JP2019216451A - Processing device, processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a processing device, a processing method, and a program for preventing a terminal device from waiting in a state where there is no response when a request is received from a terminal device.SOLUTION: In the processing device, when receiving means receives a request for a predetermined process via communication means (S301), transmission means transmits a part of an HTTP response before execution means executes a predetermined process (S302, S303). Then, a predetermined process is executed in response to the received HTTP request and whether the execution means has started execution normally is determined (S304). If it is determined that the execution has started normally, an HTTP response including data on the basis of the execution of processing by the execution means is transmitted (S305). If it is determined that the execution cannot be started normally, an HTTP response including no data on the basis of the execution of processing by the execution means is transmitted (S306).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing device having a plurality of communication interfaces, a processing method, and a program.

  In recent years, a standard for using a communication protocol conventionally used in a TCP / IP network in USB (Universal Serial Bus) communication has been formulated. It is a standard called USB Print Interface Class IPP Protocol Specification (hereinafter, referred to as IPP USB Specification). By IPP USB Specification, HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) used for transmitting and receiving contents such as HTML can be used for USB communication. Further, an Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) for exchanging print data and the like between the printer and the computer can also be used for USB communication.

  Specifically, the IPP USB Specification stipulates that an IPP command request be transferred at a Bulk Out transfer EndPoint of a USB PrintClass interface, and that an IPP command response be transferred at a Bulk In transfer EndPoint. In addition, not only the IPP but also the HTTP specifies that the command request is received and the command response is transmitted by the same method in this standard.

  With IPP USB Specification, basic data transmission / reception by HTTP can perform the same communication control without being aware of differences in communication interfaces such as a TCP / IP network and USB. A Web server or a communication device that has received an HTTP request from a terminal device such as a PC or a tablet executes a process corresponding to the request, and then transmits an HTTP response as a processing result to the terminal device. At this time, the communication between the terminal device and the Web server or the communication device can be controlled in the same manner in both the TCP / IP network and the USB.

  In Patent Literature 1, before transmitting scan data, the image processing apparatus responds with capability information on divided transmission of scan data, divides the scan data, and transmits the divided scan data to the terminal device.

JP 2009-44232A

  However, in Patent Literature 1, there is a case where the reading of the document cannot be started immediately, or even if the reading can be started, even the first divided transmission of the scan data cannot be performed. In such a case, after transferring all the data of the HTTP request in the TCP / IP network communication and the USB communication, the requesting terminal device waits for a response from the requested image forming device. However, when the image processing apparatus cannot temporarily process the HTTP request and cannot respond even after a long time elapses, depending on the terminal device, the image processing apparatus is determined to be in an error state, and the request is discarded. I will. Further, depending on the terminal device, the terminal device may wait forever until the power is turned off and occupy the processing of the terminal device.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a processing device, a processing method, and a program that prevent a terminal device from waiting without a response when a request is received from the terminal device. To do.

  The processing device according to the present invention includes: a communication unit that performs communication with an external device according to HTTP; a reception unit that receives an HTTP request for requesting execution of a predetermined process via the communication unit; Executing means for executing a predetermined process in response to the received HTTP request; determining means for determining whether the executing means has normally started execution; and executing means in response to the HTTP request received by the receiving means. And transmitting means for transmitting an HTTP response to the external device in response to the result of the processing. If the receiving means receives a request for predetermined processing via the communication means, the transmitting means If the means transmits a part of the HTTP response before the execution of the predetermined processing is completed, and the determining means determines that the execution has been started normally, the transmitting means determines whether the execution of the processing by the executing means has been completed. It sends an HTTP response including the Ku data, when said determination means determines that the can not be started successfully executed, the transmitting means transmits an HTTP response containing no data based on execution of the processing of the execution unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when receiving a request from a terminal device, it can suppress that a terminal device waits without a response. Thereby, for example, when a predetermined request cannot be temporarily processed or processing fails, the load on the terminal device can be reduced, and the terminal device determines that the processing device is in an error state and terminates normally. Can be suppressed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating HTTP communication. FIG. 4 is a screen view displayed on the operation display unit of the printer according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart when a scan execution request of the printer according to the first embodiment is received. 6 is a flowchart when a scan data acquisition request of the printer according to the first embodiment is received. 9 is a flowchart when a scan data acquisition request of the printer according to the second embodiment is received. 13 is a flowchart when a scan execution request of the printer according to the third embodiment is received. 13 is a flowchart when a scan data acquisition request of the printer according to the third embodiment is received.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the relative arrangement of each component of the device used in the following embodiment, the device shape, and the like are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a communication system. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal device 100 and a printer 200 as a processing device. In the present embodiment, a printer having an image reading function and a printing function will be described as an example of a processing device, but the processing device is not limited to this. The processing device may be a printer having only a printing function, a printer having a function such as a facsimile function, or a copier or a plotter. Further, the processing device may be a scanner device having only an image reading function. The processing device is not limited to an image processing device as long as it has a plurality of communication interfaces including a USB interface and receives a predetermined request from a terminal device.

  The printer illustrated in FIG. 1 is an MFP (Multi Function Printer) that supports network communication and USB communication.

  The printer 200 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a reading unit 204, a printing unit 205, an operation display unit 206, a network controller 207, and a USB device controller 208. These are connected via a CPU bus 209, respectively.

  The CPU 201 controls the entire apparatus (the entire MFP) according to a control program or the like stored in the ROM 202.

  The RAM 203 is a memory area necessary for operating the CPU 201 and the like, and is used as a work area when executing a program read from the ROM 202 and a buffer when transmitting and receiving data. The ROM 202 stores a program for operating the printer and stores a program for causing the reading unit 204 to perform scanning according to HTTP.

  The reading unit 204 has a reading sensor, and reads a document such as paper or film placed on a document table to generate image data. Specifically, the reading unit 204 includes a scanner head having a predetermined reading width in which reading sensors are arranged in a line, and generates image data (scan data) by scanning the scanner head. I do.

  The printing unit 205 has a print head and ink tanks of each color, and prints an image on a sheet such as printing paper by discharging ink in the ink tank through the print head.

  The operation display unit 206 is an operation unit for the user to directly input various instructions to the printer. The user can start various functions of the MFP and perform various settings using the operation display unit 206. The operation display unit 206 includes, for example, a display unit such as an LED (light emitting diode) or an LCD (liquid crystal display), and operation keys such as a character input key, a cursor key, an enter key, and a cancel key. In addition, at least a part of the operation display unit 206 may be configured by a touch panel in which the display unit and the operation mechanism are integrated.

  The network controller 207 is a communication unit that controls communication with a network such as a wired LAN or a wireless LAN. The network controller 207 has a wired LAN connector and a wireless LAN module. The network controller 207 is connected to another device via a wired LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless LAN to enable communication.

  The USB device controller 208 is a communication unit that performs communication control of a USB interface, and performs connection and communication control with a USB device according to the USB communication standard. The USB device controller 208 has a USB connector. The USB device controller 208 is connected to another device via the USB and becomes communicable.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of interfaces (wired LAN connector, wireless LAN module, and USB connector) are mounted to receive data from the terminal device 100. The printer 200 can be connected to an external device via these interfaces, and can receive various requests such as a scan execution request and a scan data acquisition request from the terminal device. The printer 200 can execute scanning by the reading unit 204 in response to a scan request from the terminal device 100.

  Further, in the present embodiment, although not shown, the printer 200 further has an NFC interface, and can perform NFC communication. In addition, the printer 200 may have a Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface so that Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication can be performed. Further, the printer 200 may have a Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE) interface so that BLE communication can be performed.

  Examples of the terminal device 100 include an information processing device such as a PC and a tablet. The terminal device 100 can cause the printer 200 to perform a scan by requesting the printer 200 to execute various functions of the printer 200. For example, when transmitting a scan request, the terminal device 100 first transmits a scan execution request, and transmits a scan data execution request in response to a response to the scan execution request from the printer 200.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a module configuration of a program stored in the ROM 202 of the printer 200. The programs are classified into an operation system (OS) 401, a middleware layer 402, and an application layer 403 of the printer 200.

  The middleware layer 402 controls communication between the OS 401 and the module group of the application layer 403. The middleware layer 402 includes a USB driver 404, a USB module 405, a LAN driver 406, and a TCP / IP module 407. The LAN driver 406 and the TCP / IP module 407 control the network controller 207 to perform TCP / IP communication. The USB driver 404 and the USB module 405 control the USB device controller 208 to perform USB communication.

  The application layer 403 includes an HTTP module 408, an IPP module 409, a WSD module 410, and a scan module 411. Network settings including the IP address of the printer 200 and the like can be executed not only from the operation display unit 206 but also from the terminal device 100. When the processing is executed from the terminal device 100, the Web browser of the terminal device 100 is started and the printer 200 is accessed via the network. The HTTP module 408 is used for management as a setting Web server, and for HTTP communication defined by WSD (Web Service for Devices), IPP, and other protocols using HTTP. The scan module 411 analyzes data received by USB communication or network communication with the HTTP module 408, the IPP module 409, or the WSD module 410. Then, as a result of the analysis, when the received data is determined to be a scan request, scan execution is controlled. Further, the scan module 411 enables the HTTP module 408 to access the scan data generated by performing the scan. Accordingly, control is performed so that the HTTP module 408 can transmit scan data in response to a scan data acquisition request received from the terminal device 100.

  Here, the outline of the HTTP communication mounted on the printer 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an HTTP request transmitted from an external device. As shown in FIG. 3A, the HTTP request includes a request line, a header part, a blank line, and a body part. The request line includes a method area ("POST" in the figure) indicating a method of processing an HTTP request, a request path area ("/ request / url" in the figure) indicating a URL to be processed, and an HTTP version ("" in the figure). HTTP / 1.1 "). The header section has information indicating the transmission source (“Host” in the figure) and information indicating whether to maintain the communication path (“Connection” in the figure). The header section describes information about the body section, such as information indicating the data length of the body section (“Content-Length” in the figure) and information indicating the data format of the body section (“Content-type” in the figure). With regions. Blank lines indicate the boundaries between the header and body parts. The body part is used to specify the processing content of the HTTP request, and there are cases where the body part is required and cases where the body part is unnecessary depending on the HTTP request.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an HTTP response transmitted from the printer 200 to the external device. As shown in FIG. 3B, the HTTP response includes a status line, a header part, a blank line, and a body part. The status line includes an HTTP version ("HTTP / 1.1" in the figure) and a status code ("200 OK" in the figure) indicating a result of request reception. The header portion is the same as the HTTP request, and is an area including information on the body portion and the like. The body part is an area for storing data that responds as a processing result of accepting an HTTP request, if any.

  For example, when instructing execution of scan from the terminal device 100 using HTTP, the following procedure is performed. The terminal device 100 transmits to the printer 200 an HTTP request including a scan execution request command for instructing to scan a document in the body (see FIG. 3A). When receiving the HTTP request for requesting the execution of the scan, the printer 200 transmits to the terminal device 100 that the scan request has been accepted in the HTTP response (see FIG. 3B). Then, when receiving the HTTP response from the printer 200, the terminal device 100 transmits an HTTP request (GET request) for acquiring the scan data generated by the printer 200. Upon receiving the GET request, the printer 200 transmits an HTTP response including the data generated by performing the scan to the terminal device 100. The terminal device 100 acquires the data generated by the printer 200 in response to the HTTP response. In the present embodiment, when the printer 200 receives the HTTP request including the scan execution request command, the printer 200 transmits (responds) a header portion of the HTTP response to the HTTP request destination before starting the scan reading operation. Then, after executing the scan reading operation, the HTTP data portion is transmitted (responds) to the HTTP request destination. Accordingly, when physical USB communication is disconnected while the printer 200 and the terminal device 100 are performing USB communication, the terminal device 100 can suppress determination of the application of the printer 200 being in an error state, The processing can be appropriately terminated. For example, when the printer 200 makes an HTTP response after executing the scan reading operation, it cannot make a response until a predetermined time (for example, several tens of seconds) elapses. Further, for example, when the printer 200 makes an HTTP response after the end of the recovery processing, it cannot make a response until a predetermined time (for example, several minutes) elapses. At this time, before the terminal device 100 receives the HTTP response, the USB communication is physically performed such that the USB is disconnected from the printer 200 during that time or at least one of the printer 200 and the terminal device 100 is hard-off. It may be cut off. As described above, if the USB communication is disconnected before receiving the HTTP response to the HTTP request, the terminal device 100 may determine that the application of the printer 200 is in an error state and may not be able to cancel the job. . On the other hand, in the present embodiment, by responding to the HTTP request including the HTTP header portion, even if the USB communication is disconnected, the printer is not determined to be in an error state, and the job can be normally canceled. it can.

  Further, when the print head recovery operation is performed before the scan reading operation, an HTTP request including an HTTP header portion may be responded before the recovery operation is performed.

  In the present embodiment, when the HTTP request including the scan execution request command is received via the USB communication, the header part of the HTTP response is transmitted to the HTTP request destination before the scan reading operation is started, as described above. (respond). On the other hand, when an HTTP request including a scan execution request command is received via a network, an HTTP response including a header portion and a body portion is transmitted (responds) to the HTTP request destination after performing a scan reading operation.

  In FIG. 3, the outline of the HTTP communication mounted on the printer 200 has been described. However, the present embodiment may be any communication that conforms to HTTP, may be communication using IPP, and may be WSD. The same applies to communication using a protocol.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a display screen displayed at the time of executing a scan on operation display unit 206 of the MFP according to the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 4A is a home screen showing a state in which the power of the printer 200 is turned on and an operation such as printing or scanning is not performed (idle state). On the home screen, menu display, various settings, and execution of functions of a copy function, a scan function, and a cloud function using the Internet communication can be performed by key operation or touch panel operation. FIG. 4B is a screen displayed when the printer 200 cannot execute various functions. As a case where various functions cannot be executed, there is a case where a reading process cannot be immediately executed when a scan execution request is issued from a terminal device connected via USB or a network. The case where the reading process cannot be temporarily executed includes a case where a specific process is being executed. Specifically, there is a case where a scan process is being prepared, such as a process of correcting a reading sensor. Further, there may be a case where a recovery process such as a capping process or an ink suction process for preventing the print head from drying, or a process where vibration occurs in the printer 200 such as during a print process. FIG. 4C is a display screen displayed while the printer 200 is executing a scan. After the scanning is completed, the screen returns to the screen of FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing when the printer 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention receives a scan execution request. This flowchart is performed by the CPU 201 loading a control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the control program.

  First, a scan execution request is received from a terminal device connected to the printer 200 via network communication or USB communication (S501). The scan execution request includes information such as the document reading size and the resolution. The printer scans a sheet or a photo placed on a platen or the like in accordance with the content of the scan execution request (S502). When the scan execution is started, a status code is transmitted by an HTTP response (S503), a header is transmitted by an HTTP response (S504), and a body (S505) is transmitted by an HTTP response. As described above, the status part, the header part, and the body part are sequentially transmitted in the HTTP response.

  When the printer 200 can accept the scan request, for example, “200 OK” is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response. The status code transmitted when the scan request can be accepted is not limited to this, and may be “201 Created” or any of the 200s response indicating that the request has been accepted normally. May be. On the other hand, if the printer 200 cannot accept the scan request, the printer 200 responds with a status code of “500 Internal Server Error”. The status code transmitted when the scan request cannot be accepted is not limited to this.

  The body portion may include information indicating that scan execution has been started, and may include, for example, job ID information, a location indicated by a URL of scan data generated by scan execution, and the like. Good.

  The screen of FIG. 4A is displayed on the operation display unit 206 before the scan is performed, the screen of FIG. 4B is displayed when a scan request is received, and the screen of FIG. ) Is displayed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow when the printer 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention receives a scan data acquisition request. The flow illustrated in FIG. 6 is a flow after performing the flow illustrated in FIG. 5 described above, and is a state in which the terminal device has received a notification from the printer immediately before this flow that scanning has been started. . This flowchart is performed by the CPU 201 loading a control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the control program.

  First, a request to obtain a processing execution result is received from the terminal device (S301). Here, a scan data acquisition request is received from the terminal device. The scan data acquisition request includes information indicating the scan data that the terminal device wants to acquire, and the HTTP request line includes a GET indicating the acquisition request and the URL of the scan data to be acquired. This URL is information obtained from the response to the above-described scan request.

  Next, "200 OK" is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response (S302), and the header of the HTTP response is transmitted (S303). That is, the status code of the HTTP response and the header portion of the HTTP response are transmitted before determining whether the scanning has been started normally. The terminal device 100 displays a message such as “Receiving scan data” and a progress bar indicating the progress of data reception based on the status code of the HTTP response and the reception of the header portion.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether the scan has been started normally (S304). If it is determined that the scan has been started normally, the scan data is transmitted as the HTTP body part (S305), and the process ends. In the terminal device 100, the progress of the progress bar advances based on the reception of the body part of the HTTP response. If it is determined that the scan has not been started normally, an HTTP body part that does not include the scan data is transmitted (S306), and the process ends. At this time, based on the reception of the body part of the HTTP response, the terminal device 100 ends the display of the message such as “Receiving scan data” and the progress bar without progress of the progress bar. If it is determined that the scan has not been started normally, the HTTP body part may include information indicating that there is no scan data.

  When scanning is performed in the printer, immediately after power-on or immediately after printing, for example, a scan preparation process operation such as a correction process of a reading sensor or a recovery operation such as an ink suction process required for a print head is performed. There is a period during which scanning cannot be performed. If no response is made to the terminal device while the printer 200 is waiting for the start of scanning, the terminal device 100 does not respond even though the terminal device 100 has transmitted the scan data acquisition request. It may be determined that a printer error has occurred. At this time, in the case of USB communication, the terminal device 100 may discard the scan request or the scan data acquisition request without transmitting the request to the printer. In some cases, the processing of the terminal device 100 continues to be occupied until the response is returned (the terminal device 100 continues to wait). Therefore, in this embodiment, the HTTP response is transmitted to the header before determining whether the scan data can be started normally. This allows the terminal device to recognize that the printer has accepted the scan data acquisition request, and suppresses the occupation of the terminal device process due to the abandonment of the scan data acquisition request and the waiting for a response to the scan data acquisition request. Can be. Also, even if the scan cannot be started normally, the terminal device 100 determines that the scan has been canceled due to the printer 200 by transmitting information indicating that there is no scan data in the body of the HTTP response. Can be. Therefore, even when it takes time until the scan data can be started or when the scan data cannot be started normally, the terminal device does not determine that an error has occurred in the application. Further, when the communication is disconnected, it is possible to normally terminate the processing such as a job error without terminating the application and determining that the error has occurred.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the status code of the HTTP response and the header portion of the HTTP response are transmitted before the scan in both the USB communication and the network communication when the scan data acquisition request is received. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, transmission control of an HTTP response when a scan data acquisition request is received is switched according to the communication interface. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. More specifically, the hardware configuration of the printer, the software configuration of the printer, the display screen of the operation display unit, and the flow of processing when the printer receives a scan request are the same, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow when the printer 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention receives a scan data acquisition request. The flow illustrated in FIG. 6 is a flow after performing the flow illustrated in FIG. 5 described above, and is a state in which the terminal device has received a notification from the printer immediately before this flow that scanning has been started. . This flowchart is performed by the CPU 201 loading a control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the control program.

  First, a scan data acquisition request is received from the terminal device (S601). The scan data acquisition request includes information indicating the scan data that the terminal device wants to acquire, and the request line of the HTTP request includes a GET indicating the acquisition request and the URL of the scan data to be acquired. This URL is information obtained from the response to the above-described scan request.

  Next, the printer determines whether the scan data acquisition request has been received via USB communication (S602).

  If it is determined in S602 that the scan is not the USB communication, that is, it has been received by the network communication, it is determined whether the scan can be started normally (S603).

  If it is determined that the scan has started normally, "200 OK" is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response (S604), and then the header of the HTTP response is transmitted (S605), and the scan is performed as the body of the HTTP response. The data is transmitted (S606). The terminal device 100 displays a message such as “Receiving scan data” and a progress bar indicating the progress of data reception based on the status code of the HTTP response and the reception of the header portion. Then, the progress of the progress bar advances according to the progress of the scan data reception.

  If it is determined in S603 that the scan has not been started normally, there is no scan data, so "404 Not Found" is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response (S607), and the header portion of the HTTP response is transmitted (S608). ). At this time, the terminal device 100 notifies the user that scanning cannot be started, based on the reception of the status code and the header portion of the HTTP response. In the present embodiment, a message “scanning could not be started” is displayed on the display unit. The present invention is not limited to this, and the user may be notified by voice, printing, or the like. Then, since the scan could not be started normally, information indicating that there is no data is transmitted as the body part of the HTTP response (S609).

If it is determined in step S602 that the scan has been received by USB communication, "200 OK" is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response before determining whether the scan has started normally (S610), and the header of the HTTP response is transmitted. (S611). The terminal device 100 displays a message such as “Receiving scan data” and a progress bar indicating the progress of data reception based on the status code of the HTTP response and the reception of the header portion.
Thereafter, it is determined whether the scan has been started normally (S612). If it is determined that the scan has been started normally, the scan data is transmitted as an HTTP body part (S613). In the terminal device 100, the progress of the progress bar advances based on the reception of the body part of the HTTP response. If it is determined that the scanning has not been started normally, information indicating that there is no data is transmitted as the HTTP body part (S614). At this time, based on the reception of the body part of the HTTP response, the terminal device 100 ends the display of the message such as “Receiving scan data” and the progress bar without progress of the progress bar. In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, an HTTP response is transmitted to the header before determining whether the scan data can be transmitted normally. This makes it possible for the terminal device to recognize that the printer has received the scan data acquisition request, and suppresses the occupation of the terminal device process due to discarding the scan data acquisition request or waiting for a response to the scan data acquisition request. Further, even if the scan cannot be started normally, by transmitting information indicating that there is no scan data in the body portion of the HTTP response, the terminal device can determine that the scan has been canceled due to the printer. Therefore, even when it takes time until the scan data can be started, and even when the scan data cannot be started normally, the process can be ended while maintaining a normal state.

  On the other hand, in the network communication, even if there is no response from the printer in the HTTP layer, the terminal device can notify the printer that the request has been discarded by transmitting the FIN packet in the TCP / IP layer. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the communication path and processing from being occupied between the terminal device and the printer.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the transmission control of the HTTP response when the scan data acquisition request is received is switched according to the communication interface. Specifically, in this network communication, an HTTP response is transmitted after it is determined that the scan has been normally performed. Thus, for example, in the case of network communication, when an error such as a recovery operation or a capping operation occurs in the printer, the occurrence of the error can be appropriately transmitted to the terminal device.

(Embodiment 3)
In the second embodiment, the transmission control of the HTTP response at the time of receiving the scan data acquisition request is switched according to the communication interface. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the printer is caused to execute the scan at the timing of receiving the scan data acquisition request, not at the timing of receiving the scan execution request. Note that the description overlapping with the first embodiment will be omitted. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. More specifically, since the hardware configuration of the printer, the software configuration of the printer, and the display screen of the operation display unit are the same, the description is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing when the printer 200 according to the present embodiment receives a scan execution request. This flowchart is performed by the CPU 201 loading a control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the control program.

  First, a scan execution request is received from a terminal device connected to the printer 200 via network communication or USB communication (S701). The scan execution request includes information such as the read size and the resolution.

  The printer receives a scan execution request (S702). However, at this time, the execution of the scan is not started. Next, a status code which is an HTTP response is transmitted (S703), a header part of the HTTP response is transmitted (S704), and a body part of the HTTP response is transmitted (S705). As described above, the status part, the header part, and the body part are sequentially transmitted in the HTTP response. As in the first embodiment, the status code of the HTTP response may be any of responses in the 200's indicating that the request has been normally received. It is assumed that the body part of the HTTP response does not include information indicating that the scan execution has been started, but rather includes, for example, job information indicating that the scan has been accepted, the location of a URL of scan data generated in a subsequent scan execution, and the like.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention receives a scan data acquisition request. Further, the flow illustrated in FIG. 9 is a flow after the execution of the flow illustrated in FIG. 8, and is a state in which the terminal device has received a notification that a scan request has been received from the printer immediately before this flow. This flowchart is performed by the CPU 201 loading a control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executing the control program.

  First, a scan data acquisition request (HTTP request) is received from the terminal device (S801). Next, the printer determines whether a scan data acquisition request has been received via USB communication (S802). If it is not received by USB communication, that is, if it is determined that it is received by network communication, it is determined whether the scan can be executed immediately (S803). If it is determined that the scan can be executed immediately, the scan is executed (S804). On the other hand, if it is determined that the scan cannot be executed immediately, the scan execution is waited until the cause of the scan inability is eliminated (S805). Execute (S804).

  Next, as a result of executing the scan in S804, it is determined whether the scan can be started normally (S806). If it is determined in step S806 that the scan has started normally, “200 OK” is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response (S807), and the header of the HTTP response is transmitted (S808). Then, the scan data is transmitted as the body part of the HTTP response (S809). If it is determined in step S806 that the scan has not been started normally, “404 Not Found” is transmitted as the status code (S810), and the header of the HTTP response is transmitted (S811). Then, information indicating that there is no data is transmitted as the body part of the HTTP response (S812).

  If it is determined in step S802 that the received data is received via USB communication, “200 OK” is transmitted as the status code of the HTTP response before scanning is performed (S813), and the header of the HTTP response is transmitted (S814). Then, it is determined whether the scan can be executed immediately (S815). If it is determined that the scan can be executed immediately, the scan is executed (S816). If the scan cannot be temporarily executed, the scan execution is waited until the cause of the inability to execute the scan is eliminated (S817), and the scan is executed after it is determined that the cause of the inability to execute the scan has been eliminated (S816). .

  Next, as a result of executing the scan in S816, it is determined whether the scan can be started normally (S818). If it is determined that the scan can be started normally, the scan data is transmitted as a body part of the HTTP response (S819). . If it is determined that the scanning has not been started normally, information indicating that there is no data is transmitted as the body part of the HTTP response (S820). In the present embodiment, when the scan execution request is received, the scan is only accepted and the scan is not actually executed. However, inside the printer, scan execution is reserved, and when a scan execution request is accepted, printing or scanning from another terminal device is not accepted. With such a state, it is possible to guarantee that the scan data is transmitted when the request to acquire the scan data is received.

  Further, in the present embodiment, by delaying the timing of the execution of the scan, it is possible to prevent the scanning by the scanner head from stopping when the transmission of the scan data acquisition request from the terminal device is delayed. An example in which the transmission of the scan data acquisition request from the terminal device is delayed and the scanning by the scanner head is stopped is a printer in which the size of the RAM 203 is small and all the scan data generated by one scan execution cannot be stored. Is mentioned. Such a printer transmits the scan data fragments stored from the RAM 203 to the terminal device in response to a scan data acquisition request from the terminal device simultaneously with the process of storing the scan data fragments generated one after another in the scan execution in the RAM 203. I do. However, if the scan data acquisition request from the terminal device is delayed, the RAM 203 may temporarily run out of space, and reading by the scanner head may be interrupted. After the interruption, the reception of the scan data acquisition request gradually starts to make room in the RAM 203, and the reading can be started again. However, when the reading is temporarily stopped, the generated scan data is compared with the scan data obtained when the reading is performed at a constant speed, and the image based on the scan data may have an image shift. The image quality obtained in this case is reduced. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, it is possible to prevent the scanning by the scanner head from stopping.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the transmission control of the HTTP response when the scan data acquisition request is received is switched according to the communication interface. Specifically, as described above, when a scan acquisition request is received via USB communication, the scan request is transmitted to the header of the HTTP response before scanning is performed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the termination between the terminal device and the printer as an application error.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the header portion is transmitted as a part of the HTTP response before the execution of the scan is started. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. What is necessary is just to transmit the header part of the response. That is, the header part of the HTTP response may be transmitted after the processing such as scanning is started normally, or may be transmitted before the completion of the scanning.

  Also, for example, even when the execution of a scan is instructed via Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication using HTTP, the printer may return a header part of the HTTP response before starting the execution of the scan. Just fine.

  In the above-described embodiment, a scan execution request has been described as an example of a process execution request. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An execution request for another process received from the terminal device includes, for example, an execution request for a printing process.

  The above-described embodiment can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program. It is processing to do. Further, the program may be executed by one computer or may be executed in conjunction with a plurality of computers. Further, it is not necessary to realize all of the above-described processing by software, and a part or all of the processing may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC. Further, the CPU is not limited to one that performs all the processing, and a plurality of CPUs may perform the processing while cooperating as appropriate.

200 Printer 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 reading unit 205 printing unit 206 operation display unit 207 network controller 208 USB device controller 209 CPU bus 401 OS
402 Middleware 403 Application 404 USB driver 405 USB module 406 LAN driver 407 TCP / IP module 408 HTTP module 409 IPP module 410 WSD module 411 Scan module

A processing device according to the present invention is a processing device including a plurality of communication interfaces including a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, and communicates with an external device using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) via the USB interface. a communication means for performing, via the communication means, from said external device, receiving means for receiving an HTTP request based on the HTTP request received by the receiving unit, Ru to execute the reading processing of a document reading unit execution means, before SL in response to the HTTP request received by the receiving means, via said communication means comprises transmission means for transmitting a HTTP response to the external device, and the receiving means the communication means through, the outer an HTTP request for requesting acquisition of data When receiving from the external device , the transmitting unit responds to the HTTP request for obtaining the data by transmitting the first HTTP response including the header portion and not including the body portion to the external device by transmitting the communication unit to the external device. When the data is acquired by the reading process , the transmitting unit transmits a second HTTP response including a body part including the data acquired by the reading process to the external device to the communication unit. To send over.

Claims (10)

Communication means for communicating with an external device according to HTTP;
Receiving means for receiving, via the communication means, an HTTP request requesting execution of a predetermined process;
Executing means for executing predetermined processing in response to the HTTP request received by the receiving means;
Determining means for determining whether the execution means has started execution normally,
Transmitting means for transmitting, to the external device, an HTTP response for responding to a result of the processing by the execution means in response to the HTTP request received by the receiving means;
Have
When the receiving unit receives a request for a predetermined process via the communication unit, the transmitting unit transmits a part of an HTTP response before the execution unit completes execution of the predetermined process,
When the determining unit determines that the execution has started normally, the transmitting unit transmits an HTTP response including data based on the execution of the process of the executing unit, and determines that the determining unit cannot start the execution normally. In this case, the transmission unit transmits an HTTP response that does not include data based on the execution of the process by the execution unit.   When the receiving unit receives a request for a predetermined process via the communication unit, the transmitting unit transmits a part of an HTTP response before the execution unit starts executing the predetermined process. The processing device according to claim 1. The communication means has first communication means for performing communication according to HTTP, and second communication means for performing communication according to HTTP,
The receiving means receives a request for a predetermined process through the first communication means or the second communication means,
When the receiving unit receives a request for a predetermined process via the first communication unit, the transmitting unit transmits an HTTP response when the determining unit determines that the execution has started normally,
When the receiving unit receives a request for a predetermined process via the second communication unit, the transmitting unit transmits a part of an HTTP response before executing the predetermined process by the execution unit. The processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The receiving means receives a request for executing the predetermined process and a request for acquiring an execution result of the predetermined process, as the request for the predetermined process,
The transmitting unit transmits a first HTTP response in response to the execution request of the predetermined process, transmits a second HTTP response in response to a request to obtain an execution result of the predetermined process, and When receiving a request to acquire an execution result of the predetermined process via the second communication unit, transmitting a part of the second HTTP response before the execution unit executes the predetermined process. The processing device according to claim 3, wherein:   The processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first communication unit is a network communication unit, and the second communication unit is a USB communication unit. Further comprising a reading unit for reading the original,
The request for the predetermined processing includes a scan request,
The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the request for the predetermined process is a scan request, data based on the execution of the process by the execution unit includes scan data.   The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the communication according to the HTTP is communication using a WSD protocol.   The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication based on the HTTP is communication using IPP. A receiving step of receiving an HTTP request requesting execution of a predetermined process from an external device via a communication unit;
A transmitting step of transmitting a part of an HTTP response to the external device before completing the execution of the predetermined processing, when receiving a request for the predetermined processing via the communication unit in the receiving step;
An execution step of executing a predetermined process in response to the HTTP request received in the reception step;
A determination step of determining whether the execution step has started execution normally,
Have
If it is determined in the determination step that execution has started normally, an HTTP response including data based on the execution of the predetermined process is transmitted, and if the determination unit determines that execution cannot be started normally, A processing method, comprising transmitting an HTTP response that does not include data based on execution of the processing.   A program that causes a computer to function as each unit of the processing device according to claim 1.

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