JP2019079575A - Information processing apparatus, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for facilitating operation relevant to proper printing setting.SOLUTION: A terminal device acquires information indicating a type and size of sheets which are set to respective paper feed ports from a printing device. Then, the terminal device determines whether another sheet type which matches with a sheet type suitable for the information attribute selected by a user as a print object is included in the acquired information. When a matching sheet type is included, the terminal device generates printing data which includes information indicating a paper feed port on which the matching sheet is set and transmits the information to the printing device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, control method, and program.

  In recent years, it has become possible to wirelessly communicate between a printer and an external device such as a digital camera or a cellular phone, so that the printer can receive and print an image from the external device. At this time, the printer and the external device initially specify the other party of communication by near field communication including NFC (Near Field Communication). Thereafter, it is also known that the printer receives an image file to be printed from an external device by higher-speed wireless communication other than near field communication.

  When printing is actually performed, the user performs print setting with software that executes printing, and obtains a desired print result by instructing the execution of printing. The print setting items include a sheet type, a sheet size, and a sheet feeding method. There are various types of paper, such as glossy paper suitable for printing a photo, and ordinary paper suitable for printing a document. It goes without saying that it is necessary to make appropriate settings in each setting item. In particular, in the case of ink jet printing, in order to carry out an image forming process suitable for the type of paper, it is necessary to make appropriate settings in order to obtain good printing results.

  While there is a need to make appropriate print settings, print setting operations are time-consuming for the user, and it is desirable that the software automatically make the optimum settings.

  In order to reduce the time and effort of setting operation, it is possible to appropriately select the paper feed port based on the attribute (size, type) of the sheet designated by the user, and even when the sheet of the designated attribute does not exist There has been proposed a method of using a sheet of an attribute in accordance with designation (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-48580

  However, Patent Document 1 selects an appropriate sheet feed port based on the attribute of the sheet designated by the user. That is, since the user needs to select an appropriate sheet attribute from a large number of types of sheet types, the user's operation load is large and the operation is complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for simplifying an operation relating to appropriate print settings.

In order to solve this problem, for example, the information processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
When the first selection item is selected via the predetermined screen, the first selection screen capable of selecting the first print target data as print target data is displayed, and the first sheet attribute is determined as the sheet attribute, When the second selection item is selected via the predetermined screen, a second selection screen capable of selecting the second print target data as the print target data is displayed, and the second sheet attribute is displayed as the sheet attribute Control means to determine
The printing apparatus further comprises transmission means for transmitting a printing instruction based on print target data selected using the first selection screen or the second selection screen to a printing apparatus,
When the determined sheet attribute corresponds to at least one of the first sheet information set in the first sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus and the second sheet information set in the second sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus Print processing based on the print instruction is executed,
The determined sheet attribute corresponds to both the first sheet information set in the first sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus and the second sheet information set in the second sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus If not, the first option including the first sheet information as a display object and the second option including the second sheet information as a display object are displayed in parallel.
When the first option is selected, the printing apparatus executes print processing corresponding to the first option,
When the second option is selected, a printing process corresponding to the second option is executed by the printing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to make an operation relating to appropriate print settings simpler than ever.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. The figure showing the appearance of a terminal unit. The figure showing the appearance of a printing device. The block diagram which shows the structure of a terminal device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a sheet information registration screen. The figure showing the starting screen of application software. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image print screen. The figure showing a document printing screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a print setting screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a sheet setting screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a list of selectable paper sizes. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a list of selectable sheets. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of setting of sheet information. FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of a sheet information selection screen presented to the user. 3 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing of the first embodiment. The flowchart showing the contents of processing of a 2nd embodiment. The flowchart showing the contents of processing of a 3rd embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of the features described in the present embodiments are essential to the solution means of the present invention. Not exclusively.

First Embodiment
<System-wide configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a print processing system. This system is configured of a terminal apparatus 200 as a portable information processing apparatus connectable to the access point 100 and a printing apparatus 300 centering on the access point 100. The terminal device 200 that also functions as a communication device includes at least two or more types of wireless communication units having different communication speeds (or communicable ranges). The terminal device 200 may be of any type as long as it can handle a file to be printed, such as a personal information terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone (including a smart phone), and a digital camera. The printing apparatus 300, which also functions as a communication apparatus, has a reading function of reading an original by placing the original on the original table, and a printing function of printing using a printing engine such as an inkjet printer. It may have a telephone function.

  The access point 100 and the printing apparatus 300 can be connected by a wireless LAN, but may be connected by a wired LAN. The access point 100 and the terminal device 200 can also be connected by wireless LAN. The terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 can communicate by near field communication. In addition, the printing apparatus 300 has an AP mode, and when the AP mode is activated, both the terminal apparatus 200 and the printing apparatus 300 can also perform peer-to-peer communication via a wireless LAN. When the AP mode is enabled, the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 perform peer-to-peer communication using an access point included in the printing device 300. Note that the printing device may communicate with the access point 100 while the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 are performing peer-to-peer communication using an access point included in the printing device. In addition, whether the printing apparatus validates only the AP mode or validates both of the AP mode and the communication with the access point 100 is determined by the instruction of the user.

<Appearance of terminal device>
FIG. 2 is a view showing the appearance of the terminal device 200. As shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a smartphone is taken as an example. A smartphone is a multifunctional mobile phone equipped with a camera, an internet browser, an e-mail function, and the like in addition to the functions of the mobile phone. An NFC (Near Field Communication) unit 201 is a unit that performs near field communication. In practice, communication can be performed by bringing the NFC unit 201 closer to the NFC unit of the other party (in the embodiment, the NFC unit of the printing apparatus 300) within a predetermined distance (about 10 cm).

  The wireless LAN unit 202 is a unit for performing communication in a wireless LAN. The wireless LAN unit 202 can perform communication faster than the communication speed of the NFC unit, and is disposed in the terminal device 200. The display unit 203 is, for example, a display including an LCD type display mechanism. The operation unit 204 includes a touch panel type operation mechanism, and detects user's pressing information. A typical operation method is that the display unit 203 displays a button icon and a software keyboard, and the user presses an operation unit 204 to issue an event in which the button is pressed. The power key 205 is used to turn the power on and off.

<Appearance of printing device>
FIG. 3A is a view showing the appearance of the printing apparatus 300 having a plurality of sheet feeding ports, and FIG. 3B is a top view thereof. In this embodiment, a Multi Function Printer (MFP) having a reading function (scanner) is taken as an example. In FIG. 3A, a document table 301 is a glass-like transparent table, and is used when a document is placed and read by a scanner. The document lid 302 is a lid for preventing the reading light from leaking to the outside when reading with a scanner. The print sheet feed ports 303a and 303b are sheet feed ports for setting sheets of various sizes. In the present embodiment, an example in which there are two sheet feeding ports 303 is described, but the number is not particularly limited, and may be three or more. The sheets set in the printing sheet feed port 303 a or 303 b are conveyed to the printing unit one by one, printed, and discharged from the printing sheet discharge port 304. The print sheet feed ports 303a and 303b can register the sheet size of the sheet set to the sheet feed port and the sheet type in the printing apparatus 300 as sheet information. The registration method of the sheet information will be described later.

  In FIG. 3B, the operation display unit 305 and the NFC unit 306 are disposed above the document cover 302. The NFC unit 306 is a unit for performing near field communication, and is actually a place where the terminal device 200 is brought close to the printing apparatus 300. The predetermined distance (about 10 cm) from the NFC unit 306 is the effective distance of contact. The wireless LAN antenna 307 has an embedded antenna for communicating by wireless LAN.

  The short distance wireless communication means wireless communication represented by NFC, in which the communication range is a relatively small predetermined range (for example, 1 meter to several centimeters).

<Configuration of Terminal Device>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device. The terminal device 200 includes a main board 210 that controls the entire device, a wireless LAN unit 202, an NFC unit 201, a line connection unit 206, an operation unit 204, and a display unit 203. Here, the wireless LAN unit 202, the NFC unit 201, and the line connection unit 206 all function as a communication unit of the terminal device 200.

  The microprocessor type CPU 211 disposed on the main board 210 operates according to the control program stored in the ROM type program memory 213 connected via the internal bus 212 and the contents of the RAM type data memory 214. Do.

  The CPU 211 controls the wireless LAN unit 202 via the wireless LAN control circuit 215 to communicate with the other communication terminal apparatus by the wireless LAN 102. By controlling the NFC unit 201 via the NFC control circuit 216, the CPU 211 can detect connection with the other NFC terminal by the NFC 101, and can transmit / receive data to / from another NFC terminal. By controlling the line connection unit 206 via the line control circuit 217, the CPU 211 can be connected to the mobile phone line network 105, and can make calls and transmit and receive data.

  The CPU 211 can receive an instruction from the user via the operation unit 204 by controlling the operation unit control circuit 218, and can display various menus, images, and the like on the display unit 203. The CPU 211 can control the camera unit 219 to capture an image, and stores the captured image in the image memory 220 in the data memory 214. In addition to the photographed image, an image acquired from the outside through the cellular phone network 105, the wireless LAN 102, or the NFC 101 can be stored in the image memory 220, or conversely transmitted to the outside.

  The non-volatile memory 221 is configured by a memory such as a flash memory, and stores data that it is desired to save even after the power is turned off. For example, in addition to telephone directory data, various communication connection information, device information connected in the past, etc., image data to be stored or programs such as application software for realizing various functions in the terminal device 200 are stored.

<Configuration of Printing Device>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus 300 includes a main board 310 that controls the entire apparatus, a line connection unit 322, a wireless LAN unit 308, an NFC unit 306, and an operation panel 305. Here, the line connection unit 322, the wireless LAN unit 308, and the NFC unit 306 function as a communication unit of the printing apparatus 300.

  The microprocessor type CPU 311 disposed on the main board 310 processes according to the control program stored in the ROM type program memory 313 connected via the internal bus 312 and the contents of the RAM type data memory 314 Run.

  The CPU 311 controls the scanner unit 315 to read an original, and stores the document in the image memory 316 in the data memory 314. Also, the CPU 311 can control the printing unit 317 to print the image of the image memory 316 in the data memory 314 on a recording medium.

  The CPU 311 can print print data received from the outside via the line control unit 321. It is possible to print data in the form of printing command unique to the vendor, lossy compressed data such as JPEG defined by the standard, lossless compressed data such as PWGRaster, Tiff, and the like.

  The CPU 311 controls the wireless LAN unit 308 through the wireless LAN control circuit 318 to communicate with the other communication terminal apparatus by the wireless LAN 102. In addition, the CPU 311 detects the connection of the NFC 101 with another NFC terminal by controlling the NFC unit 306 via the NFC control circuit 319, and transmits / receives data to / from another NFC terminal. it can. By controlling the line connection unit 322 via the line control circuit 321, the CPU 311 can be connected to the telephone line network 323 to perform FAX transmission / reception and data transmission / reception.

  The CPU 311 can control the operation display unit control circuit 320 to display the status of the printing apparatus 300 or display a function selection menu on the operation panel 305 or receive an operation from the user. Therefore, the operation panel 305 is configured by a display with a touch panel, including various switches and buttons.

The following information is stored in a memory (non-volatile memory) (not shown) in the NFC unit 306.
(1) Information indicating that the printing apparatus has the function of returning the sheet information (sheet material, size, etc.) set in the sheet feeding port in response to an external inquiry request (2) Higher speed than NFC communication Parameters (SSID, encryption method, encryption key, etc.) for performing simple wireless LAN communication
That is, the device having the NFC communication function (the terminal device 200 in the embodiment) can obtain the above information (1) and (2) by the NFC communication with the printing apparatus 300. Note that the above information (1) is, for example, for determining whether the printing apparatus 300 can respond to the inquiry request, and therefore, the model name or model number of the printing apparatus may be substituted. This is because the terminal device 200 may access a database owned by itself or an external database based on the model name to determine whether or not it has a response function.

<Paper Information Registration Screen>
FIG. 6 shows a sheet information registration screen displayed on the operation panel 305 of the printing apparatus 300. This screen is automatically displayed on the display screen when the user sets a sheet in the printing sheet feed port (either of 303 a and 303 b). However, the sheet information registration screen may be displayed after an operation of selecting an item relating to the sheet setting from the initial menu. As illustrated, the sheet information registration screen has two items of a sheet size display area 601 and a sheet type display area 602 for one sheet feeding port. Both items are in the form of a combo box, and the user can set the sheet size of the sheet set by the user and the sheet type by selecting one of them. Then, the user can press (touch) the registration button 603 to register the information.

  The printing apparatus 300 in the embodiment includes two sheet feeding ports 303a and 303b. Therefore, the above registration operation will be performed for each. The CPU 311 in the printing apparatus 300 stores the registered contents in the data memory 314 (nonvolatile memory is desirable).

<Application software screen>
FIG. 7 shows a start screen of application software operating on the terminal device 200 in the present embodiment. On this start-up screen, a transition button 701 to a photo print screen and a transition button 702 to document printing are arranged. When the user presses the button, the screen transitions to a screen for selecting a target print target file (print target data).

  FIG. 8 shows an image selection screen to which transition is made when the transition button 701 to a photo print screen is pressed. On this screen, a list of thumbnails of image files stored in the image memory 220 is displayed. The user selects a desired image, and pressing the print button 802 prints the selected image.

  FIG. 9 shows a document printing screen which is transitioned when the transition to document printing button 702 is pressed. In the document data display area 901, a document data list such as PDF (Portable Document Format) stored in the data memory 214 is displayed. The user selects desired data, and pressing the print button 802 prints the selected data.

  Further, the terminal device 200 is brought close to the printing device 300 in a state where a desired image and document data are selected on the image printing screen and the document printing screen. Precisely, the distance between the NFC unit 201 of the terminal device 200 and the NFC unit 306 of the printing device 300 is reduced until it becomes equal to or less than the distance (about 10 cm) in which NFC communication can be performed. It is also possible to print the selected data by this operation. At this time, the application software in the present embodiment performs printing without receiving special print settings from the user (details will be described later).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a print setting screen, and when the print button 802 is pressed on the image print screen or the document print screen, the screen changes to this screen. The print setting screen includes a thumbnail display area 1001 for the image selected on the image print screen, and a printing apparatus name display area 1002 for displaying the printing apparatus name to be printed. The screen of FIG. 10 also includes a sheet setting display area 1003 for displaying the current sheet settings such as sheet size and sheet type, a number of copies setting display area 1004 for displaying the number of copies, and a print button 1005. When transitioning from the document printing screen to the present screen, nothing is displayed in the thumbnail display area 1001. For example, in some cases, the terminal device 200 does not have a function of converting a document into image data that can be interpreted by the printing device 300. The processing of that case will be described. When the print button 802 is pressed after the document is selected in FIG. 9, the terminal device 200 transmits the document to a communicable server. Then, the server converts the document into image data and transmits the image data to the terminal device. The terminal device 200 displays the received image data as a preview image. When the print button is instructed on the screen on which the preview image is displayed, FIG. 10 is displayed. However, since the preview image of the document to be printed is already displayed, the thumbnail image is not displayed in FIG. A thumbnail image may be displayed in FIG. The printing apparatus to be printed is set by another menu of application software (not shown). The sheet setting can be set by pressing the sheet setting display area. The setting method will be described later. In the number of copies setting display area 1004, the number of copies can be set.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a sheet setting screen. This screen is a screen that changes when the sheet setting display area 1003 is pressed. The sheet setting screen includes a sheet size display area 1101, a sheet type display area 1102, and a border setting display area 1103. When the sheet size display area is pressed, a selectable sheet size list 1201 as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed, and the user can select a desired size from the list. When the sheet type display area 1102 is pressed, a list 1301 of selectable sheets as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed, and the user can select a desired sheet type from the list. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, “plain paper”, “photo paper glossy gold”, “photo paper silky tone”, “photo paper glossy standard”, “high quality special paper”, “photo paper” “envelope” “postcard” "Can be set.

<Paper Information Settings and Preferred Printing Conditions>
FIG. 14A is a diagram showing an example of setting of sheet information in the printing apparatus 300 of the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 300 includes two printing paper feed ports 303a and 303b. In the illustrated paper feed port 1 (print paper feed port 303a), "photo paper glossy gold" is set for the paper type (representing the material and surface characteristics of the paper), and "L size" is set for the paper size. . Further, in the illustrated sheet feed port 2 (print sheet feed port 303b), it is indicated that "plain sheet" is set as the sheet type and "A4" is set as the sheet size.

  FIG. 14B shows another setting example. In the case of this figure, an example is shown in which “plain paper” is set as the type of paper and “L version” is set as the size of the paper feed port 1. Further, an example is shown in which “plain paper” is set as the type of paper and “A4” is set as the size of the paper feed port 2.

  In order to simplify the description, the description will be continued assuming that the setting registration in the printing apparatus 300 of the embodiment is as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, it is assumed that in the terminal device 200, in the case where the print target is a non-photo image (in the case of a PDF file or the like), the sheet shown in group 1 is preferentially used. Further, when the print target is a photographic image, it is assumed that the sheet indicated by group 2 is preferentially used. Here, the types of sheets belonging to the groups 1 and 2 are as follows.
Group 1 = {"plain paper", "high grade special paper"}
Group 2 = {"Photo Paper Gloss Gold", "Photo Paper Kink", "Photo Paper Gloss Standard", "Photo Paper"}
Note that "envelope" and "postcard" are outside the group.

  Although the details will be described later under the above conditions, the terminal device 200 requests the printing apparatus 300 for information on the recording sheet set in the sheet feeding ports 303a and 303b. As a result, the terminal device 200 acquires the information of FIG. 14A from the printing device 300. Here, it is assumed that a photographic image has already been selected as a print target on the terminal device 200. In the case of a photographic image, according to the above, since group 2 is set as the usage recommendation sheet, the CPU 211 of the terminal device 200 sets a sheet in the group 2 that matches the type of sheet acquired from the printing apparatus 300 It is determined whether there is a type of As a result, since the type of paper set in paper feed port 1 (paper feed port 303 a) in FIG. 14A “photograph paper glossy gold” is present in group 2, CPU 211 feeds paper of printing apparatus 300. It is determined that the mouth 1 (sheet feeding port 303a) is used. Further, the CPU 211 determines image processing specialized for the type of paper, and can obtain L size as a print size, and thus also determines a scaling factor for a photographic image to be printed. Then, the determined processing is executed for image data to be printed, print data including a command for designating the paper feed port 303 a is generated, and the print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus 300.

  The above is an example in which a photo image is selected as a print target, but it is as follows when, for example, a PDF file is selected. Since the PDF file is a non-photo image file, sheets belonging to group 1 are determined as selection candidates. In the information acquired from the printing apparatus 300 (FIG. 14A), “plain paper” matches among the paper types belonging to group 1. Therefore, the CPU 211 determines to use the recording sheet set in the sheet feeding port 2 (sheet feeding port 303b). At this time, since the CPU 211 can acquire A4 size as the size, the CPU 211 performs processing based on the size, generates print data including a command for designating the sheet feeding port 2, and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus 300.

  It is also possible that the information acquired from the printing apparatus does not match the sheet type specified in the priority group. In this case, paper information is presented to the user. That is, the sheet information set in the printer is displayed as it is.

<Processing flow>
The process flow of the CPU 211 in the terminal device 200 in the embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG. The flowchart of the terminal device 200 of the present application is realized by the CPU 211 reading and executing a program related to the flowchart.

  In the terminal device 200, the user activates the application shown in FIG. 7, selects the print target, and brings the terminal device 200 close to the printing device 300 so that NFC communication can be performed with the printing device 300 (hereinafter, this operation is Called NFC touch operation). As a result, the CPU 211 of the terminal device 200 starts NFC communication with the NFC unit 306 of the printing apparatus 300 via the NFC unit 201. When the NFC communication is established, the CPU 211 acquires information stored in the non-volatile memory in the NFC unit 306 of the printing apparatus 300 (S1601). This information indicates that parameters for wireless communication with the printing apparatus 300 (SSID, encryption method, encryption key, etc.) and that the printing apparatus 300 can respond to the paper feed port inquiry command (the command can be interpreted). Information is included. In the case of a printing apparatus other than the printing apparatus 300 shown in the embodiment, it should be noted that the latter information is not necessarily stored. Furthermore, when the information acquisition is completed, the user does not have to keep the distance for performing NFC communication between the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300, so the user separates the terminal device 200 from the printing device 300 and operates in a natural posture. It can be done.

  The CPU 211 sets parameters relating to wireless LAN communication in the wireless LAN control circuit 215 according to the acquired information, and establishes communication with the printing apparatus 300 by the wireless LAN unit 202 (S 1602). Here, although information is acquired from the printing apparatus 300 by NFC communication, it may be configured to acquire necessary information by an interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) low energy.

  Next, in S1603, the CPU 211 analyzes the information acquired from the printing apparatus 300 in S1601 described above, and determines whether the printing apparatus 300 can interpret the paper feed port inquiry command (S1603). If not, the terminal device 200 can not know the type and size of the sheet set in the printing device 300. Therefore, the process advances to step S1604 to display a sheet setting screen. Then, the user is made to perform paper setting, and after confirming the set value set on the print setting screen, the user presses the print button. When the CPU 211 detects this pressing, the setting value is reflected on the print setting (S1605), and print data generation and transmission processing by the wireless LAN are performed based on the setting information (S1614). For example, the terminal device 200 generates print data including setting information and image data.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the printing apparatus 300 can interpret the paper feed opening inquiry command, the process advances to step S1606, and the CPU 211 transmits the paper feeding opening inquiry command to the printing apparatus 300 via the wireless LAN. As a result, since the printing apparatus 300 returns information (in the embodiment, information indicating FIG. 14A) indicating the type and size of the sheet set in each of the sheet feeding ports 303a and 303b of the printing apparatus 300, the terminal apparatus 200 Receive via wireless LAN.

  Next, the CPU 211 determines whether the attribute of the data selected by the user as the print target is a photo file or a non-photo file (document file such as PDF) (S1607). In the present embodiment, it is determined whether the user has pressed the transition button 701 to the photo print screen or the transition button 702 to print the document on the start screen of the application software. The application may accept the selection of data to be subjected to print processing, and determine the attribute of the file of the selected data from the extension of the file.

  When the print target is a photo, the CPU 211 sets the sheet setting to be prioritized to “group 2” (S1608). As mentioned above, "Group 2" includes "Photo Paper Gloss Gold", "Photo Paper Silky", "Photo Paper Gloss Standard" and "Photo Paper". On the other hand, if it is determined that the print target is a non-photograph, that is, a document, the CPU 211 sets the sheet setting to be prioritized as "group 1" (S1609). "Group 1" includes "plain paper" and "high-grade special paper" as described above. By the processes of S1608 and S1609, the sheet type (sheet attribute) corresponding to the selected print target data is determined.

  In step S1610, the CPU 211 determines whether there is a sheet type in the sheet feed port information acquired in step S1606 that matches the sheet type belonging to the group determined in step S1608 or S1609. If it is determined that there is a type of sheet that matches, the CPU 211 sets information in the print setting according to the sheet feeding port in which the type of sheet is registered, the type of sheet, and the size (S1613). On the other hand, if there is no matching sheet, the CPU 211 presents the sheet information acquired in S1606 in a selectable manner to the user (S1611).

  FIG. 15 shows a screen when, for example, both the paper feed ports 303a and 303b of the printing apparatus 300 are plain paper, L is set to one side, and A4 is set to the other side, and the user tries to print a photo. In this case, since “plain paper” is not registered in group 2, the screen of FIG. 15 is displayed. When the user selects desired sheet information from among the displayed selected sheets, the CPU 211 sets print setting information in accordance with the selected sheet feed port, sheet, and size (S1612). Note that if there is no desired option, the user can also press the cancel button 1502 to cancel printing.

  Finally, in S1614, print data generation processing (including scaling processing) is performed based on the print setting information set in any of S1605, S1612, and S1613 and the file to be printed (print target data). . If the sheet type (sheet attribute) selected in S1608 or S1609 is included in the sheet information, print data for printing data to be printed on the sheet corresponding to the sheet attribute selected in S1608 or S1609 is S1614. It is generated. Then, the CPU 211 transmits the generated print data (including a paper feed port instruction command) to the printing apparatus 300 via the wireless LAN.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user of the terminal device 200 selects data (file) to be printed and performs an operation to bring the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 close to the NFC communication area. . Then, after this operation, the selected data is printed on the printing paper suitable for the selected data (file) even if there is no special print setting operation.

  In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the terminal device 200 acquires information on whether the printing apparatus 300 has the ability to respond to a paper feed inlet inquiry via a wireless LAN. However, if the non-volatile memory in the NFC unit 306 of the printing apparatus 300 has a sufficient capacity to store the sheet information, the sheet information is acquired by NFC communication at the time of communication by the first NFC unit. It does not matter. Further, the number of sheet feeding ports is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

  In addition, in FIG. 17, the determination in S1603 is performed using the information acquired via NFC, but the process may be performed without using NFC. For example, the user selects an access point on the screen of the terminal device 200, and selects a printing device to be used for printing from a list of printing devices connected to the selected access point. Then, the terminal device 200 acquires printing function information from the printing device selected via the access point. The terminal device 200 may determine whether or not the paper feed port inquiry command can be interpreted based on the acquired print function information. If the printing function information includes sheet information, the terminal device 200 may execute S1607 without performing S1606 after S1603.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which both the type and the size of the sheet are included in the sheet information, but at least the type of the sheet may be included.

Second Embodiment
A processing flow in the second embodiment is shown in FIG. In the figure, the difference from the first embodiment is that S1701 and S1702 are added, and the other points are the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, only the points concerned will be described.

  In S1701, it is determined whether the file to be printed includes information indicating the output sheet size (output sheet size information) (this determination process may be referred to as size determination). If the output sheet size information is not included, the process advances to step S1607. On the other hand, if the output sheet size is included, the process advances to step S1702, and the priority print setting is determined as "the output sheet size in which the sheet size is included in the print target".

  In the first embodiment described above, the print setting to be prioritized is the sheet type, and a group is set as the setting value. In the second embodiment, a sheet size is set as a priority print setting, and a specific sheet size (here, an output sheet size included in a print target) is set as a setting value. In step S1610, it is checked whether the sheet information corresponding to the priority print setting set in step S1702 exists.

Third Embodiment
In the third embodiment, an example in which print data suitable for a print target is transmitted to the printing apparatus 300 will be described. In general, it is desirable to transmit lossy compressed data with well-balanced visual quality and data size when the print target is photographic data, and for documents, send lossless compressed data that does not cause image degradation. Is desirable. Thus, in the third embodiment, processing for generating print data of a compression method corresponding to the attribute of print target data will be described.

  The processing flow in the third embodiment is shown in FIG. In the figure, the difference from the first embodiment is that the processes of S1608 and S1609 are replaced with S1801 and S1802, respectively, and the process content is partially changed to S1614. It is the same as the embodiment. Therefore, only the points concerned will be described.

  If it is determined in step S1607 that the print target is a photo, the CPU 211 sets the priority sheet setting to "group 2", and sets the paper type to be generated in the print data generation process to a storage area (not shown). Information representing lossless compression data is set (S1801). When the print target is a document, the CPU 211 sets the priority sheet setting to “group 1” and sets information representing lossless compression data in the storage area that holds the type of print data generated in print processing S1614 ( S1802). In the print data generation process, data to be transmitted to the printing apparatus 300 is generated and transmitted according to the information of the print data type set in S1801-S1802. Specifically, when information representing lossy compressed data is set, JPEG data is generated by the print data generation process. When information representing lossless compressed data is set, PWGRaster data is generated by the print data generation process. When information representing lossless compression data is set and target data is configured only with black, 1 bit Tiff data may be generated in consideration of the amount of data. The JPEG data and the PWGRaster data are merely examples, and may be data of another format.

(Other embodiments)
In the present application, groups 1 and 2 are determined based on the type of sheet, and the process of S1610 is performed using the type of sheet, but the size of the sheet is used instead of the type of sheet. I don't care. At this time, the sheet information acquired from the printing apparatus 300 may include at least information on the sheet size. When the process of S1610 is performed using the sheet size, the sheet size is the sheet attribute. Also, both the type of paper and the size of paper may be used. When the process of S1610 is performed using both the sheet type and the sheet size, the sheet type and the sheet size become the sheet attributes.
Moreover, although this application demonstrated FIG. 16, FIG. 17 as a process of the terminal device 200, FIG. 16, FIG. 17 may be performed as a process of the application which operate | moves on the terminal device 200. FIG.
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to execute.

100 ... access point, 200 ... terminal device, 300 ... printing device

In order to solve this problem, for example, the information processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
When the first selection item is selected via the predetermined screen, the first selection screen capable of selecting the first print target data as print target data is displayed, and it is determined to generate lossy compression data. When the second selection item is selected via the predetermined screen, the second selection screen capable of selecting the second print target data as print target data is displayed, and it is determined to generate the lossless compression data. Controlling means,
When the first print target data is selected on the first selection screen , irreversible compression data is generated based on the first print target data, and the second print target data is selected on the second selection screen. In the case, it comprises a generation means for generating lossless compression data based on the second print target data .

Claims (1)

When the first selection item is selected via the predetermined screen, the first selection screen capable of selecting the first print target data as print target data is displayed, and the first sheet attribute is determined as the sheet attribute, When the second selection item is selected via the predetermined screen, a second selection screen capable of selecting the second print target data as the print target data is displayed, and the second sheet attribute is displayed as the sheet attribute Control means to determine
The printing apparatus further comprises transmission means for transmitting a printing instruction based on print target data selected using the first selection screen or the second selection screen to a printing apparatus,
When the determined sheet attribute corresponds to at least one of the first sheet information set in the first sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus and the second sheet information set in the second sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus Print processing based on the print instruction is executed,
The determined sheet attribute corresponds to both the first sheet information set in the first sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus and the second sheet information set in the second sheet feeding unit of the printing apparatus If not, the first option including the first sheet information as a display object and the second option including the second sheet information as a display object are displayed in parallel.
When the first option is selected, the printing apparatus executes print processing corresponding to the first option,
An information processing apparatus characterized in that when the second option is selected, printing processing corresponding to the second option is executed by the printing apparatus.

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