JP5943761B2 - Peripheral device, information processing device, communication control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a peripheral device, an information processing device, a communication control method, and a program.

In recent years, peripheral device control systems in which peripheral devices are connected to information processing devices using various interfaces such as USB, Ethernet (registered trademark), and wireless LAN have been effectively used in various situations such as homes and offices. ing. Examples of the peripheral device include a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a digital camera, and a complex machine of these.
A cloud printing service called Google Cloud Print (registered trademark, hereinafter abbreviated as GCP) is provided by Google Inc. for printers and multifunction peripherals of such peripheral devices. When using the cloud printing service, a user activates (uses) a document creation application from a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a PC) or a mobile device, and prints the document with a printer or a multifunction device via the Internet. It is possible. The printing procedure using GCP is as follows.

(1) A user performs an operation of opening a document using a document creation application provided in the PC.
(2) In order to print the document with a printer, the user opens a print dialog, selects the printer, and performs an operation to execute printing.
(3) A document creation application generates a print image as a PDF file.
(4) GCP generates a print job from the print setting value selected in the print dialog and the PDF file, stores the print job in a print queue assigned to the printer in GCP, and notifies the printer of the print job Send.
(5) Upon receiving the print job notification, the printer acquires the print job and prints the print image of the PDF file according to the print setting value.

For example, in the case of a printer or multifunction device capable of rendering a PDF file, the printer or multifunction device can print using GCP according to the above procedure. However, in the case of a low-priced printer or multifunction peripheral that cannot render a PDF file, the low-priced printer or multifunction peripheral cannot print the print image of the PDF file in (5).
A web service (image conversion) that converts a PDF file into an image format that can be printed by a low-priced printer or multifunction device such as a JPEG file in order to print using GCP with such a low-priced printer or multifunction device. Service) exists. Then, a peripheral device control system has been proposed in which a PDF file is converted into a JPEG file using an image conversion service application and printed by an inexpensive printer or multifunction device.

  Further, there is Patent Document 1 as another technique related to a print Web service. In the print service described in Patent Document 1, printing is performed by a printer installed at an arbitrary place using the following method. This is realized by a method in which print reservations, data, and printable application information are exchanged between print environment sharing services deployed in various locations, and a printable print location is presented to the user. According to Patent Literature 1, a user can print with a printer installed at an arbitrary place in a remote place.

JP 2005-100340 A

In the peripheral device control system as described above, an application for a Web service (proxy service) that manages a plurality of printers and provides a cloud print proxy service for supporting GCP is required.
Then, between the proxy service application and the image conversion service application, confirmation processing of the progress status of the image conversion processing by polling is performed. In addition, in order to check whether there is a print job for which a low-priced printer or multifunction device has been issued and is ready for printing, polling is required between the printer or multifunction device and the cloud print proxy service. Processing for confirming the presence or absence of a print job is performed.
The interface between the services described above, and the interface between each service and a low-priced printer or multifunction peripheral is defined by the Web service API, and usually uses the HTTPS POST method and GET method encrypted by SSL communication. ing. Security is ensured by such encrypted communication.
In this case, encryption at the time of information transmission and decryption at the time of information reception will take a lot of time, and the load of communication processing will increase, so when using the cloud system construction and application There is a problem that it will interfere with the implementation of.
In addition, there are problems that impede the implementation of firmware for low-priced low-performance printers and multi-function machines, and there is a problem that the operability of the user is also deteriorated, such as taking time for each process.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to more appropriately perform communication between apparatuses.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a communicably connected peripheral device and the management device, the confirmation information used in the peripheral device prior Symbol management apparatus confirms whether the information should be acquired Has a communication means for transmitting to the management apparatus using a communication method that does not perform encryption, and transmitting the acquired information for acquiring a print job different from the confirmation information to the management apparatus using a communication method that performs encryption. It is characterized by that.

  The present invention may be a system, a storage medium, and the like.

  According to the present invention, communication between devices can be performed more appropriately.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a peripheral device control system. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a PC and an MFP. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the software of PC. It is a figure which shows an example of a web browser. It is a figure which shows an example of a print dialog. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of the whole peripheral device control system. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of the whole peripheral device control system. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of the whole peripheral device control system. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of proxy APP. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of image conversion APP. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of image conversion APP. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of image conversion APP. It is a figure which shows an example of a calling sequence. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing for registering a printer. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on the process of the whole peripheral device control system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments do not limit the present invention, and all the configurations described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the present invention.

In the following, there is a case where an HTTPS POST method (an example of a communication method) encrypted by SSL communication is used for the Web service API. However, since this POST method is publicly available information, here Then, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the following, an HTTP GET method (an example of a communication method) may be used for the Web service API. Since this GET method is publicly available information, a detailed description thereof will be given here. Is omitted.
In the following, an HTTPS GET method (an example of a communication method) encrypted by SSL communication may be used for the Web service API. However, since this GET method is publicly available information. Detailed description thereof is omitted here.
HTTP is an abbreviation for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol and is a well-known unencrypted communication protocol, and therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

HTTPS is an abbreviation for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer, and is a well-known encrypted communication protocol, and therefore detailed description thereof is omitted here.
SSL is an abbreviation for Secure Socket Layer, and is a known method for encrypting and transmitting / receiving data on the Internet, and therefore detailed description thereof is omitted here.
In addition, since the description regarding Google Cloud Print (GCP) is disclosed on the following site, the detailed description thereof is omitted here.
Internet URL: http://code.google.com/apis/cloudprint/docs/overview.html

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example (peripheral device control system) of a system including an information processing device and a peripheral device. Each of PC1, PC2, PC5, and PC7 is an example of an information processing apparatus (computer), and is, for example, a general personal computer. Each of PC1, PC2, PC5, and PC7 is configured to include the hardware shown in FIG.
An OS equivalent to Chrome (registered trademark) manufactured by Google Inc. is installed in the PC 1 as an operating system (hereinafter abbreviated as OS). In addition, Windows (registered trademark) Server OS made by Microsoft Corporation is installed in each of the PC 2 and PC 5, and an OS equivalent to Linux (registered trademark) is installed in the PC 7. The PC 1, PC 2, PC 5, and PC 7 are connected to networks 4, 8, 10, and 6, each of which includes an interface (I / F) such as Ethernet, and are also connected to the Internet 12.

Multifunction printers (hereinafter abbreviated as MFPs) 3 and 103 are configured to include a color inkjet printer, a color facsimile, a color scanner, an external storage for flash memory, and the like, and are examples of peripheral devices (computers). MFPs 3 and 103 are MFPs having a model name of Kmmn manufactured by ABC. The peripheral device may be a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a digital camera, a device having a composite function thereof, or the like.
Each of the MFP 3 and the MFP 103 is configured to include hardware shown in FIG. The MFP 3 is connected to a network 11 configured by Ethernet and is also connected to the Internet 12. The MFP 103 is connected to a network 104 configured by Ethernet, and is also connected to the Internet 12.

The router (Router) 13 is a broadband router (Wi-Fi BB Router) equipped with a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) wireless LAN, and is connected to the Internet 12. The mobile device (Mobile Device) 14 is a mobile phone, a mobile information terminal, or the like. The mobile device 14 is connected to the router 13 and is also connected to the Internet 12 via the router 13.
The PC 1, PC 2, PC 5, PC 7, mobile device 14, MFP 3, and MFP 103 are capable of bidirectional communication with each other via the Internet 12 (connected so as to be communicable). A Web browser (Web Browser) 9 is installed on the PC 1, and the Web browser 15 is installed on the mobile device 14.

The application (Application) 145 is an application for creating a document using a Web service, and is hereinafter referred to as a document creation APP 145. The application (Application) 146 is an application that provides a cloud print service using a Web service, and is hereinafter referred to as a cloud print APP 146.
The cloud printing APP 146 has a function equivalent to, for example, GCP provided by Google. By using this cloud printing service, the document creation APP 145 can be executed from the Web browser 9 in the PC 1 or the Web browser 15 in the mobile device, a certain document can be opened, and the document can be printed by the MFP 3 or the MFP 103. It becomes like this.

For example, when the user prints an open document, when the print menu 401 shown in FIG. 4 is selected, the cloud printing APP 146 displays a print dialog 142 shown in FIG. When the user selects a printer in the print dialog 142 and presses the print button 534 to instruct execution of printing, the document creation APP 145 generates a print image as a PDF file.
The cloud print APP 146 generates a print job from the print image (PDF file) and the print setting value selected in the print dialog 142, and prints the print job in the print queue for the selected printer in the cloud print service. Store the job. Further, the cloud print APP 146 transmits a print job notification to the printer (in the example of the present embodiment described later, proxy APP 143).
When the printer or MFP has a function of rendering a PDF file, the printer or MFP can print a print job stored in the print queue. However, many inexpensive inkjet printers and MFPs do not have a function for rendering PDF files by the printer or MFP. Therefore, when printing a print job stored in the print queue with such a printer, the print image of the PDF file is converted into an image format of a type that can be rendered with a low-priced printer such as a JPEG file ( An example of pre-processing) is required.

The application (Application) 143 is an application that provides a cloud print proxy service for causing the MFP 3 and the MFP 103 to correspond to the cloud print service provided by the cloud print APP 146. Hereinafter, the proxy APP 143 is referred to. The proxy APP 143 installed on the PC 2 can manage 5000 printers and MFPs at a time, and can make each printer and MFP correspond to a cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146.
The application 144 is an application that provides an image conversion service for converting a PDF file into a JPEG file, and is hereinafter referred to as an image conversion APP 144.

Here, in order to use the cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146, login using a user account and a password is required. Then, when registering a printer or MFP that can be used for printing in the cloud printing service, the cloud printing APP 146 first acquires an access token for using the cloud printing service by using the user account and password. . Then, the cloud printing APP 146 uses the acquired access token to register the printer or MFP in association with the user account.
In addition, when registering a printer or MFP, the cloud printing APP 146 issues and assigns a printer ID represented by a unique value to each printer or MFP, and notifies the printer or the like to be registered of the printer ID. A detailed description of the process related to registration of the printer or the like is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the PC and the MFP. Each of PC1, PC2, PC5, and PC7 is configured to include the hardware shown in FIG. In FIG. 2A, description will be given by taking PC2 as an example.
The PC 2 includes a random access memory unit (RAM 201), a hard disk drive unit (HDD 202), a keyboard unit (KBD 203), a CPU 204, a display for display (LCD 205), and a network board (NB 207). The PC 2 includes a bus 206 that connects the above-described components to each other.

The HDD 202 is an example of a storage unit. The storage unit may be a portable CD-ROM or a ROM installed therein. The KBD 203 is an example of an input unit. The CPU 204 is an example of a control unit. The LCD 205 is an example of a display unit. The NB 207 is an example of a communication control unit.
Programs such as the proxy APP 143 and each module (software) shown in FIG. 3 are stored in the HDD 202, and are read into the RAM 201 and executed by the CPU 204 as necessary. Thereby, the function of the proxy APP 143, the function of each module (software) shown in FIG. 3, and the like are realized. Various databases (DB) are provided in the HDD 202, and database information is read by the CPU 204 to the RAM 201 as necessary.

Each of the MFP 3 and the MFP 103 is configured to include hardware shown in FIG. In FIG. 2B, the MFP 3 will be described as an example.
The CPU 25 is composed of a microprocessor or the like. As a central processing unit of the MFP 3, the CPU 25 is a RAM 17, a communication unit 18, a recording unit 19, an operation unit 20, a display unit 21, a reading unit 22, a facsimile control unit 23, and an external storage control according to a program stored in the ROM 16. The unit 24 is controlled.
The ROM 16 stores programs for executing recording (printing) processing performed by the MFP 3 in accordance with control by a printer driver (not shown), processing for notifying the PC of the status of the printing operation, and the like. The ROM 16 stores a program for executing processing for the MFP 3 to perform facsimile transmission processing or reception processing and processing for notifying the PC of the status of facsimile operation (transmission or reception) according to control by a FAX driver (not shown). . Further, the ROM 16 stores a program for executing an image reading process performed by the MFP 3 according to control by a WIA driver (not shown) or a TWAIN driver (not shown) and a process for notifying the PC of the state of the reading operation.

The RAM 17 temporarily stores print data. The print data is mainly sent from the PC and printed by the recording unit 19 based on the print data. The RAM 17 also temporarily stores image data read by the reading unit 22, facsimile transmission data sent from the PC, facsimile reception data received by the facsimile control unit 23, and the like.
The communication unit 18 includes a connection port for the network 4, a connection port for an analog telephone line, and the like, and controls Ethernet and facsimile analog communication. The recording unit 19 includes an inkjet recording head, a recording unit including each color ink, a carriage, a recording paper conveyance mechanism, and the like, an ASIC for generating a printing pulse in the recording head based on the printing data, and the like. And an electric circuit composed of

For example, the display contents (image data) of a file opened in the application by a printing operation on a printable application or a facsimile transmission operation are temporarily stored in the HDD 202 of the PC 2 as an EMF format spool file. The The spool file is converted into print data including an MFP3 control command or facsimile transmission data via a printer driver or FAX driver, and then sent to the MFP 3 via the Internet.
The print data received by the MFP 3 is converted into print pulses by the recording unit 19 and printed on the recording paper. The facsimile transmission data received by the MFP 3 is converted into a facsimile communication protocol by the facsimile control unit 23 and transmitted to the facsimile machine of the other party via an analog telephone line.

The operation unit 20 includes various buttons such as a power button and a reset button, and accepts operations on the MFP 3. The display unit 21 is configured by a liquid crystal display of a touch panel, and can display the status of the MFP 3, display various setting information and telephone numbers, input, and the like. The reading unit 22 includes an electric circuit including a color image sensor, an ASIC for image processing, and the like, and controls the scanner function.
The facsimile control unit 23 includes a facsimile modem, an analog communication circuit, and the like, and controls facsimile transmission and reception according to a facsimile communication protocol. The external storage control unit 24 includes a slot for installing a flash memory, an interface circuit for storage, and the like, and controls the installed flash memory.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the PC. In FIG. 3, the description will be given by taking the PC 2 as an example. The I / F 92 is an I / F control stack that controls an I / F such as Ethernet. The IP network 91 is an IP network control stack that controls the IP network.
The Internet Information Services (IIS) 90 is an IIS control unit that controls IIS, and the application 150 provides a Web service by using the Web server function of the IIS control unit. JAVA (registered trademark) Virtual Machine (Java VM) 89 is software that converts Java bytecode into platform native code and executes it, and proxy APP143 is executed on JAVA VM89.
Applications 82 are an application group, and are composed of a proxy APP 143, an application 150, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the Web browser 9 provided by the document creation APP 145 of the PC 1. FIG. 4 shows a state in which a certain document is opened.
A print menu 401 accepts various operations related to printing. For example, when the user operates the input unit such as KBD 203 (user operation) and presses the print menu 401 when printing an open document, a print dialog 142 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print dialog 142. The print dialog 142 is controlled by the cloud print APP 146 as a print setting screen for the MFPs 3 and 103 for the user. The print dialog 142 is displayed on the Web browser using the Web browsers 9 and 15.
Each of the printer options 535, 536, and 537 is a selectable printer option. The printer options 535, 536, and 537 are options corresponding to a printer having a model name of AkbNmb manufactured by GHI, an MFP (MFP3) having a model name of Kmmn manufactured by ABC, and a printer having a model name of Xyz manufactured by DEF, respectively. Represents. FIG. 5 shows a state where the printer option 536 representing the MFP 3 is selected.

The paper size selection unit 530 selects a paper size to be printed by the MFP 3 from the following options according to a user operation. FIG. 5 shows a state in which Letter is selected.
Paper size options: A5, A4, B5, Letter
A paper type selection unit 531 selects a paper type to be printed by the MFP 3 from the following options according to a user operation. FIG. 5 shows a state in which Plain Paper is selected.
Paper type choices: Plain Paper, Photo Paper, Postcard

The print quality selection unit 532 selects a print quality to be printed by the MFP 3 from the following options according to a user operation. FIG. 5 shows a state where Standard is selected.
Print quality options: High, Standard, Fast
A color / density selection unit 533 selects a color or density to be printed by the MFP 3 from the following options according to a user operation. FIG. 5 shows a state where Auto is selected.
Print quality options: Auto, Manual
The print button 534 receives an instruction to start printing. When the print button 534 is pressed by a user operation, the cloud print APP 146 generates a print job for the MFP 3 associated with the printer option 536. A close button 538 receives an instruction to close the print dialog 142. When the close button 538 is pressed by a user operation, the cloud print APP 146 closes the print dialog 142.

6, 7, and 8 are diagrams illustrating examples of flowcharts related to processing of the entire peripheral device control system. The programs according to these flowcharts are incorporated in the PC or MFP. A program of an application operating on the PC is stored in the HDD 202, and is read out and executed by the CPU 204 in the RAM 201. A program of an application operating on the MFP is stored in the ROM 16, read out to the RAM 17, and executed by the CPU 25.
In these flowcharts, vertical columns represent processing execution sources, and in this embodiment, a user (Web browser 9), document creation APP 145, cloud printing APP 146, proxy APP 143, image conversion APP 144, and MFP 3 are described from the left side of the drawing. . Hereinafter, the communication control method will be described by taking as an example a case where a user prints a document with the MFP 3 using the PC 1 (a series of processes related to document printing).

First, a configuration in which the MFP 3 polls a print job will be described using S617 to S621. In FIG. 6, step S617 is a step representing the start of document printing as viewed from the MFP 3 for convenience. Note that this step does not affect the execution of processing in the MFP 3 at all, but merely represents the start of this flowchart.
In step S <b> 618, the MFP 3 calls the CheckPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the proxy APP 143. Information (an example of confirmation information) that is passed to the proxy APP 143 as a query parameter of the HTTP GET request when the MFP 3 calls this function in S618 is the following information.
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Random code In addition, the timing of calling the CheckPrintJob function is arbitrary, and is a form of polling that calls regularly, but is not limited to this form. For example, it may be configured to call when specified by the user. Further, the confirmation information included in the query parameter is not limited to the printer ID and the random code.

The random code is an arbitrary 32-bit value generated by the MFP 3. When the CheckPrintJob function is called, the proxy APP 143 executes processing of the CheckPrintJob function described later with reference to FIG. 9A and returns a response (an example of response information) to the MFP 3 (S619).
Subsequently, when receiving the response of the CheckPrintJob function from the proxy APP 143, the MFP 3 confirms the information (“response with print job” or “response without print job”) included in the response message (S620). . In S620, if the MFP 3 determines that the “print job present response” has been received, the process proceeds to S708 in FIG. 7. On the other hand, if the MFP 3 determines that the “print job absent response” is received, the process proceeds to S621. .
In S621, the MFP 3 waits for a certain time (1 minute in the present embodiment), and then moves the process to S618. In this way, the MFP 3 polls the CheckPrintJob function exported by the proxy APP 143 at regular time intervals (periodically).

Next, document printing processing will be described. Here, step S601 is a step representing the start of document printing when viewed from the user side for convenience. This step does not affect the user operation or the execution of the application at all, but merely represents the start of this flowchart.
First, the user activates the Web browser 9, accesses the URL of the document creation APP 145, and logs in. When the user designates a certain document and gives an instruction to open the document, the Web browser 9 calls the OpenDocument function of the Web service API exported by the document creation APP 145 using the document as an input parameter ( S602).
When the OpenDocument function is called, the document creation APP 145 opens the document specified by the input parameter and transmits the information to the Web browser 9 (S603). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the document is opened on the Web browser 9 via the document creation APP 145.

When the user presses the print menu 401 to print the document, the information is notified to the document creation APP 145 via the Web browser 9 (S604). Upon receiving this notification, the document creation APP 145 calls the Print Dialog function of the Web service API exported by the cloud print APP 146 (S605).
When the Print Dialog function is called, the cloud print APP 146 opens the print dialog 142 and transmits the information to the Web browser 9 (S606). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a print dialog 142 is displayed on the Web browser 9.

The user operates the input unit to select a printer for printing from among a plurality of printer options (the printer option 536 associated with the MFP 3 in the example of FIG. 5), and the desired setting from each print setting value. A value is selected and the print button 534 is pressed. When the print button 534 is pressed, the document creation APP 145 is notified of information indicating a print start request from the user and information regarding the print setting value via the Web browser 9 (S607).
The information regarding the print setting value is, for example, a URL in which a print setting file (XML file) in which the print setting value selected by the user is written is stored. Upon receiving this notification, the document creation APP 145 generates a print image as a PDF file. Then, the document creation APP 145 calls the SubmitPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the cloud print APP 146 using the generated PDF file, information on the print setting value, and the like as input parameters (S608).

When the SubmitPrintJob function is called, the cloud print APP 146 generates a print job based on the PDF file specified by the input parameter, information on the print setting value, and the like. Then, the cloud print APP 146 transmits a print job notification to the printer associated with the selected printer option (in this example, the proxy APP 143 because the MFP 3 requires image format conversion) (S609).
The print job includes at least the following information (hereinafter referred to as print job information).

-Print job ID issued by cloud print APP146
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Access token for using the cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146-URL where the print setting file (XML file) in which the print setting value is written is stored
-URL for storing the print image (PDF file)
·Time stamp

When the proxy APP 143 receives the print job notification, the proxy APP 143 calls the FetchPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the cloud print APP 146 (S610). When the FetchPrintJob function is called, the cloud print APP 146 transmits information (print job information) included in the print job generated in S609 to the proxy APP 143 (S611).
When the proxy APP 143 receives the print job information, the proxy APP 143 acquires necessary information from the print job information, and stores the acquired information and information necessary for other control in the print job management database (S612). Then, the proxy APP 143 calls the CreatePrintJobSet function of the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144 (S612).

In S612, when the proxy APP 143 calls this function, information (an example of pre-processing information) to be passed to the image conversion APP 144 as an input parameter of the HTTPS POST request is the following information.
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Print job ID issued by cloud print APP146
-Access token for using the cloud printing service-URL for storing the print image (PDF file)

In S612, the following information is stored in the print job management database.
[Print Job Management Database]
Search key: Print job ID issued by cloud print APP 146
-Access token for using the cloud print service-URL for storing the print setting file (XML file)
-URL for storing the print image (PDF file)
Access token for image conversion APP 144 Print job access URL (URL of JPEG file storage destination)
-The total number of pages of the print image (JPEG file)-Print job preparation complete (PrintJobReady) (0: incomplete, 1: complete)

At this time, the proxy APP 143 sets “0” as an initial value indicating that the print job preparation is not completed in the print job preparation completion (PrintJobReady). Further, the proxy APP 143 sets an initial value “0” to the total number of pages of the print image (JPEG file).
When the CreatePrintJobSet function is called, the image conversion APP 144 executes the process of the CreatePrintJobSet function, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 10A, and returns the response to the proxy APP 143 (S613). This response includes the session ID issued by the image conversion APP 144.
When the proxy APP 143 receives the response of the CreatePrintJobSet function from the image conversion APP 144, the proxy APP 143 calls the Confirm Progress function of the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144 (S614). In S614, when the proxy APP 143 calls this function, information (an example of confirmation information) to be passed to the image conversion APP 144 as a query parameter of the HTTP GET request is the following information.

・ Session ID
Sequence The session ID is information included in the response of the CreatePrintJobSet function, and the sequence is an arbitrary number generated by the proxy APP 143.

When the ConfirmProgress function is called, the image conversion APP 144 executes the process of the ConfirmProgress function, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 11A, and returns a response (an example of response information) to the proxy APP 143 (S615).
When the proxy APP 143 receives the response of the ConfirmProgress function from the image conversion APP 144, the proxy APP 143 confirms the content (“processing response”, “processing completion response”, or “error response”) included in the response message in the response. (S616). If it is determined in S616 that the proxy APP 143 has received the “processing completion response”, the process proceeds to S701 in FIG. 7. If it is determined that the “response in process” has been received, the process proceeds to S614.

If an error has occurred in the download / image conversion thread processing of the image conversion APP 144, which will be described later with reference to FIG.
However, the case where the error ends is out of the essence of the present embodiment, and the detailed description thereof is omitted. Therefore, in and after S616, the case where the proxy APP 143 receives the “processing completion response” or the “processing response” will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 7, in S701, the proxy APP 143 calls the CreatePrintJobResult function of the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144. In S701, when the proxy APP 143 calls this function, information (an example of location acquisition information) passed to the image conversion APP 144 as an input parameter of the HTTPS POST request is the following information.
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Print job ID issued by cloud print APP146

When the CreatePrintJobResult function is called, the image conversion APP 144 executes the process of the CreatePrintJobResult function described later with reference to FIG. 12, and returns the response to the proxy APP 143 (S702).
When the proxy APP 143 receives the CreatePrintJobResult function response from the image conversion APP 144, the proxy APP 143 sets “1” to PrintJobReady (S <b> 703). Then, the proxy APP 143 sets “1” representing the print job preparation completion to the print job preparation completion (PrintJobReady) of the print job management database (S703). As a result, the MFP 3 enters a print waiting state (S704).

As described above with reference to S618 to S621 in FIG. 6, the MFP 3 polls the CheckPrintJob function exported by the proxy APP 143 at regular intervals, and S705 represents processing equivalent to S618.
A case will be described in which when the MFP 3 is in a print waiting state in S704, the MFP 3 calls the CheckPrintJob function exported by the proxy APP 143 in S705. When the CheckPrintJob function is called, the proxy APP 143 executes processing of the CheckPrintJob function described later with reference to FIG. 9A, and returns a response to the MFP 3 (S706).

When the MFP 3 receives the response of the CheckPrintJob function from the proxy APP 143, the MFP 3 confirms the content (“response with print job” or “response without print job”) included in the response message (S707). If it is determined in S707 that the MFP 3 has received a “print job present response”, the process proceeds to S708. On the other hand, if it is determined that a “print job absent response” has been received, the process proceeds to S621.
In S708, the MFP 3 calls the GetPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the proxy APP 143. In S708, when the MFP 3 calls this function, information (an example of acquired information) to be passed to the proxy APP 143 as a query parameter of the HTTPS GET request is the following information.
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146

When the GetPrintJob function is called, the proxy APP 143 executes processing of the GetPrintJob function described later with reference to FIG. 9B, and returns a response to the MFP 3 (S709).
Upon receiving the GetPrintJob function response from the proxy APP 143, the MFP 3 transmits a print image acquisition request to the image conversion APP 144 based on the content included in the response message in the response (S710).
Here, the contents included in the response message in the response include the print job access URL (the URL where the print image (JPEG file) is stored), the total number of pages of the print image (JPEG file), and the image conversion APP 144. Access token. The print image acquisition request is a request for acquiring a print image (JPEG file) of each page from the image conversion APP 144.
In this embodiment, the print job access URL is the storage destination URL of the PC 5 having the image conversion App 144, but may be the storage destination URL of other PCs. For example, the print job access URL may be transmitted directly from the PC 5. Further, for example, the PC 2 having the proxy App 143 may acquire the print image of the designated page from the PC 5, and the PC 2 may transmit the acquired print image to the MFP 3. Further, for example, the PC 2 may send the URL of the storage location of the acquired print image to the MFP 3.

When the image conversion APP 144 receives the print image acquisition request from the MFP 3, the image conversion APP 144 permits access from the MFP 3 to the print image (JPEG file) of the specified page, and transmits the print image to the MFP 3 (S711).
Upon receiving the print image transmitted from the image conversion APP 144, the MFP 3 prints the print image (S712). Subsequently, the MFP 3 confirms the presence / absence of the next page based on the total number of pages of the print image (JPEG file) (S713). At this time, if the MFP 3 determines that there is a next page, the process proceeds to S710, and a print image acquisition request for acquiring the print image of the next page is transmitted to the image conversion APP 144. On the other hand, if the MFP 3 determines that there is no next page, the process proceeds to S801 in FIG.
For the print image (JPEG file) acquisition process in S710 to S712, an HTTPS GET method encrypted by SSL communication is used.

As shown in FIG. 8, in S801, the MFP 3 calls an EndPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the proxy APP 143. For the call of the EndPrintJob function, an HTTPS GET method encrypted by SSL communication is used. In S801, when the MFP 3 calls this function, information (an example of end information) to be passed to the proxy APP 143 as a query parameter of the HTTPS GET request is the following information.
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Print job ID issued by cloud print APP146

When the EndPrintJob function is called (S802), the proxy APP 143 calls the JobCompleted function of the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144 (S803).
In S803, when the proxy APP 143 calls this function, information (an example of job processing end information) to be passed to the image conversion APP 144 as an input parameter of the HTTPS POST request is the following information.
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Print job ID issued by cloud print APP146

When the JobCompleted function is called, the image conversion APP 144 executes processing of the JobCompleted function described later with reference to FIG. 11B, and returns a response to the proxy APP 143 (S804).
When the proxy APP 143 receives the response of the JobCompleted function from the image conversion APP 144, the proxy APP 143 deletes information related to the print job from the print job management database, and updates the print job management database (S805). Then, the proxy APP 143 ends the document printing process (S806).

Next, Web service API processing exported by the proxy APP 143 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing of the CheckPrintJob function. FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to the processing of the GetPrintJob function.
For the CheckPrintJob function, the HTTP GET method is used. As for the GetPrintJob function, an HTTPS GET method encrypted by SSL communication is used. The programs according to these flowcharts are incorporated in the PC 2, stored in the HDD 202, read out to the RAM 201 by the CPU 204 and executed.

In S618 of FIG. 6 and S705 of FIG. 7, when the MFP 3 calls the CheckPrintJob function, the proxy APP 143 executes processing of the CheckPrintJob function shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9A, when the proxy APP 143 starts the processing of the CheckPrintJob function (S901), the proxy APP143 confirms the completion of print job preparation (PrintJobReady) in the print job management database (S902). In step S <b> 901, the printer ID and random code issued by the cloud print APP 146 are passed from the MFP 3 as query parameters for the HTTP GET request.
When the proxy APP 143 determines that “1” indicating that the print job preparation is completed is set in the print job preparation completion (PrintJobReady), that is, the MFP 3 has a print job (YES in step S903). , The process is moved to S904. On the other hand, if the proxy APP 143 determines that “0” indicating that the print job preparation has not been completed is set, that is, the MFP 3 print job does not exist (NO in S903), the process proceeds to S905. Move.

In S904, the proxy APP 143 sets “response with print job” to the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTP GET request, and moves the process to S906. In step S905, the proxy APP 143 sets “no print job response” in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTP GET request, and the process proceeds to step S906.
In step S906, the proxy APP 143 transmits a response message to the GET request issuer (MFP3 in this example), and ends the CheckPrintJob function processing (S907).

Details of the “print job presence response” and the “print job absence response” will be described here. The information indicating the presence of a print job and the information indicating the absence of a print job are “10101010” and “01010101”, respectively.
“Print job presence response” and “Print job absence response” are the results calculated using random codes and information indicating these states, respectively. For example, the following information is converted into a character string. Consists of column information.
“Response with print job” = Random code XOR 10101010
“No print job response” = Random code XOR 01010101

In this way, by using character string information that does not generally have a meaning rather than visible information defined using XML as a response to an HTTP GET request, malfunction or illegal control due to unauthorized access to the Web service API Can be prevented.
Note that the configuration for preventing such unauthorized access is not limited to this example, and more complicated operations such as hashing may be combined.

When the MFP 3 calls the GetPrintJob function in S708 of FIG. 7, the proxy APP 143 executes the process of the GetPrintJob function shown in FIG. 9B.
As shown in FIG. 9B, the proxy APP 143 starts processing of the GetPrintJob function (S911). Then, the proxy APP 143 sets the URL of the storage destination of the print image (JPEG file) in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTPS GET request (S912), and moves the process to S913.

In S913, the proxy APP 143 sets the total number of pages of the print image (JPEG file) in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTPS GET request, and moves the process to S914. In S914, the proxy APP 143 sets the access token to the image conversion APP 144 in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTPS GET request, and moves the process to S915.
In S915, the proxy APP 143 transmits a response message to the GET request issuer (MFP3 in this example), and ends the processing of the GetPrintJob function (S916).

Next, the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144 and the thread function processing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing of the CreatePrintJobSet function. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing of the download / image conversion thread function. As for the CreatePrintJobSet function, an HTTPS POST method encrypted by SSL communication is used.
The programs according to these flowcharts are incorporated in the PC 5 and stored in the HDD 202, and are read into the RAM 201 by the CPU 204 and executed.

When the proxy APP 143 calls the CreatePrintJobSet function in S612 of FIG. 6, the image conversion APP 144 executes the process of the CreatePrintJobSet function shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10A, the image conversion APP 144 starts processing of the CreatePrintJobSet function (S1001). Then, the image conversion APP 144 generates a session ID, stores it in the session management database (S1002), and shifts the processing to S1003. The session management database stores the following information.

[Session Management Database]
Search key: Session ID issued by the image conversion APP 144
・ Printer ID issued by Cloud Print APP146
-Print job ID issued by cloud print APP146
-Access token for using the cloud printing service-URL for storing the print image (PDF file)
Access token for image conversion APP 144 Print job access URL (URL of JPEG file storage destination)
・ Progress status indicating progress of processing (Progress)

Here, the image conversion APP 144 acquires the printer ID and print job ID issued by the cloud print APP 146 from the input parameters of the CreatePrintJobSet function. Then, the image conversion APP 144 stores the printer ID and print job ID issued by the cloud print APP 146 in the session management database.
Also, the image conversion APP 144 acquires an access token for using the cloud print service from the input parameters of the CreatePrintJobSet function. Then, the image conversion APP 144 stores an access token for using the cloud printing service in the session management database.
Furthermore, the image conversion APP 144 acquires the URL of the storage location of the print image (PDF file) from the input parameters of the CreatePrintJobSet function, and stores the URL of the storage location of the print image (PDF file) in the session management database.

Subsequently, the image conversion APP 144 sets “1” indicating that the process is in progress to the progress status (Progress) indicating the progress of the process in the session management database (S1003), and moves the process to S1004. In S1004, the image conversion APP 144 generates a download / image conversion thread, and the process proceeds to S1005. The processing of the download / image conversion thread will be described later with reference to FIG.
Subsequently, the image conversion APP 144 sets, in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTPS POST request, SUCCESS indicating that this function has been successfully completed and the session ID generated in S1002 (S1005). Then, the image conversion APP 144 transmits a response message to the POST request issuer (the proxy APP 143 in this example). Then, the image conversion APP 144 ends the process of the CreatePrintJobSet function (S1006).

When the image conversion APP 144 generates a download / image conversion thread in S1004, a thread different from the CreatePrintJobSet function is activated. In this thread, the download / image conversion thread process shown in FIG. 10B is executed.
As shown in FIG. 10B, the image conversion APP 144 starts the processing of the download / image conversion thread (S1011). Then, the image conversion APP 144 uses the access token for using the cloud print service, and accesses the URL of the storage location of the print image (PDF file) using the HTTPS GET method encrypted by SSL communication. That is, the image conversion APP 144 downloads a print image (PDF file) from the cloud print service and temporarily stores it in the RAM 201 (S1012).

Further, after completing the download, the image conversion APP 144 converts the print image (PDF file) into a JPEG file that can be printed by the MFP 3. Note that setting information indicating a printable format is stored in advance in the HDD 202 of the PC 5 for each printer or MFP.
Then, the image conversion APP 144 stores the JPEG file in a folder composed of the printer ID issued by the cloud printing APP 146 and the print job ID (S1013).
In S1013, the image conversion APP 144 sets the access token to the image conversion APP 144 in the access token to the image conversion APP 144 in the session management database. The access token to the image conversion APP 144 is an access token for the printer or MFP (MFP 3 in this example) associated with the printer ID issued by the cloud print APP 146 to access the print image (JPEG file). In step S <b> 1013, the image conversion APP 144 sets the URL (first page) where the print image (JPEG file) is stored in the print job access URL in the session management database.

[Example]
Printer ID: abcde
Print job ID: 1234
Total number of pages of print image (JPEG file): 3 pages Data storage in PC2:
C: \ abcde1234 \
p1.jpg
p2.jpg
p3.jpg
URL: http://www.abc.xxx/printdata/?pi=abcde&ji=1234&p=1

Since this URL represents the JPEG file (p1.jpg) of the first page, the MFP 3 obtains the page number to be acquired in the query parameter “p” that represents the page number when acquiring the print image of each page. specify. In step S <b> 1013, the image conversion APP 144 converts the print image (PDF file) and deletes the print image (PDF file) downloaded in step S <b> 1012 from the RAM 201 after the conversion of the print image (JPEG file) of all pages is completed. .
Subsequently, the image conversion APP 144 determines whether an error has been detected in any of the processes of S1011 to S1013 (S1014). At this time, if it is determined that an error has been detected, the image conversion APP 144 proceeds to S1016. If it is determined that no error has been detected, the image conversion APP 144 determines that the error has ended normally and proceeds to S1015.

In S1015, the image conversion APP 144 sets “0” indicating normal end to the progress status (Progress) in the session management database, and ends the processing of the download / image conversion thread (S1017). In S1016, the image conversion APP 144 sets “2” indicating the end of error to the progress status (Progress) in the session management database, and ends the processing of the download / image conversion thread (S1017).
In step S1017, the image conversion APP 144 deletes information related to the print job from the session management database, and updates the session management database.

Next, Web service API processing exported by the image conversion APP 144 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to the process of the ConfirmProgress function. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing of the JobCompleted function.
Here, for the ConfirmProgress function, the HTTP GET method is used. For the JobCompleted function, the HTTPS POST method encrypted by SSL communication is used. The programs according to these flowcharts are incorporated in the PC 5 and stored in the HDD 202, and are read into the RAM 201 by the CPU 204 and executed.

In S614 of FIG. 6, when the proxy APP 143 calls the Confirm Progress function, the image conversion APP 144 executes the process of the Confirm Progress function shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11A, the image conversion APP 144 starts the process of the Confirm Progress function (S1101). At this time, the HTTP GET request for the ConfirmProgress function includes a session ID and a sequence as query parameters. The sequence is an arbitrary number generated by a GET request issuer (proxy APP 143 in this example).
Subsequently, the image conversion APP 144 confirms the progress (Progress) in the session management database using the session ID included in the query parameter as a search key (S1102). Subsequently, when the image conversion APP 144 determines that “0” indicating normal termination is set in the progress status (Progress) (YES in S1103), the image conversion APP 144 proceeds to S1104. On the other hand, if the image conversion APP 144 determines that anything other than “0” (“1” or “2”) is set (NO in S1103), the process proceeds to S1105.

In step S1104, the image conversion APP 144 sets “processing completion response” in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTP GET request, and the process proceeds to step S1108. In step S1105, the image conversion APP 144 confirms the progress status (Progress). At this time, if the image conversion APP 144 determines that “1” indicating that processing is being performed is set in the progress status (Progress), the process proceeds to S 1106, and other than “1” (“2”) is set. If it is determined, the process proceeds to S1107.
In step S1106, the image conversion APP 144 sets “response in process” in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTP GET request, and the process proceeds to step S1108. In S1107, the image conversion APP 144 sets “error response” in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTP GET request, and moves the process to S1108.
In step S1108, the image conversion APP 144 transmits a response message to the GET request issuer (proxy APP 143 in this example), and ends the process of the ConfirmProgress function (S1109).

Here, details of the “processing completion response”, “processing response”, and “error response” will be described. Each of these responses is a result calculated using the sequence included in the query parameter of the GET request in S1101, and is composed of, for example, character string information obtained by converting the following information into a character string.
"Processing completion response" = Sequence "Processing response" = Sequence + 1
"Error response" = Sequence + 2

In this way, by using character string information that does not generally have a meaning rather than visible information defined using XML as a response to an HTTP GET request, malfunction or illegal control due to unauthorized access to the Web service API Can be prevented.
Note that the configuration for preventing such unauthorized access is not limited to this example, and more complicated operations such as hashing may be combined.

In S803 of FIG. 8, when the proxy APP 143 calls the JobCompleted function, the image conversion APP 144 executes the processing of the JobCompleted function shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11B, when the image conversion APP 144 starts processing of the JobCompleted function (S1121), the image conversion APP 144 deletes the print image (JPEG file) (S1122), and moves the processing to S1123.
In step S <b> 1123, the image conversion APP 144 sets SUCCESS indicating the normal end in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the HTTPS POST request. In step S1123, the image conversion APP 144 transmits a response message to the POST request issuing source (the proxy APP 143 in this example). Then, the image conversion APP 144 ends the processing of the JobCompleted function (S1124).

Next, processing of the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart according to the process of the CreatePrintJobResult function.
As for the CreatePrintJobResult function, an HTTPS POST method encrypted by SSL communication is used. The program according to this flowchart is incorporated in the PC 5, stored in the HDD 202, read out to the RAM 201 by the CPU 204 and executed.

In S701 of FIG. 7, when the proxy APP 143 calls the CreatePrintJobResult function, the image conversion APP 144 executes processing of the CreatePrintJobResult function shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, the image conversion APP 144 starts processing of the CreatePrintJobResult function (S1201). Subsequently, the image conversion APP 144 sets the access token to the image conversion APP 144 in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the POST request of HTTPS (S1202), and moves the process to S1203.

In step S1203, the image conversion APP 144 sets the print job access URL (URL of the storage location of the JPEG file) in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the POST request, and the process proceeds to step S1204.
In step S1204, the image conversion APP 144 sets the total number of pages of the print image (JPEG file) in the response message included in the BODY of the response to the POST request, and the process proceeds to step S1205. In step S1205, the image conversion APP 144 transmits a response message to the POST request issuer (proxy APP 143 in this example), and ends the process of the CreatePrintJobResult function (S1206).

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a calling sequence of the Web service API. FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating an example of a calling sequence between the proxy APP 143 and the MFP 3. FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating an example of a calling sequence between the proxy APP 143 and the image conversion APP 144.
As shown in FIG. 13A, between the proxy APP 143 and the MFP 3, the MFP 3 calls the Web service API exported by the proxy APP 143. That is, the Web service API exported by the proxy APP 143 is called in the order of CheckPrintJob function, GetPrintJob function, and EndPrintJob function.

Here, for the CheckPrintJob function (only the polling process), the unencrypted HPPT GET method is used, and for all other functions, the HTTPS GET method encrypted by SSL communication is used. .
In this way, by using an unencrypted HTTP method for polling only for confirming the presence or absence of a print job, the peripheral device control system that reduces the time required for polling and is excellent in user operability Can be realized. Further, since the load on polling can be reduced, for example, a configuration for dealing with the load is not required, so that the system construction and the firmware of the printer and MFP can be easily implemented, and the development cost can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 13B, between the proxy APP 143 and the image conversion APP 144, the proxy APP 143 calls a Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144. That is, the Web service API exported by the image conversion APP 144 is called in the order of CreatePrintJobSet function, ConfirmProgress function, CreatePrintJobResult function, and JobCompleted function.
Here, for the ConfirmProgress function (only the polling process), the unencrypted HPPT GET method is used, and for all other functions, the HTTPS POST method encrypted by SSL communication is used. .
In this way, by using an unencrypted HTTP method for polling only for confirming the progress of processing, a peripheral device control system that reduces time required for polling and has excellent user operability. Can be realized. Further, since the load applied to polling can be reduced, for example, a configuration for dealing with the load is not required, so that the system construction and the application implementation are facilitated, and the development and operation costs can be reduced.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, a peripheral device control system is used in which one user account and its password are registered in association with a certain MFP, and an access token acquired through authentication using the user account and password is used. An example was described. In the present embodiment, an example of a peripheral device control system that can be shared and used by a plurality of users by registering a plurality of user accounts in association with a certain MFP (for example, MFP 3) will be described. To do. In the present embodiment, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the display unit 21 of the MFP 3 (cloud print setup screen 1401). The cloud print setup screen 1401 is a screen related to setup such as printer registration for using the cloud print service. Each of the printer registration operation units (1402, 1405, 1408, 1411, 1414) includes a user name input unit (1403, 1406, 1409, 1412, 1415) and a registration button (1404, 1407, 1410, 1413, 1416). It has.

At present, since the MFP 3 is shared by three people, “User A”, “User B”, and “User C” are set as user names in the user name input sections (1403, 1406, 1409), respectively. ing. On the other hand, no user name is set in the user name input unit 1412 and the user name input unit 1415.
A registration button 1404 is a user interface (UI) that is operated when registering the MFP 3 in the cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146 for the user “User A” of the user name input unit 1403. A registration button 1407 is a UI that is operated when the MFP 3 is registered for the cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146 for the user “User B” of the user name input unit 1406. The registration button 1410 is a UI that is operated when the MFP 3 is registered for the cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146 for the user “User C” of the user name input unit 1409.

A registration button 1413 is a UI operated when registering the MFP 3 for the user of the user name input unit 1412 in the cloud print service provided by the cloud print APP 146. A registration button 1416 is a UI that is operated when registering the MFP 3 for the user of the user name input unit 1415 in the cloud print service provided by the cloud print APP 146.
At this time, since no user name is set in the user name input unit 1412 and the user name input unit 1415, the registration button 1413 and the registration button 1416 do not function.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example (printer registration page 1501) of the screen (Web browser 9) of the LCD 205 of the PC1. A printer registration page 1501 is a screen related to user authentication when registering a printer in the cloud printing service. The user uses the printer registration page 1501 to perform user authentication and temporary registration of a printer necessary for using the cloud printing service provided by the cloud printing APP 146.
The URL input unit 1502 accepts input of a URL. The page of the Web site with the URL input by the URL input unit 1502 is displayed on the Web browser 9. A user account input unit 1503 receives an input of a user account. Password input unit 1504 accepts input of a password. The user inputs a user account and a password necessary for using the cloud printing service.
An authentication code (token) input unit 1505 receives an input of a temporary authentication code (token). The user inputs a temporary authentication code (token) for printer registration issued by the cloud printing APP 146 here. A registration button 1506 receives temporary registration of the printer. When the user presses a registration button 1506, the printer is provisionally registered in the cloud printing service. A cancel button 1507 accepts cancellation of temporary registration of the printer. When the user presses a cancel button 1507, the process of temporarily registering the printer in the cloud printing service is canceled.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing for registering a printer in the cloud printing service. The program according to this flowchart is incorporated in the PC or MFP. A program of an application operating on the PC is stored in the HDD 202, and is read out and executed by the CPU 204 in the RAM 201. A program of an application operating on the MFP is stored in the ROM 16, read out to the RAM 17, and executed by the CPU 25.
In this flowchart, a vertical column represents a process execution source. In this embodiment, a user (Web browser 9), a document creation APP 145, a cloud print APP 146, a proxy APP 143, an image conversion APP 144, and an MFP 3 are described from the left side of the drawing. Hereinafter, the communication control method will be described by taking as an example a case where the user registers the MFP 3 in the cloud print service provided by the cloud print APP 146 using the MFP 3 and the PC 1.

When the user operates the display unit 21 of the MFP 3 to open the cloud print setup screen 1401 shown in FIG. 14 and presses the registration button 1404 for the user “User A” in the user name input unit 1403, in FIG. Registration processing is started (S1601).
When the printer registration process is started, the MFP 3 requests the cloud print APP 146 to temporarily register the printer (S1602). Upon receiving the request, the cloud printing APP 146 issues a temporary registration code (token) for printer registration, a URL for the printer registration page (URL for the registration page), and a URL for polling (polling URL) (S1603). . Upon receiving the temporary authentication code (token), the printer registration page URL, and the polling URL from the cloud printing APP 146, the MFP 3 displays the temporary authentication code (token) and the printer registration page URL on the display unit 21 (S1604). The process moves to S1605.
Next, the user starts user authentication processing for temporarily registering the MFP 3 in the cloud print service provided by the cloud print APP 146 (S1610). More specifically, when the user operates the input unit to start the Web browser 9 in the PC 1 and inputs the URL of the printer registration page in the URL input unit 1502, the Web browser 9 is designated from the cloud print APP 146. The printer registration page is opened (S1611).

Next, the user operates the input unit to input the user account and password created in advance for using the cloud printing service to the user account input unit 1503 and the password input unit 1504, respectively. Also, a temporary authentication code (token) is input to the authentication code (token) input unit 1505. When the user operates the input unit and presses the registration button 1506, the Web browser 9 transmits the user account, password, and temporary authentication code (token) input on the printer registration page 1501 to the cloud print APP 146 (S1612). .
When the cloud print APP 146 receives the user account, password, and temporary authentication code (token) transmitted from the Web browser 9, the cloud print APP 146 performs user authentication. Furthermore, if the authentication is successful, the cloud printing APP 146 issues an access token necessary for using the cloud printing service, and temporarily registers the MFP 3 in the cloud printing service (S1613). This completes the user authentication process, and the MFP 3 is provisionally registered in the cloud printing service (S1614).

In step S <b> 1605, the MFP 3 accesses the polling URL and makes an inquiry to the cloud print APP 146 for confirming the temporary registration status (registration status) of the printer (MFP 3). When the cloud print APP 146 receives the inquiry, the cloud print APP 146 confirms the temporary registration status of the printer (MFP 3).
At this time, if the cloud printing APP 146 determines that provisional registration of the printer (MFP 3) has been completed, the cloud printing APP 146 issues a printer ID for the printer (MFP 3) and performs main registration of the printer. Further, the cloud printing APP 146 transmits the printer ID and the access token to the MFP 3, and returns a result indicating that the main registration of the printer is completed to the MFP 3 (S1606). The printer ID is represented by a unique value assigned to the MFP 3 by the cloud printing APP 146 exclusively for the user “User A” specified by the user name input unit 1403.

On the other hand, when the cloud printing APP 146 determines that the temporary registration of the printer (MFP 3) has not been completed, the cloud printing APP 146 returns a result indicating that the main registration of the printer is not completed to the MFP 3 (S1606).
If the MFP 3 determines that it has received a result indicating that the main registration of the printer (MFP 3) has been completed (YES in S1607), it moves the process to S1608, and on the other hand, receives a result indicating that it has not been completed. If it is determined (NO in S1607), the process proceeds to S1605. In S1608, the MFP 3 displays on the display unit 21 that the main registration of the printer to the cloud printing service has been completed (S1608), and ends the printer registration processing (S1609).

Further, when the user operates the display unit 21 of the MFP 3 to open the cloud print setup screen 1401 and presses the registration button 1407 for the user “User B” of the user name input unit 1406, the printer registration process is performed as described above. And user authentication processing. At this time, a printer ID for the MFP 3 is issued in S 1606, and this printer ID is a unique value assigned to the MFP 3 by the cloud printing APP 146 exclusively for the user “User B” specified in the user name input unit 1406. It is represented by.
When the user operates the display unit 21 of the MFP 3 to open the cloud print setup screen 1401 and presses the registration button 1410 for the user “User C” of the user name input unit 1409, the printer registration process is performed as described above. And user authentication processing. At this time, a printer ID for the MFP 3 is issued in S 1606, and this printer ID is a unique value assigned to the MFP 3 by the cloud print APP 146 exclusively for the user “User C” specified in the user name input unit 1409. It is represented by.
As described above, in this embodiment, the cloud printing APP 146 issues a unique printer ID value for each of a plurality of users (user accounts) to one MFP (MFP 3). As a result, since one MFP can be shared and used by a plurality of users, the purpose and range of use of the MFP can be expanded and the operability can be improved. In the present embodiment, the effects of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Third Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the proxy APP 143 receives a print job notification in the cloud print service provided by the cloud print APP 146 has been described as an example. In this example, the MFP 3 polls the proxy APP 143 for the presence of a print job by performing polling at regular time intervals (in this example, 1 minute intervals) in S618 to S621 in FIG.
For this reason, after the proxy APP 143 receives the print job notification, the MFP 3 cannot always start printing immediately, and there may occur a delay of a polling interval (1 minute in this example) at the longest.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the time (print start time) from when the execution of printing is instructed until the start of printing (print start time) is shortened, and the time from when the execution of printing is instructed to when the printing process is completed ( An example of a peripheral device control system capable of reducing the total printing time) will be described. In the present embodiment, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to processing of the entire peripheral device control system. The program according to this flowchart is incorporated in the PC or MFP. A program of an application operating on the PC is stored in the HDD 202, and is read out and executed by the CPU 204 in the RAM 201. A program of an application operating on the MFP is stored in the ROM 16, read out to the RAM 17, and executed by the CPU 25.
In this flowchart, a vertical column represents a process execution source. In this embodiment, a user (Web browser 9), a document creation APP 145, a cloud print APP 146, a proxy APP 143, an image conversion APP 144, and an MFP 3 are described from the left side of the drawing. Hereinafter, the communication control method will be described by taking as an example a case where a user prints a document with the MFP 3 using the PC 1 (a series of processes related to document printing).
In this flowchart, the process with the same step number as the step number shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is basically the same as the process described with reference to FIGS. In addition, parts that are not particularly described are the same as those described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 17, when printing of the document viewed from the user side is started in S601, the processing of S602 to S609 is performed in order. In step S609, the cloud print APP 146 transmits a print job notification (an example of a start notification) to the printer (MFP 3) associated with the selected printer option.
For the print job notification, for example, a protocol used in an instant messenger called Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (abbreviation: XMPP) can be used. Assume that unencrypted XMPP is used for the print job notification sent to the printer (MFP 3) by the cloud print APP 146 in step S609.
Upon receiving the print job notification (S1708), the MFP 3 moves the process to S1709. In step S <b> 1709, the MFP 3 requests the proxy APP 143 to acquire a print job, and starts (activates) processing (S <b> 1701) for confirming the presence or absence of the print job.
When the proxy APP 143 receives the print job acquisition request from the MFP 3, the proxy APP 143 calls the FetchPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the cloud print APP 146 (S 1710). Then, the process proceeds to S611 in FIG. 6, and the processes after S611 in FIG. 6 are performed.

When the process for confirming the presence / absence of a print job is started (S1701), the MFP 3 calls the CheckPrintJob function of the Web service API exported by the proxy APP 143 (S1702). In S1702, when the MFP 3 calls this function, information (an example of confirmation information) passed to the proxy APP 143 as a query parameter of the HTTP GET request is the same as the information described in S618 of FIG.
When the CheckPrintJob function is called, the proxy APP 143 executes the processing of the CheckPrintJob function shown in FIG. 9A and returns a response (an example of response information) to the MFP 3 (S1703).
Subsequently, when receiving the response of the CheckPrintJob function from the proxy APP 143, the MFP 3 confirms the information (“response with print job” or “response without print job”) included in the response message (S1704). . In step S1704, if the MFP 3 determines that the “print job presence response” has been received, the process proceeds to step S708 in FIG. .

In step S1705, the MFP 3 checks the elapsed time from the start of the processing for checking whether or not there is a print job in step S1701, and moves the processing to step S1706. In S1706, when the MFP 3 determines that the elapsed time has passed the longest waiting time (for example, 5 minutes) (in the case of YES), it moves the process to S618 in FIG. 6, and determines that it has not elapsed. If yes (NO), the process moves to S1707.
In S1707, the MFP 3 waits for a certain time (for example, 1 second), and then moves the process to S1702. As described above, when a print job is generated, the MFP 3 polls the CheckPrintJob function exported by the proxy APP 143 at regular intervals (periodically).
Here, the polling interval in S618 to S621 in FIG. 6 of the first embodiment is 1 minute, whereas in this embodiment, the polling interval is 1 second. With this configuration, the printing start time can be greatly shortened, and the total printing time can also be reduced.

In the first embodiment, polling is performed regardless of the presence or absence of a print job. Therefore, if polling is frequently performed from a huge number of printers to the proxy APP 143, the load on the proxy APP 143 becomes very large, and a cloud system (an example of a peripheral device control system) is required because a large-scale system is required. ) Cost increase. Moreover, depending on the case, there is a possibility that a load may be applied so that the cloud system does not function, and there is a concern that the entire system becomes unstable.
However, in this embodiment, polling is performed only when a print job is generated. Therefore, since a very small number of printers are targeted as a whole, the load applied to the system even if the polling interval is shortened. Less is. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to make the system large-scale, and it is possible to suppress costs such as production cost and operation cost of the cloud system (lower than the cost of the cloud system of the first embodiment). . Further, according to the present embodiment, the entire system can be maintained in a stable state.

In S1706, if the elapsed time since the process of confirming the presence or absence of the print job is started (or the elapsed time from when the print job notification is received) exceeds the maximum waiting time, the cloud print service It is assumed that an abnormality may have occurred. That is, by making the polling interval after the elapsed time exceeds the maximum waiting time sufficiently long, it is possible to prevent polling at a short interval from continuing for a long time and maintain the system in a stable state. .
As described above, in the present embodiment, when the MFP 3 receives the print job notification from the cloud print APP 146, the MFP 3 can confirm the presence / absence of the print job at an extremely short interval from that point, thereby reducing the print start time. Total printing time can be reduced. In the present embodiment, the effects of the first embodiment can be obtained.
When the user starts printing, if the MFP 3 is turned off, a print job notification may not be received. In order to deal with such a case, when the power of the MFP 3 is turned on, the process of step S1701 is performed at least once or for a certain period of time. Thus, the print job started by the user can be reliably printed when the MFP 3 is turned on.
Some embodiments further improve the above-described embodiments. It can be considered that the cloud print APP 146 transmits a print job notification to the MFP 3 on the premise that there is a print job. Accordingly, in step S1709, after the MFP 3 starts (activates) the process (S1701) for confirming the presence or absence of a print job, the process directly proceeds to step S1704 without executing the process in step S1702. Further, the determination in step S1704 is processed unconditionally with YES, and the process proceeds to step S708. As a result, the cloud print APP 146 transmits an unencrypted print job notification to the MFP 3. After receiving the unencrypted print job notification, the MFP 3 calls the GetPrintJob function exported by the proxy APP 143 using the HTTPS GET method encrypted by SSL communication. Even in such an improved embodiment, the effect of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In the embodiment described above, a personal computer is assumed as the information processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be applied to any information processing apparatus (terminal) that can be used in a similar manner, such as a DVD player, a game, a set-top box, and an Internet home appliance. It is.
In the above-described embodiment, the MFP is exemplified as the peripheral device. However, the peripheral device may be any one of a copying machine, a facsimile, a scanner, a digital camera, and a device having a composite function thereof.
In the above-described embodiment, an OS equivalent to Windows is used as an example of the OS. However, the present invention is not limited to this OS, and an arbitrary OS can be used.
In the above-described embodiment, Ethernet is used as a configuration example of the network 4. However, the configuration is not limited to this example, and any other network configuration may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, Ethernet is used as an interface between PC1, PC2, PC5, and PC7 and MFP3 and MFP103. However, the present invention is not limited to this interface, and any interface such as a wireless LAN, IEEE 1394, Bluetooth (registered trademark), USB, or the like may be used.
Moreover, you may comprise the function in various applications (firmware), a part of the process which concerns on the flowchart mentioned above, or all using dedicated hardware.

According to the above-described embodiment, time is not required for the confirmation process of the progress status of the image conversion process by polling and the confirmation process of the presence / absence of a print job by polling, and the user operability can be improved.
Moreover, even when the cloud is used for the peripheral device control system, it is easy to construct a system and mount an application, and to reduce development and operation costs.
Furthermore, since it does not hinder the implementation of firmware of a low-cost printer or multifunction machine having a low performance like the MFP 3 and each process does not take time, the operability for the user can be improved.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  According to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, communication between apparatuses can be performed more appropriately.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

Claims (22)

A communicatively connected peripheral device and the management device,
Transmitted to the management apparatus communication method without encryption for confirmation information used for confirming whether the peripheral device prior Symbol management device is information to be acquisition, different printing and the confirmation information A peripheral device comprising: communication means for transmitting acquired information for acquiring a job to the management device by a communication method for performing encryption. It said communication means, the processing of pre-Symbol the print job sent from the management device in response to obtained information is completed, the communication method of the processing of pre-Symbol print job to encrypt the end information indicating the end The peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device transmits the information to the management device.   The peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit periodically transmits the confirmation information to the management device. An information processing device communicably connected to a peripheral device that executes job processing in a service provided by a providing device via a network,
Storage means for storing job information in the service in a storage unit;
In a series of processing in the service, response information to the confirmation information from the peripheral device that confirms whether or not job information is stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the peripheral device using a communication method that does not perform encryption. An information processing apparatus comprising: communication means for transmitting and transmitting response information to other information from the peripheral device different from the confirmation information to the peripheral device using a communication method for performing encryption.   5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the communication unit performs a predetermined calculation on the response information with respect to the confirmation information, and transmits the calculation result to the peripheral apparatus using a communication method that does not encrypt the calculation result. . An information processing apparatus communicably connected to a preprocessing apparatus that performs preprocessing of job processing in a service provided by a providing apparatus via a network,
In the series of processes in the service, the confirmation information used when confirming the execution status of the preprocessing performed by the preprocessing device is transmitted to the preprocessing device using a communication method without encryption, and the confirmation information An information processing apparatus comprising communication means for transmitting other information different from the information to the preprocessing apparatus by a communication method for performing encryption. It is connected so as to be able to communicate with a peripheral device that executes the processing of the job,
The communication means includes
When the job information is received from the providing device, the preprocessing device uses the communication method to encrypt the preprocessing information used in the preprocessing, which is the other information generated based on the job information. Send
When the end information indicating that the processing of the job is completed is received from the peripheral device, the preprocessing device is configured to encrypt the job processing end information generated based on the end information that is the other information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the information processing apparatus transmits the information to the information processing apparatus.   When the communication means determines that the preprocessing has been completed based on response information from the preprocessing device to the confirmation information, the other information is information indicating the location of the result of the preprocessing. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the location acquisition information used for acquisition is transmitted to the preprocessing apparatus by a communication method for performing encryption.   The communication means determines that the preprocessing has been completed based on response information from the preprocessing device to the confirmation information after receiving information indicating that the preprocessing has been started from the preprocessing device. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the confirmation information is transmitted to the preprocessing apparatus until a period of time. An information processing apparatus communicably connected to a management apparatus that manages job information in a service provided by a providing apparatus via a network,
Preprocessing means for performing preprocessing of job processing in the service;
Storage means for storing information indicating the execution status of the preprocessing in a storage unit;
In a series of processes in the service, response information to the confirmation information from the management apparatus that confirms the execution status of the pre-process is transmitted to the management apparatus by a communication method that does not perform encryption. An information processing apparatus comprising: a communication unit configured to transmit response information to other information different from the confirmation information to the management apparatus using a communication method for performing encryption.   11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the communication unit performs a predetermined calculation on the response information with respect to the confirmation information, and transmits the calculation result to the management apparatus using a communication method that does not encrypt the calculation result. . A communication control method communicatively connected peripheral device and the management device executes,
And transmitting to the management apparatus communication method without encryption for confirmation information used for confirming whether the peripheral device prior Symbol management device is information to be acquisition,
Communication control method which comprises a step of transmitting to the management apparatus communication method that encrypts and for acquiring information for acquiring the different print jobs from the previous SL confirmation information. A communication control method executed by an information processing apparatus that is communicably connected to a peripheral device that executes job processing in a service provided by a providing apparatus via a network,
A storage step of storing job information in the service in a storage unit;
In a series of processing in the service, response information to the confirmation information from the peripheral device that confirms whether or not job information is stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the peripheral device using a communication method that does not perform encryption. Sending, and
In a series of processing in the service, the response information for other information from the peripheral device different from the confirmation information includes a step of transmitting to the peripheral device by a communication method for performing encryption. Communication control method. A communication control method executed by an information processing apparatus communicably connected to a preprocessing apparatus that performs preprocessing of job processing in a service provided by a providing apparatus via a network,
In a series of processing in the service, the step of transmitting confirmation information used when confirming the execution status of the preprocessing performed by the preprocessing device to the preprocessing device using a communication method that does not perform encryption,
In a series of processing in the service communication control method for different other information with the confirmation information, characterized in that and a step of transmitting to the pretreatment device in the communication method of performing encryption. A communication control method executed by an information processing apparatus communicably connected to a management apparatus that manages job information in a service provided by a providing apparatus via a network,
A pre-processing step of performing pre-processing of job processing in the service;
A storage step of storing information indicating a state of execution of the preprocessing in a storage unit;
In a series of processing in the service, a step of transmitting response information to the confirmation information from the management device that confirms the execution status of the preprocessing to the management device using a communication method that does not perform encryption;
In a series of processing in the service, the response information to different other information and the confirmation information from the management apparatus and comprising: the step of transmitting to the management apparatus communication method that encrypts and Communication control method. The communicatively connected computers and management apparatus,
Transmitted to the management apparatus communication method without encryption for confirmation information used for confirming whether the computer before Symbol management apparatus there is information to be acquired, different print jobs to the confirmation information A program for functioning as communication means for transmitting the acquisition information for acquiring the information to the management apparatus using a communication method for performing encryption. A computer that is communicably connected to a peripheral device that executes job processing in a service provided by a providing device via a network;
Storage means for storing job information in the service in a storage unit;
In a series of processing in the service, response information to the confirmation information from the peripheral device that confirms whether or not job information is stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the peripheral device using a communication method that does not perform encryption. A program for transmitting and functioning as communication means for transmitting response information to the other information from the peripheral device different from the confirmation information to the peripheral device in a communication method in which encryption is performed. A computer that is communicably connected to a pre-processing device that performs pre-processing of job processing in a service provided by a providing device via a network;
In the series of processes in the service, the confirmation information used when confirming the execution status of the preprocessing performed by the preprocessing device is transmitted to the preprocessing device by a communication method without encryption, and the confirmation information A program for functioning as a communication means for transmitting other information different from the above information to the pre-processing device by a communication method for performing encryption. A computer that is communicably connected to a management device that manages job information in a service provided by a providing device via a network;
Preprocessing means for performing preprocessing of job processing in the service;
Storage means for storing information indicating the execution status of the preprocessing in a storage unit;
In a series of processes in the service, response information to the confirmation information from the management apparatus that confirms the execution status of the pre-process is transmitted to the management apparatus by a communication method that does not perform encryption. program for for the confirmation information response information to different other information with the function as communication means for transmitting to said management apparatus by the communication method of performing encryption. A peripheral device that is communicably connected to a management device that manages job information in a service provided by a providing device via a network, and executes processing of the job,
In a series of processing in the service, when receiving a start notification instructing the start of the service from the providing device, the confirmation information used when confirming whether or not a job exists in the management device is encrypted. Peripheral device characterized by comprising a communication means for periodically transmitting to the management device by a communication method that is not performed and transmitting to the management device by a communication method for encrypting other information different from the confirmation information . A communication control method executed by a peripheral device that is communicably connected to a management device that manages job information in a service provided by a providing device via a network, and that executes the job processing,
In a series of processing in the service, when receiving a start notification instructing the start of the service from the providing device, the confirmation information used when confirming whether or not a job exists in the management device is encrypted. A step of periodically transmitting to the management device by a communication method not performed;
In a series of processing in the service communication control method for different other information with the confirmation information, which comprises the step of transmitting to the management apparatus communication method that encrypts and. A computer that is communicably connected to a management device that manages job information in a service provided by a providing device via a network, and that executes the job processing;
In a series of processing in the service, when receiving a start notification instructing the start of the service from the providing device, the confirmation information used when confirming whether or not a job exists in the management device is encrypted. A program for functioning as a communication unit that periodically transmits to the management device using a communication method that is not performed, and transmits other information different from the confirmation information to the management device using a communication method that performs encryption.

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