JP2020074097A - Printer and its control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a print service for transmitting print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer for communicating with a client terminal.SOLUTION: Provided are a print service for transmitting print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer for communicating with a client terminal. The printer includes: user ID management means for managing user IDs of at least two users provided with administrator authority and without administrator authority, as user IDs of the login users of the printer; receipt means for receiving from the client terminal a registration request to register the printer at the print service; and registration means for executing registration processing to register the printer at the print service when the registration request is approved, thereby making the printer execute the registration processing upon approval of the user with the management authority.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer, a control method thereof, and a program.

  In the conventional print services, a user prints by directly sending a print job from a client terminal such as a PC to a printing apparatus.

  On the other hand, in recent years, cloud print services provided on the Internet have been proposed, such as Google Cloud Print, which is being envisioned by Google.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the processing sequence of this Google Cloud Print. It is assumed that the printing apparatus 1010 supports the Google Cloud Print function and the client terminal 1000 supports the Google Cloud Print client function. The cloud print service 1020 represents a cloud print service on the Internet.

  Here, the user first sends a cloud print service registration request 1110 from the client terminal 1000 to the printing apparatus 1010. The registration request 1110 includes the user ID that is the identification information of the user requesting the service. Upon receiving the registration request 1110, the printing apparatus 1010 transmits the cloud print service registration request 1120 to the cloud print service 1020. The cloud print service registration request 1120 includes the user ID included in the registration request 1110 from the client terminal 1000 and the unique PrinterID of the printing apparatus 1010. Upon receiving the registration request 1120 from the printing device 1010, the cloud print service 1020 registers the printing device 1010 as a printing device capable of executing Google Cloud Print by associating the user ID and the Printer ID included in the registration request 1120. Then, the cloud print service 1020 returns the registration result to the printing apparatus 1010 by the cloud print service registration response 1130. Upon receiving the response 1130, the printing apparatus 1010 responds to the client terminal 1000 as a cloud print service registration response 1140. Upon receiving the response 1140, the client terminal 1000 recognizes the printing device 1010 as a printing device capable of executing Google Cloud Print.

  Next, the user sends the print data 1150 to the logical printer corresponding to the printing device 1010 of the cloud print service 1020. As a result, the cloud print service 1020 converts the received print data 1150 into print data 1160 in a format printable by the printing apparatus 1010. Then, the cloud print service 1020 transmits the converted print data 1160 to the printing apparatus 1010, so that the printing apparatus 1010 executes printing based on the received print data 1160. Patent Literature 1 describes the configuration of the cloud print service described above.

US Patent No. 8867070

  A print service that transmits print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer that communicates with a client terminal, wherein a user having administrator authority and an administrator authority have the user ID of the login user of the printer. User ID management means for managing user IDs of at least two non-users, receiving means for receiving a registration request for registering the printer in the print service from the client terminal, and receiving means for receiving from the client terminal Display means for displaying a registration screen for accepting an instruction to approve the registration request on the operation unit of the printer, and registration processing for registering the printer in the print service when the registration request is approved. A user having registration means and having administrator authority It is an object to provide a printer which is characterized in that it is possible to perform the registration processing in the printer to approve.

  A printer according to an embodiment of the present invention is a printer that transmits print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer that communicates with a client terminal. User ID management means for managing user IDs of at least two users, a user with authority and a user without administrator authority, and a registration request for registering the printer in the print service, from the client terminal. Receiving means, a display means for displaying a registration screen for accepting an instruction to approve the registration request received from the client terminal on the operation unit of the printer, and the print service triggered by the approval of the registration request. Registration means for executing registration processing for registering the printer The a, characterized in that the user can be executed registration processing to the printer by approving with administrative privileges.

  A print service that transmits print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer that communicates with a client terminal, wherein a user having administrator authority and an administrator authority have the user ID of the login user of the printer. User ID management means for managing user IDs of at least two non-users, receiving means for receiving a registration request for registering the printer in the print service from the client terminal, and receiving means for receiving from the client terminal Display means for displaying a registration screen for accepting an instruction to approve the registration request on the operation unit of the printer, and registration processing for registering the printer in the print service when the registration request is approved. A user having registration means and having administrator authority It can provide a printer which is characterized in that it is possible to perform the registration processing in the printer to approve.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The accompanying drawings are included in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The figure explaining the processing sequence of Google Cloud Print. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a top view of the operation panel of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence in the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing when the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives a cloud print service registration request from a client terminal (when the ID management setting is off). 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing when the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives a cloud print service registration request from a client terminal (when ID management setting is on). FIG. 7 is a screen transition diagram accompanying the flowchart (when ID management is off) showing the process of the printing apparatus when the cloud print service registration request described in FIG. 6 is received. FIG. 8 is a screen transition diagram accompanying the flowchart (when ID management is turned on) showing the process of the printing apparatus when the cloud print service registration request described in FIG. 7 is received. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing when the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment executes cloud print processing. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an ID management DB held by the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

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

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the printing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is assumed that the printing apparatus 100 is included in a system as shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later, and is connected to a client terminal or a cloud print service via a network.

  The control unit 201 including the CPU 202 controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus 100. The CPU 202 reads a control program stored in the ROM 204 or the HDD 214 and performs various controls such as communication control. The RAM 203 is used as a main memory of the CPU 201 and a temporary storage area such as a work area. The HDD 214 stores data, various programs, or various information tables. The printer I / F 206 serves as an interface that outputs an image signal to the printer 207 (printer engine). The scanner I / F 208 serves as an interface for inputting an image signal from the scanner 209 (scanner engine). During the copy operation, the CPU 202 processes the image signal input via the scanner I / F 208 and outputs it as a recording image signal to the printer I / F 206. The operation panel I / F 210 connects the operation panel 211 and the control unit 201. The operation panel 211 includes a display unit having a touch panel function, a keyboard, and the like. The network I / F 212 transmits information to an external terminal such as a client terminal or a cloud print service, or receives various information from these external devices. The blocks in the control unit 201 are connected to each other via a system bus 205.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the software configuration of the printing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. Each functional unit shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the CPU 202 of the printing apparatus 100 executing a program loaded from the ROM 204 or the HDD 214 into the RAM 203.

  The operation control unit 300 controls the operation panel 211, displays an operation menu on the operation panel 211, waits for an instruction input from the user, and notifies the received instruction content to other functional units. Further, the operation panel 211 displays the result of the processing executed by the other functional unit according to the instruction. The registration control unit 301 that controls registration to the cloud print service analyzes the cloud print service registration request received from the client terminal and sends the registration request to the cloud print service. This controls the registration process to the cloud print service.

  The cloud print control unit 302 controls to transfer the print data received from the cloud print service to the image processing unit 306 together with the print instruction. The ID management control unit 303 manages the ID management settings stored in the storage unit 305 and the current ID login status. The administrator authority control unit 304 manages administrator authority settings stored in the storage unit 305. The storage unit 305 stores the designated data in the RAM 203 or the HDD 214 and reads the stored data according to an instruction from another functional unit. Examples of data managed by the storage unit 305 include an ID management DB of the printing apparatus 100 and administrator setting information. The image processing unit 306 performs processing for rendering a print job into image data for printing. The print processing unit 306 performs a process of transmitting the image data generated by the rendering process of the image processing unit 306 as an image signal to the printer 207 via the printer I / F 206 and printing the image data.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of the operation panel 211 of the printing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment.

  The operation panel 211 has a display unit 405 such as a liquid crystal, and also has a touch panel function. The copy button 401 is a button for instructing the printing apparatus 100 to perform a copy operation, and when the user presses the button 401, a copy operation screen is displayed on the display unit 405. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the copy button 401 is pressed and the copy menu screen is displayed on the display unit 405. The FAX button 402 is a button for instructing the printing apparatus 100 to perform FAX transmission, and when the user presses the button 402, a FAX operation screen is displayed on the display unit 405. The scan button 402 is a button for instructing the printing apparatus 100 to perform a scan operation, and when the user presses the button 403, a scan operation screen is displayed on the display unit 405. The ten-key pad 408 is used when the user inputs numbers and the like. The OK key 407 is used when the user decides the display content of the display unit 405. The direction key 406 includes a cursor movement key in up, down, left, and right directions, and is used when the user selects a menu or the like displayed on the display unit 405. A monochrome copy key 409 and a color copy key 410 are used to instruct the start of copying in the monochrome mode or the color mode, respectively. The stop key 411 is used to stop the process being executed. The menu key 412 is used when the user displays a menu screen for setting the printing apparatus 100.

  Next, the operation when the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud print service registration request described later with reference to FIG. 5 will be described using two embodiments 1 and 2. Since the second embodiment includes the first embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence in the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 100 supports, for example, the above-mentioned Google Cloud Print function, and the client terminal 101 supports the Google Cloud Print client function. The cloud print service 102 represents a cloud print service on the Internet.

  Here, the user first sends a cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101 to the printing apparatus 100. The registration request 111 includes the user ID of the service. Upon receiving this registration request 111, the printing apparatus 100 executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, which will be described later, in S501, and determines whether to execute the registration processing with the cloud print service 102 in S502. If it is determined that the registration process is not to be executed, the process is ended as it is, but if it is determined that the registration process is to be executed in S502, the cloud print service registration request 112 is transmitted to the cloud print service 102. The cloud print service registration request 112 includes the user ID included in the registration request 111 from the client terminal 101 and the unique PrinterID of the printing apparatus 100. Thus, when the cloud print service 102 receives the registration request 112 from the printing apparatus 100, the printing apparatus 100 is registered as a printing apparatus capable of executing Google Cloud Print by associating the user ID and the PrinterID included in the registration request 112. Then, the cloud print service 102 returns the registration result to the printing apparatus 100 by the cloud print service registration response 113. Upon receiving this response 113, the printing apparatus 100 responds to the client terminal 101 as a cloud print service registration response 114. Upon receiving the response 114, the client terminal 101 recognizes the printing apparatus 100 as a printing apparatus capable of executing Google Cloud Print.

  Next, the user sends the print data 115 to the logical printer corresponding to the printing device 100 of the cloud print service 102. Accordingly, the cloud print service 102 converts the received print data 115 into print data 1160 in a format printable by the printing apparatus 100. Then, the cloud print service 102 transmits the converted print data 116 to the printing apparatus 100, so that the printing apparatus 100 can perform printing based on the received print data 116.

  The above is the outline of the processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart (when the ID management setting is OFF) for explaining the process when the printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101. A program for executing this process is stored in, for example, the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, and is expanded in the RAM 203 at the time of execution, and is executed under the control of the CPU 202 to realize this process.

  This process is started when the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101. First, in step S601, the CPU 202 determines whether the ID management setting is on or off. Here, the process when the ID management setting is ON will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

  Here, if it is determined that the ID management setting is off, the process proceeds to step S602, and the CPU 202 determines whether the system management setting is on or off. If it is determined that the system management setting is off, the process proceeds to step S603, and the CPU 202 displays a Google Cloud Print registration screen 802 as shown in FIG. 8 on the operation panel 211. Next, the processing proceeds to step S605, and the CPU 202 determines whether or not the “yes” button 810 is pressed on the registration screen 802, and when the “yes” button 810 that instructs to continue the registration is pressed, the processing proceeds to step S607. In step S <b> 607, the CPU 202 transmits the cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102, executes the cloud print service registration, and ends this processing. On the other hand, when the “No” button 811 is pressed in S605, this processing is ended as it is. The processing in this case is the same as the conventional processing described with reference to FIG.

  On the other hand, when the CPU 202 determines in S602 that the system management setting is ON, the process proceeds to S604, and the CPU 202 displays, for example, the Google Cloud Print registration screen 802 shown in FIG. 8 on the operation panel 211. Next, the processing proceeds to step S606, and the CPU 202 determines whether or not the “yes” button 810 has been pressed on the registration screen 802, and when the “yes” button 810 for instructing to continue registration is pressed, the processing proceeds to step S608. In step S <b> 608, the CPU 202 displays the system administrator login screen 804 illustrated in FIG. 8 on the operation panel 211, for example. Here, the administrator inputs the administrator ID and the personal identification number (password).

  Next, the processing proceeds to step S609, and the CPU 202 determines whether or not the login by the user (administrator) has succeeded. If it is determined that the login has succeeded, then the processing proceeds to step S610. In step S610, the CPU 202 transmits a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102, executes registration processing with the cloud print service 102, and ends this processing. On the other hand, when the CPU 202 determines in S609 that the login has failed, the process ends as it is. In addition, when the CPU 202 determines in step S606 that the “no” button 811 on the registration screen 802 is pressed, the processing ends as it is.

  As described above, when the ID management setting is OFF, that is, when the process according to the user's ID is not executed, the system management setting is OFF, that is, when the user can register even if the user is not the administrator, GoogleCloudPrint registration. The screen can be displayed and registered. On the other hand, when the system management setting is on, that is, when the administrator can log in and register for the first time, the login screen 804 is displayed when registration is instructed on the registration screen 802, and only after the administrator successfully logs in. A registration process with the cloud print service 102 can be executed. As a result, even if the ID management setting is off, the registration process to the cloud print service 102 can be executed on condition that the system administrator logs in.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart (when the ID management setting is on) for explaining the process when the printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101. A program for executing this process is stored in, for example, the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, and is expanded in the RAM 203 at the time of execution, and is executed under the control of the CPU 202 to realize this process. This process is executed when the ID management setting is determined to be ON in S601 of FIG.

  First, in step S <b> 702, the CPU 202 determines whether or not it is in the login state. If it is determined that the user is not logged in, the process proceeds to step S703, the CPU 202 displays a login request message screen 905 as shown in FIG. 9 on the operation panel 211, and ends this process. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S702 that the CPU 202 is in the login state, the process proceeds to step S704, and the CPU 202 determines whether the system management setting is on or off. Here, when the CPU 202 determines that the system management setting is off, the processing proceeds to step S705, and the CPU 202 displays a Google Cloud Print registration screen 902 as shown in FIG. 9 on the operation panel 211. Next, the processing proceeds to step S <b> 706, and the CPU 202 determines whether or not the “Yes” button 910 for instructing execution of registration on the registration screen 902 has been pressed. If the "Yes" button 910 is pressed here, the flow advances to step S707 to send a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102 and execute this cloud print service registration. On the other hand, when the “No” button 911 is pressed in S706, this process is terminated as it is.

  If the CPU 202 determines in S704 that the system management setting is ON, the CPU 202 proceeds to S708 and determines whether the system administrator is logged in. If it is determined that the system administrator has not logged in, the process advances to step S709, and the CPU 202 requests the system administrator to log in, for example, displays the message screen 904 of FIG. 9 on the operation panel 211, and ends this processing. To do.

  When the CPU 202 determines in step S <b> 708 that the system administrator has logged in, the processing proceeds to step S <b> 710, and the CPU 202 displays the Google Cloud Print registration screen 902 of FIG. 9 on the operation panel 211. Next, the processing proceeds to step S <b> 711, and the CPU 202 determines whether or not the “Yes” button 910 that instructs execution of registration on the registration screen 902 has been pressed. If it is determined that the “Yes” button 910 has been pressed, the process advances to step S <b> 712, the CPU 202 sends a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102, executes registration with the cloud print service 102, and ends this processing. To do. On the other hand, if it is determined in S711 that the "No" button 911 has been pressed, the processing ends as it is.

  As described above, when the ID management setting is on, that is, when the process corresponding to the user's ID is being executed, the system management setting is off, that is, when the user can register even if the user is not the administrator, You can register by displaying the Google Cloud Print registration screen.

  On the other hand, when the system management setting is on, that is, when the administrator can log in and register for the first time, when registration is instructed on the registration screen 902, a screen 904 requesting that the system administrator log in is displayed. Thus, when the ID management setting is on, the logged-in user can register in the cloud print service 102 if there is no system management setting. Further, if the system management setting is turned on, the registration process to the cloud print service 102 can be executed only after logging in as a system administrator.

  FIG. 8 is a screen transition diagram accompanying the flowchart (when ID management is off) showing the process of the printing apparatus 100 when the cloud print service registration request 111 described in FIG. 6 is received.

  The screen 801 is an initial screen for copying displayed when the copy button 401 is pressed on the printing apparatus 100. When the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101, the CPU 202 displays the Google Cloud Print registration screen 802 on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211. When the user selects the “No” button 811 on the Google Cloud Print registration screen 802, the CPU 202 returns to the display of the default screen 801. On the other hand, when the user selects the “Yes” button 810 on the Google Cloud Print registration screen 802 and the system management setting is off at that time, the CPU 202 displays the Google Cloud Print registration start screen 803 on the display unit 405. Then, registration processing of the printing apparatus 100 to the cloud print service 102 is executed.

  When the system management setting is on, the CPU 202 displays the system administrator login screen 804 on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211. When the user (administrator) successfully logs in on the system administrator login screen 804, the CPU 202 displays the Google Cloud Print registration start screen 803 on the display unit 405 and registers the printing device 100 in the cloud print service 102.

  FIG. 9 is a screen transition diagram accompanying the flowchart (when ID management is turned on) showing the process of the printing apparatus 100 when the cloud print service registration request described in FIG. 7 is received.

  The screen 906 is a default screen when the user has not logged in to the printing apparatus 100. When the user logs in, the CPU 202 displays the default screen 901 at the time of login on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211. Further, the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101 on the screen 906 which is the default screen when the user has not logged in. Accordingly, the CPU 202 displays the login request message screen 905 on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211. This screen 905 notifies that the process for the cloud print service registration request cannot be executed because the user is not logged in. Further, if the system management setting is on, the system administrator is required to log in.

  Further, when the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101 on the default screen 901 at the time of login, it is determined whether the logged-in user has administrator authority. When the CPU 202 determines that the logged-in user has administrator authority, the CPU 202 displays the Google Cloud Print registration screen 902 on the operation panel 211. When the user selects the “No” button 911 on the Google Cloud Print registration screen 902, the CPU 202 displays the default screen 901 at the time of login on the operation panel 211. On the other hand, when the user selects the “Yes” button 910 on the Google Cloud Print registration screen 902, the CPU 202 displays the Google Cloud Print registration start screen 903 on the operation panel 211. Then, the registration process of the printing apparatus 100 to the cloud print service 102 is started.

  When the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud print service registration request 111 on the default screen 901 at the time of login and the logged-in user does not have the administrator authority, the CPU 202 causes the display unit 405 to display the login request message screen. 904 is displayed. The login request message screen 904 requests the system administrator to log in.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing when the printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment executes cloud print processing. A program for executing this process is stored in, for example, the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, and is expanded in the RAM 203 at the time of execution, and is executed under the control of the CPU 202 to realize this process.

  Once the registration of the cloud print service to the cloud print service 102 is completed, the CPU 202 is connected to the cloud print service 102 by the XMPP protocol in order to receive a job reception notification from the cloud print service 102. And keep holding this. Upon receiving the print data 115 from the client terminal 101, the cloud print service 102 notifies the printing apparatus 100 that the job has been received by the XMPP protocol. Thus, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is started.

  First, in step S1001, the CPU 202 receives a job reception notification notifying that the cloud print service 102 has received a job. Next, the processing proceeds to step S1002, and the CPU 202 connects to the cloud print service 102 using the HTTP protocol and acquires a list of the jobs. Then, the processes of S1004 and S1005 after S1003 are repeatedly executed for the number of jobs included in the job list. Then, in step S1004, the CPU 202 connects to the cloud print service 102 using the HTTP protocol and downloads print data instructed by the job from the cloud print service 102. Next, proceeding to step S1005, the CPU 202 transfers the downloaded print data to the image processing unit 306, and causes the image processing unit 306 to perform image processing on the print data at step S1006. Thus, in step S1006, the image processing unit 306 converts the print data into data printable by the printing apparatus 100. Then, the processing proceeds to step S1007, and the CPU 202 outputs the print data for which image processing has been completed to the printer 207 via the printer I / F 206 to print it. The process between S1003 and S1008 is repeatedly executed for the number of jobs included in the job list acquired in S1002.

  In this way, the user of the client terminal 101 can use the printing device 100 registered in the cloud print service 102 to execute printing by the cloud print service 102.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment provides the user with further convenience by omitting the login process in the first embodiment. This is the content including the first embodiment, and the difference from the first embodiment is the processing after the determinations in S702 and S708 are NO in the flowchart described in FIG. In the first embodiment, in these processes, the CPU 202 displayed the message screens in S703 and S709, respectively, and ended the process. However, in the second embodiment, the CPU 202 can execute registration with the cloud print service 102 depending on the case. This will be described below. The configurations of the printing system and the printing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment described above, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the process of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Here, in the flowchart of FIG. 7 of the above-described first embodiment, the process after it is determined as NO (not in the login state) in S702. It is a flowchart explaining. A program for executing this process is stored in, for example, the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, and is expanded in the RAM 203 at the time of execution, and is executed under the control of the CPU 202 to realize this process.

  First, in step S1101, the CPU 202 reads the ID management DB 1300 (FIG. 13) stored in the storage unit 305. Then, the processing proceeds to step S1102, and the CPU 202 determines whether the user ID included in the cloud print service registration request 111 is included in the user ID of Google Cloud Print of the ID management DB 1300. If it is determined that the user ID is included in the ID management DB 1300, it is determined whether the user has the system administrator authority. If it is determined that the user has the system administrator authority, the process advances to step S1103, and the CPU 202 displays, for example, a Google Cloud Print registration start screen 903 on the display unit 405. Then, the cloud print service registration request 112 is transmitted to the cloud print service 102 to execute the cloud print service registration.

  On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in step S1102 that the user does not have the system administrator authority, the process advances to step S1104 to display the login request message 905 shown in FIG. 9 on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211, and execute this processing. To finish.

  By the above processing, even if the user is not logged in to the printing apparatus 100, if the user who requests registration at the client terminal 101 has the system administrator authority of the printing apparatus 100, the registration to the cloud print service is performed. Can be made to perform processing.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment determines NO (login status other than the system administrator) in step S708 of the flowchart in FIG. 7. It is a flow chart explaining subsequent processing. A program for executing this process is stored in, for example, the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, and is expanded in the RAM 203 at the time of execution, and is executed under the control of the CPU 202 to realize this process.

  First, in step S1201, the CPU 202 reads the ID management DB 1300 stored in the storage unit 305. Next, the processing proceeds to step S1202, and the CPU 202 searches whether the user ID included in the cloud print service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101 is included in the user ID of Google Cloud Print in the ID management DB 1300. If it is determined that the user ID is included, it is determined whether the user has the system administrator authority. If it is determined that the user has system administrator authority, the process advances to step S1203, and the CPU 202 sends a cloud print service registration request 112 to the cloud print service 102 to execute registration processing for the cloud print service.

  On the other hand, if the CPU 202 determines in S1202 that the user does not have the system administrator authority, the process proceeds to S1204. In step S1204, the CPU 202 displays, on the display unit 405, a login request message screen 904 requesting login by the system administrator of FIG. 9, for example, and ends this processing.

  By the above processing, even when a user other than the administrator is logged in to the printing apparatus 100, the registration processing to the cloud print service can be executed according to the user of the client terminal 101. That is, when the user of the client terminal 101 is a user who can register with the cloud print service and has the system administrator authority of the printing apparatus 100, the registration process with the cloud print service can be executed.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the ID management DB held by the printing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment.

  In this ID management DB 1300, user ID information is managed as a DB and stored in the storage unit 305. The ID information includes a user name 1301, a GoogleCloudPrint user ID 1302, and system administrator authority 1303. The user name 1301 is a user ID for uniquely identifying the user on the printing apparatus 100. The GoogleCloudPrint user ID 1302 is a user ID that indicates that the user has the authority to be associated with the user name 1301 and to be registered in GoogleCloudPrint. The system administrator authority 1303 is information indicating whether or not each user has the system administrator authority. In this way, by storing the user ID, the user ID that can be registered in the cloud print service, and the presence / absence of administrator authority, it is possible to determine whether or not to perform the registration process in the cloud print service only with the user ID. ..

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. It can also be realized by the processing. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, in order to make the scope of the present invention public, the following claims are attached.

  100 ... Printing device, 101 ... Client terminal, 102 ... Client print service, 202 ... CPU, 204 ... ROM, 211 ... Operation unit, 301 ... Registration control unit, 302 ... Cloud print control unit, 405 ... Display unit

Claims (10)

A print service that transmits print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer that communicates with a client terminal,
User ID management means for managing user IDs of at least two users, a user having administrator authority and a user not having administrator authority, as user IDs of login users of the printer.
Receiving means for receiving a registration request for registering the printer in the print service from the client terminal;
Display means for displaying a registration screen for accepting an instruction to approve the registration request received from the client terminal on the operation unit of the printer;
Registration means for executing registration processing for registering the printer in the print service upon approval of the registration request,
A printer characterized in that the printer can be caused to execute a registration process by being approved by a user having administrator authority.   The printer according to claim 1, wherein a user who does not have administrator authority cannot cause the printer to perform a registration process.   3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein when the receiving unit receives the registration request, the display unit displays the registration screen from a state in which a copy menu screen is displayed.   The printer according to claim 3, wherein the copy menu screen is a default screen when a user logs in.   The registration request received by the receiving unit from the client terminal includes the user ID in the print service, and the registration unit registers the user ID included in the registration request with the printer in the print service. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer executes a process.   6. The registration screen is displayed on a touch-enabled operation unit, and a soft key that receives an instruction to approve the registration request is included in the registration screen. Printer.   7. The user ID management means stores the administrator authority, the user ID of the login user of the printer, and the user ID in the print service in association with each other. Printer.   8. The printer according to claim 1, wherein when the user having the administrator authority does not approve, the display before the reception of the registration request is returned to. A print service for transmitting print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer control method for communicating with a client terminal.
A user ID management step in which user ID management means manages user IDs of at least two users, a user having administrator authority and a user not having administrator authority, as user IDs of login users of the printer.
A receiving step in which the receiving means receives a registration request for registering the printer in the print service from the client terminal;
A display step in which the display means displays a registration screen on the operation unit of the printer, the registration screen receiving an instruction to approve the registration request received from the client terminal;
And a registration step of executing a registration process of registering the printer in the print service when the registration request is approved.
A control method characterized in that the registration process can be executed by the printer upon approval by a user having administrator authority. A program for causing a computer to execute each step in a print service for transmitting print data to a registered printer via the Internet, and a printer communication method for communicating with a client terminal, the control method comprising:
A user ID management step in which user ID management means manages user IDs of at least two users, a user having administrator authority and a user not having administrator authority, as user IDs of login users of the printer.
A receiving step in which the receiving means receives a registration request for registering the printer in the print service from the client terminal;
A display step in which the display means displays a registration screen on the operation unit of the printer, the registration screen receiving an instruction to approve the registration request received from the client terminal;
And a registration step of executing a registration process of registering the printer in the print service when the registration request is approved.
A program capable of causing the printer to execute a registration process by being approved by a user having administrator authority.

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