Printing system and server

Abstract

To provide a printing system and a server that improve usability.SOLUTION: A server of a printing system includes: a printing instruction acquisition unit that acquires, from a voice meditation device, a printing instruction given by voice, which is a printing instruction for contents included in a content group; a selection unit that selects the contents to be printed from the content group according to the printing instruction; and a transmission unit that transmits printing data for printing the selected contents to a printing device of the printing system. The content group includes a plurality of time-dependent contents with different probabilities of being selected according to time when the printing instruction is acquired. The selection unit selects the contents to be printed from the content group so that each of the plurality of time-dependent contents is selected with the probabilities according to the time when the printing instruction is acquired. The printing device receives the printing data and executes printing according to the printing data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing system including a printing device and a server, and a server.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, printing has been performed on a printer via a server computer that provides a cloud printing service. In addition, in recent years, smart speakers that cooperate with voice recognition services on the cloud have been commercially available.

[0003] For reference, Patent Document 1 shows a printing system in which an image forming apparatus and a client PC are connected via a LAN. A voice user of this printing system first needs to input print data from the client PC to the image forming apparatus, and then needs to go to the location of the image forming apparatus. Moreover, the user can hear voices indicating print start, function selection, etc. from the image forming apparatus, and can cause the image processing apparatus to perform specific functions such as copying and boxing by voice.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the above-described technology, printing cannot be instructed by voice to the client PC. In particular, when using a commercially available smart speaker for printing, the user will specify the content to be printed by voice. If there is no proper name to identify each of the multiple pieces of content while multiple pieces of content are prepared, it is conceivable that the server randomly selects the content to be printed from the multiple pieces of content and causes the printer to execute the printing. In this case, there is a possibility that content that is not appropriate for the timing of the printing instruction will be printed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The printing system of the present invention is a printing system including a printing device and a server connected to the printing device via a network, The server is, a printing instruction acquisition unit that acquires a printing instruction for the content included in the content group, the printing instruction being by voice, from a voice mediation device; a selection unit that selects the content to be printed from the content group according to the printing instruction; and a transmission unit that transmits printing data for causing the selected content to be printed to the printing device, and the content group includes a plurality of time-dependent contents whose selection probabilities differ according to the timing of acquiring the printing instruction, the selection unit selects the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with the probability according to the timing of acquiring the printing instruction for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents, the printing device receives the printing data and executes printing according to the printing data.

[0007] Further, the server of the present invention is a server connected to a printing device that executes printing according to received printing data via a network, a printing instruction acquisition unit that acquires a printing instruction for the content included in the content group, the printing instruction being by voice, from a voice mediation device; a selection unit that selects the content to be printed from the content group according to the printing instruction; A transmission unit that transmits print data for printing the selected content to the printing device, The content group includes a plurality of time-dependent contents with different probabilities of being selected according to the timing of obtaining the print instruction, The selection unit has a mode of selecting the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with the probability according to the timing of obtaining the print instruction for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Of course, the following embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention, and not all of the features shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention.

[0010] (1) Summary of the technology: First, this application will explain the summary of the technology with reference to the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 10. Note that the figures of this application are schematic diagrams showing examples, and the magnification ratios in each direction shown in these figures may be different, and the figures may not be consistent. Of course, each element of this technology is not limited to the specific examples indicated by the reference numerals. In the "Summary of the technology", the content in parentheses means a supplementary explanation of the immediately preceding word.

[0011] Aspect 1: As exemplified in FIG. 1 and the like, a printing system SY1 according to an aspect of this technology includes a printing device (for example, printer 200) and a server 100 connected to the printing device (200) via a network NE1. The server 100 includes a print instruction acquisition unit 111, a selection unit 112, and a transmission unit 121. The print instruction acquisition unit 111 acquires, from a voice mediation device 400, a print instruction PI for content CO1 included in a content group G1, which is a voice-based print instruction PI. The selection unit 112 selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 according to the print instruction PI. The transmission unit 121 transmits print data DA1 for causing the selected content CO1 to be printed to the printing device (200). Here, as exemplified in FIGS. 2 to 4, the content group G1 includes a plurality of time-dependent contents CO2 having different selection probabilities according to the timing of acquiring the print instruction PI. The selection unit 112 selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so as to be selected with the probability corresponding to the timing of acquiring the print instruction PI for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents CO2. The printing device (200) receives the print data DA1 and executes printing according to the print data DA1.

[0012] In the above-described Mode 1, when the content CO1 is randomly selected and printed based on the voice print instruction PI, the probability of selecting the content CO1 changes according to the timing of obtaining the print instruction PI. Therefore, the above Mode 1 can provide a printing system SY1 that improves user usability.

[0013] Here, the server 100 means a computer that provides data, and it may be a single computer or a plurality of computers connected to each other. In the present application, "first", "second",... are terms for identifying each component included in a plurality of components having similar points, and do not mean an order. Note that the above-mentioned remarks are also applicable in the following modes.

[0014] Mode 2: As illustrated in FIG. 5, for the plurality of time-dependent contents CO2, the probability of being selected may be different according to the season in which the print instruction PI is obtained as the time. The selection unit 112 may select the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so as to be selected with the probability according to the season in which the print instruction PI is obtained for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents CO2. In this Mode 2, since the probability of selecting the content CO1 changes according to the season in which the voice print instruction PI is obtained, a suitable example for improving user usability can be provided.

[0015] Mode 3: As illustrated in FIG. 5, the time-dependent content CO2 may be associated with a corresponding time when the probability is the first probability SR1. When the time of obtaining the print instruction PI is not the corresponding time, the probability of selecting the time-dependent content CO2 from the content group G1 may be a second probability SR2 lower than the first probability SR1. For example, assume that spring content with a corresponding period in spring is prepared as the time-dependent content CO2. The first probability SR1 that the spring content is selected when the season for obtaining the print instruction PI is spring is higher than the second probability SR2 that the spring content is selected when the season for obtaining the print instruction PI is summer, autumn, or winter. Also, assume that summer content with a corresponding period in summer is prepared as the time-dependent content CO2. The first probability SR1 that the summer content is selected when the season for obtaining the print instruction PI is summer is higher than the second probability SR2 that the summer content is selected when the season for obtaining the print instruction PI is spring, autumn, or winter.

[0016] As exemplified above, in the above-described aspect 3, since the probability that the time-dependent content CO2 is selected in the corresponding period is high, a suitable example for improving usability can be provided.

[0017] Aspect 4: As illustrated in FIG. 5, the content group G1 may include time-independent content CO3 whose probability of being selected does not change depending on the time when the print instruction PI is obtained. The selection unit 112 may select the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so as to be selected with a probability that does not depend on the time when the print instruction PI is obtained for the time-independent content CO3. From the above, for the time-dependent content CO2, it is selected with a probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction PI is obtained, while for the time-independent content CO3, it is selected with a probability that does not depend on the time when the print instruction PI is obtained. Therefore, the above-described aspect 4 can further improve usability.

[0018] Aspect 5: Also, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the probability (e.g., the third probability SR3) that the time-independent content CO3 is selected from the content group G1 may be lower than the first probability SR1 and higher than the second probability SR2. In this case, the probability that the time-dependent content CO2 is selected at the corresponding time is higher than the probability that the time-independent content CO3 is selected, and the probability that the time-dependent content CO2 is selected at a time other than the corresponding time is lower than the probability that the time-independent content CO3 is selected. Therefore, the present aspect 5 can provide a suitable example for improving user usability.

[0019] Aspect 6: As illustrated in FIG. 10, the print instruction PI may include a selection instruction SI that causes the selection unit 112 to select the time-dependent content CO2 from the content group G1 with the probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction PI is acquired. When the print instruction acquisition unit 111 acquires the print instruction PI including the selection instruction SI, the selection unit 112 may select the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so as to be selected with the probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction PI is acquired for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents CO2. In the above case, the probability of selecting the content CO1 changes according to the time when the print instruction PI is acquired by the print instruction PI including the selection instruction SI that causes the time-dependent content CO2 to be selected with the probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction PI is acquired. Therefore, the above aspect 6 can further improve user usability.

[0020] Aspect 7: As illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like, the server 100 may further include a content storage unit 113 that stores the content group G1. The present aspect 7 can provide a suitable example for selecting the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1.

[0021] Aspect 8: Also, the server 100 according to one aspect of the present technology is a server 100 connected via a network NE1 to a printing device (200) that executes printing according to received print data DA1, and includes a print instruction acquisition unit 111, a selection unit 112, and a transmission unit 121. The print instruction acquisition unit 111 acquires, from a voice mediation device 400, a print instruction PI of content CO1 included in a content group G1, which is a voice-based print instruction PI. The selection unit 112 selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 according to the print instruction PI. The transmission unit 121 transmits print data DA1 for causing the selected content CO1 to be printed to the printing device (200). Here, the content group G1 includes a plurality of time-dependent contents CO2 having different selection probabilities according to the timing of acquiring the print instruction PI. The selection unit 112 selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so as to be selected with the probability according to the timing of acquiring the print instruction PI for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents CO2. Therefore, this aspect 8 can provide a server 100 for improving user convenience. In addition, it is also possible to add the above aspects 2 to 7 to the above aspect 8.

[0022] Furthermore, the present technology is applicable to a composite system including the above-described printing system SY1, a composite device including the above-described server 100, a printing method implemented in the above-described printing system SY1, a print control method implemented in the above-described server 100, a print program for causing a computer to realize functions corresponding to each part of the above-described printing system SY1, a print control program PR1 for causing a computer to realize functions corresponding to each part of the above-described server 100, a computer-readable medium recording the foregoing programs, and the like.

[0023] (2) Specific example of the configuration of the printing system SY1: FIG. 1 schematically shows a specific example of the configuration of a system including a printing system SY1. The system includes a server 100, a printer 200, a smart speaker 300, and a voice mediation device 400, and may include a terminal 500. The printing system SY1 includes the server 100 and the printer 200. The user US0 can directly operate the printer 200, the smart speaker 300, and the terminal 500. The server 100, the printer 200, the smart speaker 300, the voice mediation device 400, and the terminal 500 are connected to a network NE1 including the Internet. The network NE1 including the Internet may include a LAN. Here, LAN is an abbreviation for Local Area Network. The connection to the network NE1 may be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a connection using both wired and wireless. The server 100 is a server computer that provides a function called cloud printing service, and releases a function called voice UI to the voice mediation device 400. Here, UI is an abbreviation for user interface. When printing the content CO1, the server 100 transmits print data DA1 based on the keyword KE0 from the voice mediation device 400 to the printer 200. The printer 200 is a printing device that forms a print image IM1 according to the print data DA1 from the server 100. The smart speaker 300 is a voice input / output device that utilizes a function called voice recognition service by the voice mediation device 400. The voice mediation device 400 is a server computer that provides a voice recognition service using AI. Here, AI is an abbreviation for artificial intelligence.

[0024] In the following description, "voice UI" means the part of the server 100 that exhibits the function of voice UI, and "cloud printing service" means the part of the server 100 that exhibits the function of cloud printing service. The keyword KE0 may be any word that is collectively handled when specifying the printing target, and is not limited to a single word, and may be a phrase, a clause, or the like.

[0025] Server 100 has a voice UI area 110 which is a storage area for information to realize a voice UI, and a printing service area 120 which is a storage area for information to realize a cloud printing service. The voice UI is a service constructed by a provider of the cloud printing service on a platform of a voice recognition service. The voice UI area 110 includes information areas for realizing a print instruction acquisition unit 111, a selection unit 112, and a content storage unit 113. The content storage unit 113 stores a content group G1 including a plurality of contents CO1. Note that the content group G1 is not limited to being stored in the content storage unit 113. At least a part of the content group G1 may be stored in the printing service area 120, or may be stored in a server computer different from the server 100. The printing service area 120 includes an information area for realizing a transmission unit 121. The server 100 executes a plurality of processes for realizing the voice UI and the cloud printing service in parallel. Note that the voice UI and the cloud printing service may be constructed on separate computers. Also, the voice UI may be constructed on a server computer that provides a voice recognition service.

[0026] For example, when user US0 says "Print the design paper", smart speaker 300 converts the voice from user US0 into a digital voice signal SG1 and transmits voice signal SG1 to voice mediation device 400 via network NE1. In this case, "Print the design paper" is a print instruction PI for content CO1 included in content group G1 and is a print instruction PI by voice. Voice mediation device 400 that receives voice signal SG1 acquires the identification information of user US0, analyzes the voice based on voice signal SG1, requests printing from the voice UI when the voice includes a print request keyword "to print", and transmits the identification information of user US0 and a keyword KE0 such as "design paper" included in the voice to the voice UI. Voice mediation device 400 may receive smart speaker identification information 300id illustrated in FIG. 7 from smart speaker 300 and acquire the identification information of user US0 associated with smart speaker identification information 300id. Also, voice mediation device 400 may identify user US0 based on voice signal SG1 and acquire the identification information of the identified user US0. Among "Request{userID}{design_paper} to print" shown in FIG. 1, "{userID}" means the identification information of user US0, and "{design_paper}" means a keyword such as "design paper". The voice UI that receives the identification information, the keyword, and the print request keyword processes according to keyword KE0. Here, since there are many types of design papers and no proper names, it is difficult to specify the type by voice. Therefore, the voice UI randomly selects content CO1 and transmits a print request for the selected content CO1 to the cloud printing service.

[0027] The cloud printing service that has received the print request generates print data DA1 using content CO1 and transmits the print data DA1 to printer 200 associated with the identification information of user US0 via network NE1. Printer 200 that has received the print data DA1 executes printing according to the print data DA1 and forms a printed matter 600 having a printed image IM1 based on the print data DA1. Thereby, the content CO1 of "design paper" spoken by user US0 is printed. Note that not only the keyword KE0 but also by speaking something like "Print on the printer of Company A, design paper", the printer 200 assumed by user US0 as the output destination may be specified. Of course, the print request keyword is not limited to "print", and various similar variations such as "perform the printing of" can be considered. Therefore, the processing for voices including these variations may be set to perform processing similar to the processing for voices including the print request keyword "print".

[0028] Also, the voice UI also performs the process of transmitting a guidance message GM1 such as "The design paper has been printed" to the voice mediation device 400. The voice mediation device 400 that has received the guidance message GM1 converts the guidance message GM1 into a digital voice signal SG1 and transmits the voice signal SG1 to the smart speaker 300 via the network NE1. The smart speaker 300 that has received the voice signal SG1 converts the voice signal SG1 into voice and outputs a voice such as "The design paper has been printed".

[0029] Figure 2 schematically illustrates the configuration of server 100. The server 100 shown in Figure 2 is a single server computer having a voice UI area 110 and a printing service area 120, but server 100 may be composed of a plurality of server computers connected to each other. For example, server 100 may have a configuration in which a server computer having a voice UI area 110 and a server computer having a printing service area 120 are provided separately. Also, a voice UI area 110 may be constructed in a server computer that provides a voice recognition service, and even in this case, server 100 including the voice UI area 110 and the printing service area 120 is configured.

[0030] The server 100 shown in Figure 2 includes a CPU 101 that is a processor, a ROM 102 that is a semiconductor memory, a RAM 103 that is a semiconductor memory, a storage device 104, an input device 105, a display device 106, a network I / F 107, a clock circuit 108, and the like. These elements can input and output information to each other by being electrically connected. Here, CPU is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit, ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory, RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory, and I / F is an abbreviation for interface.

[0031] The memory device 104 stores an OS (abbreviation for operating system) not shown in the figure, and has the above-described voice UI area 110 and print service area 120. Here, the OS is an abbreviation for the operating system. The voice UI area 110 has a content storage unit 113 and a weight table TA1, and stores a program or the like that causes the server 100 to implement a print instruction acquisition function FU1 and a selection function FU2. Although details will be described later, the content storage unit 113 stores a content group G1 including a time-dependent content CO2 and a time-independent content CO3 as a plurality of contents CO1. The weight table TA1 has weights of probabilities that each content CO1 is selected from the content group G1. The print service area 120 stores a program or the like that causes the server 100 to implement a transmission function FU3. The print control program PR1 includes programs that cause the server 100 to implement a print instruction acquisition function FU1, a selection function FU2, and a transmission function FU3. The information stored in the memory device 104 is appropriately read into the RAM 103 and used for processing to cause the printer 200 to execute printing. The memory device 104 can use a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk, a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and the like. Incidentally, the print control program PR1 can be said to be a print application from the perspective of the user US0.

[0032] The input device 105 can use a pointing device, a hard key including a keyboard, a touch panel attached to the surface of the display panel, and the like. The display device 106 can use a liquid crystal display panel or the like. The network I / F 107 is connected to the network NE1 and communicates with a counterpart device connected to this network NE1 according to a predetermined communication standard. The transmission unit 121 transmits the print data DA1 to the printer 200 from the network I / F 107. The clock circuit 108 can output the current date and time.

[0033] The CPU 101 executes the print control program PR1 read from the storage device 104 into the RAM 103, thereby performing a print instruction acquisition process corresponding to the print instruction acquisition function FU1, a selection process corresponding to the selection function FU2, and a print data transmission process corresponding to the transmission function FU3. The print control program PR1 causes the server 100, which is a computer, to function as a print instruction acquisition unit 111 corresponding to the print instruction acquisition function FU1, a selection unit 112 corresponding to the selection function FU2, and a transmission unit 121 corresponding to the transmission function FU3. The server 100 that executes the print control program PR1 performs a print instruction acquisition step ST1, a selection step ST2, a print data generation step ST3, a print data transmission step ST4, and a print step ST5, as exemplified in FIG. 8 and the like. The computer-readable medium storing the print control program PR1 is not limited to the storage device 104 and may be a recording medium external to the server 100.

[0034] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates the structures of the content group G1 and the weight table stored in the storage device 104. Note that the content storage unit 113 in the storage device 104 stores the content group G1. FIG. 4 schematically shows a specific example of the content CO1 in the design paper.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows the content group G1 of design papers and the content group G1 of recipes. Of course, the content storage unit 113 may store a content group such as a scrapbooking content group. Each content group G1 includes a plurality of contents CO1. The plurality of contents CO1 in the design paper and the recipe include a plurality of time-dependent contents CO2 and a plurality of time-independent contents CO3. The time-dependent content CO2 is content suitable for a certain time. The plurality of time-dependent contents CO2 in the design paper and the recipe are prepared according to the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and include spring content whose corresponding time is spring, summer content whose corresponding time is summer, autumn content whose corresponding time is autumn, and winter content whose corresponding time is winter. In the design paper shown in FIG. 3, the spring content includes spring content A, spring content B, and spring content C, the summer content includes summer content A, summer content B, and summer content C, the autumn content includes autumn content A, autumn content B, and autumn content C, and the winter content includes winter content A, winter content B, and winter content C. Of course, the number of time-dependent contents CO2 is not limited to the number shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the spring content has a pattern that reminds people of spring, such as a pattern of flowers blooming in spring. The summer content has a pattern that reminds people of summer, such as food harvested in summer. The autumn content has a pattern that reminds people of autumn, such as plants seen in autumn. The winter content has a pattern that reminds people of winter, such as a Christmas tree seen in winter. Although not shown, for the plurality of contents CO1 of the recipe, for example, a recipe for cold food such as cold noodles can be assigned to the summer content, and a recipe for warm food such as a hot pot can be assigned to the winter content.

[0036] For time-dependent content CO2, time-independent content CO3 is content suitable for use throughout the year and is marked as neutral content in Figure 3. For example, in the design paper shown in Figure 3, the neutral content includes neutral content A, neutral content B, and neutral content C. Of course, the number of time-independent content CO3 is not limited to the number shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 4, the neutral content has a pattern that does not depend on the season, such as a stripe pattern.

[0037] As described above, since there are many types of design papers and no proper names, they are printed randomly. However, if spring content is printed in seasons other than spring, or summer content is printed in seasons other than summer, the likelihood of not meeting the user's preferences increases. On the other hand, if only spring content is printed in spring, or only summer content is printed in summer, the number of types of content that can be obtained as printed matter 600 when the user US0 obtains the print instruction PI will decrease. Therefore, in this specific example, according to the weight table TA1 shown in Figure 3, the selection probability of the time-dependent content CO2 is changed according to the time when the print instruction PI is obtained.

[0038] In the weight table TA1 shown in FIG. 3, weights of the probabilities that each content CO1 is selected from the content group G1 are set according to the properties of the time-dependent content CO2 and the time-independent content CO3. Here, it is assumed that spring is from March to May, summer is from June to August, autumn is from September to November, and winter is from December to February. Of course, the fact that the change of seasons coincides with the change of months is just an example, and the change of seasons may be in the middle of a month. Also, the number of months assigned to each season does not have to be three months each. For example, for spring content, the weight from March to May is as large as 5, and the weights at other times are as small as 0.2. For summer content, the weight from June to August is as large as 5, and the weights at other times are as small as 0.2. For autumn content, the weight from September to November is as large as 5, and the weights at other times are as small as 0.2. For winter content, the weight from December to February is as large as 5, and the weights at other times are as small as 0.2. In contrast, the weight of neutral content does not change and is 1 throughout the year.

[0039] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a selection probability SR, which is the probability of being selected according to the season in which a print instruction PI is obtained, for a plurality of types of time-dependent content CO2 and time-independent content CO3. The example shown in FIG. 5 shows the selection probability SR according to the weight table TA1 shown in FIG. 3 when the content group G1 contains the same number of spring content, summer content, autumn content, winter content, and neutral content.

[0040] For example, the selection probability SR of spring content is such that the first probability SR1, which is the probability for the corresponding period of March to May, is 5 / 6.6, and the second probability SR2, which is the probability for the non-corresponding periods of June to August, September to November, and December to February, is 0.2 / 6.6. The selection probability SR of summer content is such that the first probability SR1, which is the probability for the corresponding period of June to August, is 5 / 6.6, and the second probability SR2, which is the probability for the non-corresponding periods of March to May, September to November, and December to February, is 0.2 / 6.6. The selection probability SR of autumn content is such that the first probability SR1, which is the probability for the corresponding period of September to November, is 5 / 6.6, and the second probability SR2, which is the probability for the non-corresponding periods of March to May, June to August, and December to February, is 0.2 / 6.6. The selection probability SR of winter content is such that the first probability SR1, which is the probability for the corresponding period of December to February, is 5 / 6.6, and the second probability SR2, which is the probability for the non-corresponding periods of March to May, June to August, and September to November, is 0.2 / 6.6. From the above, for each time-dependent content CO2, the selection probability SR varies according to the season when the printing instruction PI is obtained, and the selection probability SR is associated with the corresponding period where the selection probability SR is the first probability SR1. In each time-dependent content CO2, the first probability SR1 in the corresponding period is higher than the second probability SR2 in the non-corresponding period.

[0041] The third probability SR3, which is the selection probability SR of neutral content, is 1 / 6.6 for all of March to May, June to August, September to November, and December to February. Therefore, the probability of the time-independent content CO3 being selected does not change according to the season when the printing instruction PI is obtained. The third probability SR3, which is the selection probability SR of the time-independent content CO3, is lower than the first probability SR1 in the corresponding period of the time-dependent content CO2 and higher than the second probability SR2 in the non-corresponding period of the time-dependent content CO2. In addition, if there is a bias in the number of spring content, summer content, autumn content, and winter content existing in the content group G1, the third probability SR3 can be made constant regardless of the season by adjusting the weights stored in the weight table TA1.

[0042] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the configuration of the printer 200. The printer 200 shown in FIG. 6 is a printing device capable of executing printing of the content CO1 according to the print data DA1 received via the network NE1. The printer 200 that can be used in the printing system SY1 is not particularly limited, such as an inkjet printer, an electrophotographic printer such as a laser printer, etc. Of course, the printer 200 may be a copier, a facsimile machine, a multifunction machine having these functions, etc. FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the printer 200 in the case of an inkjet printer.

[0043] The printer 200 shown in FIG. 6 includes a controller 210, an operation panel 220, a network I / F 230, and a printing unit 240. The controller 210 includes a CPU 211, a ROM 212, a RAM 213, a storage device 214, etc. These elements are electrically connected so that information can be input and output to and from each other. That is, the printer 200 is also a kind of computer. The storage device 214 stores the firmware FW1 that causes the computer to function as the printer 200, the printer identification information 200id for identifying the printer 200, etc. The printer identification information 200id can use an email address, an IP address, a serial number, etc. Here, the IP address is an abbreviation of Internet Protocol Address. The storage device 214 can use a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk, etc.

[0044] The operation panel 220 includes a display unit, an operation input unit, etc., and receives operations by the user. The display unit is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and displays information indicating the state of the printer 200, information indicating an instruction by the user, etc. The operation input unit is composed of, for example, a plurality of operation keys including cursor keys and a decision key. Also, the operation input unit may be a touch panel or the like that receives operations on the display screen. The network I / F 230 is connected to the network NE1 and communicates with a counterpart device connected to this network NE1 according to a predetermined communication standard.

[0045] The printing unit 240 includes a recording head 241 that ejects droplets Dr such as ink droplets onto a print substrate ME1, and a paper feed unit 245 that conveys the print substrate ME1. The recording head 241 has a plurality of nozzles 242 from which the droplets Dr are ejected, and a drive circuit 243 that injects the droplets Dr from each nozzle 242. The drive circuit 243 can use a circuit that drives a piezoelectric element to apply pressure to the liquid in the pressure chamber communicating with each nozzle 242, a circuit that drives a thermal element that generates bubbles by heat in the liquid in each pressure chamber, and the like. When the droplets Dr land on the print substrate ME1 conveyed by the paper feed unit 245, a print image IM1 corresponding to the print data DA1 from the server 100 is formed on the print substrate ME1. Note that the print substrate ME1 is a material that holds the print image IM1. As the print substrate ME1, paper, resin, metal, etc. can be used. The shape of the print substrate ME1 is generally rectangular or roll-shaped, but may also be substantially circular like an optical disk, a polygon other than rectangular, a three-dimensional shape, etc.

[0046] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates the configuration of the smart speaker 300 that uses the voice recognition service by the voice mediation device 400. The smart speaker 300 shown in FIG. 7 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a storage device 304, a voice input device 305, a voice output device 306, a network I / F 307, a display unit 350, etc. These elements are electrically connected so that they can input and output information to each other. That is, the smart speaker 300 is also a kind of computer. The storage device 304 stores a voice input / output program 310 that causes the computer to function as the smart speaker 300, smart speaker identification information 300id for identifying the smart speaker 300, etc. The storage device 304 can use a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk, etc. The display unit 350 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and displays information indicating the state of the smart speaker 300, etc. Note that instead of the smart speaker 300 having the display unit 350, a smart speaker without a display unit may be used.

[0047] The voice input device 305 includes a microphone, converts the voice input from the outside into an analog electrical signal by the microphone, and converts this electrical signal into a digital voice signal SG1. The number of voice input devices 305 provided in the smart speaker 300 may be one or two or more. The voice output device 306 includes a speaker in the narrow sense that converts an electrical signal into sound, converts the digital voice signal SG1 into an analog electrical signal, converts this analog electrical signal into voice by the speaker, and outputs the voice to the outside. The number of voice output devices 306 provided in the smart speaker 300 may be one or two or more. The network I / F 307 is connected to the network NE1 and communicates with the counterpart device connected to this network NE1 according to a predetermined communication standard.

[0048] The voice mediation device 400 shown in FIG. 1 is a server computer and includes, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, a storage device, an input device, a display device, a network I / F, etc. The terminal 500 shown in FIG. 1 is used to perform an operation of registering the printer 200 with the cloud printing service. The terminal 500 may also be used to perform an operation of registering the smart speaker 300 with the voice mediation device 400. As the terminal 500, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. can be used.

[0049] (3) Specific example of system processing: FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a process of printing the content CO1 by voice input. As described above, "voice UI" means the part of the server 100 that exhibits the function of voice UI, and "cloud printing service" means the part of the server 100 that exhibits the function of cloud printing service. Here, step S106 corresponds to the print instruction acquisition step ST1, the print instruction acquisition unit 111, and the print instruction acquisition function FU1. Steps S108 to S114 correspond to the selection step ST2, the selection unit 112, and the selection function FU2. Step S116 corresponds to the print data generation step ST3. Steps S118 to S120 correspond to the print data transmission step ST4. Steps S116 to S118 are performed by the transmission unit 121 and correspond to the transmission function FU3. S122 corresponds to the printing step ST5. Hereinafter, the description of "step" is omitted, and the symbol of each step is shown in parentheses.

[0050] When the user US0 makes a speech of the print instruction PI of the content CO1 included in the content group G1 toward the smart speaker 300, the smart speaker 300 converts the voice from the user US0 into a voice signal SG1 and transmits this voice signal SG1 to the voice mediation device 400 (S102). For example, when the user US0 says "Print the design paper", the content of the design paper included in the content group G1 becomes the target of the print instruction PI.

[0051] The voice mediation device 400 that has received the voice signal SG1 acquires the identification information of the user US0, analyzes the voice based on the voice signal SG1, extracts the keyword KE0 from the analysis result of the voice, and passes the keyword KE0 to the voice UI to request a print instruction PI (S104). The keyword KE0 is included in the print instruction PI by voice. The print instruction PI may include a keyword KE0 that identifies the printer 200.

[0052] The voice mediation device 400 stores the identification information in the storage device for each user US0, and stores the smart speaker identification information 300id in association with the identification information of the user US0. Therefore, when the smart speaker 300 transmits the smart speaker identification information 300id, the voice mediation device 400 can acquire the identification information of the user US0 associated with the smart speaker identification information 300id. In addition, the voice mediation device 400 stores information representing the characteristics of the voice in association with the identification information of the user US0 for each user US0 in the storage device. The characteristics of the voice that identify the user US0 can be represented, for example, by the frequency distribution of the voice. Therefore, the voice mediation device 400 may obtain the frequency distribution of the voice based on the voice signal SG1, and acquire from the storage device the identification information of the user US0 associated with the frequency distribution that is closest to this frequency distribution. Furthermore, when the smart speaker 300 receives a voice input of the name of the user US0, and the voice mediation device 400 extracts the name of the user US0 based on the voice signal SG1, the identification information of the user US0 associated with the name may be acquired from the storage device.

[0053] The voice UI acquires a print instruction PI including the keyword KE0 from the voice mediation device 400, that is, a print instruction PI for the content CO1 included in the content group G1 (S106). Also, the voice UI acquires the current date and time from the clock circuit 108 (S108). The acquired current date and time corresponds to the timing when the print instruction PI is acquired. After acquiring the current date and time, the voice UI acquires information representing the season corresponding to the current date and time (S110). For example, a value representing spring is set to "1", a value representing summer is set to "2", a value representing autumn is set to "3", and a value representing winter is set to "4". The voice UI acquires the value "1" representing spring when the current date and time indicates March to May, acquires the value "2" representing summer when the current date and time indicates June to August, acquires the value "3" representing autumn when the current date and time indicates September to November, and acquires the value "4" representing winter when the current date and time indicates December to February.

[0054] After acquiring the information representing the season, the voice UI randomly selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so that the content CO1 is selected with a probability multiplied by the weight set in the weight table TA1 shown in FIG. 3 (S112). As shown in FIG. 5, for each time-dependent content CO2, the voice UI selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so that it is selected with a selection probability SR corresponding to the season when the print instruction PI is acquired. Also, for the time-independent content CO3, the voice UI selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so that it is selected with a selection probability SR that does not depend on the season when the print instruction PI is acquired.

[0055] For example, when the information indicating the season shows autumn, the voice UI increases the weight of the probability of selecting autumn content to "5" according to the weight table TA1 shown in FIG. 3, and decreases the weights of the probabilities of selecting spring content, summer content, and winter content to "0.2". As a result, the first probability SR1, which is the selection probability SR of autumn content, becomes higher than the third probability SR3, which is the selection probability SR of neutral content, and this third probability SR3 becomes higher than the second probability SR2, which is the selection probability SR of spring content, summer content, and winter content. The voice UI selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 according to the selection probability SR applied to autumn. Of course, when the information indicating the season shows winter, the voice UI increases the weight of the probability of selecting winter content to "5" and decreases the weights of the probabilities of selecting other time-dependent content CO2 to "0.2". As a result, the first probability SR1, which is the selection probability SR of winter content, becomes higher than the third probability SR3, which is the selection probability SR of neutral content, and this third probability SR3 becomes higher than the second probability SR2, which is the selection probability SR of the remaining time-dependent content CO2. The voice UI selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 according to the selection probability SR applied to winter.

[0056] After selecting the content CO1 to be printed, the voice UI requests the cloud printing service to print the selected content CO1 (S114).

[0057] The cloud printing service generates print data DA1 using the content CO1 requested by the voice UI (S116). The print data DA1 is data for causing the requested content CO1 to be printed by the printer 200. After generating the print data DA1, the cloud printing service performs a process of transmitting the print data DA1 to the printer 200 associated with the user identification information UID via the network NE1 (S118). As described above, the transmission unit 121 of the server 100 transmits the print data DA1 for causing the selected content CO1 to be printed to the printer 200.

[0058] The printer 200 receives print data DA1 via the network NE1 (S120), and executes printing according to this print data DA1 (S122). As a result, the content CO1 selected with a different probability according to the season when the print instruction PI is acquired is printed.

[0059] In addition, the cloud printing service that transmitted the print data DA1 notifies the voice UI that the printing of the corresponding content CO1 has been completed (S124). The voice UI that has received the notification of the completion of printing requests the voice mediation device 400 to read out a print completion message such as "has been printed" together with the name of the corresponding content CO1 as the guidance message GM1 (S126). The voice mediation device 400 that has received the guidance message GM1 converts the guidance message GM1 into a voice signal SG1, and transmits the voice signal SG1 to the smart speaker 300 via the network NE1 (S128). The smart speaker 300 that has received the voice signal SG1 converts the voice signal SG1 into voice and outputs this voice (S130). As a result, the user US0 can hear the voice indicating that the content CO1 has been printed. For example, when the corresponding content CO1 is a design paper, a voice such as "The design paper has been printed" is output from the smart speaker 300.

[0060] As described above, when the content CO1 is randomly selected and printed by the voice print instruction PI, the probability of selecting the content CO1 that matches the season when the print instruction PI is acquired is high, so that the more user-friendly content CO1 is randomly printed. Therefore, this printing system SY1 has good usability.

[0061] (4) Modification example: Various modification examples of the present invention are conceivable. The voice input / output device to which this technology can be applied is not limited to the smart speaker 300, and may be a terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet, a personal computer, or the like. The period for determining the selection probability SR of the time-dependent content CO2 is not limited to seasons, and may be in units of half a year, months, days, etc. All the contents CO1 included in the content group G1 may be time-dependent contents CO2. Even if there is no time-independent content CO3 in the content group G1, the probability of selecting the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 changes according to the time when the print instruction PI is obtained, so the usability is improved.

[0062] Each content CO1 included in the content group G1 may be assigned a proper name. Even in this case, the present technology is applied by the server 100 selecting the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 according to the probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction PI is obtained, according to the print instruction PI including the proper name of the content CO1 and covering a plurality of time-dependent contents CO2.

[0063] First, referring to FIG. 9, the flow of printing the corresponding content CO1 according to the print instruction PI including the proper name of the content CO1 will be described. FIG. 9 schematically illustrates the process of printing a specific content CO1 by voice input. The print instruction PI shown in FIG. 9 is a print instruction that does not include a selection instruction SI such as "recommended recipe" shown in FIG. 10. Compared with the process shown in FIG. 8, S108 to S112 in the process shown in FIG. 9 are replaced by S202 to S204. Here, S202 to S204 and S114 correspond to the selection step ST2, the selection unit 112, and the selection function FU2.

[0064] When the user US0 gives an utterance of a print instruction PI for specific content CO1 toward the smart speaker 300, the smart speaker 300 converts the voice from the user US0 into a voice signal SG1 and transmits it to the voice mediation device 400 (S102). For example, when the user US0 says "Print the recipe for cold noodles", the content of the cold noodle recipe included in the content group G1 becomes the target of the print instruction PI. The voice mediation device 400 that has received the voice signal SG1 passes the keyword KE0 to the voice UI together with the identification information of the user US0 and requests the print instruction PI (S104). The voice UI acquires the print instruction PI including the keyword KE0 from the voice mediation device 400, that is, the print instruction PI for the specific content CO1 (S106).

[0065] After acquiring the print instruction PI, the voice UI determines whether the print instruction PI is an instruction to print a recommendation (S202). If the print instruction PI is not an instruction to print a recommendation, the process proceeds to S204. The instruction to print a recommendation means an instruction to print without specifying the content CO1 from among a plurality of contents CO1, such as when the print instruction PI is not "recipe for cold noodles" but simply "recipe", and is a print instruction PI such as "Print the recommended recipe" illustrated in FIG. 10. The process in the case where the print instruction PI is an instruction to print a recommendation will be described later.

[0066] When the print instruction PI is not an instruction to print a recommendation, the voice UI sets the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 to the content corresponding to the proper name (S204). For example, when the print instruction PI is an instruction to print a cold noodle recipe, the content of the cold noodle recipe is selected from the content group G1. After selecting the content CO1 to be printed, the voice UI requests the cloud printing service to print the selected content CO1 (S114). Thereafter, through the processes of S116 to S122, the selected content CO1 is printed. Also, through the processes of S124 to S130, a voice indicating that the selected content CO1 has been printed is output from the smart speaker 300. For example, when the corresponding content CO1 is a cold noodle recipe, a voice such as "The cold noodle recipe has been printed" is output from the smart speaker 300.

[0067] FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a process of printing recommended content CO1 by voice input. The print instruction PI shown in FIG. 10 is a print instruction including a selection instruction SI. Compared with the process shown in FIG. 8, S202 is added between S106 and S108 in the process shown in FIG. 10. Here, S202 and S108 to S114 correspond to the selection step ST2, the selection unit 112, and the selection function FU2.

[0068] When the user US0 gives a speech of the print instruction PI for the recommended content CO1 toward the smart speaker 300, the smart speaker 300 converts the voice from the user US0 into an audio signal SG1 and transmits it to the audio mediation device 400 (S102). For example, when the user US0 says "Print the recommended recipe", the content CO1 of a plurality of recipes included in the content group G1 becomes the target of the print instruction PI. The plurality of contents CO1 includes at least a plurality of time-dependent contents CO2, and may include time-independent contents CO3. "The recommended recipe" becomes a selection instruction SI that causes the selection unit 112 to select the time-dependent content CO2 with a probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction PI is acquired. The audio mediation device 400 that has received the audio signal SG1 passes the keyword KE0 to the audio UI together with the identification information of the user US0 and requests the print instruction PI (S104). The audio UI acquires the print instruction PI including the keyword KE0 from the audio mediation device 400, that is, the print instruction PI including the selection instruction SI (S106).

[0069] After acquiring the print instruction PI, the voice UI determines whether the print instruction PI is an instruction to print a recommendation (S202). If the print instruction PI is an instruction to print a recommendation, the process proceeds to S108. In this case, the voice UI acquires the current date and time from the clock circuit 108 (S108) and acquires information representing the season corresponding to the current date and time (S110). After acquiring the information representing the season, the voice UI randomly selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so that the content CO1 is selected with a probability obtained by multiplying the weight set in the weight table TA1 shown in FIG. 3 (S112). As shown in FIG. 5, for each time-dependent content CO2, the voice UI selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so that it is selected with a selection probability SR corresponding to the season in which the print instruction PI is acquired. For example, assume that the content of a cold noodle recipe is included in the summer content. When the information representing the season indicates summer, the probability that summer content such as the content of the cold noodle recipe is selected is higher than the probability that content other than summer content is selected. As a result, summer content such as the content of the cold noodle recipe is likely to be selected. Also, if there is time-independent content CO3 in the content group G1, for the time-independent content CO3, the voice UI selects the content CO1 to be printed from the content group G1 so that it is selected with a selection probability SR that does not depend on the season in which the print instruction PI is acquired.

[0070] After selecting the content CO1 to be printed, the voice UI requests the cloud printing service to print the selected content CO1 (S114). Thereafter, after the processes of S116 to S122, the selected content CO1 is printed. Also, after the processes of S124 to S130, a voice indicating that the selected content CO1 has been printed is output from the smart speaker 300. For example, if the corresponding content CO1 is a cold noodle recipe, a voice such as "The cold noodle recipe has been printed" is output from the smart speaker 300.

[0071] As described above, the probability that the content CO1 is selected changes according to the timing at which the print instruction PI is obtained by the print instruction PI including the selection instruction SI that causes the time-dependent content CO2 to be selected with a probability according to the timing at which the print instruction PI is obtained. Therefore, the examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 can further improve the usability.

[0072] (5) Conclusion: As described above, according to the present invention, technologies such as the printing system SY1 and the server 100 that improve usability can be provided in various aspects. Of course, the basic operations and effects described above can also be obtained by a technology consisting only of the constituent elements according to the independent claims. In addition, configurations in which the respective configurations disclosed in the above-described examples are mutually replaced or the combinations are changed, known technologies, and configurations in which the respective configurations disclosed in the above-described examples are mutually replaced or the combinations are changed, etc. are also feasible. The present invention includes these configurations and the like.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0073] 100... Server, 108... Clock circuit, 110... Voice UI area, 111... Print instruction acquisition unit, 112... Selection unit, 113... Content storage unit, 120... Print service area, 121... Transmission unit, 200... Printer, 300... Smart speaker, 600... Printed matter, CO1... Content, CO2... Time-dependent content, CO3... Time-independent content, DA1... Print data, G1... Content group, IM1... Print image, NE1... Network, PI... Print instruction, PR1... Print control program, SG1... Voice signal, SI... Selection instruction, ST1... Print instruction acquisition step, ST2... Selection step, ST3... Print data generation step, ST4... Print data transmission step, ST5... Print step, SR... Selection probability, SR1... First probability, SR2... Second probability, SR3... Third probability, SY1... Printing system, TA1... Weight table, US0... User.

Claims

1. A printing system including a printing device and a server connected to the printing device via a network, wherein the server includes: a print instruction acquisition unit that acquires, from a voice mediation device, a print instruction for content included in a content group, the print instruction being by voice; a selection unit that selects the content to be printed from the content group according to the print instruction; a transmission unit that transmits print data for causing the selected content to be printed to the printing device, the content group includes a plurality of time-dependent contents having different selection probabilities according to the time when the print instruction is acquired, the selection unit selects the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with the probability corresponding to the time when the print instruction is acquired for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents, and the printing device receives the print data and executes printing according to the print data.

2. The probabilities of selection of the plurality of time-dependent contents are different according to the season when the print instruction is acquired as the time, and the selection unit selects the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with the probability corresponding to the season when the print instruction is acquired for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents. The printing system according to claim 1.

3. The time-dependent content is associated with a corresponding time when the probability is a first probability, and when the time when the print instruction is acquired is not the corresponding time, the probability that the time-dependent content is selected from the content group is a second probability lower than the first probability. The printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. The content group includes time-independent contents whose selection probabilities do not change according to the time when the print instruction is acquired, and the selection unit selects the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with a probability independent of the time when the print instruction is acquired for the time-independent content. The printing system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

5. The time-dependent content is associated with a corresponding time when the probability is a first probability, and when the time when the print instruction is acquired is not the corresponding time, the probability that the time-dependent content is selected from the content group is a second probability lower than the first probability, The probability that the time-independent content is selected from the content group is lower than the first probability and higher than the second probability, the printing system according to claim 4.

6. The print instruction includes a selection instruction for causing the selection unit to select the time-dependent content with the probability according to the time when the print instruction is acquired. When the print instruction acquisition unit acquires the print instruction including the selection instruction, the selection unit selects the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with the probability according to the time when the print instruction is acquired for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The server further includes a content storage unit for storing the content group, the printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A server connected via a network to a printing device that executes printing according to received print data, A print instruction acquisition unit that acquires, from an audio mediation device, a print instruction that is a print instruction for the content included in the content group and is by voice; A selection unit that selects the content to be printed from the content group according to the print instruction; A transmission unit that transmits print data for causing the selected content to be printed to the printing device, and The content group includes a plurality of time-dependent contents having different probabilities of being selected according to the time when the print instruction is acquired, The selection unit selects the content to be printed from the content group so as to be selected with the probability according to the time when the print instruction is acquired for each of the plurality of time-dependent contents. Server.

Images