JP2018147384A - Information processing terminal device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing terminal device that can easily obtain use permission and exchange (communicate) information when it communicates with a printer.SOLUTION: An information processing terminal device capable of radio communication with a printer includes: a short-range wireless communication unit for receiving device information transmitted by a radio communication device adjunct to the printer; an authentication key reading unit for reading an authentication key included in the device information received by the short-range wireless communication unit; an authentication key processing unit for obtaining the authentication key read by the authentication key reading unit and returning it to the printer; a data generation unit for generating print data to be transmitted to the printer; and a control unit for performing control to transmit the print data to the printer when a completion notice of an authentication process is received from the printer on the basis of the returned authentication key.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an information processing terminal device and a program.

  Conventionally, a point-of-sale information management system called a POS (Point of Sales) system has become widespread, and a POS printer is used as one of the terminals of the POS system. The POS printer prints on a recording medium such as receipt paper.

In addition, portable terminals such as smartphones and tablet terminals have become widespread, and there is a demand for printing data of portable terminals using a POS printer. Data exchange between the printer and the portable terminal can be performed via a wireless interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). By wirelessly connecting the portable terminal and the printer, the data of the portable terminal can be printed using the printer.

By the way, when exchanging information between the portable terminal and the printer, from the viewpoint of security, whether or not the user is an authorized user so that only the user (mobile terminal) to which use authority is given in advance can use the printer is authenticated. Like to do. As an authentication method, for example, there are a method of setting an SSID (Service Sell IDentifier) in a mobile terminal and a method of setting a password.

Various operating systems (OS) are employed as software for comprehensively managing computer hardware and software and executing various applications. In mobile terminals such as smartphones, Android (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), and the like are employed.

  However, the Wi-Fi authentication method is not supported for terminal devices using Android (registered trademark) or iOS (registered trademark). In general, since a portable terminal cannot communicate with a printer without authentication of use authority, there is a problem that only a portable terminal with a limited OS can communicate with the printer.

JP 2005-217646 A

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an information processing terminal device and a program which can easily obtain use permission and exchange information (communication) when communicating with a printer.

  An information processing terminal device according to an embodiment is an information processing terminal device capable of wireless communication with a printer, and a short-range wireless communication unit that receives device information transmitted from a wireless communication device attached to the printer An authentication key reading unit that reads an authentication key included in the device information received by the short-range wireless communication unit, and an authentication key processing unit that acquires the authentication key read by the authentication key reading unit and sends it back to the printer And a data generation unit for generating print data to be transmitted to the printer, and when the authentication processing completion notification is received from the printer based on the returned authentication key, the print data is transmitted to the printer. A control unit for controlling.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer and an information processing terminal device according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer according to an embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the information processing terminal device in one Embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows the user authentication process between the printer and information processing terminal device in one Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the flow of the information processing in the information processing terminal device in one Embodiment.

  Embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same location.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer 10 and an information processing terminal device 20 according to the embodiment. The printer 10 is, for example, a POS printer provided in a store. The information processing terminal device 20 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The information processing terminal device 20 is hereinafter referred to as a portable terminal 20.

  The printer 10 includes a housing 11, and a receipt paper issuing port 12 is provided on the top surface of the housing 11. In addition, the printer 10 includes an operation unit 13 and a display unit 14 on the front surface of the housing 11. The printer 10 performs receipt paper issuance processing based on the receipt data received from the POS terminal.

  The mobile terminal 20 is a terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, and includes a main body 21 and a touch screen display 22. The touch screen display 22 includes a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display device and a touch panel, and the touch panel is touched by a user's finger or pen. The touch screen display 22 is hereinafter simply referred to as the display 22.

  For example, the printer 10 and the mobile terminal 20 can perform wireless communication via a wireless interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printer 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31 as a control unit. The CPU 31 is connected to a ROM (Read Only Memory) 33, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 34, an interface (I / F) 35, and a printing unit 36 via a bus line 32 (address bus, data bus, etc.). ing.

  Furthermore, the CPU 31 is connected to the above-described operation unit 13, display unit 14, wireless communication device 37, communication interface (I / F) 38, and other units via a bus line 32.

  The CPU 31 has a function of controlling the overall operation of the printer 10. The ROM 33 stores in advance fixed data such as program data including control programs and setting data. The CPU 31 controls each unit of the printer 10 by developing a program stored in the ROM 33 on the RAM 34 and executing the program. The RAM 34 includes various memory areas such as a buffer area in which print data is expanded. The RAM 34 also has an area for storing data such as messages printed on paper (receipt paper).

  The interface (I / F) 35 is connected to a POS terminal (not shown) and receives the detailed transaction data from the POS terminal. This detail data includes transaction product detail data such as transaction date / time, transaction number, product code, product name, price, etc. Detail data is included.

  In the printing unit 36, for example, a platen roller and a thermal head are arranged to face each other. When the paper (receipt paper) passes between the platen roller and the thermal head, the thermal head contacts the recording surface of the paper and applies heat energy to print characters and the like on the recording surface of the paper.

  The wireless communication device 37 is a short-range wireless communication device such as NFC (Near Field Communication), and is attached to the printer 10. Hereinafter, the wireless communication device 37 is referred to as an NFC device 37. The CPU 31 can create an authentication key that permits communication between the printer 10 and the portable terminal 20, write the created authentication key to the NFC device 37, and transmit device information including the authentication key from the NFC device 37. The authentication key can be rewritten.

  The communication interface (I / F) 38 is, for example, a wireless interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and is used for wireless communication with the mobile terminal 20.

  Next, a configuration example of the mobile terminal 20 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the mobile terminal 20. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 as a control unit. Further, the CPU 41 is connected to a ROM (Read Only Memory) 43, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 44, a storage device 45, a communication interface (I / F) 46, data via a bus line 42 (address bus, data bus, etc.). A generation unit 47 is connected.

  Further, the CPU 41 is connected to the display 22 and the units such as the short-range wireless communication unit 48 and the authentication key processing unit 49 via the bus line 42. The display 22 includes a display unit 221 (flat panel display) and an input unit 222 (touch panel).

The CPU 41 has a function of controlling the overall operation of the mobile terminal 20. The ROM 43 is a memory in which a control program and control data are stored in advance. CPU41 controls each part of the portable terminal 20 by expand | deploying and executing the program memorize | stored in ROM43 on RAM44.
The storage device 45 stores an application program 451 and an OS (Operating System) 452 that is a program for managing the mobile terminal 20. The CPU 41 executes an application program 451 stored in the storage device 45. The application program 451 includes a Web application in addition to general software such as document creation software.

In this embodiment, for example, Android (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or the like is employed as the OS 452.

  The communication interface (I / F) 46 is, for example, a wireless interface such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and is used for wireless communication with the printer 10. The communication I / F 46 receives data from the printer 10 or transmits data to the printer 10 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 41.

  The display unit 221 displays various information under the control of the CPU 41. The input unit 222 inputs various instructions by the operator of the mobile terminal 20. The data generation unit 47 generates print data based on an instruction from the input unit 222.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 48 enables wireless communication without contact with the NFC device 37 when the mobile terminal 20 is brought close to the printer 10 (for example, close to a distance of 10 cm to 20 cm). Device information can be received. The short-range wireless communication unit 48 is configured by, for example, an NFC reader / writer corresponding to the NFC standard.

  Further, the authentication key included in the device information received by the short-range wireless communication unit 48 is read by the application program 451 and the OS 452 stored in the storage device 45. That is, the application program 451 and the OS 452 of the storage device 45 constitute an authentication key reading unit. The authentication key processing unit 49 acquires the authentication key read by the authentication key reading unit and returns it to the printer 10.

  In the present embodiment, when data created by the mobile terminal 20 such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal is to be printed using the printer 10, for example, the data of the mobile terminal 20 is obtained by wirelessly connecting the mobile terminal 20 and the printer 10. Can be printed using the printer 10. In this case, from the viewpoint of security, user authentication is performed so that only a user (mobile terminal 20) who has been given a use authority in advance can use the printer 10.

  Hereinafter, the exchange of information between the printer 10 and the portable terminal 20 in the embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing user authentication processing between the printer 10 and the portable terminal 20. When it is desired to print data created by the mobile terminal 20 using the printer 10, the user of the mobile terminal 20 transmits a print request to the printer 10 at timing T1. In this case, for example, the mobile terminal 20 is brought closer to the NFC device 37 of the printer 10. When the portable terminal 20 is brought close to the printer 10, the NFC device 37 and the short-range wireless communication unit 48 can perform wireless communication. At T2, device information including the authentication key created by the printer 10 is output from the NFC device 37, and the printer 10 transmits the device information to the portable terminal 20 (T3). The authentication key is rewritten every time. Or it is rewritten regularly.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 48 of the mobile terminal 20 receives the device information transmitted from the printer 10 at T4. Further, the authentication key reading unit (OS, application program) of the portable terminal 20 reads the authentication key included in the device information at T5.

The storage device 45 of the portable terminal 20 stores a dedicated application program 451 that recognizes an authentication key and an OS 452 (for example, Android (registered trademark) or iOS (registered trademark)). Therefore, the application program 451 is executed by the OS 542 to read the authentication key. The authentication key processing unit 49 acquires the read authentication key and returns it to the printer via the communication I / F 46 at T6. Alternatively, the acquired authentication key may be returned from the short-range wireless communication unit 48 to the NFC device 37.

The printer 10 receives the authentication key returned from the portable terminal 20 at T7 and completes the authentication. The CPU 31 of the printer 10 prepares printing by controlling the printing unit 36 at T8. When the print preparation is completed, the CPU 31 of the printer 10 notifies the mobile terminal 20 of the completion of the authentication process, that is, a printable notification at T9. The notification of completion of the authentication process may be performed from the communication I / F 38 via the communication I / F 46, or may be performed from the NFC device 37 via the short-range wireless communication unit 48.
The data generation unit 47 of the mobile terminal 20 generates print data based on an instruction from the input unit 222, and the CPU 41 of the mobile terminal 20 generates the print data when the authentication processing completion notification is received from the printer 10. Control is performed so that the print data thus transmitted is transmitted to the printer 10. In this way, print data is transmitted to the printer 10 via the communication I / F 46 at T10. At T11, the printer 10 receives the print data via the communication I / F 38, and the print unit 36 prints the print data on the sheet.

  If the authentication key generated by the printer 10 can be read in this way, the use authority is given to the mobile terminal 20, and the mobile terminal 20 can print data using the printer 10.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of information processing in the mobile terminal 20. In FIG. 5, the short-range wireless communication unit 48 of the mobile terminal 20 is ACT. In 1 (operation 1), the device information transmitted from the NFC device 37 of the printer 10 is received. In addition, ACT. 2, the authentication key processing unit 49 acquires the authentication key read by the OS 452 and the application program 451, and determines whether or not the authentication key has been successfully read. When the authentication key is successfully read (ACT. 2 is YES), the authentication key processing unit 49 determines that the ACT. 3, an authentication key is returned to the printer 10.

Further, when reading of the authentication key fails (ACT. 2 is NO), ACT. 4, it is determined whether the reception of device information and the reading of the authentication key have been executed N times. If reading is not possible even after the prescribed number of times (N times) (ACT.4 is YES), ACT. In step 5, the CPU 41 displays information indicating that the authentication key has failed to be read, that is, information indicating that the printer 10 cannot be used, on the display unit 221. The specified number of times (N times) may be only once or a plurality of times.

ACT. 3, after the authentication key is returned to the printer 10, when the authentication process is completed in the printer 10, the printer 10 receives a notification of authentication completion (completion of communication preparation). ACT. 6, the CPU 41 determines whether authentication has been acquired based on the notification from the printer 10. ACT. If the authentication is obtained in step 6, the ACT. 7 completes authentication, and ACT. 8, the portable terminal 20 transmits the print data generated by the data generation unit 47 to the printer 10. Thus, the mobile terminal 20 can print the print data generated by the mobile terminal 20 using the printer 10.

In addition, ACT. 6, when authentication cannot be acquired (NO in ACT. 6), in ACT 9, the CPU 41 determines whether authentication acquisition determination has been executed n times. If acquisition is not possible even after the prescribed number of times (n times) is executed (ACT.9 is YES), ACT. In step 10, the CPU 41 displays information indicating that the authentication has failed, that is, information indicating that the printer 10 cannot be used on the display unit 221. The specified number of times (n times) may be only once or a plurality of times.

  According to the present embodiment, only the portable terminal 20 having a dedicated application program that can read the authentication key generated by the printer 10 can communicate with the printer. Accordingly, it is possible to strengthen authentication for permission of communication with the printer.

The printer 10 is not limited to a POS printer, and may be another business printer or a home printer. The printer 10 is not limited to a thermal printer, and may be any printer that can communicate with the portable terminal 20 such as a thermal transfer printer using an ink ribbon or an inkjet printer.

The mobile terminal 20 is not limited to a smartphone or a tablet terminal, and may be an information processing terminal such as a personal computer. Furthermore, the wireless communication device 37 and the short-range wireless communication unit 48 are not limited to those compatible with the NFC standard, and a short-range communication method such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) can also be adopted.

  In this embodiment, the case has been described in which functions (OS, application programs) for carrying out the invention are recorded in advance in the apparatus (mobile terminal 20). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and similar functions are transferred from the network to the apparatus. It may be downloaded, or a similar function stored in a recording medium may be installed in the apparatus. The recording medium may take any form as long as it is a recording medium that can store a program and can be read by the apparatus, such as a CD-ROM. In addition, the function obtained by installing or downloading in advance may be realized in cooperation with the OS or the like inside the apparatus.

  In addition, although several embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof as well as included in the scope and gist of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printer 14 ... Display part 20 ... Information processing terminal device (mobile terminal)
22 ... Touch screen display 37 ... Wireless communication device 41 ... CPU (control unit)
45 ... storage device 38, 46 ... communication I / F
47 ... Data generation unit 48 ... Short-range wireless communication unit 49 ... Authentication key processing unit

Claims (5)

An information processing terminal device capable of wireless communication with a printer,
A short-range wireless communication unit that receives device information transmitted from a wireless communication device attached to the printer;
An authentication key reading unit for reading an authentication key included in the device information received by the short-range wireless communication unit;
An authentication key processing unit that acquires the authentication key read by the authentication key reading unit and sends it back to the printer;
A data generation unit for generating print data to be transmitted to the printer;
A control unit that controls to send the print data to the printer when a notification of completion of the authentication process is received from the printer based on the returned authentication key;
An information processing terminal device comprising:   The information processing terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the authentication key reading unit includes a dedicated application program for recognizing the authentication key and a storage device storing an operating system.   The information processing terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the near field communication unit includes a reader / writer for near field communication.   2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a display unit that displays information indicating that the printer is unusable when reception of the device information by the short-range wireless communication unit or reading of the authentication key by the authentication key reading unit fails. Information processing terminal device. A program for controlling an information processing terminal device capable of wireless communication with a printer,
A short-range wireless communication function for receiving device information transmitted from a wireless communication device attached to the printer;
An authentication key reading function for reading an authentication key included in device information received by the short-range wireless communication function;
An authentication key processing function for acquiring an authentication key read by the authentication key reading function and returning the authentication key to the printer;
A data generation function for generating print data to be transmitted to the printer;
A control function for controlling to send the print data to the printer when an authentication process completion notification is received from the printer based on the returned authentication key;
A program to realize

Images