processing unit 704 prints the image data rendered by the image processing unit 703.

[0051] The registration control unit 705 performs processing to register the logical printer associated with the printing device 500 with the print server 130. The printer management unit 706 manages information about the printing device 500 as printer information 721. Printer information 721 may include, for example, the name of the printing device 500, the status of the printing device 500, the capability information of the printing device 500, and a cloud printer ID uniquely assigned by the print server 130 to the logical printer associated with the printing device 500. Printer information 621 may also include a local printer ID for the information processing device 110 to identify printing devices within the same LAN 101. Capability information of the printing device 500 refers to information about the capabilities of the printing device 500, and may include, for example, that the printing device 500 has a specific function.

[0052] The Cloud Print (CP) control unit 707 performs processing related to Cloud Print. For example, the CP control unit 707 may execute printing according to the print job sent from the print server 130 by transferring the print data included in the print job received from the print server 130 to the image processing unit 703. Alternatively, the CP control unit 707 may send an event request to the print server 130.

[0053] The local print (LP) control unit 708 performs processing related to local printing. For example, the LP control unit 708 may respond to a printer search from the information processing device 110. Alternatively, the LP control unit 708 may execute printing according to the print job sent from the information processing device 110 by transferring the print data contained in the print job received directly from the information processing device 110 to the image processing unit 703. The job management unit 709 manages information related to print jobs as job information 722. The job information 722 may include the processing status and processing results of the print job.

[0054] The IPP processing unit 710 performs processing related to IPP. For example, the IPP processing unit 710 receives an IPP-compliant message from an external device (information processing device 110 or print server 130), interprets the message, and executes the processing specified in the message. The IPP processing unit 710 may also have server functionality. For example, the IPP processing unit 710 may be assigned a specific port number, and a message specifying this port number may be passed to the IPP processing unit 710.

[0055] The CPCA processing unit 711 performs processing related to CPCA. For example, the CPCA processing unit 711 receives a CPCA-compliant message from an external device (information processing device 110 or print server 130), interprets the message, and executes the processing specified in the message. The CPCA processing unit 711 may also have server functionality. For example, the CPCA processing unit 711 may be assigned a specific port number, and a message specifying this port number may be passed to the CPCA processing unit 711. Messages to the CPCA processing unit 711 may be passed via local loopback from other components of the printing device 500 (e.g., IPP processing unit 710). The CPCA processing unit 711 may also provide an application programming interface (API) and obtain instructions from other components (e.g., IPP processing unit 710) through the API.

[0056] The 2D code generation unit 712 generates a 2D code that encodes information (for example, a cloud printer ID corresponding to a physical printer). The 2D code may be a QR code (registered trademark) or another type of 2D code.

[0057] The memory control unit 720 stores information in the RAM 502 or storage device 504, or reads information from the RAM 502 or storage device 504, according to instructions from other components. In one embodiment, the memory control unit 720 stores printer information 621, job information 722, and a two-dimensional code 722. The two-dimensional code 722 is a two-dimensional code that encodes the cloud printer ID assigned to the logical printer associated with the printing device 500. The memory control unit 720 may manage the data as a file system. The memory control unit 720 may allocate the storage destination of each data to the storage device 504, which is a non-volatile area, and the RAM 502, which is a volatile area. For example, the memory control unit 720 may store the printer information 721 and the job information 722 in the non-volatile area.

[0058] [Overall processing sequence for cloud printing] Referring to Figure 8, the overall processing sequence for performing cloud printing is described. The example in Figure 8 deals with the case where the information processing device 110 registers the printer 120 with the print server 130 and submits a print job to the logical printer associated with the printer 120. Registering the printer 120 with the print server 130 may also mean registering the logical printer associated with the printer 120 with the print server 130. In the following example, it is assumed that the printer 120 supports a web user interface (UI) function for operating the printer 120 from the information processing device 110. It is also assumed that the information processing device 110 supports a web UI client function. Communication between the information processing device 110, the printer 120, and the print server 130 may be performed using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

[0059] In S801, the registration control unit 403 of the information processing device 110 sends a registration start request to the printing device 120 in accordance with instructions from the user of the information processing device 110. The registration start request may also be a request to start the process of registering the printing device 120 with the print server 130. The registration start request may also be sent using the web UI client function of the information processing device 110.

[0060] In S802, the registration control unit 705 of the printing device 120 sends a registration start request to the printing server 130 in response to receiving a registration start request from the information processing device 110. The registration start request may also be a request to start the process of registering the printing device 120 with the printing server 130.

[0061] In S803, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 sends a registration start response to the print device 120 in response to receiving a registration start request from the print device 120. The registration start response includes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for a web page where the user of the information processing device 110 can input information to register the print device 120 with the print server 130.

[0062] In S804, the registration control unit 705 of the printing device 120 transmits registration information to the information processing device 110 in response to receiving a registration start response from the print server 130. The registration information includes the URL contained in the registration start response. The information output unit 402 of the information processing device 110 displays the web page to the user in response to receiving the registration information from the printing device 120.

[0063] In S805, the registration control unit 403 of the information processing device 110 sends a registration approval request to the print server 130 in response to the user of the information processing device 110 accessing the URL and entering the information required for registration. The registration approval request includes the cloud account of the user of the information processing device 110. A cloud account is an account that allows a user to use a cloud tenant that includes the print server 130.

[0064] In S806, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 checks whether the cloud account included in the registration approval request belongs to a user who has the authority to register the printing device 120 with the print server 130. If the user has the authority, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 sends a registration approval response to the information processing device 110. The registration approval response may be a message notifying the information processing device 110 of the confirmation that the user has the authority to register the printing device 500.

[0065] In S807, the printer management unit 706 of the printing device 120 sends a registration confirmation request to the printing server 130 in response to receiving a registration start response from the printing server 130. The registration confirmation request is a request to register the printing device 120 with the printing server 130, and may specifically be a request to register the printing device 500 with the printing server 130.

[0066] In S808, the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130, upon receiving a registration confirmation request from the printing device 500, generates a new logical printer and adds it to the printer information 311 in association with the printing device 120. As a result, the printing device 120 is registered with the print server 130, and the information processing device 110 becomes capable of cloud printing using the logical printer. The printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 also assigns a unique cloud printer ID to the generated logical printer and adds this cloud printer ID to the printer information 311 in association with the logical printer. Subsequently, the registration control unit 301 of the print server 130 sends a registration confirmation response to the printing device 120. The registration confirmation response includes the cloud printer ID of the printing device 120.

[0067] In S809, the printer management unit 706 of the printing device 120 sends an information update request to the printing server 130 in response to the completion of registration of the printing device 120 with the printing server 130. The information update request may also be a request to update information related to the printing device 120. The information update request includes capability information of the printing device 120. The information update request may also be sent as an Update-Output-Device-Attributes request message as defined in IPP.

[0068] In S810, the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 updates the information of the printing device 120 contained in the printer information 311 based on the capability information contained in the received information update request, and sends an information update response to the printing device 500. The information update response may also be a message notifying that the update of the information of the printing device 120 has been successfully completed.

[0069] In S811, the CP control unit 707 of the printing device 120 sends an event request to the printing server 130 in response to receiving a registration confirmation response from the printing server 130. The event request may also be a request to notify the printing device 120 when an event related to the printing device 120 occurs. The event request may also be for an event that a print job has been submitted to the logical printer associated with the printing device 120.

[0070] In S812, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 sends an information request to the print server 130 in accordance with instructions from the user of the information processing device 110. The information request may be a request for information about a logical printer available to the user of the information processing device 110. The information request includes the cloud account of the user of the information processing device 110. The information request may also be sent as a Get-Printer-Attributes Request message as defined in IPP.

[0071] In S813, the printer management unit 303 of the print server 130 sends an information response to the information processing device 110 in response to receiving an information request from the information processing device 110. The information response includes the cloud printer ID and capability information for each of the one or more logical printers available to the user of the information processing device 110. The printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 updates the printer information 411 based on the information response. This registers the discovered logical printer with the standard printing function 414 of the information processing device 110. The information response may also be sent as a Get-Printer-Attributes Response message as defined in IPP.

[0072] In S814, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 sends a print request to the print server 130 in accordance with instructions from the user of the information processing device 110. The print request includes a cloud printer ID, a print job, and the cloud account of the user of the information processing device 110. The print job may also include print data and print settings. The print request may also be a request to print the print data included in the print request to a logical printer having the cloud printer ID included in the print request. The information processing device 110 may also instruct a logical printer registered in the standard print function 414 to print.

[0073] In S815, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 sends an event response to the printing device 500 associated with the logical printer in response to receiving a print request from the information processing device 110. The event response is a response to the event request received in S711. The event response is a response to notify that an event of the type specified in the event request has occurred.

[0074] In S816, the CP control unit 707 of the printing device 120 sends a print job request to the print server 130 in response to receiving an event response from the print server 130. The print job request may be a request for a print job that the printing device 120 should execute.

[0075] In S817, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 sends a print job response to the print device 120 in response to receiving a print job request from the print device 120. The print job response includes the cloud account and the print job. The print job response received by the print device 120 from the print server 130 may be an IPP Fetch-Job Response message. In S818, the print device 500 prints according to the print job in response to receiving the print job response from the print server 130.

[0076] In the explanation of Figure 8, the registration of the printing device 120 in S801 to S806 and the cloud printing in S812 to S818 may be performed by the same user or by different users.

[0077] <Comprehensive logical printers and individual logical printers> The comprehensive logical printer and individual logical printers provided by the print server 130 will now be described. In this embodiment, the print server 130 may provide both a comprehensive logical printer and individual logical printers. As described above, a logical printer is a virtual printing device (e.g., a printer object) provided by the print server 130. An individual logical printer is a logical printer associated with a specific physical printer. A print job submitted to an individual logical printer can be printed by the physical printer associated with that individual logical printer. A comprehensive logical printer is a logical printer that is not directly associated with a specific physical printer but is associated with one or more individual logical printers. Typically, a comprehensive logical printer is associated with multiple individual logical printers. A print job submitted to a comprehensive logical printer is moved to one of the individual logical printers associated with that comprehensive logical printer, according to instructions from the user. In other words, a print job submitted to a comprehensive logical printer is submitted to one of the individual logical printers. The print job can then be printed by the physical printer associated with this individual logical printer.

[0078] The registration control unit 705 of the print server 130 may register comprehensive logical printers and individual logical printers to the print server 130, for example, in accordance with instructions from a user of the printing device 500 or the administrator of the printing system. For example, as described above, in S808 of Figure 8, the registration control unit 403 of the print server 130 registers a logical printer. This logical printer is registered as an individual logical printer because it is associated with a specific physical printer. Also, if a comprehensive logical printer is already registered in the cloud tenant to which the user who registered the physical printer belongs, the registration control unit 403 of the print server 130 may associate the newly registered individual logical printer with the comprehensive logical printer.

[0079] Referring to Figure 9, an example of a comprehensive logical printer and individual logical printers provided by the print server 130 will be described. The print server 130 functions as a virtual printer. A virtual printer is a logical printer associated with a print queue and treated virtually as a single printer. In the example in Figure 9, the print server 130 has one comprehensive logical printer 901 and three individual logical printers 902a to 902c registered, and the print server 130 provides these four logical printers. All three individual logical printers 902a to 902c are associated with the comprehensive logical printer 901. In addition, the three individual logical printers 902a to 902c are individually associated with three physical printers 903a to 903c. For example, individual logical printer 902a is associated only with physical printer 903a of the three physical printers 903a to 903c. The physical printers 903a to 903c may have a configuration similar to that of the printing device 500. Physical printers 903a to 903c may be connected to the same LAN 101 as the information processing device 110, as is the case with printing device 120, or they may not be connected to the same LAN 101 as the information processing device 110, as is the case with printing device 121.

[0080] Referring to Figure 9, the printing process flow by submitting a print job to the comprehensive logical printer 901 will be explained. In S911, the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 submits a print job 904 to the comprehensive logical printer 901 (S814 in Figure 8). At this stage, the user of the information processing device 110 does not need to specify which physical printer to use for printing.

[0081] In S912, the user who submitted print job 904, or another user, logs into the mobile communication device 140 and retrieves the print job submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 901. In S913, the print job list is displayed on the user's mobile communication device 140. The user then selects the desired print job from the print job list displayed on the mobile communication device 140 and specifies the physical printer to execute the print job on. The operation in S913 is performed by the application on the mobile communication device 140. Here, it is assumed that the user selects print job 904 from the print job list on the mobile communication device 140 and specifies physical printer 903a as the physical printer to execute the print job on.

[0082] In S914, the print server 130 is instructed to move the print job 904, which was submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 901, to the individual logical printer 902a in order to print using the physical printer 903a. This instruction includes the identification information (job ID) of the job to be moved and the cloud printer ID of the destination individual logical printer 902a.

[0083] The job management unit 304 of the print server 130 receives instructions from the user and, in S915, moves the print job 904 from the general logical printer 901 to the individual logical printer 902a. As a result, the print job 904 is associated with the individual logical printer 902a, making it possible to print the print job 904 using the physical printer 903a.

[0084] In S916, the CP control unit 707 of the physical printer 903a sends a print job request to the individual logical printer 902a (S816 in Figure 8). In S917, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 sends a print job response to the physical printer 903a in response to receiving a print job request from the physical printer 903a (S817 in Figure 8). This print job response includes print job 904. Subsequently, the print processing unit 704 of the physical printer 903a performs printing based on print job 904 (S818 in Figure 8).

[0085] In the explanation of Figure 9, the instruction to print print job 904, which was submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 901, on the individual logical printer 902a was selected from the list of print jobs displayed on the portable communication device 140, and the physical printer was specified. The instruction to print print job 904, which was submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 901, on the individual logical printer 902a may also be given by reading the 2D code displayed on the physical printer 903a with the portable communication device 140. The 2D code 722 is an encoded cloud printer ID corresponding to the printing device 903a. This cloud printer ID is the ID that represents the individual logical printer 902a.

[0086] This instruction includes the cloud printer ID of the destination individual logical printer 903a and user identification information that identifies the user. The user identification information can be any identification information that identifies the user. For example, it could be a user ID. A print command can be issued to the individual logical printer 903a using the user identification information without specifying the print job 904.

[0087] When a print command is issued using a 2D code, in S920, the mobile communication device 140 reads the 2D code 722 displayed on the printer 903a when the user points the camera 209 at the 2D code 722. The mobile communication device 140 then decodes the 2D code 722 to obtain the cloud printer ID corresponding to the printer 903a represented by the 2D code 722. Then, in S914, the mobile communication device 140 sends user identification information that identifies the mobile communication device 140 and the obtained cloud printer ID to the print server 130.

[0088] The instruction to print the print job 904, which has been submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 901, on the individual logical printer 902a can also be given from the physical printer 903a. When instructing the execution of a print job using the physical printer 903a, the instruction is given in S930 by holding an IC card or a portable communication device 140 over the card reader (not shown) of the physical printer 903a. Alternatively, the user ID (user identification information) and password may be entered from the display panel 601 on the login screen. User identification information can be obtained from the read IC card or portable communication device 140. It can also be obtained from the user identification information entered on the login screen. When instructing the printing of print job 904 from the physical printer 903a, the acquired user identification information and the cloud printer ID of the individual logical printer 902a that identifies itself are sent to the print server 130.

[0089] Upon receiving a print request, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 instructs the physical printer 903a, which corresponds to the cloud printer ID included in the print request, to execute the print job. First, the physical printer 903a requests the comprehensive logical printer 901 to acquire the print job. This acquisition request includes user identification information and the cloud printer ID.

[0090] Of the print jobs that have been submitted to and are being held in the comprehensive logical printer 901, those submitted by a user identified by the user identification information are moved from the comprehensive logical printer 901 to the individual logical printer 902a. At this time, the print jobs to be moved include print job 904, but also other print jobs submitted by the user identified by the user identification information.

[0091] The CP control unit 707 of the physical printer 903a sends a print job request to the individual logical printer 902a. The print control unit 302 of the print server 130, upon receiving the print job request from the physical printer 903a, sends a print job response to the physical printer 903. This print job response includes the print job that has been moved to the individual logical printer 902a. Subsequently, the print processing unit 704 of the physical printer 903a performs printing based on the print job.

[0092] When printing is performed using the physical printer 903a by identifying the user's identification information, all print jobs submitted by the user identified by the user's identification information are included. Instead of executing all print jobs, the physical printer 903a's display panel 601 may display a list of print jobs identified by the user's identification information, and the user may select the desired print job from the list and execute the print job.

[0093] In the example above, the user instructed the printer to move print job 904 from the general logical printer 901 to the individual logical printer 902a, but the user may also instruct it to move to the individual logical printer 902b or 902c. In this case, printing will be performed by the physical printer 903b or 903c. Thus, the user can also have print job 904 printed to any of the physical printers 903a to 903c after it has been submitted to the print server 130. This type of printing method may also be called hold printing or pull printing.

[0094] <Installation of Print Support Applications (PSA) on the Information Processing Device> Next, referring to Figure 10, the installation of the Print Support Application (PSA) 413 on the Information Processing Unit 110 will be described. The process described below is realized, for example, by the CPU 201 of the Information Processing Unit 110 reading the program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. In the following, the step numbers of each process included in the flowchart are indicated by numbers starting with "S". The same applies to subsequent flowcharts.

[0095] The PSA413 is installed when the information processing device 110 adds a printer. First, in S1001, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 uses the functions of OS412 to search for printers connected to the network and obtain the printer name and hardware ID (HWID). The HWID is a vendor-defined identification string that OS412 uses to match the printer with the printer driver package.

[0096] Next, in S1002, the printer management unit 405 of the information processing device 110 uses the functions of OS412 to obtain the printer configuration information. The configuration information is obtained for each item of the printer's capabilities. Once the configuration information is obtained, OS412 edits the PDC (Printer Device Function) in the information processing device 110 to generate a print queue for the added printer.

[0097] Next, in S1003, the printer management unit 405 uses the acquired HWID to search for a PSA that supports the HWID from the server that provides the PSA. Since PSAs differ depending on the vendor and printer model, HWIDs and PSAs are associated with each other. HWIDs and PSAs may be associated one-to-one, or one PSA may be associated with multiple HWIDs. The server that provides the PSAs may be the server of the OS 412 provider, or it may be a server provided by the printer vendor. In S1004, the printer management unit 405 determines whether there is a PSA that corresponds to the HWID. If there is no PSA that corresponds to the HWID, the process ends. If there is a PSA that corresponds to the HWID, the CPU 201 proceeds to S1005.

[0098] Next, the printer management unit 405 determines whether the PSA corresponding to the HWID is already installed in the information processing unit 110. If the CPU 201 does not have the relevant PSA installed in the information processing unit 110 (NO), it proceeds to S1006 to download and install the PSA corresponding to the HWID. The downloaded and installed PSA is stored in the memory control unit 410.

[0099] After S1006, the printer management unit 405 proceeds to S1007. If a PSA corresponding to HWID is installed on the information processing device 110 in S1005 (the answer is NO), the printer management unit 405 skips S1005 and proceeds to S1007. In S1007, the printer management unit 405 adds the extended print menu provided by the PSA to the added printer.

[0100] As described above, the information processing device 110 can add a printer, download and install the PSA413 corresponding to the added printer. After the PSA413 is installed, vendor extension attributes are added to the OS's standard printing function, allowing the user to use the extended printing settings defined by the vendor extension attributes. In this way, when the information processing device 110 adds a printer, a print queue is created to store print jobs corresponding to the printer, and one PSA is assigned to each print queue.

[0101] The print settings screen 1100 shown in Figure 11 is the standard print settings screen provided by OS412. The standard print settings screen 1100 is a tree-view type user interface and provides only standard printing functions. When PSA413 is installed on the information processing device 110, it becomes possible to configure print settings using the print settings screen 1200 shown in Figure 12, which supports vendor-specific extended print settings. The print settings screen 1200 provides a user interface similar to the print settings screen provided by the print driver. In addition to standard print settings, the print settings screen 1200 can provide extended print settings.

[0102] This section describes the operation of print settings using PSA413. The OS411 of the information processing device 110 manages information about printers that can accept print jobs as printer information 411. Printer information 411 is managed as PDC (Printer Device Function) and includes the printer name, capability information, etc.

[0103] When a user of the information processing device 110 prints print data, the OS 412 displays information about available printers. The user selects a printer from these available printers to submit the print job to. The OS 412 displays the printer name and detailed information (properties) as information about the available printers. The user configures the print settings by selecting the detailed information (properties). If a PSA corresponding to the printer is not installed, selecting the detailed information (properties) displays the standard print settings screen 1100 shown in Figure 11, allowing the user to configure the print settings.

[0104] On the other hand, if a PSA413 compatible with the printer is installed, OS412 provides printer information 411 (PDC) to the PSA413. The PSA413 edits the PDC object of the provided PDC and passes the edited content to OS412. When the user selects a printer (print queue) and then selects the printer details (properties), the PSA413 starts up and displays the print settings screen 1200, which allows for extended print settings as shown in Figure 12. The PSA413 enables extended print settings by operating in this manner.

[0105] <Extended Print Settings> Refer to Figure 13 to explain vendor-defined extended print settings. There are two types of IPP print drivers: the standard IPP print driver 1304 and the vendor PSA 1305. The vendor PSA supports vendor-defined extended print settings that go beyond those supported by the standard IPP print driver. There are two methods for extending print settings using the vendor PSA: extending using standard IPP attributes, and extending by defining vendor-specific IPP extended attributes. In Figure 13, the common PSA 1306 is an example of extension using standard IPP attributes. The vendor-specific 1307 is an example of an extended print setting where the vendor has defined IPP extended attributes. Vendor-specific extended print settings are invalid for printers from different vendors. Furthermore, the common PSA's extended print settings may also be invalid in some cases.

[0106] Figure 13 shows the print settings 1302 and IPP attributes 1303 for each driver 1301. The standard IPP print driver 1304 supports standard print settings. The print settings for the standard IPP print driver 1304 include settings such as the number of copies, color settings, and duplex printing, as shown in 1308. In the standard IPP print settings, the number of copies is set by the IPP attribute "copies", the color settings by the IPP attribute "print-color-mode", and duplex printing by the IPP attribute "sides".

[0107] The vendor PSA1305's common PSA1306 is not as standard as the standard print settings provided by the standard IPP print driver 1204, but it supports the print settings 1309 defined in the IPP standard attributes. Examples include finishing processes such as folding and cutting. For folding, use the IPP standard attribute finishings / fold, and for cutting, use the IPP standard attribute finishings / trim. Because this common PSA uses the IPP standard attributes, it may also be supported by printers from other vendors.

[0108] In addition to the common PSA 1306 print settings, vendor-specific extended print settings 1307 are defined and supported by IPP extended attributes. IPP extended attributes are IPP attributes set independently by the vendor. Examples of these vendor-specific extended print settings include EcoStaple. In the EcoStaple print settings shown in Figure 13, the vendor has independently defined smi1602-finishings / stapleless-stitch as an IPP extended attribute. This extended print setting is not necessarily supported even by printers from the same vendor. Printers from other vendors generally do not support it.

[0109] <Extended Print Settings Screen> Refer to Figure 14 for an explanation of the extended print settings. The print settings screen 1400 in Figure 14 is the state in the print settings screen 1200 in Figure 12 where the finishing tag 1401 has been selected. As finishing processes, folding 1402, cutting 1403, binding 1404, cover 1405, saddle press 1406, and trimming 1407 can be set. Folding 1402 is the folding of the printed paper. There are options such as bi-fold, tri-fold, and quad-fold. Cutting 1303 cuts the printed paper. Binding 1404 includes saddle stitching and perfect binding. In saddle stitching, the printed paper is folded to the center and stapled in the center. Perfect binding is a binding method where the pages are glued together and a cover is wrapped around them. Cover 1405 adds a cover to the binding. The saddle press 1406 can suppress bulging of the saddle-stitched portion by pressing the spine during saddle-stitch binding. The trimming 1407 aligns the fore-edge after saddle-stitch binding. The folding 1402 and cutting 1403 are extended print settings configured in the common PSA in Figure 13. These extended print settings use IPP standard attributes.

[0110] On the other hand, perfect binding is an attribute defined by the vendor using IPP extended attributes. In this way, by installing PSA413 on the information processing device 110, it is possible to print using extended print settings that are not supported by the standard print settings 1100.

[0111] <Network configuration of a printing system including printers from multiple vendors> The HWID of a printer is assigned to each printer model. Additionally, the HWID is also assigned to the cloud print's integrated logical printer. Based on the HWID of the integrated logical printer 901, the information processing unit 110 downloads and installs the PSA413 corresponding to the integrated logical printer.

[0112] In the case of a printing system that constitutes a cloud print service, for example, in the printing system shown in Figure 9, the print server 130 and physical printers 903a to 903c may be composed of products from the same vendor. In this case, the user can use the extended print settings using PSA413 in the information processing device 110 to perform printing using the extended print settings from any of the physical printers 903a to 903c.

[0113] On the other hand, physical printers from multiple vendors may be registered to the all-inclusive logical printer 901. If extended print settings are configured on a PSA413 compatible with the all-inclusive logical printer 901, a pull print will be executed with the extended print settings reflected when using a physical printer from the same vendor. However, physical printers from other vendors do not support the extended print settings compatible with the all-inclusive logical printer 901, so the settings from the extended print settings will be disabled before printing is performed.

[0114] Referring to Figure 15, the configuration of the printing system, including physical printers from multiple vendors, will be described. Parts that overlap with Figure 9 will be omitted from the explanation. Furthermore, the following explanation will primarily describe the process of operating pull print from the user's mobile communication device 140. As explained in Figure 9, pull print can be initiated by reading a 2D code or by instructing a pull print from a physical printer.

[0115] In the example shown in Figure 15, the print server 130 has registered one general logical printer 1501 and three individual logical printers 1502a to 1502c associated with the general logical printer 1501. Furthermore, the three individual logical printers 1502a to 1502c are each individually associated with three physical printers 1503a to 1503c.

[0116] Each of the integrated logical printer 1501 and individual logical printers 1502a to 1502c is associated with and managed by an HWID. The HWID includes vendor information representing the hardware manufacturer and device information. The device information may also include information identifying the printer series. The print server 130 functions as a virtual printer and has AAA_MFP00 as the HWID for the integrated logical printer 1501. This HWID indicates that the vendor is AAA and the model name is MFP00. Since the print server 130 does not perform printing, the vendor and model name of the HWID for the integrated logical printer 1501 are virtually assigned. The HWID may be assigned a vendor and model name common to the individual physical printers associated with the integrated logical printer 1501, or it may be assigned a different model name. Alternatively, it may only contain vendor information.

[0117] Physical printer 1503a is AAA's model MFP01, and individual logical printer 1502a has HWID AAA_MFP01. Physical printer 1503b is AAA's model MFP02, and individual logical printer 1502b has HWID AAA_MFP02. Physical printer 1503c is BBB's model PR01, and individual logical printer 1502c has HWID BBB_PR01.

[0118] Referring to Figure 15, the printing process flow by submitting a print job to the comprehensive logical printer 1501 will be explained. Assume that the information processing device 110 has installed PSA413 corresponding to the HWID of the comprehensive logical printer 1501, AAA_MFP00, according to the flow in Figure 10. In S1501, the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 submits print job 1504 to the comprehensive logical printer 1501. Print job 1504 has print settings configured by the extended print settings of PSA413. At this stage, the user of the information processing device 110 does not need to specify which physical printer to print on.

[0119] In S1512, the user who submitted print job 1504, or another user, logs into the mobile communication device 140 and retrieves the print job submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 1501. In S1513, the print job list is displayed on the user's mobile communication device 140. The user then selects the desired print job from the print job list displayed on the mobile communication device 140 and specifies the physical printer on which to print. The operation in S1513 is performed by the application on the mobile communication device 140. Here, it is assumed that the user selects print job 1504 from the print job list on the mobile communication device 140 and specifies physical printer 1503a as the physical printer on which to print.

[0120] In S1514, the user uses the mobile communication device 140 to issue instructions for printing using the physical printer 1503a. The mobile communication device 140 instructs the print server 130 to move the print job 1504, which was submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 1501, to the individual logical printer 1502a. This instruction includes the identification information (job ID) of the job to be moved and the cloud printer ID of the destination individual logical printer 1502a.

[0121] In S1515, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 moves the print job 1504 from the general logical printer 1501 to the individual logical printer 1502a. As a result, the print job 1504 is associated with the individual logical printer 1502a, making it possible to print the print job 1504 using the physical printer 1503a.

[0122] In S1516, the CP control unit 707 of the physical printer 1503a sends a print job request to the individual logical printer 1502a. In S1517, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130, upon receiving the print job request from the physical printer 1503a, sends a print job response to the physical printer 1503a. This print job response includes print job 1504. Subsequently, the print processing unit 704 of the physical printer 1503a performs printing based on print job 1504. At this time, since the comprehensive logical printer 1501 and the physical printer 1503a are from the same vendor, AAA, print job 1504, which has the extended print settings configured by PSA413, is executed with the extended print settings applied.

[0123] Next, in S1513, suppose the user selects print job 1504 from the print job list on the mobile communication device 140 and specifies physical printer 1503c as the physical printer to execute the print job. In S1514, the print server 130 is instructed to move print job 1504, which was submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 1501, to individual logical printer 1502c in order to print using physical printer 1503c. This instruction includes the identification information (job ID) of the job to be moved and the cloud printer ID of the destination individual logical printer 1502c.

[0124] In S1518, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 moves the print job 1504 from the general logical printer 1501 to the individual logical printer 1502c. As a result, the print job 1504 is associated with the individual logical printer 1502c, making it possible to print the print job 1504 using the physical printer 1503c.

[0125] When a print command is issued using a 2D code, in S1520, the mobile communication device 140 reads the 2D code 722 displayed on the physical printer 1503a when the user points the camera 209 at the 2D code 722. The mobile communication device 140 then decodes the 2D code 722 to obtain the cloud printer ID corresponding to the physical printer 1503a represented by the 2D code 722. Then, in S1514, the mobile communication device 140 sends user identification information that identifies the mobile communication device 140 and the obtained cloud printer ID to the print server 130.

[0126] The instruction to print the print job 1504, which has been submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 1501, on the individual logical printer 1502a can also be given from the physical printer 1503a. When instructing the execution of a print job using the physical printer 1503a, the instruction is given in S1530 by holding an IC card or a portable communication device 140 over the card reader (not shown) of the physical printer 1503a. Alternatively, the user ID (user identification information) and password may be entered from the display panel 601 on the login screen. User identification information can be obtained from the read IC card or portable communication device 140. It can also be obtained from the user identification information entered on the login screen. When the instruction is given from the physical printer 1503a, the obtained user identification information and the cloud printer ID of the individual logical printer 1502a that identifies itself are sent to the print server 130.

[0127] In S1519, the CP control unit 707 of the physical printer 1503c sends a print job request to the individual logical printer 1502c. In S1517, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130, upon receiving the print job request from the physical printer 1503c, sends a print job response to the physical printer 1503c. This print job response includes print job 1504. Subsequently, the print processing unit 704 of the physical printer 1503c performs printing based on print job 1504.

[0128] In this case, the vendor of the integrated logical printer 1501 is AAA, while the vendor of the physical printer 1503c is BBB, meaning the vendors of the integrated logical printer 1501 and the physical printer 1503c are different. Therefore, the physical printer 1503c cannot interpret the extended print settings provided by PSA413, and thus ignores the extended print settings and proceeds with printing. Consequently, a user who submits a print job 1504 with print settings configured using extended print settings will receive a print result in which the extended print settings are not applied.

[0129] The PSA413, which corresponds to the comprehensive logical printer 1501, obtains information about the individual logical printers associated with the comprehensive logical printer 1501 from the print server 130. The information about the individual logical printers may be the HWID of the physical printer or other information. The information about the individual logical printers may be information that identifies the printer vendor and model.

[0130] In the printing system shown in Figure 15, three individual logical printers 1502a to 1502c are registered in association with the comprehensive logical printer 1501. PSA413 obtains the HWIDs of the three individual logical printers 1502a to 1502c associated with the comprehensive logical printer 1501 from the print server 130. PSA413 obtains the HWIDs of the three individual logical printers 1502a to 1502c, namely AAA_MFP01, AAA_MFP02, and BBB_PR01, from the print server 130.

[0131] Referring to Figure 15, the print settings for cloud printing in a printing system that includes printers from multiple vendors will be explained. In Figure 15, the user submits a print job 1504 to the comprehensive logical printer 1501 from the information processing device 110 in order to perform cloud printing. The comprehensive logical printer 1501 provided by AAA has AAA's individual logical printers 1502a and 1502b, and BBB's individual logical printer 1502c associated and registered.

[0132] The user configures the print settings to submit a print job. Here, the user configures the print settings using the extended print settings screen 1400 shown in Figure 15. The folding 1402, cutting 1403, binding 1404, cover 1405, saddle press 1406, and trimming 1407, which are set in the finishing tag 1401, are all extended print settings. Now, suppose the user selects ON for the binding OFF / ON button. Then, as shown in Figure 16, a warning screen 1601 will pop up for the user stating, "When printing with a printer other than an AAA company printer, the settings configured on this settings screen may be invalid." The warning screen 1601 will close when the user presses the OK button 1602. The content of the warning screen 1601 may specify the printers that can perform the print job, such as "The settings configured on this settings screen are only valid when printing with an AAA company printer." Alternatively, the warning screen 1601 may display, "When printing with a printer other than an AAA company printer, this setting may be invalid," corresponding to the selected extended print setting. Furthermore, if all print settings configured with finishing tag 1401 are extended print settings, the warning screen 1601 may be displayed when finishing tag 1401 is selected.

[0133] By checking this warning screen 1601 when configuring print settings, users can understand the possibility that print settings may be invalidated when printing on a printer other than an AAA company printer. Therefore, users can ensure that the PSA extended print settings configured for the comprehensive logical printer 1501 are reliably applied to print jobs.

[0134] <Example 1> Figure 16 shows the warning screen 1601 displayed when performing extended print settings. However, some of the settings in the extended print settings are extended by IPP standard attributes. For example, folding and cutting are set in the common PSA in Figure 13. Extended print settings extended by IPP standard attributes may also be set in the same way by other vendors. Therefore, when printing using print settings extended by IPP standard attributes on a printer from a different vendor, the print settings may be reflected.

[0135] In Modification 1, the display of a warning screen is determined by whether the extended print settings item is an extension based on IPP standard attributes or a vendor-specific extension. In Figure 14, it is assumed that perfect binding 1404 is an extended print setting defined by an IPP extended attribute provided by the vendor. The user attempts to set perfect binding in the print settings. In this case, as shown in Figure 16, the PSA413 displays a warning screen 1601 to the user in a pop-up on the print settings screen 1400. The content displayed on the warning screen 1601 is, for example, "When printing with a printer other than an AAA company printer, the settings set on this settings screen may be invalid." The warning screen 1601 is closed when the user presses the OK button 1602.

[0136] By checking this warning screen 1601 when configuring print settings, users can understand that certain vendor-specific print settings may be disabled when printing on printers other than AAA company printers. The warning screen 1601 is displayed when a vendor-specific extended print item is selected. However, if the print setting of the finishing tag 1601 is an extended print setting defined by an IPP extended attribute provided by the vendor, the warning screen 1601 may be displayed when the finishing tag is selected. The content of the warning screen 1601 may also specify which printers can print on, such as "This setting is only valid when printing on AAA company printers."

[0137] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described. In IPP, when an IPP client sends an IPP request (create-job, print-job), client information (client-info) is added as an attribute of the client. Client-info consists of information that identifies the client and the name and version of the software package. If the printer supports this client-info attribute, when the printer processes a print job, it copies this attribute to the corresponding job status attribute with the same name and processes it.

[0138] The client-info attribute consists of the following member attributes. client-name(name(127)) client-patches(text(127) / no-value) client-string-version(text(127)) client-version(octetString(64) / no-value) client-type(type2 enum)

[0139] The `client-name` attribute indicates the client name. The `client-patches` attribute indicates the patches installed on the client. `client-string-version` indicates the client's version number. `client-version(octetString(64) / no-value)` is the machine code representation of the client's version number. `client-type` indicates the module described by the collection. If `client-type` is 3, it indicates an application. If `client-type` is 4, it indicates an operating system (OS). If `client-type` is 5, it indicates a printer driver or other driver. If `client-type` is 6, it indicates other types of software for the client.

[0140] When a client creates a print job and requests the printer to execute it, the client can also combine multiple client-info values ​​into a set. This allows the client to attach OS information, application information, and other details to the print job before sending it.

[0141] In this embodiment, when the information processing device 110 submits a print job to the comprehensive logical printer 1501, it sets PSA vendor information in client-info. The processing of the information processing device 110 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 17. The processing described below is realized, for example, by the CPU 201 of the information processing device 110 reading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it.

[0142] The flow in Figure 17 starts when a user generates a print job in the information processing device 110. The user selects print setting items on the print setting screen 1200 or print setting screen 1400. In S1701, the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 determines whether the print settings set by the user on the print setting screen 1200 and print setting screen 1400 are extended print settings by the vendor's PSA413. If the print settings set by the user in S1701 are extended print settings by the vendor's PSA413 (YES), the print control unit 404 proceeds to S1802. On the other hand, if the print settings in S1701 are standard print settings 1100 (NO), the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 skips S1802 and proceeds to S1703.

[0143] In S1702, the PSA413 of the information processing device 110 sets vendor information in client-info. The PSA413 is downloaded and installed by the information processing device 110 according to the printer's HWID. In this case, the PSA413 corresponds to the HWID AAA_MFP00, which is the HWID of the comprehensive logical printer 1501. The vendor information that the PSA413 sets in client-info may be the HWID corresponding to the PSA413 itself, or it may be just the information AAA, which indicates the vendor, from the HWID. Once the vendor information is set in client-info, the PSA413 proceeds to S1703.

[0144] In S1703, the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 sends the print job with client-info attached to the print server 130. If extended print settings are enabled, the client-info attached to the print job contains vendor information.

[0145] Next, referring to Figure 18, the processing performed by the print server 130 upon receiving a print job from the information processing device 110 will be described. The processing described below is achieved, for example, by the CPU 201 of the print server 130 reading a program stored in the ROM 203 into the RAM 202 and executing it.

[0146] The flow shown in Figure 18 begins when the print server 130 receives a print job from the information processing device 110. In S1801, the job management unit 304 of the print server 130 stores the print job in the print queue of the comprehensive logical printer 1501 when it receives the print job from the information processing device 110. The print job information is managed as job information 312.

[0147] The print control unit 302 of the print server 130 waits in S1802 until a print command is received for the physical printer. When a user uses the portable communication device 140 shown in Figure 15 to specify one of the physical printers 1503a to 1503c, the execution of a print job is instructed on one of the physical printers 1503a to 1503c. The instruction to execute a print job may also be given by the user reading a 2D code from one of the physical printers 1503a to 1503c shown in Figure 15 with the portable communication device 140, or by performing an operation using an IC card.

[0148] Suppose the user has issued an instruction to print using the physical printer 1503a via the mobile communication device 140. In S1802, since a print instruction was received, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 proceeds to S1803.

[0149] In S1803, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 determines whether the vendor of the physical printer matches the vendor in the client-info of the print job. The vendor information of the physical printer is managed by the printer management unit 303 in the printer information 311 of the individual logical printer corresponding to the physical printer. Since the vendor AAA of the HWID of the individual logical printer 1502a corresponding to the physical printer 1503a matches the vendor information AAA in the client-info (YES), the print control unit 302 of the server 130 proceeds to S1804.

[0150] In S1804, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 moves the print job to the individual logical printer 1502a. The print job moved to the individual logical printer 1502a is then printed on the physical printer 1503a and the print output is generated.

[0151] Suppose the user has issued an instruction to print using the physical printer 1503c via the mobile communication device 140. In S1802, since a print instruction was received, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 proceeds to S1803.

[0152] In S1803, the print control unit 302 of the print server 130 determines whether the vendor of the physical printer matches the vendor in the client-info of the print job. Since the vendor BBB of the HWID of the individual logical printer 1502c corresponding to the physical printer 1503c does not match the vendor information AAA in the client-info (NO), the print control unit 302 of the server 130 returns to S1802.

[0153] If the vendor of the physical printer and the vendor of the PSA413 in the information processing device 110 that submitted the print job are different, the settings configured for extended printing by the PSA413 will not be reflected. Therefore, if the vendor of the physical printer and the vendor of the PSA413 in the information processing device 110 that submitted the print job are different, the print job will not be moved to the physical printer. In this way, printing is performed only on a printing device from the same vendor as the PSA413 in the information processing device 110, and printing cannot be performed on a printing device from a different vendor. This ensures that the settings configured for extended printing are reliably reflected in the print results on the physical printer.

[0154] <Modification 2> In Figure 17, S1701 determines whether the print setting is an extended print setting. Even with extended print settings provided by the PSA413, the extended print settings corresponding to the common PSA in Figure 15 may be supported by printing equipment from vendors other than the PSA413 vendor. Therefore, it may be possible to set the vendor information in client-info only when setting 1307, which is a vendor-specific extended print setting unique to the PSA413 vendor.

[0155] In the print settings screen 1400, for example, let's assume that the perfect binding setting 1404 is a vendor-specific extended print setting unique to vendor PSA413. Let's assume the user turns on perfect binding in the print settings screen 1400. In S1801, the print control unit 404 of the information processing device 110 determines that the perfect binding setting corresponds to a vendor-specific extended print setting unique to PSA, and sets the vendor information in client-info. The subsequent processing is the same as the processing described earlier, so it will be omitted.

[0156] <Variation 3> In Figure 18, in S1803, if the answer is NO, the process returns to S1802, but the process in S1805 may also be performed. In S1805, a message is sent to the portable communication device 140 or physical printer 1503c that executed the print command, instructing it to display that printing cannot be performed on that physical printer. By displaying such a message, the user can be instructed to perform printing on another printer.

[0157] <Modification 4> In S1512 of Figure 15, the user who submitted print job 1504 or another user logs into the mobile communication device 140 and retrieves the print job submitted to the comprehensive logical printer 1501. At this time, if vendor information is attached to print job 1504, the print server 130 may configure it so that print job 1504 can only be printed on individual logical printers 1502a and 1502b. The printer management unit 405 of the print server 130 manages vendor information in printer information 411. When a request to retrieve a print job is received from the mobile communication device 140, the print server can send the print job along with only the printing devices of the same vendor as the vendor information attached to the print job to the mobile communication device 140 as printing devices capable of executing the print. The user selects the desired print job from the list of print jobs displayed on the mobile communication device 140 and specifies the physical printer on which to execute the print. This operation is performed by an application on the mobile communication device 140, and the physical printer used for printing is specified from among physical printers of the same vendor as the PSA413 on the information processing device 110.

[0158] <Other Embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0159] The disclosures herein include the following information processing devices, print setting methods, and programs. (Item 1) An information processing device having an application for configuring print settings for print data that is printed on a printer via a cloud print service, In the print settings for print data fed to a comprehensive logical printer, when the application performs extended print settings, the print settings screen for performing the print settings is provided with a warning display means that displays a warning indicating that the extended print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer. The print settings configured in the aforementioned application are sent to the print server that provides the cloud print service. Information processing device. (Item 2) A generation means for generating a print job based on the print data and print settings, A means for providing the name and detailed information of a registered printer to the application, An information processing device as described in item 1, comprising the features described in item 1. (Item 3) The application displays the name and details of the printer, and when the user selects the printer and its details, it displays a print settings screen that enables the extended print settings. The information processing device described in item 2. (Item 4) The aforementioned warning indicates that it is valid only for physical printers from a specific vendor. An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 3. (Item 5) The aforementioned warning indicates that it will be invalid on physical printers that are not from a specific vendor. An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 4. (Item 6) The aforementioned application is a print support application (PSA) installed in accordance with the aforementioned comprehensive logical printer. An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 5. (Item 7) The aforementioned extended print settings are print settings extended using Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) standard attributes. An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 6. (Item 8) The aforementioned extended print settings are print settings defined in the extended attributes of the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). An information processing device described in any one of items 1 to 7. (Item 9) A method of configuring print settings using an application that configures print settings for print data to be printed using a cloud print service, When the application performs extended print settings for print data fed into a comprehensive logical printer, the print settings screen for performing the print settings will display a warning indicating that the print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer. The print settings configured in the aforementioned application are sent to the print server that provides the cloud print service. Print settings instructions. (Item 10) A program for an information processing device that configures print settings for print data to be printed using a cloud print service, The computer of the aforementioned information processing device When the application performs extended print settings for print data fed into a comprehensive logical printer, the print settings screen for performing the print settings will display a warning indicating that the print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer. The application is configured to send the print settings configured in the application to the print server that provides the cloud print service. program.

[0160] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0161] 110: Information processing device, 120, 121: Printing device, 130: Print server

Claims

1. An information processing device having an application for configuring print settings for print data that is printed on a printer via a cloud print service, In the print settings for print data fed to a comprehensive logical printer, when the application performs extended print settings, the print settings screen for performing the print settings is provided with a warning display means that displays a warning indicating that the extended print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer. The print settings configured in the aforementioned application are sent to the print server that provides the cloud print service. Information processing device.

2. A generation means for generating a print job based on the print data and print settings, A means for providing the name and detailed information of a registered printer to the application, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The application displays the name and details of the printer, and when the user selects the printer and its details, it displays a print settings screen that enables the extended print settings. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned warning indicates that it is valid only for physical printers from a specific vendor. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned warning indicates that it will be invalid on physical printers that are not from a specific vendor. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned application is a print support application (PSA) installed in accordance with the aforementioned comprehensive logical printer. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

7. The aforementioned extended print settings are print settings extended using Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) standard attributes. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

8. The aforementioned extended print settings are print settings defined in the extended attributes of the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

9. A method of configuring print settings using an application that configures print settings for print data to be printed using a cloud print service, When the application performs extended print settings for print data fed into a comprehensive logical printer, the print settings screen for performing the print settings will display a warning indicating that the print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer. The print settings configured in the aforementioned application are sent to the print server that provides the cloud print service. Print settings instructions.

10. A program for an information processing device that configures print settings for print data to be printed using a cloud print service, The computer of the aforementioned information processing device When the application performs extended print settings for print data fed into a comprehensive logical printer, the print settings screen for performing the print settings will display a warning indicating that the print settings are valid only for a specific physical printer. The application is configured to send the print settings configured in the application to the print server that provides the cloud print service. program.

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