Information processing device, control method for information processing device, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus, a method for controlling the same, and a program that display a print setting screen to set setting items and setting values specific to a vendor in a state of acquiring capability information even for the setting items and the setting values specific to the vendor.SOLUTION: A client terminal that is an information processing apparatus such as a PC, a tablet, and a smartphone stores printer information registered in a cloud print service. The client terminal has: transmission means that transmits an acquisition request of capability information on a printer to the cloud print service; notification means that notifies the capability information acquired based on the transmitted acquisition request to an operating system of the information processing apparatus; first display means that displays a predetermined object in a selectable state based on completion of the notification; and second display means that, based on selection of the object, displays an object allowing selection of a function to bind sheets without using staples.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, general-purpose printer drivers using industry-standard protocols such as IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) have been considered. Examples of general-purpose printer drivers include a local printer driver that directly connects to a printer and a cloud printer driver that transmits print data to a cloud print service.

[0003] General-purpose printer drivers can communicate with printers from multiple printer vendors. Therefore, by using a general-purpose printer driver, a user can transmit print data to an image forming apparatus or a cloud print service without installing a vendor-specific printer driver.

[0004] Since the above general-purpose printer driver handles print jobs printed by printers from various vendors, the items and functions that can be set as print settings are limited. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, it has been considered to extend a print queue associated with the printer driver by using identification information of the printer associated with the printer driver. Thereby, it is possible to realize a vendor-specific print setting UI and a print job editing function.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] If the print queue associated with a generic printer driver is extended, the vendor's specific print settings screen will be displayed when a designated object is selected on the print settings screen shown by the application.

[0007] However, in order to display a vendor's unique print settings screen, it is necessary to obtain printer capability information for the vendor's unique settings. For example, if the aforementioned object is manipulated without obtaining capability information for a vendor's unique settings, an inappropriate display may be shown for that setting. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The control method for the information processing device described herein includes: a first acquisition step of acquiring first capability information of a printer by communication in accordance with the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP); a second acquisition step of acquiring second capability information specified by a print setting application that cooperates with the operating system (OS) of the information processing device having a general-purpose printer driver; a first display step of displaying a predetermined object in a state in which it can be selected after the first capability information and the second capability information have been included in the device capability information of the printer; and a second display step of displaying an object in which a setting value included in the second capability information can be set by executing the print setting application in response to the selection of the predetermined object. A transmission step of sending information based on the setting values ​​set via the object to the printer via the cloud print service, to have The first capability information and the second capability information are obtained from the cloud print service. It is characterized by the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The information processing device described in this specification can display a print settings screen for setting vendor-specific settings and values, while also acquiring capability information for vendor-specific settings and values. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1]This figure shows an example of a printing system in this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device and image forming apparatus in this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example sequence of steps that demonstrate the process of installing the print settings extension application in this embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a screen displayed on the client terminal 101 in this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of configuration information stored by the cloud print-compatible printer 104 in this embodiment. [Figure 6A] This figure shows an example of device configuration information included with OS313 in this embodiment. [Figure 6B] This figure shows an example of device configuration information after it has been expanded with information obtained from the cloud print service 321 in this embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of an extended setup information file obtained from the online support service in this embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example sequence of processes in this embodiment, from setting print settings in the print settings extension application to sending print data. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the print settings screen that appears when the print settings extension application is not installed in this embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the print settings screen that appears when the print settings extension application is installed in this embodiment. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of a print settings screen displayed by the document generation application in this embodiment. [Figure 12] This flowchart shows the process for installing the print settings extension application on the client terminal in this embodiment. [Figure 13]This is a flowchart showing the process of performing print settings and generating print data using a print settings extension application in this embodiment.

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a print system in cloud printing in this embodiment. A client terminal 101, a cloud print server 102, an application management server 103, a cloud print-compatible printer 104, and an online support server 105 are connected via a network 107.

[0013] In FIG. 1, one client terminal 101 and one cloud print-compatible printer 104 are shown respectively, but there may be a plurality of client terminals 101 and cloud print-compatible printers 104.

[0014] Also, the cloud print server 102, the application management server 103, and the online support server 105 may be server systems composed of a plurality of information processing devices. By configuring each server as a server system composed of a plurality of information processing devices, load distribution can be dispersed to the plurality of information processing devices.

[0015] Also, the cloud print server 102, the application management server 103, and the online support server 105 may be virtually configured inside a single physical information processing device.

[0016] The network 107 assumes a WAN such as the Internet for connection to cloud services, but all may be in a closed environment such as an in-house LAN.

[0017] The client terminal 101 is an information processing device such as a PC, tablet, or smartphone, and is a terminal that is directly operated by the user. Any application software can be executed on the client terminal 101.

[0018] The cloud print-compatible printer 104 is a device that actually prints onto a recording medium such as paper, and is an image forming apparatus that converts print data received via the network 107 into image data and prints it.

[0019] The cloud print-compatible printer 104 can receive print data from the client terminal 101 via the cloud print server 102, or it can receive print data directly from the client terminal 101 without going through the cloud print server 102.

[0020] The cloud print-compatible printer 104 receives print data generated by the cloud printer driver 311 of the client terminal 101 via the cloud print server 102. Alternatively, the cloud print-compatible printer 104 can receive print data generated by the local printer driver 314 of the client terminal 101 without going through the cloud print server 102.

[0021] The cloud print server 102 receives print commands and print data from an external source. The cloud print server 102 then sends the received print data to a designated cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0022] The application management server 103 stores and manages various applications. The application management server 103 receives application identification information and download requests from client terminals 101, and sends the application identified based on the received identification information to the client terminals 101.

[0023] The online support server 105 is a server device that provides the online support service 351. The online support service 351 is a server device that provides the client terminal 101 with an extended setup information file containing information for extending the functionality of the client terminal 101.

[0024] Next, the hardware configuration of the system in this embodiment will be described using Figure 2.

[0025] Figure 2(a) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of client terminal 101.

[0026] The client terminal 101 includes a display unit 216, an operation unit 217, a storage unit 214, a control unit 211, and a network communication unit 215.

[0027] The memory unit 214 refers to a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk or SSD, which is capable of storing and rewriting digital data.

[0028] The control unit 211 consists of a CPU 212 and a memory 213, and controls the overall operation of the client terminal 101. The CPU 212 loads the programs stored in the storage unit 214 into the memory 213 and executes them. The memory 213 is the main memory of the CPU 212 and is used as a work area and a temporary storage area for loading various programs.

[0029] The network communication unit 215 is a device that communicates with the external network 107 and performs input and output of digital data with external servers, client terminals, etc. via the network 107.

[0030] The display unit 216 is a device for displaying visual information to the user, such as a liquid crystal display. The operation unit 217 is a device for receiving input from the user, such as a keyboard or mouse. A device that combines the functions of both the display unit 216 and the operation unit 217, such as a touch panel, may also be used.

[0031] Figure 2(b) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cloud print server 102. The cloud print server 102 includes a storage unit 224, a control unit 221, and a network communication unit 225.

[0032] The descriptions of the memory unit 224, control unit 221, and network communication unit 225 are the same as those for the client terminal 101 and will therefore be omitted.

[0033] Although the cloud print server 102 is described as being composed of a single information processing device having the hardware configuration shown in Figure 2(b), the cloud print server 102 may also be composed of multiple information processing devices as shown in Figure 2(b).

[0034] Figure 2(c) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the application management server 103. The application management server 103 includes a display unit 236, an operation unit 237, a storage unit 234, a control unit 231, and a network communication unit 235.

[0035] The descriptions of the display unit 236, operation unit 237, storage unit 234, control unit 231, and network communication unit 235 are the same as those for the client terminal 101 and will therefore be omitted.

[0036] Although the application management server 103 is described as being composed of a single information processing device having the hardware configuration shown in Figure 2(c), the application management server 103 may be composed of multiple information processing devices.

[0037] Figure 2(d) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cloud print-compatible printer 104. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 includes a display unit 246, an operation unit 247, a storage unit 244, a control unit 241, a network communication unit 245, and a printing unit 248.

[0038] The display unit 246 is a device that displays information to the user, such as a touch panel or LEDs, which are installed in the cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0039] The operation unit 247 is a device for receiving input from the user and may include a touch panel as well as hard keys such as a numeric keypad. The storage unit 244 and control unit 241 are equivalent to those of the client terminal 101, so their explanation is omitted.

[0040] The network communication unit 245 is a device that communicates with the external network 107, and its main roles are to receive print data and to send information about the status of the cloud print-compatible printer 104, such as errors, to external servers.

[0041] The printing unit 248 is a device that performs a series of operations including paper feeding, printing, and paper ejection on paper prepared in a cassette or tray. The printing method is not particularly limited and can be electrophotographic or inkjet. Finishing devices such as a duplex unit, stapling, and punching used during paper ejection are also included in the printing unit 248.

[0042] In this embodiment, a single-function printer that only performs printing functions is described as an example of a cloud print-compatible printer 104, but a multi-function printer (all-in-one device) that also has scanner and fax functions may also be used.

[0043] Figure 2(e) is a hardware block diagram showing the details of the online support server 105. In this embodiment, the online support server 105 is described as being composed of one information processing device, but it may be composed of multiple information processing devices. The online support server consists of a display unit 256, an operation unit 257, a storage unit 254, a control unit 251, and a network communication unit 255. The display unit 256 and the operation unit 257 are the same as the display unit 216 and operation unit 217 of the client terminal 101, so their description is omitted. The storage unit 254 is a memory device such as an HDD or SSD. The storage unit 254 stores an extended setup information file, which is a file containing information for extending the functions provided by the client terminal 101.

[0044] The control unit 251 consists of a CPU 252 and a memory 253. The CPU 252 controls the entire online support server 105. The memory 253 is used for processing performed by the CPU 252. The network communication unit 255 is an interface for the online support server 105 to communicate with the client terminal 101. The online support server 105 receives requests to retrieve files stored in the storage unit 254 via the network communication unit 255 and sends the corresponding files to the client terminal 101.

[0045] Next, using Figure 3, we will explain an example of the user procedure and the sequence between each software and print service in this embodiment.

[0046] First, the cloud print-compatible printer 104 accepts a printer registration operation from the user to register the cloud print-compatible printer 104 with the cloud print service 321. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 sends a printer registration request to the cloud print service 321 along with the printer's device identification information (S3001). The device identification information sent to the cloud print service 321 is, for example, the HWID (Hardware ID) assigned to each printer model. Note that the device identification information can be any information that can identify the printer model.

[0047] When the cloud print service 321 receives a registration request, it sends the URL for the cloud print service 321 to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 for printer registration. When a user accesses the URL from the cloud print-compatible printer 104 or an information processing device, an input screen for entering a user ID and password is displayed on the display of the terminal that accessed the URL. The user enters the user ID and password to use the cloud print service 321 and logs in to the cloud print service 321. If the user's login is successful, the cloud print service 321 sends a request to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to obtain the information necessary for printer registration. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 sends the printer information to the cloud print service 321 in response to the request.

[0048] Next, the cloud print service 321, upon receiving the printer registration request, registers the information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and generates a print queue for the cloud print-compatible printer 104. At this time, the cloud print service 321 obtains the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and links it to the generated print queue. Capability information refers to information that represents the functions installed in the printer, and includes information necessary for the user to set as print settings when printing, such as information on duplex printing capability, color printing capability, and stapling capability.

[0049] Figure 5 shows an example of capability information. Capability information consists of item names and attribute values. Item names correspond to the setting items in the print settings. Attribute values ​​correspond to the setting values, options, and ranges that can be set for each setting item. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 stores not only the item names and attribute values ​​defined as industry standard specifications by IPP, but also item names and attribute values ​​defined independently by the printer vendor. For example, among the item names listed in Figure 5, "Save job to printer," "Abbreviate job name," and "Stapleless binding," and their associated attribute values ​​are item names and attribute values ​​defined independently by the printer vendor. "Save job to printer" is a setting item that determines whether or not the printer saves the print data received from the cloud print service 321 to the printer after printing. "Abbreviate job name" is an item that determines whether or not to display an abbreviated name when the printer displays the bibliographic information of the print data received from the cloud print service 321 on the printer's display. "Stapleless binding" is an item that sets whether or not the printer binds the output paper based on the print data received from the cloud print service 321 without using staples. Binding without staples means, for example, binding the paper by pressure. Note that printer vendors may define their own attribute values ​​as attribute values ​​corresponding to item names defined as industry standard specifications. For example, "folding settings" is an item name defined in IPP. On the other hand, "saddle folding," one of the attribute values ​​of "folding settings," is a function that folds and outputs one or more sheets of paper together without stapling, and is an attribute value defined independently by the printer vendor.

[0050] In this embodiment, capability information is transmitted to the cloud print service 321 in accordance with the IPP communication protocol. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 registers capability information using commands provided for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to register capability information with the cloud print service 321. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 notifies the cloud print service 321 of the item names shown in Figure 5, the attribute values ​​corresponding to each item name, and the default values. The capability information notified here is not limited to whether each item and attribute value is defined in IPP or not. For example, the item names and attribute values ​​for "Save job to printer," "Shorten job name," and "Stapling without staples" shown in Figure 5 are also notified to the cloud print service 321. In addition, "Saddle fold," which is one of the attribute values ​​of "Folding settings" and is a printer vendor-specific attribute value, is also registered with the cloud print service 321 as one of the attribute values ​​of "Folding settings."

[0051] Next, we will explain the installation of the print settings extension application 312, which is performed when a user performs a setup operation on the client terminal 101 to print using the cloud print-compatible printer 104. When registering the cloud print-compatible printer 104 with the client terminal 101, the standard printing function, which is one of the functions of the OS (operating system) 313 of the client terminal 101, is used.

[0052] The OS313 of client terminal 101 accepts a printer addition operation from the user, which is a setup operation for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 (S3002). The setup operation for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 is, for example, the following operation. Figure 4 shows the screen displayed by the OS313 of client terminal 101 regarding the printers registered on client terminal 101. When the user selects object 401, a printer search command is input to the OS313.

[0053] Upon receiving a printer search command, OS313 determines whether it possesses a token for the cloud print service 321. If OS313 does not possess a token, it displays a screen for entering user information (login name, password) not shown. OS313 on the client terminal 101 sends the user information entered via this screen to the cloud print service 321 to request user authentication and an access token (S3003).

[0054] The cloud print service 321 performs authentication using the user information received from the client terminal 101 (S3004). Once the cloud print service 321 completes the authentication process, it notifies the client terminal 101 of the result.

[0055] If user authentication is successful, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 obtains an access token from the cloud print service 321 (S3005).

[0056] If user authentication fails in S304, the cloud print service 321 notifies the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 of the authentication error (S3006). The OS 313 of the client terminal 101 terminates processing based on the received authentication error information (S3007). If an access token could not be obtained, the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 terminates the process described in Figure 3.

[0057] If OS313 holds an access token, or if it obtains a token in S3005, OS313 on client terminal 101 proceeds to S3008. OS313 searches for printers registered with the cloud print service 321 and printers connected to network 107.

[0058] The OS 313 of client terminal 101 sends a request to the cloud print service 321 to retrieve printer information registered with the cloud print service and performs a printer search (S3008). In S3008, the OS 313 of client terminal 101 sends a request to the cloud print service 321 to retrieve printer information with an access token attached.

[0059] The cloud print service 321 sends information about printers that the user identified by the access token attached to the acquisition request is authorized to use to the client terminal 101 (S3009). The printer information sent to the client terminal 101 in S3009 is the printer name and the HWID of the printer that are registered with the cloud print service 321.

[0060] The OS313 of client terminal 101 obtains a list of printers sent by the cloud print service 321 and the device identification information of each printer. In parallel with the processing of S3008 and S3009, the OS313 of client terminal 101 searches for printers connected to the same network as client terminal 101. This is device discovery using mDNS, Bonjour, etc.

[0061] OS313 displays a list of printers on the client terminal 101 based on printer information obtained from the cloud print service 321 and printer information detected by searching the network 107. Area 402 in Figure 4 displays a list of printer information received from the cloud print service 321. Among the items displayed in area 402, "Cloud Printer 001 / 002 / 003" is information about printers registered with the cloud print service 321. On the other hand, "Printer XX" is a printer detected by the client terminal 101 by searching the network 107. In this way, the printer information obtained from the cloud print service 321 and the printer information detected by searching the network 107 are displayed in a list. The printer information received from the cloud print service 321 is displayed with an icon 403 attached. On the other hand, the printer information detected by searching the network 107 is displayed with an icon 404 attached. In this way, the printer information received from the cloud print service 321 and the printer information detected by searching the network 107 can be displayed separately. Furthermore, the client terminal 101 may display only the printer information registered with the cloud print service 321.

[0062] Next, the user selects the printer information corresponding to the printer they want to register on the client terminal 101 from the printer information displayed in area 402.

[0063] The OS313 of client terminal 101 queries the cloud print service 321 for printer capability information corresponding to the selected printer information (S3010). Which setting items the OS313 of client terminal 101 queries for capability information is determined by the OS313 specification and is set in the OS313. The OS313 of client terminal 101 queries for capability information by specifying a pre-stored setting item. The items pre-set in the OS313 are setting items defined as standard specifications by IPP, such as "paper size," "paper type," and "color mode."

[0064] The cloud print service 321 responds to the OS 313 of the client terminal 101 with information about the capabilities of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 (S3011).

[0065] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the information registered in the cloud print service 321 at the time of registration in S3001 is sent to the client terminal 101 in S3011. However, the capability information registered in the cloud print service 321 may be sent to the client terminal 101 at a time other than that described above. For example, the capability information registered in the cloud print service 321 may be sent to the client terminal 101 in conjunction with a change in the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104. Alternatively, the user may instruct the cloud print service 321 to update the capability information via the user interface provided by the cloud print service 321, and the updated capability information may be sent to the client terminal 101 in accordance with that instruction. Furthermore, the cloud print service 321 may acquire capability information from the cloud print-compatible printer 104 at the time of S3010 and notify the client terminal 101 of the acquired capability information.

[0066] In S3011, the cloud print service 321 responds to the setting item specified by the client terminal 101 with the corresponding attribute value and default value. Here, the attribute values ​​responded to are all attribute values ​​registered in the cloud print service 321, regardless of whether they are attribute values ​​defined as standard. The default value is the value that is initially set when the client terminal 101 displays the print settings screen. Note that if the cloud print service 321 does not remember the response to the attribute queried by the OS 313 of the client terminal 101, it will not respond to the OS 313.

[0067] Next, OS313 starts installing the cloud printer driver 311 based on the device identification information and printer name of the printer selected by the user.

[0068] Then, OS313 generates a print queue for the cloud printer driver 311, which contains basic device capability information included with OS313 (S3012). Device capability information refers to definition information necessary to generate the printer driver's print setting capability information, such as XML-based information like PrintDeviceCapabilities. Figure 6A shows an example of the initial state of device capability information included with OS313. For example, "Feature" indicates that "PageMediaSize," which represents the paper size, is a setting item. "Option" shows the options corresponding to "PageMediaSize." In the initial state of device capability information, as shown in Figure 6A, there are only two options for paper size: "A4" and "LETTER." This information is stored in association with the print queue when the print queue is generated and is managed by OS313. Note that the initial state of device capability information is fixed regardless of the information of the connected printer.

[0069] Subsequently, OS313 updates the device capability information that constitutes the cloud printer driver 311 using capability information obtained from the cloud print service 321. Figure 6B shows an example of device capability information updated using capability information obtained from the cloud print service 321. For example, for "PageMediaSize," which represents the paper size, "Option" is added as a paper size that the cloud print-compatible printer 104 can print on, in addition to "A4" and "LETTER." In this way, the client terminal 101 first associates the cloud printer driver 311 with the device capability information included with OS313 and registers it in the print queue. Then, it updates the device capability information associated with the print queue with capability information obtained from the cloud print service 321. At this time, OS313 updates the device capability information using only attribute values ​​defined by industry standard specifications from the capability information obtained from the cloud print service 321. Therefore, for example, even if a vendor-specific attribute value is obtained as the paper type when acquiring capability information, the vendor-specific attribute value is not added to the device capability information.

[0070] This allows you to set print settings that cannot be configured using the device capability information included with OS313.

[0071] With the above steps completed, the installation of the cloud printer driver 311 is finished. After completing these steps, it becomes possible to send print data from the client terminal 101 to the print queue for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 that has been created on the cloud print service 321.

[0072] Next, OS313 begins the installation process for an application that is associated with the printer and extends the cloud print driver.

[0073] First, OS313 performs an identification information addition process on the device identification information. This is a necessary process when obtaining the extended setup information file 700 from the online support server 105, and it is sufficient if the string is different from the normal device identification information. In this embodiment, in order to distinguish it from applications on other devices, OS313 adds identification information ("PrinterApp_") to the device identification information to indicate that it is an application that corresponds to a printer. Note that "PrinterApp_" is just an example, and other strings, numbers, or symbols may also be used. As a result of the above process, for example, if the device identification information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 was device001, the device identification information after the identification information addition process will become PrinterApp_device001.

[0074] OS313 sends a search request to online support service 351 for an extended setup information file 700 containing the target device identification information with additional information (S3013). S3013 notifies online support service 351 of “PrinterApp_devoce001” with the added identification information.

[0075] The online support service 351 stores the extended setup information file shown in Figure 7. Figure 7 is an example of the extended setup information file 700. The extended setup information file is created by the vendor of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and registered with the online support service 351.

[0076] The extended setup information file 700 contains an application identifier used to identify the print settings extension application used to configure the print data sent to the cloud print-compatible printer 104. In the extended setup information file shown in Figure 7, the item "PackageFamilyName" is the identification information for the print settings extension application. On the other hand, "PrinterHardwareID" is a string that adds identification information to the identification information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0077] Furthermore, online support service 351 contains an extended setup information file that describes the identification information of the printer driver, in addition to an extended setup information file that describes the identification information of the print settings extension application. In the extended setup information file that describes the printer driver identifier, the printer driver identifier is written in "PackageFamilyName". Also, in the "PrinterHardwareId" field of the extended setup information file, the device identification information is written without any additional identification information.

[0078] Thus, the online support service 351 stores both an extended setup information file describing the printer driver identifier and an extended setup information file describing the print settings application identifier. Therefore, OS313 adds identification information to the device identification information in order to retrieve the necessary extended setup information file as needed.

[0079] Upon receiving the search request, online support service 351 identifies an extended setup information file in which the device identification information with additional identification information specified in the request matches the "PackageFamilyName" in the file.

[0080] If the search results indicate that online support service 351 contains an extended setup information file 700 with the target device identification information, it returns the extended setup information file 700 to OS313 (S3014). At this time, the contents of the extended setup information file are written to the OS313 registry.

[0081] Next, OS313 installs the extended setup information written in the extended setup information file obtained from online support service 351, linking it to the print queue generated by S3012 (S3015).

[0082] Next, OS313 extracts the application ID from the installed extended setup information (S3016). The application ID is the identifier defined in "PackageFamilyName" in the extended setup information file. This completes the process when the extended setup file corresponding to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 is stored in the online support service 351.

[0083] The search may fail to detect the extended setup information file 700 containing the device identification information targeted by the online support service 351. In this case, OS313 completes the installation of the cloud print driver and aborts the application installation process (S3017). OS313 executes the process described in S3017 if it fails to receive the extended setup file within a specified time from the search request in S3013, or if it receives an error notification from the online support service 351.

[0084] This section describes the process when an extended setup file can be obtained in S3018 or later, and the application ID can be extracted in S3916.

[0085] OS313 requests the application management service 331 to search for applications that match the extracted application ID (S3018). The application management service 331 stores the applications running on the client terminal 101 in association with the application ID, which is the identifier of that application. The applications and application IDs are registered with the application management service 331 by the vendor providing the cloud print-compatible printer 104.

[0086] If the application management service 331 has a print settings extension application that matches the requested application ID, the application management service 331 returns the print settings extension application 312 to the client terminal 101 (S3019). Here, the returned print settings extension application 312 is an application that has been assigned the same ID as the application ID that was sent.

[0087] OS313 installs the acquired print settings extension application 312, associating it with the client-side print queue (S3020). OS313 saves the application ID as print queue information in the registry. The print settings extension application 312 also configures OS313 to send event notifications when the print queue associated with the application is set on the print settings screen. The installed print settings extension application 312 starts after the client terminal 101 is powered on and OS313 starts up, and after starting up, it operates as a background task.

[0088] If the application management service 331 does not have a print settings extension application that matches the requested application ID, the OS 313 aborts the application installation process (S3021). In this case, the generated print queue and the cloud printer driver 311 are installed together, and the print settings extension application 312 is not associated with the print queue and the process ends.

[0089] In the above explanation, a predetermined string was added to the device identification information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to search for the extended setup file. If the printer driver installation file can be distinguished, the search may be performed without adding the predetermined string.

[0090] Next, using Figure 8, we will explain an example of the user procedure and the sequence between each software and print service in this embodiment.

[0091] Document generation application 315 is an application that can be used to create document data, presentation materials, photos, and image data.

[0092] The document generation application 315 displays a print settings screen (Figure 11) for selecting a print queue as the initial print settings screen. In this embodiment, the document generation application 315 displays the initial print settings screen, but the OS 313 may display a similar screen. The initial print settings screen displays an object 1101 for selecting a print queue, an object 1102 for making various print settings, and a print preview image 1103. The OS 313 selects a print queue associated with the printer set as the default printer (S801). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the cloud print-compatible printer 104 was selected as the default printer. Note that the processing from S801 onwards is also executed when the user changes the printer being used by manipulating object 1101.

[0093] Next, OS313 queries the cloud queue corresponding to the cloud print-enabled printer 104 of the cloud print service 321 for capability information of the cloud print-enabled printer 104 (S802). The OS313 specification predetermines which setting items will be queried for capability information. Therefore, the capability information obtained at this time is the same as that obtained in S3001 in Figure 3. This query is made to the cloud print-enabled printer 104 using a command of the standard protocol defined by IPP, such as Get-print-Attributes. When using Get-print-Attributes, the capability information determined by OS313 is queried in list format.

[0094] The cloud print service 321 returns capability information for the cloud print-compatible printer 104 to the OS 313 from the list of capability information sent via Get-print-Attributes (S803). For example, suppose the media size attribute is specified with Get-print-Attributes (IPP). If the cloud print service 321 has the media size attribute, it will return the value associated with that attribute (A4, B5, Letter, etc.). If the attribute specified with Get-print-Attributes does not exist in the queue of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 of the cloud print service 321, the cloud print service 321 will not return the associated value. The capability information obtained in S803 is capability information that the OS 313 queries regardless of the type or capability of the printer to which it is connected.

[0095] OS313 updates the device capability information using capability information obtained from the cloud print service 321. OS313 adds the capability information obtained in S803 in Figure 8 to the device capability information generated in S3012 in Figure 3 (S804). If there is an update to the device capability information, the device capability information managed by the client terminal 101 can be updated by performing S803. Note that in the device capability information update in S804, only attribute values ​​defined by industry standard specifications are updated.

[0096] Next, OS313 notifies the print settings extension application 312 of the API used to edit events and device capability information (S805). The timing of this event notification is when the print settings extension application 312 is installed on the OS313 of the client terminal 101.

[0097] When the print settings extension application 312 receives this event, it requests the cloud print service 321 to retrieve capability information. The acquisition of capability information performed here is for writing setting items and attribute values ​​defined by the printer vendor into the device capability information.

[0098] When the print settings extension application 312 receives an event from the OS 313, it queries the cloud print service 321 for capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 (S806). At this time, the print settings extension application 312 queries the cloud print service 321 for capability information of setting items that include printer vendor-specific setting items and printer vendor-specific attribute values. The query is performed using Get-print-Attributes, similar to S802 in Figure 8, and capability information is obtained by specifying the item name of the setting item to be queried as the item name. In this embodiment, it is explained that capability information is obtained for setting items that are uniquely defined by the printer vendor and setting items that include attribute values ​​uniquely defined by the printer vendor in S806. Capability information may also be obtained for setting items that have already been obtained by the OS 313.

[0099] When the cloud print-compatible printer 104 receives a query for proprietary capability information from the print setting extension application 312, it responds to the print setting extension application 312 via the cloud print service 321 (S807). The response method here is the same as that described earlier in Figure 8, S3011. In this embodiment, in S807, the cloud print service 321 responds with the capability information of the cloud print-compatible printer 104 that it has stored. Alternatively, in response to the request in S806, the cloud print service 321 may reacquire the capability information from the cloud print-compatible printer 104 and respond to the client terminal 101.

[0100] The print settings extension application 312, upon obtaining capability information from the cloud print-compatible printer 104, edits the device capability information managed by the OS 313 via a configuration information object. A configuration information object is a set of data necessary for editing device capability information. The print settings extension application 312 cannot directly edit the device capability information held by the OS 313. Therefore, it uses this configuration information object to modify the device capability information held by the OS 313. Capability information such as "stapleless binding" and "save job to printer" obtained in S807 of Figure 8 is converted into device capability information and added to the configuration information object to edit the device capability information (S808). By performing the processing up to S808, the device capability information stores not only capability information related to standard setting items obtained through queries to the OS 313, but also printer vendor-specific setting items and attribute values.

[0101] Next, the print settings extension application 312 passes the edited device capability information to the OS 313 (S809). The OS 313 stores the device capability information obtained from the print settings extension application 312, associating it with the print queue.

[0102] When OS313 updates the device capability information, the object that triggers the display of the UI for the print settings extension application 312 becomes active (S810). The object that triggers the display of the UI for the print settings extension application 312 is, for example, object 1104 in Figure 11. Until the process of S810 is completed, object 1104 is grayed out, and even if the user clicks on it, the print settings screen of the print settings extension application 312 will not be displayed. Once the process of S810 is completed, object 1104 is ungrayed out, and the user can select object 1104. In this way, by disabling operations on object 1104 until the device capability information can be updated, it is possible to control the print settings extension application 312 so that it does not display the print settings screen.

[0103] When the user selects object 1104, the print settings extension application 312 is launched and displays a print settings screen as shown in Figure 10 (S811). This print settings screen is independent of the type of document generation application 315 used.

[0104] If the selected print queue is not associated with the print settings extension application 312, the standard print settings screen pre-installed in OS313 will be displayed as shown in Figure 9(a). On the standard print screen, pressing the advanced settings button 901 will display the advanced print screen shown in Figure 9(b), which allows you to configure settings that cannot be displayed in Figure 9(a). The advanced print screen shown in Figure 9(b) can be scrolled using the scroll bar, and as shown in Figures 9(c) and (d), print settings can be configured for multiple settings supported by OS313. Selecting the OK button 902 will save the configured print settings and return you to Figure 9(a). The Apply button 903 in Figure 9(a) is for saving the print settings, and the Cancel button 904 is for returning to the screen in Figure 11 without saving the print settings. Selecting the OK button 905 will save the print settings and return you to the screen in Figure 11. Note that in Figures 9(a) to (d), it is not possible to set print settings items or attribute values ​​that are uniquely defined by the printer vendor.

[0105] Let's return to the print settings extension application 312. The print settings extension application 312 receives print settings information generated by the OS 313 based on the print settings capability information generated from the device capability information, and displays the extended print settings screen shown in Figure 10(a). The extended print settings screen can be scrolled by operating the scroll bar as shown in Figures 10(a) to (e), and the setting values ​​for various print settings items can be set.

[0106] For example, the output paper size for setting item 1001 in Figure 10 is print setting information generated from psk:PageMediaSize in Figure 6(b). The A4 output paper size option is generated and displayed by the print setting extension application 312 based on the print setting information psk:IOSA4. In this way, the print setting extension application 312 converts device capability information into setting values ​​and displays the extended print settings screen. Because the extended print settings screen is generated from device capability information, including vendor-specific setting information, it allows setting items and values ​​that cannot be set on the screen shown in Figure 9 provided by OS313.

[0107] The user selects object 1002 on the screen shown in Figure 10, which is displayed by the print settings extension application 312. Object 1002 is an object for confirming print settings. The print settings extension application 312 provides a function that allows the user to arbitrarily change the print settings, and saves the changed settings. For example, suppose the user changes the media size from A4 to Letter on the UI. In that case, the print setting information held by the print settings extension application 312 changes from A4 to Letter. When object 1002 is selected, the print settings extension application 312 retrieves the print setting information processed within the print settings screen controls from the print settings screen and passes that print setting information to the OS 313. After passing the print setting information to the OS 313, the print settings extension application 312 terminates the display of the print settings screen shown in Figure 10 (S812). When the processing in S812 is completed, the print settings screen shown in Figure 11 is displayed. At this time, the print settings screen displayed is the screen with the settings set in the print settings extension application 312.

[0108] When the user selects object 1105 on the screen shown in Figure 11, a print command is input to OS 313. OS 313 executes the printing process based on the command input via the document generation application 315 (S813).

[0109] When OS313 is instructed to execute a print job, it generates intermediate data and passes the generated intermediate data and the print settings information edited on the print settings screen to the print settings extension application 312 (S814). Intermediate data is data generated before being converted into print data such as PDL, for example, XPS. Print settings information is also included in this intermediate data.

[0110] The print settings extension application 312 receives intermediate data and print settings information from the OS 313 and generates print data based on the intermediate data and print capability information based on the print settings information (S815). Print data refers to PDL such as a PDF file, and print capability information specifically refers to information that describes print settings information using attribute values ​​defined in IPP.

[0111] After the print settings extension application 312 generates the print data, it passes the generated print data and print capability information to the print queue of OS313 (S816).

[0112] S814-S816 are the processes when the print setting extension application 312, which is associated with the print queue, is installed on the client terminal 101. If the print setting extension application 312 is not installed on the client terminal 101, the client terminal 101 executes the process described later in S816. The OS 313 generates XPS data, edits the page layout, converts the XPS data to a predetermined format, and generates print data and print capability information (S817). The predetermined format is, for example, PDF or PWG-Raster. The OS 313 sends the print data and print capability information received from the print setting extension application 312, or the print data and print capability information generated by the OS 313, to the cloud print service 321 via the print queue (S818).

[0113] The cloud print service 321 transmits the print data and print capability information received from the client terminal 101 to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 (S819). In this embodiment, when the cloud print service 321 receives the print data and print capability information, it transmits the received print data and capability information to the cloud print-compatible printer 104. The cloud print-compatible printer 104 may periodically query the cloud print service 321 to obtain unprinted print data and the corresponding print capability information.

[0114] By doing so, print data reflecting the print settings made using the print settings extension application 312 can be sent to the cloud print-compatible printer 104 via the cloud print service 321.

[0115] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the process of OS313 up to the installation of the print settings extension application on the client terminal 101. The program for executing the process described in this flowchart is stored in the memory unit 214 of the client terminal 101. The process is realized when the CPU 212 executes this program.

[0116] The CPU 212 displays the screen shown in Figure 4 and accepts a printer search command (S1201). When the user selects object 401 in Figure 4, the CPU 212 accepts the printer search command.

[0117] CPU 212 determines whether or not it has stored the access token for the cloud print service 321 (S1202). The client terminal 101 stores an access token for each user who logs into the client terminal 101 to retrieve information from the cloud print service 321. CPU 212 determines whether or not the access token associated with the user logged into the client terminal 101 has been stored. If the access token has been stored, CPU 212 proceeds to S1206, which will be described later. If the access token has not been stored, CPU 212 sends an authentication request to the cloud print service 321 (S1203). Then, CPU 212 receives a URL from the cloud print service 321 that will be used to display a screen in which the user can enter the information required for authentication.

[0118] CPU212 accesses the received URL and displays a screen for entering authentication information (S1204). Authentication information includes, for example, a user ID (user identifier) ​​and a password.

[0119] CPU212 sends the entered authentication information to the cloud print service 321 and obtains an access token (S1205). If authentication to the cloud print service 321 fails, CPU212 cannot obtain an access token and terminates the process shown in Figure 12.

[0120] CPU 212 uses the access token to send a request to the cloud print service 321 to retrieve information about printers registered with the cloud print service 321 (S1206). The cloud print service 321 selects information about printers that can be used by the user identified by the received access token and sends it to the client terminal 101. Here, the printer name and HWID of the printer that are registered in association with the printer that can be used by the user identified by the access token received from the client terminal 101 are sent to the client terminal 101.

[0121] CPU 212 displays printer information obtained from the cloud print service 321 on the display unit of the client terminal 101 (S1207). The display in S1207 results in the printer information being displayed as a list in area 402 of Figure 4.

[0122] CPU212 determines whether printer information has been selected (S1208). CPU212 repeatedly performs the process in S1208 until printer information is selected. If printer information is selected, CPU212 executes the process described in S1209.

[0123] CPU212 sends a request to the cloud print service 321 to obtain the capability information of the selected printer (S1209). Here, it queries the cloud print service 321 about the settings items that have been pre-registered in OS313.

[0124] Based on information obtained from the cloud print service 321, the CPU 212 updates the printer capability information stored in the client terminal 101 and generates a print queue.

[0125] CPU212 sends a request to the online support service 351 to retrieve an extended setup information file (S1211). This request includes the printer's HWID.

[0126] CPU212 determines whether it succeeded in obtaining the extended setup information file (S1212). If it succeeds in obtaining the extended setup information file, CPU212 proceeds to S1213. If it fails to obtain the extended setup information file, CPU212 terminates the process described in Figure 12.

[0127] CPU 212 sends a request to the application management service 331 to retrieve the print settings extension application described in the acquired extended setup information file (S1213). CPU 212 retrieves the application identifier of the print settings extension application from the extended setup information file and sends a request to the application management service 331 to retrieve the said print settings extension application, specifying the retrieved application identifier.

[0128] CPU212 determines whether it succeeded in obtaining the print settings extension application (S1214). If it fails to obtain the print settings extension application, CPU212 terminates the process described in Figure 12. If it succeeds in obtaining the print settings extension application, CPU212 executes the process described in S1215.

[0129] CPU212 installs the acquired print settings extension application and registers the application identifier of the print settings extension application to the print queue. Furthermore, it registers an event to OS313 indicating the timing of the notification. Here, it registers that the print settings extension application should be notified of an event when the print queue associated with the print settings extension application is selected on the print settings screen displayed by the document application.

[0130] The above describes the process of registering the print settings extension application with client terminal 101.

[0131] Next, using Figure 13, we will explain the process of setting print settings and generating print data using the installed print settings extension application. The program for executing the process described in Figure 13 is stored in the print settings extension application 312, and this program is loaded into the memory 213 of the client terminal 101 and executed by the CPU 212.

[0132] The CPU 212 determines whether or not it has received an event notification (S1301). An event is an event issued by the OS 313, which notifies the print settings extension application 312 that the timing registered in S1215 of Figure 12 has occurred. If the CPU 212 has not received an event notification, it repeatedly performs the process described in S1301. If the CPU 212 has received an event notification, it executes the process described in S1302.

[0133] CPU 212 sends a request to the cloud print service 321 to acquire capability information (S1302). CPU 212 sends a request to the cloud print service 321 to acquire capability information for the setting items set in the print setting extension application 312. Here, capability information is also acquired for setting items that were not acquired in S1206 of Figure 12.

[0134] CPU212 determines whether the acquisition of capability information is complete (S1303). If the acquisition of capability information is not complete, CPU212 repeatedly performs the process described in S1303. If the acquisition of capability information is complete, CPU212 executes the process described in S1304.

[0135] CPU212 updates the device capability information with the acquired capability information (S1304). By performing the process in S1304, capability information for setting items that OS313 does not acquire is also stored in the client terminal 101.

[0136] The CPU 212 determines whether or not the print settings screen display command has been received by the print settings extension application (S1307). The command to display the print settings screen by the print settings extension application is a command issued based on user operations such as selecting object 1104 in Figure 11. If the command to display the print settings screen has not been received, the CPU 212 proceeds to S1309. If the command to display the print settings screen has been received, the CPU 212 executes the process described in S1306.

[0137] Based on the printer device information updated in S1304, CPU212 displays the print settings screen shown in Figure 10 (S1306). Then, it accepts user input to select setting values ​​via the displayed print settings screen.

[0138] CPU212 determines whether or not an instruction has been given to terminate the display of the print settings screen by the print settings extension application (S1307). If no instruction has been given to terminate the display of the print settings screen, CPU212 performs the process described in S1307. If an instruction has been given to terminate the display of the print settings screen, CPU212 executes the process described in S1308.

[0139] CPU212 edits the print settings information using the settings selected on the print settings screen displayed by the print settings extension application (S1308). Then, CPU212 terminates the display of the print settings screen by the print settings extension application.

[0140] CPU212 determines whether the print settings extension application 312 has received intermediate data from OS313 (S1309). If intermediate data has not been received, CPU212 returns to S1305. If intermediate data has been received, it proceeds to S1310.

[0141] The CPU 212 generates print data and print capability information based on the intermediate data received by the print setting extension application 312 (S1310). The CPU 212 generates image data in a predetermined format based on the intermediate data and print setting information. The CPU 212 also generates print capability information, which is described using attribute values ​​defined in IPP, based on the print setting information. In addition to the attribute values ​​defined in IPP, the print capability information can also contain freely described information. Therefore, setting items and attribute values ​​uniquely defined by the printer vendor can also be described in the print capability information.

[0142] CPU212 provides the generated print data to OS313 (S1312). OS313 sends the data received via the print queue to the cloud print service 321.

[0143] The above is a flowchart illustrating the process of setting print settings using the print settings extension application 312 and generating print data and print capability information.

[0144] By performing the above process, when selecting a print queue associated with a general-purpose cloud printer driver or a local printer driver and sending print data, it becomes possible to set the values ​​of the printer vendor's unique settings.

[0145] <Other Embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by performing the following process: supplying software (programs) that realize the functions of the embodiments described above to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and having the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of that system or device read and execute the program code. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium storing the computer program constitute the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an information processing device, A first acquisition step involves acquiring first capability information of the printer through communication in accordance with the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), A second acquisition step of acquiring second capability information specified by a print setting application that cooperates with the operating system (OS) of the information processing device having a general-purpose printer driver, A first display step involves including the first capability information and the second capability information in the device capability information of the printer, and then displaying a predetermined object in a state where it can be selected. A second display step in which, in response to the selection of the predetermined object, the print settings application is executed to display an object for which the setting values ​​included in the second capability information can be set, A transmission step of sending information based on the setting values ​​set via the object to the printer via the cloud print service, It has, A control method characterized in that the first capability information and the second capability information are obtained from the cloud printing service.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that the device capability information is PrintDeviceCapabilities.

3. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined object is displayed on the print settings screen of a document generation application that displays data to be printed.

4. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined object is an object whose selection is disabled by user operation until the first capability information and the second capability information are included in the device capability information of the printer.

5. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined object is displayed in a grayed-out state until the first capability information and the second capability information are included in the device capability information of the printer.

6. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first acquisition step and the second acquisition step are performed in response to the selection of the printer on the print settings screen of a document generation application that displays the data to be printed.

7. An information processing device, A first acquisition step involves acquiring first capability information of the printer through communication in accordance with the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), A second acquisition step of acquiring second capability information specified by a print setting application that cooperates with the operating system (OS) of the information processing device having a general-purpose printer driver, A first display step involves including the first capability information and the second capability information in the device capability information of the printer, and then displaying a predetermined object in a state where it can be selected. A second display step in which, in response to the selection of the predetermined object, the print settings application is executed to display an object for which the setting values ​​included in the second capability information can be set, A transmission step of sending information based on the setting values ​​set via the object to the printer via the cloud print service, Perform An information processing device characterized in that the first capability information and the second capability information are obtained from the cloud print service.

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