Information processing device, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a mobile terminal capable of selectively using a print system provided in an OS of the mobile terminal and a print plug-in according to user's intention without impairing user convenience.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus comprises: selection means for selecting one image forming apparatus based on a user instruction from one or more image forming apparatuses detected by search means for searching for the image forming apparatus; setting means for setting so that first software generates print data to be transmitted to one image forming apparatus that has transmitted to the information processing apparatus that a predetermined method is supported, wherein the image forming apparatus is selected by the selection means; and control means for executing a process related to downloading of second software for generating the print data to be transmitted to the image forming apparatus that has not transmitted to the information processing apparatus that the predetermined method is supported, wherein the image forming apparatus is selected by the selection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, mobile terminal devices such as smartphones, typified by Android (registered trademark), have begun to support printing functions as standard in their operating systems (OS). In personal computers, typified by Windows (registered trademark), the software that controls the printing function is a printer driver. In Android, software called a print plug-in is used instead of a printer driver.

[0003] The print plug-in has a search function and a print function, and presents a list of printers detected using the search function to the user in response to a request from each application of the mobile terminal device, and transmits a print job to the printer selected by the user. The print plug-in is provided to the user by a printer vendor or an application vendor via an application distribution service such as Google Play (registered trademark).

[0004] In order for a user to utilize the functions of the print plug-in, the user must download and install the print plug-in. In the initial state of the mobile terminal device, the print plug-in is not installed in the mobile terminal device, and the user of the mobile terminal device cannot print.

[0005] Therefore, for example, if the OS of the mobile terminal device is equipped with a standard search function and a print function in advance, the minimum printing can be performed even in the initial state of the mobile terminal device. Patent Document 1 discloses a printing system that realizes a print function unique to the printing device that is valid only for the document to be printed in an OS that can only use a standard printer driver that comes with the OS. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-191645 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] A portable terminal device that already has standard search and print functions can increase the number of printers that are compatible with the portable terminal device at low cost by focusing on specific standard technologies. Examples of specific standard technologies include Bonjour as a search protocol, PWG-Raster as a print format, and IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) as a communication protocol for data transmission.

[0008] However, some printers do not support all standard technologies. For example, some printers support Bonjour search but do not support the PWG-Raster print format. In this case, the printer can be detected by the standard search function of the mobile terminal device even if the print plug-in is not installed in the mobile terminal device.

[0009] For this reason, the printer is displayed in the printer list on the mobile terminal device as a printer to be printed to, but even if the printer is selected in the printer list, it is not possible to print using the printer from the mobile terminal device because the printer does not support the standard print format.

[0010] Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration printers that do not support the standard print format, so a user cannot print unless he or she obtains and installs a printer driver that supports the printer.

[0011] The present invention aims to provide a mobile terminal that, when printing from the mobile terminal, enables a user to selectively use a printing system provided in the OS of the mobile terminal and a print plug-in in a manner that suits the user's intentions without compromising user convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] An image processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: The information processing device has an accepting means for accepting a setting to enable or disable the generation of print data to be sent to a printer using a standard printing function provided in the operating system of the information processing device, a searching means for searching for a printer, and a control means for causing a display means to display an object for instructing the standard printing function to generate print data to be output to a printer capable of printing the print data generated by the standard printing function when the setting is set to enabled, and the control means does not cause the display means to display the object when the setting is set to disabled. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the mobile terminal of the present invention, when printing from the mobile terminal, it is possible to selectively use the printing system provided in the OS of the mobile terminal and the print plug-in in accordance with the user's intentions without compromising user convenience. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a compatible print plug-in table. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a screen displayed by the printing system. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a screen displayed by the printing system. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation performed until a print setting screen is displayed. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation performed until a print setting screen is displayed. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a list of detected printers. [Figure 10] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an operation when a printer is selected from the printer list screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a setting screen for a print plug-in. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation performed until a print setting screen is displayed. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an operation when a print execution instruction is received. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration in this embodiment. A portable terminal device (mobile terminal) 2000 can access the network via an access point 2013. A printer 1000, a printer 1001, and a printer 1002 are connected to the network.

[0017] 1, each printer holds information such as a model name and an IP address internally. Each printer has different capabilities, and holds information indicating those capabilities internally.

[0018] For example, the printer 1000 can process the following print formats: Portable Document Format (PDF), PWG-Raster, and Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG). The printer 1000 also supports Line Printer Remote (LPR) and Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) as communication protocols.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal device 2000. As shown in FIG. The mobile terminal device 2000 includes an SoC 2001, a RAM 2002, a flash memory 2003, a Bluetooth unit 2004, a WiFi unit 2005, and an NFC unit 2006. The mobile terminal device 2000 also includes a power supply 2007, a voice / audio unit 2008, a touch panel 2009, an LED 2010, a camera unit 2011, and a sensor unit 2012.

[0020] The hardware execution entity is an SoC (System on a Chip) 2001, and the software control entity is a program stored in a flash memory 2003. The flash memory 2003 stores various programs. Programs are loaded into a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2002, and are interpreted and executed by the SoC.

[0021] The Bluetooth unit 2004 performs communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark). The WiFi unit 2005 performs wireless communication via an access point 2013. The NFC unit 2006 is a communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication. The power supply 2007 supplies the necessary power to each unit in the mobile terminal device 2000. The voice / audio unit 2008 includes a microphone, a speaker, etc., and is used for voice input and output.

[0022] The touch panel 2009 is an operation input unit that is operated by the user with the fingers. The LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) 2010 are used for various displays. The camera unit 2011 includes an imaging unit that takes pictures and videos. The sensor unit 2012 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System), an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a proximity sensor, and the like.

[0023] Each unit is connected to an SoC 2001, and the mobile terminal device 2000 can connect to a network via an access point 2013. In this embodiment, the OS (operating system) is assumed to be, for example, Android OS (registered trademark) by Google, but is not limited to this.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a software configuration that operates on the mobile terminal device 2000. As shown in FIG. This software program is stored in the flash memory 2003. The applications 112 to 114 installed in the mobile terminal device 2000 have the function of displaying and printing content (data) such as photos, documents, and web pages via the print system 100 provided in the OS.

[0025] The printing system 100 is made up of a UI (User Interface) unit 101, a control unit 102, a communication unit 103, a print plug-in management unit 104, a detection result receiving unit 105, a standard printer search unit 106, and a standard printing unit 107. The UI unit 101 is a user interface of the printing system 100. The control unit 102 controls the operation of a print plug-in installed in the mobile terminal device 2000.

[0026] The communication unit 103 performs network communication with the printers 1000 to 1002 using the WiFi unit 2005. The print plug-in management unit 104 manages information on the print plug-ins installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. The detection result receiving unit 105 receives a notification of the result of the print plug-in detecting the printer on the network.

[0027] The standard printer search unit 106 is a printer search function pre-installed in the OS of the mobile terminal device 2000, and searches for printers on the network in response to requests from the applications 112 to 114. The standard printing unit 107 is a printing function pre-installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. In response to requests from the applications 112 to 114, the standard printing unit 107 converts data sent from each application into a standard print format, and then sends the data to the printer using a standard communication protocol.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first search protocol and the first printing method supported by the printing system 100 as standard are called the standard search protocol and the standard printing method, respectively. The printing method includes a predetermined print format and a predetermined communication protocol. In this embodiment, for example, Bonjour is used as an example of the standard search protocol. Furthermore, for example, PWG-Raster is used as an example of the predetermined format of the standard printing method. Furthermore, IPP is used as an example of the predetermined communication method of the standard printing method. In this embodiment, the data sent from the applications 112 to 114 is in PDF format.

[0029] When a user issues a print instruction via the UI unit 101, the application transmits PDF format data to the standard printing unit 107. The standard printing unit 107 is a renderer that converts the received data into PWG-Raster, which is a standard print format. The standard printing unit 107 transmits the converted data to the printer 1000 via the communication unit 103 using the IPP protocol.

[0030] The print plug-in 200 is composed of a printer search unit 201, a print processing unit 202, a package name 203, and a vendor name 204. The print plug-in 200 supports a second search protocol and a second printing method that are different from the first search protocol and the first printing method. The print plug-in 200 can realize functions such as searching for a printer different from the standard printer search unit 106 and standard printing unit 107 of the printing system 100, generating a print job, and acquiring the printer status.

[0031] The print plug-in 200 acts as a bridge between the printing system 100 and the printer to be printed. Although Fig. 3 shows a state in which only the print plug-in 200 is installed, multiple print plug-ins can be installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. Print plug-ins can be installed and uninstalled as necessary, and the print plug-in management unit 104 manages the installation status of each print plug-in.

[0032] The printer search unit 201 searches for printers on the network using multicast or broadcast. The printer search unit 201 uses a search protocol such as SLP (Service Location Protocol) or Multicast-DNS (Domain Name System). Note that the search protocol used by the printer search unit 201 is not limited to this, and may be different for each print plug-in, for example.

[0033] The print processing unit 202 performs rendering processing on PDL (Page Description Language) data or image data that can be printed by the printers 1000 to 1002. The package name 203 is a unique name assigned to the print plug-in 200, for example, "jp.co.efg.xxxxx". A different name is assigned to each print plug-in as the package name 203, and each print plug-in stores the package name. The vendor name 204 is the name of the vendor that provides the print plug-in 200.

[0034] The print plug-in settings 300 are an area for storing setting values ​​related to the print plug-in 200. The print plug-in settings 300 are stored in the flash memory 2003. The compatible print plug-in table 150 is a table for storing a list of printers on the network detected by the standard printer search unit 106 and the print plug-ins corresponding to the printers. The compatible print plug-in table will be described in detail below.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the compatible print plug-in table 150. As shown in FIG. The compatible print plug-in table 150 is made up of a vendor name 1101, a package name 1102, and a download site 1103. The vendor name 1101 stores the vendor name acquired from a printer on the network by the standard printer search unit 106. The package name 1102 stores the package name of the print plug-in.

[0036] Download site 1103 stores URL information of download sites for print plug-ins. That is, supported print plug-in table 150 stores a list of print plug-ins, in which the vendor name, package name, and information on the download site of the print plug-in are associated with each other. By referring to supported print plug-in table 150, a printer found on the network can be linked to the print plug-in that is supported by the printer.

[0037] Therefore, the printing system 100 can guide the user to a download site if the print plug-in corresponding to the searched printer is not installed. For example, the table data 1104 shows the following information. For a printer with a vendor name of "ABC", the package name of the corresponding print plug-in is "jp.co.abc.xxxxx", and the download site for the print plug-in is "http:store.abc.printplugin".

[0038] 5 and 6 are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed by the printing system 100. FIG. Fig. 5(A) shows a screen 400 on which data to be printed is displayed on an application. When a user taps a print button 401 on the screen 400, the UI unit 101 of the printing system 100 is called. The UI unit 101 of the printing system 100 displays the screen shown in Fig. 5(B), Fig. 5(C), or Fig. 6(A) depending on the conditions.

[0039] In this embodiment, when the user taps the print button 401 in Fig. 5A, the UI unit 101 of the printing system 100 displays a print setting screen. The following describes the process up until the print setting screen is displayed.

[0040] 7 and 8 are flowcharts showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 after the print button 401 is tapped. The processes shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are implemented by loading a program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001.

[0041] When the print button 401 is tapped, in step S501, the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 instructs the standard printer search unit 106 to search for a printer. The standard printer search unit 106 searches for a printer on the network using Bonjour, which is a standard search protocol, via the communication unit 103. In step S502, the control unit 102 instructs the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200 installed in the mobile terminal device 2000 to search for a printer.

[0042] In step S504, the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detected printer information from the standard printer search unit 106 and the printer search unit 201 that have been instructed to perform a search. The printer information is received as a message conforming to the search protocol used by the standard printer search unit 106 or the printer search unit 201. For example, if Bonjour is used as the search protocol, a TXT Record is received. In step S504, the control unit 102 registers the printer information received in step S503 in the detected printer list. Details of the detected printer list are described below.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a list of detected printers. The detected printer list 700 is made up of a model name 701, an IP address 702, a notification source 703, standard printing support 704, a vendor 705, and a plug-in 706. One line of data in the detected printer list 700 indicates data on one detected printer. The detected printer list 700 is stored in the RAM 2002.

[0044] Model name 701 stores the model name of the detected printer. IP address 702 stores the IP address of the detected printer. Notification source 703 stores notification source information when the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detection result in step S503. When the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detection result from the standard printer search unit 106 in step S503, "standard search" is stored in notification source 703.

[0045] On the other hand, when the detection result receiving unit 105 receives the detection result from the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200 in step S503, the package name of the print plug-in is stored in the notification source 703. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the detection result for the model name 701 being "Printer-D" is that the print plug-in 200 is the notification source, and "jp.co.efg.xxxxx", which is the package name of the print plug-in 200, is stored in the notification source 703.

[0046] Standard printing compatibility 704 stores whether or not the printer supports print jobs generated by the standard printing unit 107. In the example shown in Fig. 9, if the printer supports print jobs generated by the standard printing unit 107, "o" is stored in standard printing compatibility 704, and if the printer does not support print jobs, "x" is stored. In detail, in this embodiment, if the control unit 102 determines that the detected printer supports both PWG-Raster, which is the standard print format, and IPP, which is the standard communication protocol, "o" is stored in standard printing compatibility 704.

[0047] On the other hand, if the control unit 102 determines that either the standard print format or the standard communication protocol is not supported, "X" is stored in standard printing support 704. The control unit 102 determines whether the standard print format and the standard communication protocol are supported based on the contents of the response from the printer received by the standard printer search unit 106. Note that standard printing support 704 is stored only when the notification source of the detection result is the standard printer search unit 106, and when the notification source is the print plug-in 200, "NA" is stored, which means "not applicable."

[0048] Vendor 705 stores the name of the vendor that provides the detected printer. Plugin 706 stores information on whether or not a print plug-in corresponding to the printer is installed on the mobile terminal device 2000. If the corresponding print plug-in is installed on the mobile terminal device 2000, "Installed" is stored, and if not, "Not Installed" is stored.

[0049] The print plug-in management unit 104 determines whether a print plug-in corresponding to the vendor name of each printer is installed on the mobile terminal device 2000 by referring to whether a print plug-in corresponding to the vendor name of each printer is installed. Note that the plug-in 706 is stored only when the notification source of the detection result is the standard printer search unit 106, and when the notification source is the print plug-in 200, "NA" meaning "not applicable" is stored.

[0050] Returning to the description of the flowchart in Fig. 7, in step S505, the control unit 102 determines whether or not the printer indicated by the printer information received in step S503 is the printer used for the previous printing via the printing system 100. In detail, the control unit 102 makes this determination based on printer information (not shown) stored in the flash memory 2003 when printing was performed previously via the printing system 100.

[0051] If it is determined in step S505 that the printer is the one used for the previous printing, processing proceeds to step S506, and the control unit 102 determines that the printer to be displayed on the print setting screen 402 shown in Figure 5 (B) is the printer used for the previous printing.

[0052] 5B includes a target printer display area 403, a print setting area 404, and a print button 405. The target printer display area 403 is an area that displays the printer to be printed on. The user instructs the use of the printing system 100 by tapping the print button 405. After the user has confirmed the desired print settings in the print setting area 404, the user taps the print button 405, whereby application data is sent to the printer to be printed on, displayed in the target printer display area 403.

[0053] 5(B), the printer with the IP address "192.168.0.10" and the printer name "Printer-A", which was determined in step S505 to be the printer used previously for printing, is selected in the target printer display area 403. To change the data output destination to a different printer, the user taps the target printer display area 403.

[0054] When the target printer display area 403 is tapped, a printer list screen 408 shown in Fig. 6(B) is displayed. The printer list screen 408 in Fig. 6(B) displays printers on the network based on the printer information stored in the detected printer list 700 (Fig. 9) by the UI unit 101. Details of the process when a printer is selected by tapping on the printer list screen 408 will be described later with reference to Fig. 10.

[0055] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S505 that the printer is not the printer used for the previous printing, the process proceeds to step S507, where control unit 102 determines whether or not the printer detected in step S503 is the last printer. If it is determined in step S507 that the printer is the last printer, the process proceeds to step S508 in Fig. 8. On the other hand, if it is determined in S507 that the printer is not the last printer, the process returns to step S503, and the processes of steps S503 to S507 are repeated.

[0056] In step S508, the control unit 102 determines whether the printer determined in step S505 to be the printer used previously for printing has been found. If it is determined in step S508 that the printer used previously for printing has not been found, the process proceeds to step S509, and if it is determined that the printer has been found, the process proceeds to step S510.

[0057] In step S509, the control unit 102 selects one printer from the detected printer list 700 (FIG. 9) registered in step S504. Then, the UI unit 101 displays the selected printer in the target printer display area 403 in FIG. 5(B). Note that any criteria may be used when the control unit 102 selects a printer in step S509. For example, the control unit 102 may preferentially select the printer detected first in step S503, or may preferentially select a printer with "○" in the standard printing support 704 in the detected printer list 700.

[0058] In step S510, the control unit 102 refers to the detected printer list 700 and determines whether the notification source 703 of the printer to be displayed in the target printer display area 403 is "standard search." If it is determined in step S510 that the notification source 703 is not "standard search," the process proceeds to step S512, and if it is determined that the notification source is "standard search," the process proceeds to step S511.

[0059] In step S511, the control unit 102 refers to the detected printer list 700 and determines whether the standard printing compatibility 704 of the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 is "o." If it is determined in step S511 that the standard printing compatibility 704 is "o," the process proceeds to step S512, and if it is determined that the standard printing compatibility 704 is other than "o," the process proceeds to step S513.

[0060] In step S512, the control unit 102 displays the print setting screen 402 including the target printer display area 403, the print setting area 404, and the print button 405 as shown in Fig. 5(B) via the UI unit 101, and ends the process. Note that in this embodiment, Fig. 5(B) is used as an example of the print setting screen 402, but the contents of the print setting screen 402 displayed in step S512 differ depending on whether the notification source in step S510 is the standard search or the print plug-in.

[0061] In step S513, the control unit 102 determines whether or not a print plug-in corresponding to the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 is available in the store, which is an application distribution service. In detail, the control unit refers to the supported print plug-in table 150 (FIG. 4), and if a print plug-in associated with the vendor name of the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 exists, determines that the print plug-in is available in the store.

[0062] If it is determined in step S513 that the corresponding print plug-in is available in the store, the process proceeds to step S514, and if it is determined that the corresponding print plug-in is not available, the process proceeds to step S515. In step S514, the control unit 102 hides the print setting area 404 via the UI unit 101 as shown in Fig. 5C, and additionally displays the download button 406 instead of the print button 405, and then ends the process.

[0063] That is, when a printer detected by the standard search protocol does not support the standard printing method, the control unit 102 controls the display to display an object that activates a function for downloading a plug-in corresponding to the printer. In this embodiment, the download button 406 is a means for activating a function for downloading a print plug-in corresponding to the printer.

[0064] When the download button 406 is tapped, the screen transitions to a store screen 410 of a print plug-in corresponding to the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403, as shown in Fig. 6(C). When the install button 411 is tapped on the store screen 410 in Fig. 6(C), the print plug-in management unit 104 downloads to the mobile terminal device 2000 a print plug-in provided by the download site 1103 corresponding to that printer.

[0065] Then, the print plug-in management unit 104 installs the downloaded print plug-in in the mobile terminal device 2000. Note that, in this embodiment, the download button 406 is shown as a means for starting the function for downloading the print plug-in, but this is not limiting. For example, if it is determined in step S513 that the corresponding print plug-in is available in the store, the display may be controlled to transition directly to the store screen 410 of the print plug-in.

[0066] In step S515, the control unit 102 hides the print setting area 404 via the UI unit 101 as shown in FIG. 6A, displays a grayed-out download button 407 in place of the print button 405, and ends the process.

[0067] Next, a process executed by the printing system 100 when a printer is selected on the printer list screen 408 shown in FIG. 6(B) will be described. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 when the printer 409 is selected on the printer list screen 408 shown in Fig. 6(B). The process shown in Fig. 10 is realized by loading a program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001.

[0068] Assume that printer 409 is tapped on printer list screen 408. In step S601, control unit 102 acquires information about the tapped printer from detected printer list 700 (FIG. 9). In step S602, control unit 102 determines whether notification source 703 of the printer information acquired in step S601 is “standard search” or not.

[0069] If it is determined in step S602 that the notification source 703 is the "standard search", the process proceeds to step S603. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S602 that the notification source 703 is not the "standard search", that is, that the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200 is the notification source, the process proceeds to step S604.

[0070] In step S603, the control unit 102 determines whether the standard printing support 704 in the printer information acquired in step S601 is "◯", that is, whether the printer is compatible with standard printing. If it is determined in step S603 that the printer is compatible with standard printing, the process proceeds to step S604, and if it is determined that the printer is not compatible with standard printing, the process proceeds to step S605.

[0071] In step S604, the control unit 102 displays the print setting screen 402 in Fig. 5B in the following state via the UI unit 101. That is, the printer 409 tapped on the printer list screen 408 is displayed in the target printer display area 403 of the print setting screen 402. Then, the control unit 102 ends the process.

[0072] In step S605, the control unit 102 determines whether or not a print plug-in corresponding to the printer 409 tapped on the printer list screen 408 is available in the store. The determination of availability performed by the control unit 102 is similar to that in step S513, and therefore detailed description will be omitted. If it is determined in step S605 that the corresponding print plug-in is available in the store, the process proceeds to step S606, and if it is determined that the print plug-in is not available, the process proceeds to step S607.

[0073] In step S606, the control unit 102 displays, via the UI unit 101, the store screen 410 of the print plug-in corresponding to the printer 409 selected on the printer list screen 408 as shown in Fig. 6(C), and ends the process. In step 607, the control unit 102 displays, via the UI unit 101, an error message (not shown) indicating that there is no available print plug-in, and ends the process.

[0074] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when printing from a mobile terminal, it is possible to selectively use the print system provided in the OS of the mobile terminal and the print plug-in in a manner that meets the user's intention without impairing the convenience of the user. For example, when a printer that is not compatible with the standard printing method detected by the standard search protocol is selected, if a print plug-in compatible with the printer is not installed, the user can be prompted to download the print plug-in.

[0075] Second embodiment If the printer supports standard printing, the printer search unit 201 of the installed print plug-in 200 and the standard printer search unit 106 of the printing system 100 may detect the same printer. In this case, in the first embodiment, the same printer is displayed multiple times on the printer list screen. For the user, it is annoying to see the same printer displayed multiple times on the printer list screen.

[0076] However, simply hiding the printer detected by the standard printer search unit 106 on the printer list screen is inconvenient for users who want to continue using the standard print function. In contrast, in this embodiment, when the print plug-in and the print system detect the same printer, it is possible to set it so that convenience for users who want to use the standard print function is not lost while eliminating the annoyance of the same printer being displayed twice.

[0077] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for an installed print plug-in. 11A shows a print setting screen 800 for an installed print plug-in. The print setting screen 800 has a print plug-in list 801. The print plug-in list 801 displays a list of print plug-ins installed on the mobile terminal device 2000. When a specific print plug-in is tapped on the print plug-in list 801, the screen transitions to a print plug-in setting screen 810 where settings related to the selected print plug-in are made.

[0078] 11(B) shows a print plug-in setting screen 810 for making settings related to a specific plug-in that is tapped on the print setting screen 800. The print plug-in setting screen 810 has a print plug-in enablement setting 811 and a printer list 812. The print plug-in enablement setting 811 enables or disables the specific print plug-in that is the target on the print plug-in setting screen 810.

[0079] If a print plug-in is disabled in the print plug-in enablement setting 811, the printing system 100 does not call the print plug-in. A printer list 812 displays a list of printers searched for by the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in. Tapping a printer displayed in the printer list 812 transitions to a printer setting screen where settings related to the selected printer can be made.

[0080] 11(C) shows a printer setting screen 820 for making settings related to a printer tapped on the print plug-in setting screen 810. A printer setting screen 820 exists for each printer searched for by the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in. The printer setting screen 820 has a standard print function enable setting 821. The standard print function enable setting 821 enables or disables the standard print function of the printer targeted on the printer setting screen 820.

[0081] When the enable setting 821 for the printer is set to "ON" on the printer setting screen 820, the standard print function is enabled. When the enable setting 821 for the printer is set to "OFF" on the printer setting screen 820, the standard print function is disabled. The setting contents of the enable setting 821 for the standard print function are stored in the flash memory 2003 as the print plug-in setting 300 (FIG. 3).

[0082] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 after the print button 401 in FIG. 5(A) is tapped in this embodiment. 12. Note that the same processes as those in the flowcharts (FIGS. 7 and 8) described in the first embodiment as the operation of the printing system 100 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The process shown in FIG. 12 is realized by loading a program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001.

[0083] After the processes of steps S501 to S503 have been executed, in step S901 the control unit 102 determines whether the notification source of the printer information received by the detection result receiving unit 105 in step S503 is the standard printer search unit 106. If it is determined in step S901 that the notification source is the standard printer search unit 106, the process proceeds to step S902, and if it is determined that the notification source is not the standard printer search unit 106, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0084] In step S902, the control unit 102 inquires of the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200 about the enablement setting of the standard print function of the printer indicated by the printer information received in step S503. The printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200 refers to the enablement setting 821 of the printer stored in the print plug-in setting 300, and notifies the control unit 102 of the result.

[0085] In step S903, the control unit 102 determines whether or not the standard printing function of the printer is enabled based on the enablement setting notified in step S902 from the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200. If it is determined in step S903 that the standard printing function is enabled, the process proceeds to step S504, and the control unit 102 registers the printer information received in step S503 in the detected printer list 700.

[0086] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S903 that the standard printing function is disabled, the process proceeds to step S507 without registering the printer information received in step S503 in the detected printer list 700. In other words, a printer whose standard printing function is disabled is not displayed as a detection result of the standard printer search unit 106 in the target printer display area 403 in Fig. 5(B) or the printer list screen 408 in Fig. 6(B).

[0087] The printer is displayed in the target printer display area 403 in Fig. 5(B) and on the printer list screen 408 in Fig. 6(B) as a result of detection by the printer search unit 201 of the print plug-in 200. In other words, a printer whose standard printing function is disabled is not a target for printing according to the standard search protocol, but is a target for printing according to the search protocol of the print plug-in.

[0088] Third embodiment For the same printer, different print processing units may result in different print results when printing using the print plug-in 200 and when printing using the standard print function of the printing system 100. In such cases, it is conceivable that users who prefer the print results of the standard print function will continue to use the standard print function.

[0089] In this case, however, it is not possible to use the expanded functions of the print plug-in 200 provided by the vendor. Therefore, in this embodiment, the print plug-in 200 uses the print function of the standard printing unit 107, so that the expanded functions of the print plug-in can be used while using the standard print function to generate print data.

[0090] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the printing system 100 and the print plug-in 200 after the print button 405 in FIG. 5(B) is tapped. The processing shown in FIG. 13 is implemented by loading a program stored in the flash memory 2003 into the RAM 2002 and executing it by the SoC 2001 .

[0091] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the print plug-in 200 corresponding to the printer displayed in the target printer display area 403 selected as the printing target in Fig. 5(B) has already been installed in the mobile terminal device 2000. When the print button 405 is tapped in Fig. 5(B), the process in Fig. 13 starts. In step S1201, the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 instructs the print processing unit 202 of the print plug-in 200 to initialize a print job.

[0092] In step S1202, the print processing unit 202 of the print plug-in 200 acquires the setting contents of the standard print function enable setting 821 of the print plug-in settings 300 (FIG. 3) stored in the flash memory 2003. In step S1203, the print processing unit 202 refers to the print plug-in settings 300 acquired in step S1202 and determines whether the standard print function is enabled.

[0093] If it is determined in step S1203 that the standard printing function is disabled, the process proceeds to step S1204, and if it is determined that the standard printing function is enabled, the process proceeds to step S1205. Note that in the determination in step S1203, the print processing unit 202 refers to the enablement setting 821 of the standard printing function stored in the print plug-in setting 300, but this is not limited to this. For example, the setting for enabling or disabling the standard printing function may be displayed in the print setting area 404 in Fig. 5(B) so that it can be set each time printing is executed, that is, for each print job.

[0094] In step S1204, the print processing unit 202 notifies the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 of "PDF" as the data format of the print job. In step S1205, the print processing unit 202 notifies the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 of "JPEG" as the data format of the print job.

[0095] In step S1206, the control unit 102 of the printing system 100 receives information on the data format of the print job notified from the print processing unit 202 of the print plug-in 200. In step S1207, the control unit 102 refers to the information on the data format of the print job received in step S1206 and determines whether data conversion is necessary. In this embodiment, the format of the data sent from the application 112 to the printing system 100 at the time of printing is PDF format.

[0096] If the data format information received in step S1206 is other than PDF format, it is determined that data conversion is necessary and the process proceeds to step S1208, and if it is determined that data conversion is not necessary, the process proceeds to step S1209. In step S1208, the standard printing unit 107 of the printing system 100 rasterizes the PDF format data sent from the application 112 and then converts it to JPEG format.

[0097] That is, the print processing unit 202 notifies the control unit 102 of the data format in step S1204, thereby requesting the print system 100 to convert the data, i.e., generate print data. Note that, in this embodiment, an example of conversion to JPEG format will be described, but this is not limiting and any format may be used.

[0098] In step S1209, the control unit 102 instructs the print processing unit 202 of the print plug-in 200 to print. At this time, the control unit 102 transmits information on the data format of the print data together with the print data to the print processing unit 202. In detail, if it is determined in step S1207 that data conversion is necessary, the print data whose data format has been converted in step S1208 is transmitted to the print processing unit 202.

[0099] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1207 that data conversion is not necessary, PDF format data is sent as print data from the application 112 to the print processing unit 202. In step S1210, the print processing unit 202 of the print plug-in 200 receives the print data and information on the data format of the print data sent from the control unit 102 of the printing system 100.

[0100] In step S1211, the print processing unit 202 determines whether data conversion is necessary based on the data format information of the print data received in step S1210. If the standard print function enable setting 821 (FIG. 11) of the printer selected as the printing target, i.e., the printer shown in the target printer display area 403 in FIG. 5B, is set to "ON," print data in JPEG format is received in step S1210. Therefore, it is determined in step S1211 that data conversion is not necessary, and the process proceeds to step S1213.

[0101] On the other hand, if the enable setting 821 for the standard print function of the printer selected as the printing target, that is, the printer shown in the target printer display area 403 in Fig. 5(B) is set to "OFF," print data in PDF format is received in step S1210. Therefore, it is determined in step S1211 that data conversion is necessary, and the process proceeds to step S1212.

[0102] In step S1212, the print processing unit 202 of the print plug-in 200 rasterizes the PDF format data received in step S1210 and then converts it to JPEG format. In step S1213, the print processing unit 202 transmits the print data to the printer to be printed together with job attributes reflecting the setting values ​​set in the print setting area 404 in Fig. 5(B), and ends the process.

[0103] (Other embodiments) The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0104] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

Claims

1. An information processing device, a reception unit for receiving a setting as to whether to enable or disable the generation of print data to be transmitted to a printer by a standard print function provided in an operating system of the information processing device; A searching means for searching for a printer; a control means for displaying, when the setting is enabled, an object for instructing to generate, by the standard printing function, print data to be output to a printer capable of printing the print data generated by the standard printing function, on a display means; having When the setting is disabled, the control means does not display the object on the display means.

23. An information processing apparatus comprising:

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the standard printing function outputs print data in a specified format to the printer using a specified communication protocol.

3. The information processing device described in Claim 2, characterized in that the control means, when the printer detected in the search is capable of printing print data in the specified format and the setting is enabled, causes the display means to display the object and another object for instructing the printer to generate print data using software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search.

4. An information processing device as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the specified communication protocol is Internet Printing Protocol.

5. An information processing device as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the specified format is PDF.

6. The information processing device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the specified format is PWG-Raster.

7. A generating means for generating print data using the standard print function based on the selection of the object; an output unit for outputting the generated print data; 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

8. The information processing device described in Claim 1, characterized in that the control means displays an object for downloading the software when the information processing device does not have software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search.

9. An information processing device as described in claim 2, characterized in that if the printer detected in the search does not support at least one of the specified format and the specified communication protocol, printing data is generated using software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search.

10. A method for controlling an information processing device, comprising: a receiving step of receiving a setting as to whether to enable or disable the generation of print data to be transmitted to a printer by a standard print function provided in an operating system of the information processing device; a searching step of searching for a printer; a control step of displaying, when the setting is enabled, an object for instructing a display means to generate, by the standard printing function, print data to be output to a printer capable of printing the print data generated by the standard printing function; having The control step includes the step of not displaying the object on the display means when the setting is set to invalid.

23. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus comprising:

11. The method for controlling an information processing device according to claim 10, wherein said standard printing function outputs print data in a predetermined format to said printer using a predetermined communication protocol.

12. The control method for an information processing device described in Claim 11, characterized in that the control step causes the display means to display the object and another object for instructing the printer detected in the search to generate print data using software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search if the printer detected in the search is capable of printing print data in the specified format and the setting is enabled.

13. The method for controlling an information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the specified communication protocol is Internet Printing Protocol.

14. The method for controlling an information processing device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the specified format is PDF.

15. The method for controlling an information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined format is PWG-Raster. a generating step of generating print data using the standard print function based on the selection of the object; an output step of outputting the generated print data; 16. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

17. The control method of an information processing device as described in Claim 10, characterized in that the control process displays an object for downloading the software if the information processing device does not have software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search.

18. A control method for an information processing device as described in claim 11, characterized in that if the printer detected in the search does not support at least one of the specified format and the specified communication protocol, print data is generated using software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search.

19. An information processing device comprising: A setting as to whether to enable or disable the generation of print data to be transmitted to the printer by a standard print function provided in an operating system of the information processing apparatus is accepted; Search for the printer, When the setting is enabled, displaying an object on a display means for instructing to generate, by the standard printing function, print data to be output to a printer capable of printing the print data generated by the standard printing function; The program, characterized in that, when the setting is disabled, the object is not displayed on the display means.

20. The program according to claim 19, characterized in that the standard printing function outputs print data in a specified format to the printer using a specified communication protocol.

21. The program described in Claim 20, characterized in that, if the printer detected in the search is capable of printing print data in the specified format and the setting is enabled, the object and another object for instructing the generation of print data using software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search are displayed on the display means.

22. The program described in claim 20 or 21, characterized in that the specified communication protocol is Internet Printing Protocol.

23. The program described in claim 20 or 21, characterized in that the specified format is PDF.

24. The program according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that the specified format is PWG-Raster.

25. Based on the selection of the object, generating print data using the standard print function; 25. The program according to claim 19, further comprising: outputting the generated print data.

26. The program described in claim 19, which, if the information processing device does not have software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search, displays an object for downloading the software.

27. ​​The program described in Claim 20, characterized in that if the printer detected in the search does not support at least one of the specified format and the specified communication protocol, print data is generated using software provided by the manufacturer of the printer detected in the search.

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