JP2019175502A - Output program and portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an output program which outputs content data designated through a program having a designation interface to an output device suitable for the program.SOLUTION: An output program makes a portable terminal execute acquisition processing of acquiring information provided from an activation source program when activated by the activation source program, first determination processing (S34) of determining whether a program ID has been acquired by the acquisition processing, second determination processing (S35) of determining whether the device ID associated with the program ID has been stored in response to determining that the program ID has been acquired (S34: Yes), first decision processing (S36) of deciding the device ID as a designation device ID in response to determining that the device ID has been stored (S35: Yes), and output instruction processing of transmitting output instruction information to an output device identified by the designation device ID.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an output program that outputs content data, and a portable terminal that executes the output program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known applications that allow a user to specify content data and cause an output device to execute an output operation for the specified content data. For example, the application described in Patent Document 1 causes a user to specify image data stored in a mobile terminal, and causes a printer to print an image indicated by the image data.

JP 2012-203742 A

  In recent years, the specification method of content data has been diversified, and the development of an interface suitable for each is required. For example, an interface for extracting a desired area from a map image and an interface for editing an image to be printed on a surface such as a CD-ROM are greatly different. Therefore, there is a tendency to develop a plurality of programs having a designation interface specialized for a particular designation method.

  On the other hand, the processing for causing the output device to execute the output operation may vary greatly depending on the manufacturer or model of the output device. Therefore, in order to execute the processing, it is necessary to develop a program suitable for each output device. However, it is extremely difficult to develop a plurality of programs having a designation interface that is optimal for a specific designation method and further to implement an optimum process for causing the output device to execute an output operation in each program. In particular, if an output operation is to be executed by a plurality of output devices having different specifications, the possibility of affecting the implementation of the specified interface increases due to the optimal processing load for each output device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an output program capable of causing content data designated through a program having a designated interface to be output to an output device suitable for the program. It is to provide.

  (1) The output program described in this specification can be read by a mobile terminal including a communication unit and a storage unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network. The output device can perform at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The storage unit can store an activation source program that can be read by the mobile terminal, and can store a plurality of sets of program identification information and device identification information corresponding to each other. The program identification information is information for identifying the activation source program. The device identification information is information for identifying the output device. The activation source program causes the user to designate the content data, activate the output program, and provide activation processing for providing the output program with designated data information for identifying the designated content data. Can be executed. The output program can cause the portable terminal to execute an acquisition process for acquiring information provided from the activation source program in response to being activated by the activation source program. In the acquisition process, at least the specified data information is acquired. The output program determines, in the first determination process, whether the program identification information has been acquired by adding the program identification information to the designated data information, and determining whether the program identification information has been acquired. In response to the second determination process for determining whether or not the device identification information associated with the program identification information is stored in the storage unit, and when the device identification information is stored, A first determination process for determining the device identification information as designated device information according to the determination in the second determination processing, and an output instruction process for transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information Are executed by the portable terminal. The output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the designated data information.

  According to the above configuration, the content data identified by the designated data information acquired from the activation source program is output to the output device associated with the program identification information of the activation source program. As a result, the content data accepted by the activation source program can be output to an output device suitable for the activation source program.

  (2) Preferably, the output program adds the device identification information to the specified data information and determines whether or not the device identification information is acquired by the acquisition processing; and when the device identification information is acquired, A fourth determination process for determining whether communication is possible with the output device identified by the apparatus identification information through the communication unit, and a communication determination that the fourth determination process is possible. In response to the determination, the second determination process for determining the device identification information acquired in the acquisition process as the designated device information, and the third determination process that the device identification information is not acquired. Alternatively, in response to determining that communication is impossible in the fourth determination process, the portable terminal is caused to execute the first determination process.

  According to the above configuration, when the activation source program further receives the designation of the output device, the output device can cause the output device to execute the output operation.

  (3) Preferably, in the third determination process, the output program determines whether or not the program identification information and the device identification information are acquired in the acquisition process in addition to the designated data information, and the program In response to determining in the third determination process that the identification information and the device identification information have been acquired, the portable terminal performs a storage process for associating the program identification information and the device identification information with each other and storing them in the storage unit. Let it run.

  According to the above configuration, the device identification information specified by the user through the activation source program is stored in the storage unit in association with the program identification information of the activation source program. As a result, at the next activation by the activation source program, it is possible to cause the output device indicated by the device identification information to execute an output operation.

  (4) Preferably, the portable terminal includes an operation unit. In response to determining that the program identification information has not been acquired in the first determination process, the output program includes a fifth determination process for determining whether or not the specified operation information has been acquired in the acquisition process. Run on a mobile device. The specified operation information is information for identifying a specified operation that is the output operation to be executed by the output device. The output program can execute the specified operation identified by the specified operation information and can communicate through the communication unit according to the determination by the fifth determination process that the specified operation information has been acquired. A search process for searching for an output device; a first reception process for accepting a user operation for specifying one of the device identification information of the output device found in the search process through the operation unit; and the first reception The portable terminal is caused to execute a third determination process for determining the apparatus identification information specified in the process as the specified apparatus information. The output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the designated data information in the designated operation.

  According to the above configuration, since the user selects one of the output devices that can execute the specified operation identified by the specified operation information acquired from the start source program, the output is output to an output device suitable for the start source program. The action can be executed.

  (5) Preferably, the output program designates one of the plurality of output actions as the designated action in response to the fact that the fifth judgment process judges that the designated action information has not been acquired. A second reception process for receiving a user operation to be performed through the operation unit, and the search process for searching for the output device capable of executing the specified operation specified in the second reception process and capable of communicating through the communication unit; The portable terminal is caused to execute the first reception process and the third determination process.

  According to the above configuration, the user can select the designated operation for outputting the content data and the output device capable of executing the designated operation, so that the output device suitable for the activation source program can execute the designated operation.

  (6) Preferably, the output program associates the program identification information acquired in the acquisition process with the device identification information specified in the first reception process, and stores the storage process in the storage unit. Run on a mobile device.

  According to the above configuration, the device identification information specified by the user through the output program is stored in the storage unit in association with the program identification information of the activation source program. As a result, at the next activation by the activation source program, it is possible to cause the output device indicated by the device identification information to execute an output operation.

  (7) Preferably, the output program causes the portable terminal to execute a providing process of providing the designated device information determined in the first determination process or the third determination process to the activation source program.

  According to the above configuration, the apparatus identification information of the output device suitable for the activation source program can be recognized by the activation source program.

  (8) Preferably, the portable terminal includes a display unit. The output program causes the portable terminal to execute a preview display process for displaying the preview screen on the display unit. The preview screen includes the preview image representing the execution result of the output operation according to the output instruction information, a device switching object corresponding to switching of the designated device information, and an output instruction corresponding to execution of the output instruction processing. And objects. The output program receives the user operation for selecting an object through the operation unit, and receives the selection of the device switching object in the third reception process. The portable terminal is caused to execute a reception process, and the portable terminal is caused to execute the output instruction process in response to the selection of the output instruction object being received in the third reception process.

  According to the above configuration, the output device determined by the determination process can be changed to an output device desired by the user. As a result, an output operation suitable for the activation source program can be executed.

  (9) Preferably, the output program is activated by the OS of the portable terminal that has received a user operation for instructing activation of the output program, regardless of the activation process by the activation program. A fourth determination process for determining the device identification information stored in the storage unit in association with the program identification information of the output program as the designated device information, and a user operation for designating the designated data information. The output instruction information for causing the portable terminal to execute a fourth reception process that is received through a section and outputting the content data identified by the specified data information specified in the fourth reception process in the output instruction process. Then, the data is transmitted to the output device identified by the designated device information determined in the fourth determination process through the communication unit.

  According to the above configuration, content data for which designation is accepted by the output program can be output to an output device suitable for the output program.

  (10) A mobile terminal described in the present specification includes a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network. The output device can perform at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The storage unit can store an activation source program that can be read by the mobile terminal, and can store a plurality of sets of program identification information and device identification information corresponding to each other. The program identification information is information for identifying the activation source program. The device identification information is information for identifying the output device. The control unit that executes the activation source program causes the user to designate the content data, activates the output program, and provides the output program with designated data information for identifying the designated content data. It is possible to execute a startup process. The control unit that executes the output program activated by the activation source program can execute an acquisition process for acquiring information provided from the activation source program. In the acquisition process, at least the specified data information is acquired. The control unit that executes the output program adds the program identification information to the designated data information and determines whether or not the acquisition process is acquired, and when the program identification information is acquired, In response to the determination in the first determination process, a second determination process for determining whether or not the device identification information associated with the program identification information is stored in the storage unit; A first determination process for determining the device identification information as designated device information according to the determination by the second determination processing as being stored, and output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information And an output instruction process for transmitting. The output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the designated data information.

  According to the present invention, the content data identified by the designated data information acquired from the activation source program is output to the output device associated with the program identification information of the activation source program, which is suitable for the activation source program. The content data can be output to the output device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording system 100 according to the embodiment. 2A is a block diagram of the multifunction device 10, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram of the portable terminal 50. FIG. 3 shows an example of information stored in the data storage area 62B. (A) shows a device information list, (B) shows a device change flag, and (C) shows a registered device ID. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the external activation process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of device determination processing. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of device selection processing. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the standard activation process. 8A and 8B show display examples of the display unit 53, where FIG. 8A shows a menu screen and FIG. 8B shows a label editing screen before the label image is edited. FIG. 9 is a display example of the display unit 53, where (A) shows a label editing screen after the label image is edited, and (B) shows an operation selection screen. FIG. 10 is a display example of the display unit 53, where (A) shows a device selection screen and (B) shows a preview screen. FIG. 11 is a display example of the display unit 53, where (A) shows a main screen and (B) shows an acquisition source selection screen. FIG. 11 is a display example of the display unit 53, where (A) shows a data selection screen and (B) shows a preview screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a sharing function realized by the sharing API.

  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.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a recording system 100 in the present embodiment. A recording system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes multifunction devices 10A and 10B (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as “multifunction device 10”) and a portable terminal 50. The multifunction device 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 (abbreviation of Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, or a combination thereof.

[Multifunction machine 10]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the multifunction machine 10 includes a printer unit 11, a scanner unit 12, a FAX unit 13, a display unit 23, an operation unit 24, a communication unit 25, and a mounting unit 26. , CPU (abbreviation of Central Processing Unit) 31, storage unit 32, and communication bus 33 are mainly provided. Each component constituting the multi-function device 10 is connected to each other through a communication bus 33. The multifunction machine 10 is an example of an output device.

[Printer unit 11, scanner unit 12, FAX unit 13]
The printer unit 11 executes a print operation for recording an image indicated by the image data on a recording sheet. The recording paper is an example of a sheet or a recording medium. As a recording method of the printer unit 11, a known method such as an ink jet method or an electrophotographic method can be adopted. The scanner unit 12 performs a scanning operation for reading an image recorded on a document and generating image data. The FAX unit 13 performs a FAX transmission operation and a FAX reception operation for transmitting and receiving image data by a method compliant with the FAX protocol.

  The print operation and the FAX transmission operation among the plurality of operations described above are examples of an output operation for outputting content indicated by content data. The operations executed by the multifunction machine 10 are not limited to these. As an example of the output operation, the multi-function device 10 may execute a media storage operation for storing content data acquired from the portable terminal 50 in a portable storage medium attached to the attachment unit 26. As another example of the output operation, the multi-function device 10 may cause the display unit 23 to display an image indicated by the image data acquired from the mobile terminal 50.

  The output operation includes a label printing operation for recording a disk-shaped image (hereinafter referred to as “label image”) on the surface of a CD-ROM, an embossing operation for forming irregularities on the surface of a card, etc., a postcard It may also include a postcard printing operation for recording an image, a garment printing operation for recording an image on fabric, and the like. These operations can be performed only by an output device having dedicated hardware for recording an image on a recording medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a card, a postcard, and a fabric) different from a general recording sheet. Furthermore, the output operation includes a bookbinding operation for binding a plurality of recording sheets on which images are recorded, a 3D printing operation for generating a three-dimensional structure based on CAD data, an embroidery operation for generating an image by sewing a thread into a cloth, and the like. May be included. These operations can also be realized only by an output device having dedicated hardware.

  Operations that can be executed by the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B may be different. In the present embodiment, the multi-function device 10A can execute a print operation, a FAX transmission operation, and a label print operation, and the multi-function device 10B can execute a print operation, a media storage operation, and a label print operation. Further, the output device is not limited to one that can execute a plurality of operations, and may be capable of executing only a single operation. In the MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the multifunction device 10, for example, a device ID for identifying the multifunction device 10 and operation information indicating operations that can be executed by the multifunction device 10 are defined. Good. The operation information may include, for example, an operation ID for identifying an executable operation. The device ID is an example of device identification information, and the operation ID is an example of operation identification information.

[Display unit 23]
The display unit 23 includes a display screen that displays various types of information. As the display unit 23, a liquid crystal display (abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (abbreviation of Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), or the like can be adopted.

[Operation unit 24]
The operation unit 24 receives a user operation for selecting an object displayed on the display screen of the display unit 23. Specifically, the operation unit 24 has a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31. Further, the operation unit 24 may include a film-like touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 23. That is, the display unit 23 may be configured as a touch panel display.

  The “object” refers to an image that can be selected by the user operating the operation unit 24. As an example, the object is a character string displayed on the display unit 23. One of the objects is highlighted when the direction key of the operation unit 24 is pressed, and the object is highlighted by pressing the enter button of the operation unit 24. A light-displayed object may be selected. As another example, an object when the operation unit 24 is a touch panel is an icon, a button, a link, or the like displayed on the display unit 23, and the object displayed at the touch position may be selected.

  The operation unit 24 realized as a touch panel receives a user operation for touching the display screen of the display unit 23. The operation unit 24 outputs position information indicating the position on the display screen touched by the user. The position information can be expressed, for example, as coordinates (x, y) on the xy plane with the upper left corner of the display screen as the origin, the right direction as the positive direction of the x axis, and the downward direction as the positive direction of the y axis. For the touch sensor, a known method such as a capacitance method or a resistance film method can be adopted.

  Note that “touch” in this specification includes all operations for bringing an input medium into contact with a display screen. That is, a tap operation to move the touched input medium away from the display screen within a predetermined time, a long touch operation to make the touched input medium stand still on the display screen, a slide operation to slide the touched input medium on the display screen, a display screen Flick operation where the acceleration of the input medium sliding above the threshold is more than a threshold, pinch-in operation to slide two input media touched at different positions on the display screen toward each other, two touched at different positions on the display screen A pinch-out operation or the like that slides the input medium away from each other is an example of a touch.

  In addition, even if the input medium is not touching the display screen, the concept of “touch” may include bringing the input medium close to a position where the distance from the display screen is very small. Furthermore, the input medium may be a user's finger or a touch pen. Hereinafter, the tap of the position of the icon displayed on the display unit 53 will be described as an example of a user operation for selecting the icon.

[Communication unit 25]
The communication unit 25 is an interface for communicating with an external device through the communication network 101. That is, the multifunction machine 10 outputs various information to the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 and receives various data or various information from the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Although the specific communication procedure of the communication part 25 is not specifically limited, For example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance) is employable.

[Mounting part 26]
The mounting unit 26 is an interface to / from which a portable storage medium is attached / detached. The CPU 31 can read data or information from the portable storage medium attached to the attachment unit 26 or write data or information to the portable storage medium attached to the attachment unit 26. Although the specific example of a portable storage medium is not specifically limited, For example, USB memory, SD card, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM etc. may be sufficient.

[CPU 31]
The CPU 31 controls the overall operation of the multifunction machine 10. The CPU 31 acquires and executes various programs, which will be described later, from the storage unit 32 based on various information output from the operation unit 24 and various information acquired from an external device through the communication unit 25. That is, the CPU 31 and the storage unit 32 constitute an example of a control unit.

[Storage unit 32]
The storage unit 32 includes a program storage area 32A and a data storage area 32B. In the program storage area 32A, an OS (abbreviation of Operating System) 34 and a control program 35 are stored. The control program 35 may be a single program or an aggregate of a plurality of programs. Data or information necessary for execution of the control program 35 is stored in the data storage area 32B.

  Note that “data” and “information” in this specification are common in that they are bits or bit strings that can be handled by a computer. “Data” refers to data that can be handled by the computer without taking into account the meaning of each bit. On the other hand, “information” refers to information that the operation of the computer branches depending on the semantic content indicated by each bit. Furthermore, the “instruction” is a control signal for prompting the destination apparatus to perform the next operation, and may include information or itself has a property as information. There is also.

  In addition, even if the format (for example, text format, binary format, flag format, etc.) is changed for each computer, “data” and “information” have the same data and information as long as they are recognized as the same meaning content. Are treated as For example, information indicating “two” is stored as text information “0x32” in ASCII code in one computer, and binary format information “10” in binary notation in another computer. May be.

  However, the distinction between the above “data” and “information” is not strict, and exceptional handling is allowed. For example, data may be temporarily treated as information, or information may be temporarily treated as data. Also, what is handled as data in a certain device may be handled as information in another device. Furthermore, information may be extracted from the data, or data may be extracted from the information.

  The storage unit 32 includes, for example, RAM (abbreviation of Random Access Memory), ROM (abbreviation of Read Only Memory), EEPROM (abbreviation of Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), HDD (abbreviation of Hard CPU) 31 (HDD). It is configured by a buffer or the like or a combination thereof.

  The storage unit 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 program stored in the program storage area 32A is executed by the CPU 31. However, in this specification, the operation of each program may be described with the CPU 31 omitted. That is, in the following description, the description that “the program A executes the process A” may indicate that “the CPU 31 executes the process A described in the program A”. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

  Further, the program stored in the program storage area 32A determines an event and operates according to the determination result. However, in this specification, the operation of each program may be described by omitting the determination. That is, in the following description, the description to the effect that “the control program executes process A according to condition A” is “whether or not the control program is condition A. The control program makes an affirmative determination. In response to this, the processing A may be executed. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

  The program stored in the program storage area 32A identifies, acquires, extracts, or selects data and the like. For example, the program specifies data, etc., for example, specifies data that satisfies a condition from a plurality of data, and stores the data itself or information for identifying the data in a predetermined storage area. Refers to the process to be memorized. The information for identifying data or the like is, for example, identification information for identifying the data or the like, an index of an array in which the data or the like is stored, a pointer of a storage area in which the data or the like is stored, or the like. The same applies to the process in which the program acquires, extracts, or selects data. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

  The OS 34 is an API (Application) for controlling the printer unit 11, the scanner unit 12, the FAX unit 13, the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, the mounting unit 26, and the like, which are hardware constituting the multifunction machine 10. This is a basic program that provides Programming Interface. That is, each of the above programs controls each hardware by calling an API provided by the OS 34. However, in this specification, the operation of each program may be described with the OS 34 omitted. That is, in the following description, the description “the program B controls the hardware C” may refer to “the program B controls the hardware C through the API of the OS 34”. The same applies to the portable terminal 50 described later.

[Portable terminal 50]
As shown in FIG. 2B, the mobile terminal 50 mainly includes a display unit 53, an operation unit 54, a communication unit 55, a CPU 61, a storage unit 62, and a communication bus 63. The display unit 53, the operation unit 54, the communication unit 55, the CPU 61, the storage unit 62, and the communication bus 63 included in the portable terminal 50 are the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, the CPU 31, Since it is the same structure as the memory | storage part 32 and the communication bus 33, description is abbreviate | omitted. The CPU 61 and the storage unit 62 are an example of a control unit. The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet terminal.

  The program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62 stores an OS 64, an output program 65, a content designation program 66, and a program A (not shown). The content specifying program 66 and the program A are examples of the activation source program. In the data storage area 62B of the storage unit 62, various types of information shown in FIG. 3 are stored. Furthermore, a content data folder in which content data is stored may be provided in the data storage area 62B. The content data may be, for example, image data, photo data, document data, spreadsheet data, presentation data, moving image data, music data, or the like.

  The display unit 53 of the portable terminal 50 is divided into a common display area 80 and a program display area 81 as shown in FIGS. Regardless of the display contents of the program display area 81, the OS 64 displays a status bar in the common display area 80. Various information is displayed on the status bar by the OS 64. In the status bar, for example, the title of the screen displayed in the program display area 81, the icon indicating the remaining battery level of the mobile terminal 50, the icon indicating the communication state of the communication unit 55, the push received by the mobile terminal 50 from the external service An icon or the like indicating notification is displayed. In the program display area 81, a screen generated by a program executed in the foreground is displayed.

  Hereinafter, when it is described that “the program displays the screen on the display unit 53”, the program screen is displayed in the program display area 81 and the status bar is displayed in the common display area 80. The program screen is a screen displayed in the program display area 81 in accordance with a program instruction. However, the display unit 53 can be switched between a partial screen mode in which the display area is divided into a common display area 80 and a program display area 81 and a full screen mode in which the entire display area is the program display area 81. Also good.

  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 program screen resulting from the execution of the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. The “most part of the display area” may refer to the program display area 81, for example. The background is a state in which, for example, a program screen resulting from execution of a program different from the program is displayed in a large part of the display area of the display unit 53. In other words, the portable terminal 50 can cause the display unit 53 to display only a program screen that depends on the execution of a program that is executed in the foreground among a plurality of programs that are executed in parallel.

  The output program 65 is a program that causes the multifunction peripheral 10 connected through the communication unit 55 to execute an output operation on content data. The output program 65 transmits, for example, recording instruction information for executing a printing operation, FAX instruction information for executing a FAX transmission operation, and the like to the multifunction machine 10 through the communication unit 55. The recording instruction information and FAX instruction information are examples of output instruction information. The output program 65 can transmit output instruction information for causing the multifunction machine 10 to execute a label printing operation, an embossing operation, a postcard printing operation, a garment printing operation, a bookbinding operation, a 3D printing operation, an embroidery operation, and the like. Also good. Further, the output program 65 displays a preview screen on the display unit 53 before transmitting the output instruction information.

  The content designation program 66 causes the user to designate at least one of content data, an output operation, and an output device. Further, the content specifying program 66 can start the output program 65 by specifying at least one of a program ID, a specified data ID, a specified operation ID, and a specified device ID. These processes executed by the content specifying program 66 are an example of a startup process. Program A is another example of a content designation program that executes a startup process.

  Hereinafter, the content data designated by the user is denoted as “designated data”, the output operation designated by the user is denoted as “designated operation”, and the output device designated by the user is denoted as “designated device”. Further, the designated operation and the designated device may be designated in advance by a program. The program ID is an example of program identification information for identifying the content designation program 66, the designation data ID is an example of designation data information for identifying the designation data, and the designation device ID is for identifying the designation device. It is an example of designated device information, and a designated operation ID is an example of designated operation information for identifying a designated operation.

  The content specifying program 66 according to the present embodiment edits a label image according to a user operation, and provides the output program 65 with label image data indicating the label image as specified data. However, a specific example of the content specifying program 66 is not limited to this. As an example, the program A may allow the user to designate one of a plurality of pieces of photo data stored in the data storage area 62B and provide the designated photo data to the output program 65. As another example, the program A may allow the user to specify an arbitrary area of the map image and provide the output program 65 with image data indicating the map image of the specified area.

  The content designation program 66 can start the output program 65 as a so-called plug-in, for example. In this case, the content specifying program 66 may execute a plug-in API for starting an application as a plug-in using information specifying the output program 65, a URI, and specifying information as arguments. The argument specified by the plug-in API may be, for example, intent format information used in the Android OS. Alternatively, the content specifying program 66 may activate the output program 65 by executing an explicit sharing API described later. The argument specified by the explicit sharing API may be common to the plug-in API.

  The output program 65 is activated by the content designation program 66, for example. The output program 65 is a program that acquires the program ID, the specified data ID, the specified device ID, and the specified operation ID provided from the content specifying program 66 and causes the specified device to execute the specified operation for the specified data. The output program 65 can acquire various types of information provided from the content specifying program 66 by referring to, for example, an intent format argument. The output program 65 transmits, for example, output instruction information for executing a label print operation to the multifunction machine 10 through the communication unit 55.

  Further, the output program 65 operates according to various information acquired from the content specifying program 66, and can provide the content specifying program 66 with generated information generated by the operation. As the generation information, for example, image data generated by the output program 65, a URL indicating the location of the generated image data, result information indicating an operation result by the output program 65, and the like can be considered.

  As an example, the output program 65 may provide the generation information to the content specification program 66 by adding the generation information to an intent format argument. The argument added with the generation information by the output program 65 is provided as a return value to the content specification program 66. Thereby, the content specification program 66 can acquire various information included in the return value. As another example, the output program 65 may provide generation information to the content specification program 66 as a return value of a plug-in API or an explicit shared API executed by the content specification program 66 to start the output program 65. Good.

  As another example, the output program 65 may provide the generation information to the content specification program 66 by storing the generation information in an area of the storage unit 62 accessible by the content specification program 66. In this case, the content designation program 66 acquires the generation information by reading the generation information stored in the storage unit 62. As another example, the output program 65 provides the generation information to the content specification program 66 by executing an API for passing the argument to the application using the information specifying the content specification program 66 and the generation information as arguments. May be. The argument in this case may also be intent format information.

  The OS 64 provides a sharing function for starting the second program designated by the first program and providing the second program with the designation information designated by the first program for the program installed in the portable terminal 50. For example, the first program can use a shared function by executing an API provided by the OS 64 (hereinafter referred to as “shared API”). More specifically, the first program executes the shared API with the program ID of the second program and the designation information as arguments. Details of the sharing function will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the sharing source application 41 executes the sharing API of the OS 64 for realizing the sharing function (S1). To execute the implicit sharing API, at least a URI (abbreviation of Uniform Resource Identifier), a type, and an action are obtained as arguments. The argument may be intent format information, for example. The sharing source application 41 may include other information in the argument of the implicit sharing API. The URI is information indicating the location of the shared data. The type is information indicating the data format of the shared data. The action is information indicating the type of processing (for example, browsing, editing, transmission, printing, etc.) for shared data to be executed by the sharing destination application. The URI, type, and action are examples of designation information provided from the sharing source application to the request destination application.

  On the other hand, the applications 42, 43, 44,... That are candidates for sharing destination applications declare in advance to the OS 64 the data format of the shared data that can be processed and the types of processing that can be executed. Therefore, the OS 64 identifies (S2) an application that can execute the process indicated by the action on the shared data in the data format indicated by the type from among the applications 42, 43, 44,. A list of applications is displayed on the display unit 53 (S3). Then, the OS 64 waits in a state in which a user operation for selecting one of the listed applications can be accepted through the operation unit 54 (S4).

  Next, in response to accepting a user operation for selecting one of the listed applications through the operation unit 54 (S4), the OS 64 starts the application with the URI, type, and action as arguments. (S5). In the following embodiment, the content specifying program 66 corresponds to the application 41 in FIG. 13, and the output program 65 corresponds to one of the applications 42 to 44 in FIG. 13.

  Note that the processing in steps S2 to S5 may be executed by a sharing source application. In this case, in step S2, the sharing source application acquires, from the OS 64, information specifying an application that can execute the process indicated by the action on the shared data in the data format indicated by the type. In step S5, the sharing source application starts the application selected by the user operation by executing the explicit sharing API with the information, URI, type, and action specifying the application acquired from the OS 64 as arguments. Can be made. The sharing source application 41 may include other information in the argument of the explicit sharing API.

  Alternatively, the sharing source application executes an explicit sharing API using information, URI, type, and action specifying a predetermined application as arguments in response to the user's instruction to use the sharing function. In this way, a predetermined sharing destination application may be activated. In the present embodiment, for example, an output program 65 may be set as a predetermined share destination application in the content specification program 66 that is a share source application. More specifically, information for specifying the output program 65 may be described in a setting file referred to by the content specifying program 66 at the time of start-up or the source code of the content specifying program 66.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the data storage area 62B can store a program ID and a device ID associated with the program ID. Hereinafter, the information shown in FIG. 3A may be referred to as “device information list”, and each record shown in FIG. 3A may be referred to as “device information record”. That is, the device information list can include a plurality of device information records. The device information list is edited by the output program 65.

  In the present embodiment, the content specifying program 66 is identified by the program ID “001”, the program A is identified by the program ID “002”, and the output program 65 is identified by the program ID “999”. In the present embodiment, the device ID of the multifunction device 10A is “MFP-A”, and the device ID of the multifunction device 10B is “MFP-B”. Hereinafter, the device ID associated with the program ID “999” of the output program 65 may be referred to as “default ID”. For example, the default ID may be specified by a user through a user interface (not shown), or may be a designated device ID determined by a device determination process described later.

  Further, the data storage area 62B stores a device change flag as shown in FIG. The device change flag indicates whether or not the designated device has been changed in a device selection process described later. The device change flag is set to either “ON” indicating that the designated device has been changed, or “OFF” indicating that the designated device has not been changed. The initial value of the device change flag is “OFF”. The value of the device change flag is set by the output program 65.

  Further, the data storage area 62B can store a registration device ID as shown in FIG. The registered device ID is a device ID provided from the output program 65 to the content specifying program 66 in step S20 described later. The registered device ID is edited by the content specifying program 66.

[Operation of Recording System 100]
The operation of the recording system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The recording system 100 executes processing for causing the multifunction peripheral 10 </ b> A designated based on the user operation to execute a label print operation on the content data designated on the portable terminal 50 based on the user operation.

  First, the OS 64 of the portable terminal 50 displays a menu screen on the display unit 53 and displays a status bar in the common display area 80. FIG. 8A shows an example of a menu screen. The menu screen shown in FIG. 8A includes a plurality of program icons 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The program icons 111 to 115 correspond to programs installed on the mobile terminal 50. For example, the program icon 111 corresponds to the program A, the program icon 114 corresponds to the output program 65, and the program icon 115 corresponds to the content specifying program 66.

  Then, the OS 64 accepts selection of one of the program icons 111 to 115 through the operation unit 54. For example, the OS 64 activates the content designation program 66 in response to accepting selection of the program icon 115 through the operation unit 54 and executes the content designation program 66 in the foreground. Selection of the program icon 115 is an example of a user operation that instructs activation of the content specifying program 66.

  The content specifying program 66 displays the label editing screen on the display unit 53 in response to being activated by the OS 64 that has received selection of the program icon 114. FIG. 8B is an example of a label editing screen before the label image is edited. FIG. 9A shows an example of a label editing screen after the label image has been edited. The label editing screen shown in FIGS. 8B and 9A includes a label image display area 121, a plurality of editing icons 122, 123, and 124, a device icon 125, and a label icon 126. Then, the content specification program 66 receives selection of an icon included in the label editing screen through the operation unit 54.

  The label image display area 121 is an area for displaying a label image edited using the edit icons 122 to 124. The edit icon 122 corresponds to an instruction to add a character string to the label image. The edit icon 123 corresponds to an instruction to add a color to the label image. The edit icon 124 corresponds to an instruction to add a photo to the label image. The device icon 125 corresponds to an instruction to switch the designated device. The label icon 126 corresponds to an instruction for designating the label print operation as the designated operation and starting the output program 65.

  The device icon 125 describes the registered device ID “MFP-A” stored in the data storage area 62B. The registered device ID is temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B as a temporary designated device ID at the time of starting the content designation program 66. On the other hand, when the registered device ID is not stored in the data storage area 62B, the device icon 125 may describe a character string such as “unselected” indicating that the registered device ID does not exist.

  Further, the label icon 126 shown in FIG. 8B is grayed out as an example of an unselectable mode. However, as another example of the non-selectable mode, the label icon 126 may be hidden on the label editing screen shown in FIG. On the other hand, the label icon 126 shown in FIG. 9A is selectable. That is, the label icon 126 cannot be selected before the label image is edited, and can be selected according to the label image being edited.

  The content designation program 66 edits the label image according to the user operation in response to accepting selection of the edit icons 122 to 124 through the operation unit 54. Then, the content specification program 66 causes the display unit 53 to display a label editing screen in which the edited label image is arranged in the label image display area 121. Further, the content designating program 66 uses the label image data indicating the edited label image as designated data, and a data ID (for example, “label image.JPEG”) for identifying the label image data as a designated data ID. Temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B.

  The output program 65 and the content specifying program 66 can read, edit, or delete data stored in the storage unit 62 using the API of the OS 64. The data ID is information in a format used for designating data in the OS64 API. The data ID is, for example, a file path or a URI. Note that if the specified data and the specified data ID are already temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B, they are overwritten with the new specified data and the specified data ID.

  Note that the storage destination of the label image data indicating the edited label image may be an external server (not shown) such as a cloud server, for example. That is, the content specifying program 66 may transmit label image data indicating the edited label image to the external server through the communication unit 55. Then, the content specifying program 66 may temporarily store the label image data in the data storage area 62B as the specified data ID. The designated data ID in this case may be in the form of a URL for downloading the label image data from an external server, for example.

  As an example, the content designation program 66 displays a software keyboard (not shown) on the display unit 53 in response to the selection of the edit icon 122, and places a character string input through the software keyboard at a position desired by the user. Deploy. As another example, the content designation program 66 displays a list of selectable colors on the display unit 53 in response to the selection of the edit icon 123, and displays the color selected through the operation unit 54 as the background of the label image. Set to color. As yet another example, the content specifying program 66 displays a list of selectable photos on the display unit 53 in response to selection of the edit icon 124, and the user desires the photo selected through the operation unit 54. Place it at the position you want.

  Further, the content designation program 66 executes the device selection process shown in FIG. 6 in response to accepting the selection of the device icon 125 through the operation unit 54. Details of the device selection process will be described later. Note that the content designation program 66 may accept designation of a designated operation in steps S42 and S43, which will be described later, or a label print operation may be predetermined as the designated operation. Then, the content designation program 66 temporarily stores the device ID of the multifunction machine 10 selected in the device selection process in the data storage area 62B as a temporary designation device ID. If a temporary designated device ID is already temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B, it is overwritten with a new device ID.

  Furthermore, in response to receiving selection of the label icon 126 through the operation unit 54, the content specifying program 66 outputs a program ID, a specified data ID, a device ID that is a temporary specified device ID, and a specified operation ID to the output program 65. As an argument, an API for starting the output program 65 is executed. The API executed here may be an API for starting the output program 65 as a plug-in, or may be an explicit shared API. As a result, the OS 64 executes the content specifying program 66 in the background and the output program 65 in the foreground. In this embodiment, the program ID “001” and the designated operation ID “label print operation” are fixed, and the designated data ID “label image.JPEG” and the apparatus ID “MFP-A” are designated by the user by the above-described processing. It is a thing.

  The content specifying program 66 only needs to provide at least the specified data ID, and the provision of the program ID, the device ID, and the specified operation ID can be omitted. The designated operation ID may not be fixed. The content and program 66 may further include, for example, a print icon corresponding to the print operation, a FAX icon corresponding to the FAX transmission operation, or a media icon corresponding to the media storage operation on the label editing screen. Then, the content specifying program 66 may provide the output program 65 with the operation ID of the output operation corresponding to the selected icon as the specified operation ID.

[External start processing]
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the output program 65 acquires information provided from the content designation program 66 in response to being activated by the activation process by the content designation program 66 (S <b> 11). The output program 65 acquires at least the designated data ID. The output program 65 according to the present embodiment acquires a program ID “001”, a designated data ID “label image.JPEG”, a device ID “MFP-A”, and a designated operation ID “label print operation”. Then, the output program 65 temporarily stores various information acquired from the content specifying program 66 in the data storage area 62B. The process of step S11 is an example of an acquisition process.

  Next, the output program 65 executes device determination processing (S12). The device determination process is a process for determining a multifunction machine 10 that executes a specified operation for specified data. Details of the device determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the output program 65 determines whether or not a device ID has been acquired in step S11 (S31). Next, when the output program 65 determines that the device ID “MFP-A” has been acquired (S31: Yes), the MFP 10A identified by the device ID “MFP-A” passes through the communication unit 55. It is determined whether or not communication is possible (S32). The process of step S31 is an example of a third determination process, and the process of step S32 is an example of a fourth determination process.

  For example, in step S <b> 32, the output program 65 transmits an ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) echo request to the MFP 10 </ b> A through the communication unit 55. The output program 65 determines that the MFP 10A is in a communicable state in response to receiving an echo reply from the MFP 10A through the communication unit 55. On the other hand, the output program 65 determines that the MFP 10A is in a state where communication cannot be performed in response to the fact that the echo reply cannot be received even after a predetermined time has elapsed. However, the method for determining whether or not the MFP 10A can communicate is not limited to the above example, and other known methods may be adopted.

  When the output program 65 determines that the MFP 10A is in a communicable state (S32: Yes), the device ID “MFP-A” acquired from the content specifying program 66 is determined as the specified device ID. (S33). Then, the output program 65 temporarily stores the device ID “MFP-A” acquired from the content specifying program 66 in the data storage area 62B as the specified device ID. The process of step S33 is an example of a second determination process.

  On the other hand, in response to determining that the device ID has not been acquired (S31: No), or in response to determining that the MFP 10A is in a communication disabled state (S32: No). Then, it is determined whether or not the program ID is acquired in step S11 (S34). Next, when the output program 65 determines that the program ID “001” has been acquired (S34: Yes), the device ID associated with the program ID “001” is stored in the device information list. It is determined whether or not there is (S35). The process of step S34 is an example of a first determination process, and the process of step S35 is an example of a second determination process.

  The output program 65 determines that the device ID “MFP-A” associated with the program ID “001” is stored in the device information list (S35: Yes), and the device ID “ MFP-A "is determined as the designated device ID (S36). That is, the output program 65 temporarily stores the device ID “MFP-A” in the data storage area 62B as the designated device ID. The process of step S36 is an example of a first determination process. Further, the output program 65 sets “ON” in the device change flag (S37).

  On the other hand, in response to determining that the program ID has not been acquired (S34: No), the output program 65 has determined that the device ID associated with the program ID is not stored in the device information list. Accordingly, the device selection process is executed (S38). The device selection process is a process for receiving a user operation for designating a designated device. Details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the output program 65 determines whether or not the designated operation ID has been acquired in step S11 (S41). The process of step S41 is an example of a fifth determination process. Next, in response to determining that the designated operation ID has not been acquired (S41: No), the output program 65 displays an operation selection screen on the display unit 53 (S42). FIG. 9B is an example of the operation selection screen. The operation selection screen shown in FIG. 9B includes a plurality of operation icons 131, 132, 133, and 134. The operation icon 131 corresponds to a print operation, the operation icon 132 corresponds to a label print operation, the operation icon 133 corresponds to a FAX transmission operation, and the operation icon 134 corresponds to a media storage operation.

  Next, the output program 65 receives a user operation for selecting one of the operation icons 131 to 134 included in the operation selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S43). For example, when the selection of the operation icon 132 is received through the operation unit 54 (S43: Yes), the output program 65 determines the label print operation corresponding to the operation icon 132 as the designated operation. That is, the output program 65 temporarily stores the operation ID of the label print operation in the data storage area 62B as the specified operation ID. The process of step S43 is an example of a second reception process. On the other hand, the output program 65 skips the processes of steps S42 and S43 in response to determining that the designated operation ID has been acquired (S41: Yes).

  Next, the output program 65 searches for a multi-function device 10 that can execute the designated operation among the multi-function devices 10 that can communicate through the communication unit 55 (S44). The process of step S44 is an example of a search process. The output program 65 uses, for example, SNMP (abbreviation of Simple Network Management Protocol) to transmit the transmission request information for requesting transmission of the device ID and the operation information stored in the MIB to the multi function device 10 through the communication unit 55. . Next, the output program 65 receives the device ID and the operation information returned from the multifunction machine 10 through the communication unit 55. Next, the output program 65 compares the designated operation ID with the operation ID included in the operation information received from the multifunction machine 10. Then, the output program 65 identifies the MFP 10 whose operation information includes the specified operation ID as the target MFP. In the present embodiment, the MFPs 10A and 10B in which the specified operation ID “label print operation” is included in the operation information are specified as the target MFP.

  Note that the operation information may be model information indicating a model of the multifunction machine 10. In this case, the output program 65 accesses the correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship between the model information and the operation ID corresponding to the model information, and acquires the operation ID corresponding to the received model information. That is, the correspondence information is also information indicating an operation that can be executed by the multifunction peripheral 10 of the model indicated by the model information. Note that the correspondence information may be stored in the portable terminal 50 or may be stored in a cloud server (not shown).

  As another example, the transmission request information may include a designated operation ID. The control program 35 of the multifunction machine 10 may receive transmission request information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 and determine whether or not the designated operation ID included in the transmission request information is stored in the MIB. Then, the control program 35 may transmit the device ID to the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 in response to determining that the designated operation ID is stored in the MIB. On the other hand, the control program 35 does not transmit the device ID to the portable terminal 50 in response to determining that the designated operation ID is not stored in the MIB. Then, the output program 65 of the portable terminal 50 may specify the multifunction device 10 indicated by the device ID received through the communication unit 55 as the target multifunction device.

  Next, the output program 65 displays a device selection screen on the display unit 53 (S45). FIG. 10A is an example of a device selection screen. The device selection screen shown in FIG. 10A includes device icons 135 and 136. The device icons 135 and 136 correspond to the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B that are the target multifunction peripherals identified in step S44. The device icons 135 and 136 describe the device IDs of the corresponding multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B. Then, the output program 65 receives selection of an icon included in the device selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S46).

  Next, the output program 65 receives the device ID “MFP-A” of the MFP 10A corresponding to the device icon 135, for example, in response to receiving selection of the device icon 135 through the operation unit 54 (S46: Yes). The designated device ID is determined (S47). That is, the output program 65 temporarily stores the device ID “MFP-A” as the designated device ID in the data storage area 62B. The process of step S46 is an example of a first reception process, and the process of step S47 is an example of a third determination process. Further, the output program 65 sets “ON” in the device change flag (S48).

  Returning to FIG. 4, the output program 65 displays a preview screen on the display unit 53 (S13). Then, the output program 65 receives selection of an icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S14). The process of step S13 is an example of a preview display process, and the process of step S14 is an example of a third reception process. FIG. 10B is an example of a preview screen. The preview screen shown in FIG. 10B includes a preview image 141, a device icon 142, and a print icon 143.

  The preview image 141 is an image representing a result of causing the designation device to execute a designation operation on the designation data. The preview image according to the present embodiment is an image in which the label image is recorded on the surface of the CD-ROM by the multifunction machine 10A. The device icon 142 is an example of a device switching object corresponding to an instruction to switch the designated device. The device icon 142 describes the current designated device ID. The print icon 143 is an example of an output instruction object corresponding to an execution instruction for an output instruction process described later.

  For example, in step S13, the output program 65 reads the label image data from the data storage area 62B using the API of the OS 64, and generates preview image data using the label image data. On the other hand, when the label image data is stored in the external server, the output program 65 receives the label image data from the external server through the communication unit 55 in step S13, and generates preview image data using the label image data. May be.

  Next, the output program 65 executes device selection processing in response to receiving selection of the device icon 142 through the operation unit 54 (S14: device icon) (S15). Since the details of the device selection process have already been described, the description thereof will be omitted. Then, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a preview screen in which the designated device ID switched in step S15 is described in the device icon 142 (S13).

  Further, in response to the selection of the print icon 143 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S14: print icon), the output program 65 transmits output instruction information to the multifunction peripheral 10A that is the designated device through the communication unit 55 (S16). ). The output instruction information is information for causing the designated device to execute a designated operation on the designated data. The output instruction information of this embodiment includes label image data identified by the designated data ID “label image.JPEG” and an output operation ID “label print operation”. Specifically, the output program 65 reads the specified data using the API of the OS 64, generates output instruction information including the read specified data, and transmits the generated output instruction information to the multifunction machine 10A through the communication unit 55. . The process of step S16 is an example of an output instruction process.

  When the designated data ID is a URL for downloading the designated data from the external server, the output program 65 receives the designated data from the external server through the communication unit 55, and outputs the output instruction information including the received designated data. The generated output instruction information may be transmitted to the MFP 10A through the communication unit 55. Alternatively, the output program 65 may transmit output instruction information including a URL for downloading designated data from an external server to the multi-function peripheral 10 </ b> A through the communication unit 55.

  On the other hand, although not shown, the control program 35 of the multifunction peripheral 10 </ b> A receives the output instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Then, the control program 35 causes the printer unit 11 to execute an output operation according to the received output instruction information. The printer unit 11 in this embodiment executes a label print operation for recording a label image indicated by label image data “label image.JPEG” on the surface of the CD-ROM. Alternatively, the MFP 10A may download specified data from an external server using a URL included in the output instruction information, and cause the printer unit 11 to execute a label print operation on the specified data.

  Next, the output program 65 stores a device information record including the program ID “001” acquired in step S11 and the designated device ID “MFP-A” in the device information list (S17). If a device information record including the same program ID is already stored, it is overwritten with a new device information record. If the program ID is not acquired in step S11, the output program 65 skips the process in step S17. The process of step S17 is an example of a storage process. Further, the output program 65 may store the designated device ID “MFP-A” as a default ID in the device information record including the program ID “999” of the output program 65.

  Next, the output program 65 determines the value set in the device change flag (S18). Then, the output program 65 sets “OFF” in the device change flag in response to determining that “ON” is set in the device change flag (S18: Yes) (S19). Further, the output program 65 provides the designated device ID to the content designation program 66 that is the activation source program (S20). The process of step S20 is an example of a providing process. On the other hand, the output program 65 skips steps S19 and S20 in response to determining that “OFF” is set in the device change flag (S18: No).

  Although not shown, the content specifying program 66 acquires the specified device ID provided from the output program 65. Then, the content designation program 66 stores the designated device ID acquired from the output program 65 in the data storage area 62B as a registered device ID. If the registered device ID is already stored in the data storage area 62B, it is overwritten with the designated device ID acquired from the output program 65. Note that the content specifying program 66 for realizing these processes may be executed in the foreground or in the background.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
According to the above embodiment, the content data identified by the designated data ID provided from the content designation program 66 can be output to the output device determined by the device determination process. Note that the output device determined in the device determination process is the output device identified by the device ID provided from the content designation program 66, and the output device identified by the device ID associated with the program ID of the content designation program 66. Or an output device designated by the user in the device selection process.

  More specifically, the output device identified by the designated device ID determined in steps S33 and S36 is an output device to which output instruction information has been transmitted by the output program 65 that the content designation program 66 has been activated in the past. That is, the output device can execute a designated operation. The output device identified by the designated device ID determined in step S47 is an output device that can execute the designated operation.

  As a result, the content data that has been designated by the content designation program 66 can be output to an output device suitable for the content designation program 66. These processes are particularly advantageous when an output device having dedicated hardware is required, such as a label printing operation, an embossing operation, a postcard printing operation, a garment printing operation, a 3D printing operation, or an embroidery operation. There is an effect.

  Further, the designated device ID determined in the device determination process is stored in the device information list in association with the program ID of the content specifying program 66 (S17), and registered in the content specifying program 66 as a registered device ID (S20). . Thereby, at the next activation of the output program 65 by the content designation program 66, the output device to which the output instruction information has been transmitted in the previous output instruction process can be executed. That is, it is possible to cause the output device suitable for the content specifying program 66 to execute the specifying operation.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the content specifying program 66 activated through the menu screen activates the output program 65 as a plug-in has been described. However, the content specifying program 66 may activate the output program 65 using a sharing function. Alternatively, as shown in the following modification, the output program 65 may activate the content designation program 66 as a plug-in.

[Modification]
The operation of the recording system 100 according to the modification will be described below with reference to FIG. Note that a detailed description of the points in common with the above embodiment will be omitted, and the differences will be mainly described. First, the OS 64 activates the output program 65 in response to accepting the selection of the program icon 114 through the operation unit 54 and executes the output program 65 in the foreground. The output program 65 executes the standard activation process shown in FIG. 7 in response to being activated by the OS 64, without being activated by the content specifying program 66.

  First, the output program 65 determines a default ID as a designated device ID (S51). That is, the output program 65 reads the device ID “MFP-A” associated with the program ID “999” from the device information list, and temporarily stores the device ID “MFP-A” in the data storage area 62B as the specified device ID. Remember. The process of step S51 is an example of a fourth determination process.

  Next, the output program 65 displays the main screen on the display unit 53 (S52). FIG. 11A is an example of a main screen. The main screen shown in FIG. 11A includes a plurality of operation icons 146, 147 and 148 and a device icon 149. Then, the output program 65 accepts selection of various icons included in the main screen through the operation unit 54 (S53).

  The operation icons 146 to 148 correspond to the output operation specified by the operation information of the multifunction peripheral 10A that is the designated device. The operation icon 146 corresponds to a print operation, the operation icon 147 corresponds to a FAX transmission operation, and the operation icon 148 corresponds to a label print operation. For example, the operation information of the multifunction machine 10A may be acquired from the multifunction machine 10A in step S52, or the operation information acquired in step S44 may be included in the device information record. The device icon 149 corresponds to an instruction to switch the designated device. In the device icon 149, the device ID “MFP-A” of the multi-function device 10A that is the currently designated device is described.

  Next, the output program 65 executes device selection processing in response to accepting selection of the device icon 149 through the operation unit 54 (S53: device icon) (S54). Since the details of the device selection process have already been described, the description thereof will be omitted. Then, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen in which the designated device ID switched in step S54 is described in the device icon 149 (S52).

  The output program 65 determines the printing operation corresponding to the operation icon 146 as the designated operation in response to, for example, selection of the operation icon 146 received through the operation unit 54 (S53: operation icon). That is, the output program 65 temporarily stores the operation ID of the printing operation in the data storage area 62B as the specified operation ID. Next, the output program 65 displays the acquisition source selection screen on the display unit 53 (S55). Then, the output program 65 receives selection of an icon included in the acquisition source selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S56).

  FIG. 11B is an example of an acquisition source selection screen. The acquisition source selection screen is a screen for allowing the user to select an acquisition source of designated data. The acquisition source selection screen illustrated in FIG. 11B includes acquisition source icons 151 and 152 and plug-in icons 153 and 154. The acquisition source icon 151 corresponds to a photo data folder in the data storage area 62B from which the photo data is acquired, and the acquisition source icon 152 corresponds to a server (not shown) on the Internet. The plug-in icon 153 corresponds to the content specifying program 66, and the plug-in icon 154 corresponds to the program A.

  Next, the output program 65 displays a data selection screen on the display unit 53, for example, in response to receiving selection of the acquisition source icon 151 through the operation unit 54 (S56: acquisition source icon) (S57). And the output program 65 receives selection of the icon contained in a data selection screen through the operation part 54 (S58). The process of step S58 is an example of a fourth reception process.

  FIG. 12A is an example of a data selection screen. The data selection screen shown in FIG. 12A includes a plurality of data icons 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160. Data icons 155 to 160 correspond to content data that can be designated as designated data. The data icons 155 to 160 correspond to the photo data stored in the photo data folder in the data storage area 62B. On the other hand, when the acquisition source icon 152 is selected, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a data selection screen including a data icon corresponding to content data stored in a server on the Internet.

  Next, the output program 65 determines content data corresponding to the data icon 155 as designated data, for example, in response to receiving selection of the data icon 155 through the operation unit 54 (S58: Yes). That is, the output program 65 temporarily stores the data ID of the content data corresponding to the data icon 155 in the data storage area 62B as the designated data ID.

  Next, the output program 65 displays a preview screen on the display unit 53 (S59). Then, the output program 65 receives selection of an icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S60). The process of step S59 is an example of a preview display process, and the process of step S60 is an example of a third reception process.

  FIG. 12B is an example of a preview screen. The preview screen shown in FIG. 12B includes a preview image 161 and a print icon 162. The preview image 161 is an image representing the result of outputting the designation data designated in step S58 by the designation operation designated in step S53. That is, the preview image 161 shows an image in which the photograph indicated by the photograph data corresponding to the data icon 155 is recorded on the recording sheet. The print icon 162 corresponds to an execution instruction for output instruction processing.

  Then, in response to accepting the selection of the print icon 162 through the operation unit 54 (S60: Yes), the output program 65 transmits the recording instruction information to the multifunction peripheral 10A that is the designated device through the communication unit 55 (S61). . The process of step S61 is an example of an output instruction process. On the other hand, although not shown, the control program 35 of the multifunction peripheral 10 </ b> A receives the recording instruction information from the portable terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Then, the control program 35 causes the printer unit 11 to execute a printing operation according to the received print instruction information. That is, the printer unit 11 records the photograph indicated by the photograph data included in the recording instruction information on the recording sheet.

  On the other hand, the output program 65 activates the content designation program 66 corresponding to the plug-in icon 153, for example, in response to receiving selection of the plug-in icon 153 through the operation unit 54 (S56: plug-in icon) (S62). . For example, in step S62, the output program 65 may execute a function for starting the content specifying program 66 as a plug-in, or may execute a shared API by specifying the program ID of the content specifying program 66. . Then, the OS 64 executes the output program 65 in the background and executes the content specifying program 66 in the foreground.

  In response to being activated by the output program 65, the content designation program 66 executes the processing described with reference to FIGS. 8B and 9A. Then, the content specifying program 66 provides the specified data ID or the like as the function executed by the output program 65 in step S62 or the return value of the shared API, for example. These processes are examples of the activation process. Then, the output program 65 executes the external activation process shown in FIG. 4 (S63). Since the details of the external activation process have already been described, the description thereof will be omitted.

  Moreover, in the portable terminal 50 of the above embodiment, an example in which each process executed by the control unit of the present invention is realized by the CPU 61 executing various programs stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62. Explained. However, the configuration of the control unit is not limited to this, and part or all of the configuration may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC (Integrated Circuit)).

  Furthermore, the present invention may be realized not only as the mobile terminal 50 but also as a program that causes the mobile 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 portable terminal 50 through the communication network 101 in addition to a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or 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.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Multifunction machine 11 ... Printer part 12 ... Scanner part 25, 55 ... Communication part 31, 61 ... CPU
35 ... Control program 65 ... Output program 66 ... Content specification program 50 ... Mobile terminal 53 ... Display unit 54 ... Operation unit 62 ... Storage unit

Claims (10)

An output program readable by a portable terminal including a communication unit and a storage unit, wherein the communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, and the output device outputs a plurality of content data At least one of the output operations, and the storage unit stores an activation source program readable by the portable terminal, and sets a plurality of program identification information and device identification information corresponding to each other The program identification information is information for identifying the activation source program, the device identification information is information for identifying the output device,
The activation source program causes the user to designate the content data, activate the output program, and provide activation processing for providing the output program with designated data information for identifying the designated content data. Can be executed, and
In response to being activated by the activation source program, the output program can cause the portable terminal to execute an acquisition process for acquiring information provided from the activation source program. In the acquisition process, Obtain at least the specified data information;
The output program is
A first determination process for determining whether or not the program identification information is acquired in the acquisition process in addition to the designated data information;
Second determining whether the device identification information associated with the program identification information is stored in the storage unit in response to the first determination process determining that the program identification information has been acquired; Judgment processing,
A first determination process for determining the apparatus identification information as designated apparatus information in response to the determination by the second determination process that the apparatus identification information is stored;
Causing the portable terminal to execute an output instruction process for transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information, and the output instruction information causes the content data identified by the designated data information to be output. An output program that is information. The output program is
A third determination process for determining whether or not the device identification information is acquired in the acquisition process in addition to the designated data information;
A fourth determination process for determining whether communication with the output device identified by the device identification information is possible through the communication unit in response to the determination by the third determination process that the device identification information has been acquired; ,
A second determination process for determining the specified apparatus information as the apparatus identification information acquired in the acquisition process in response to the determination in the fourth determination process that communication is possible;
A request for causing the portable terminal to execute the first determination process in response to determining in the third determination process that the device identification information has not been acquired or determining that communication is impossible in the fourth determination process. The output program according to Item 1. In the third determination process, the output program determines whether or not the program identification information and the device identification information are acquired in the acquisition process in addition to the designated data information,
In response to determining in the third determination process that the program identification information and the device identification information have been acquired, a storage process that associates the program identification information and the device identification information with each other and stores them in the storage unit, The output program according to claim 2, which is executed by a portable terminal. The portable terminal includes an operation unit,
In response to determining that the program identification information has not been acquired in the first determination process, the output program includes a fifth determination process for determining whether or not the specified operation information has been acquired in the acquisition process. The specified operation information to be executed by a mobile terminal is information for identifying a specified operation that is the output operation to be executed by the output device,
The output program is
In response to the determination in the fifth determination process that the specified operation information has been acquired, the output device that can execute the specified operation identified by the specified operation information and can communicate through the communication unit is searched. The search process,
A first accepting process for accepting a user operation for specifying one of the device identification information of the output device found in the search process through the operation unit;
Causing the portable terminal to execute a third determination process for determining the specified apparatus information as the apparatus identification information specified in the first reception process,
The output program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the designated data information in the designated operation. The output program is
In response to determining in the fifth determination process that the designated operation information has not been acquired, a user operation for designating one of the plurality of output operations as the designated operation is accepted through the operation unit. 2 reception processing,
The search processing, the first reception processing, and the third determination processing for searching for the output device that can execute the specified operation specified in the second reception processing and can communicate through the communication unit The output program according to claim 4, which is executed by a terminal.   The output program causes the portable terminal to execute a storage process in which the program identification information acquired in the acquisition process and the device identification information specified in the first reception process are associated with each other and stored in the storage unit. Item 6. The output program according to Item 4 or 5.   The output program causes the portable terminal to execute a providing process for providing the designated device information determined in the first determination process or the third determination process to the activation source program. The described output program. The portable terminal includes a display unit,
The output program causes the mobile terminal to execute a preview display process for displaying the preview screen on the display unit, and the preview screen includes the preview image representing the execution result of the output operation according to the output instruction information; A device switching object corresponding to the switching of the designated device information, and an output instruction object corresponding to execution of the output instruction processing,
The output program is
A third receiving process for receiving a user operation for selecting an object through the operation unit;
In response to accepting the selection of the device switching object in the third accepting process, the search process and the first accepting process are executed by the portable terminal,
The output program according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the output instruction process is executed by the portable terminal in response to receiving the selection of the output instruction object in the third reception process. The output program is activated not by the activation process by the activation source program but by the OS of the mobile terminal that has received a user operation for instructing activation of the output program.
A fourth determination process for determining, as the designated device information, the device identification information stored in the storage unit in association with the program identification information of the output program;
Causing the portable terminal to execute a fourth reception process for receiving a user operation for specifying the specified data information through the operation unit;
In the output instruction process, the output instruction information for outputting the content data identified by the designated data information designated in the fourth reception process is identified by the designated device information determined in the fourth determination process. The output program according to claim 1, wherein the output program is transmitted to the output device through the communication unit. A communication department;
A storage unit;
A portable terminal comprising a control unit,
The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network.
The output device is capable of executing at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data,
The storage unit
Storing an activation source program readable by the portable terminal;
A plurality of sets of program identification information and device identification information corresponding to each other can be stored. The program identification information is information for identifying the activation source program, and the device identification information identifies the output device. Information for
The control unit that executes the activation source program causes the user to designate the content data, activates the output program, and provides the output program with designated data information for identifying the designated content data. It is possible to execute the startup process,
The control unit that executes the output program activated by the activation source program can execute an acquisition process of acquiring information provided from the activation source program, and in the acquisition process, at least the specified Get data information,
The control unit that executes the output program includes:
A first determination process for determining whether or not the program identification information is acquired in the acquisition process in addition to the designated data information;
Second determining whether the device identification information associated with the program identification information is stored in the storage unit in response to the first determination process determining that the program identification information has been acquired; Judgment processing,
A first determination process for determining the apparatus identification information as designated apparatus information in response to the determination in the second determination process that the apparatus identification information is stored;
Output instruction processing for transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information, and the output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the designated data information Terminal.