JP2018045495A - program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique of enabling easy selection of a proper image processing apparatus in a program causing the image processing apparatus to execute the image processing operation through an external program.SOLUTION: A label program causes a mobile terminal to execute: first acquisition processing (S74) of acquiring an operation ID contained in designation device information from an external program; first instruction processing (S76) of causing the external program to execute device designation processing in response to determining that the designation operation ID is not acquired (S75: 0); and second instruction processing (S82/S83) of causing the external program to execute operation instruction processing in response to receiving the user operation of instructing execution of the designation operation (S79: print/scan) in the state where the designation device information containing the designated operation ID is stored in a memory.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a plug-in program for a mobile terminal, which causes an image processing apparatus to execute an image processing operation through a main program installed in the same mobile terminal.

  Conventionally, there has been known a program (hereinafter referred to as “main program”) that allows a user to designate image data and cause the image processing apparatus to execute an image processing operation on the designated image data. The main program described in Patent Literature 1, for example, allows a user to specify image data stored in a mobile terminal and causes a printer to print an image indicated by the image data. In addition, the main program can cause the image processing apparatus to execute an image processing operation instructed from a so-called plug-in program, for example.

JP 2012-203742 A

  However, even if the plug-in program instructs the main program to perform an image processing operation in a state where an appropriate image processing apparatus is not connected to the mobile terminal, the image processing operation is not normally executed. That is, the user needs to select an appropriate image processing apparatus and then instruct an image processing operation through a plug-in program. With the diversification of image processing apparatuses and plug-in programs, the burden on the user who operates the program in such a procedure also increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for easily selecting an appropriate image processing apparatus in a program that causes an image processing apparatus to execute an image processing operation through an external program. There is.

  Various disclosures are provided herein. A program which is one of the disclosed examples can be read by a portable terminal including a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface. The memory stores an external program capable of starting the program, and the external program is designated as an image processing apparatus capable of executing at least one of a plurality of image processing operations, and the external program designates a user. A program for instructing the image processing operation performed. The program causes the portable terminal to execute a first acquisition process for acquiring the operation ID included in the designated device information from the external program. The designated device information includes the operation ID for identifying the image processing operation that can be executed by the designated device that is the image processing device designated by the user by the external program. The program acquires the operation ID for identifying a specified operation that is one of the image processing operations, in a first determination process that determines whether or not the operation ID has been acquired in the first acquisition process, and in the first determination process. Device designation that allows the user to designate the image processing device capable of executing the designation operation as the designation device among the plurality of image processing devices that can communicate through the communication interface in response to determining that the designation is not performed A first instruction process for causing the external program to execute a process; and a user operation for instructing execution of the designated operation in a state where the designated device information including the operation ID of the designated operation is stored in the memory. A first reception process that is received through the input interface; and an operation instruction process that transmits operation instruction information to the designated device through the communication interface. A second instruction process to be executed by Kigaibu program to be executed to the portable terminal. The operation instruction information is information for executing the designated operation instructed in the first reception process.

  According to the above configuration, when the designated device information does not include the operation ID of the designated operation, the external program is caused to execute processing for allowing the user to designate the designated device from among the image processing devices capable of executing the designated operation. Thereby, before the said program performs a 2nd instruction | indication process, an appropriate designation | designated apparatus can be selected easily.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 according to the present embodiment. 2A is a block diagram of the MFP 10, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram of the portable terminal 50. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a program list stored in the memory 62. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the main process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the main screen generation process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of device selection processing. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the PI activation process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the label PI process. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the instruction receiving process. FIG. 10 is a display example of the display 53, where (A) shows the menu screen of the OS 64 and (B) shows the main screen. FIG. 11 is a display example of the display 53, where (A) shows a device selection screen and (B) shows a confirmation screen. FIG. 12 is a display example of the display 53, where (A) shows the menu screen of the label program 66, and (B) shows the label editing screen.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the execution order of each process described below can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 according to the present embodiment. A system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes MFPs 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as “MFP 10”) and a portable terminal 50. The MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 are configured to be able to communicate through the communication network 101. The communication network 101 may be, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the MFP 10 and the mobile terminal 50 may be connected by a USB cable or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the MFP 10 (abbreviation of Multi-Function Peripheral) includes a printer 11, a scanner 12, a display 23, an input I / F 24, a communication I / F 25, a CPU 31, and a memory. 32 and a communication bus 33 are mainly provided. Each component constituting the MFP 10 is connected to each other through the communication bus 33. The MFP 10 is an example of an image processing apparatus.

  The printer 11 is hardware that executes a printing operation for recording an image indicated by image data on a sheet. As a recording method of the printer 11, a known method such as an ink jet method or an electrophotographic method can be employed. The scanner 12 is hardware that executes a scan operation for reading an image recorded on a document and generating image data (hereinafter referred to as “scan data”). MFPs 10A and 10B only need to be able to execute at least one operation. The operations that can be executed by the MFPs 10A and 10B may be different.

  The print operation is an example of an output operation for outputting image data acquired from the mobile terminal 50. The scan operation is an example of an input operation that generates image data to be input to the mobile terminal 50. The print operation and the scan operation are examples of image processing operations. However, specific examples of the image processing operation are not limited to these. Another example of the output operation is a FAX transmission operation in which image data is FAX-transmitted to an external device according to the FAX protocol. Another example of the input operation is a download operation that receives image data from a server (not shown).

  The display 23 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and includes a display screen that displays various types of information.

  The input I / F 24 is a user interface that receives an input operation by a user. Specifically, the input I / F 24 includes a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31. Further, the input I / F 24 may include a film-like touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display 23. An operation for designating an object displayed on the display screen of the display 23 and an operation for inputting a character string or a numeric string are examples of user operations. The “object” is, for example, a character string, icon, button, link, radio button, check box, pull-down menu, or the like displayed on the display 23.

  The input I / F 24 realized as a touch sensor outputs position information indicating the position on the display screen touched by the user. Note that “touch” in this specification includes all operations for bringing an input medium into contact with a display screen. In addition, even if the input medium is not touching the display screen, “hover” or “floating touch” that brings the input medium close to a position where the distance to the display screen is very small is based on the above-mentioned concept of “touch”. May be included. Furthermore, the input medium may be a user's finger or a touch pen. The user operation for tapping the position of the object displayed on the display 23 is an example of a user operation for specifying the object.

  The communication I / F 25 is an interface that can communicate with an external device via the communication network 101. That is, the MFP 10 transmits various types of information to the external device through the communication I / F 25 and receives various types of information from the external device through the communication I / F 25. Although the specific communication procedure of communication I / F25 is not specifically limited, For example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance) is employable. Further, when the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 are connected by a USB cable, the communication I / F 25 may be a USB interface to which the USB cable can be attached and detached.

  The CPU 31 controls the overall operation of the MFP 10. The CPU 31 acquires and executes various programs, which will be described later, from the memory 32 based on various information output from the input I / F 24, various information received from an external device through the communication I / F 25, and the like. The CPU 31 and the memory 32 constitute an example of a controller.

  The memory 32 stores an OS 34 and a device program 35. The device program 35 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. The memory 32 stores data or information necessary for executing the device program 35. The memory 32 is configured by, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, a portable storage medium such as a USB memory attached to and detached from the MFP 10, a buffer provided in the CPU 31, or a combination thereof.

  The memory 32 may be a computer readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. Non-transitory media include recording media such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM in addition to the above examples. A non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electrical signal that carries a program downloaded from a server on the Internet is a computer-readable signal medium that is a kind of computer-readable medium, but a non-transitory computer-readable storage. Not included in the media. The same applies to the memory 62 of the portable terminal 50 described later.

  MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the memory 32 stores the device information shown in FIG. The device information includes a device ID that identifies the MFP 10 and an operation ID that identifies an image processing operation that the MFP 10 can execute. The “device ID” may be in any format such as text format and binary format as long as the MFPs 10A and 10B can be uniquely identified on the communication network 101. The same applies to an operation ID, a program ID described later, a data ID described later, and the like.

  That is, the MFP 10A can execute an image processing operation identified by the device ID “MFP-A” and identified by the operation IDs “sheet print” and “label print”. On the other hand, the MFP 10B is identified by the apparatus ID “MFP-B”, and can execute an image processing operation identified by the operation IDs “sheet print”, “label print”, “sheet scan”, and “label scan”.

  The operation ID “sheet print” identifies a print operation (hereinafter, referred to as “sheet print operation”) for recording an image on a recording sheet which is an example of a recording medium. The operation ID “label print” is a print operation for recording an image on the surface of a label (eg, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.) which is an example of a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as “label print operation”). Identify In other words, the printers 11 of the MFPs 10A and 10B include hardware for conveying not only the recording paper but also the label at the recording position where the image is recorded on the recording medium.

  The operation ID “sheet scan” identifies a scan operation (hereinafter, referred to as “sheet scan operation”) that reads an image recorded on a recording sheet and generates scan data. The operation ID “label scan” identifies a scan operation (hereinafter referred to as “label scan operation”) in which an image recorded on the label is read to generate scan data. That is, the MFP 10 </ b> A is a so-called single-function printer that does not include the scanner 12. On the other hand, the MFP 10B has an image processing function for specifying the center position of the label on the image indicated by the scan data.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the portable terminal 50 mainly includes a display 53, an input I / F 54, a communication I / F 55, a CPU 61, a memory 62, and a communication bus 63. The display 53, input I / F 54, communication I / F 55, CPU 61, memory 62, and communication bus 63 included in the portable terminal 50 are the display 23, input I / F 24, communication I / F 25, CPU 31, memory included in the MFP 10. 32 and the communication bus 33, the description is omitted. The CPU 61 and the memory 62 are an example of a controller.

  The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. More specifically, the display 53 of the mobile terminal 50 desirably has a display screen size of 12 inches or less, more preferably 8 inches or less. The input I / F 54 of the portable terminal 50 is preferably a touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display 53. The memory 62 stores an OS 64, a terminal program 65, a label program 66, and a map program 67.

  The OS 64 may be, for example, Android (registered trademark of Google Inc.) OS, iOS (registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.), Windows Phone (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Operating System, or the like. The OS 64 can execute a plurality of programs installed in the portable terminal 50 in parallel. The plurality of programs are virtually executed in parallel by, for example, time division multiplexing. The OS 64 executes one of a plurality of programs executed in parallel in the foreground, and executes the other programs in the background.

  The foreground is a state in which, for example, a screen resulting from the execution of the program is displayed in a large part of the display area of the display 53. The background is a state in which, for example, a screen resulting from execution of a program different from the program is displayed in a large part of the display area of the display 53. That is, the portable terminal 50 can display only the screen based on the execution of the program executed in the foreground among the plurality of programs executed in parallel on the display 53.

  The terminal program 65 is a program that causes the MFP 10 connected through the communication I / F 55 to execute an image processing operation. The image processing operation to be executed by the MFP 10 may be designated by the user through the input I / F 54 by the terminal program 65 or may be designated from another program installed in the portable terminal 50. That is, the terminal program 65 is different from a so-called device driver that causes the MFP 10 to execute an image processing operation in accordance with an instruction from another program.

  The label program 66 has a function of acquiring scan data generated by the label scan operation from the MFP 10 through the terminal program 65 and generating label image data indicating an image to be recorded on the label from the acquired scan data. Further, the label program has a function of generating label image data according to a user operation through the input I / F 54 and causing the MFP 10 to execute a label print operation for the generated label image data through the terminal program 65.

  The map program 67 extracts a part of the map image data acquired from a server (not shown) according to a user operation through the input I / F 54, and performs a sheet print operation for the extracted map image data on the MFP 10 through the terminal program 65. Has a function to be executed. Although not shown, the business card program acquires the scan data generated by the sheet scan operation from the MFP 10 through the terminal program 65, and a character string (for example, name, company name, telephone number, email) included in the acquired scan data. Address etc.) as text data.

  Further, the terminal program 65 can start the label program 66 and the map program 67 installed in the portable terminal 50 as so-called plug-ins. Similarly, the label program 66 and the map program 67 can start the terminal program 65 installed in the portable terminal 50 as a so-called plug-in. A plug-in is an example of an external program. The external program is a program that is separate from the startup source program and can be executed independently, and is different from the subroutine of the startup source program. The external program is a program that runs on the same portable terminal 50 as the start-up program.

  The external program is activated by, for example, an API provided by the OS 64 (hereinafter referred to as “activation API”). The activation source program executes the activation API, for example, specifying the program ID of the external program as an argument. The OS 64 activates the external program identified by the designated program ID in response to execution of the activation API. Then, the external program executes a predetermined operation and delivers the execution result of the operation to the activation source program as a return value of the activation API. Note that the external program may be activated by a sharing function provided by the OS 64.

  The memory 62 can store a program list as shown in FIG. 3, for example. The program list includes one or more program records. The program record is stored in the memory 62 when the terminal program 65 is installed, for example. The program record corresponds to one of a plurality of programs that can be activated by the terminal program 65. The program record includes a program ID, an installation flag, a PI function list, and content information.

  The program ID identifies a program that can be activated by the terminal program 65. That is, the label program 66 is identified by the program ID “label”, the map program 67 is identified by the program ID “map”, and the business card program is identified by the program ID “business card”. The installation flag indicates whether or not the program identified by the corresponding program ID is installed in the portable terminal 50. In the installation flag, a first value “YES” corresponding to the fact that it is already installed or a second value “NO” corresponding to the fact that it is not yet installed is set.

  The PI function list is information indicating a designation operation that can be instructed to the MFP 10 through the terminal program 65 by the program identified by the corresponding program ID. That is, the label program 66, the map program 67, and the business card program can instruct the MFP 10 to execute one or more designated operations through the terminal program 65. The PI function list indicates an operation ID of a specified operation (hereinafter referred to as “specified operation ID”). More specifically, in the PI function list, a third value “ON” corresponding to the designated operation or a fourth value “OFF” corresponding to the non-designated operation is associated with each of the plurality of operation IDs. Including.

  As an example, the PI function list may be defined in a so-called manifest file managed by the Android OS. As another example, the terminal program 65 may acquire the PI function list from the external program as a return value of the function by executing a function provided by the external program.

  The content information includes an operation ID and URI (abbreviation of Uniform Resource Identifier) acquired as a return value of the activation API from the program identified by the corresponding program ID. The operation ID is information for identifying an image processing operation to be executed by the MFP 10. The URI is an example of a data ID for identifying image data that is a target of the image processing operation identified by the corresponding operation ID. The content information is registered in the program record by the terminal program 65 in the instruction receiving process described later. The program record may include a plurality of content information or may not include content information.

  Although not shown, the memory 62 can store designated device information. The designated device information is device information stored in the MIB of the MFP 10 (hereinafter referred to as “designated device”) designated in the device selection process described later. On the other hand, when the MFP 10 is not designated, the designated device information is not stored in the memory 62.

[Operation of System 100]
The operation of the system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. It is assumed that device information of MFP 10A is stored as designated device information in memory 62 at the time of starting the main processing in FIG.

  The flowchart in this specification basically shows the processing of the CPUs 31 and 61 in accordance with the instructions described in the program. That is, processes such as “determination”, “extraction”, “selection”, “calculation”, “decision”, “specification”, and “control” in the following description represent processes of the CPUs 31 and 61. Processing by the CPUs 31 and 61 includes hardware control via the OSs 34 and 64. Further, “data” in this specification is represented by a bit string readable by a computer. Data having substantially the same semantic content but different formats are handled as the same data. The same applies to “information” in this specification.

  The OS 64 of the portable terminal 50 causes the display 53 to display the menu screen shown in FIG. The menu screen includes a plurality of program icons 111, 112, 113, and 114. The program icons 111 to 114 correspond to programs installed in the mobile terminal 50. For example, the program icon 111 corresponds to the terminal program 65, the program icon 112 corresponds to the label program 66, and the program icon 113 corresponds to the map program 67. Then, the OS 64 receives a user operation for designating one of the program icons 111 to 114 through the input I / F 54.

  As an example, the OS 64 activates the label program 66 and executes the program in the foreground in response to receiving the designation of the program icon 112 through the input I / F 54. The label program 66 activated here executes a label PI process described later. As another example, the OS 64 activates the terminal program 65 and executes the program in the foreground in response to receiving the designation of the program icon 111 through the input I / F 54. Hereinafter, a process when the program icon 111 is designated will be described.

  The terminal program 65 of the portable terminal 50 executes main screen generation processing in response to being activated by the OS 64 (S11). The main screen generation process is a process for generating the main screen shown in FIG. More specifically, the main screen generation process is a process of determining whether or not to include an icon corresponding to an external program installed in the mobile terminal 50 in the main screen shown in FIG. Details of the main screen generation process will be described with reference to FIG.

  The terminal program 65 executes the processes of S31 to S36 for all the program records included in the program list (S37: No). More specifically, the terminal program 65 determines the setting value of the installation flag of the program record (S31). Further, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the program record includes content information (S32). Further, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the designated device information stored in the memory 62 includes the operation ID of the content information (S33). And the terminal program 65 determines the icon of the external program corresponding to a program record according to the determination result of S31-S33.

  That is, the terminal program 65 determines that the first value “YES” is set in the installation flag for the program record on the first line in FIG. 3 (S31: Yes) and does not include content information. (S32: No), as shown in FIG. 10B, it is determined that the PI icon 123 corresponding to the label program 66 is included in the main screen (S36).

  The PI icon 123 is an example of a first object corresponding to an external program that is not associated with content information. An image showing the label program 66 is used for the PI icon 123. More specifically, the PI icon 123 may be anything that allows the user of the mobile terminal 50 to recognize that the label program 66 is an icon corresponding to the label program 66, such as a name, abbreviation, or a logo mark.

  Further, the terminal program 65 has the first value “YES” set in the install flag for the program record on the second line in FIG. 3 (S31: Yes), includes the content information (S32: Yes), and the designated device. When it is determined that the information includes the operation ID “sheet print” (S33: Yes), as shown in FIG. 10B, the content icon 124 corresponding to the map program 67 can be designated. It is determined to be included in the main screen (S34).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 10B, the content icon 124 may be a so-called thumbnail image obtained by processing image data indicated by a URI. “Processing” may be, for example, trimming a part of the image data indicated by the URI or reducing the resolution of the image indicated by the image data. Alternatively, the content icon 124 may be a badge image indicating the number of content information included in the program record. The badge image may be arranged around the PI icon of the corresponding external program (for example, the upper right).

  On the other hand, although illustration is omitted, in the terminal program 65, the first value “YES” is set in the installation flag (S31: Yes), the content information is included (S32: Yes), and the designated device information is the operation ID “sheet”. In response to the determination that the “print” is not included (S33: No), it is determined that the content icon 124 corresponding to the map program 67 is included in the main screen in an undesignable manner (S35). The non-designable aspect may be, for example, gray out.

  Further, the terminal program 65 corresponds to the business card program in response to determining that the second value “NO” is set in the installation flag for the program record in the third line in FIG. 3 (S31: No). Do not include icons on the main screen. And the terminal program 65 complete | finishes a main screen production | generation process according to having performed the process of S31-S36 with respect to all the program records (S37: Yes).

  Next, returning to FIG. 4, the terminal program 65 displays the main screen shown in FIG. 10B on the display 53 (S12). The main screen is an example of a first screen that includes operation icons 121 and 122, a PI icon 123, a content icon 124 that can be specified, and a switching icon 125. And the terminal program 65 receives user operation with respect to a main screen through input I / F54 (S13-S16).

  The operation icon 121 corresponds to a sheet print operation execution instruction. The operation icon 122 corresponds to a sheet scan operation execution instruction. The PI icon 123 and the content icon 124 are icons determined to be included in the main screen in the main screen generation process. The switching icon 125 corresponds to a switching instruction for the designated device. In the switching icon 125, the device ID “MFP-A” included in the designated device information is described. On the other hand, when the designated device information is not stored in the memory 62, the switching icon 125 describes a character string of “unselected” indicating that the designated device is not selected.

  Next, for example, the terminal program 65 executes a device selection process in response to receiving the designation of the switching icon 125 through the input I / F 54 (S13: Yes) (S17). Note that the search condition of the device selection process executed in S17 is “all MFPs that can communicate through the communication network 101”. Details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the terminal program 65 searches for a plurality of MFPs 10 that can communicate through the communication I / F 55 using, for example, SNMP (abbreviation of Simple Network Management Protocol) (S41). Specifically, the terminal program 65 broadcasts transmission request information to the communication network 101 through the communication I / F 55. Next, the terminal program 65 receives the device information transmitted by the MFPs 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B as a response to the transmission request information through the communication I / F 55. That is, the terminal program 65 identifies the MFPs 10A and 10B that are the transmission sources of the device information as the communicable MFPs 10. Note that a method for searching for the communicable MFP 10 may be another known method.

  Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the MFP 10 that matches the search condition has been found in S41 (S42). Next, the terminal program 65 displays the device selection screen shown in FIG. 11A on the display 53 in response to determining that the MFPs 10A and 10B have been found (S42: Yes) (S43). Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user operation for the device selection screen through the input I / F 54 (S44).

  The device selection screen includes device icons 131 and 132. Device icons 131 and 132 correspond to the MFPs 10A and 10B discovered in step S41. The device icons 131 and 132 describe the device IDs of the corresponding MFPs 10A and 10B. On the other hand, in the device selection process executed in S17, the device icons 131 and 132 do not have to describe character strings such as “label print” and “label scan”.

  Next, when the terminal program 65 receives the designation of the device icon 131 through the input I / F 54, for example (S44: Yes), the device information received from the MFP 10B corresponding to the device icon 131 is designated as designated device information. It is stored in the memory 62 (S45). When the designated device information is already stored in the memory 62, the terminal program 65 overwrites the designated device information with new designated device information. On the other hand, in response to determining that the MFP 10 has not been found in S41 (S42: No), the terminal program 65 skips the processes in S43 to S45 and ends the device selection process.

  Next, returning to FIG. 4, the terminal program 65 displays the main screen on the display 53 (S12). On the main screen after the device icon 131 is designated, the designated device ID “MFP-B” is described in the switching icon 125. Next, the terminal program 65 executes the PI activation process in response to receiving the designation of the PI icon 123 through the input I / F 54 (S14: Yes) (S18). The PI activation process is a process for activating a label program 66 (hereinafter referred to as “designated program”) corresponding to the designated PI icon 123. Details of the PI activation process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the terminal program 65 reads the PI function list of the program record corresponding to the PI icon 123 from the program list (S51). Next, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the designated device supports the designated operation indicated by the read PI function list (S52). In other words, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the designated device information including the designated operation ID indicated by the PI function list is stored in the memory 62 (S52).

  When the terminal program 65 determines that the designated device supports at least a part of the designated operation (S52: Yes), the terminal program 65 skips the processing of S53 to S55 and performs a plurality of designated operation ID “label prints”. The operation ID included in the designated device information is extracted from “label scan” (S56). Then, the terminal program 65 specifies the program ID of the label program 66 and the support function list as arguments and calls the activation API (S57, S59).

  The support function list is a list of operation IDs extracted in S56. As an example, when the MFP 10A is the designated device, the terminal program 65 extracts only a part of the designated operation ID “label print”, and displays a support function list indicating the extracted operation ID “label print” as an argument of the activation API. (S56: No → S59). As another example, when the MFP 10B is the designated device, the terminal program 65 extracts all the designated operation IDs “label print” and “label scan”, and displays a support function list indicating all the designated operation IDs as an activation API. (S56: Yes → S57).

  On the other hand, the terminal program 65 displays the confirmation screen shown in FIG. 11B on the display 53 in response to determining that the designated device does not support the designated operation at all (S52: No) (S53). . “The designated device does not support the designated operation at all” means that the designated device information stored in the memory 62 does not include any designated operation ID, or the designated device information is stored in the memory 62. It means not.

  The confirmation screen includes a message “The designated device does not support the designated operation. Do you want to select the designated device?”, A [YES] icon 141, and a [NO] icon 142. Then, the terminal program 65 receives a user operation for the confirmation screen through the input I / F 54 (S54).

  Next, the terminal program 65 executes device selection processing in response to accepting the designation of the [YES] icon 141 through the input I / F 54 (S54: YES) (S55). And the terminal program 65 performs the process after S56 using the designation | designated apparatus information newly memorize | stored in the memory 62 by the device selection process. That is, the terminal program 65 executes the processing after S56 in a state where the designated device information including the designated operation ID is stored in the memory 62. The designation of [YES] icon 141 is an example of a first instruction operation.

  The search condition of the device selection process executed in S55 is “MFP that can execute at least one of specified operations among MFPs that can communicate via communication network 101”. In the following, detailed description of points common to the device selection process described in S17 will be omitted, and differences will be mainly described.

  As an example, if the terminal program 65 receives device information from the MFPs 10A and 10B in S41, the terminal program 65 may extract an MFP whose device information includes at least one designated operation ID from the MFPs 10A and 10B. As another example, the terminal program 65 may broadcast transmission request information including the designated device ID in S41. Then, the MFPs 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B may transmit to the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25 only when the device information stored in the memory 32 includes the designated device ID. That is, the terminal program 65 receives only device information including at least one of the designated operation IDs.

  Next, in S43, as shown in FIG. 11A, the terminal program 65 displays the device icon 131 corresponding to the MFP 10B that can execute all the specified operations, and the MFP 10A that can execute only a part of the specified operations. Is displayed with priority over the device icon 132 corresponding to. In addition, the terminal program 65 notifies the designated operation that can be executed by the MFPs 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B through the corresponding device icons 131 and 132.

  As an example, “priority display” may indicate that the device icon 131 is arranged ahead of the device icon 132 in the arrangement order (for example, the vertical direction). As another example, “priority display” means that when an MFP 10B that can execute all specified operations is found, only the device icon 131 is displayed, and no MFP 10B that can execute all specified operations is found. In this case, it may indicate that the device icon 132 is displayed. Also, “notifying the designated operation through the device icons 131 and 132” means, for example, information indicating the designated operation that can be executed by the corresponding MFP 10A, 10B (for example, text of the operation name or operation ID, an image representing the operation). May be described in the device icons 131 and 132.

  On the other hand, when the terminal program 65 receives the designation of the [NO] icon 142 through the input I / F 54 (S54: NO), whether or not the PI function list acquired in S51 includes the operation ID of the output operation. Is determined (S58). That is, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the label program 66 that is the designated program can execute the output operation. The designation of the [NO] icon 142 is an example of a second instruction operation.

  Next, in response to the determination that the label program 66 can execute the output operation “label print operation” (S58: output), the terminal program 65 displays a support function list indicating the operation ID “label print” of the output operation. Is specified as an argument of the activation API, and the label program 66 is activated (S59). On the other hand, in response to the determination that the designated program cannot execute the output operation (S58: input only), the terminal program 65 designates the guidance flag as an argument of the activation API instead of the support function list, and executes the designated program. Start up (S60). The guidance flag is information indicating that a designation device that can perform the designation operation is not designated.

  The OS 64 activates the label program 66 and executes the label program 66 in the foreground in response to the activation API being executed (S57, S59, S60). In addition, the OS 64 switches the terminal program 65 that has been executed in the foreground to the background. The label program 66 activated by the activation API executes label PI processing. Details of the label PI process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the label program 66 displays a guidance screen (not shown) on the display 53 in response to obtaining the guidance flag as an argument of the activation API (S71: guidance flag), and ends the label PI process. The guidance screen is a screen for notifying that the subsequent processing cannot be continued because the designated device cannot execute the designated operation, for example. As a result, the OS 64 executes the background terminal program 65 in the foreground. Then, the terminal program 65 switched to the foreground executes, for example, the processes after S11.

  Further, the label program 66 skips the processing of S73 to S74 in response to the acquisition of the support function list as an argument of the activation API (S71: support function list), and whether the designated device supports the designated operation. It is determined whether or not (S75). In other words, the label program 66 determines whether or not the support function list acquired in S71 includes the designated device IDs “label print” and “label scan” (S75). The process of S75 is an example of a first determination process.

  Next, the label program 66 displays the menu screen shown in FIG. 12A on the display 53 (S77, S78). The menu screen is an example of a first screen including operation icons 151 and 152. The action icons 151 and 152 are examples of action objects corresponding to “label print action” and “label scan action” which are designated actions of the label program 66. Then, the label program 66 receives a user operation on the menu screen through the input I / F 54 (S79). The processes of S77 and S78 are an example of a first display process, and the process of S79 is an example of a first reception process.

  When it is determined that the support function list includes all the designated device IDs (S75: ALL), the label program 66 displays all the operation icons 151 and 152 on the menu screen in a specifiable manner (S77). . On the other hand, when it is determined that the support function list includes only a part of the designated operation ID “label print” (S75: part), the label program 66 displays the operation icon 151 corresponding to the label print operation supported by the designated device. An operation icon 152 corresponding to a label scan operation that is not supported by the designated device in a designated manner is displayed on the menu screen in a manner that cannot be designated (S78).

  Next, the label program 66 displays the label editing screen shown in FIG. 12 (B) on the display 53 in response to the specification of the operation icon 151 in the specifiable mode being received through the input I / F 54 (S79: print). (S80). The label editing screen includes a label image 161, editing icons 162, 163, 164, and a [print] icon 165. Then, the label program 66 receives a user operation on the label editing screen through the input I / F 54 (S81).

  The label image 161 is an image edited using the edit icons 162 to 164. The edit icon 162 corresponds to an instruction to add a character string to the label image 161. The edit icon 163 corresponds to an instruction for adding a color to the label image 161. The edit icon 164 corresponds to an instruction to add a photo to the label image 161. [Print] icon 165 corresponds to an instruction to execute a label print operation.

  Then, the label program 66 edits the label image 161 in accordance with a user operation on the editing icons 162 to 164, and stores the label image data indicating the edited label image 161 in the memory 62. This process is an example of a second reception process that receives designation of an execution condition for a label print operation. The execution conditions of the label print operation are, for example, image data to be subjected to the label print operation, image quality of the label print operation (for example, fine, normal, etc.), and color of the image recorded on the label (for example, color, monochrome, etc.) Etc.

  Next, in response to accepting the designation of the [print] icon 165 through the input I / F 54 (S81: Yes), the label program 66 performs an operation instruction process for instructing the designated device to execute the label print operation. The program 65 is instructed (S82). More specifically, the label program 66 executes the operation instruction function provided by the terminal program 65 by specifying the operation ID “label print” and the URI of the label image data as arguments. The process of S82 is an example of a second instruction process.

  On the other hand, the label program 66 specifies the operation ID “label scan” as an argument in response to the specification of the specifiable operation icon 152 received through the input I / F 54 (S79: scan), and specifies the operation. The function is executed (S83). Next, the label program 66 acquires the scan data generated by the designated device through the terminal program 65 (S84). For example, the label program 66 may acquire scan data as a return value of the operation instruction function. The process of S83 is an example of a second instruction process, and the process of S84 is an example of a second acquisition process.

  Then, the label program 66 outputs the scan data acquired in S84 (S85). As an example, the label program 66 may cause the display 53 to display a label editing screen including a scan image indicated by the acquired scan data. As another example, the label program 66 may store the acquired scan data in the memory 62. The process of S85 is an example of an output process.

  Further, the label program 66 also executes the label PI process when activated in response to the designation of the program icon 112 shown in FIG. However, the label program 66 in this case does not acquire information as an argument (S71: None). Then, the label program 66 designates the list notification flag and the designated operation IDs “label print” and “label scan” as arguments, and executes the operation instruction function (S73). The list notification flag is information for instructing the terminal program 65 to notify the support function list.

  Next, the label program 66 acquires a support function list from the terminal program 65 as a return value of the operation instruction function executed in S73 (S74: Yes). The process of S74 is an example of a first acquisition process. Next, the label program 66 executes the processes after S75 using the support function list acquired at S74.

  The label program 66 specifies the device selection flag and the specified operation IDs “label print” and “label scan” as arguments in response to the determination that the specified device does not support the specified operation (S75: 0). Then, the operation instruction function is executed (S76). The device selection flag is information for instructing the terminal program 65 to execute the device selection process. The process of S76 is an example of a first instruction process.

  Next, the label program 66 acquires a new support function list from the terminal program 65 as a return value of the operation instruction function executed in S76 (S74: Yes). And the label program 66 performs the process after S75 using the support function list acquired at S74. That is, the label program 66 executes the processing after S77 in a state where the designated device information including the designated device ID is stored in the memory 62. Since the processing after S77 has already been described, the description is omitted.

  In response to the operation instruction function being executed, the OS 64 executes the terminal program 65 in the foreground and switches the label program 66 that has been executed in the foreground to the background. Then, the terminal program 65 executes an instruction receiving process in response to the operation instruction function being executed. Details of the instruction reception process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the terminal program 65 acquires information specified as an argument of the operation instruction function (S91, S95, S101). For example, in response to obtaining the operation ID “label scan” as an argument of the operation instruction function (S91: Yes), the terminal program 65 transmits label scan instruction information to the designated device through the communication I / F 55 (S92). . The label scan instruction information is an example of operation instruction information for executing a label scan operation. The label scan instruction information includes, for example, an operation ID “label scan”. The process of S92 is an example of an operation instruction process.

  On the other hand, although not shown, the apparatus program 35 of the MFP 10 receives label scan instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25. Then, the device program 35 causes the scanner 12 to execute a label scan operation according to the received label scan instruction information. Then, the device program 35 transmits the scan data generated by the scanner 12 to the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25.

  Next, the terminal program 65 receives scan data from the MFP 10 through the communication I / F 55 as a response to the label scan instruction information (S93: Yes). Then, the terminal program 65 designates the scan data received in S93 as a return value of the operation instruction function, and delivers it to the label program 66 (S94). As a result, the OS 64 executes the label program 66 in the foreground, and switches the terminal program 65 that has been executed in the foreground to the background.

  Further, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not a designation device capable of executing the label print operation is designated in response to the operation ID “label print” and the URI acquired as arguments of the operation instruction function (S95: Yes). Is determined (S96). That is, the terminal program 65 determines whether or not the designated device information including the operation ID “label print” is stored in the memory 62.

  Next, the terminal program 65 executes a device selection process in response to determining that a designation device capable of performing a label print operation is not designated (S96: No) (S97). The search condition of the device selection process executed in S97 is “MFP that can execute a label print operation among MFPs that can communicate via the communication network 101”. Since the process of S97 is the same as S55 except that the search conditions are different, a description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, the terminal program 65 determines again after the process of S97 whether or not a designated device capable of performing the label print operation has been designated (S98). Then, the terminal program 65 designates through the communication I / F 55 in response to determining that a designation device capable of performing the label print operation is designated in one of S96 and S98 (S96: Yes / S98: Yes). Label print instruction information is transmitted to the apparatus (S100). The label print instruction information is an example of operation instruction information for executing a label print operation. The label print instruction information includes, for example, an operation ID “label scan” and label image data. The process of S100 is an example of an operation instruction process.

  On the other hand, although not shown, the apparatus program 35 of the MFP 10 receives label print instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25. Then, the apparatus program 35 causes the printer 11 to execute a label print operation according to the received label print instruction information.

  Further, when the terminal program 65 determines that the designation device capable of executing the label print operation is not designated (S98: No), the terminal program 65 uses the operation ID and URI acquired in S95 as the program ID “label”. The content information is registered in the program record (S99). The case where it is determined in S98 that the designated device capable of performing the label print operation is not designated is, for example, the case where the MFP 10 capable of performing the label print operation is not found in S41.

  Further, the terminal program 65 executes the device selection process in response to the acquisition of the device selection flag and the designated operation ID as arguments of the operation instruction function (S101: device selection) (S102). The search condition for the device selection process executed in S102 is “MFP that can execute a specified operation among MFPs that can communicate via the communication network 101”. Since the process of S102 is the same as S55, the description thereof is omitted. The process of S102 is an example of a device designation process.

  Then, the terminal program 65 specifies, as a return value of the operation instruction function, a support function list indicating the operation ID included in the specified device information stored in the memory 62 in S102 among the specified operation IDs acquired in S101. The label program 66 is handed over (S103). As a result, the OS 64 executes the label program 66 in the foreground, and switches the terminal program 65 that has been executed in the foreground to the background.

  Furthermore, the terminal program 65 is stored in the memory 62 among the specified operation IDs acquired in S101 in response to the acquisition of the list notification flag and the specified operation ID as arguments of the operation instruction function (S101: list notification). The support function list indicating the operation ID included in the specified device information is specified as the return value of the operation instruction function and delivered to the label program 66 (S103). As a result, the OS 64 executes the label program 66 in the foreground, and switches the terminal program 65 that has been executed in the foreground to the background.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the terminal program 65 receives content information corresponding to the content icon 124 in response to accepting the specification of the content icon 124 in a specifiable mode through the input I / F 54 (S15: Yes). Read from the memory 62. Then, the terminal program 65 transmits sheet print instruction information to the designated device through the communication I / F 55 (S19). On the other hand, although illustration is omitted, the terminal program 65 does not execute the process of S19 even if the specification of a content icon in a mode that cannot be specified is received through the input I / F 54.

  The sheet print instruction information is for executing the sheet print operation identified by the operation ID “sheet print” of the read content information for the image data “Map 01.JPEG” indicated by the URI of the read content information. Information. The sheet print instruction information includes, for example, image data “Map 01.JPEG” indicated by the read URI and the read operation ID “sheet print”. The sheet print instruction information in S19 is an example of second instruction information. On the other hand, although not shown, the apparatus program 35 of the MFP 10 receives sheet print instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25. Then, the apparatus program 35 causes the printer 11 to execute a sheet print operation according to the received sheet print instruction information.

  Further, in response to receiving the designation of the operation icon 121 through the input I / F 54 (S16: Yes), the terminal program 65 transmits sheet print instruction information to the designated device through the communication I / F 55 (S20). The sheet print instruction information in S20 includes, for example, image data designated by the user through the input I / F 54. Further, the terminal program 65 transmits sheet scan instruction information to the designated device via the communication I / F 55 in response to accepting the designation of the operation icon 122 via the input I / F 54 (S16: Yes) (S20). The sheet scan instruction information is information for executing a sheet scan operation. The sheet scan instruction information includes, for example, an operation ID “sheet scan”.

  On the other hand, although not shown, the apparatus program 35 of the MFP 10 receives a sheet scan instruction process from the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25. Then, the apparatus program 35 causes the scanner 12 to execute a sheet scan operation according to the received sheet scan instruction information. Further, the apparatus program 35 transmits the scan data generated by the scanner 12 in the sheet scanning operation to the portable terminal 50 through the communication I / F 25. Then, for example, the terminal program 65 stores the scan data received from the MFP 10 through the communication I / F 55 in the memory 62.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
The label program 66 according to the above-described embodiment determines whether or not the designated device supports the designated operation at the start timing (S75). Then, the label program 66 causes the terminal program 65 to execute processing for allowing the user to designate the designated device from among the MFPs 10 capable of performing the designated operation when the designated device does not support the designated operation (S76 → S102). ). Thereby, before the label program 66 performs S82 / S83, an appropriate designation | designated apparatus can be selected easily. In the above embodiment, the example in which the label program 66 is the designated program has been described, but the same applies to the case where the map program 67 or the business card program is the designated program.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when the designation device does not support the designation operation that can be instructed by the label program 66 (S52: No), prior to starting the label program 66 (S57 / S59). The user can be made to designate a desired MFP 10 from among the MFPs 10 that can execute the designation operation (S55). Thereby, the MFP 10 suitable for the label program 66 to be started can be easily selected.

  According to the above embodiment, in S57 and S59, the operation ID of the specified operation supported by the specified device is notified to the label program 66 as an argument of the activation API. Then, the label program 66 makes it possible to designate an operation icon corresponding to a designated operation supported by the designated device on the menu screen shown in FIG. 12A, and to deal with a designated operation not supported by the designated device. Disable action icons. In this way, the label program 66 can notify the user of the functions that can be used using the current designated device by acquiring the support function list.

  Note that the label program 66 may execute the processes of S77 to S79 only when a plurality of designated operations are supported by the designated device. On the other hand, when the designated device supports only the label print operation, the label program 66 may skip the processes of S77 to S79 and execute the processes of S80 to S82. Similarly, the label program 66 may skip the processing of S77 to S79 and execute the processing of S83 to S85 when the designated device supports only the label scanning operation.

  That is, when the designated device supports only one designated operation, the label program 66 may execute the processing from S80 onward assuming that the designated operation is designated in S79. As a result, when the designated device supports only one designated operation, the processing of S77 to S79 is skipped, so that user operations on the label program 66 can be further reduced.

  In the label program 66, the process of allowing the user to specify the label image data that is the target of the label print operation can be executed even if the designation device does not support the label print operation. That is, it may not be necessary to designate a designated device at the timing of starting the label program 66. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, a process for designating the designated device is executed at an appropriate timing by allowing the user to select whether or not to designate the designated device before starting the label program 66 through the confirmation screen. Can do.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when the label program 66 is started without designating the designated device (S58: output → S59) and the label print operation is instructed from the label program 66 (S95: Yes & S96: No), device selection processing is executed (S97). As a result, the user can designate a desired MFP 10 from among the MFPs 10 capable of executing the label print operation at the timing when the label print operation is instructed.

  Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, when there is no MFP 10 that can execute the label print operation instructed by the label program 66 (S98: No), the operation ID and URI acquired from the label program 66 are stored in the memory 62. (S99). Then, in response to the content icon on the main screen being designated (S15: Yes), the terminal program 65 causes the designated device to execute an output operation according to the content information stored in the memory 62 (S19). Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent the operation performed by the user with respect to the label program 66 in order to edit the label image 161 from being wasted.

  The content icon 124 is displayed in a manner that can be designated when the designated device information includes the operation ID of the content information, and is displayed in a manner that cannot be designated when the designated device information does not include the operation ID of the content information. . For the content icon 124, a thumbnail image or the like obtained by processing image data indicated by a URI is used. Accordingly, it is possible to notify the user that the content information is stored in the memory 62 and to prompt the user to execute an output operation according to the content information.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the device icon 131 corresponding to the MFP 10B that can execute all the specified operations on the device selection screen shown in FIG. 11A can execute only a part of the specified operations. It is displayed with priority over the device icon 132 corresponding to the MFP 10A. Furthermore, the designated operation that can be executed by the MFPs 10A and 10B discovered in S41 is notified through the corresponding device icons 131 and 132. As a result, the MFP 10 suitable for the label program 66 can be easily designated by the user.

  Further, in the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 of the above-described embodiment, an example in which each process executed by the controller of the present invention is realized by the CPUs 31 and 61 executing various programs stored in the memories 32 and 62. explained. However, the configuration of the controller is not limited to this, and part or all of the configuration may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be realized not only as the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 but also as a program that causes the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 to execute processing. Then, the program may be provided by being recorded on a non-transitory recording medium. The non-transitory recording medium may include a storage unit mounted on a server that can be connected to the MFP 10 and the portable terminal 50 through the communication network 101 in addition to a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like. And the program memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the server may be distributed through the communication networks 101, such as the internet, as the information or signal which shows the said program.

10 ... MFP
11 ... Printer 12 ... Scanner 23, 53 ... Display 24, 54 ... Input I / F
25, 55 ... Communication I / F
31, 61 ... CPU
32, 62 ... Memory 35 ... Device program 50 ... Mobile terminal 65 ... Terminal program 66 ... Label program 67 ... Map program

Claims (5)

A program readable by a portable terminal having a memory, an input interface, and a communication interface,
The memory stores an external program capable of starting the program, and the external program is designated as an image processing apparatus capable of executing at least one of a plurality of image processing operations, and the external program designates a user. A program for instructing the image processing operation performed,
The program
The portable terminal is caused to execute a first acquisition process for acquiring the operation ID included in the designated device information from the external program, and the designated device information is designated as the image processing device designated by the user by the external program. Including the operation ID for identifying the image processing operation executable by the apparatus;
The program
A first determination process for determining whether or not the operation ID for identifying a specified operation that is one of the image processing operations is acquired in the first acquisition process;
Of the plurality of image processing apparatuses communicable through the communication interface, the image processing apparatus capable of executing the designation operation in response to the judgment that the acquisition has not been performed in the first judgment process. A first instruction process for causing the external program to execute a device designation process to be designated by the user as
A first receiving process for receiving, through the input interface, a user operation for instructing execution of the specified operation in a state where the specified device information including the operation ID of the specified operation is stored in the memory;
The portable terminal is caused to execute a second instruction process for causing the external program to execute an operation instruction process for transmitting operation instruction information to the designated device through the communication interface. A program that is information for executing the designated operation. The mobile terminal includes a display,
The program can instruct the designated device through the external program for a plurality of the designated operations,
The program
A first display process for causing the display to display a first screen including an action object corresponding to the action ID acquired in the first acquisition process among the plurality of action IDs for identifying the plurality of designated actions. , Causing the portable terminal to execute prior to the first reception process,
The user interface for specifying the action object in the first reception process is received through the input interface as a user operation for instructing execution of the specified action identified by the action ID corresponding to the action object. The program described in. The program
In response to acquiring a plurality of the operation IDs of the designated operation in the first acquisition process,
The first display process;
Causing the portable terminal to execute a second reception process for receiving, through the input interface, a user operation that specifies an execution condition of the designated operation that is instructed to be executed in the first reception process;
In response to obtaining only one action ID of the designated action in the first obtaining process, execution of the designated action identified by the action ID obtained in the first obtaining process is instructed. , Causing the portable terminal to execute the second reception process without performing the first display process and the first reception process,
3. The program according to claim 2, wherein in the second instruction process, the designation apparatus is instructed through the external program for the designation operation according to the execution condition designated in the second reception process. The designation operation is an output operation for outputting image data,
The program
Causing the portable terminal to execute a second reception process for receiving a user operation for designating the image data to be the target of the output operation through the input interface;
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the second instruction process, the designated apparatus is instructed through the external program for the output operation for the image data designated in the second reception process. . The designation operation is an input operation for generating image data to be input to the program,
The program
A second acquisition process for acquiring the image data generated by the input operation instructed in the second instruction process from the designated device through the external program;
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which causes the portable terminal to execute an output process of outputting the image data acquired in the second acquisition process.