Printing setting application, control method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a print setting screen suitable for an image forming apparatus to be used for printing in a printing service that can be used for general purposes regardless of the model or a vendor of the image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: A server system can communicate with an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus, and the server system has: first receiving means that receives image data generated by a first application; first transmission means that transmits, to the information processing apparatus, information for starting up a second application for causing a user to perform print settings used for printing the image data received by the first receiving means; second receiving means that receives the print settings performed in the second application; and print control means that causes the image forming apparatus to execute printing based on at least the image data received by the first receiving means and the print settings received by the second receiving means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to Printing setting application, control method, and information processing apparatus and pertains to is .

Background Art

[0002] When printing image data generated by a terminal such as a PC or a tablet, a user performs print settings using a printer driver corresponding to the image forming apparatus to be used for printing. The printer driver generates print data reflecting the set print settings and transmits it to the image forming apparatus.

[0003] On the other hand, in a general-purpose print service provided by an OS or a server apparatus on the cloud, a user performs print settings via a print setting screen provided by the OS or the print service. Then, the terminal registers the image data and the print settings in the cloud. For example, in Patent Document 1, print jobs generated by a client terminal are stored in a server for each user. When a user logs in to an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus acquires and prints the print jobs of the logged-in user stored on the server.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the general-purpose printing service as described above, printers of various models and various vendors are used for printing. The print setting screen provided by the printing service is a screen for setting functions that can be executed on any printer used by the user, so that the user can print using any printer. Therefore, there are functions that can be executed on the image forming apparatus used by the user but cannot be set on the print setting screen provided by the printing service.

[0006] The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is a display provided by a data creation application installed in an information processing apparatus including a display of functions commonly used by printers from multiple printer suppliers in First Based on the operation of, the capability information of the image processing apparatus is acquired via a network, and a setting value that cannot be displayed by the data creation application, function of A screen capable of displaying a setting value corresponding to the acquired capability information, and a screen capable of setting whether to display a preview are displayed on the information processing apparatus, and received from the user via the screen Second Based on the operation of cannot be set in the display including functions commonly used by printers from the multiple printer suppliers The object is to be able to display the setting screen of the stamp function.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The print setting application according to claim 1 of the present application is a print setting application executed on an information processing apparatus, and is a display provided by a data creation application installed in the information processing apparatus including a display of functions commonly used by printers from multiple printer suppliers in First Based on the operation of, an acquisition step of acquiring the capability information of the image processing apparatus via a network, and a setting value that cannot be displayed by the data creation application function of A first display step of displaying a screen capable of displaying the setting value corresponding to the capability information acquired in the acquisition step, and a screen capable of setting whether to display a preview, and received from the user via the screen Second Based on the operation of cannot be set in the display including functions commonly used by printers from the multiple printer suppliersCausing the computer of the information processing apparatus to execute a second display step of displaying a setting screen for a stamp function, characterized in that.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the invention according to claim 1 of the present application, based on an operation in a display provided by a data creation application installed in an information processing apparatus, ability information of an image processing apparatus is acquired via a network, and a setting value that cannot be displayed by the data creation application and corresponds to the acquired ability information is displayed on a screen that can be previewed or not. A screen for setting whether to display is displayed, and based on an operation received from a user via the screen, a setting screen for the stamp function can be displayed. including a display of functions commonly used by printers from multiple printer suppliers in First Based on the operation of, the ability information of the image processing apparatus is acquired via the network, and the setting value that cannot be displayed by the data creation application and corresponds to the acquired ability information is displayed on a screen that can be previewed or not. A screen for setting whether to display is displayed, and based on an operation received from a user via the screen, function of A setting value, a screen that can display a setting value corresponding to the acquired ability information, a screen that can set whether to display a preview, and Second Based on the operation of cannot be set in the display including functions commonly used by printers from the multiple printer suppliers The setting screen of the stamp function can be displayed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solution means of the invention.

[0011] <First Embodiment> First, the configuration of the printing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing system of the present embodiment includes a client computer 101 which is an example of an information processing device, a cloud server 102, and a printer 103 that receives print data in the form of a page description language (PDL) and performs printing. A plurality of printers 103a and 103b are connected to the network 104. Each device can communicate with each other through the network 104 including a Wide Area Network (WAN). Further, information processing devices such as a tablet terminal 106a and a smartphone terminal 106b are connected to the network 104 via an AP (Access Point) 105. Communication via the AP 105 is wireless communication conforming to, for example, the IEEE802.11 series. Also, the terminal 106 is not limited to a tablet terminal or a smartphone terminal and may be other information processing devices.

[0012] Furthermore, the printers 103a and 103b may be single - function printers having only a printing function or multi - function printers having a printing function, a scanning function, and a copying function. Also, the client computer 101 may be connected to the network 104 not by only one unit but by a plurality of units. The client computer 101, the terminal 106a, and the terminal 106b can transmit print data to the printer 103. Also, in FIG. 1, the cloud server 102 is described as one device, but it may be a server system in which a plurality of server devices cooperate to provide services.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the client computer 101 in FIG. 1. The client computer 101 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, an external memory 209, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203.

[0014] The control unit 200 including the CPU 201 controls the operation of the entire client computer 101. The CPU 201 expands the program stored in the ROM 203 or the external memory 209 into the RAM 202 and executes it to perform various controls such as control of the UI (User Interface) screen, generation of print data, and transfer of print data. The ROM 203 stores control programs and boot programs executable by the CPU 201. The RAM 202 is the main memory of the CPU 201 and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area for expanding various programs. The external memory 209 connected to the control unit 200 via the external memory I / F 208 stores applications, the OS, etc. In this embodiment, an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is assumed as the external memory 209, but a non - volatile memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) may be used instead of the HDD. Thus, the hardware such as the CPU 201, the RAM 202, the ROM 203, and the external memory 209 constitutes a so - called computer.

[0015] The operation input device I / F 204 is an interface that controls an operation input device 205 such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse), or a touch input device. The operation input device 205 functions as a reception unit that receives operations from the user. The display I / F 206 controls the display of the screen on the display 207. The display 207 functions as a display unit that displays information to the user.

[0016] The control unit 200 is connected to the network 104 via the network I / F 212. The network I / F 212 transmits print data to a printer on the network 104 or receives an application, a printer driver, etc. from a server on the network 104. Note that data communication with an external terminal on the network 104 is, for example, wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 series, a mobile communication system such as LTE or 5G, or communication via a wired cable such as a LAN cable.

[0017] When the cloud server 102 is configured by one device, the hardware configuration of the cloud server 102 is also the same as that of the client computer 101. When the cloud server 102 is a cloud system configured by multiple devices, the hardware configuration of each device constituting the cloud system is the same as that of the client computer 101. In the terminal 106, the operation input device 205, the display 207, and the external memory 209 are incorporated in the terminal 106, but the other parts are the same as those of the client computer 101.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the printer 103a. The printer 103a has a reading function of reading an image on a sheet and a printing function of printing an image on a sheet. In addition, the printer 103a also has a file transmission function of transmitting an image to an external information processing device.

[0019] In addition, in this embodiment, the printer 103a is described as an example of a printing apparatus, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a printing apparatus such as an SFP (Single Function Peripheral) without a reading function may be used. Further, since the printer 103b has the same configuration as the printer 103a, the description thereof is omitted.

[0020] A control unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301 controls the operation of the entire printer 103. The CPU 301 reads control programs stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 302 and a storage 304, and performs various controls such as printing control and reading control. The ROM 302 stores control programs executable by the CPU 301. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 303 is the main memory of the CPU 301, and is used as a work area or a temporary storage area for expanding various control programs. The storage 304 stores print data, image data, various programs, and various setting information. In this embodiment, an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is assumed as the storage 304, but a non-volatile memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) may be used instead of the HDD. Thus, hardware such as the CPU 301, the ROM 302, and the RAM 303 constitutes a so-called computer.

[0021] Note that in the printer 103a of this embodiment, it is assumed that one CPU 301 executes each process described later using one memory (RAM 303), but other modes may be used. For example, a plurality of CPUs, RAMs, ROMs, and storages may cooperate to execute each process described later. Further, some processes may be executed using a hardware circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

[0022] The operation unit interface (I / F) 305 connects the operation unit 306 and the control unit 300. The operation unit 306 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit having a touch panel function, various hard keys, etc. The operation unit 306 functions as a display unit for displaying information and a reception unit for receiving user instructions.

[0023] The reading unit I / F 307 connects the reading unit 308 and the control unit 300. The reading unit 308 reads a document and generates a read image. It is assumed that the generated read image is stored in the storage 304 or the RAM 303. The read image generated by the reading unit 308 is transmitted to a communication device or used for printing an image on a sheet.

[0024] The image processing unit 314 has the function of a RIP (Raster Image Processor) that expands print data received via a network and generates a print image. Also, the image processing unit 314 can perform resolution conversion and correction processing of images. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the image processing unit 314 is realized by a hardware circuit (such as an ASIC or FPGA), but it is not limited thereto. For example, the printer 103 may be provided with a processor for image processing applications, and the processor for image processing applications may execute an image processing program to realize image processing and print data expansion processing. In this case, the processor for image processing and the CPU 301 cooperate to realize each process described later. Furthermore, the CPU 301 can execute a program for performing image processing and be configured to perform image processing and print data expansion processing. Also, image processing may be performed by any combination of these.

[0025] The printing unit I / F 309 connects the printing unit 310 and the control unit 300. The printed image generated by analyzing the print data by the image processing unit 314 is transferred from the control unit 300 to the printing unit 310 via the printing unit I / F 309. The printing unit 310 receives the control command and the printed image via the control unit 300, and prints an image on a sheet fed from a paper feed cassette (not shown) based on the image. Note that the printing method of the printing unit 310 may be an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method. Also, other printing methods such as a thermal transfer method can be applied. The sheet processing unit I / F 311 connects the control unit 300 and the sheet processing unit 312. The sheet processing unit 312 receives a control command from the CPU 301, and performs post-processing on the sheet printed by the printing unit 310 according to the control command. The sheet processing unit 312 executes post-processing such as aligning a plurality of sheets, punching holes in the sheet, and binding a plurality of sheets. Further, the functions and capabilities of the post-processing provided by the sheet processing unit 312 are notified to the control unit 300 via the sheet processing unit I / F 313 in advance (for example, at the time of starting the printer 103), and stored in the storage 304 or the RAM 303.

[0026] Also, the control unit 300 is connected to the network 104 via the communication unit I / F 313. The communication unit I / F 313 transmits images and information to a communication device on the network 104, and receives print data and information from a communication device on the network 104.

[0027] Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 4, an example of the software configuration of the terminal 106 will be described. The OS 405 has a system 404 for performing basic operations of the OS. The system 404 includes a driver 406 for controlling devices connected to the terminal 106 and a communication module 407 for the terminal 106 to communicate with the outside via the network 104.

[0028] Also, in this figure, an application 401, a print extension application 402, and a document creation application 403 are installed as external applications.

[0029] The application 401 is an application typified by a web browser or the like, and can be installed on the OS 405 multiple times. The application 401 operates either in the foreground execution where the UI of the application 401 is displayed on the display and executed, or in the background execution where it is executed without the UI being displayed. The application 401 is installed from an external cloud service (not shown) through the network 104. Or, the application is pre-installed on the OS 405 through a management system such as MDM (Mobile Device Management).

[0030] On the OS 405, an application 401, a print extension application 402 that operates specifically for printing in cooperation with a cloud service, and a document creation application 403 that can create image data such as document data and spreadsheet data are installed. Note that the print extension application 402 may be a dedicated application or a web application having a web browser that displays a web page.

[0031] The OS 405 is software that executes applications and manages overall resources. Inside the OS 405, there is a system 404 that performs the basic operations of the OS. The system 404 has a driver 406 that controls a display, a memory, etc., and a communication module 407. The communication module 407 is a module used when the application 401 performs communication. The application 401, the print extension application 402, and the document creation application 403 communicate with external devices such as the cloud server 102 through the communication module 407.

[0032] Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the software configuration of the cloud server 102 will be described. FIG. 5(a) is a relational diagram of the databases of the cloud service 500 operating on the cloud server 102. There are three databases: an account database 5000, a job database 5100, and a printer database 5200.

[0033] The account database 5000 is a database for managing users who use cloud services, having the user name 5001 as the primary key for use as an identifier. Also, the account database 5000 stores the user name 5001 and the password 5002 in association with each other. Further, in the account database 5000, a print extension app device token corresponding to the user name 5001 is stored. The print extension app device token is used when notifying the user's terminal 106 and the print extension app 402 installed in the client computer 101 that a print job has been registered in the cloud service 500. Further, a document creation app device token 5004 for notifying the document creation app 403 that a print job has been registered in the cloud service 500 is stored in association with the user name 5001. Also, in the account database 5000, a plurality of printer IDs 5201 for indicating a list of printers that the user can use and a default printer ID 5005 indicating that it is set by default are stored. The default printer ID 5005 is any one of the plurality of printer IDs corresponding to the printer ID 5201.

[0034] These tokens also serve as identifiers that are different for each device. The device tokens 5003 and 5004 may have their values updated each time the print extension app 402 and the document creation app 403 of the terminal 106 are launched.

[0035] The printer database 5200 has a printer ID 5201 as its primary key and is a database for managing printers registered with the cloud service. The printer database 5200 stores the printer ID 5201, the printer name 5202, and the capability information 5203 of the printer in association with each other. The capability information 5203 of the printer is, for example, information indicating whether the printer supports color printing or only monochrome printing, and information such as the paper sizes it can handle. Furthermore, the capability information 5203 includes information such as whether the printer can perform bookbinding printing, poster printing, and post-printing post-processing such as folding and staple punching. By storing the printer ID 5201 and the capability information 5203 in association with each other, the printer database 5200 can notify the document creation application 403 and the print extension application 402 of the functions that the printer selected by the user can execute. Furthermore, the printer database 5200 stores a URL 5204 for providing a web service and an application identifier 5205, which is an identifier of an application that extends the print setting function, in association with the printer ID 5201.

[0036] Note that the information in the account database 5000 and the printer database 5200 required for printing is registered as a pre-setting before printing.

[0037] The job database 5100 is a database in which print jobs are registered. A print job is registered in the job database 5100 every time the user performs printing. The job database 5100 has a job ID 5101 as its primary key. It also has, as attributes, a job name 5102, data 5103 for printing, print settings 5104 set for the job, a status 5105 indicating the status of the job, a printer ID 5201, and a user name 5001. The printer ID 5201 and the user name 5001 are foreign keys that connect the job database 5100 to the account database 5000 and the printer database 5200.

[0038] FIG. 5(b) is a block diagram of the software configuration of the cloud service 500 operating in the cloud server 102. Using this figure, the configuration and overall flow of the cloud service 500 will be described. Individual services and databases are connected to each other by the internal cloud network 50 and can communicate with each other.

[0039] The authentication service 501 receives authentication information from the terminal 106 and the client computer 101, and performs authentication by comparing it with the account database 5000. When the authentication is successful, the authentication service 501 returns a response indicating success and an access token to the sender of the authentication request, and when it fails, it returns an authentication error response to the sender of the authentication request.

[0040] The data receiving unit 502 receives print data and print setting information in the form of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) through the network 104. The data receiving unit 502 receives print data and print setting information in formats such as XPS (XML Paper Specification) and PDF (Portable Document Format). Furthermore, the data receiving unit 502 can receive files such as Word (registered trademark) files, Power Point (registered trademark) files, and Excel (registered trademark) files as print data and print settings.

[0041] The PDL conversion unit 503 converts the data received from the data receiving unit 502 into a PDL such as PDF or PWGRaster, and then passes the PDL and print setting information to the job management unit 504.

[0042] The job management unit 504 queues the PDL and print setting information, assigns a job ID to each print data, and registers it as a print job in the job database 5100 together with other information such as the username 5001.

[0043] When a print job is registered in the job database 5100, the notification sending service 505 requests the external notification service 507 to send a notification to the extended app 402 or the document creation app 403. When sending a notification to the print extension app 402, the notification sending service 505 requests the external notification service 507 to send a notification using the print extension app device token 5003. When sending a notification to the document creation app 403, the notification sending service 505 requests the external notification service 507 to send a notification using the document creation app device token 5004. The notification sending service 505 can request the external notification service 507 to send a notification of data in a format such as JSON (Java (registered trademark) Script Object Notation) to the target application. At this time, information such as the job ID 5101 in the job database 5100, any message indicating that the job has been registered, the URL 5204 of the web service 506, and the app identifier 5205 of the print extension app 402 is included in the notification.

[0044] The web service 506 is a service that performs print settings for registered jobs. After a job is registered, when the terminal 106 accesses the URL 5204, the web service 506 obtains the data 5103 from the job management unit 504. Also, the web service 506 obtains the printer capability information 5203 from the printer database 5200. Then, the web service 506 returns the information of the detailed print settings screen to the caller. Also, upon receiving a print instruction from the print extension app 402, it sends the edited print data to the printer 103.

[0045] The web service 506 is a web service that enables external use of printing-related services. The web service 506 accepts printing jobs and changes to printing settings. Furthermore, the web service 506 can also respond to a web API for a list of printers registered in the printer database 5200 and the capability information of each printer. Also, the web service 506 may return information such as the HTML (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) of the web page for printing settings to the caller.

[0046] 507 is an external notification service typified by APNs (Apple Push Notification Service). The external notification service 507 is responsible for sending notifications to the terminal 106 based on requests. The external notification service 507 can communicate with the cloud service 500 and the terminal 106 shown in FIG. 2 through the network 104.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the printer 103 in the present embodiment.

[0048] The data acquisition unit 604 acquires jobs from the job database 5100 of the cloud service 500, and passes the data 5103 and the printing settings 5104 in the acquired jobs to the printing job generation unit 605.

[0049] Based on the data 5103 and the printing settings 5104 in the job acquired by the data acquisition unit 604, the printing job generation unit 605 registers a new job inside the printer 103 in the job control unit 608 and requests the start of printing processing. Also, the printing job generation unit 605 transfers the received data 5103 and the printing settings 5104 to the data reception control unit 606.

[0050] When a printing job for internal management in the copying machine is generated by the printing job generation unit 605, the job attribute storage unit 609 stores the attributes of the printing job.

[0051] The data reception control unit 606 is a buffer area for the data 5103 received by the print job generation unit 605, the print settings, and the print settings 5104, and temporarily stores the received data in the storage 304 for each print job. When the execution preparation of a specific print job is complete, the job control unit 608 instructs the PDL analysis unit 607 to perform PDL analysis processing on the specific print job. The PDL analysis unit 607 requests the data reception control unit 606 for the data 5103 and the print settings 5104 corresponding to the specific print job. The data reception control unit 606 transfers the data 5103 and the print settings 5104 corresponding to the specific print job to the PDL analysis unit 607.

[0052] The PDL analysis unit 607 generates intermediate data based on the attribute information of a specific print job (e.g., number of copies, N-up, color mode, post-processing settings, etc.) stored in the job attribute storage unit 609 and the print data corresponding to the specific print job. The generated intermediate data is transferred to the RIP control unit 610. The RIP control unit 610 cooperates with the RIP in the image processing unit 314 to convert the intermediate data into a raster image. The print control unit 611 acquires the raster image generated by the RIP control unit 610 and transfers a print image color-separated into CMYK to the engine control unit 612. The engine control unit 612 cooperates with the printing unit 310 and the sheet processing unit 312 to form an image on a sheet based on the CMYK-separated print image, or to perform post-processing such as stapling on the sheet with the image already formed.

[0053] Using FIG. 7, the flow until printing on terminal 106 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the registration of printer 103 with cloud server 102 has been completed. FIG. 7(a) shows a state where document creation app 403 is launched. Note that in this figure, description is made using document creation app 403, but other application 401 may also be used. 701 is a menu bar, where buttons serving as menu options such as buttons for sharing documents with other terminals and buttons for performing print settings are arranged horizontally. 702 is a print button among the options. Print button 702 is a button for displaying a screen for print settings of the open document data and an execution instruction for printing. When print button 702 is pressed, an authentication pop-up shown in FIG. 7(b) is displayed. 703 is the authentication pop-up, which is a screen for logging in to the cloud service. When the user enters the username and password and presses confirmation button 704, terminal 106 sends an authentication request to cloud service 500. When cloud server 102 completes the authentication, the user can log in to the cloud service. After logging in, the screen displayed on terminal 106 transitions to the print screen shown in FIG. 7(c).

[0054] FIG. 7(c) is a print settings screen provided by the document creation app 403, which is a screen for setting items used for printing. 711 is a printer selection button, which is a button for selecting a printer to be used for printing. When the printer selection button 711 is pressed, the printer selection screen of FIG. 7(d) is displayed on the display unit of the terminal 106. In FIG. 7(d), the printer 103a set as the default is selected. 712 is a button for setting double-sided printing. When the user presses 712, the setting is changed from single-sided printing to double-sided printing. When the user presses the button 712 again, the setting is changed between double-sided printing and single-sided printing. Here, the control of double-sided printing, which is one of the functions of the printer 103a, is displayed, but simple functions common to a plurality of printer vendors compliant with IPP, such as color-to-monochrome conversion, which are other functions of the printer 103a, may be displayed. 715 is an area for setting the number of copies to be printed. The currently set number of copies is displayed in 715. When the user presses the "+" button, the number of copies increases by one. When the user presses the "-" button, the number of copies decreases by one.

[0055] 713 is a detailed settings button. When the user presses the detailed settings button, the print extension app 402 is launched, and the detailed print settings screen shown in FIG. 9(a) is displayed. Note that the description of the detailed print settings screen will be given later. If the print extension app 402 is not installed, the detailed print settings screen included in the document creation app 403 is displayed. The detailed print settings screen displayed by the document creation app 403 does not display vendor-specific functions such as poster printing.

[0056] 714 is a print start button. When the user presses the print button, the document creation app 403 transmits print data and print setting information to the cloud server 102 through the web service 506 of the cloud service 500 to request printing.

[0057] Figure 7(d) is the printer selection screen. When the user selects the printer selection button 711, the terminal 106 requests the printer list information registered in the printer database 5200 through the web service 506. The terminal 106 displays the list of printers obtained via the web service 506. 722 is an icon indicating the currently selected printer. 723 is a return link. When the user presses 723, the print screen of Figure 7(c) is displayed on the display unit of the terminal 106.

[0058] Figure 8 is used to show the flow of registering each application and the printer 103a with the cloud service 500. It is assumed that the registration of the username 5001 and password 5002 of the necessary account has already been completed in the account database 5000.

[0059] The document creation application 403 requests the issuance of a document creation application device token 5004 to the external notification service 507 for the cloud service 500 to notify the document creation application 403 (S801).

[0060] The external notification service 507 generates a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) and responds to the document creation application 403 with the generated UUID as the document creation application device token 5004 (S802). Note that the document creation application device token 5004 is an identifier for identifying the terminal 106 and the document creation application 403, and it may be other as long as it can identify the application.

[0061] The document creation application 403 sends the authentication information for the user using the document creation application 403 to use the cloud service to the cloud service 500 (S803). The cloud service 500 responds with an access token for the document creation application 403 to access the cloud service 500 (S804).

[0062] The document creation app 403 accesses the cloud service 500 using the obtained access token and registers the document creation app device token 5004 in the account database 5000 (S805). Here, the document creation app device token 5004 registered in the cloud service 500 is the access token issued in S802.

[0063] The cloud service 500 responds that the registration of the document creation app device token 5004 in the document creation app 403 is completed (S806). S801~S806 are executed when the document creation app 403 is installed or when the document creation app 403 is started for the first time.

[0064] Next, the print extension app 402 requests the external notification service 507 to issue a print extension app device token 5003 (S807). The external notification service 507 generates a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) and responds to the print extension app 402 as the print extension app device token 5003 (S808).

[0065] The print extension app 402 receives the authentication information for the print extension app 402 to access the cloud service 500 and sends the authentication information to the cloud service 500 (S809). The cloud service 500 responds with an access token (S810). The print extension app 402 accesses the cloud service 500 using the obtained access token and registers the print extension app device token 5003 in the account database 5000 (S811). The cloud service 500 responds that the registration of the device token 5003 in the print extension app 402 is completed (S812). Note that the print extension app device token 5003 is an identifier for identifying the terminal 106 and the print extension app 402, and it may be other as long as it can be identified. S807~S812 are executed when the print extension app 402 is installed or when it is started for the first time.

[0066] Subsequently, the printer 103a receives the authentication and transmits the authentication information to the cloud service 500 (S813). The cloud service 500 performs the authentication and responds with an access token (S814). The printer 103a accesses the cloud service 500 using the access token and registers the printer information in the printer database 5200 (S815). At the same time, the cloud service 500 registers the printer ID 5201 in the account database 5000 for the authenticated account. Also, if the default printer ID 5005 is not registered, the cloud service 500 registers the default printer ID 5005. The cloud service 500 responds to the printer 103a that the registration of the printer information has been completed (S816). S813 to S816 are executed when registering the printer 103a in the cloud service 500. Thus, in this embodiment, according to the registration request from the printer 103a to register in the cloud service 500, an access token is issued. Then, the cloud service 500 acquires the information of the printer 103a.

[0067] The printing flow will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9(a) shows the flow until the document creation application 403 instructs the cloud service 500 to print.

[0068] First, it starts from the point where the document creation application 403 of the terminal 106 described in FIG. 7(b) transmits the authentication information to the cloud service 500 (S901). The cloud service 500 queries the authentication information to the authentication service 501. After the authentication, the cloud service 500 returns a token for accessing other services including the web service 506 of the cloud service 500 to the document creation application 403 (S902). After acquiring the token, the document creation application 403 transmits a request for acquiring the information of the printer list to the web service 506 of the cloud service 500 (S903).

[0069] The cloud service 500 responds to the document creation app 403 with information on a list of printers available to the user based on the printer ID 5201 in the account database 5000 according to a request (S904).

[0070] Next, the document creation app 403 requests the cloud service 500 for the capability information of the printer selected as the default based on the default printer ID 5005 (S905). The cloud service 500 accesses the printer database 5200 and responds to the document creation app 403 with the capability information 5203 of the corresponding printer (S906). By doing so, the document creation app 403 can know the functions that can be used with the printer selected on the print settings screen and which app the print extension app 402 corresponding to the selected printer is.

[0071] The name of the printer selected by default is displayed on the printer selection button 711 on the print screen. After the display, when the printer selection button is pressed, a printer selection screen is displayed and the selection of a printer is accepted (S907). In addition, when the user changes the printer used by selecting the printer selection button 711, the document creation app 403 obtains the capability information of the changed printer from the cloud service 500.

[0072] When the detailed settings button 712 of the printer is pressed on the print screen, the document creation app 403 launches the print extension app 402 associated with the printer based on the app identifier 5205 registered in the printer database 5200 (S908). In S908, the document creation app 403 accesses the printer database 5200 of the cloud service 500 and acquires the app identifier corresponding to the selected printer. Then, the document creation app 403 launches the app with the app identifier. When launching, the document creation app 403 passes the print setting information that has already been set to the print extension app 402. That is, the document creation app 403 passes the set values on the screen of FIG. 7(c) to the print extension app 402. Also, the document creation app 403 may pass the job ID of the print job to the print extension app 402. Also, in S908, the app with the app identifier acquired by the document creation app 403 from the cloud service 500 may not be installed on the terminal 106. At this time, the document creation app 403 may display the URL of the web page that distributes the print extension app, or display a screen for launching another app for downloading the app. Thereby, it is possible to recommend to the user to download the print extension app.

[0073] Note that in this embodiment, in S908, it is assumed that the document creation app 403 acquires the app identifier from the cloud service 500. In S905, it is also possible to send a request to acquire the app identifier together with the capability information to the cloud service 500 and receive the app identifier together with the capability information from the cloud service 500.

[0074] The started printing extension app 402 requests, through the web service 506, the printer capability information such as functions like double-sided printing and bookbinding, and the configuration of the device, etc. from the cloud service 500 (S909). Note that the necessary information may be in the form of information such as JSON (JavaScript (registered trademark) Object Notation), HTML, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), or JavaScript. When the printing extension app 402 is a web app with a web browser, in addition to the printer capability information, the printing extension app 402 sends a request to the cloud service 500 to obtain information indicating the screen configuration of the detailed printing settings screen to be displayed.

[0075] The cloud service 500 returns the requested information of the detailed printing settings screen to the printing extension app 402 (S910). In S910, the capability information that the printing extension app 402 obtains from the cloud service 500 may be the same as or different from the capability information that the document creation app 403 obtains from the cloud service 500 in S906.

[0076] After obtaining the information, the printing extension app 402 displays the detailed printing settings screen shown in Fig. 10(a) (S911). The printing extension app 402 uses the capability information of the printer 103 obtained from the cloud service 500 and the screen information that the printing extension app 402 has to display the detailed printing settings screen. When the printing extension app 402 is a web app, it configures the detailed printing settings screen based on the information received from the cloud service 500.

[0077] After the print extension app 402 displays the detailed print settings screen, it accepts changes to the print settings (S912). After the print settings are changed, the print extension app 402 returns the information on the set print settings to the document creation app 403 (S913). Here, the information on the print settings to be passed, for example, are settings such as color printing, poster printing, and bookbinding printing. The document creation app 403 displays the print screen again based on the information on the print settings passed from the print extension app 402. At this time, the document creation app 403 performs the display while ignoring the information on vendor-specific print settings that cannot be grasped by the document creation app 403.

[0078] When the print start button 714 is pressed on the print screen, the document creation app 403 passes the print data and makes a job generation request to the cloud service 500 through the web service 506 (S914). The cloud service 500 passes the print data to the data reception unit 502.

[0079] The data reception unit 502 passes the print data to the PDL conversion unit 503, converts it to PDL, and then passes the print data to the job management unit 504. The job management unit 504 assigns a job ID 5101 to the print data and registers the print data in the job database 5100 (S915). After the cloud service 500 registers the print data in the job database 5100, it responds to the document creation app 403 that the print job generation was successful (S916). The document creation app 403 sends the information on the print settings to the cloud service 500 (S917). The cloud service 500 passes the print setting information to the job management unit 504. The job management unit 504 registers the received print setting information for the corresponding job ID in the job database 5100 (S918). After the cloud service 500 registers the print setting information, it responds to the document creation app 403 that the registration of the print setting information was successful (S919). When the document creation app 403 receives the response of the successful registration of the print setting information, it sends a print request to the cloud service 500 (S920). When the cloud service 500 receives the request, it returns a response of successful reception of the print request to the document creation app 403 (S921).

[0080] The cloud service 500 analyzes the print setting information. At this time, if the setting to perform a preview at the time of printing has been made, a notification is requested from the cloud service 500 to the external notification service 507 through the notification transmission service 505. When requesting the notification, the cloud service 500 notifies the document creation application 403 based on the print extension application device token 5003 of the account database 5000 (S922). The notification includes the job ID 5101 and a text message indicating that the print data has been registered in the job database 5100. In S922, the cloud service 500 sends a notification to the print extension application device token 5003 registered in the account database 5000. When a user with a certain username has multiple terminals 106, there may be a case where a plurality of print extension application device tokens are associated with one username. At this time, the cloud service 500 may send notifications to each print extension application device token. Also, the cloud service 500 may send a notification targeting the print extension application device token of the print extension application installed on the same terminal as the document creation application that transmitted the image data.

[0081] Note that although an example where the preview function is on / off has been described as a condition for sending a notification, the conditions for sending a notification can be anything else. For example, it goes without saying that the setting information may be set so as to always notify the cloud service 500 in advance, or the condition may be to always notify when a specific print setting is set.

[0082] The print extension app 402 receives a notification from the cloud service 500 and displays the notification on the terminal 106 (S923). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the print extension app 402 receives a notification from the cloud service 500 and displays the notification. In S922, it may be assumed that the OS of the terminal 106 receives a notification from the cloud service 500 and displays the notification on the display. Also, the cloud service 500 may send a notification to the document creation app 403 based on the document creation app device token 5004. In this case, the document creation app 403 may display the notification and, in response to a user operation, may start the print extension app 402.

[0083] The terminal 106 receives an event such as a click or a tap, and the document creation app 403 starts the print extension app 402 (S924). Note that when sending a notification, the print extension app 402 may be notified based on the print extension app device token 5003.

[0084] The print extension app 402 accesses the web service 506 of the cloud service 500 and requests job information using the job ID included in the notification (S925). The cloud service 500 reads the job ID and job information registered in the job database 5100 and responds to the print extension app 402 (S926). Next, the print extension app 402 requests the printer capability information from the cloud service 500 through the web service 506 (S927). The cloud service 500 acquires the printer ID associated with the job in the job database 5100 and acquires the printer capability information from the printer database 5200. After the acquisition, the cloud service 500 responds with the capability information to the print extension app 402 (S928). The print extension app 402 generates and displays a detailed print settings screen including a print preview from the acquired job and printer capability information (S929). After the display, it accepts changes to the print settings (S930). After accepting the changes, the print extension app 402 sends the changed print settings 5104 and the job ID for the job to the cloud service 500 (S931). The cloud service 500 updates the job database 5100 by overwriting the print settings 5104 of the job specified by the job ID with the print settings received from the print extension app 402 (S932). After the registration, the cloud service 500 responds to the print extension app 402 that it has accepted the change to the print settings (S933). The print extension app 402 instructs printing for the print job (S934). The cloud service 500 changes the status 5105 of the job in the job database 5100 to "printing" (S935). After the change, the cloud service 500 responds with the successful acceptance of the print request (S936).

[0085] Note that in Fig. 9(a), in S921, after the print request is registered in the cloud service 500, it is assumed that the processing after S922 is performed. It may also be assumed that the processing after S922 is not performed. Further, instead of performing the processing described in S908 to S913, it may be assumed that after S907, the processing after S914 is performed.

[0086] Figure 8(b) is a sequence diagram showing the flow until the printer 103a performs printing. The printer 103a polls the cloud service 500 at regular intervals to make an inquiry, and requests a job whose status 5105 is "printing" (S937). When there is a job with the status of "printing", the cloud service 500 responds with the corresponding job (S938). After obtaining the job, the printer 103a performs printing (S939). After printing, the printer 103a notifies the cloud service 500 that the printing has been completed (S940). The cloud service 500 responds to the printer 103a that it has received the completion of printing (S941).

[0087] Next, the cloud service 500 deletes the print data for which it has received the completion of printing from the job database 5100 (S942). If there is no job with the "printing" status 5105, it responds that there is no job with the status of "printing" (S943).

[0088] In FIG. 9, the print extension app 402 has been described as an application that operates locally on the terminal 106. However, the print extension app 402 may be a web app. When the print extension app 402 is a web app, in S910 and S928, not only the capability information of the printer 103 but also the information of the screen to be displayed on the terminal 106 is obtained in HTML format from the cloud service 500.

[0089] Using FIG. 10, the detailed print settings screen will be described. 1000 in FIG. 10(a) is the top page of the detailed print settings screen of the print extension app 402 launched by s908 and s924. The detailed print settings screen may be composed of multiple pages, and in that case, it may transition to other pages by a user operation such as sliding a finger. The detailed print settings screen has a print settings section shown at 1001, and by accepting a user operation, more detailed print settings than those in FIG. 7(c) are possible. If it is registered in the printer database 5200, it is also possible to set printer vendor-specific print settings and the like. On the top page of the detailed print settings screen, for example, page aggregation settings for setting the number of pages printed per sheet, which cannot be set in FIG. 7(c), and the print orientation can be set. 1002 is a control for the preview function, and by turning it on, it is possible to make a setting indicating that a preview will be performed during printing. Note that this control is disabled, such as being grayed out and hidden, when launched by S922. 1003 is a preview section, and a print preview of the document to be printed is displayed. Note that when launched by S908, since the print document cannot be acquired, an alternative virtual print preview is displayed. After changing the print settings, when the OK button 1004 is pressed, the printing is finalized and the process moves to step S913.

[0090] Figure 10(b) is a high - function screen of the detailed print settings screen provided by the print extension app 402. Figure 10(b) is a screen displayed in response to an operation such as sliding a finger in Figure 10(a). The high - function screen lists functions specific to the printer vendor, and items that cannot be set in the print settings screen shown in Figure 7(c) can be set. 1011 is the binding function. By sliding the toggle 1012, binding can be set in the print settings. 1013 is the poster function, and by sliding the toggle 1014, printing a poster can be set in the print settings. Also, information such as a more detailed layout can be set by changing the combo box 1015. Here, poster printing composed of two sheets is set. The vendor - specific functions are not limited to poster printing, and include staple settings for stapling paper, folding settings for folding and outputting paper, punch settings for punching holes in paper, settings for the paper ejection destination, and settings for the paper ejection method when printing multiple copies. Thus, by using the print extension app 402, items that cannot be set in a general - purpose print settings screen can also be set in the print settings.

[0091] Figure 10(c) is the menu screen of the terminal 106a. Icons imitating the installed applications 401 are listed on the menu screen. 1021 is an example of displaying a notification received from the external notification service 507, and pressing it launches the print extension app 402.

[0092] 1022 is an icon that emulates the print extension app 402. When pressed, the print extension app 402 is launched as shown in S924. After being launched, the print extension app 402 accesses the URL 5204 described in the notification and obtains the information of the detailed print settings screen necessary to generate print settings from the web service 506 of the cloud service 500. The information obtained may include not only print settings and print job information, but also layouts such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Therefore, instead of launching the print extension app 402, a web browser or the like may be launched to display the detailed print settings screen and used as an alternative means.

[0093] As described above, in this embodiment, even when the document creation app 403 does not provide a screen for performing vendor-specific print settings, more detailed settings can be made and printing can be performed by using the print extension app 402.

[0094] Also, even when the document creation app 403 does not pass the information about the printer 103 obtained from the cloud service 500 to the print extension app 402, the print extension app 402 can display a print settings screen that matches the capability information of the selected printer.

[0095] <Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment, when the user selects the detailed settings 713 in FIG. 7(c), the document creation app 403 launches the print extension app 402. If the document creation app 403 does not have the function of launching the print extension app 402, the print extension app 402 cannot be launched at the above timing.

[0096] In the second embodiment, in accordance with the selection of the detailed settings 713, the cloud service 500 launches the print extension app 402.

[0097] Since FIGS. 1 to 8, FIG. 9(b), FIGS. 10(a) and (b) are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

[0098] Using FIG. 11, the process of printing the image data created by the document creation application 403 in the second embodiment will be described.

[0099] Regarding the process described in FIG. 11 and common to FIG. 9(a), the same reference numerals as in FIG. 9(a) are added and the description is omitted.

[0100] The process described in FIG. 11 starts according to the fact that printing settings have been made in the document creation application 403. The process described in FIG. 11 is realized by the CPU of the terminal 106 or the CPU of the cloud server 102 executing a program.

[0101] Up to S901 to S907 are the same as in the first embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the user has selected the detailed setting 713 on the printing settings screen shown in FIG. 7(c) (S1101). The document creation application 403 requests the cloud service 500 to create a print job according to the selection of the detailed setting 713 (S914). The processes of S914 to S919 and S922 to S936 are the same as in FIG. 9(b). In the second embodiment, according to the fact that the user has instructed detailed settings on the printing settings screen of the document creation application 403, the cloud service 500 sends a notification for starting the extended application 402. In this embodiment, since the user is not giving a print instruction, it is assumed that the processes of S920 and S921 are not performed. Even when the user selects detailed settings, the processes of S920 and S921 may be performed.

[0102] In the first embodiment, in S923, a message indicating that the print job has been registered in the cloud server 102 was displayed. In the second embodiment, in S923, it is assumed that a message is displayed asking the user whether to start the extended print application 402. Also, in S923, a message prompting the user to perform an operation to start the print extension application 402 may be displayed. According to the fact that the user has performed an operation to start the print extension application 402 on the said screen, the print start application 402 is started.

[0103] By doing so, even when the document creation app 403 cannot start the print extension app 402, the print extension app 402 can be started when the user attempts to make detailed print settings. Also, even when the document creation app 403 cannot send the print settings set in the document creation app 403 to the print extension app 402, the user can inherit the setting values set in the document creation app 403 and make settings in the print extension app 402.

[0104] <Other Embodiments> Note that in the above embodiment, it was assumed that the print extension app 402 was pre-installed on the terminal 106. And when the print extension app 402 is not installed, it was described that print settings are made on the print settings screen provided by the document creation app 403. Based on the pressing of the detailed settings 713 shown in FIG. 7(c) while the print extension app 402 is not installed on the terminal 106, the terminal 106 may display a screen for installing the print extension app 402. By doing so, even if the print extension app 402 is not pre-installed on the terminal, the print extension app 402 can be installed before making the detailed settings 713.

[0105] In the above embodiment, both the document creation app device token and the print extension app device token were registered in the account database 5000 so that the cloud service 500 can notify both the document creation app 403 and the print extension app 402. When the application for which the cloud service 500 makes a notification is either the document creation app 403 or the print extension app 402, it may be sufficient that only the device token of the app making the notification is registered in the account database. For example, when the cloud service 500 makes a notification only to the print extension app 402, the processes after S807 may be performed without performing S801 to S806 in FIG. 8. In this case, only the print extension app device token 5003 is registered in the account database 5000.

[0106] The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes program code. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium storing the computer program constitute the present invention.

Claims

1. A print setting application executed by an information processing apparatus, an acquisition step of acquiring, via a network, capability information of an image processing apparatus based on a first operation in a display provided by a data creation application installed in the information processing apparatus, the display including functions commonly used by printers of a plurality of printer suppliers; a first display step of displaying a screen that can display a set value of a function that cannot be displayed by the data creation application, the set value corresponding to the capability information acquired in the acquisition step, and the screen allowing setting of whether to display a preview; and a second display step of displaying a setting screen for a stamp function not included in functions commonly used by printers of the plurality of printer suppliers based on a second operation received from a user via the screen, the print setting application characterized by causing a computer of the information processing apparatus to execute the steps.

2. The print setting application according to claim 1, further causing a computer of the information processing apparatus to execute a third display step of displaying image data created by the data creation application.

3. The print setting application according to claim 2, wherein the image data is displayed on the screen.

4. The print setting application according to claim 2, wherein in the third display step, the image data created by the application is displayed after a print button of the application installed in the information processing apparatus is selected.

5. The print setting application according to claim 1, further causing a computer of the information processing apparatus to execute a setting step of setting a paper discharge destination according to an instruction from a user.

6. The print setting application according to claim 1, wherein the data creation application installed in the information processing apparatus is an image data creation application.

7. The print setting application according to claim 1, wherein the data creation application installed in the information processing apparatus is a document creation application.

8. The printing setting application according to claim 1, wherein the capability information of the image processing apparatus is acquired from a cloud service via a network.

9. A storage medium storing the printing setting application according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A control method executed by a printing setting application installed in an information processing apparatus, an acquisition step of acquiring, based on a first operation in a display provided by a data creation application installed in the information processing apparatus and including functions commonly used by printers of a plurality of printer suppliers, the capability information of the image processing apparatus via a network; a first display step of displaying a screen that can display a setting value of a function that cannot be displayed by the data creation application and that corresponds to the capability information acquired in the acquisition step, and that can be set to display a preview; and a second display step of displaying, based on a second operation received from a user via the screen, a setting screen for a stamp function that cannot be set in the display including functions commonly used by printers of the plurality of printer suppliers.

11. An information processing apparatus, wherein an acquisition means for acquiring, via a network, the capability information of an image processing apparatus for displaying a printing setting screen based on a first operation in a display provided by a data creation application installed in the information processing apparatus and including functions commonly used by printers of a plurality of printer suppliers; a display means for displaying a screen that can display a setting value of a function that cannot be displayed by the data creation application and that corresponds to the capability information acquired by the acquisition means, and that can be set to display a preview; and a display control means for causing the display means to display a setting screen for a stamp function that cannot be set in the display including functions commonly used by printers of the plurality of printer suppliers based on a second operation received from a user via the screen.

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