JP2020030697A - Information processing apparatus, terminal device, setting screen display system, and setting screen display method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus and a setting screen display system that can modify a setting screen.SOLUTION: In a setting screen display system 100, an information processing apparatus 50 communicating with a terminal device 10 transmitting job information to equipment via a network comprises: layout information storage means 541 that stores a plurality of pieces of layout information on a job setting screen displayed by the terminal device; communication means that receives, from the terminal device, terminal information on the layout of the setting screen; association information storage means 542 that stores association between the layout information and the terminal device; layout determination means that refers to the association information storage means and determines layout information associated with the terminal device received by the communication means; and setting screen providing means that provides, to the terminal device, information on the setting screen laid out with the layout information determined by the layout determination means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, a terminal device, a setting screen display system, and a setting screen display method.

  When a PC (Personal Computer) controls a printer to print a document or the like, device control software (hereinafter, referred to as a printer driver) corresponding to the printer transmits job information to the printer. Conventionally, a user or an administrator installs a printer driver corresponding to a printer on each PC. However, it is desired to reduce the burden required for managing the printer driver.

  As one of such techniques, a technique in which an image forming apparatus provides a setting screen of a printer driver has been devised (for example, see Patent Document 1). Patent Literature 1 has a Web screen generating unit that generates a setting screen of information for controlling a printer in a format that can be browsed by a Web browser in accordance with a request from a PC, and the PC generates the setting screen by using the Web screen generating unit. A print setting method for displaying a specified setting screen is disclosed.

  Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-157, it is possible to obtain a default value of device control data, which is information for controlling an image forming apparatus, and generate a rewrite setting screen with a setting value for a PC user.

  However, the conventional setting screen has a problem that it is difficult to modify the setting screen. Supplementally, the setting screen of the printer driver is prepared corresponding to the function of the printer, but as the function of the printer increases, the number of items that can be set has become very large. In addition, the relationship between setting items is complicated when the status of printer options is included. For this reason, many users request improvement of the setting screen of the printer driver.

  Further, the printer driver is closely related to an OS (Operating System), and different printer drivers are prepared depending on the type and version of the OS even if the printer is the same. For this reason, the setting screen of the printer driver may differ depending on the type and version of the OS, and there is a demand for improvement of the setting screen from this point as well.

  In addition, some customers who perform printing in which only fixed items are set at all times request a simplified setting screen. It is also conceivable that the easy-to-use setting screen differs for each individual user.

  However, even with such a request, the development of a printer driver including a user interface requires man-hours, and the release of a new printer driver may require the approval of the OS manufacturer. Modification was difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an information processing apparatus capable of changing a setting screen.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is an information processing apparatus that communicates via a network with a terminal device that transmits job information to a device, and stores a plurality of pieces of layout information of a job setting screen displayed by the terminal device. Layout information storage means, communication means for receiving terminal information on the layout of the setting screen from the terminal device, association information storage means for storing association between the layout information and the terminal information, and the association information A layout determining unit that determines the layout information associated with the terminal information received by the communication unit with reference to a storage unit; and a display component that is laid out by the layout information determined by the layout determining unit. Setting screen providing means for providing information on the setting screen to the terminal device.

  An information processing device capable of modifying a setting screen can be provided.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a process in which a PC displays a setting screen of a printer driver. It is an example of a system configuration diagram of a setting screen display system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer system. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a printer. FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram showing functions of a PC in a block shape (V3 printer driver). FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram showing functions of the PC in a block shape (V4 printer driver). FIG. 3 is an example of a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a UI display server in a block shape. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of terminal information transmitted from a printer driver to a UI display server. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating information held by a display information format holding unit. FIG. 11 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure in which a PC displays a layout setting screen determined by key information. FIG. 14 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which a setting value interpretation unit 53 determines a layout in step S9 in FIG. 13.

  Hereinafter, as an example of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention, a setting screen display system and a setting screen display method performed by the setting screen display system will be described with reference to the drawings.

<About the printer driver of Windows OS>
First, a request to easily change the setting screen of the printer driver will be supplemented.

  The printer driver displays various user interfaces (screens) operated by the user, such as a print setting screen, a device setting screen, and a facsimile setting screen.

  In Windows OS from Windows 2000 (registered trademark; hereinafter abbreviated) to Windows 7, a printer driver having an architecture called Version 3 (hereinafter referred to as V3) printer driver was employed. From Windows 8, in addition to the V3 printer driver, a new architecture printer driver called Version 4 (hereinafter referred to as V4) printer driver has been adopted.

  In Windows 8 or later, there is a new type of application called WindowsStoreApp in addition to the conventional application (desktop application). This is an application that can be downloaded and installed from WindowsStore.

  Furthermore, in the edition of Windows 10S, it is announced that the conventional application cannot be installed, and the application can be installed only from WindowsStoreApp.

  Therefore, even if the printer drivers are of the same model, there are a plurality of types of setting screens depending on the architecture.

  FIGS. 1 to 3 each show a print setting screen, but it can be seen that the arrangement of items, the items, the color arrangement, and the like are greatly different in FIGS. If the setting screen is different even for the same model, the operability of the user may be reduced, and many users request that the setting screen of the printer driver be modified. However, the release of the printer driver requires passing the certification test of Microsoft (for Windows OS), so it is difficult to make a quick change.

  Further, it is considered that the easy-to-use setting screen is different depending on the customer or each user in the customer, but conventionally, there is no known technique for changing the setting screen of the printer driver for each customer or user. Further, if the setting screen can be unified for each PC on which the printer driver is operating and for each application used for printing, it is expected that operability will be further improved.

<Summary of display method of setting screen>
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process in which the PC 10 displays a printer driver setting screen in the present embodiment.
(1) First, when displaying the setting screen of the printer driver, the PC 10 communicates with the UI display server 50 and transmits the terminal information. Although the details of the terminal information will be described later, the terminal information is information for determining the layout of the setting screen. For example, the device name, customer name, or user name of the printer 30 is used.
(2) The UI display server 50 stores a plurality of pieces of layout information defining the layout of the setting screen of the printer driver in the layout information DB 541. Also, a distribution information DB 542 for associating terminal information with layout information is stored. The UI display server 50 specifies the layout information associated with the terminal information transmitted from the PC 10 with reference to the distribution information DB 542.
(3) The UI display server 50 transmits to the PC 10 a URL providing a setting screen in which parts are laid out based on the specified layout information. That is, the UI display server 50 provides the PC 10 connected to the URL with a setting screen as a Web server.
(4) The printer driver of the PC 10 connects to the URL and receives the information of the setting screen based on the layout information. Thereby, the PC 10 can display the setting screen with the layout according to the terminal information.

  As described above, the UI display server 50 of the present embodiment holds a plurality of pieces of layout information and determines which layout information is to be applied based on the terminal information received from the request source (printer driver of the PC 10). The PC 10 can display a setting screen according to the terminal information. Therefore, if the device name is the same, the same setting screen can be provided regardless of the OS version, and a different setting screen can be provided for each customer or user.

<About terms>
The job information is information for the image forming apparatus to execute a processing operation. In the present embodiment, for example, print job information is generated. The print job information is called a print job. FAX transmission job information is called a FAX job.

  The job setting screen is a screen for the user to input a value, select a value, change a value, and the like so that the terminal device generates job information.

  The printer driver is one of the device control programs for controlling the printer. The device control program may be called a device driver.

  The devices refer to various devices and machines controlled by the device control software from a PC on which device control software such as a printer driver operates. Sometimes referred to as personal computer peripherals. In the present embodiment, the description will be made using the term printer. In addition, if the device is controlled by the FAX driver, the FAX device is the device. In addition, a device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a display, and a scanner that is controlled by the device driver corresponds to a device.

  The terminal information may be any information used for determining the layout of the setting screen. Information used directly or information used indirectly may be used.

  The layout information is information on where to place each part (display parts such as a character display field and a setting value input field) on the setting screen.

  The information on the setting screen is information for displaying the setting screen on the PC 10, and is information described in HTML, a script language, a CSS (Cascade Style Sheet) or the like as described later. It may be referred to as display data, display information, screen information, etc. of the setting screen.

<System configuration example>
FIG. 5 is an example of a system configuration diagram of the setting screen display system 100. The setting screen display system 100 includes a PC 10, a printer 30, and a UI display server 50 that communicate via a network.

  The network N is assumed to be a general network such as a LAN or the Internet. The LAN is a LAN in a facility such as a company where the PC 10 and the printer 30 are arranged. The UI display server 50 may be in the cloud or in the office. The network N may include a wide area Ethernet (registered trademark), a virtual private network (VPN), or a WAN including a plurality of LANs. The network may be partially or entirely wireless. The wireless network may include a wireless LAN, WiMAX, and a mobile phone network such as 3G, 4G, and 5G.

  The PC 10 is a terminal device that transmits a print job to the printer 30 when operated by a user. Before transmission to the printer 30, the data may be transmitted through a print server. An application is running on the PC 10 and has document data created by the application. The PC 10 generates a print job from the document data using the printer driver, and transmits the print job to the printer 30. The print job includes print data described in PDL (Page Description Language) and print settings, and is information to be subjected to one print process performed by the printer 30.

  The PC 10 is, for example, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, a wearable computer, or the like, in addition to a personal computer. The PC 10 may be any device on which the printer driver operates. In addition, a video conference terminal, an electronic blackboard, a projector, a car navigation terminal, a camera, a game machine, or the like may be used.

  The printer 30 is called an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet material such as paper. As an image forming method, for example, there is an electrophotographic method or an ink jet method, but any image forming method may be used. The printer 30 may have functions such as a copy function, a facsimile function, and a scanner function in addition to the image forming function. Such a printer 30 is called a multifunction peripheral or an MFP (Multifunction Peripherals). Further, a 3D printer that forms a three-dimensional model by stacking sliced two-dimensional layers one by one based on 3D CAD design data may be used.

  The UI display server 50 is an information processing device that provides a printer driver setting screen to the PC 10. An information processing device having a server function may be referred to as a server device. Since the setting screen of the printer driver is an input screen of the user, the setting screen may be called a user interface. The UI display server 50 is one of the Web servers in the sense that it provides information necessary for displaying the setting screen to the PC 10. A Web server refers to a computer (including necessary software) that provides information and functions to a user computer on a Web system via a network.

  Note that the UI display server 50 may be an on-premises server or a server provided as a cloud service. The UI display server 50 may have a function other than providing the setting screen. Further, a plurality of UI display servers 50 may exist. Further, virtualization may be performed by a so-called virtualization technique.

<Example of hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configuration of the PC 10 and the UI display server 50 in the setting screen display system 100 of the present embodiment will be described.

<< Hardware Configuration Example of PC and UI Display Server >>
The PC 10 and the UI display server 50 are realized by, for example, a computer system having a hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the computer system 200 according to the present embodiment.

  The computer system 200 shown in FIG. 6 includes an input device 201, a display device 202, an external I / F 203, a random access memory (RAM) 204, a read only memory (ROM) 205, a central processing unit (CPU) 206, a communication I / F An F207, a hard disk drive (HDD) 208 and the like are connected to each other via a bus B.

  The input device 201 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and is used by a user to input each operation signal. The display device 202 includes a display or the like, and displays a processing result by the computer system 200.

  The communication I / F 207 is an interface for connecting the computer system 200 to a company network, the Internet, or the like. Thereby, the computer system 200 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 207.

  The HDD 208 is a nonvolatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include, for example, an OS (Operating System), which is basic software for controlling the entire computer system 200, and an application that provides various functions on the OS. The HDD 208 manages stored programs and data by a predetermined file system and / or a DB (database).

  The external I / F 203 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 203a and the like. Thereby, the computer system 200 can read and / or write on the recording medium 203a via the external I / F 203. Examples of the recording medium 203a include a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD memory card (SD Memory card), and a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory).

  The ROM 205 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 205 stores programs and data such as a basic input / output system (BIOS) executed when the computer system 200 is started up, OS settings, and network settings. The RAM 204 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 206 is an arithmetic unit that reads out programs and data from a storage device such as the ROM 205 and the HDD 208 onto the RAM 204 and executes processing to realize control and functions of the entire computer system 200.

  Note that the UI display server 50 may correspond to cloud computing. Cloud computing refers to a usage mode in which resources on a network are used without being conscious of specific hardware resources.

<< Example of hardware configuration of printer >>
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the printer 30. As shown in FIG. 7, the printer 30 includes a main body device 98 and an operation unit 99. The main unit 98 and the operation unit 99 are communicably connected to each other via a dedicated communication path 29. The communication path 29 may use, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard, but may use an arbitrary standard regardless of whether it is wired or wireless.

  In addition, the main body device 98 can perform an operation according to the operation received by the operation unit 99. The main device 98 can also communicate with an external device such as the PC 10, and can perform an operation according to an instruction received from the external device.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the main device 98 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the main unit 98 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 14, An / F (Interface) 15, a connection I / F 16, and an engine unit 17 are provided, and these are mutually connected via a system bus 18. For convenience of description, FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which the main body device 98 includes the HDD 14, but there may be a configuration without the HDD 14 (eg, a configuration including a flash memory).

  The CPU 11 totally controls the operation of the main body device 98. The CPU 11 controls the overall operation of the main unit 98 by executing a program stored in the ROM 12 or the HDD 14 using the RAM 13 as a work area (work area), and performs a copy function, a scanner function, a fax function, and a printer 30 function. And various other functions.

  The communication I / F 15 is an interface for connecting to the network N. The connection I / F 16 is an interface for communicating with the operation unit 99 via the communication path 29.

  The engine unit 17 is hardware that performs processing other than general-purpose information processing and communication for realizing a copy function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, and a printer 30 function. For example, it includes a scanner for scanning and reading an image of a document, a plotter (image forming unit) for printing on a sheet material such as paper, a fax unit for performing fax communication, and the like. Further, specific options such as a finisher for sorting printed sheet materials and an automatic document feeder (ADF) for automatically feeding a document can be provided.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the operation unit 99 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the operation unit 99 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a flash memory 24, a communication I / F 25, a connection I / F 26, and an operation panel 27. Are connected to each other via a line. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 7, the operation unit 99 has been described as an example having the flash memory 24, but there may be a configuration without the flash memory 24, for example.

<Function>
FIG. 8 is an example of a functional block diagram showing functions of the PC 10 in a block shape. First, the case of the V3 printer driver will be described. In the PC 10 of FIG. 8, an application 31 and a printer driver 32 are operating. The application 31 is software for calling the printer driver 32 and printing the created document on the printer 30. For example, any application that calls the printer driver 32, such as word processing software or browser software, may be used.

  The printer driver 32 is software for controlling the printer 30. The position of a character, the typeface, and the position of an image arranged in the document are converted into print data described in PDL that can be interpreted by the printer 30.

  The PC 10 includes a browser 33 and a communication unit 34 including the functions of the printer driver 32. The browser 33 is software that analyzes information described in a markup language and displays a screen. HTML and XML are known as markup languages. The browser 33 executes JavaScript (registered trademark) and adjusts the design of the setting screen by using CSS. The browser 33 not only has a function as a display unit as described above, but also has a function of an operation receiving unit that receives a user operation.

  The communication unit 34 is realized by the CPU 206 shown in FIG. 6 executing a program, the communication I / F 207, and the like. The communication unit 34 communicates with the printer 30 via the network N, transmits a print job, It receives information such as operating status and option setting status.

  Next, the printer driver 32 will be described. The printer driver 32 includes a print setting unit 321, a driver communication unit 322, and a drawing unit 323. Each of these functional units included in the printer driver 32 is realized by operating one of the components shown in FIG. 6 according to an instruction from the CPU 206 according to the printer driver 32 expanded from the HDD 208 to the RAM 204. Function or means. The printer driver 32 is distributed from a server for program distribution or distributed in a state of being stored in a storage medium.

  The print setting unit 321 of the printer driver 32 displays a print setting screen on the display device 202 when the user inputs a document printing operation to the application. The user can make print settings on the print setting screen, such as paper size, black and white / color, double-sided / aggregate / binding / magnification, staples, punches, and number of copies. The print setting unit 321 receives print settings from the user. In the present embodiment, the print setting screen is displayed by the browser 33.

  The driver communication unit 322 communicates with the UI display server 50. The terminal information is transmitted to the UI display server 50, and the URL for the PC 10 to receive the information of the setting screen corresponding to the terminal information is received from the UI display server 50. Since the browser 33 displays the setting screen, the print setting unit 321 of the printer driver 32 has no display unit.

  The drawing unit 323 refers to the print settings received by the print setting unit 321 and creates print data reflecting the print settings from document data to be printed created by the application. The print data includes drawing data (for example, PDL data) and control data (for example, a PJL print command).

  FIG. 9 is also a functional block diagram showing the functions of the PC 10, and FIG. 9 illustrates the case of a V4 printer driver. In the description of FIG. 9, differences from FIG. 8 will be mainly described.

  The difference from the V3 printer driver is that the PC 10 has the WindowsStoreDeviceApp 35 and the printer driver 32 has the prohibition script 324.

  The WindowsStoreDeviceApp 35 further has a communication unit 351. The WindowsStoreDeviceApp 35 presents the user with special functions of the printer 30, such as a customized print setting popup and a notification function. The WindowsStoreDeviceApp 35 can also display a printer status, manage a print job, execute a printer maintenance task, and the like. As described above, the WindowsStoreDeviceApp 35 has a communication unit 351 for displaying the user interface, and the communication unit 351 communicates with the UI display server 50. Since the communication unit 351 also receives the URL for performing these displays from the UI display server 50, the browser 33 can display various screens assigned to the WindowsStoreDeviceApp35.

  The prohibition script 324 is information that specifies prohibition on the print setting screen. That is, the displayed setting items, options (selectable values and ranges) of each item, and prohibitions between functions are described. The prohibition between functions means, for example, that when one item is selected, another item cannot be selected.

<<< UI display server >>
FIG. 10 is an example of a functional block diagram showing the functions of the UI display server 50 in a block form. The UI display server 50 has a display information shaping unit 51. Each of these functional units included in the UI display server 50 is realized by one of the components shown in FIG. 6 operating according to a command from the CPU 206 according to a program loaded from the HDD 208 to the RAM 204. Function or means. This program is distributed from a server for program distribution or distributed in a state of being stored in a storage medium.

  The display information shaping unit 51 has a function of a Web server that generates information of a setting screen. The information on the setting screen is described in the above markup language, JavaScript (registered trademark), CSS, and the like. Also, a dynamic setting screen can be realized by the browser 33 executing a script language such as JavaScript (registered trademark). A mechanism for providing an appropriate setting screen by coordinating a program running on the browser and a program on the Web server side is called a Web application. The display information shaping section 51 generates information of a setting screen in which parts are laid out in the layout determined by the layout determining section 54. The browser 33 displays the information on the setting screen.

  The display information shaping unit 51 further includes a server communication unit 52, a setting value interpretation unit 53, and a layout determination unit 54. The server communication unit 52 receives setting values (character strings and numerical values) input to the print setting screen from the print setting unit 321 (driver communication unit 322) of the printer driver 32 via WebAPI (Web Application Interface). The information of the setting screen generated by the display information shaping section 51 based on the information is transmitted to the printer driver 32. Further, the server communication unit 52 receives the terminal information from the PC 10 and transmits to the PC 10 a URL providing information of a setting screen displayed in the layout determined by the layout determining unit 54.

  The Web API is one of the types of procedures and conventions for calling and using a function provided by a computer program from another external program, and refers to a type that can be used using Web technology such as HTTP.

  The setting value interpreting unit 53 interprets the setting value input to the setting screen transmitted in the XML or JSON format and reflects the setting value on the information on the setting screen. For example, the color of the selected item is changed. The interpretation is called a perspective. Parsing refers to parsing according to grammar and extracting target data.

  The setting value interpretation unit 53 generates a setting value character string to be returned to the print setting unit 321 in response to a user operation or input. For example, it requests the display information shaping unit 51 to reflect a numerical value or a character string set by the user.

  In addition, when the set value is changed by a user's operation, the set value interpreting unit 53 reflects the change on the setting screen based on the inter-function prohibition information passed as a character string. That is, prohibition processing is performed.

  The layout determining unit 54 determines the layout of the setting screen based on the terminal information transmitted from the PC 10 and the display information format holding unit 55. Details will be described later.

  Further, the UI display server 50 has a display information format holding unit 55. The display information format holding unit 55 is constructed in the HDD 208 shown in FIG. The display information format holding unit 55 includes a device name, a customer name, an environment (a logged-in user name, a PC name on which the printer driver 32 operates (a PC host name), and an application name used for printing). Holds the layout for generating the information of the setting screen according to. The setting screen can be flexibly modified by replacing or adding this layout. The information held by the display information format holding unit 55 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

<Terminal information transmitted from printer driver to UI display server>
Next, terminal information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 shows an example of terminal information transmitted from the printer driver 32 to the UI display server 50. The terminal information includes a UI type, print settings, device information, PC system information, and prohibition information between functions.

The UI type is information indicating which setting screen the screen opened by the printer driver 32 is. The printer driver 32 which settings screen of identification information for having a plurality of types of setting screens as the print setting screen device settings FAX transmission screen is UI type.

  The print setting is a memory (DEVMODE structure) in which the print setting received by the printer driver 32 from the OS or the application is stored, or PrintTicket / PrintCapability. The DEVMODE structure is a data structure in which member variables for various printer drivers operating on the OS to use print settings are defined. PrintTicket / PrintCapability is a printing structure in which double-sided printing, stapling (registered trademark) and the like are set in the XML format.

  The device information is information of the printer 30 to which the printer driver 32 is connected, and is information obtained by the printer driver 32 from the printer 30 through bidirectional communication via the driver communication unit 322. For example, the following information is included.

Optional connection status Paper set information Device name PC system information includes the name of the user who is logged in, the name of the PC on which the printer driver 32 is operating (the host name of the PC), and the name of the application used for printing. Environmental information other than.

  Prohibition information between functions is information indicating whether a certain function has an effect on another function. The printer driver 32 has many exclusions between functions, such as exclusion of functions and exclusion of functions, and exclusion of functions and option setting of devices, which differ depending on the device. For example, if one function is ON, the other function must be OFF. Information between such functions is prohibition information.

  The printer driver 32 serializes the above information into a character string format, and transmits the serialized information to the UI display server 50 via WebAPI. Serialization refers to serializing and transmitting a plurality of parallel data. Specifically, it refers to converting information existing in a memory so that it can be saved as a file or transmitted and received on a network.

<Information held by display information format holding unit>
FIG. 12 schematically shows information held by the display information format holding unit 55. Based on the terminal information transmitted from the printer driver 32 to the UI display server 50, the layout determining unit 54 of the UI display server 50 determines the layout of the setting screen to be displayed on the printer driver 32. For this reason, the display information format holding unit 55 stores information necessary for determining a layout.

  The display information format holding unit 55 has a layout information DB 541, a distribution information DB 542, and a distribution application order 543.

  The distribution information DB 542 stores an association between the key information and the layout information included in the terminal information (an example of an association information storage unit). In FIG. 12, the device name, customer name, environment, and the like are key information included in the terminal information. Layout information (more precisely, identification information of the layout information) is associated with each key information. For example, layout information called LayoutA1 is associated with the device name MPC3500.

  The layout information DB 541 stores a plurality of layout information 64 that defines the layout of the setting screen (an example of a layout information storage unit). The layout information 64 defines what parts each setting item is represented and where it is arranged. Conventionally, the layout information 64 is held in the printer driver 32. However, in the present embodiment, the UI display server 50 holds the setting screen information because the UI display server 50 generates the information of the setting screen.

  The layout determining unit 54 of the UI display server 50 searches for terminal information using the key information stored in the distribution information DB 542. When the key information is included in the terminal information, the layout information associated with the key information is determined as the layout information of the setting screen.

  The distribution application order 543 defines a priority order of the key information in the distribution information DB 542 when a plurality of pieces of key information match by searching for terminal information transmitted from the printer driver 32. For example, in the case of the sorting application order of “device name”, “environment”, “customer name”, if the device name is included in the terminal information, the layout is determined using the device name as key information, and the device name is determined. If the environment is not included and the environment is included, the layout is determined using the environment as key information.If the device name and environment are not included and the customer is included, the layout is determined using the customer name as the key information. I do.

<Operation procedure of the setting screen display system>
FIG. 13 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the PC 10 displays a layout setting screen determined by the key information.

  S1: The application sends a print setting confirmation request to the OS even when not displaying the print setting screen.

  S2: The OS sends a print setting confirmation request to the print setting unit 321. The print setting confirmation request is a request for confirming whether or not a print setting screen can be displayed. When the print setting screen is not actually displayed, the print setting unit 321 does not communicate with the UI display server 50.

  S3: The user inputs an operation for opening the print setting screen to the application 31. The application 31 receives a user operation.

  S4: The application 31 sends a print setting screen display request to the OS.

  S5: The OS sends a print setting screen display request to the print setting unit 321.

  S6: The print setting unit 321 of the printer driver 32 collects information necessary for displaying the print setting screen without displaying the print setting screen by itself. This information is the terminal information described in FIG. The print setting unit 321 serializes the terminal information into a format (such as a character string XML or JSON) that can be transmitted by WebAPI or the like. The print settings collected here are set values or initial values of the print settings last set by the user.

  S7: The driver communication unit 322 of the print setting unit 321 transmits the terminal information using the WebAPI of the UI display server 50 using the communication protocol of HTTP or HTTPs.

  S8: The server communication unit 52 of the UI display server 50 receives the terminal information, and the setting value interpreting unit 53 interprets the setting value included in the terminal information. This setting value is included in the information on the setting screen.

  S9: Next, the layout determining unit 54 determines appropriate layout information for the terminal information by searching for the terminal information using the key information of the distribution information DB 542. Details of the determination of the layout information will be described with reference to FIG.

  S10: The layout determination unit 54 determines a URL for providing information on a setting screen configured with the determined layout. The URL may be predetermined or generated. In addition, the display information shaping unit 51 generates information of a setting screen configured with the layout determined using the setting values received in step S7. The server communication unit 52 transmits the URL to the print setting unit 321.

  S11: The print setting unit 321 of the printer driver 32 sends the URL to the browser 33, and the browser 33 connects to the URL and receives the information on the setting screen. Thereby, the browser 33 displays the print setting screen on the display device 202.

  S12: The user performs print settings on the print setting screen displayed by the browser 33. The browser 33 receives a user operation.

  S13: The browser 33 always communicates with the UI display server 50 while displaying the print setting screen. That is, the browser 33 appropriately transmits the print settings (set values) set by the user on the print setting screen to the UI display server 50.

  S14: The server communication unit 52 of the UI display server 50 receives the setting value of the print setting, and updates the stored current value according to the print setting received by the setting value interpreting unit 53. The held current value is the setting value of the print setting transmitted in step S7. Further, the setting value interpreting unit 53 requests the display information shaping unit 51 to reflect the transmitted print settings on the print setting screen. Thereby, the display information shaping section 51 generates information of the setting screen on which the print setting input by the user is reflected. Further, the setting value interpreting unit 53 requests the display information shaping unit 51 to change the print setting screen as needed based on the prohibition information. Therefore, each time the setting value interpreting unit 53 receives the setting value of the print setting, the display information shaping unit 51 generates information of the setting screen on which the print setting input by the user is reflected.

  S15: The user performs an operation for fixing the set value on the print setting screen. The confirmation is an input to execute printing with the print setting, and the user presses, for example, an OK button. The browser 33 receives a user operation.

  S16: The browser 33 transmits to the UI display server 50 that the setting value has been determined.

  S17: The server communication unit 52 of the UI display server 50 receives the notification that the setting value has been determined, and holds the determined setting value in a communicable format. The communicable format is XML, JSON, or the like.

  S18: After activating the browser 33, the driver communication unit 322 of the print setting unit 321 always communicates with the UI display server 50, and waits for setting values to be determined. For example, an inquiry is repeatedly made as to whether or not the set value has been determined by polling. When the driver communication unit 322 of the print setting unit 321 receives a notification from the UI display server 50 that the set value has been determined, the driver communication unit 322 acquires the determined print setting value from the UI display server 50.

  S19: When the print setting unit 321 acquires the determined print settings, it ends the browser 33.

  S20: The print setting unit 321 deserializes the print setting value into a format (DEVMODE or PrintTicket) that can be returned to the application or the OS. Deserialization refers to restoring data, which is converted to a unique format by serialization and stored in a file or transmitted over a network, to an original data format that can be handled by software. By the deserialization, the drawing unit 323 of the printer driver 32 can generate print data. Thereafter, the communication unit 34 transmits the print job to the printer 30 as in the related art.

  As described above, the setting screen display system 100 according to the present embodiment can change the print setting screen in accordance with the terminal information, and thus can be easily modified.

<Details of processing to determine layout>
Next, the process in which the UI display server 50 determines the layout will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 14 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the setting value interpretation unit 53 determines a layout in step S9 of FIG.

  First, the server communication unit 52 of the UI display server 50 receives terminal information from the printer driver 32 (S101).

  Next, the setting value interpreting unit 53 interprets (parses) the transmitted terminal information (S102).

  Then, the key information of the sorting information DB 542 is detected from the terminal information (S103).

  When the terminal information does not include the key information (No in S104), the layout determining unit 54 employs default layout information (S108).

  If the terminal information includes key information (Yes in S104), the layout determining unit 54 determines whether the terminal information includes a plurality of key information (S105).

  If the determination in step S105 is No, the process proceeds to step S107.

  If the determination in step S105 is Yes, the layout determining unit 54 adopts the key information with the highest priority based on the distribution application order 543 (S106).

  Then, the layout determining unit 54 determines the layout information associated with the key information having the highest priority in the distribution information DB 542 (S107).

  As described above, the printer driver 32 of the present embodiment receives the device name of the printer 30, the customer name, or the information of the setting screen according to the environment from the UI display server 50 and displays the setting screen. It is possible to provide a printer driver setting screen that is easy to modify. Since the setting screen is modified according to the device name of the printer 30, the customer name, or the environment, the PC 10 can display the same setting screen even if the OS is different. Further, the UI display server 50 can quickly provide an easy-to-use setting screen for each customer even for printers of the same model. Further, an easy-to-use setting screen can be promptly provided for each individual user. When modified for each printer, a standard use setting screen can be provided, and when modified for each customer or user, a custom use setting screen can be provided.

<Other application examples>
As described above, the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments at all, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  For example, in the present embodiment, a method of displaying a print setting screen has been mainly described. However, the present invention is applicable to any screen displayed by a printer driver (or FAX driver) such as a facsimile transmission setting screen and a device setting screen.

  The printer driver may be a printer driver unique to the printer 30 or a common printer driver common to a plurality of models.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case of the Windows OS has been described assuming that the user interface is diversified. For example, macOS (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), LINUX (registered trademark), UNIX (registered trademark), or the like may be used.

  Note that the server communication unit 52 is an example of a communication unit, the layout determination unit 54 is an example of a layout determination unit, the display information shaping unit 51 is an example of a setting screen providing unit, and the driver communication unit 322 is a second communication unit. The browser 33 is an example of a communication unit, and the browser 33 is an example of a display processing unit.

10 PC
30 printer 50 UI display server 100 setting screen display system

JP 2011-059783 A

Claims (8)

An information processing device that communicates via a network with a terminal device that transmits job information to a device,
Layout information storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of layout information of a job setting screen displayed by the terminal device;
Communication means for receiving terminal information about the layout of the setting screen from the terminal device,
Association information storage means for storing an association between the layout information and the terminal information,
A layout determining unit that determines the layout information associated with the terminal information received by the communication unit, with reference to the association information storage unit;
Setting screen providing means for providing the terminal device with information on the setting screen on which a display component is laid out with the layout information determined by the layout determining means,
An information processing apparatus comprising: When a plurality of associations with the layout information are detected from the terminal information,
2. The layout determining unit according to claim 1, wherein one piece of the terminal information is determined based on a preset priority order, and the layout information associated with the determined terminal information is determined. Information processing device. The setting screen providing means generates information on a setting screen for browser software to display based on the layout information determined by the layout determining means,
The layout determining means determines a URL that provides information on the setting screen corresponding to the layout information,
The communication means transmits the URL to the terminal device;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting screen providing unit provides information on the setting screen corresponding to the layout information in response to a request for the URL from the terminal device. Each time a setting value entered for the setting screen displayed by the browser software is transmitted,
The setting screen providing unit generates information of the setting screen reflecting the setting value,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit transmits information on the setting screen to the terminal device.   The terminal information is a device name of the device, a customer name, a user name, a host name of the terminal device on which a printer driver is running, or an application name running on the terminal device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. Layout information storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of layout information of a job setting screen displayed by the terminal device;
Communicating via a network with an information processing apparatus having association information storage means for storing association between the layout information and terminal information relating to the layout of the setting screen,
A terminal device that converts document data created by an application into job information and transmits the job information to a device,
Second communication means for transmitting the terminal information to the information processing device via a network,
The information processing apparatus receives the information of the setting screen laid out by the layout information associated with the terminal information, which is determined by referring to the association information storage unit, from the information processing apparatus, and Display processing means for displaying the setting screen on a display device based on screen information,
A terminal device comprising: A setting screen display system having a terminal device that converts document data created by an application into job information and transmits the job information to a device, and an information processing device that communicates with the terminal device via a network,
The information processing device,
Layout information storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of layout information of a job setting screen displayed by the terminal device;
Communication means for receiving terminal information about the layout of the setting screen from the terminal device,
Association information storage means for storing an association between the layout information and the terminal information,
A layout determining unit that determines the layout information associated with the terminal information received by the communication unit, with reference to the association information storage unit;
Setting screen providing means for providing to the terminal device information of the setting screen laid out with the layout information determined by the layout determining means,
The terminal device,
Second communication means for transmitting the terminal information to the information processing device via a network,
The information processing apparatus receives the information of the setting screen laid out by the layout information associated with the terminal information, which is determined by referring to the association information storage unit, from the information processing apparatus, and Display processing means for displaying the setting screen on a display device based on screen information,
A setting screen display system comprising: A setting screen display method for a setting screen display system including a terminal device that converts document data created by an application into job information and transmits the job information to a device, and an information processing device that communicates with the terminal device via a network,
The information processing device,
Layout information storing means for storing a plurality of pieces of layout information of a job setting screen displayed by the terminal device; and associative information storing means for storing correspondence between the layout information and terminal information relating to the layout of the setting screen. And
Communication means, receiving the terminal information from the terminal device,
Layout determining means, with reference to the associated information storage means, determining the layout information associated with the terminal information received by the communication means,
Setting screen providing means for providing to the terminal device information of the setting screen laid out with the layout information determined by the layout determining means,
The terminal device,
Second communication means for transmitting the terminal information to the information processing device via a network;
The display processing means determines the information of the setting screen laid out by the layout information associated with the terminal information, which is determined by the information processing apparatus with reference to the association information storage means, from the information processing apparatus. Receiving and displaying the setting screen on a display device based on the information of the setting screen,
A setting screen display method, comprising:

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