Application program and printing system

Abstract

To provide a technique for reducing the operating labor of a user when a printer is made to print an image in an information processor in which an automatic function is mounted on an operating system (OS).SOLUTION: An operating system (OS) 21 of an electronic device 1 has a connection program 211 for automatically performing an action of procedural data in response to detection of a trigger of the procedural data, when the procedural data indicating the trigger and the action is registered. A printing application 22 is activated based on user operations or is activated by the connection program 211. When activated based on the user operations, the printer application 22 makes a CPU 11 execute manual output processing. When activated by the connection program 211, the printing application 22 obtains input information including activation information from the OS 21, decides data to be printed on the basis of the activation information, and outputs a print job based on the decided data to be printed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technical field disclosed in this specification relates to an application program and a printing system that output a print job to a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for setting start conditions for an application program, and starting the application program when the start conditions are satisfied. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration of a multifunction peripheral having a management program for managing the start of application programs, in which the management program sets start conditions for each application program, and when an application program satisfies the start conditions, the application program is started. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-051875 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, an operating system (OS) is equipped with an automatic function that registers procedure data indicating a series of procedures for multiple functions and operations in the OS, and the OS automatically executes the functions and operations according to the registered procedure data. By using this automatic function, the user's work until the desired output is obtained can be automated, so that the user's operational burden can be significantly reduced without using a management program such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1. However, after starting an application program, for example, an application program that outputs a print job requires operations such as selecting a print target and inputting a print instruction. Therefore, there is room for improvement in order to further reduce the user's operational burden.

[0005] This specification discloses a technique for reducing the user's operational burden when causing a printer to print an image in an information processing apparatus having an automatic function installed in its OS. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The application program made for the purpose of solving this problem is an application program executable by a computer of an information processing device, wherein an OS of the information processing device has an automatic function, and the automatic function is a function of the OS automatically executing a series of procedures of a plurality of functions or operations in response to satisfaction of a start condition, when procedure data indicating a start condition for starting the series of procedures is registered in the OS, and the application program is started in one case based on a user operation using a user interface of the information processing device, and in another case based on the automatic function of the OS, and the application program is further configured to cause the computer to execute a program using the user interface of the information processing device. When started based on user operation, the computer executes a manual output process that accepts selection of data to be printed using the user interface and outputs a print job based on the selected data to be printed, and when started based on the automatic function of the OS, the computer executes an acquisition process that acquires input information input from the OS at startup, the input information including startup information that identifies the startup conditions, a determination process that determines data to be printed based on the startup information acquired in the acquisition process, and an automatic output process that outputs a print job based on the data to be printed determined by the determination process, and when the OS starts the application program using the automatic function, it passes the input information to the application program.

[0007] The application program disclosed in this specification may be started based on an automatic function of the OS when the start condition included in the registered procedure data is satisfied, and in that case, input information including start information is received from the OS. When the application program is started based on the automatic function, it further determines the data to be printed based on the start information and automatically outputs a print job that instructs printing based on the data to be printed. As a result, the data to be printed is automatically determined and printed, which reduces the user's effort when printing compared to the case where the application program is manually started and then an operation for determining the data to be printed and an operation for instructing printing are performed.

[0008] An electronic device for implementing the functions of the application program, a control method for implementing the functions of the application program, and a computer-readable storage medium for storing the application program are also novel and useful. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification realizes a technology that reduces the user's operational effort when causing a printer to print an image in an information processing device in which an automatic function is installed in the OS. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for manual output processing. [Diagram 3] 11 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure for registering procedure data by a registration program. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of procedure data that can be registered by a registration program. FIG. [Diagram 5] 11 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure of a process performed by a print application when the print application is started upon receiving a low remaining amount signal. FIG. [Figure 6]FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification screen for notifying that the remaining amount is low. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image selection screen. [Figure 8] 13 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure of a process performed by a print application when the print application is started upon receipt of an exchanged signal. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a program embedded in an electronic device will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment discloses an application program (hereinafter, referred to as an "app") embedded in a portable electronic device such as a smartphone or a tablet computer.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the electronic device 1 of this embodiment includes a controller 10 including a CPU 11 and a memory 12. Furthermore, the electronic device 1 includes a user interface (hereinafter referred to as "user IF") 13 and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as "communication IF") 14, which are electrically connected to the controller 10. The electronic device 1 is an example of an information processing device. Note that the controller 10 in Fig. 1 is a collective term for hardware and software used to control the electronic device 1, and does not necessarily represent a single piece of hardware actually present in the electronic device 1.

[0013] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program read from the memory 12 and based on a user's operation. The CPU 11 is an example of a computer. The memory 12 includes, for example, a ROM, a RAM, a HDD, and a flash memory, and stores various programs and data.

[0014] The user IF 13 includes a component having a display function and a component having an operation reception function. The user IF 13 includes, for example, a touch panel having a display function and a touch reception function, a microphone having a voice input function, and a speaker having a voice output function.

[0015] The communication IF 14 includes hardware for communicating with various external devices. The communication method of the communication IF 14 is Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), USB, NFC (abbreviation of Near Field Communication), etc. The electronic device 1 may be capable of supporting a plurality of communication methods as the communication IF 14. The electronic device 1 of this embodiment is capable of connecting to the Internet via the communication IF 14.

[0016] The electronic device 1 may further include a camera having a photographing function and various detection units that detect various states of the electronic device 1. The electronic device 1 may include, as the detection units, a position detection unit that detects the position of the electronic device 1 in the direction of the earth's surface using a GPS or the like, an attitude detection unit that detects the inclination of the electronic device 1 with respect to the direction of gravity using a gyroscope or the like, a light amount detection unit that detects the brightness around the electronic device 1 using an illuminance sensor or the like, and the like.

[0017] An operating system (hereinafter, referred to as "OS") 21 and various applications are built into the memory 12 of the electronic device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1. The OS 21 is a multitasking OS that can process multiple tasks in parallel by managing and switching between multiple tasks, and is, for example, any one of iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark), macOS (registered trademark), and Linux (registered trademark).

[0018] The OS 21 of the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment incorporates a linking program 211. The linking program 211 is a program that automatically executes a process registered in preregistered procedure data based on the procedure data. The linking program 211 is an example of a program for realizing an automatic function. The linking program 211 is, for example, SiriShortcut that can run on iOS.

[0019] One or more pieces of procedure data can be registered in the linking program 211, and a trigger, which is a condition for starting execution of the procedure, and an action, which is the content of the procedure to be executed, are stored in association with each other in the linking program 211. The linking program 211 constantly detects triggers of the registered procedure data, and when a trigger is detected, starts execution of the action stored corresponding to the trigger. Note that a series of procedures for executing multiple functions or operations in a predetermined order can be registered as the action of the procedure data. A trigger is an example of a condition for starting an automatic function, and an action is an example of a procedure for an automatic function.

[0020] In each procedure data of the linking program 211, it is possible to register, as a trigger, for example, acceptance of a predetermined operation to the user IF 13, detection of predetermined information by various detection units included in the electronic device 1, and output of predetermined information by various applications incorporated in the electronic device 1. In addition, it is possible to register, as an action, for example, output to the user IF 13, acceptance of an operation input, starting or stopping a predetermined application, and output of predetermined information to a predetermined application in each procedure data of the linking program 211.

[0021] The electronic device 1 of the present embodiment has a lock function for switching between a locked state and an unlocked state as a display mode of the user IF 13. For example, when the electronic device 1 does not accept any operation for a predetermined consecutive period of time or more, the electronic device 1 enters a locked state and displays, for example, a screen for a predetermined locked state, thereby restricting some of the operations on the user IF 13.

[0022] In the locked state, the electronic device 1 accepts input of unlocking information for releasing the locked state, and releases the locked state to enter the unlocked state if the accepted input information matches the unlocking information stored in the memory 12. When entering the unlocked state, the electronic device 1 hides the screen for the locked state and displays a screen for the unlocked state that can accept various operations.

[0023] However, even in the locked state, the OS 21 and the linking program 211 judge whether or not the detection by each detection unit or the trigger of the registered procedure data is met. When the linking program 211 judges that a trigger of the registered procedure data is detected, it automatically starts execution of the action corresponding to the detected trigger, even in the locked state.

[0024] Various applications can be installed in the electronic device 1, and the electronic device 1 of this embodiment is installed with various applications including at least a print application 22. The print application 22 is a program having a function of generating a print job for causing a printer to execute printing and sending the generated print job to a specified destination. The print application 22 is an example of an application program.

[0025] The print application 22 of this embodiment includes a registration program 221 corresponding to the print application 22. The registration program 221 of this embodiment includes one or more pieces of procedure data including a start-up procedure of the print application 22 in an action, and is a program for registering the selected procedure data in the link program 211 based on a user operation. The operation of each program will be described in detail later.

[0026] The print application 22 may be a dedicated program for a specific model of printer, or a general-purpose program for various printers. The print application 22 may be a program for a printer that prints on standard size paper such as A4, or a program for a printer that prints on label paper to create labels, or a program that can do both.

[0027] 1, the electronic device 1 of this embodiment can be connected to a printer 3 corresponding to the print application 22 via the communication IF 14, and the electronic device 1 including the print application 22 and the printer 3 constitute a print system 100. The printer 3 is a device capable of receiving a print job transmitted from the print application 22 and executing printing based on the received print job.

[0028] The printer 3 is a plain paper printer capable of printing on paper such as plain paper by, for example, an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method. The printer 3 of this embodiment detects the remaining amount of coloring material such as toner or ink contained therein, and when it is determined that the detected remaining amount is less than a predetermined amount, it is capable of outputting a low remaining amount signal including information indicating that the remaining amount is low. Furthermore, when it detects that a cartridge containing a coloring material has been replaced, the printer 3 is capable of outputting a replaced signal including information indicating that the cartridge has been replaced. If the printer 3 is a printer capable of storing coloring materials of multiple colors, the low remaining amount signal includes information on the color that is low in the remaining amount, and the replaced signal includes information on the color of the coloring material stored in the replaced cartridge. If the printer 3 is a printer that uses only one color of coloring material, the low remaining amount signal and the replaced signal do not need to include color information.

[0029] The printer 3 further has a function of acquiring various information by communicating with an IC tag attached to the cartridge of the coloring material contained therein, etc. The printer 3 also has a function of detecting whether the installed cartridge is a genuine product of the manufacturer or not, based on an instruction from the print application 22, for example, and returning the detection result.

[0030] Next, examples of various operations performed by the print application 22 and the registered program 221 will be described with reference to sequence diagrams and the like. Note that the following processes and each processing step basically indicate the processing of the CPU 11 according to the instructions written in each program. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the API of the OS 21 of the electronic device 1. In this specification, the operation of the programs will be described without describing the OS 21.

[0031] First, the procedure of manual output processing, which is processing of the print application 22 when it is manually launched based on a user operation, will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 2. The manual output processing is executed by the CPU 11 of the electronic device 1 based on the print application 22 when the print application 22 is designated and launched based on a user operation on the user IF 13, for example, by the user operating an application icon.

[0032] In the manual output process, the CPU 11 displays a pre-prepared top screen (S101) and accepts user operations. The CPU 11 accepts the selection of data to be printed and printing parameters based on the user operations (S102). If a printer has not been selected, the CPU 11 also accepts the selection of a printer. The CPU 11 then determines whether or not a print execution instruction has been accepted (S103), and if not (S103: NO), accepts further user operations.

[0033] When it is determined that a print command has been received (S103: YES), the CPU 11 generates a print job (S104) and transmits the generated print job to a specified destination (S105). The destination of the print job may be a printer 3 connected to the electronic device 1, or a server shared with an unconnected printer.

[0034] After transmitting the print job, the print application 22 in this embodiment stores a print log (S106). The print log stores information indicating the data to be printed, information indicating the printer that is the device that will print, and information indicating the date and time when the printing was performed, all of which are associated with one another. The print log may also include information indicating print parameters. Furthermore, the information indicating the data to be printed may also include information indicating the color of the coloring material to be used to print the data.

[0035] Furthermore, the CPU 11 judges whether or not an instruction to end the print application 22 by a user operation has been accepted (S107). If the instruction to end has not been accepted (S107: NO), the CPU 11 returns to displaying, for example, a top screen, and accepts further user operation. If it is judged that an instruction to end has been accepted by a user operation (S107: YES), the CPU 11 ends the print application 22.

[0036] Next, the process of registering procedure data in the link program 211 of the OS 21 by the registration program 221 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 3. As described above, the registration program 221 is a program corresponding to the print application 22, and is provided, for example, together with the print application 22. The registration program 221 may be included in the print application 22. The registration program 221 may also be a program separate from the print application 22, and may be, for example, an application dedicated to registration, or an installer for the print application 22.

[0037] The registration program 221 is started based on a user's instruction to execute registration (S201). The registration program 221 may be started automatically when the print application 22 is installed. When the registration program 221 is started, it first displays a list of procedure data that can be registered (S202).

[0038] The registration program 221 of this embodiment has four types of procedure data that can be registered, for example, as shown in Fig. 4. The registration program 221 of this embodiment has, for example, procedure data triggered by receiving a low remaining amount signal from the printer (hereinafter referred to as "low remaining amount procedure data"), procedure data triggered by receiving a replaced signal from the printer (hereinafter referred to as "exchange procedure data"), procedure data triggered by a notification from a schedule application (hereinafter referred to as "scheduled procedure data"), and procedure data triggered by voice input of a predetermined line (hereinafter referred to as "voice procedure data").

[0039] Each piece of procedure data provided in the registration program 221 has a different trigger. The action of each piece of procedure data provided in the registration program 221 includes a procedure for starting the print application 22, and the input information that is information passed to the print application 22 at the time of starting is different. Each piece of procedure data provided in the registration program 221 is an example of specific procedure data. Details of each piece of procedure data will be described later.

[0040] The registration program 221 accepts the selection of the procedure data to be registered from the list displayed in S202 based on the user's operation (S203). Furthermore, the registration program 221 may accept the selection of a printer to be the target of the trigger or action of the procedure data (S204). For example, when a small amount of procedure data or exchange procedure data is selected, the registration program 221 may accept the selection of a printer to be detected to detect a trigger signal.

[0041] The registration program 221 generates procedure data based on the user's selection (S205) and passes it to the OS21 to instruct registration (S206). The OS21 stores the procedure data received from the registration program 221 in the memory 12 and registers it as procedure data in the link program 211 (S207). S203 and S204 are examples of a registration operation by the user, and S206 is an example of registration processing.

[0042] That is, in this embodiment, since the predetermined procedure data including the start-up procedure of the print application 22 is prepared in advance as the registration program 221, the procedure data can be registered in the OS 21 based on a predetermined registration operation. Note that the electronic device 1 may be embedded with, for example, a general-purpose program for registering procedure data, and by using the program, various procedure data can be registered without using the registration program 221. In that case, however, the user needs to generate the procedure data by individually specifying triggers and actions. According to the registration program 221, the user does not need to perform complicated operations to register the predetermined procedure data, and can easily register the predetermined procedure data.

[0043] If the registration program 221 has registered the procedure data, the print application 22 is automatically started by the linking program 211 when a trigger of the registered procedure data is detected. The action of each procedure data includes a procedure for passing input information, including start-up information that is information on the trigger of the procedure data, to the started print application 22. When the print application 22 is started based on procedure data by the function of the linking program 211, it receives the input information input from the linking program 211 and determines a processing procedure after starting based on the received input information. For example, the determination procedure for determining the data to be printed differs for each start-up information included in the input information.

[0044] The print application 22 of this embodiment does not receive input information when it is manually started based on a normal user operation without going through the linking program 211. When the print application 22 does not receive input information at the time of starting, the print application 22 executes the manual output process described above. The print application 22 of this embodiment executes different operations when it is manually started based on a user operation, i.e., when it does not receive input information at the time of starting, and when it is automatically started by the linking program 211, i.e., when it receives input information at the time of starting.

[0045] Next, an example of the operation of the print application 22 when it is started by the linking program 211 based on the procedure data registered in the electronic device 1 will be described. That is, each of the following processes is executed by the CPU 11 of the electronic device 1 based on the print application 22 when it is started by the linking program 211. Note that in the diagrams shown below, the process by the OS 21 includes the process by the linking program 211.

[0046] First, the process based on the low-level procedure data will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 5. In the electronic device 1 that performs the operation shown in this figure, low-level procedure data that is triggered by receiving a low-level remaining signal from the printer 3 is registered in advance in the OS 21. If the low-level procedure data is not registered, the electronic device 1 does not execute the operation shown in Fig. 5.

[0047] The printer 3 outputs a low remaining amount signal based on, for example, a user setting. For example, the printer 3 detects the remaining amount of the stored coloring material at a predetermined timing (S301), and when it determines that the remaining amount is less than a predetermined amount (alt: [low remaining amount]), it outputs a low remaining amount signal (S302).

[0048] The printer 3, for example, broadcasts or multicasts to each device in the connected network. If the printer 3 accepts registration of a device as a notification recipient for status information, the printer 3 unicasts to the registered device. In this embodiment, the notification recipients of the printer 3 include the electronic device 1, and the electronic device 1 can receive the low remaining amount signal transmitted from the printer 3.

[0049] The linking program 211 of the OS21 judges whether or not information registered as a trigger in each procedure data registered in the OS21 of the electronic device 1 has been received based on the received signal (S305). Since the electronic device 1 of this embodiment has low-remaining procedure data registered therein, when the linking program 211 receives a low-remaining signal, it judges that the received signal corresponds to a trigger for the low-remaining procedure data (alt:[trigger]) and starts an action for the low-remaining procedure data. The low-remaining signal is an example of a first signal, and the trigger for the low-remaining procedure data is an example of a first activation condition.

[0050] The action of the low amount procedure data includes starting the print application 22 and inputting information indicating receipt of the low amount remaining signal to the print application 22. That is, the linking program 211 starts the print application 22 based on the low amount procedure data (S306), and passes input information including the low amount remaining signal information to the print application 22 as information at the time of startup (S307). The information of the low amount remaining signal includes, for example, printer information that identifies the printer 3 that sent the low amount remaining signal, and color information that indicates the color of the coloring material that is low. After S306 and S307, the linking program 211 ends the action of the low amount procedure data.

[0051] This starts the printing application 22, and the printing application 22 receives input information from the link program 211. S307 is a process in which the printing application 22 acquires input information, and is an example of an acquisition process. The printing application 22 acquires information indicating a startup trigger from the acquired input information (S311). Specifically, the printing application 22 acquires information on a low remaining amount signal.

[0052] In response to acquiring the information of the low remaining amount signal as input information, the printing application 22 extracts an image recommended as a printing target based on the printing history (S312). For example, based on the stored printing log, the printing application 22 extracts images using a colorant of the color that is low on the remaining amount from among images recently printed by the printer 3 or images that are frequently printed. Note that the determination of high frequency corresponds to, for example, whether the number of printings is a predetermined number or more, whether printing was performed within a predetermined period going back from the present, or a combination thereof. In addition, if the color that is low on the remaining amount is a color other than black, the printing application 22 may simply extract an image that has been printed in color, for example. In addition, if the color information is not included in the low remaining amount signal, only images recently printed or images that are frequently printed may be extracted.

[0053] After extracting the data, the print application 22 inquires of the OS 21 whether the electronic device 1 is in a locked state and obtains a response (S315). If the electronic device 1 is in a locked state (alt: [locked state]), the print application 22 passes an instruction to the OS 21 to display a notification of the low remaining amount on the user IF 13 (S316). S316 is an example of a notification process in the locked state. As a result, a notification screen notifying the user that the remaining amount is low is displayed on the user IF 13 via the OS 21.

[0054] 6, the print application 22 displays a notification screen 51 including information on the color with the remaining amount being low and a button for receiving an input of whether to print, and requests a selection from the user. The process of receiving the selection on the notification screen 51 is an example of a receiving process.

[0055] When the OS21 receives an instruction to execute printing on the currently displayed notification screen 51, it causes the user IF 13 to display an unlocking screen for receiving input of unlocking information for unlocking the locked state (S317). The user inputs unlocking information for unlocking the locked state on the unlocking screen (S318). The OS21 determines whether the input unlocking information is appropriate, and if it determines that it is not appropriate, it causes the unlocking screen to be displayed again, and maintains the locked state until it receives input of appropriate unlocking information. On the other hand, if it determines that appropriate unlocking information has been input, the OS21 releases the locked state and becomes unlocked.

[0056] When the OS 21 is put into the unlocked state by a user operation, the OS 21 passes information indicating that the state has been unlocked to the print application 22. This causes the print application 22 to proceed to the next operation. Note that when the OS 21 receives an instruction not to execute printing on the notification screen 51, the OS 21 passes that information to the print application 22. When the print application 22 receives information indicating that the state has been unlocked from the OS 21, or when a predetermined time has passed after the display of the notification screen 51 without receiving information indicating that the state has been unlocked, the print application 22 terminates itself.

[0057] If the print application 22 receives a response in S315 that the device is not in a locked state, or if the print application 22 receives information that the device is in an unlocked state after S315, the print application 22 displays an image selection screen for accepting the selection of an image to be printed on the user IF 13 (S321). S321 is an example of a notification process in an unlocked state.

[0058] 7, the print application 22 displays an image selection screen 52 including information indicating an image to be selected and a button to accept an instruction not to print, and requests a selection. The print application 22 displays, for example, a list of images extracted in S312 as images to be selected, and accepts a user's selection. On the image selection screen 52, the print application 22 may display the images to be selected as thumbnail images showing the print image, or as a list of file names.

[0059] Since the information that can be input differs between the locked state and the unlocked state, different notification contents for the locked state and the unlocked state allow for notifications appropriate to each state. Specifically, in the unlocked state, information indicating the data to be printed is displayed, and in the locked state, information indicating the data to be printed is not displayed. Note that in the locked state, there may be restrictions on the amount of data that can be displayed on the screen, and the amount of messages may be smaller than in the unlocked state. Also, in the locked state, the size of the display may be smaller than in the unlocked state.

[0060] Then, the print application 22 accepts an instruction from the user to select an image to be printed on the image selection screen 52 (S322), and determines the selected data as the data to be printed. S322 is an example of a determination process.

[0061] Note that the printing application 22 terminates itself if it receives an instruction not to execute printing on the image selection screen 52. By receiving a selection of whether to execute printing on the image selection screen 52, it is possible to avoid undesired printing. The printing application 22 may also terminate if it does not receive an instruction input even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the image selection screen 52 was displayed. The printing application 22 may also terminate if an appropriate image was not extracted in S312.

[0062] When the selection of an image to be printed is accepted, the printing application 22 attempts to connect to the printer 3, which is the printer indicated by the printer information from the input information received from the linking program 211 at the time of startup (S325). Specifically, the printing application 22 establishes a connection to the printer 3 by sending a search signal to search for the printer 3 and receiving a response signal from the printer 3. If the connection cannot be established, the printing application 22 may notify that the connection is not possible.

[0063] When the connection with the printer 3 is established, the print application 22 outputs a print job to the printer 3 to print the image selected in S322 (S326). S326 is an example of an automatic output process. Furthermore, the print application 22 terminates itself (S327). The printer 3 executes printing based on the print job sent in S326 (S331) and generates a printed matter.

[0064] If the electronic device 1 of this embodiment has the low-level procedure data registered, the print application 22 is started up by receiving the low-level signal as a trigger. In the process according to the low-level procedure data, when the printer runs low on coloring materials, data that has been printed frequently is automatically extracted and a data selection instruction and print instruction are accepted, reducing the user's effort in printing. In addition, the printer runs out of coloring materials without the user realizing, reducing the possibility of making it difficult to obtain urgent printed materials.

[0065] Next, the process based on the exchange procedure data will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 8. In the electronic device 1 that performs the operation in this diagram, exchange procedure data that is triggered by receiving an exchange completed signal from the printer 3 is registered in advance in the OS 21. If the exchange procedure data is not registered, the electronic device 1 does not execute the operation shown in Fig. 8. In the following, the same steps as those in the minimal procedure data are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be simplified.

[0066] As described above, when the printer 3 detects that the coloring material cartridge has been replaced, it transmits a replacement signal (S401). The electronic device 1 receives the replacement signal from the printer 3 in the same manner as the low level signal.

[0067] The linking program 211 of the OS21 judges whether or not information registered as a trigger in each procedure data registered in the OS21 of the electronic device 1 has been received based on the received signal (S405). Since the electronic device 1 of this embodiment has exchange procedure data registered therein, when the linking program 211 receives an exchange-completed signal, it judges that the received signal corresponds to a trigger for the exchange procedure data (alt:[trigger]) and starts the action of the exchange procedure data. The exchange-completed signal is an example of a second signal, and the trigger for the exchange procedure data is an example of a second start condition.

[0068] The action of the replacement procedure data includes starting the print application 22 and inputting information indicating receipt of the replaced signal to the print application 22. That is, the linking program 211 starts the print application 22 based on the replacement procedure data (S406), and passes input information including the information of the replaced signal to the print application 22 as information at the time of startup (S407). The information of the replaced signal includes, for example, printer information that is information for identifying the printer 3 that sent the replaced signal, and color information that indicates the color of the replaced colorant. After S406 and S407, the linking program 211 ends the action of the replacement procedure data.

[0069] This starts the printing application 22, and the printing application 22 receives input information from the link program 211. S407 is a process in which the printing application 22 acquires input information, and is an example of an acquisition process. The printing application 22 acquires information indicating a startup trigger from the acquired input information (S311). Specifically, the printing application 22 acquires information on an exchanged signal.

[0070] In response to receiving the replaced signal as input information, the printing application 22 inquires of the printer 3, which is the printer that sent the replaced signal, whether the replaced cartridge is a genuine product of the manufacturer (S411). The printer 3 detects whether the cartridge is a genuine product based on an instruction from the printing application 22 (S412), and transmits the detection result to the printing application 22 (S413).

[0071] If the result indicates that the product is genuine (alt: [genuine product]), the printing application 22 extracts data that is recommended for printing (S421). For example, the printing application 22 extracts an image that makes heavy use of the color indicated in the color information, or an image that was selected to be printed immediately before the replacement, as the recommended data. For example, the printing application 22 may extract the recommended data based on the print log, or may request an analysis from the OS 21 or the like and extract the recommended data based on the results.

[0072] After extracting the data, the print application 22 inquires of the OS 21 whether the electronic device 1 is in a locked state and obtains a response (S315). If the electronic device 1 is in a locked state (alt: [locked state]), the print application 22 passes an instruction to the OS 21 to display a notification of the exchanged information on the user IF 13 (S316). As a result, a notification screen notifying the user that the exchange has been completed is displayed on the user IF 13 via the OS 21.

[0073] When the OS 21 receives an instruction to execute printing on the displayed notification screen, it accepts input of release information to release the locked state, similar to the case of the limited procedure data (S317 to S318). When it receives an instruction not to execute printing, or when the locked state is not released, the print application 22 terminates itself.

[0074] If the print application 22 receives a response that the data is not in a locked state in S315, or receives information that the data is in an unlocked state after S315, the print application 22 displays a print reminder screen recommending printing of the data extracted in S421 on the user IF 13 (S422). S422 is an example of a notification process in an unlocked state.

[0075] When a print instruction from the user is received on the print reminder screen (S423), the print application 22 determines the displayed data as the data to be printed. When there are multiple extracted data, the print application 22 may receive a selection of data on the print reminder screen. The process of determining the data selected on the print reminder screen displayed in S422 as the data to be printed based on the instruction in S423 is an example of a determination process.

[0076] After receiving the print instruction, the print application 22 generates a print job, checks the connection with the printer 3 (S325), and outputs the print job to the printer 3 (S326). The printer 3 executes printing based on the received print data (S331).

[0077] On the other hand, if the reply to the inquiry in S411 about whether the product is genuine is that it is not a genuine product (alt: [non-genuine product]), the printing application 22 displays a notification recommending a genuine product on the user IF 13 (S425). In this embodiment, the printing application 22 does not recommend printing when a non-genuine product is installed. After S326 or S425, the printing application 22 terminates itself (S327).

[0078] If replacement procedure data is registered in the electronic device 1 of this embodiment, the print application 22 is started up by receiving a replacement signal as a trigger. When the amount of colorant in the cartridge is low, the printout may be of low quality. In the process according to the replacement procedure data, when the cartridge containing the colorant is replaced, data for printing the color of the replaced cartridge is automatically extracted and recommended as the data to be printed, reducing the user's effort for printing. This increases the possibility of obtaining high-quality printouts using the replaced colorant.

[0079] Next, processing based on scheduled procedure data will be described. The occurrence of a notification from an application can be registered as a trigger for procedure data. For example, an electronic device 1 incorporating a schedule application can register a notification from the schedule application as a trigger for procedure data. An electronic device 1 in which scheduled procedure data is registered in the OS 21 starts a print application 22 based on a notification from the schedule application.

[0080] For example, the schedule application can accept an input of a planned date and a notification designation by the user in advance, and output notification information based on the accepted instructions to the OS 21. For example, when the schedule application accepts an input of a planned date for participation in an event and a designation of a notification on the morning of that day, the schedule application uses a clock function built into the electronic device 1 to output notification information to the OS 21 on the morning of the designated planned date.

[0081] In the trigger of the scheduled procedure data of this embodiment, for example, the fulfillment of both a notification from a schedule application and the arrival of a predetermined time or an entry into a predetermined location range is registered. The entry into a predetermined location range means, for example, entry into a predetermined range from a registered home location, that is, returning home. After receiving a notification of a planned date of participation in an event from the schedule application, the linking program 211 of the electronic device 1 in which the scheduled procedure data of this embodiment is registered determines that a trigger has been detected on the night of the day or after returning home.

[0082] In the action of the scheduled procedure data in this embodiment, for example, starting the print application 22 and a procedure for passing the notified schedule information as input information to the print application 22 are registered. When the linking program 211 determines that the trigger of the scheduled procedure data is satisfied, it starts the print application 22 and passes input information including, for example, the schedule date, the schedule contents, and the presence or absence of a photo matching the schedule information to the started print application 22 as schedule information.

[0083] For example, the linking program 211 starts the procedure of the scheduled procedure data on the evening of the planned day of participation in the event, and passes the event information and information on photos taken during the event to the print application 22. When the print application 22 receives the event information and photo information as input information at the time of startup, it displays the information on the user IF 13 and accepts a user instruction as to whether or not to print. When an instruction to print is accepted, the print application 22 checks the connection with the printer 3 and sends the print data to the printer 3.

[0084] If scheduled procedure data is registered in the electronic device 1 of this embodiment, the print application 22 is started based on a notification from the schedule application. In the process according to the scheduled procedure data, data corresponding to the schedule, such as photos taken during the scheduled period, after the schedule written in the schedule is automatically extracted, and an instruction to select data or an instruction to print it are accepted, reducing the user's effort in printing.

[0085] Next, the process based on the voice procedure data will be described. The OS21 of the electronic device 1 has a function of analyzing the voice input to the microphone by processing an external server on the Internet, etc., and acquiring information on the lines indicated by the voice. The electronic device 1, for which the voice procedure data is registered in the OS21, starts the print application 22 based on a predetermined line input by voice.

[0086] In the present embodiment, a voice input of a predetermined line is registered as a trigger for the voice procedure data. The linking program 211 of the electronic device 1 in which the scheduled procedure data of the present embodiment is registered analyzes the input voice, and when it determines that the analysis result corresponds to the registered predetermined line, it determines that a trigger has been detected. The predetermined line includes, for example, an instruction to create a label and an instruction on the print content to be printed on the label.

[0087] In the voice procedure data of this embodiment, for example, the activation of the print application 22 and a procedure for passing inputted line information to the print application 22 are registered as actions. When the linking program 211 determines that the trigger of the voice procedure data is satisfied, it activates the print application 22 and passes input information including, for example, a label print instruction and print contents to the activated print application 22 based on the line information inputted by voice.

[0088] The printer 3 may be capable of supplying label paper and may have a function of printing on the label paper. A so-called label printer may be connected to the electronic device 1 of this embodiment in addition to the printer 3. The label printer is a printer that has a label creation function of storing label paper wound in a roll and printing with a thermal transfer print head while unwinding the label paper. The label printer may have a cutter function that cuts off the printed portion of the label paper, and may have a function of accepting a print command with an automatic cut setting, printing and cutting, and discharging the printed label.

[0089] When the print application 22 receives information including a label creation instruction as input information at the time of startup, the print application 22 determines the data to be printed based on the input information, generates a print job based on the determined data to be printed, and transmits it to a printer having a label creation function. After startup, the print application 22 may further receive voice input via the OS 21.

[0090] The printing application 22 may also generate data to be printed by appropriately converting voice-input information. For example, the printing application 22 may convert a voice input of "current time" into information indicating a time such as xx hours and xx minutes. For example, in response to an input of "storage period xx days", the printing application 22 may add xx days from the current date to the last day of the period as data to be printed. When the printing application 22 receives information indicating an emoticon or mark, the printing application 22 may also use the corresponding emoticon or mark as data to be printed. When the printing application 22 receives information indicating a predetermined voice such as "cut", the printing application 22 may add an automatic cut setting to the print job.

[0091] If voice procedure data is registered in the electronic device 1 of this embodiment, the print application 22 is started based on voice input by the user. In the process according to the voice procedure data, a label is automatically created based on voice instructions, so the desired label can be obtained without touching the electronic device 1 or the printer 3.

[0092] As described above in detail, when the print application 22 described in this specification is started by the linking program 211 based on the registered procedure data, it receives input information from the linking program 211, executes processing corresponding to the contents of the information included in the received input information, determines the data to be printed, and automatically outputs a print job based on the determined data to be printed. As a result, when a trigger included in the registered procedure data is accepted, the data to be printed is automatically determined and printed, which reduces the user's effort when printing compared to the case where an operation for determining the data to be printed or an operation for issuing a print instruction is performed after startup.

[0093] It should be noted that the present embodiment is merely an example and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the present invention can be naturally improved and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the electronic device 1 is not limited to a portable one, but may be a stationary personal computer or the like. The printer connected to the electronic device 1 is not limited to a single-function printer, but may be a multifunction machine, a copier, a fax machine, or other device having a printing function. The number of printers connected to the electronic device 1 is not limited to one, but may be two or more. The printer may be connected to the electronic device 1 when a print job is output, and may not be connected all the time.

[0094] In addition, although in this embodiment, it is possible to register multiple pieces of procedure data, it may be possible to register only one piece of procedure data. For example, the registration program 221 may not have all of the four types of procedure data described above. For example, the registration program 221 may not accept a user's selection of the procedure data to be registered. In other words, the registration program 221 may be a program that registers all of the procedure data it has when execution is started.

[0095] Also, for example, in this embodiment, the input information of the minimal procedure data and the exchange procedure data includes printer information and color information, but they do not have to be included. For example, the trigger of the minimal procedure data and the exchange procedure data may include a designation of a printer to be detected for a signal, and an action of the procedure data may be started when a signal from the designated printer is detected. Also, for example, the information of the printer to send a print job in the scheduled procedure data or the voice procedure data may be included in the action of the procedure data, or may be held in advance by the print application 22.

[0096] Also, for example, in the action of each procedure data in this embodiment, data recommended for printing is extracted and displayed, and the user is asked whether to print it or not, but this is not limited to this. For example, the print application 22 may determine the data recommended for printing as the data to be printed, generate a print job, and automatically output it. In this case, the print application 22 may notify the user that the print job has been output after outputting the print job.

[0097] Also, for example, the data to be extracted as data recommended to be printed in each procedure data may be only data previously printed based on the print history, or may be all data managed by the OS 21. The timing of extracting the data recommended to be printed is not limited to the timing exemplified in this embodiment, and may be any timing prior to the inquiry to the user or the generation of a print job. For example, data extraction may be performed by another program, such as the OS 21, before the printing application 22 is started. For example, as an action of the procedure data, the printing application 22 may receive information on the extracted data as input information at the time of startup, including a procedure for causing a photo application or the like to extract data.

[0098] In addition, the replacement procedure data of this embodiment does not include a procedure for determining the data to be printed or generating a print job if the replaced cartridge is not a genuine product, but it may include such a procedure. In other words, even if the cartridge is not a genuine product, the print application 22 may automatically perform printing. In that case, the action of the procedure data does not need to include an inquiry as to whether the cartridge is a genuine product or not.

[0099] In addition, in this embodiment, when the print application 22 is started based on the procedure data, it is assumed that the print application 22 terminates itself when the processing is completed, but it does not have to terminate.

[0100] In addition, in any of the flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments, the order of execution of multiple processes in any of the steps can be arbitrarily changed or the processes can be executed in parallel as long as no contradiction occurs in the process content.

[0101] The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as ASIC, or a combination of these. The processes disclosed in the embodiments may be realized in various forms, such as a recording medium having a program for executing the processes recorded thereon, or a method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1. Electronic Devices 3. Printer 11 CPU 13 User Interface

Claims

1. An application program executable by a computer of an information processing device, wherein an operating system of the information processing device has an automatic function, and the automatic function is a function in which, when procedure data indicating a series of procedures of a plurality of functions or operations and a start condition that is a condition for starting the series of procedures is registered in the operating system, the operating system automatically executes the series of procedures in response to the start condition being satisfied, the application program may be started based on a user operation using a user interface of the information processing device, or may be started based on an automatic function of the operating system; Furthermore, the application program The computer includes: execute a manual output process, when the process is started based on a user operation using the user interface of the information processing device, to accept a selection of data to be printed using the user interface, and to output a print job based on the selected data to be printed; The computer further comprises: when started based on the automatic function of the operating system, the operating system executes an acquisition process for acquiring input information input from the operating system at the time of startup, the input information including startup information that identifies the startup condition, a determination process for determining data to be printed based on the startup information acquired in the acquisition process, and an automatic output process for outputting a print job based on the data to be printed determined by the determination process, and when the operating system starts the application program based on the automatic function, the operating system passes the input information to the application program, In the acquisition process, the input information including the startup information, printer information for identifying a printer, and color information is acquired; the operating system has a function for detecting a signal output from a printer, and in the automatic function, the detection of the signal output from the printer can be set as the startup condition; and when the operating system starts the application program upon detecting the signal output from the printer, it passes the input information including the startup information and the printer information indicating the printer that output the signal to the application program; In the determination process, When the startup information indicates a second startup condition in which the startup condition is the detection of a second signal output from the printer, the data to be printed is determined from data that uses a color indicated in the color information acquired in the acquisition process for printing, the second signal is a signal output from the printer when a cartridge containing a coloring material is replaced, and when the operating system starts the application program upon detection of the second signal output from the printer, the operating system includes the color information indicating the color of the coloring material of the replaced cartridge in the input information to be passed to the application program, In the automatic output process, outputting, to the printer, the print job for causing the printer indicated in the printer information acquired in the acquisition process to perform printing based on the data to be printed determined in the determination process; 1. An application program comprising:

2. 2. The application program according to claim 1, A plurality of the procedure data can be registered in the operating system, and the start-up information indicating the start-up condition is different for each of the procedure data; In the determination process, a determination procedure for determining the data to be printed differs for each piece of startup information, and the data to be printed is determined based on the determination procedure corresponding to the startup information acquired in the acquisition process; 1. An application program comprising:

3. 3. The application program according to claim 1, The computer includes: when started based on the automatic function of the operating system, a notification process is executed to cause the user interface of the information processing device to provide a notification based on the input information, and a display mode of the user interface of the information processing device includes a locked state in which some input through the user interface is restricted, and an unlocked state which is not the locked state, and the notification content by the notification process in the locked state is different from that in the unlocked state; 1. An application program comprising:

4. The application program according to claim 3, The computer includes: when the notification process is executed based on the automatic function of the operating system, after the acquisition process and before the automatic output process, In the notification process, As the notification, a notification is given requesting the user to select whether or not to perform printing based on the input information; The computer includes: After the notification process, a reception process is executed to receive a selection of whether or not to perform printing based on the input information, and the automatic output process is executed on the condition that the selection of performing printing based on the input information is received in the reception process.

1. An application program comprising:

5. 5. The application program according to claim 1, the application program has, as the procedure data, at least one specific procedure data including a start of the application program in the series of procedures; The computer includes: when a registration operation is received via the user interface of the information processing device while at least one of the specific procedure data is selected, a registration process is executed to register the selected specific procedure data in the operating system.

1. An application program comprising:

6. An application program executable by a computer of an information processing device, wherein an operating system of the information processing device has an automatic function, and the automatic function is a function in which, when procedure data indicating a series of procedures of a plurality of functions or operations and a start condition that is a condition for starting the series of procedures is registered in the operating system, the operating system automatically executes the series of procedures in response to the start condition being satisfied, the application program may be started based on a user operation using a user interface of the information processing device, or may be started based on an automatic function of the operating system; Furthermore, the application program The computer includes: execute a manual output process, when the process is started based on a user operation using the user interface of the information processing device, to accept a selection of data to be printed using the user interface, and to output a print job based on the selected data to be printed; The computer further comprises: when started based on the automatic function of the operating system, the operating system executes an acquisition process for acquiring input information input from the operating system at the time of startup, the input information including startup information that identifies the startup condition, a determination process for determining data to be printed based on the startup information acquired in the acquisition process, and an automatic output process for outputting a print job based on the data to be printed determined by the determination process, and when the operating system starts the application program based on the automatic function, the operating system passes the input information to the application program, In the acquisition process, the input information including the startup information and printer information identifying a printer is acquired, the operating system has a function of detecting a signal output from a printer, and in the automatic function, the detection of the signal output from the printer can be set as the startup condition, and further, when the operating system starts the application program upon detecting the signal output from the printer, it passes the input information including the startup information and the printer information indicating the printer that output the signal to the application program, In the determination process, When the startup information indicates a first startup condition in which the startup condition is the detection of a first signal output from a printer, data that has been frequently printed by the printer indicated in the printer information acquired in the acquisition process is determined as the data to be printed based on a print history, and the first signal is a signal that is output from the printer when the remaining amount of coloring material becomes less than a predetermined amount, In the automatic output process, outputting, to the printer, the print job for causing the printer indicated in the printer information acquired in the acquisition process to perform printing based on the data to be printed determined in the determination process; 1. An application program comprising:

7. A printing system having a printer and an application program installed in an information processing device, The application program The information processing device may be started based on a user operation using a user interface of the information processing device, or based on an automatic function of an operating system of the information processing device, the automatic function being a function in which, when procedure data indicating a series of procedures of a plurality of functions or operations and a start condition that is a condition for starting the series of procedures is registered in the operating system, the operating system automatically executes the series of procedures in response to the satisfaction of the start condition, Furthermore, the application program When the information processing device is started based on a user operation using the user interface, the information processing device receives a selection of data to be printed using the user interface, and causes a computer of the information processing device to perform a process of outputting a print job based on the selected data to be printed; Furthermore, the application program When started based on the automatic function of the operating system, the information processing device causes the computer to perform the following processes: acquiring input information input from the operating system at the time of startup, the input information including startup information that identifies the startup condition; determining data to be printed based on the acquired startup information; and outputting to the printer a print job that causes the printer to print based on the determined data to be printed. When starting up the application program based on the automatic function, the operating system passes the input information to the application program; Furthermore, the application program In the acquiring process, the input information including the startup information, printer information for identifying a printer, and color information is acquired; the operating system has a function for detecting a signal output from a printer, and in the automatic function, the detection of the signal output from the printer can be set as the startup condition; and when the operating system starts the application program upon detecting the signal output from the printer, it passes the input information including the startup information and the printer information indicating the printer that output the signal to the application program; In the process of determining, When the startup information indicates a second startup condition in which the startup condition is the detection of a second signal output from the printer, the data to be printed is determined from data to be used for printing in a color indicated in the color information acquired in the acquisition process, the second signal is a signal output from the printer when a cartridge containing a coloring material is replaced, and when the operating system starts the application program upon detection of the second signal output from the printer, the operating system includes the color information indicating the color of the coloring material of the replaced cartridge in the input information to be passed to the application program, In the output process, outputting, to the printer, the print job for causing the printer indicated in the printer information acquired in the acquisition process to perform printing based on the data to be printed determined in the determination process; A printing system comprising:

8. The printing system according to claim 7, A registration program installed in the information processing device, the registration program has, as the procedure data, at least one specific procedure data including the start of the application program in the series of procedures; Furthermore, the registration program when a registration operation is received via the user interface of the information processing device while at least one of the specific procedure data is selected, causing the computer of the information processing device to perform a process of registering the selected specific procedure data in the operating system; A printing system comprising:

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