JP2021120197A - Printer and communication processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve convenience to a manager by displaying state information in an always optimum mode in a management server.SOLUTION: A printer 14 includes: a printing engine 51; and a CPU 41. The printer communicates with an external intermediation device 12 communicating with a management server 11 with a display section 11A through the Internet. A second program 34 executes: specification information acquisition processing for acquiring display specification information or specification related information in the display section 11A of the management server 11; mode setting processing for variably setting a transmission mode of the state information regarding a changed state to be transmitted when the state of the printer 14 changes according to the display specification information or the specification related information acquired in the specification information acquisition processing; and state information transmission processing for transmitting the state information corresponding to the change in the state of the printer 14 in the mode set in the mode setting processing to the external intermediation device 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints on a printing medium and a communication processing program executed in an electronic device.

An MDM (Mobile Device Management) system is known in which a management server on the Internet communicates with a mobile device and manages the mobile device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this prior art, an external mediator is connected to the management server that manages the printer so as to be able to communicate with the management server via the Internet. An internal mediator is communicably connected to the external mediator, and a printer, which is a mobile device, is configured to communicate with the internal mediator via a local network.

JP-A-2019-179446

In recent years, a configuration in which a printing device is directly connected to an external mediator has been proposed in place of the configuration of the above-mentioned conventional technique in which an internal mediator is interposed in information transmission between a printing device which is an electronic device and an external mediator. It's starting. In this configuration, when the printing device is managed by the management server, for example, when the state of the printing device changes due to a change in various settings in the printing device, an error occurs, or the like, the state information related to the changed state is displayed. It is sent to an external mediator. As a result, an appropriate display corresponding to the state information is performed on the external server connected to the external intermediary device, and the administrator can recognize that some state change has occurred in the printing device.

At this time, the display mode on the management server may differ depending on the specifications of the management server. Therefore, when the above state information is transmitted from the printing device to the external intermediary device, if the method of simply transmitting the corresponding state information sequentially each time a state change occurs, it may not be convenient for the administrator who sees the display. Can occur.

For example, in the management server, the latest status information may be popped up so as to cover the previous status information. In the case of such specifications, when a plurality of state information is sequentially transmitted from the printing apparatus, the later state information is displayed so as to sequentially cover the first state information in the order of transmission. Therefore, when the importance of the content of the starting status information is high and the importance of the content of the later status information is low, the low-importance status information of the starting lineup is displayed, so that the starting lineup with high importance is displayed. It is inconvenient because the status information is hidden and easily overlooked by the administrator. Therefore, in this case, it is desirable to take some measures to avoid the above-mentioned adverse effects when transmitting the state information from the printing device to the external intermediary device.

On the other hand, in the management server, when a plurality of status information is transmitted from the printing device, the plurality of status information may be displayed in a list. In the case of this specification, even if the printing device simply transmits the corresponding state information in sequence each time a state change occurs, the above-mentioned problem of obscurity for the administrator does not occur. ..

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device and a communication processing program capable of always displaying status information in an optimum manner on a management server and improving convenience for an administrator.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an external intermediary that has a printing means for printing on a print medium and a control means, and communicates with a management server provided with a display means for performing a desired display via the Internet. A printing device that communicates with the device, wherein the control means acquires display specification information or specification-related information related to the display specification information in the display means of the management server; a specification information acquisition process of the printing device. A mode setting process for variably setting the transmission mode of the state information related to the changed state to be transmitted when the state changes according to the display specification information acquired by the specification information acquisition process or the specification-related information; It is characterized in that the state information transmission process of transmitting the state information corresponding to the change of the state of the printing device to the external intermediary device in the mode set in the mode setting process; is executed.

The printing apparatus of the present invention is used in a so-called MDM (Mobile Device Management) system. That is, an external mediator (so-called Device Conductor) is communicably connected to the management server that manages the printing device via the Internet, and the printing device is communicably connected to the external mediator. Has been done.

Then, the management server manages the printing device via an external intermediary device. At that time, for example, when the state of the printing device changes due to a change in various settings in the printing device, an error occurs, or the like, the state information related to the changed state is transmitted to the external intermediary device by the control of the control means. NS. As a result, the display means of the external server connected to the external intermediary device performs appropriate display corresponding to the state information, and the administrator can recognize that some state change has occurred in the printing device. ..

Then, in the printing apparatus of the present invention, the control means executes the specification information acquisition process, the mode setting process, and the state information transmission process. That is, first, in the specification information acquisition process, the control means acquires the display specification information or the specification-related information in the display means. After that, in the mode setting process, the control means variably sets the transmission mode of the state information at the time of transmission to the external intermediary device according to the acquired display specification information or specification-related information. Then, in the state information transmission process, the control means transmits to the external intermediary device according to the set mode.

By executing the process in such a flow, regardless of the display specifications of the display means of the management server, the status information transmitted from the printing device to the external intermediary device corresponds to the display specifications. It is possible to transmit in the transmission mode. As a result, the display means of the management server can always display the state information in the optimum mode while avoiding the inconvenience as described above, and the convenience for the administrator can be improved.

According to the present invention, the state information can always be displayed in the optimum mode on the management server, and the convenience for the administrator can be improved.

It is a schematic block diagram of the management system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correspondence database. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when registering a printer in a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when making a printer execute an instruction from a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when making a printer execute an instruction from a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of the management server, the external intermediary device, and the printer when the status is reported periodically without the instruction from the management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st comparative example in the case where the specification of the display part of a management server is the specification which pop-up displays the latest state information so as to cover the previous state information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st comparative example in the case where the specification of the display part of a management server is the specification which pop-up displays the latest state information so as to cover the previous state information. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process which the 2nd program of the printer of one Embodiment of this invention executes in step S76 and step S79. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the 2nd program executes when the display of a management server is a pop-up display specification. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display in the display part of the management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the display in the display part of the management server. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the process which the 2nd program executes when the display of a management server is a pop-up display specification. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display in the display part of the management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display in the display part of a management server. It is a flowchart which shows the process which the 2nd program executes when the display of a management server is a switching display specification according to importance. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display in the display part of a management server. It is a flowchart which shows the process which the 2nd program executes when the display of a management server is a list display specification of a plurality of state information. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display in the display part of the management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display in the display part of a management server.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System overview>
In FIG. 1, the management system 10 according to the present embodiment is a system that manages the printer 14 by using a so-called mobile device management system. The administrator of the printer 14 browses the management information of the printer 14 stored in the management server 11 by using a browser, or instructs the printer 14 to change the setting information or the like through the management server 11.

Further, the management system 10 is a system that manages the printer 14 that does not have a function of directly communicating with the management server 11. An external intermediary device 12 is used so that the management server 11 can manage the printer 14 that does not have a function of directly communicating with the management server 11. The printer 14 is an example of a printing device.

The management system 10 includes a management server 11 and an external mediator 12 connected to the Internet 15, and the printer 14 connected to the local network 16.

The management server 11 is, for example, a server owned by a company that provides a service for managing mobile devices. The external intermediary device 12 is, for example, a server owned by a company that receives a service for managing a mobile device. The local network 16 is constructed, for example, for each branch of a company that receives a service for managing mobile devices. Each branch has one or more printers 14, and the printer 14 of each branch is connected to the local network 16 of each branch.

In the illustrated example, three local networks 16 are constructed, and two or three printers 14 are connected to each local network 16. However, the number of local networks 16 included in the management system 10 and the number of printers 14 connected to each local network 16 are not limited to the illustrated examples.

The management server 11 and the external intermediary device 12 can communicate with each other through the Internet 15. Specifically, the management server 11 and the external intermediary device 12 each have a global IP address, and communicate with each other using an Internet protocol using the global IP address.

The local network 16 is a so-called intranet, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, a WAN, or a combination thereof. Printers 14 connected to the local network 16 can communicate with each other using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP. Specifically, the printers 14 communicate with each other using a private IP address or a MAC address.

The local network 16 has a relay device (not shown) such as a router. The relay device has a global IP address and is connected to the Internet 15. The printer 14 connected to the local network 16 communicates with the external intermediary device 12 via the relay device. Specifically, the printer 14 and the external intermediary device 12 communicate with each other through a firewall constructed by the relay device. It should be noted that the firewall is not essential, and the relay device may not be provided with a firewall when it is not necessary or is small.

The management system 10 is a system that enables the management server 11 to manage the printer 14 that does not have a function of directly communicating with the management server 11 by using the external intermediary device 12 having the above configuration. Specifically, a function of directly communicating with the management server 11 by using the first program 24 installed and executed in the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 installed and executed in the printer 14 is provided. Management of a printer 14 that does not exist is realized. That is, the management of the printer 14 that does not have the function of directly communicating with the management server 11 by the management server 11 is realized by the first program 24 and the second program 34. Hereinafter, the configurations of the external mediator device 12 and the printer 14 will be described in detail.

<External mediator (1)>
The external intermediary device 12 includes a CPU 21, a memory 22, a communication interface 25 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “communication I / F25”), a user I / F26, and a communication bus 27. The CPU 21, the memory 22, the communication I / F25, and the user I / F26 are connected to the communication bus 27.

The memory 22 is a portable storage medium such as a ROM, RAM, EEPROM, HDD, or USB memory, or a buffer included in the CPU 21. The memory 22 may be a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, the non-transitory medium also includes a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. The non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electric signal that carries a program downloaded from a server on the Internet is a computer-readable signal medium, which is a kind of computer-readable medium, but is a storage that can be read by a non-transitory computer. Not included in the medium. The same applies to the memory 42 of the printer 14 described later.

The memory 22 has a program storage area 28 and a data storage area 29. The program storage area 28 stores programs such as the OS 23 and the first program 24.

OS23 is a basic program of the external intermediary device 12. OS23 is, for example, an operating system such as MacOS (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark) OS and the like.

The first program 24 is a program that controls communication with the management server 11 and the printer 14 through the communication I / F 25 in cooperation with the OS 23. The first program 24 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. The process executed by the first program 24 will be described later.

The data storage area 29 stores data necessary for executing the program. Further, the data storage area 29 stores the corresponding database shown in FIG.

<Corresponding database>
In FIG. 2, the corresponding database has a plurality of items and a plurality of records. In this example, the plurality of items include the items "device ID", "GUID", "location information", "farm version", "setting information", "update date", and "management status information". In addition, the corresponding database may include items other than the above-mentioned items.

The item "device ID" is an ID assigned to the printer 14. The device ID is, for example, the MAC address, IP address, serial number, or the like of the printer 14. Each record is distinguished by a device ID. That is, one record is generated for one printer 14.

The item "GUID" indicates a GUID assigned to the second program 34 (described later) provided in the printer 14. As the GUID, any number, characters, or any other GUID may be used as long as it can identify the second program 34. The same applies to the device ID.

The item "location information" indicates the local network 16 to which the printer 14 having the second program 34 represented by the item "GUID" belongs. The item "location information" is, for example, a branch name, a branch name, or the like.

The item "farm version" indicates the version of the second program 34, which will be described later, installed on the printer 14. The larger the number of the item "farm version", the newer the version.

The item "setting information" has a plurality of subdivided items such as the item "font", the item "font size", and the item "density". The item "font" means a font of characters printed by the printer 14. The item "font size" means the size of characters printed by the printer 14. The item "density" means the density of ink of characters and figures printed by the printer 14. In addition to the above items, the item "setting information" has other items such as an item indicating whether the automatic power off function is enabled or disabled, an item indicating the printing speed, and an item indicating the communication setting parameter. You may.

The item "update date and time" indicates the date and time when the content indicated by each item in the record was changed.

The item "management status information" indicates whether or not the printer 14 of each record is the target of management by the management system 10. “Under management” means that the object is managed by the management system 10. “Waiting” means that the management system 10 is not subject to management.

<External intermediary device (2)>
Returning to FIG. 1, the communication I / F 25 of the external intermediary device 12 is an interface capable of communicating with the management server 11 and the printer 14. The communication I / F 25 is a LAN I / F or a wireless LAN I / F. The external mediator 12 and the printer 14 communicate with each other through the communication I / F 25, the Internet 15, the firewall (relay device), the local network 16, and the communication I / F 45.

The user I / F26 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and accepts input by the administrator.

<Printer>
The printer 14 includes a CPU 41, a memory 42, a communication I / F 45, a battery 50, a printing engine 51, and a communication bus 47. The printing engine is an example of printing means, and the CPU 41 is an example of control means. The configuration of the CPU 41, the memory 42, the communication I / F 45, and the communication bus 47 is the same as the configuration of the CPU 21, the memory 22, the communication I / F 25, and the communication bus 27 of the external intermediary device 12.

The memory 42 has a program storage area 48 and a data storage area 49. The program storage area 48 stores programs such as the OS 43 and the second program 34. The data storage area 49 stores data necessary for executing the program. In addition, the data storage area 49 stores a device ID and a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier). The device ID is, for example, a MAC address of the printer 14, a private IP address, a serial number, or the like.

OS43 is a basic program of the printer 14. The second program 34 is a program that causes the print engine 51 to execute printing on an appropriate print medium in cooperation with the OS 43 and controls communication with the external mediator 12 through the communication I / F 45. The second program 34 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. The process executed by the second program 34 will be described later.

The communication I / F 45 is an interface capable of communicating with the external mediator 12. The communication I / F 45 receives the command transmitted by the external intermediary device 12, and transmits a response to the command to the external intermediary device 12.

The battery 50 is, for example, a secondary battery that can be charged and discharged. The battery 50 is charged by the commercial power source when the printer 14 is connected to the commercial power source, and discharged when the printer 14 is not connected to the commercial power source to supply drive power to the printing engine 51 and the CPU 41.

<Program processing>
Hereinafter, the processes executed by the first program 24 and the second program 34 will be described.

In this specification, basically, the processing of the CPU according to the instruction described in the program will be described. That is, the processes such as "judgment", "extraction", "selection", "calculation", "decision", "specification", "acquisition", "acceptance", "control", and "setting" in the following description are It represents the processing of the CPU. The processing by the CPU also includes hardware control via a controller such as an OS. Note that "acquisition" is used in a concept that does not require a request. That is, the process of receiving data without the CPU requesting is also included in the concept of "the CPU acquires the data". Processing such as "command", "response", and "request" is performed by communicating information indicating "command", "response", "request", and the like. In addition, words such as "command", "response", and "request" may also be described in the sense of information itself indicating "command", "response", "request", and the like.

In addition, the processing of the CPU according to the instruction described in the program may be described in abbreviated wording. For example, it may be described as "performed by the CPU 21", "performed by the program 24", or "performed by the external intermediary device 12". The same applies to the CPU 41. Further, it may be described in abbreviated terms that the program inputs / outputs information through the communication I / F and the user I / F. For example, it may be described as "received by the CPU 21", "transmitted by the program 24", or "acquired by the external intermediary device 12".

Further, "data" and "information" in the present specification are common in that they are bits or bit strings that can be handled by a computer. "Data" refers to data that can be handled without the computer considering the meaning and content of each bit. On the other hand, "information" refers to information in which the operation of a computer branches depending on the meaning and content indicated by each bit. It should be noted that "data" having the same substantial meaning and content but different formats shall be treated as the same data. The same applies to "information". Further, the "instruction" is a control signal for prompting the destination device to perform the next operation, may include information, and has the property of information itself. There is also.

Further, "data" and "information" are the same data and information as long as they are recognized as having the same meaning even if the format (for example, text format, binary format, flag format, etc.) is changed for each computer. Treated as. For example, information indicating that there are "two" is retained as text format information "0x32" in ASCII code on one computer, and as binary format information "10" in binary notation on another computer. May be done.

However, the above distinction between "data" and "information" is not strict, and exceptional handling is permitted. For example, the data may be temporarily treated as information, or the information may be temporarily treated as data. Further, what is treated as data in one device may be treated as information in another device. Furthermore, information may be extracted from the data, or data may be extracted from the information.

<Basic processing contents of the program>
Hereinafter, the processes executed by the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 of the printer 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. As will be described in detail later, in the transmission and reception of information between the external intermediary device 12 and the printer 14, the external intermediary device 12 basically includes information such as instructions in the HTTP response to the HTTP request received from the printer 14. In the form, it is transmitted to the printer 14. Therefore, the printer 14 periodically transmits an HTTP request to the external intermediary device 12. The firewall blocks transmission from the external mediator 12 to the printer 14 except for the HTTP response to the HTTP request from the printer 14.

<Printer registration>
First, a process of registering the device ID of the printer 14 in the corresponding database stored in the memory 22 of the external intermediary device 12 and starting the management of the management system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the second program 34 of the printer 14 uses, for example, the printer 14 to be managed when the second program 34 is started for the first time and the initial setting of the second program 34 is executed, or when the person in charge inputs the printer 14. The self stored in its own device ID and memory 32 according to the registration instruction instructing to register in the management system 10 or when receiving the registration instruction transmitted from the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12. The HTTP request including the GUID of the above is transmitted to the external mediator 12 (step S14). In the specification of the present application, the "person in charge" is, for example, a person who manages the printer 14 at each branch office and is different from the manager who operates the external intermediary device 12.

The HTTP request including the device ID and GUID transmitted by the second program 34 of the printer 14 is received by the external mediator 12 (step S14). When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the device ID and GUID, it determines whether or not the received device ID is already registered in the corresponding database, and if it determines that it is not registered, the received device ID. And the GUID is used to register a new record in the corresponding database (step S15).

Although not shown in this flowchart, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 uses an HTTP response including a response indicating that the device ID has been received as a response to the HTTP request received in step S14. Reply to the printer 14. Alternatively, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 may return the HTTP response including the device ID registered in the corresponding database to the printer 14 as the response of the HTTP request received in step S14.

At this time, in the record newly added to the database as described above, the initial value "waiting" is stored in the item "management status information". In the example of FIG. 2, the record indicating the printer 14 with the device ID “009” is a newly added record. The printer 14 indicated by the "waiting" record has not yet been registered in the management server 11. That is, it can be said that it is a temporary registration state that is not managed by the management system 10. In the record indicating the printer 14 to be managed, the "management status information" is changed from "waiting" to "managing".

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the received device ID is already registered in the corresponding database, the printer 14 sends a response indicating that the received device ID is already registered in the corresponding database. Reply to.

Returning to FIG. 3, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 then determines whether or not a deletion instruction has been input (step S16). The deletion instruction is, for example, an instruction input by the administrator to the external intermediary device 12. For example, the first program 24 displays on the display of the external intermediary device 12 that the record has been generated and registered in the corresponding database. The administrator who confirmed the display displays the corresponding database on the display of the external intermediary device 12, and determines whether or not the printer 14 indicated by the "standby" device ID is the target printer 14 to be managed. The administrator inputs a deletion instruction for the device ID of the printer 14 that should not be managed by the management system 10. That is, whether or not the device ID registered in the corresponding database is appropriate is confirmed by the administrator in the external intermediary device 12.

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the deletion instruction has been input (step S16: Yes), the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 deletes the record for which the deletion instruction has been given from the corresponding database (step S17). On the other hand, if the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the deletion instruction has not been input, the process of step S17 is skipped.

Next, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 waits until a management start instruction for starting the management of the management system 10 is input (step S18: No). When the first program 24 determines that the management start instruction has been input (step S18: Yes), the first program 24 transmits a command to the management server 11 (step S19). The command includes the device ID registered in the corresponding database as incidental information. Further, the command is a command that requests the management server 11 to register the incidental device ID as the device ID of the printer 14 to be managed.

The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 may accept the input of an instruction to refuse the start of management in step S18. In that case, the first program 24 transmits an HTTP response indicating that the instruction to refuse the start of management has been input to the second program 34 of the printer 14 in step S22. When the second program 34 receives the HTTP response, the second program 34 displays, for example, information indicating that an instruction to refuse the start of management has been input in the external intermediary device 12 on a display provided in the printer 14, for example. The person in charge can confirm from the information displayed on the display that the instruction to refuse the start of management has been input in the external intermediary device 12.

The command transmitted by the external mediator 12 is received by the management server 11 (step S19). The management server 11 that has received the command stores the device ID included in the received command in a memory (not shown). That is, the management server 11 registers the device ID included in the received command as the device ID of the printer 14 to be managed. After that, the management server 11 returns a response indicating that the device ID included in the command has been registered to the external intermediary device 12 via the Internet 15 (step S20).

The response returned by the management server 11 is received by the external mediator 12 (step S20). When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the response from the management server 11, the first program 24 starts the management of the management system 10 (step S21). Specifically, the database item "management status information" shown in FIG. 2 is changed from "waiting" to "managing".

Next, the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 sets the device ID that is "under management", that is, the device ID of the printer 14 that has started management, as the HTTP response to the HTTP request that the printer 14 periodically transmits. , Sent to the printer 14 (step S22). At this time, the device ID deleted in S17 is not transmitted.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 may transmit the HTTP response of step S22 to the printer 14 as the response of the HTTP request received in step S14. In that case, it is desirable that the processes of steps S16 and S17 are omitted so that a timeout does not occur.

Although not shown in this flowchart, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the device ID that started management (step S22), the device ID that started management is stored in the memory 42. The second program 34 causes the person in charge to recognize that the device ID that has started management has been received, for example, by displaying it on a display provided in the printer 14. The person in charge can display the device ID stored in the memory 42 on the display of the printer 14 and confirm that the management to the printer 14 has started. The administrator of the external intermediary device 12 can confirm the printer 14 whose management has been started by displaying the corresponding database stored in the memory 22 on the display of the external intermediary device 12. In addition, the administrator of the external intermediary device 12 can confirm the printer 14 for which management has been started by displaying the data stored in the management server 11 on the display using a browser.

<Processes executed according to instructions from the management server (other than status report)>
Next, a command corresponding to an instruction from the management server 11 is input to the printer 14 having the device ID of the record whose item "management status information" is "under management". That is, the management server 11 manages the printer 14. The details of this management will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The administrator inputs the instruction to the management server 11 to the management server 11 using a browser.

First, the management server 11 transmits the first instruction command to the external intermediary device 12 via the Internet 15 (step S31). The first instruction command is a command for causing the external mediator 12 to execute an instruction corresponding to the instruction to be executed by the printer 14. The first instruction command includes a device ID for identifying the printer 14 to execute the instruction as incidental information.

The first instruction command is, for example, in this example, an instruction to cause the printer 14 to perform desired printing, and the printer 14 for each item such as "font", "font size", and "density" of the setting information (FIG. 2). This command instructs the external intermediary device 12 to execute an instruction to change the set value, an instruction to update the firmware version (FIG. 2) of the second program 34 of the printer 14, and the like. The case of an instruction requesting that the current status information of the printer 14 be returned will be described later. However, the content indicated by the first instruction command is not limited to these examples.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the first instruction command transmitted by the management server 11 (step S31).

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the first instruction command (step S31), the first program 24 transmits a notification indicating that the first instruction command has been received to the management server 11 (step S32).

When the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the first instruction command (step S31), the first program 24 identifies the GUID associated with the device ID included in the first instruction command from the corresponding database (step S33). That is, the first program 24 specifies the second program 34 of the printer 14 to which the instruction should be transmitted by the GUID. Specifically, the first program 24 specifies the record having the device ID included in the first instruction command on the corresponding database, and specifies the GUID of the item "GUID" in the specified record as the corresponding GUID.

Next, the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 generates a second instruction command in response to the instruction of the first instruction command (step S34). The second instruction command is a command that can be input to the printer 14 and is a command generated according to the content instructed by the first instruction command. The second instruction command includes the device ID included in the first instruction command as incidental information.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the data storage area 29 of the memory 22 of the external mediator 12 stores the first command list. The first command list shows the correspondence between the first command and the second command. The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines the second instruction command corresponding to the first instruction command received in step S31 from the first command list, and includes the determined second instruction command in the first instruction command. A second instruction command is generated by including the device ID to be used as incidental information (step S34).

Further, although not shown above, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 sends a file to be transmitted to the management server 11 when the instruction indicated by the first instruction command is a file transmission to the printer 14. Request. Upon receiving the request, the management server 11 transmits the file to the external intermediary device 12. The first program 24 receives the file and stores it in the memory 22. For example, a file containing a text instructing the printer 14 to change the setting, a program file of a new version of the second program 34, and the like are examples of files to be transmitted. When the first program 24 receives the file from the management server 11, in step S34, the first program 24 generates a second instruction command instructing the second program of the printer 14 to download the file.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 waits until the HTTP request from the printer 14 is received after the generation of the second instruction command.

On the other hand, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the transmission timing stored in the memory 32 in advance has been reached (step S35). The transmission timing is set from a few seconds interval to a several tens of seconds interval, for example, a 10-second interval, a 15-second interval, a 20-second interval, or the like.

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the transmission timing has come (step S35: Yes), it transmits an HTTP request including its own GUID to the external intermediary device 12 (step S36). This request is also referred to as "Get Action", and as will be described later, asks the external mediator 12 for the presence or absence of a process execution instruction instructing the printer 14 to execute a desired process.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the HTTP request transmitted by the printer 14 (step S36). The first program 24 determines whether or not the GUID included in the received HTTP request matches the GUID determined in step S3 (step S37). That is, the first program 24 determines whether or not the printer 14 that has transmitted the HTTP request is the printer 14 that should transmit the second instruction command generated in step S34.

If the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the GUID included in the HTTP request received in step S36 and the GUID determined in step S33 do not match (step S37: No), the first program 24 does not include the second instruction command. The HTTP response is transmitted (step S38). The HTTP response transmitted in step S38 only indicates that the HTTP request transmitted in step S36 could be received.

On the other hand, when the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the GUID included in the HTTP request received in step S36 and the GUID determined in step S33 match (step S37: Yes), the first program 24 includes the second instruction command. The HTTP response is transmitted (step S39). That is, the external mediator 12 transmits the second instruction command to the printer 14 through the firewall by including the above second instruction command in the HTTP response to the HTTP request from the printer 14. This response is also referred to as "BrActionInfo". At this time, the external intermediary device 12 is provided with a list for recording that the execution of the process has been instructed. When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 transmits the second instruction command as described above, the first program 24 records in the above list that the execution of the corresponding process is instructed by the second instruction command.

The second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the HTTP response transmitted by the external mediator 12 (steps S38 and S39). The second program 34 determines whether or not the received HTTP response includes the second instruction command (step S40). When the second program 34 determines that the received HTTP response does not include the second instruction command (step S40: No), the second program 34 returns to step S35 and continues to transmit the periodic HTTP request.

Although not shown in this flowchart, when the second instruction command received in step S39 is a command indicating file download, the second program 34 of the printer 14 requests an HTTP including a file transmission request. Is transmitted to the external mediator 12. The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 that has received the HTTP request transmits an HTTP response including a file to the printer 14 in response to a command included in the HTTP request. The second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the file included in the HTTP response. The file may be included in the second instruction command and transmitted. In this case, the file transmission request is not transmitted from the second program 34 to the first program 24.

In the second program 34 of the printer 14, whether the instruction indicated by the second instruction command received in step S39 is to change the setting information, update the firmware version, or acquire the status information (in the example described later). Case) may be determined by the status request flag attached to the second instruction command. For example, when the first instruction command received in step S31 is an instruction for requesting status information, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 attaches the status request flag set to "ON" to the second instruction command. Let me.

On the other hand, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the received HTTP response includes the second instruction command (step S40: Yes), the notification indicating that the second instruction command has been received (hereinafter, "" An HTTP request including (also referred to as "receipt notification") is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S41). This response is also referred to as "Delate Device". The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the HTTP request including the reception notification (step S41). That is, the second program 34 notifies the external mediator 12 that the second instruction command has been received. The significance of this notification is as follows.

That is, although not shown in this flowchart, if the first program 24 determines that the HTTP request including the reception notification is not received within a predetermined time, the HTTP of the HTTP request periodically transmitted from the printer 14 is determined. As a response, the second instruction command is retransmitted to the printer 14. Then, when the first program 24 receives the HTTP request including the reception notification, the first program 24 returns an HTTP response indicating that the reception notification has been received to the printer 14.

That is, if the second program 34 of the printer 14 does not receive the reception notification, the printer 14 issues the second instruction command until it receives a response corresponding to the second instruction command (see steps S55 and S62 described later). It is not possible to determine whether or not the command was received. As a result, the time until the response corresponding to the second instruction command is received exceeds a predetermined time determined as the time until the second instruction command is retransmitted, and the printer 14 receives the second instruction command. Despite this, the external mediator 12 may resend the second instruction command. Therefore, the second program 34 of the printer 14 transmits a reception notification to the external intermediary device 12 (step S41) before transmitting the responses (steps S55 and S62) corresponding to the second instruction command. This prevents the external mediator 12 from retransmitting the second instruction command even though the printer 14 has received the second instruction command.

Although not shown in this flowchart, when the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request transmitted by the printer 14, the corresponding second instruction command is recorded from the above list. delete. Then, the first program 24 sends a notification to the printer 14 indicating that the record of the second instruction command has been deleted. This response is also referred to as "BrResponseBasicInfo".

The second program 34 of the printer 14 executes the instruction indicated by the second instruction command after executing the process of step S41 (step S52). For example, when the second instruction command is an instruction to cause the printer 14 to perform desired printing, the second program 34 executes printing on the printing medium by the printing engine 51. If the second instruction command is an instruction to change the settings of the printer 14 for each item such as "font", "font size", and "density" of the setting information (FIG. 2), the second program 34 , Change the setting values such as "font", "font size", and "density" with the setting values included in the second instruction command. When the second instruction command is an instruction to update the farm version, the second program 34 updates itself with the program included in the second instruction command. The process in step S52 is also referred to as "execution of Action", and executes the process corresponding to the process execution instruction received as described above.

Next, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the instruction indicated by the second instruction command can be executed by itself (step S54).

When it is determined that the instruction indicated by the second instruction command cannot be executed (step S54: No), the second program 34 transmits the HTTP request including the first error information to the external mediator 12 (step S55). The HTTP request transmitted at this time may be an HTTP request that the printer 14 periodically transmits to the external intermediary device 12, or an HTTP request that is transmitted separately from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. ..

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the data storage area 49 of the memory 42 of the printer 14 stores a first error correspondence list showing the correspondence between the first error code and the content of the error. ing. The second program 34 of the printer 14 determines the first error code corresponding to the content of the error from the first error correspondence list, generates the first error information including the determined first error code and the device ID, and generates the first error information. The generated first error information is included in the HTTP request and transmitted (step S55).

The transmitted first error information is received by the external mediator 12 (step S55). The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 generates the second error information based on the received first error information (step S56). The second error information includes a second error code in a format that can be recognized by the management server 11. Although not shown in FIG. 2 above, the data storage area 29 of the memory 22 of the external mediator 12 stores a second error correspondence list indicating the correspondence between the first error code and the second error code. The first program 24 determines the second error code corresponding to the first error code from the second error correspondence list, and the second error including the determined second error code and the device ID included in the first error information. Information is generated (step S56).

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 transmits the second error information generated in step S56 to the management server 11 as a response to the received first instruction command (step S31) (step S57). The transmitted second error information is received by the management server 11 (step S57). When the management server 11 receives the second error information, it transmits a reception response indicating that the second error information has been received. The transmitted reception response is received by the external mediator 12 (step S58).

On the other hand, in step S54, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the printer 14 has been able to execute the content instructed by the second instruction command (step S54: Yes), it periodically transmits an HTTP request. Wait until the transmission timing is reached (step S61: No). When it is determined that the transmission timing has come (step S61: Yes), the second program 34 receives the HTTP request including the status information in step S39 after executing the content instructed by the second instruction command in step S52. As a response of the second instruction command, it is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S62). The status information at this time is setting information, farm version, and the like. This request is also referred to as "Enroll Notification" and transmits the processing execution result in the above-mentioned execution processing.

Although not shown in this flowchart, it indicates that the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 has received the HTTP request after receiving the HTTP request including the status information (step S62). , Is transmitted to the printer 14 as an HTTP response of the HTTP request. This response is also referred to as "BrResponseBasicInfo".

By including the status information in the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12 as described above, the printer 14 and the printer 14 are compared with the case where the status information is transmitted separately from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. The number of communications with the external mediator 12 can be reduced. The second program 34 may include the changed status information in an HTTP request different from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted and transmit it to the external intermediary device 12. In that case, the status information can be transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 more quickly than when the status information is included in the HTTP request to be transmitted periodically.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the changed status information as a response to the second instruction command (step S62). When the first program 24 receives the status information, the first program 24 overwrites the values such as the setting information and the farm version of the corresponding database (FIG. 2) with the received status information (step S63).

Next, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 generates setting completion information including the fact that the printer 14 has executed the instruction indicated by the first instruction command and the status information received in step S62. Then, the generated setting completion information is transmitted to the management server 11 as a response to the first instruction command received in step S31 (step S64). The setting completion information is, for example, a command that can be input to the management server 11 and has status information as incidental information. The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 may transmit the status information received in S62 to the management server 11 in addition to the setting completion information. That is, the fact that the setting has been made and the status information after the setting may be separately transmitted to the management server 11.

When the management server 11 receives the setting completion information via the Internet 15 (step S64), the management server 11 transmits a reception response indicating that the setting completion information has been received to the external intermediary device 12 (step S65). The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the reception response transmitted by the management server 11 (step S65), and ends the process.

<Regular status report without instructions from the management server>
In the above description, the processing executed by the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 of the printer 14 in response to the first instruction command from the management server 11 has been described. In the following, FIG. 6 shows a process in which the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 of the printer 14 periodically transmit the status information of the printer 14 without depending on the instruction from the management server 11. It will be explained with reference to.

First, the second program 34 of the printer 14 waits until the periodic status acquisition timing is reached (step S71: No). The periodic status acquisition timing is, for example, every hour, every 12 hours, every 24 hours, and the like. That is, the periodic status timing is a longer period than the transmission timing for periodically transmitting the HTTP request described above. The reason for this is as follows. That is, when the printer 14 is made to execute the process of returning the status information, the printer 14 consumes power. Therefore, if the periodic status acquisition timing is in seconds or minutes, the battery 50 is consumed more. By setting the periodic status acquisition timing to an hour unit such as 1 hour, 12 hours, or 24 hours, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the battery 50.

In addition, setting the periodic status acquisition timing as an hour unit has the following other significance. That is, the second program 34 of the printer 14 may have a sleep function for stopping the driving of the power supply circuit, that is, a so-called sleep function. By setting the periodic status acquisition timing to an hour unit such as 1 hour, 12 hours, or 24 hours, the printer 14 that is in a dormant state by the sleep function frequently returns to the drive state in which the drive circuit outputs a DC voltage. It is possible to suppress being forced to do so. As a result, the consumption of the battery 50 can be suppressed, and the discomfort of the printer user can be suppressed. The discomfort of the user of the printer 14 means that even if the printer 14 is put into a dormant state, it is immediately put into a driving state.

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the periodic status acquisition timing has come (step S71: Yes), it determines whether or not it is the transmission timing for transmitting the HTTP request to the external intermediary device 12 (step S74). .. When the second program 34 determines that the transmission timing has not come (step S74: No), the process of step S71 is executed again. On the other hand, when the second program 34 determines that the transmission timing has come (step S74: Yes), it determines whether or not the status information to be periodically acquired can be acquired from each part in the printer 14 (step S74: Yes). Step S75).

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the status information cannot be acquired (step S75: No), the second program 34 generates the third error information indicating that the status information could not be acquired, and the generated third error information. The HTTP request including the above is transmitted to the external mediator 12 (step S76). The third error information is an example of state information. The processing content in step S76 will be described in detail later.
The HTTP request including the third error information transmitted at this time may be included in an HTTP request different from the HTTP request transmitted periodically. That is, if the second program 34 determines that the status information has not been acquired, the second program 34 may transmit the HTTP request including the third error information to the external intermediary device 12 without waiting for the transmission timing. When the first program 24 receives the HTTP request including the third error information (step S76), the first program 24 transmits a response indicating that the HTTP request has been received to the printer 14 (step S78).

Further, when the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request including the third error information (step S76), it decides not to update the corresponding database, and also provides the information corresponding to the third error information. It is determined not to transmit to the management server 11 (step S77). That is, when the printer 14 does not execute the instruction corresponding to the first instruction command input from the management server 11, the first program 24 generates the second error information as described above and transmits it to the management server 11. If the status information that is attempted to be acquired periodically cannot be acquired, the third error information is not transmitted to the management server 11. As a result, it is possible to prevent the error information from being frequently transmitted to the management server 11.

On the other hand, in step S75, when it is determined that the second program 34 of the printer 14 has acquired the status information (step S75: No), the HTTP request including the status information is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S79). ). This request is also referred to as "Update Device", and when the state of the printer 14 changes, the above-mentioned status information related to the changed state is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12. The processing content in step S79 will be described in detail later. The status information at this time is an example of the status information. The HTTP request including the status information may be included in an HTTP request different from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. That is, if the second program 34 determines that the status information has been received, the second program 34 may transmit the HTTP request including the status information to the external intermediary device 12 without waiting for the transmission timing.

When the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the HTTP request including the status information transmitted by the printer 14 (step S79), the first program 24 transmits an HTTP response indicating that the HTTP request has been received to the printer 14 (step S80). .. This response is also referred to as "BrResponseBasicInfo".

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request including the status information (step S79), the first program 24 updates the corresponding database item with the received status information (step S81). In addition, the first program 24 updates the date and time of the item "update date and time" of the corresponding database with the date and time when the HTTP request including the status information is received. As a result, the administrator of the external intermediary device 12 confirms the item "update date and time" by displaying the corresponding database on the display of the external intermediary device 12, and communicates with the date and time when the status information was updated and the printer 14. It is possible to recognize the latest date and time when the operation was performed.

Then, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 transmits a command with the updated status information and the update date and time as incidental information to the management server 11 (step S82). When the management server 11 receives the command with the status information and the update date and time as incidental information (step S82), the management server 11 stores the received status information and the update date and time in a memory (not shown), and receives the status information and the update date and time. The indicated response is transmitted to the external mediator 12 (step S83). Therefore, the administrator displays the information stored in the management server 11 on the display of the external intermediary device 12 using a browser, or displays the corresponding database stored in the memory 22 of the external intermediary device 12 on the display. By making it possible, the latest date and time when the status information is received can be confirmed.

<Status report according to instructions from the management server>
That is, the instruction to the printer 14 by the first instruction command transmitted by the management server 11 is an instruction to request the transmission of the status information of the printer 14. In this case, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 transmits the status information acquired periodically to the management server 11 as a response to the first instruction command. Such an example will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6 described above.

That is, in FIG. 4 described above, after the execution of steps S31 to S38 described above, the second program 34 of the printer 14 issues a second instruction command requesting that the status information of the printer 14 be returned. Receive from 12 (step S39). This response is also referred to as "StatusCode". After that, the second program 34 transmits an HTTP request including a notification indicating that the second instruction command has been received to the external intermediary device 12 (step S41).

After that, the process proceeds to FIG. 6, and the second program 34 waits until the periodic status acquisition timing is reached (step S71: No).

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the periodic status acquisition timing has come (step S71: Yes), it determines whether or not the transmission timing for transmitting the HTTP request to the external intermediary device 12 has come, as described above. When it is determined that the transmission timing has come (step S74: Yes), the HTTP request including the status information acquired from each part in the printer 14 is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 as a response of the second instruction command (steps S76 and S79). ..

The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request including the status information, returns the HTTP response (step S80), updates the corresponding database with the received status information (step S81), and first. Status information is transmitted to the management server 11 as a response to the instruction command (step S82).

The management server 11 receives the status information as a response of the transmitted first instruction command (step S82), and transmits a response indicating that the status information has been received to the external intermediary device 12 via the Internet 15 (step S83).

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives a response indicating that the status information has been received (step S83), and ends the process.

<Variable setting of status information transmission mode>
In the above basic configuration and operation, the second program 34 makes the transmission mode variable when transmitting the third error information and the status information as the state information in the above-mentioned steps S76 and S79. The details will be explained step by step. The same method may be executed not only in step S76 and step S79 but also in step S62 described above.

For example, there is a case where the status information transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 in step S79 is different from the content transmitted before that, that is, there is a case where some change has occurred in the state of the printer 14. In such a case, the management server 11 connected to the external intermediary device 12 displays the status information after the change as appropriate. When the third error information is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 in step S76, the management server 11 similarly displays an appropriate display corresponding to the error. In addition, hereinafter, as appropriate, the above-mentioned status information, the third error information and the like are collectively referred to simply as "state information". From the above display, the administrator can recognize that some state change has occurred in the printer 14.

At this time, the display mode on the management server 11 may differ depending on the specifications of the management server 11, in other words, the specifications of the mobile management system. Therefore, when the printer 14 transmits the above-mentioned state information to the external intermediary device 12, if the method is simply to sequentially transmit the corresponding state information to the external intermediary device 12 each time a state change occurs, the display on the management server 11 It may be inconvenient for the administrator to see. Hereinafter, this will be described with reference to the comparative examples shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

<First comparative example>
For example, the management server 11 may have a specification of popping up and displaying the latest state information so as to cover the previous state information. In the case of such specifications, when a plurality of state information is sequentially transmitted from the printer 14, the later state information is displayed so as to sequentially cover the first state information in the order of transmission. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, first, status information indicating that the remaining amount of paper as a print medium is low is acquired by the second program 34 of the printer 14, and the printer 14 transfers to the external intermediary device 12. Suppose it is sent. In this case, the display unit 11A provided in the management server 11 is displayed with a pop-up display of the message "Paper is about to run out" corresponding to the above status information. The display unit 11A is an example of display means. In the specification of the present application, once the pop-up display is displayed on the display unit 11A, it is continuously displayed without disappearing unless, for example, the administrator performs an appropriate confirmation operation or cancellation operation on the management server 11. This case will be described as an example.

After that, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the status information of the system error indicating that the printing function of the printing engine 51 has failed is acquired by the second program 34 and transmitted from the printer 14, the display unit is displayed. At 11A, a pop-up display of a "system error" message is performed. At that time, as described above, the "system error" message corresponding to the later status information is displayed so as to cover the "soon to run out of paper" message corresponding to the earlier status information. In this case, the content of the status information such as the low remaining amount of paper in the starting lineup is low in importance, and the content of the status information such as the system error in the starting lineup is high in importance. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, there is not much problem even if the status information of the starting lineup with low importance is hidden by displaying the status information of the starting lineup with high importance.

<Second comparative example>
On the other hand, contrary to the above, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the system error status information is first acquired and transmitted, and then the status information of the remaining amount of paper is low. Is acquired and sent. In this case, as shown in the figure, the message "Soon to run out of paper" corresponding to the later status information is displayed so as to cover the "System error" message corresponding to the earlier status information. However, in this case, the content of the status information such as the system error of the starting lineup is highly important, and the content of the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is low. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, displaying the status information of the latecomers with low importance hides the status information of the starting pitchers with high importance, which is inconvenient for the administrator to easily overlook. Therefore, in this case, it is desirable to take some measures to avoid the above-mentioned adverse effects when transmitting information from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12.

<Other comparative examples>
On the other hand, unlike the above, the management server 11 may display a list of the plurality of status information when the plurality of status information is sequentially transmitted from the printer 14 (not shown). In the case of this specification, even if the second program 34 simply acquires the corresponding state information each time a state change occurs and sequentially transmits the corresponding state information to the external intermediary device 12, as described above. There is no problem of obscurity for the administrator such as.

<Setting of transmission mode in this embodiment>
In order to correspond to the above, in step S76 and step S79 described above, the details of the process including the variable setting of the state information transmission mode executed by the second program 34 of the present embodiment are shown by the flowchart shown in FIG. explain. The process shown in FIG. 9 is executed by the second program 34 of the printer 14 in parallel with the process shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.

That is, first, the second program 34 of the printer 14 acquires the specification information regarding the display specifications of the display unit 11A of the management server 11 via the external intermediary device 12 (step S110). This step S110 is an example of the specification information acquisition procedure, and the process executed in step S110 is an example of the specification information acquisition process. After that, the second program 34 determines whether or not the content of the acquired specification information of the display unit 11A is "a specification that pops up and displays the latest state information so as to cover the previous state information". (Step S111).

<If the specifications are for pop-up display (1)>
FIG. 10 shows an example of processing when the specification information of the display unit 11A is the above-mentioned "specification of popping up the latest state information so as to cover the previous state information" (step S111: Yes). show.

In FIG. 10, the second program 34 of the printer 14 classifies the state information acquired from each part in the printer 14 at this time according to the importance as described above (step S120). The highly important status information indicates a status in which the administrator or the person in charge needs to take appropriate measures for the printer 14 immediately, and in addition to the system error described above, the printable medium has disappeared. And so on. The less important state information represents a state in which the administrator or the person in charge does not immediately take action on the printer 14, but should pay attention to the subsequent situation, and is the above-mentioned printed medium. In addition to the remaining amount being low, the battery 50 is out of charge, and so on. In this step S120, the acquired state information is classified into a plurality of categories including, for example, high importance and low importance. The process executed in step S120 is an example of the state information classification process.

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the classification result in step S120 is classified as "high importance" (step S130). Note that step S130 is an example of the mode setting procedure, and the process executed in step S130 is an example of the mode setting process. If the second program 34 of the printer 14 is classified as "high importance" (step S130: Yes), the state information is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S170), and then this flow is terminated. do. If the classification is not "high importance" (step S130: No), this flow is terminated as it is without transmitting the status information. Note that step S170 is an example of the state information transmission procedure, and the process executed in step S170 is an example of the state information transmission process.

<Display transition of management server>
An example of the display performed by the display unit 11A of the management server 11 when the process of FIG. 10 is performed is compared with the above-mentioned comparative example by using FIGS. 11 and 12 corresponding to the above-mentioned FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively. I will explain while comparing.

First, as in the case of FIG. 7A described above, the case where the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is acquired is shown in FIG. 11A. In this case, since the content of the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is of low importance as described above (step S103: No), it is not transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 by the second program 34. Therefore, the pop-up display is not particularly displayed on the display unit 11A of the management server 11.

After that, as in FIG. 7 (b) described above, the case where the system error status information is acquired is shown in FIG. 11 (b). In this case, since the content of the system error status information is of high importance as described above (step S103: Yes), it is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 by the second program 34 (step S170). As a result, a pop-up display of the "system error" message is displayed on the display unit 11A of the management server 11. At that time, unlike the message of "system error" being displayed on the front side in the two overlapping pop-up displays as shown in FIG. 7B, the message of "system error" is displayed as a single pop-up.

On the other hand, as in FIG. 8 (a) described above, the case where the system error status information is acquired first is shown in FIG. 12 (a). In this case, since the status information of the system error is of high importance as described above (step S103: Yes), it is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S170), so that the display unit 11A displays a pop-up of "system error". ..

After that, as in FIG. 8 (b) described above, the case where the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is acquired is shown in FIG. 12 (b). In this case, as described above, the content of the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is not transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 because the content is of low importance (step S103: No). Therefore, on the display unit 11A of the management server 11, only the pop-up display of the above-mentioned "system error" is continuously performed.

<If the specifications are for pop-up display (Part 2)>
Another example of the process in the case where the specification information of the display unit 11A is the above-mentioned "specification of popping up the latest state information so as to cover the previous state information" (step S111: Yes) is shown in the figure. It is shown in 13. That is, in the example of the process shown in FIG. 10, when the state information is transmitted in step S76 or step S79, an example of the process in which only the state information representing one state is acquired has been described. That is, after the execution of the process of FIG. 6 is started, the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is transmitted in step S79, the sequence of that time is completed through each process, and then the status information of the system error is in step S79 of the next sequence. Was sent. Unlike such processing, when the state information is transmitted in step S76 or step S79, if a plurality of state information has been acquired, the order of the plurality of state information may be adjusted according to the content. good.

In FIG. 13, the second program 34 of the printer 14 classifies the acquired state information according to the importance, as described above (step S120).

After that, in the second program 34, when the above classification result is the classification to "high importance" (step S130: Yes), the state information transmission mode is set to "send in high priority mode". (Step S140). When the above classification result is the classification to "low importance" (step S130: No), the second program 34 sets the transmission mode of the state information to "send in the low priority mode" (step S130: No). Step S150). In this example, the transmission mode of the high priority mode represents the mode of transmitting in the order after the low priority state information, and the transmission mode of the low priority mode is the high priority state information. Indicates a mode in which transmission is performed in the order prior to that. In this example, step S130, step S140, and step S150 are examples of the mode setting procedure, and the processes executed in steps S130, step S140, and step S150 are examples of the mode setting process.

The second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the setting of the transmission mode in step S140 or step S150 is completed for all of the plurality of state information acquired at this time (step S160). When the setting of the transmission mode for all the state information is completed (step S160: Yes), the second program 34 externally mediates the low priority state information in the first order and the high priority state information in the second order. It is transmitted to the device 12 (step S171). In this example, step S171 is an example of the state information transmission procedure, and the process executed in step S171 is an example of the state information transmission process. After that, this flow ends.

<Display transition of management server>
An example of the display performed by the display unit 11A of the management server 11 when the process of FIG. 13 is performed will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.

In FIG. 14, in this example, at the stage of executing the transmission in step S76 or step S79, two status information, that is, the status information of the low remaining amount of paper and the status information of the system error are acquired in this order. There is. In this case, the content of the status information of low paper remaining is of low importance as described above (step S130: No), while the content of the status information of the system error is of high importance as described above (step S130: No). Yes). Therefore, the second program 34 is set so that the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is transmitted in the first order (step S150), and the status information of the system error is set to be transmitted in the second order (step S150). Step S140). That is, in this case, it is set so that it is transmitted in the same order as the acquisition order. As a result, first, the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is transmitted from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12, and the message "Paper is about to run out" is popped up on the display unit 11A. After that, the status information of the system error is transmitted from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12, and the message of "system error" is popped up so as to cover the previous message of "paper will run out soon".

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 15, at the stage of executing transmission in step S76 or step S79, two status information, that is, system error status information and low paper remaining status information are acquired in this order. ing. As described above, the content of the status information of low paper capacity is low in importance, and the content of the status information of system error is high in importance. Therefore, the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is set to be transmitted in the first order (step S150), and the status information of the system error is set to be transmitted in the latter order (step S140). That is, in this case, it is set so that it is transmitted in the reverse order of acquisition. As a result, as described above, the status information of low paper capacity is sent and the message "Soon to run out of paper" is displayed, and the status information of system error is sent so that the message of "System error" is overlaid. Is displayed.

Returning to FIG. 9, when No is determined for the specification information of the display unit 11A in step S111, in the second program 34, is the content of the specification information "a specification for switching and displaying a plurality of state information according to importance"? It is determined whether or not (step S112).

<When the specifications are for switching display by importance>
FIG. 16 shows an example of processing when the specification information of the display unit 11A is the above-mentioned “specification for switching and displaying a plurality of state information according to importance” (step S112: Yes).

In FIG. 16, the second program 34 of the printer 14 classifies the acquired state information according to the importance, as described above (step S120). After that, in the second program 34, when the above classification result is the classification to "high importance" (step S130: Yes), the transmission mode of the state information is "transmitted with high importance". (Step S142). When the above classification result is the classification to "low importance" (step S130: No), the second program 34 sets the transmission mode of the state information to "transmit with low importance". (Step S152). In this example, step S130, step S142, and step S152 are examples of the mode setting procedure, and the processes executed in steps S130, step S142, and step S152 are examples of the mode setting process.

After that, when the setting of the transmission mode for all the state information acquired at this time is completed (step S160: Yes), the second program 34 of the printer 14 simultaneously transmits the state information to the external intermediary device 12. (Step S172). It should be noted that the transmission may be performed in an appropriate order instead of simultaneous transmission. In this example, step S172 is an example of the state information transmission procedure, and the process executed in step S172 is an example of the state information transmission process. After that, this flow ends.

<Display transition of management server>
An example of the display performed by the display unit 11A of the management server 11 when the process of FIG. 16 is performed will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 17, in this example, at the stage of executing the transmission in step S76 or step S79, two status information, that is, the status information of the low remaining amount of paper and the status information of the system error are acquired. It should be noted that the order of acquisition may be which comes first and which comes later. In this case, since the content of the status information of low paper remaining is of low importance (step S130: No), the second program 34 is set to transmit the information of "low importance" with the information of "low importance" (step S130: No). Step S152). Since the content of the system error status information has high importance (step S130: Yes), it is set to be transmitted with the information of "high importance" attached (step S142). The "low importance" information and the "high importance" information are examples of classification information.

The display unit 11A of the management server 11 is provided with a plurality of display screens 11A according to importance, which can be switched between two display screens in this example. That is, a low importance screen 11a having a tab 11p and a high importance screen 11b having a tab 11q are provided, and by operating any of the tabs 11p and 11q, the low importance screen 11a and the high importance screen 11b are provided. The display can be switched. On the low importance screen 11a displayed by operating the tab 11p, the message "Paper is about to run out" is displayed in response to the status information of low paper remaining amount sent with the information of "Low importance". Is displayed. On the high importance screen 11b displayed by operating the tab 11q, the message of "system error" is displayed corresponding to the status information of the system error transmitted with the information of "high importance".

Returning to FIG. 9, when No is determined for the specification information of the display unit 11A in step S112, the content of the specification information is "a specification for displaying all the plurality of state information side by side in a list". Whether or not it is determined (step S113).

<If the specifications are for list display>
FIG. 18 shows an example of processing when the specification information of the display unit 11A is the above-mentioned “specification for displaying all the plurality of state information side by side in a listable manner” (step S113: Yes). If the determination in step S113 is No, the second program 34 of the printer 14 performs a predetermined error process (step S115), and ends this flow.

In FIG. 18, the second program 34 of the printer 14 sets the transmission mode of the state information to “transmit in the order of occurrence” (step S180). In this modification, step S180 is an example of the mode setting procedure, and the process executed in step S180 is an example of the mode setting process.

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 sequentially transmits the state information acquired at this point to the external intermediary device 12 in the order of occurrence (step S190). In this modification, step S190 is an example of the state information transmission procedure, and the process executed in step S190 is an example of the state information transmission process. After that, this flow ends.

<Display transition of management server>
An example of display when the display unit 11A of the management server 11 has the above-mentioned list display function when the process of FIG. 18 is performed will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 19, in this example, at the stage of executing the transmission in step S76 or step S79, two state information, that is, the status information of the low remaining amount of paper and the status information of the system error are acquired. It should be noted that the order of acquisition may be which comes first and which comes later. In this case, the display unit 11A displays a side-by-side list of the "paper is about to run out" message corresponding to the status information of low paper remaining and the "system error" message corresponding to the status information of the system error. Will be done.

In the state of FIG. 19, the next sequence is executed again without performing the confirmation operation and the like, and the status information of the low charge amount of the battery 50 is further executed at the stage of executing the transmission in steps S76 and S79. It is assumed that it is acquired. In this case, in addition to the above-mentioned "Paper is about to run out" and "System error" messages, the "Soon to run out of charge" message corresponding to the status information of low battery charge is displayed side by side on the display unit 11A. Will be

<Effect of embodiment>
As described above, in the present embodiment, the display specification information in the display unit 11A of the management server 11 is acquired in step S110. After that, the transmission mode of the state information at the time of transmission to the external intermediary device 12 is variably set according to the determination results in steps S111, S112, and S113. That is, in the case of Yes determination in step S111, the embodiment described in FIG. 10 or 13, the embodiment described in FIG. 13 in the case of Yes determination in step S112, and the embodiment described in FIG. 18 in the case of Yes determination in step S113. Transmission is set. As a result, regardless of the display specifications of the display unit 11A of the management server 11, the state information to be transmitted from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12 is transmitted in a transmission mode corresponding to the display specifications. be able to. As a result, the display unit 11A of the management server 11 can always display the state information in the optimum mode while avoiding the inconvenience as described above, and the convenience for the administrator can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 10, when the state of the printer 14 changes, the state information related to the changed state is divided into a plurality of categories according to the importance, and the importance is high in the above example. And low importance (step S120). By classifying the state information into a plurality of categories in this way, it is possible to individually change the processing according to the importance of each category.

Further, in the present embodiment, particularly when step S111 is a Yes determination, the display specification of the display unit 11A gives priority to the latest state information over the previous state information based on a plurality of state information sequentially transmitted from the printer 14. It is a specification to do. Specifically, in the above-mentioned example, the latest state information is popped up and displayed so as to cover the previous state information. In this case, if a method is simply in which the corresponding state information is sequentially transmitted from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12 each time a state change occurs, the state information of high importance is as in the comparative example described above with reference to FIG. The harmful effects of overlooking can occur. Therefore, the method of classifying the state information into a plurality of categories according to the importance and changing the processing individually according to the importance of each category, as described above in steps S120, S130, and S170, is particularly effective. ..

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in steps S130 and S170 of FIG. 10, state information classified into a specific category among the above-mentioned plurality of categories and a category of high importance in the above-mentioned example is externally mediated. It is transmitted to the device 12. As a result, at least the state information classified into the specific category, that is, the category of high importance can be surely delivered to the management server 11.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the state information (step S130: Yes) of the category having the highest importance is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S170), and the other state information (step S170). S130: No) is not transmitted. As a result, on the display unit 11A of the management server 11, the state information classified into the highest importance category can be reliably displayed without being disturbed by the information classified into the other categories. (FIG. 11 (b), FIG. 12 (b)). As a result, the manager can surely visually recognize the state information of the category having the highest importance and recognize the contents.

Further, in the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 16, the management server 11 attaches high-importance information or low-importance information indicating the corresponding classification to each state information. It is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12. As a result, the management server 11 can individually process each state information on the display unit 11A depending on whether the added information is the information of high importance or the information of low importance. .. As a result, the state information can always be displayed in the optimum manner, and the convenience can be improved.

In the above-described example using FIG. 16 above, the corresponding message has a low importance depending on whether the information with high importance or the information with low importance is added to each state information. It was switched between displaying on the screen 11a and displaying on the high importance screen 11a, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the management server 11 has a function of displaying the corresponding message on the display unit 11A for the status information to which the information of high importance is added, and not displaying the message for the information to which the information of low importance is added. You may be prepared. In this case, according to the above-mentioned example, similar to the example shown in FIG. 11A, when the status information of the low remaining amount of paper is acquired, the display unit 11A does not display the status, and the status of the system error. If the information is retrieved, a "system error" message will be displayed. That is, depending on the added information, it is possible to individually switch whether or not to display on the display unit 11A, and if so, how to display the information.

Further, in the present embodiment, particularly when the step S113 is a Yes determination, the display unit 11A of the management server 11 has a function of displaying a list of a plurality of status information, so that the printer 14 sequentially transmits the plurality of status information. , All of them can be displayed without omission. When the display unit 11A has a function of displaying a plurality of state information in a list in this way, as shown in FIG. 18, the corresponding state information is sequentially transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 each time a state change occurs. , Can be a simple method.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea. Hereinafter, such modification examples will be described step by step.

(1) When the transmission is stopped according to the importance of the past state quantity That is, in this modification, the state information having a higher importance than the state information to be transmitted from now on is already in the external mediator 12 If the status information has already been transmitted to, the transmission of the status information to the external mediator 12 is stopped.

For example, in the process shown in FIG. 13, when the low importance state information (S130: NO) and the high importance state information (S130: Yes) are acquired, the low importance state information → high. It was transmitted in the order of importance status information (step S171). Not limited to this, for example, if the status information transmitted in step S171 is of high importance during the execution of the immediately preceding flow, the transmission of the status information of this low importance is stopped and the status information of high importance is high. Only the state information may be transmitted to the external mediator 12.

Alternatively, for example, in the process shown in FIG. 10, a case where the state information (S130: Yes) determined to be rank A with high importance is divided into rank A1 and rank A2 in detail is considered. In this case, for example, if the status information transmitted in step S170 of the immediately preceding flow is rank A1 and the status information to be transmitted in step S170 in this flow is rank A2, the status information of this time is present. May be canceled.

By adopting the above method, in this modification, in the display unit 11A of the management server 11, the more important state information generated earlier is disturbed by the less important state information generated after that. It can be displayed reliably without any problem. As a result, the administrator can be sure to visually recognize the highly important state information and recognize its contents.

(2) When the specification-related information is used instead of the display unit specification information That is, in the above, the second program 34 acquires the display specification information of the display unit 11A of the management server 11 in step S110, and the state information accordingly. The transmission mode of is switched, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, instead of the specification information itself of the display unit 11A, the specification-related information that can indirectly infer the specification information may be acquired in step S1110, and the transmission mode of the state information may be switched accordingly. Examples of this specification-related information include the URL of the management server 11, the port number of the connection port provided in the management server 11, the user ID that uses the management server 11, and the like. If any one of these is known, the model, performance, and the like of the management server 11 can be specified, and as a result, the display specifications of the display unit 11A can be indirectly detected. Alternatively, some of these may be used in combination, in which case the display specifications of the display unit 11A can be detected more reliably. As a result, as in the case of acquiring the display specification information described above, the mode of the state information can be variably set according to the acquisition result, and the state information can always be displayed in the optimum mode.

(3) Others In addition, in the above, the printer 14 transmits the HTTP request, and the external intermediary device 12 returns the HTTP response, so that the second instruction command is transmitted from the external intermediary device 12 to the printer 14 through the firewall. An example was explained. However, other communication protocols may be used as long as the second instruction command can be transmitted from the external mediator 12 to the printer 14 through the firewall. For example, a communication protocol according to XMPPoverBOSH may be used between the external mediator 12 and the printer 14. The XMPPoverBOSH session start request is transmitted from the external mediator 12 to the printer 14, and the communication within the session established by the external mediator 12 returning the session start response is performed from the external mediator 12 to the printer 14 through the firewall. 2 Instruction commands can be sent.

Further, in the above description, the printer 14 which is a printing device has been described as an example of the electronic device to be managed by the management server 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as long as it is an electronic device capable of communicating with the external intermediary device 12, for example, a digital camera, a personal computer, a measuring device, a clock, a bar code reader, a scanner, a sewing machine, and other information devices, communication devices, control devices, and various types. The present invention can be applied to machines and the like, and the same effect can be obtained in this case as well.

In the above, the sequences and flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, 9, 9, 10, 13, 16, 18, etc. do not limit the present invention to the procedure shown in the above flow, and the gist of the invention. And, the procedure may be added / deleted or the order may be changed within a range that does not deviate from the technical idea.

In addition to the above, the methods according to the above-described embodiment and each modification may be appropriately combined and used.

In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is carried out with various modifications within a range not deviating from the gist thereof.

10 Management system 11 Management server 12 External mediator 14 Printer (example of printing device)
21 CPU
24 1st program 34 2nd program 41 CPU (an example of control means)
51 Printing engine (an example of printing means)

Claims (12)

A printing means for printing on a printing medium and
Control means and
Have,
A printing device that communicates with an external intermediary device that communicates with a management server equipped with a display means for performing a desired display via the Internet.
The control means
Specification information acquisition process for acquiring display specification information or specification-related information related to the display specification information in the display means of the management server;
The transmission mode of the state information related to the changed state to be transmitted when the state of the printing device changes is variably set according to the display specification information or the specification-related information acquired in the specification information acquisition process. Aspect setting process;
A state information transmission process for transmitting the state information corresponding to the change in the state of the printing device to the external intermediary device in the mode set in the mode setting process;
A printing device characterized by performing. In the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The control means further
When the state of the printing device changes, the state information classification process for classifying the state information related to the changed state into a plurality of categories according to the importance;
A printing device characterized by performing. In the printing apparatus according to claim 2.
In the specification information acquisition process,
Acquiring the display specification information representing a specification in which the latest state information is prioritized over the previous state information based on a plurality of the state information sequentially transmitted from the printing apparatus by the state information transmission process. A featured printing device. In the printing apparatus according to claim 3,
In the mode setting process,
A printing apparatus for setting the transmission mode, which transmits the state information classified into a specific category among the plurality of categories used in the state information classification process to the external intermediary device. In the printing apparatus according to claim 4,
In the mode setting process,
Only the state information classified into the specific category having the highest importance is transmitted to the external intermediary device, and the state information classified to other than the specific category is not transmitted to the external intermediary device. A printing apparatus characterized by setting an aspect. In the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5.
In the mode setting process,
If the state information classified into the category, which is more important than the category in which the state information to be transmitted is classified, has occurred in the past, the state information to be transmitted is sent to the external intermediary device. A printing apparatus that does not transmit and sets the transmission mode. In the printing apparatus according to claim 2.
In the mode setting process,
A printing apparatus characterized in that the transmission mode is set, in which classification information representing the corresponding classification is added to the state information and transmitted to the external intermediary device. In the printing apparatus according to claim 7.
In the specification information acquisition process,
Acquiring the display specification information representing a specification for switching the display according to the classification information attached to the state information based on a plurality of the state information sequentially transmitted from the printing apparatus by the state information transmission process. A printing device characterized by. In the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
In the specification information acquisition process,
A printing apparatus characterized by acquiring the display specification information, which represents a specification for displaying a plurality of status information in a list based on a plurality of the status information sequentially transmitted from the printing apparatus by the status information transmission process. .. In the printing apparatus according to claim 9.
In the mode setting process,
A printing apparatus characterized in that the transmission mode is set, in which the corresponding state information is transmitted to the external intermediary device each time the state of the printing apparatus changes. In the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
The specification-related information is
A printing apparatus characterized in that it is any one of the URL of the management server, the port number of the connection port provided in the management server, and the user ID that uses the management server, or a combination thereof. .. For the computing means provided in the electronic device that communicates with the external intermediary device that communicates with the management server equipped with the display means that performs the desired display via the Internet.
A specification information acquisition procedure for acquiring display specification information or specification-related information related to the display specification information in the display means of the management server, and
The transmission mode of the state information related to the changed state to be transmitted when the state of the electronic device changes is variably set according to the display specification information or the specification-related information acquired in the specification information acquisition procedure. Aspect setting procedure and
A state information transmission procedure for transmitting the state information corresponding to the change in the state of the electronic device to the external intermediary device in the mode set in the mode setting procedure, and a state information transmission procedure.
Communication processing program to execute.

Images