Information processing apparatus, system, program, information processing method

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus that can transmit a request to a device without causing a user to designate a network when the request is transmitted to the device being connectable to a plurality of networks.SOLUTION: A technique is provided that causes an information processing apparatus to function as: acquisition means 12 that acquires first communication information for connecting with a device through a first network and second communication information for connecting with the device through a second network being different from the first network; determination means 13 that determines whether or not it is possible to request processing from the device through the first network based on the acquired first communication information; connection means 15 that connects with the device in which it is determined not to be able to request processing through the first network, through the second network based on the second communication information; and request means that requests processing from the device in which it is determined to be able to request processing through the first network or the device connected by the connection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a system, a program, and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] 2]If a user who holds a terminal can communicate the terminal with other devices such as an image forming apparatus by wireless communication and use the functions of the devices, it is convenient because a wired connection is not required. However, in many cases, parameters for wireless communication are required for the terminal to perform wireless communication with the device, and the setting of the wireless communication parameters to the device is not always easy.

[0003] Therefore, a technique for setting wireless communication parameters in a terminal without user settings or with minimal user settings has been conventionally devised (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a management device that reads information stored in a user's NFC (Near Field Communication) chip so that a wireless communication device can be connected to the same device using different wireless communication parameters, and sets home wireless communication parameters or out-of-home wireless communication parameters to the wireless communication device according to the information.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the method for setting wireless communication parameters disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult for the user to determine which of a plurality of wireless communication parameters should be selected.

[0005] A specific example will be given for explanation. For example, assume a case where an image forming apparatus is connected to an employee - exclusive employee network and a guest network for visitors. In this case, if wireless communication parameters for each network are stored in the NFC chip, the terminal carried by the user can read the wireless communication parameters from the NFC chip and set them in the terminal. However, generally, visitors should not be connected to the employee network, and employees should communicate with the device via the employee network that is more shielded from the outside than the guest network. That is, the user should connect to the image forming apparatus via an appropriate network, but even if the user can obtain wireless communication parameters or the like, it is often difficult for the user to determine which wireless communication parameters should be selected.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above - mentioned points, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus that enables a request to be sent to a device connectable to a plurality of networks without having the user specify a network when sending a request to the device.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] To achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention is an information processing apparatus, comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring communication information for connecting to an output device; using the communication information acquired by the acquisition means, attempting communication with the output device via the network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, and determining whether it is a specific output device based on the information acquired from the output device with which communication has been attempted; a request means for, when it is determined by the determination means that it is the specific output device, requesting an output process for the specific output device based on the communication information; and when it is determined by the determination means that it is not the specific output device, said specific output device communication with not possible indicating that a display control means for displaying a message, and having and the communication information includes first communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a first network and second communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a second network provides an information processing apparatus.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when transmitting a request to a device connectable to a plurality of networks, it is possible to provide a technology that enables the transmission of a request to the device without having the user specify a network.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0011] <Use Cases of the Printing System of the Present Embodiment> First, the main use cases assumed by the printing system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram for explaining the main use cases assumed by the printing system 1 of the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 is connected to a network N1 corresponding to an in-house LAN or the like, and an access point 7 is connected to the network N1. Further, the image forming apparatus 20 can also communicate via a network N2 that communicates in a P2P (Peer to Peer) manner.

[0012] · Use Case 1 Use Case 1 is a case where a visitor 9 wirelessly communicates with the image forming apparatus 20 for printing or the like using his / her own mobile terminal 10. This will be described with reference to FIG. 1(a). (1) First, the visitor 9 brings the mobile terminal 10 close to the short-range wireless communication device 301 of the image forming apparatus 20. As a result, the mobile terminal 10 acquires first communication information 1100 for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 and second communication information 1300 for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2. (2) Next, the mobile terminal 10 attempts communication using the first communication information 1100. However, the mobile terminal 10 of the visitor 9 cannot be connected to the in-house LAN (network N1) using the first communication information 1100. (3) Next, when the mobile terminal 10 attempts communication using the second communication information 1300 and can communicate, communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is started via the network N2.

[0013] Therefore, the mobile terminal 10 of the visitor 9 can communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 without going through the network N1, which is an in-house LAN.

[0014] · Use Case 2 Use case 2 is a case where employee 8 uses their mobile terminal 10 to wirelessly communicate with an image forming apparatus 20 in another department or the like that is not normally used, such as for printing. This will be described with reference to FIG. 1(b). (1) First, employee 8 brings the mobile terminal 10 close to the short-range wireless communication device 301 of the image forming apparatus 20. As a result, the mobile terminal 10 acquires first communication information 1100 for communicating via network N1 and second communication information 1300 for communicating via network N2. (2) Next, the mobile terminal 10 attempts communication using the first communication information 1100. However, the wireless communication parameters for connecting to the access point 7 are set in the mobile terminal 10 of employee 8, who has the authority to connect to the company's in-house LAN. Therefore, it is possible to connect to the in-house LAN and communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100. The mobile terminal 10 of employee 8 starts communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via network N1.

[0015] Therefore, the mobile terminal 10 of employee 8 can communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via network N1, which is the in-house LAN. Also, even if the mobile terminal 10 of employee 8 cannot connect to the image forming apparatus 20 via network N1, the mobile terminal 10 of employee 8 can communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via network N2, so printing or the like can be temporarily performed even if network N1 cannot be used for some reason.

[0016] In this way, the printing system 1 of the present embodiment reduces the labor for the user to set communication information and enables users such as visitor 9 and employee 8 to automatically select appropriate networks respectively.

[0017] <Regarding terms> Employee... is one specific example of a user of the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20, and is a user who has the authority to connect to the in-house LAN (wireless communication parameters for connecting to the in-house LAN are set in the mobile terminal 10). This user does not necessarily have to be called employee 8, and may be called by any name such as staff member, employee, or worker. A visitor... is one specific example of a user of the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20, and is a user who does not have the authority to connect to the in-house LAN. All users other than employees are included in the visitors 9. Note that the visitors 9 may be called by any name.

Example

[0018] <System Configuration> Using FIG. 2, the system configuration of the printing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an example of the printing system according to this embodiment. The printing system 1 in FIG. 2 includes a mobile terminal 10 and one or more image forming apparatuses 20. The mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are configured to be connectable via the networks N1 and N2 by wire or wirelessly. Note that since the mobile terminal 10 is an information processing apparatus that can be carried by a user as described later, it is preferable that the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are configured to be connectable via the networks N1 and N2 wirelessly. "Connectable" means having a function to connect, and whether it can actually be connected depends on the determination described in FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0019] Further, when the mobile terminal 10 is carried by a visitor 9, the mobile terminal 10 is not connected to the network N1 and connects to the network N2 on demand. Also, the employee 8 has the authority to connect to the network N1 in advance. For this reason, when the mobile terminal 10 is carried by the employee 8, for example, an SSID and a password (encryption key) are set in the mobile terminal 10 as the above wireless communication parameters, so that it can connect to the network N1. Therefore, if the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 is known, the mobile terminal 10 carried by the employee 8 can communicate with the image forming apparatus 20.

[0020] Hereinafter, as an example, network N1 is a network such as an in-house LAN for the mobile terminal 10 to connect to the image forming apparatus 20 via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). On the other hand, network N2 will be described as a network for directly connecting to the image forming apparatus 20 in a P2P manner via Wi-Fi Direct. However, networks N1 and N2 are not limited to these. For example, in addition to a network such as an in-house LAN, network N1 may include a WAN or the Internet, or may partly include a mobile phone network. Further, network N2 may be a network for connecting to the image forming apparatus 20 via, for example, the ad-hoc mode of a wireless LAN, a mobile phone network, infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. That is, any network that does not enter the company such as an in-house LAN is acceptable. Also, if network N2 is appropriately set such as being isolated from network N1, it may be an in-house LAN for connecting to the image forming apparatus 20 via a wireless LAN (for example, a network having a network address different from that of network N1).

[0021] In addition, an information medium 30 is attached to the housing of the image forming apparatus 20, and the mobile terminal 10 and the information medium 30 are configured to be able to communicate via short-range wireless communication.

[0022] The mobile terminal 10 is a portable information processing device such as a smartphone operated by a user. The mobile terminal 10 may be a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a game machine, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a wearable PC, a notebook PC, etc. An application that can request the image forming apparatus 20 to provide functions (for example, issue a print instruction to print target data, scan a document, send a FAX, make a copy, etc.) is installed on the mobile terminal 10, and the mobile terminal 10 generates a print job, a scan job, a FAX transmission job, a copy job, etc. including the print target data related to the print instruction, and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 20.

[0023] In addition, the mobile terminal 10 is provided with a short-range wireless communication device such as an NFC chip as will be described later. The user holds the mobile terminal 10 over an information medium 30 attached to a predetermined position on the housing of the image forming apparatus 20 to acquire a plurality of communication information including an IP address or the like for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20. Then, the mobile terminal 10 transmits a print job generated based on the acquired communication information to the image forming apparatus 20, causing the image forming apparatus 20 to execute the print job and perform printing of print target data.

[0024] Note that the application may be software such as a browser, document creation software, or a viewer that communicates with the image forming apparatus 20 and requests the image forming apparatus 20 to execute a job.

[0025] The image forming apparatus 20 is a device such as a printer that receives a print job or the like from the mobile terminal 10 and performs printing of print target data. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 may be a multifunction device such as an MFP having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, and a FAX function in addition to a print function.

[0026] In addition, the image forming apparatus 20 may be, for example, an output device such as a scanner device, a facsimile device, an image projection device (projector), a rear projection device, a HUD (Head Up Display) device, an electronic blackboard, or a digital signage, or an acoustic output device such as a speaker device. Therefore, in this embodiment, a case where the information processing system is a printing system 1 as an example will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, an image output system using an image output device instead of the image forming apparatus 20 or an acoustic output system using a speaker device instead of the image forming apparatus 20 may be used. That is, this embodiment can be applied to various systems using a mobile terminal 10 that generates various jobs, images, and data that can be converted into images, and a device (the image forming apparatus 20 in this embodiment) that outputs various jobs, images, and data received from the mobile terminal 10. Further, it is sufficient that the mobile terminal 10 and the device simply perform wireless communication without data output.

[0027] The information medium 30 is a short-range wireless communication device such as an NFC chip attached to a predetermined position on the housing of the image forming apparatus 20. That is, the information medium 30 is an NFC tag or the like. The information medium 30 stores communication information including the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 to which the information medium 30 is attached. More specifically, the information medium 30 stores communication information for the mobile terminal 10 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 and communication information for the mobile terminal 10 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2. That is, the information medium 30 stores communication information corresponding to the number of networks through which the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 can be connected.

[0028] The mobile terminal 10 can acquire this communication information stored in the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication. Then, as described above, the mobile terminal 10 can execute a print job on the image forming apparatus 20 by transmitting a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 based on the communication information acquired from the information medium 30.

[0029] Storing the communication information and transmitting it to the mobile terminal 10 is not limited to the information medium 30 such as an NFC tag. For example, if the image forming apparatus stores the communication information, the communication information may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 10 using another communication method that can directly communicate with the mobile terminal 10 without requiring an address or the like in advance, such as Bluetooth or infrared rays. In this case, the mobile terminal 10 also needs to have a corresponding function (Bluetooth or infrared rays).

[0030] In the printing system 1 described above, the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are configured to be connectable via two networks, the network N1 and the network N2, but the number of connectable networks may be any number of 1 or more (three or more).

[0031] Further, the printing system 1 described above may be configured to include, for example, a printing server that stores print jobs transmitted from the mobile terminal 10. Furthermore, the printing system 1 may be configured to have any number of one or more mobile terminals 10.

[0032] <Hardware Configuration> ≪Mobile Terminal≫ The mobile terminal 10 according to this embodiment is realized by a hardware configuration as shown in, for example, FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the mobile terminal according to this embodiment. The mobile terminal 10 shown in FIG. 3 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, an external I / F 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106, a communication I / F 107, an SSD (Solid State Drive) 108, and a short-range wireless communication device 109, etc., and each is interconnected by a bus B.

[0033] The input device 101 is, for example, a touch panel and is used to input each operation signal to the mobile terminal 10. Note that the input device 101 may be a keyboard, a mouse, or the like. The display device 102 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and displays the processing results by the mobile terminal 10.

[0034] The external I / F 103 is an interface with an external device. Examples of the external device include a recording medium 103a. A program for realizing the embodiment can be stored in the recording medium 103a. The mobile terminal 10 can read and / or write to the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 103.

[0035] The recording medium 103a is a recording medium such as an SD Memory card. The recording medium 103a may also be a recording medium such as a Universal Serial Bus memory, a Digital Versatile Disk, a Compact Disk, or a flexible disk.

[0036] The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily holds programs and data. The ROM 105 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can hold programs and data even when the power is turned off. Programs and data such as the BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the portable terminal 10 is started are stored in the ROM 105.

[0037] The CPU 106 is an arithmetic unit that realizes the control and functions of the entire portable terminal 10 by reading programs and data from storage devices such as the ROM 105 and the SSD 108 onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

[0038] The communication I / F 107 is an interface for performing communication via the networks N1 and N2. For example, the communication I / F 107 is an interface for connecting the portable terminal 10 to a corporate LAN or the like via a wireless LAN. Also, the communication I / F 107 is an interface for connecting to the image forming apparatus 20 via Wi-Fi Direct. Thereby, the portable terminal 10 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 107. Note that the communication I / F 107 may be an interface for connecting to a mobile phone network, the Internet, or the like.

[0039] The SSD 108 is a non-volatile memory device that stores the program 108a and data. The programs 108a and data to be stored include, for example, an OS (Operating System) which is basic software for controlling the entire mobile terminal 10, and application software (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) that provides various functions on the OS. The SSD 108 manages the stored programs and data by a predetermined file system and / or a DB (database). Note that the mobile terminal 10 may be provided with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like instead of or in addition to the SSD 108.

[0040] The short-range wireless communication device 109 is, for example, an NFC chip or the like. Thereby, the mobile terminal 10 can perform data communication via the short-range wireless communication device 109.

[0041] The mobile terminal 10 according to the present embodiment can realize various processes as described later with the above-described hardware configuration.

[0042] [[ID=!2]]<<Image Forming Apparatus and Information Medium>> The image forming apparatus 20 and the information medium 30 according to the present embodiment are realized by a hardware configuration as shown in, for example, FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus and the information medium according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 4 includes a controller 201, an operation panel 202, an external I / F 203, a communication I / F 204, a printer 205, and the like. In addition, a short-range wireless communication device 301 is attached to the outside (housing) of the image forming apparatus 20 as a configuration for realizing the information medium 30.

[0043] The controller 201 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, an NVRAM 214, and an HDD 215. The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. The RAM 212 temporarily holds programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores, for example, setting information and the like. In addition, the HDD 215 stores various programs 215a and data.

[0044] The CPU 211 reads programs 215a, data, setting information, etc. from the ROM 213, NVRAM 214, HDD 215, etc. onto the RAM 212 and executes processing, thereby realizing the control and functions of the entire image forming apparatus 20.

[0045] The operation panel 202 includes an input unit that receives input from the user and a display unit that performs display. The external I / F 203 is an interface with an external device. Examples of the external device include a recording medium 203a. Thus, the image forming apparatus 20 can read from and / or write to the recording medium 203a via the external I / F 203. Examples of the recording medium 203a include a flexible disk, CD, DVD, SD memory card, and USB memory.

[0046] The communication I / F 204 is an interface for performing communication via the networks N1 and N2. Thus, the image forming apparatus 20 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 204. The printer 205 is a printing device that prints and outputs print target data.

[0047] The short-range wireless communication device 301 is, for example, an NFC chip or the like. The information medium 30 is constructed in the non-volatile memory of the short-range wireless communication device 301. When the short-range wireless communication device 301 detects the approach of the short-range wireless communication device 109 of the portable terminal 10, it can communicate with the short-range wireless communication device 109, read the information of the information medium 30, and transmit the information of the information medium 30 to the portable terminal 10. The short-range wireless communication device 301 is configured outside the image forming apparatus 20, for example, such that an NFC chip is attached to a predetermined position on the housing of the image forming apparatus 20. In this case, it is preferable that the NFC chip is attached at a position where short-range wireless communication with the portable terminal 10 is easy. The information of the information medium 30 can be rewritten on the user side using a reader / writer or the like.

[0048] The short-range wireless communication device 301 may not be configured outside the image forming device 20, but may be configured inside the image forming device 20 within a range where short-range wireless communication is possible with the mobile terminal 10. The short-range wireless communication device 301 does not need to be integrated with the image forming device 20, and may be placed near the image forming device 20 or on a guide board installed on the route to the image forming device 20.

[0049] The image forming apparatus 20 and information medium 30 according to this embodiment can realize various processes, which will be described later, by using the above-described hardware configuration.

[0050] <Software configuration> The printing system 1 according to this embodiment can be represented by, for example, functional blocks as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram of an example of the printing system according to this embodiment.

[0051] The mobile terminal 10 of the printing system 1 has an information acquisition unit 12, a connection possibility determination unit 13, a UI display unit 14, a communication unit 15, and an information storage unit 16. The communication unit 15 has a first communication unit 151 and a second communication unit 152. On the other hand, the image forming device 20 of the printing system 1 has a print function unit 21. The image forming device 20 can receive processing requests from multiple networks N1 and N2.

[0052] The information acquisition unit 12 is realized by the CPU 106, the short-range wireless communication device 109, etc., and acquires a plurality of pieces of communication information for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 from the information medium 30 via short-range wireless communication.

[0053] The connection possibility determination unit 13 is realized by the CPU 106 or the like, and selects which of a plurality of networks connectable to the image forming apparatus 20 to communicate with based on a plurality of pieces of communication information acquired from the information medium 30. Specifically, in this embodiment, based on the plurality of pieces of communication information acquired from the information medium 30, it selects which of the network N1 and the network N2 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 to use.

[0054] The UI display unit 14 is realized by the CPU 106, the display device 102, etc., and generates and displays a UI (user interface) screen.

[0055] The communication unit 15 is realized by the communication I / F 107, etc., and communicates with the image forming apparatus 20. More specifically, according to the selection result of the connection availability determination unit 13, the first communication unit 151 communicates with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1, and the second communication unit 152 communicates with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2.

[0056] The information storage unit 16 is realized by the CPU 106, the ROM 105, the SSD 108, etc., stores the communication information 1000 acquired by the information acquisition unit 12, and reads out the stored information.

[0057] The print function unit 21 is realized by the printer 205, etc., and prints the print target data included in the print job requested to be executed from the mobile terminal 10. Note that, in addition to the print function unit 21, the image forming apparatus 20 may have a scan function unit for generating image data (electronic data) from the read original, a copy function unit for copying the read original, a FAX function unit for FAX transmitting the read original or electronic data via a telephone line network, etc.

[0058] The information medium 30 is realized by the short-range wireless communication device 301, and stores the communication information 1000 for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 to which this information medium 30 is attached. Further, the information medium 30 transmits the communication information 1000 stored in the information medium 30 to the mobile terminal 10 via short-range wireless communication in response to a request from the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10.

[0059] <The communication information 1000 stored in the information medium 30> The communication information 1000 stored in the information medium 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Note that the communication information 1000 stored in the information storage unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10 has the same configuration. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of communication information.

[0060] The communication information 1000 shown in FIG. 6 includes first communication information 1100 for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1, availability information 1200 indicating the availability of communication via the network N2, and second communication information 1300 for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2. That is, the communication information 1000 includes a plurality of communication information such as the first communication information 1100 and the second communication information 1300.

[0061] The first communication information 1100 is information necessary for the mobile terminal 10 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 (for example, an in-house LAN connected via a wireless LAN). The first communication information 1100 includes a first IP address which is the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 in the network N1, and information such as SSL communication indicating the availability of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) communication in the network N1. The first communication information 1100 does not include an SSID or a password for connecting to the in-house LAN or the like from the access point 7. This is because, as described above, the network N1 is assumed to be connected by the employee 8, and the SSID and password are set in advance in the mobile terminal 10 of the employee 8. In other words, if the SSID and password of the in-house LAN or the like are set in the first communication information 1100, a visitor 9 or the like can also connect to the in-house LAN or the like. In this embodiment, by using the premise that the SSID and password are set in advance in the mobile terminal 10 of the employee 8, the first communication information 1100 stores only the minimum information (the presence of an IP address), so that the visitor 9 is not connected to the in-house LAN or the like, and only the employee 8 can be connected to the in-house LAN. That is, only the mobile terminal 10 currently connected to the in-house LAN can connect to the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100.

[0062] The availability information 1200 is information indicating whether to perform communication via the network N2 when it is determined by the connection availability determination unit 13 that communication between the image forming apparatus 20 and the network N1 cannot be performed. For example, in the communication information 1000 of FIG. 6, the availability information 1200 is set to "Yes". Therefore, in this case, although details will be described later, when it is determined by the connection availability determination unit 13 that communication between the image forming apparatus 20 and the network N1 cannot be performed, the mobile terminal 10 performs a process of attempting communication between the image forming apparatus 20 and the network N2. On the other hand, when the availability information 1200 is set to "No", the mobile terminal 10 cannot perform communication between the image forming apparatus 20 and the network N2.

[0063] The availability information 1200 is used, for example, for charge control. There are cases where the usage fee of the image forming apparatus 20 is charged on a per-use basis such as the number of printed sheets. For example, when the image forming apparatus 20 is installed in Company A, whether an employee 8 of Company A prints or a visitor 9 to Company A prints, the usage fee is billed to Company A. Therefore, in the case of the image forming apparatus 20 installed in a place with many visitors 9, Company A may not want to permit any printing by the visitors 9 at all.

[0064] On the other hand, in, for example, city halls and libraries, it is necessary to respond to the desire of visitors 9 to print. For this reason, coin-operated machines are arranged together with the image forming apparatus 20 in places with a high degree of publicness, and printing by visitors 9 is permitted within the range of the amount of money input by the user.

[0065] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 20 arranged in a chargeable installation location or an installation location where the number of prints by visitors 9 is small, printing by visitors 9 may be permitted. In this way, the availability information 1200 can control whether or not visitors 9 can use the image forming apparatus 20 itself.

[0066] Note that availability information may also be set for the first communication information 1100. For example, when there are security inconveniences in the network N1, it is possible to prevent employee 8 from communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1.

[0067] The second communication information 1300 is information necessary for the mobile terminal 10 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 (for example, P2P by Wi-Fi Direct). The second communication information 1300 includes the second IP address which is the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 in the network N2, an SSID (Service Set Identifier) for identifying the network N2, an encryption method in the network N2, a password, and an HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) port number or an HTTPS (HTTP over SSL / TLS) port number of the image forming apparatus 20 when communicating via the network N2. Note that when the image forming apparatus 20 does not encrypt data for communication, communication itself is possible without a password.

[0068] The information included in the first communication information 1100 and the second communication information 1300 described above is an example, and may include various types of information necessary for communication via the network N1 and the network N2, respectively. Also, in the communication information 1000 shown above, the first IP address and the second IP address are different, but these may be the same IP address.

[0069] Note that, for example, when the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are configured to be further connectable via the network N3, the communication information 1000 may include availability information indicating the availability of communication via the network N3 and third communication information for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N3.

[0070] <Details of processing> Next, the details of the processing of the printing system 1 will be described.

[0071] <<Printing Process>> First, the flow of the printing process of the printing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a sequence of an example of the printing process according to this embodiment.

[0072] In step S601, the user selects desired print target data from an application installed on the mobile terminal 10 via the UI display unit 14 and issues a print instruction. As a result, a print job including the print target data selected by the user is generated.

[0073] In step S602, when the UI display unit 14 of the mobile terminal 10 receives a notification of the execution of the print job, it requests the information acquisition unit 12 to acquire communication information 1000. Then, the mobile terminal 10 enters a standby state until the start of short-range wireless communication by the short-range wireless communication device 109 is detected. During this period, a screen prompting the user to hold the mobile terminal 10 over the position of the NFC chip (information medium 30) of the image forming apparatus 20 may be displayed on the display device 102.

[0074] In step S603, when the user holds the mobile terminal 10 over the information medium 30, the information acquisition unit 12 detects the start of short-range wireless communication with the information medium 30 and acquires the communication information 1000 from the information medium 30.

[0075] In step S604, the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 saves the communication information 1000 acquired from the information medium 30 to the information storage unit 16.

[0076] In step S605, the information storage unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a determination request to the connection availability determination unit 13 as to which communication information among the plurality of communication information included in the communication information 1000 is to be used for communication with the image forming apparatus 20.

[0077] In step S606, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 performs a connection availability determination process. In this embodiment, in the connection availability determination process, the connection availability determination unit 13 generates one of the following results. The details of this connection availability determination process will be described later. (1) The mobile terminal 10 cannot communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via either the network N1 or the network N2 (the selection result is communication unavailable). (2) The mobile terminal 10 communicates with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 (the selection result is communication by the first communication unit). (3) The mobile terminal 10 communicates with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 (the selection result is communication by the second communication unit).

[0078] In the subsequent processing, when the selection result by the connection availability determination unit 13 is the above (1), the UI display unit 14 performs the process of step S608. When the selection result by the connection availability determination unit 13 is the above (2), the communication unit 15 performs the process of step S610. When the selection result by the connection availability determination unit 13 is the above (3), the communication unit 15 performs the process of step S613.

[0079] In step S607, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a display request for a screen indicating that the mobile terminal 10 cannot communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 (the communication unavailable screen in FIG. 10(b)) to the UI display unit 14.

[0080] In step S608, when the UI display unit 14 of the mobile terminal 10 receives the display request for the communication unavailable screen, it generates a notification unavailable screen and causes the display device 102 to display it. Thereby, the user is notified that the mobile terminal 10 operated by this user cannot communicate with the desired image forming apparatus 20.

[0081] In step S609, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a print job execution request to the first communication unit 151.

[0082] In step S610, when the first communication unit 151 of the mobile terminal 10 receives a print job execution request, it transmits this print job execution request to the image forming apparatus 20. That is, the mobile terminal 10 transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 (for example, an in-house LAN connected via a wireless LAN).

[0083] In step S611, when the print function unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 receives a print job from the mobile terminal 10, it executes this print job and prints the print target data. As a result, the user can print the desired print target data using the image forming apparatus 20.

[0084] In step S612, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a print job execution request to the second communication unit 152.

[0085] In step S613, when the second communication unit 152 of the mobile terminal 10 receives a print job execution request, it transmits this print job execution request to the image forming apparatus 20. That is, the mobile terminal 10 transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 (for example, P2P by Wi-Fi Direct).

[0086] In step S614, when the print function unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 receives a print job from the mobile terminal 10, it executes this print job and prints the print target data. As a result, the user can print the desired print target data using the image forming apparatus 20.

[0087] As described above, in the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 10 acquires a plurality of communication information for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 from the information medium 30. Then, the mobile terminal 10 can communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 and perform printing based on any one of these plural communication information. That is, the mobile terminal 10 can select any one of a plurality of networks connected to the image forming apparatus 20, and perform printing by transmitting a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 via the selected network.

[0088] <<Connection availability determination process>> Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, the connection availability determination process in step S608 in the printing process described above will be described. The connection availability determination process is a process of selecting whether to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 based on either the first communication information 1100 or the second communication information 1300 included in the communication information ********** obtained by the information acquisition unit 12. In other words, it is a process of selecting through which of a plurality of networks connected to the image forming apparatus 20 communication is to be performed.

[0089] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example of the connection availability determination process according to the present embodiment. FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams showing screen examples of applications displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10. Hereinafter, the flow of the process in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0090] First, the user selects the print target data from a list of print target data or the like displayed on the display device 102 of the application. Then, as shown in FIG. 9(a), a print condition screen 901 is displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10. The print condition screen 901 displays the print target data 902, the icon 903 of the image forming apparatus 20, the number of copies 904, color / monochrome 905, and paper size 906. The initial setting values preset in the application are displayed for the number of copies 904, color / monochrome 905, and paper size 906, and the setting values last set by the user are retained. Therefore, when the user uses the mobile terminal 10 to cause the image forming apparatus 20 to print, the user can print with the setting values (print conditions) he desires with minimal setting changes.

[0091] Note that the usage advice 907 has, for example, an icon 907a and a message 907b saying "Touch the MFP to start printing", and prompts the user to hold the mobile terminal 10 near the position of the short-range wireless communication device 301 (NFC chip) of the image forming apparatus 20. By holding it near, the information acquisition unit 12 of the mobile terminal 10 acquires communication information 1000 from the information medium 30. The process of FIG. 8 starts by acquiring the communication information 1000.

[0092] In step S701 of FIG. 8, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the first communication unit 151 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 based on the first communication information 1100 included in the communication information 1000. Then, the first communication unit 151 attempts to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100. Here, the mobile terminal 10 attempts to connect to the IP address indicated in the communication information 1100, giving priority to the currently connected network. Even if the user is an employee and the mobile terminal holds information for connecting to the in-company LAN, if it is currently connected to another network (e.g., LTE, 3G, public wireless LAN, etc.), since the acquired communication information 1100 does not contain information that can identify the network such as the SSID, the mobile terminal 10 cannot determine which network to switch to. Therefore, it attempts communication via another network without switching to the in-company LAN. The first communication unit 151 attempts to communicate with the device indicated by the first IP address included in the first communication information 1100 (here, the image forming apparatus 20) via the currently connected network. Therefore, in the mobile terminal 10 connected to 3G or LTE, communication with the device indicated by the first IP address may be attempted via the carrier's base station.

[0093] While the first communication unit 151 is attempting to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20, a connection-in-progress screen 911 shown in FIG. 9(b) is displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10. In the connection-in-progress screen 911, it is indicated that the connection is in progress by an icon 912, text 913, etc. Also, a cancel button 914 for the user to cancel the connection or print job is displayed.

[0094] Returning to FIG. 8, in step S702, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines whether it was able to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 based on the communication result by the first communication unit 151. If it was able to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1, it proceeds to step S703; on the other hand, if it was unable to communicate, it proceeds to step S704.

[0095] Here, the connection availability determination unit 13 determines whether or not it is possible to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100 as follows. For the sake of convenience of explanation, the description will be divided into use cases.

[0096] · Use Case 1 Even if the mobile terminal 10 is not connected to any network or is connected to some network, it attempts to connect to the image forming apparatus 20 and performs any one of the following processes (1) to (3). (1) The first communication unit 151 attempts to acquire the MIB (Management Information Base) information of the image forming apparatus 20 via the currently connected network. If the MIB information can be acquired, it is determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is possible, while if the MIB information cannot be acquired, it is determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is not possible. The MIB information may be a standard MIB or an extended MIB. If the standard MIB can be acquired, it can be understood that data communication is possible with at least some device (including the possibility of the image forming apparatus 20), and if the extended MIB can be acquired, it can be understood that data communication is possible with the image forming apparatus 20 assumed by the application of the mobile terminal 10 (the application is created assuming a specific manufacturer or model of the image forming apparatus 20). Further, even if the MIB information can be acquired, if the device information included in the acquired MIB information is different from the device information of the image forming apparatus 20 to be communicated with (this is included in the communication information 1000 acquired from the information medium 30, for example), it may be determined that communication was not possible. Thereby, the connection availability determination unit 13 can surely determine that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 having the information medium 30 from which the communication information 1000 was read is possible. Here, the device information is information that uniquely identifies the image forming apparatus, such as the manufacturing unique number (serial number) or MAC (Media Access Control) address of the image forming apparatus 20. (2) The first communication unit 151 attempts to acquire device information by using the Web API (Web Application Programming Interface) provided by the image forming apparatus 20 via the currently connected network. The Web API refers to the agreement (such as the method of requesting processing and the method of specifying data) when devices A and B perform processing via a network. The Web API is stored in advance in the information storage unit 16 of the mobile terminal 10. When the device information can be acquired, it is determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is possible. On the other hand, when the device information cannot be acquired, it is determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is impossible. That is, when the Web API is not specific to the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 20, it can be understood that data communication is possible with at least some device (including the possibility of being the image forming apparatus 20). When the Web API is specific to the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 20, it can be understood that data communication is possible between the application of the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 assumed by the acquired device information. Further, even when the device information can be acquired, if the acquired device information is different from the device information of the desired image forming apparatus 20, it may be determined that communication was impossible. Thereby, the connection determination unit 13 can surely determine that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 having the information medium 30 from which the communication information 1000 is read is possible. (3) The first communication unit 151 attempts to obtain the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 20 by ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) via the currently connected network. If the MAC address is obtained, it is determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is possible. On the other hand, if the MAC address cannot be obtained, it is determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is not possible. If the MAC address can be obtained, it is highly probable that there is a device (including the possibility of being the image forming apparatus 20) with the IP address stored in the information medium 30, and it can be specified with a high degree of accuracy that data communication has been established with the image forming apparatus 20 having the information medium 30. Additionally, even if the MAC address is obtained, if the obtained MAC address is different from the MAC address of the image forming apparatus 20 (assumed to be obtained from the information medium 30), it may be determined that communication was not possible. Thereby, the connection availability determination unit 13 can surely determine that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 in which the information medium 30 is disposed is possible.

[0097] (1)~(3) If there is a communication error or the like when any of the processes (1) to (3) is performed, it may be retried. If it is determined that communication is not possible by any of the determinations (1) to (3), it may be determined that communication is not possible in one attempt.

[0098] By performing any of the processes (1) to (3), it can be detected that the mobile terminal 10 is not connected to any network, or that the mobile terminal 10 may be connected to another wireless LAN (such as a public wireless LAN) or LTE or 3G. Thereby, the mobile terminal 10 can determine that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100 is not possible.

[0099] Also, when the mobile terminal 10 is not connected to any network, the transmission terminal 10 may detect that it is not connected to a wireless LAN via the OS or the like, or may detect that it is not connected to any other network, and determine that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100 is not possible. The same determination can be made when it is detected that the mobile terminal 10 is connected to LTE or 3G.

[0100] Furthermore, when the mobile terminal 10 is not connected to any network, since the mobile terminal 10 is not currently connected to the corporate LAN, it can be determined that communication using the first communication information 1100 is not possible. Therefore, it can be determined that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100 cannot be performed without performing (1) to (3).

[0101] · Use Case 2 First, if the mobile terminal 10 of employee 8 is connected to the corporate LAN, it is considered that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 can often be performed using the first communication information 1100.

[0102] On the other hand, even if an employee is not connected to the corporate LAN as described above, it is not possible to connect to the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100. Also, when attempting communication via a network other than the corporate LAN, such as LTE or 3G to which the device was connected, the following situations may occur. (i) There is some device (it may or may not be the case of the image forming apparatus 20) at the IP address indicated by the first communication information of the network to which the device was accidentally connected. Therefore, although it is possible to connect to the device itself, since it is not actually connected to the target image forming apparatus 20, it is meaningless to make a processing request. (ii) There is no device at the IP address indicated by the first communication information 1100 in the network to which the device was accidentally connected.

[0103] Therefore, in order to confirm that communication is surely being performed with the image forming apparatus 20 and not in the states of (i) or (ii) above, any one of the processes (1) to (3) is performed. As a result, it is possible to determine whether the connected device is the image forming apparatus 20 capable of processing requests (whether it is connected to the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1).

[0104] Note that, even when the mobile terminal 10 is connected to the in-company LAN (network N1) in Use Case 2, there may be a case where the packet transmitted by the mobile terminal 10 of the employee 8 cannot reach the image forming apparatus 20. Such a situation may include cases where the power of the router on the path from the nearest access point 7 of the mobile terminal 10 to the image forming apparatus 20 is OFF, or the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 has been changed but not reflected in the information medium 30.

[0105] [[ID= 3]] In these cases, when the connection determination unit 13 detects a timeout or a communication error (for example, a status code of 400 is returned in HTTP) when performing any of the processes (1) to (3), it determines that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 cannot be performed using the first communication information 1100.

[0106] In step S703, when communication with the image forming apparatus 20 is possible via the network N1, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1 based on the first communication information 1100 included in the communication information 1000.

[0107] In this case, as shown in Fig. 10(a), a transmission completion screen 921 is displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10. The transmission completion screen 921 is a screen indicating that the transmission of the print job from the mobile terminal 10 to the image forming apparatus 20 has been completed. The transmission completion screen 921 displays a message 922 saying "transmission completed" and an icon 923 indicating that the transmission has been completed. After the transmission completion screen 921 is displayed for a certain period of time, it is automatically erased and the print condition screen 901 of Fig. 9(a) is displayed. Note that the print condition screen 901 of Fig. 9(a) may also be displayed when the user presses (touches) the icon 923.

[0108] Returning to Fig. 8, in step S704, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 refers to the availability information 1200 included in the communication information 1000 and determines whether the use of the network N2 is possible. If the use of the network N2 is possible, the process proceeds to step S705. If the use of the network N2 is not possible, the process proceeds to step S708.

[0109] Thereby, for example, even if the network N2 can connect the mobile terminal 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 by P2P such as Wi-Fi Direct, it is possible to determine whether the connection by P2P is permitted. This is because, in addition to reasons such as the above-mentioned charging, generally, the connection by P2P tends to be lower in security etc. than the connection via the in-house LAN using the wireless LAN. That is, when the mobile terminal 10 of the employee 8 cannot be connected to the network N1, even if it is temporary, it is to prevent the employee 8 from making a connection by P2P. Thus, the security can be improved by the determination in step S704.

[0110] In step S705, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 requests the second communication unit 152 to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 based on the second communication information 1300 included in the communication information 1000. Then, the second communication unit 152 attempts to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 based on the second communication information 1300. That is, the second communication unit 152 attempts to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 indicated by the second IP address included in the second communication information 1300.

[0111] In step S706, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines whether it is possible to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 based on the communication result by the second communication unit 152. If it is possible to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2, the process proceeds to step S707. On the other hand, if communication is not possible, the process proceeds to step S708. During the determination in step S706, the connection screen in Fig. 9(b) is continuously displayed.

[0112] Here, the connection determination unit 13 determines whether it is possible to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 using the second communication information 1300 as follows. In the determination of step S706, the determination is the same for both use cases 1 and 2.

[0113] That is, it is considered that the mobile terminal 10 of the visitor 9 and the mobile terminal 10 of the employee 8 can transmit and receive packets to and from the image forming apparatus 20 using the second communication information 1300. Therefore, for example, it becomes possible to make a determination according to the determination criteria (1) to (3) in step S702.

[0114] Note that although it is rare, it may also happen that the mobile terminal 10 cannot transmit and receive packets to and from the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 because the power supply to the communication I / F 204 of the image forming apparatus 20 is not supplied or the communication I / F 204 has a communication failure. In this case, the connection determination unit 13 determines that it is not possible to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100 by not obtaining any response from the image forming apparatus 20, detecting a timeout, or detecting a communication error.

[0115] In step S707, when it is possible to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines to communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 via the network N2 based on the second communication information 1300 included in the communication information 1000.

[0116] In this case, the transmission completion screen 921 of FIG. 10(a) is displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10. That is, since the same screen is displayed regardless of whether the print job is transmitted via the network N1 or the network N2, the user does not need to be aware of the difference in the networks. Note that the mobile terminal 10 may display on the display device 102 via which of the network N1 or the network N2 the print job was transmitted. Thereby, the user as the employee 8 can confirm whether the highly secure in-house LAN was used. Also, the user as the visitor 9 can grasp that his / her print job was transmitted via the P2P network.

[0117] Returning to FIG. 8, in step S708, if communication with the image forming apparatus 20 cannot be established in either network N1 or network N2, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 cannot be established.

[0118] In this case, as shown in FIG. 10(b), a communication unavailable screen 931 is displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10. On the communication unavailable screen 931, a message 932 saying "Cannot connect to the device" and an OK button 933 are displayed. When the user presses (touches) the OK button 933, the print condition screen 901 of FIG. 9(a) is displayed on the display device 102.

[0119] As described in the process of FIG. 8, the printing system 1 of the present embodiment reduces the effort for the user to set the first communication information 1100 and the second communication information 1300 for the image forming apparatus 20 connected to a plurality of networks, and each user can automatically select an appropriate network.

[0120] <<Regarding Another Form of Communication Information>> In step S701 above, the connection determination unit 13 attempts communication with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100, and in step S705, attempts communication with the image forming apparatus 20 using the second communication information 1300. That is, the order of the first communication information 1100 and the second communication information 1300 for which communication is attempted is fixed according to the order of the first communication information 1100 and the second communication information 1300 (for example, in address order) recorded in the communication information 1000 of FIG. 6.

[0121] However, the order in which the connection determination unit 13 attempts communication is not limited to this. That is, communication may be attempted using the second communication information 1300 in step S701 and communication may be attempted using the first communication information 1100 in step S705.

[0122] Also, regarding which network among a plurality of networks to attempt communication with the image forming apparatus 20, it may be determined according to a predetermined priority.

[0123] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining another example of communication information. In FIG. 11, the first communication information 1100 of network N1 among a plurality of networks has a priority of 1, the second communication information 1300 of network N2 has a priority of 3, and the third communication information 1500 of network N3 has a priority of 2. When the priorities of each network (each communication information) are registered in the communication information 1000 in this way, the connection determination unit 13 attempts communication with the image forming apparatus 20 in the order of the first communication information 1100 (network N1), the third communication information 1500 (network N3), and the second communication information 1300 (network N2).

[0124] FIG. 12 is an example of a flowchart diagram for explaining the connection determination process in step S608 of FIG. 7 when the communication information 1000 of FIG. 11 is used.

[0125] In step S801, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 reads out all the priorities of the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information 1500 included in the communication information 1000, and assigns control priorities 1 to N in descending order of priority. This is to cope with the case where the priorities of the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information included in the communication information 1000 do not start from 1 or are not in consecutive order. By the process of step S801, consecutive control priorities 1 to N are assigned to the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information. Note that when the same priority is assigned to two or more of the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information, the control priority is assigned in the stored order (address order).

[0126] In step S802, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 sets "1" to the control variable n. That is, the control variable n is initialized.

[0127] In step S803, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines whether there is communication information with control priority n (here, any of the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information). If there is communication information with control priority n, the process proceeds to step S804. If there is no communication information with control priority n, the process proceeds to step S809. In step S809, since communication cannot be established using the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information 1500, it is determined that communication is unavailable.

[0128] In step S804, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 refers to the availability information 1200, 1400 with control priority n and determines whether communication information with control priority n (here, any of the first communication information 1100, the second communication information 1300, and the third communication information 1500) can be used. If there is no availability information like the first communication information 1100, it is determined to be available. Alternatively, the communication information 1000 may be configured such that the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information 1500 have availability information. If the communication information with control priority n can be used, the process proceeds to step S805. If the communication information with control priority n cannot be used, the process proceeds to step S808.

[0129] In step S805, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 attempts communication using the communication information with control priority n.

[0130] In step S806, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines whether communication can be established using the communication information with control priority n. The method for determining whether communication can be established may vary depending on the situations that can occur in use cases 1 and 2, but it may be determined based on whether it is possible to connect to the access point 7 or, if possible, based on the determination methods (1) to (3) in steps S702 and S706 of FIG. 8. If communication can be established, the process proceeds to step S807. If communication cannot be established, the process proceeds to step S808.

[0131] In step S807, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines that communication is to be performed using the communication unit 15 corresponding to the communication information with control priority n.

[0132] In step S808, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 increments the control variable n by one. After that, the processes after step S803 are repeated.

[0133] In step S809, since communication cannot be established with the image forming apparatus 20 using the first communication information 1100 to the third communication information 1500 for which communication has been attempted, the connection availability determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 determines that communication with the image forming apparatus 20 cannot be established.

[0134] In this way, by registering the priority in the communication information 1000, it is possible to communicate with the user using the communication information that should be preferentially used.

[0135] When performing control based on such a priority, it is preferable that the priority of the communication information for connecting to the in-company LAN is higher than that of all the communication information for connecting to the P2P network. Thereby, the employee 8 can be preferentially connected to the in-company LAN, and the visitor 9 can also be connected to the P2P network. However, even when the priority of the communication information for connecting to the P2P network is higher than that of the communication information for connecting to the in-company LAN, both the employee 8 and the visitor 9 can communicate via the P2P network.

[0136] Also, such a priority may be determined according to, for example, the communication bandwidth of each network.

[0137] <<Priority Control of Connection Attempts Based on IP Address>> Furthermore, based on the IP address of the mobile terminal 10 and the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 included in the communication information 1000, it may be determined through which network among a plurality of networks to attempt communication with the image forming apparatus 20. For example, assume that the IP address of the mobile terminal 10 is "192.160.0.3", the first IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 in the network N1 is "192.168.20.1", and the second IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 in the network N2 is "192.160.0.4". In this case, it may be determined to attempt communication through the network N2 with the same subnet address part "192.160.0.0" first and then attempt communication through the network N1. (In this case, it is preferable that the network N2 is the network for employees.)

[0138] By doing so, when communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 through the network N2, since it is communication within the same subnet, an increase in network traffic can be prevented.

[0139] <Summary> As described above, in the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 10 acquires a plurality of pieces of communication information for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 from the information medium 30. Then, the mobile terminal 10 can communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 and perform printing based on any one of these pieces of communication information. That is, the mobile terminal 10 can select any one of a plurality of networks connected to the image forming apparatus 20 and perform printing by transmitting a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 through the selected network. Therefore, even when the user cannot communicate with the image forming apparatus 20 through one of the plurality of networks, there is no need to re-set in the user's own mobile terminal 10 the communication information for communicating with the image forming apparatus 20 through another network. Thereby, the labor of the user and management of the printing system 1 is reduced.

[0140] Note that the information acquisition unit 12 is an example of an acquisition means. The connection availability determination unit 13 is an example of a selection means. The communication unit 15 is an example of a communication means.

[0141] The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

Embodiment

[0142] Although it was explained in the first embodiment that the image forming apparatus 20 may be an apparatus such as an image projection apparatus (projector), in this embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 20 is an image projection apparatus (projector) will be explained.

[0143] In this specification, for components with the same reference numerals, since they perform the same functions, the description of the components once explained may be omitted or only the differences may be explained.

[0144] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of an example of the printing system 1 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 13, the configuration of the mobile terminal 10 is the same as that in FIG. 5. On the other hand, in FIG. 13, the mobile terminal 10 communicates with an image projection apparatus 22 instead of the image forming apparatus 20. An information medium 30 is arranged in the image projection apparatus 22, and the image projection apparatus 22 has an image projection unit 23. The information medium 30 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

[0145] The image projection apparatus 22 modulates image data by a DLP (Digital Right Processing) method or a liquid crystal method and projects an image onto a screen, a wall, or the like. The image data is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 via the network N1 or N2. The image projection unit 23 generates a projection image based on a projection engine of the DLP method or the liquid crystal method and the image data.

[0146] FIG. 14 is a sequence of an example of the printing process according to this embodiment. Since the process in FIG. 14 is different from that in FIG. 7 of the first embodiment in steps S609 to S614, the processes in steps S609 to S614 will be explained.

[0147] In step S609, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a request for image projection to the first communication unit 151.

[0148] In step S610, when the first communication unit 151 of the mobile terminal 10 receives a request for image projection, it transmits this request for image projection to the image projection device 22. That is, the mobile terminal 10 transmits image data to the image projection device 22 via the network N1 (for example, an in-house LAN connected via a wireless LAN). This image data is generated from, for example, the image currently displayed on the display device 102 of the mobile terminal 10 or an image selected by the user.

[0149] In step S611, when the image projection unit 23 of the image projection device 22 receives a request for image projection from the mobile terminal 10, it projects this image. As a result, the user can project a desired image with the image projection device 22.

[0150] In step S612, the connection determination unit 13 of the mobile terminal 10 transmits a request for image projection to the second communication unit 152.

[0151] In step S613, when the second communication unit 152 of the mobile terminal 10 receives a request for image projection, it transmits this request for image projection to the image projection device 22. That is, the mobile terminal 10 transmits image data to the image projection device 22 via the network N2 (for example, P2P by Wi-Fi Direct).

[0152] In step S614, when the image projection unit 23 of the image projection device 22 receives a request for image projection from the mobile terminal 10, it projects this image. As a result, the user can project a desired image with the image projection device 22.

[0153] When the mobile terminal 10 causes the image forming apparatus 20 to perform printing, the mobile terminal 10 may send a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 and then wait until the printing is completed. On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 10 causes the image projection apparatus 22 to project an image, the mobile terminal 10 needs to project the image a plurality of times.

[0154] For example, when the mobile terminal 10 updates a still image displayed on the display device 102 (including switching the image, enlarging / shrinking, changing the display range, etc.) or the user reselects an image to be projected, the mobile terminal 10 transmits the image data. When the mobile terminal 10 is displaying a moving image on the display device 102, the mobile terminal 10 periodically captures an image, creates image data, and transmits it. Note that the format of the image data may be any format such as JPEG, TIFF, GIF, or PNG as long as the image projection apparatus 22 supports it.

[0155] In addition, the mobile terminal 10 may directly transmit a file containing an image. For example, a PDF file, an MPEG file, etc. can be transmitted. In this case, the image projection apparatus 22 opens the file, converts it into an image, and then projects it.

[0156] As described above, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the printing system of this embodiment communicates via an appropriate network that wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal 10 and can transmit necessary data such as image data.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0157] 1 Printing System 10 Mobile Terminal 12 Information Acquisition Unit 13 Connection Availability Judgment Unit 14 UI Display Unit 15 Communication Unit 151 First Communication Unit 152 Second Communication Unit 16 Information Storage Unit 20 Image Forming Apparatus 21 Print Function Unit 30 Information Medium

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0158]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring communication information for connecting to an output device; using the communication information acquired by the acquisition means, attempting communication with an output device via a network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, and determining whether it is a specific output device based on information acquired from the output device with which communication has been attempted; when it is determined by the determination means that it is the specific output device, a request means for requesting an output process for the specific output device based on the communication information; when it is determined by the determination means that it is not the specific output device, a display control means for displaying a message indicating that communication with the specific output device cannot be established; wherein the communication information includes first communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a first network and second communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a second network.

2. The determination means attempts communication with an output device using the first communication information, and determines whether it is the specific output device based on information acquired from the output device with which communication has been attempted. When it is determined by the determination means that it is the specific output device, the request means requests an output process for the specific output device via the first network based on the first communication information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. Using the first communication information acquired by the acquisition means, attempting communication with an output device via a network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, and if information cannot be acquired from the output device as a result of the communication attempt, the determination means attempts communication with an output device using the second communication information, and determines whether it is the specific output device based on information acquired from the output device with which communication has been attempted. When it is determined by the determination means that it is the specific output device as a result of attempting communication with an output device using the second communication information, the request means requests an output process for the specific output device via the second network based on the second communication information. When, as a result of attempting communication with the output device using the second communication information by the determination means, it is determined that the device is not the specific output device, the display control means causes a message indicating that communication with the specific output device cannot be established to be displayed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

4. The output processing includes at least any one of printing, scanning, FAX transmission, copying, image projection, or acoustic output. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The information includes at least any one of Management Information Base (MIB) information of the device, information acquired via a Web Application Programming Interface (WebAPI), or a Media Access Control (MAC) address. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The acquisition means acquires the communication information from the output device via short-range wireless communication. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The specific output device is an image forming apparatus of a specific manufacturer or a specific model. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The message is a message indicating that communication with the specific output device cannot be established. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A system having a program, a specific output device, and an information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus, an acquisition means for acquiring communication information for connecting to an output device; using the communication information acquired by the acquisition means, attempting communication with an output device via the network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, and determining whether or not the device is the specific output device based on information acquired from the output device with which communication has been attempted; a determination means; a request means for requesting an output process for the specific output device based on the communication information when it is determined by the determination means that the device is the specific output device; a program that functions as a display control means for causing a message indicating that communication with the specific output device cannot be established to be displayed when it is determined by the determination means that the device is not the specific output device; having the specific output device that executes the output process requested from the information processing apparatus; The communication information includes first communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a first network and second communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a second network. A system characterized by this.

10. An information processing apparatus acquisition means for acquiring communication information for connecting to an output device; Using the communication information acquired by the acquisition means, attempt communication with an output device via the network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, and based on the information acquired from the output device for which communication has been attempted, determination means for determining whether it is a specific output device; When it is determined by the determination means that it is the specific output device, request means for requesting an output process for the specific output device based on the communication information; When it is determined by the determination means that it is not the specific output device, display control means for displaying a message indicating that communication with the specific output device is not possible; functioning as The communication information includes first communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a first network and second communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a second network. A program characterized by this.

11. An information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus, a process in which acquisition means acquires communication information for connecting to an output device; Using the communication information acquired by the acquisition means, attempt communication with an output device via the network to which the information processing apparatus is connected, and a process in which determination means determines whether it is a specific output device based on the information acquired from the output device for which communication has been attempted; When it is determined by the determination means that it is the specific output device, a process in which request means requests an output process for the specific output device based on the communication information; When it is determined by the determination means that it is not the specific output device, a process of displaying a message indicating that communication with the specific output device is not possible is performed, The communication information includes first communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a first network and second communication information for connecting to the specific output device via a second network. An information processing method characterized by this.

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