Information processing system, peripheral device, and information processing method

Abstract

In a network configuration where peripheral devices are connected to a host device, and other peripheral devices are connected to those peripheral devices, the time it takes for the host device to acquire data from other peripheral devices can be reduced. [Solution] In an information processing system comprising a host device 3 running a web application 3a, a printer 1 connected via USB, and a BCR2 connected to the printer 1 via USB, serial communication is performed between the host device 3 and the printer 1 via a virtual serial port. When the printer 1 receives data acquired by the BCR2, it is triggered to send the peripheral device acquired data from the printer 1 to the host device 3 via the virtual serial port. This allows the printer 1 to proactively send peripheral device acquired data to the host device 3 without any time lag as soon as it receives the peripheral device acquired data from the BCR2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a peripheral device, and an information processing method, and is particularly suitable for use in a system having a network configuration in which a first peripheral device is connected to a host device and a second peripheral device is connected to the first peripheral device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a network configuration in which a printer is connected to a host device and another peripheral device is connected to the printer, a system has been known in which the host device acquires acquired data at the peripheral device via the printer (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] In the system described in Patent Document 1, the printer periodically transmits a status acquisition request for inquiring about the status of the peripheral device, and acquires and stores the status data of the peripheral device as a response thereto. Then, when the printer receives a status acquisition request from the web print server of the host device, it responds to the web print server with the status data of the peripheral device together with its own status data.

[0004] In the technique described in Patent Document 1, polling is repeatedly executed at regular time intervals from the host device (web print server) to the printer, and polling is repeatedly executed at regular time intervals from the printer to the peripheral device. Since there is a waiting time until the next polling is executed, it is not possible to transmit the status data in real time at the timing when a status change occurs in the peripheral device, and a time lag occurs between when a status change occurs in the peripheral device and when the host device acquires the status data. For this reason, there has been a problem that the time until the host device acquires the status data of the printer or the peripheral device is extended and the response is degraded.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

[0006] This invention was made to solve such problems, and aims to shorten the time it takes for a host device to acquire data from other peripheral devices in a network configuration in which peripheral devices are connected to a host device, and other peripheral devices are connected to those peripheral devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an information processing system in which a first peripheral device is connected to a host device that runs a web application via USB, and a second peripheral device is connected to the first peripheral device via USB. In this system, serial communication is performed between the host device and the first peripheral device via a virtual serial port, and when the first peripheral device receives peripheral device acquisition data, including values ​​acquired by the second peripheral device, from the second peripheral device, the first peripheral device transmits the peripheral device acquisition data received from the second peripheral device to the host device via the virtual serial port. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention configured as described above, as soon as the first peripheral device receives peripheral device acquisition data from the second peripheral device, the first peripheral device can proactively transmit the peripheral device acquisition data to the host device via a virtual serial port. The first peripheral device does not need to wait for polling from the host device's web application and can transfer the peripheral device acquisition data to the host device in near real-time as soon as it receives the data from the second peripheral device, thus eliminating the time lag between receiving and transmitting the peripheral device acquisition data. This reduces the time it takes for the host device to acquire the data from the second peripheral device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of a printer's hardware configuration. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of the BCR. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of a host device. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing an example of a printer's functional configuration. [Figure 6] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure when a host device acquires BCR data in an information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure when a host device acquires BCR data in an information processing system according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system according to the first embodiment comprises a host device 3, a first peripheral device 1 connected to the host device 3 by USB, and a second peripheral device 2 connected to the first peripheral device 1 by USB. In the information processing system of this embodiment, the host device 3 acquires peripheral device acquisition data, including values ​​acquired by the second peripheral device 2, via the first peripheral device 1.

[0011] The first peripheral device 1 and the second peripheral device 2 are devices that can be used by connecting them to a general-purpose computer via a USB cable, and can be input devices, output devices, auxiliary storage devices, network devices, etc. In the following description, as an example, a printer is used as the first peripheral device 1 and a barcode reader (BCR) is used as the second peripheral device 2. In the following description, the first peripheral device 1 will be referred to as printer 1 and the second peripheral device 2 as BCR2.

[0012] Printer 1 includes a communication interface 1a for sending and receiving data with host device 3, a communication interface 1b for sending and receiving data with BCR2, a control unit 1c for controlling data communication and printing processes between printer 1 and BCR2, and a printing unit 1d for executing printing. The internal configuration of BCR2 is not shown.

[0013] The host device 3 is comprised of a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone. Alternatively, the host device 3 may be comprised of a dedicated computer such as a POS terminal. The host device 3 has a USB device driver 3b installed on it. The host device 3 also runs a web application 3a. Furthermore, the host device 3 is equipped with a communication interface 3c for sending and receiving data to and from the printer 1.

[0014] The web application 3a can send print commands and print data to the printer 1 via the USB device driver 3b and the communication interface 3c, thereby causing the printer 1 to execute printing based on the print data. Furthermore, the web application 3a can acquire various status data obtained by the printer 1, as well as data read by the BCR2 connected to the printer 1 (hereinafter referred to as BCR data), via the USB device driver 3b and the communication interface 3c. BCR data corresponds to peripheral device acquisition data.

[0015] The web application 3a transmits and receives data to and from the printer 1 by using, for example, the Web USB API or the Web Serial API. Even when the host device 3 and the printer 1 are physically connected by a USB cable, the web application 3a can perform serial communication with the printer 1 by the Web Serial API by the printer 1 and the host device 3 supporting a virtual serial port as the communication interfaces 1a and 3c. In the first embodiment described below, the host device 3 performs serial communication with the printer 1 by using the Web Serial API for the acquisition process of the peripheral device acquisition data. The communication between the host device 3 and the printer 1 can also be established in Bluetooth (registered trademark) by using virtual serial technology.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the printer 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 includes, as a hardware configuration, a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a non-volatile memory 104, a communication unit 105, and a printing unit 106.

[0017] The CPU 101 controls the operation of the printer 1 while using the RAM 103 as a work memory according to a program stored in the ROM 102 or the non-volatile memory 104. The control unit 1c in FIG. 1 is constituted by the CPU 101, the ROM 102, the RAM 103, and the non-volatile memory 104. The CPU 101 controls, for example, the execution of printing based on print data transmitted from the host device 3. Further, the CPU 101 executes processes related to the acquisition and transfer to the host device 3 of the status data of the printer 1 and the BCR data from the BCR 2.

[0018] The communication unit 105 has a function corresponding to the communication interface 1a in FIG. 1, and performs data communication with the host device 3 via a USB cable. For example, the communication unit 105 receives print data together with a print command from the host device 3, and transmits status data indicating the print result to the host device 3. In addition, the communication unit 105 transmits status data indicating that a change has occurred in the state of the printer 1 to the host device 3. Further, the communication unit 105 receives BCR data from the BCR2 and transmits the received BCR data to the host device 3.

[0019] Also, the communication unit 105 has a function corresponding to the communication interface 1b in FIG. 1, and performs data communication with the BCR2 via a USB cable. For example, the communication unit 105 receives BCR data from the BCR2. Here, the communication unit 105 performs USB communication by interrupt transfer in which the interval time with the BCR2 is set to a predetermined time or less, and receives the BCR data from the BCR2 within a predetermined time at the latest from the time when the BCR2 reads the barcode. Interrupt transfer is executed with the printer 1 as the USB host and the BCR2 as the USB device. Note that it is also possible to use isochronous transfer instead of interrupt transfer.

[0020] By setting the interval time to a very short time of about several milliseconds, the printer 1 can acquire the BCR data in real time almost without a time lag from the time when the BCR2 reads the barcode. Also, as described above, since the printer 1 performs serial communication with the host device 3, the printer 1 can actively transmit the acquired BCR data to the host device 3 when the BCR data is acquired from the BCR2.

[0021] The printing unit 106 corresponds to the printing unit 1d in FIG. 1, and receives an instruction to execute printing from the CPU 101 and executes printing processing based on the print data.

[0022] Figure 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of BCR2. As shown in Figure 3, the BCR2's hardware configuration includes a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, non-volatile memory 204, communication unit 205, and reading unit 206.

[0023] The CPU 201 controls the operation of the BCR2 using the RAM 203 as work memory, according to a program stored in the ROM 202 or non-volatile memory 204. The reading unit 206 receives an instruction from the CPU 201 to execute barcode reading and performs the barcode reading process.

[0024] The communication unit 205 communicates data with the printer 1 via a USB cable. For example, the communication unit 205 transmits the BCR data acquired during the barcode reading process to the printer 1. Here, as described above, the communication unit 205 performs USB communication with the communication unit 105 of the printer 1 using interrupt transfer. This makes it possible for the communication unit 205 to transmit the BCR data to the printer 1 in near real-time as soon as the barcode is read.

[0025] Figure 4 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the host device 3. As shown in Figure 4, the host device 3 includes a CPU 301, ROM 302, RAM 303, non-volatile memory 304, hard disk 305, communication unit 306, operation unit 307, and display unit 308 as its hardware configuration.

[0026] The CPU 301 controls the operation of the host device 3 using the RAM 303 as work memory, according to the programs stored in the ROM 302, non-volatile memory 304, or hard disk 305. The hard disk 305 stores various programs and data.

[0027] The communication unit 306 has a function corresponding to the communication interface 3c in Figure 1 and communicates data with the printer 1 via a USB cable. For example, the communication unit 306 sends print data to the printer 1 along with a print command and receives status data indicating the print result from the printer 1. The communication unit 306 also receives status data acquired by the printer 1 and BCR data sent to the printer 1 from the BCR2 from the printer 1.

[0028] Here, the communication unit 306, in terms of receiving BCR data from the printer 1, performs serial communication with the printer 1 using the Web Serial API launched by the web application 3a, as described above. On the other hand, data communication related to the printing process performed between the host device 3 and the printer 1 is performed using the Web USB API. The process by which the web application 3a obtains status data from the printer 1 may be performed using either the Web Serial API or the Web USB API.

[0029] The operation unit 307 is for the user to perform various operations, including operations related to generating print data and issuing print commands, and operations related to acquiring status data and BCR data from printer 1, and is composed of a keyboard and mouse or a touch panel. The display unit 308 is for displaying data such as images and text generated by the web application 3a, status data acquired from printer 1, and data related to values ​​acquired from BCR2, and is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0030] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of printer 1. Here, the functional configuration related to printing is omitted, and only the functional configuration related to BCR data acquisition, which is the subject of this embodiment, is shown. As shown in Figure 5, printer 1 according to the first embodiment has a communication control unit 11, a serial communication unit 12, and a USB communication unit 13 as its functional configuration.

[0031] The above-mentioned functional blocks 11 to 13 perform the processes described below through the cooperation of hardware and software. For example, the processing of the communication control unit 11 is performed by the operation of a program stored in ROM 102 or non-volatile memory 104, controlled by a processor configured by a microcomputer equipped with a CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, etc., as shown in Figure 2. In addition, the processing of the serial communication unit 12 and the USB communication unit 13 is performed by the operation of the communication unit 105 (communication interfaces 1a, 1b in Figure 1) according to the control of the communication control unit 11.

[0032] The serial communication unit 12 performs serial communication with the host device 3 via a virtual serial port. The serial communication unit 12 transmits the BCR data acquired from BCR2 to the web application 3a on the host device 3 via the virtual serial port, in accordance with the control of the communication control unit 11.

[0033] The USB communication unit 13 performs USB communication with BCR2 using interrupt transfers with an interval set to a predetermined time or less, in accordance with the control of the communication control unit 11. As a USB host, the USB communication unit 13 repeatedly sends an IN token to BCR2 at short intervals. When BCR2 receives an IN token, if BCR data is available at that time, it responds with BCR data; otherwise, it responds that there is no data. As a result, BCR2 responds with BCR data to the USB communication unit 13 of printer 1 within a predetermined time at the latest from the time the barcode reading process is performed and BCR data is acquired.

[0034] The communication control unit 11, triggered by a reception event of BCR data transmitted from BCR2, controls the transmission of the BCR data received from BCR2 to the web application 3a on the host device 3. In other words, when the communication control unit 11 detects that the USB communication unit 13, which is performing interrupt transfer, has received BCR data from BCR2, it controls the serial communication unit 12 to transmit the BCR data to the web application 3a on the host device 3. However, if the communication control unit 11 receives data from BCR2 indicating that there is no BCR data, it does not transmit that data to the web application 3a.

[0035] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure when the host device 3 acquires BCR data in the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0036] First, the user initiates a series of processes, for example, by pressing the connect button on the web application 3a (step S1). Upon receiving this instruction, the web application 3a searches for serial devices already connected to the host device 3 and displays the results as list information on the display unit 308 screen (step S2). This list information also includes information about printer 1, which supports the virtual serial port.

[0037] Here, the user selects one of the serial devices from the list, thereby granting the web application 3a access permission to the selected serial device (step S3). In this case, the user selects printer 1. As a result, the web application 3a obtains printer 1 as a serial port object that can communicate with it.

[0038] Next, for example, the user presses a button to read BCR data on the web application 3a, thereby instructing it to acquire BCR data (step S4). Upon receiving this instruction, the web application 3a opens a virtual serial port by executing the open method of the SerialPort interface of the Web Serial API (step S5). This allows the web application 3a to communicate with printer 1, which supports the virtual serial port. Subsequently, the web application 3a enters a state of waiting for data to be received from printer 1 by executing the read method (hereinafter referred to as the reader.read method) of the Reader instance reader obtained from the SerialPort interface of the Web Serial API (step S6).

[0039] In parallel with the processing performed by the web application 3a as described above, USB communication via interrupt transfer is constantly being performed between printer 1 and BCR2. As mentioned above, printer 1, as a USB host, repeatedly sends IN tokens to BCR2 at short intervals. When BCR2 receives an IN token, if there is BCR data at that time, it responds with BCR data; otherwise, it responds that there is no data.

[0040] For example, if the barcode reading process is performed in BCR2 before the web application 3a executes the Reader.read method in step S6 (step S7), BCR2 will receive an IN token sent from printer 1 immediately after acquiring BCR data through the reading process (step S8), and will respond to printer 1 with BCR data (step S9). At this time, printer 1 will send the BCR data to the web application 3a, triggered by the BCR data reception event (step S10). However, at this stage, web application 3a is not yet in a data waiting state and therefore cannot receive the BCR data.

[0041] On the other hand, if the barcode reading process is performed in BCR2 at the same time as the web application 3a executes the Reader.read method in step S6 (step S11), BCR2 receives an IN token sent from printer 1 immediately afterward (step S12) and responds with BCR data to printer 1 (step S13). At this time, printer 1 triggers a BCR data reception event and sends the BCR data to the web application 3a (step S14). Since the web application 3a is in a data waiting state at this stage, it is able to receive the BCR data.

[0042] The web application 3a, upon receiving BCR data from printer 1, processes the BCR data to obtain the barcode reading (step S15) and provides the reading to the user (step S16). The reading is provided to the user, for example, by displaying the reading on the display unit 308.

[0043] As explained in detail above, in the first embodiment, a first peripheral device 1 is connected via USB to a host device 3 that runs a web application 3a, and a second peripheral device 2 is connected via USB to the first peripheral device 1. In this information processing system, the host device 3 acquires data from the second peripheral device 2 via the first peripheral device 1. Serial communication is performed between the web application 3a on the host device 3 and the first peripheral device 1 via a virtual serial port. When the first peripheral device 1 receives peripheral device acquisition data from the second peripheral device 2, the first peripheral device 1 transmits the peripheral device acquisition data received from the second peripheral device 2 to the web application 3a on the host device 3 via the virtual serial port.

[0044] According to the first embodiment configured in this way, as soon as the first peripheral device 1 receives peripheral device acquisition data from the second peripheral device 2, the first peripheral device 1 can actively transmit the peripheral device acquisition data to the web application 3a via the virtual serial port. The first peripheral device 1 does not need to wait for polling from the web application 3a, and can transfer the peripheral device acquisition data to the web application 3a in near real-time as soon as it receives it from the second peripheral device 2. Therefore, there is no time lag between receiving the peripheral device acquisition data from the second peripheral device 2 and transmitting it to the web application 3a. This reduces the time it takes for the host device 3 to acquire the data from the second peripheral device 2.

[0045] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the second peripheral device 2 performs USB communication with the first peripheral device 1 using interrupt transfer with an interval time set to less than a predetermined time, and transmits the peripheral device acquired data to the first peripheral device 1 within a predetermined time at the latest from the time the peripheral device acquired the data. As a result, there is almost no time lag between the time the second peripheral device 2 acquires the peripheral device acquired data and the time it transmits it to the first peripheral device 1. This makes it possible to shorten the time it takes from when the second peripheral device 2 acquires the peripheral device acquired data until the host device 3 acquires the peripheral device acquired data.

[0046] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The overall configuration of the information processing system according to the second embodiment is the same as in Figure 1. The hardware configuration of the first peripheral device 1 (printer 1), the second peripheral device 2 (BCR2), and the host device 3 is the same as in Figures 2 to 4. The functional configuration of the printer 1 is also the same as in Figure 5. In the second embodiment, the processing performed by the web application 3a on the host device 3 differs from that of the first embodiment.

[0047] In the second embodiment, the web application 3a starts a subthread from the main thread, the subthread performs serial communication with the first peripheral device 1, and passes the peripheral device acquisition data received from the first peripheral device 1 from the subthread to the main thread. The subthread can be started, for example, using the Web Worker mechanism. The Web Worker provides a mechanism that moves the processing of scripts in the web application 3a to a thread separate from the main thread, enabling background execution.

[0048] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure when the web application 3a of the host device 3 acquires BCR data in the information processing system according to the second embodiment. In Figure 7, the processes with the same step numbers as those shown in Figure 6 have the same content, so redundant explanations are omitted here.

[0049] In the second embodiment, steps S1 to S4 and steps S15 and S16 are executed on the main thread of the web application 3a. The main thread mainly performs processing related to user interaction. On the other hand, steps S5, S6 and S14 are executed by a sub-thread of the web application 3a. The sub-thread mainly performs processing related to communication with printer 1. Although there are limitations such as not being able to directly manipulate the UI of the web application 3a in the Web Worker thread, communication with printer 1 is possible.

[0050] In step S3, when the user selects printer 1 from the list, granting the main thread of web application 3a access permission to printer 1, web application 3a starts a subthread using a Web Worker from the main thread (step S21). Subsequently, when the user instructs the main thread of web application 3a to acquire BCR data (step S4), web application 3a instructs the subthread to acquire BCR data from the main thread (step S22). Upon receiving this instruction, the subthread of web application 3a opens a virtual serial port (step S5).

[0051] Subsequently, the barcode reading process is performed in BCR2 (step S11), and when BCR2 responds to printer 1 with BCR data in response to the IN token sent from printer 1 (steps S12, S13), printer 1 sends the BCR data obtained from BCR2 to a subthread of web application 3a (step S14).

[0052] The web application 3a, having received BCR data from printer 1, passes the BCR data from the sub-thread to the main thread (step S23). The main thread processes the BCR data passed from the sub-thread to obtain the barcode reading (step S15) and provides the reading to the user (step S16).

[0053] As explained in detail above, in the second embodiment, a subthread is launched from the main thread of the web application 3a, the subthread performs serial communication with the printer 1, and the BCR data received from the printer 1 is passed from the subthread to the main thread.

[0054] According to this second embodiment, data communication between the web application 3a and the printer 1 is entrusted to a sub-thread, reducing the amount of processing performed on the main thread of the web application 3a. This suppresses the decrease in responsiveness of user interaction processing performed by the main thread, minimizing the negative impact on UI processing.

[0055] In the first and second embodiments described above, examples were given in which BCR2 is used as the second peripheral device 2 connected to the printer 1, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, output devices such as customer displays, scales, card readers, and keyboards can be connected instead of or in addition to BCR2. One or more USB devices can also be connected to the printer 1. In this case, measurement data or input data from input devices, status data from input devices or output devices can be used as peripheral device acquisition data instead of the BCR2 read data, in addition to BCR2 read data. Depending on the type of second peripheral device 2, USB communication with the printer 1 may be performed by bulk transfer instead of interrupt transfer or isochronous transfer.

[0056] Furthermore, while the first and second embodiments described above describe examples in which a printer 1 is used as the first peripheral device 1, the invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the printer 1, output devices such as customer displays, input devices such as BCRs, scales, card readers, and keyboards may be connected between the host device 3 and the second peripheral device 2.

[0057] Furthermore, the above embodiments are merely examples of how the present invention may be implemented, and the technical scope of the invention should not be interpreted as being limited by them. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various ways without departing from its gist or its main features. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1. First peripheral device (printer) 2. Second peripheral device (BCR) 3 Host device 3a Web app 11. Communication Control Unit 12 Serial Communication Unit 13 USB communication unit

Claims

1. An information processing system in which a first peripheral device is connected via USB to a host device that runs a web application, a second peripheral device is connected via USB to the first peripheral device, and the host device acquires peripheral device acquisition data, including values ​​acquired by the second peripheral device, via the first peripheral device, The first peripheral device communicates with the host device via a virtual serial port, and, triggered by a reception event of the peripheral device acquisition data transmitted from the second peripheral device, transmits the peripheral device acquisition data received from the second peripheral device to the host device. An information processing system characterized by the following:

2. The second peripheral device communicates with the first peripheral device via USB using interrupt transfer, isochronous transfer, or bulk transfer with an interval time set to a predetermined time or less, and transmits the data acquired by the peripheral device to the first peripheral device within the predetermined time at the latest from the time the data acquired by the peripheral device is acquired. The information processing system according to feature 1.

3. The host device starts a subthread from the main thread, performs serial communication with the first peripheral device via the subthread, and passes the peripheral device acquisition data received from the first peripheral device from the subthread to the main thread. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is the same as described in claim 1 or 2.

4. A peripheral device that connects via USB to a host device that runs a web application, and also connects via USB to a second peripheral device, and provides peripheral device acquisition data, including values ​​acquired by the second peripheral device, to the host device, The host device communicates with the second peripheral device via a virtual serial port, and triggers a reception event of the peripheral device acquisition data transmitted from the second peripheral device to transmit the peripheral device acquisition data received from the second peripheral device to the host device. A peripheral device characterized by the following features.

5. An information processing method for a system comprising a host device running a web application, a first peripheral device connected via USB, and a second peripheral device connected via USB to the first peripheral device, wherein peripheral device acquired data, including values ​​acquired by the second peripheral device, is provided to the host device via the first peripheral device, The above host device includes the step of opening a virtual serial port, The second peripheral device includes the step of transmitting the data acquired by the peripheral device to the first peripheral device, The first peripheral device has the following steps: triggered by a reception event of the peripheral device acquisition data transmitted from the second peripheral device, the first peripheral device transmits the peripheral device acquisition data received from the second peripheral device to the host device via the virtual serial port. An information processing method characterized by the following:

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