JP2022023597A - Image forming apparatus, control method of image forming apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus, a control method of an image forming apparatus, and a program.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes: control means which causes a print setting screen including at least one of setting items which cannot be set by a client terminal, to be displayed on the basis of an instruction from the client terminal; storage means in which a print setting set on the print setting screen is stored; control means which applies the print setting stored in the storage means to a print job received from the client terminal to cause printing to be executed; and transmission means which transmits information for identifying the print setting stored in the storage means to the client terminal in response to an acquisition request for capability information of the image forming apparatus, which is received from the client terminal after the printing executed by applying the print setting stored in the storage means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method for the image forming apparatus, and a program.

In recent years, an image forming apparatus has various functions and can be combined to generate various deliverables. When performing a print process for image formation, print data is usually transmitted using the printer driver of the target image formation device. The image forming apparatus reads the print setting information attached to the received print data, activates the corresponding function, executes the print process, and generates a product.

On the other hand, in recent years, mobile devices have become more sophisticated, and printing from high-performance mobile terminals such as smartphones has become possible. When executing print processing from these high-performance mobile terminals, the printer driver cannot normally be used, and print data is generated using the standard print function provided by the OS (Operation System) to the image forming apparatus. Send. (OS standard printing) In this case, only standard items such as number of copies, color / monochrome, double-sided, page range specification, and paper size can be set as print settings, and details that utilize the functional characteristics of the image forming apparatus. It is often not possible to make settings.

For such problems, by registering the detailed settings of the image forming device as presets in advance, the user can select from the preset list when submitting a job from OS standard printing, and the user can use the print-specific functions of the image forming device. The method of using is proposed. (Patent Document 1) Further, a printing method that enables setting change peculiar to each model by guiding from the setting screen of OS standard printing to the remote setting screen incorporated in the image forming apparatus without registering a preset is proposed. Has been done.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-175330

However, in the conventional technique of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to register preset information in advance in the operation unit of the image forming apparatus. In addition, when printing settings are made using the remote setting screen, the remote setting screen must be displayed and the print settings must be made each time the print settings are made.

The image forming apparatus described in the present specification uses the remote setting screen in the past for printing settings once set using the remote setting screen, without displaying the remote setting screen again in the next and subsequent prints. The purpose is to make the settings you have made available.

The image forming apparatus described in the present specification is a control means for displaying a print setting screen including at least one setting item that cannot be set by the client terminal based on an instruction from the client terminal, and the print setting screen. A storage means for storing the set print settings, a control means for applying the print settings stored in the storage means to a print job received from the client terminal to execute printing, and a storage means stored in the storage means. In response to the request for acquisition of the capability information of the image forming apparatus received from the client terminal after printing to which the print setting is applied, information for identifying the print setting stored in the storage means is transmitted to the client terminal. It is characterized by having a transmission means for printing.

The image forming apparatus described in the present application uses the remote setting screen in the past for printing settings once set using the remote setting screen, without displaying the remote setting screen again in the next and subsequent prints. Settings can be made available.

It is a figure which shows an example of a system configuration. It is a figure which shows the hardware block of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the software module of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the UI screen of OS standard printing. It is a figure which shows an example of the remote setting screen of the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the preset screen of the remote setting screen of the embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram of the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart of the pre-print setting acceptance process and preset information in the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart of the preset information association processing and print setting in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware block composition of a client terminal. It is a print execution sequence diagram of the second and subsequent times of the Example of this invention.

<Example 1>
Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The image forming apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention has a remote setting image that can be accessed from a Web browser or Web view of a client terminal such as a PC or a mobile terminal. On this remote setting screen, various settings of the image forming apparatus, information status, and consumables information can be referred to. Further, this remote setting screen further has a preset screen described later, and by using this setting screen, it is possible to separately specify a print setting and hold it inside the image forming apparatus before inputting print data from the client terminal. ..

A program using the mechanism of Javascript and WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is embedded in this preset screen. It is possible to acquire terminal information such as the IP address, OS information, location information, Web browser used, and Web view information of the client terminal accessed by this program.

After being set from the print settings on the preset screen, print data including the print settings set by the standard print function is input from the client terminal, but when the image forming device receives this print data, it is from the communication protocol. The preset information that can be acquired is also acquired at the same time. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a TCP / IP communication protocol such as HTTP or IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) is used when receiving print data. Then, in this embodiment, the preset information that can be acquired from these communication protocols is held together with the print data as "terminal information at the time of receiving print data". When the image forming apparatus performs the printing process, the print setting information associated with the "preset information" is derived from the "print data receiving terminal information" and applied to the print data associated with the print data to perform the printing process. As a result, even if the standard print function provided by the OS is used, detailed settings that make use of the functional characteristics of the image forming apparatus can be used to realize the printing process.

In this embodiment, the detailed settings registered on this preset screen are automatically saved as preset information by naming the image forming apparatus, and by registering them in the preset list of OS standard printing, they are preset at the next and subsequent prints. You can save time and effort.

An example of the configuration of the system in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The system according to this embodiment has an image forming apparatus 101 and a client terminal 102. The image forming apparatus 101 is connected to a plurality of client terminals 102 by a network 103.

The image forming apparatus 101 is a multifunction device having various functions such as scanning, faxing, printing, and copying, or a printer having only a printing function.

The client terminal 102 is a personal computer, a mobile phone, a PDA owned by a user, or a mobile terminal such as a multifunctional mobile phone (hereinafter referred to as a smartphone) or a tablet, which is rapidly becoming widespread in recent years. The client terminal 102 transmits print data to the image forming apparatus 101 via the network 103.

The network 103 is a wireless or wired network composed of WAN or LAN.

FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 of this embodiment. In FIG. 2, the controller unit 200 controls input / output of image signals and device information.

The central processing unit 201 reads the program stored in the auxiliary storage device 203 into the main storage device 202 and executes it. Further, the central processing unit 201 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 212.

The main storage device 202 functions as a main memory and a work memory of the central processing unit 201.

Auxiliary storage 203 is also used for the purpose of temporarily or long-term holding a large amount of data. In this embodiment, the preset information is stored in the auxiliary storage device 203.

RIP204 is dedicated hardware that expands intermediate print data into raster images. The RIP 204 processes the intermediate print data generated on the main storage device 202 by the central processing unit 201 at high speed in parallel with the execution of the central processing unit 201.

The Network 205 is connected to the network 103 and is responsible for input / output of print data and device information to and from the outside of the printer.

The operation unit I / F 206 is an interface unit with the operation unit 208, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 208 to the operation unit 208. In addition, it serves to transmit the information input from the user of the present apparatus from the operation unit 208 to the central processing unit 201.

The device I / F 207 sends out an image signal, gives a device operation instruction, and receives device information based on the instruction of the central processing unit 201. The controller unit 200 is connected to the printer engine 209 via the device I / F207.

The operation unit 208 includes a liquid crystal panel and a sound source as an output device, and a touch panel, a hard key, and a microphone as an output device.

The printer engine 209 is an output device that outputs an image signal from the controller unit 200 onto a medium, and may be either an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

FIG. 3 is a software module configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 101 in this embodiment. Each software module shown in FIG. 3 is stored as a program in the auxiliary storage device 203, loaded in the main storage device 202, and executed by the central processing unit 201.

The transmission / reception unit 301 receives print data from the Network 205.

The data analysis unit 302 lends the control unit 303 to read the print data received from the transmission / reception unit 301, and interprets the drawing information inside the print data. The drawing information extracted as a result of this data interpretation process is sent to the renderer 304 via the control unit 303 and used for the rendering process.

The control unit 303 is in charge of overall control of various processes such as reception of print data, data interpretation, image rendering, management of terminal information and print setting information described later, and remote setting screen control in this embodiment.

The renderer 304 uses RIP 204 to generate a bitmap image from the drawing information sent from the data interpretation unit 302. The generated bitmap image is sent to the printer engine via the device I / F 207, and the image forming process for the printing paper is executed.

The terminal & setting information management unit 305 manages the information of the client terminal into which the print data to be input, which will be described later, and the print setting information associated with the terminal information. The print setting information set by the preset screen of the remote setting screen is retained and managed in association with the information of the client terminal that has accessed the preset screen. When the print data is received, the information of the client terminal is extracted from the communication protocol with the print data input terminal. The print setting information associated with the same terminal information as the extracted terminal information is extracted, and the print setting information is applied to execute the print process.

The setting change screen control unit 306 controls the preset screen of the remote setting screen. On the preset screen of the remote setting screen, changes in print settings can be edited remotely.

The preset management unit 307 automatically generates a name as preset information of the setting item registered by the user in the preset setting of the remote setting screen and stores it in the preset database (preset DB) 308.

The preset DB 308 manages a list of preset information generated by the preset management unit 307. Table 1: The preset list information shows an example of preset names and detailed settings saved in the preset DB.

FIG. 4 shows an example of OS standard printing displayed on an operation unit (not shown) of the client terminal 102 in this embodiment. FIG. 4 is the main UI screen for OS standard printing, and basic print settings such as selection item 401, preset, number of copies, black and white, screen, page range specification for print target, and paper size of the printer to be sent print data are set. It has a possible basic print setting area 402. Further, it has a "print" button 403 for transmitting print data and starting a printing process, and a "cancel" button 404 for canceling a printing instruction. The "detailed setting" button 407 is a button for accessing the image forming apparatus and displaying the remote setting screen shown in FIG. 5A. The setting items that can be set on the print setting screen shown in FIG. 4 are limited, and it is not possible to set the vendor-specific setting items. When it is desired to set a setting item that cannot be set on the print setting screen shown in FIG. 4, the user selects the "detailed setting" button 407 to display the remote setting screen provided by the image forming apparatus 101.

The preset 405 in FIG. 4 is a function to name and save the setting information of each menu registered in advance by the user, and the value of the OS standard print menu is selected by displaying the list of presets and being selected by the user. Can be set at once. It is assumed that the preset in this embodiment is a preset registered in the client terminal in advance.

The remote setting preset 406 of FIG. 4 displays the name of notifying the client terminal of the information set from the remote setting screen in this embodiment as a list of preset information. Here, the name of the preset set on the remote setting screen for this printing and the name of the preset set on the remote setting screen for past printing are displayed in a selectable manner.

FIG. 5A shows a remote setting screen, and FIG. 5B shows a preset screen for performing print settings in the remote setting screen. The UI screens shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B are displayed using the Web browser and Web view of the client terminal. This is a function that allows the user to access the setting screen of the image forming apparatus from a remote location by designating the IP address in the URL of the Web browser or Web view of the client terminal without the user moving in front of the image forming apparatus 101. Depending on the security settings of the image forming apparatus 101, there are cases where user authentication is required to display this UI screen. In the above case, a screen for inputting the user ID and password is displayed on the client terminal, and the input user ID and password are notified to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus can acquire user information by performing user authentication.

FIG. 5A shows a remote setting screen of the image forming apparatus 101. The device includes a status display area 501 for displaying printer, scanner, fax status, and error information as basic device information, and paper information and cartridge information set in the paper feed stage as consumables information. Further, it is provided with a remote setting area 502 that enables confirmation of a print job status, instruction to cancel a job, change of various settings, editing of an address book, and transition to a preset screen described later. When the "pre-print setting" button 503 included in the remote setting area 502 is selected, the screen transitions to the preset screen of FIG. 5B.

FIG. 5B shows a preset screen of the image forming apparatus 101. This screen is a print setting screen on which setting items that cannot be set on the print setting screen provided by the OS shown in FIG. 4 can be set. It has a remote detailed setting area 504 that can be set in detail by utilizing the functional characteristics of the image forming apparatus 101. In the remote detailed setting area 504, after editing various detailed settings by the user, the remote print setting is confirmed by selecting the "Finish" button 505. The preset screen of FIG. 5B further has a client terminal information area 506 that displays information about the client terminal. As described above, the information of the client terminal is acquired and displayed on the Web browser and Web view using the mechanism of Javascript and WebRTC incorporated in the preset screen. Further, the name of the preset information is displayed in the client terminal information area 506. The name of the preset information stores the combination of the detailed settings selected by the preset management unit 307 on the preset screen. The preset management unit 307 automatically determines the name of the preset information from the user name when the user authenticates to the remote print setting. In this embodiment, the user name is used for the preset information, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the client terminal name, the product name of the image forming apparatus, the date, and the like may be used.

The image forming apparatus 101 acquires the detailed setting information currently set on the preset screen on the Web browser and the Web view from the confirmation notification of the remote print setting notified by selecting the "Done" button 505 of FIG. 5B. At the same time, the terminal information acquired on the Web browser and Web view of the client terminal is acquired as the above-mentioned "terminal information at the time of print setting". The acquired print setting information and "terminal information at the time of print setting" are used as link information between the print setting and the print data of the print setting link process described later. Here, the preset management unit 307 names and saves the preset DB 308 as preset information from the acquired detailed setting information and information such as "print setting terminal information". The method of registering the preset information will be described with reference to the flow chart of this embodiment described later.

Next, using FIG. 6, from the print settings on the preset screen of this embodiment by the client terminal 102 and the image forming apparatus 101, saving preset information and updating the list, transmitting print data, extracting preset information, and so on. The entire sequence up to the execution of the printing process will be described.

In S601, the client terminal 102 requests the image forming apparatus 101 for the remote setting screen shown in FIG. 5 by using a Web browser and a Web view. The above request is transmitted to the image forming apparatus according to the user's selection of the "detailed setting" button 407 on the OS standard print setting screen shown in FIG.

In S602, the image forming apparatus 101 returns the response of the remote setting screen shown in FIG. 5 to the client terminal 102.

In S603, the client terminal 102 operates the Javascript and WebRTC programs incorporated in the received preset screen of the remote setting screen (FIG. 5B) on the Web browser and Web view, and acquires its own terminal information.

In S604, the client terminal 102 edits the remote detailed setting area 504 of the preset screen of FIG. 5B to specify print settings in detail.

In S605, the client terminal 102 selects the "done" button 505 on the preset screen of FIG. 5B, and notifies the image forming apparatus 101 of the confirmation of the print setting.

In S606, the preset management unit 307 of the image forming apparatus 101 sets the name of the detailed setting information set from the client terminal 102 in S605 as the preset information. The name set here is the identification information for identifying the preset information, and is the name automatically set by the image forming apparatus. The name may be set by the user. The preset management unit 307 saves the preset information and the name in the preset DB 308.

In S607, the image forming apparatus 101 notifies the client terminal 102 of the preset information list of the preset DB 308. Here, the image forming apparatus 101 is set so that the name set in S606 is at the top of the list when sending the preset information list so that it is first selected in the client terminal 102.

In S608, the client terminal 102 acquires a preset information list from the image forming apparatus 101.

In S609, the client terminal 102 updates the list of remote setting presets 406 of the main UI screen of the OS standard printing of FIG. At this time, the client terminal 102 registers to select the first preset name in the preset information list generated in S607. In this embodiment, it has been described that a list of preset names is sent. Along with the list of preset names, the setting value of each preset may be sent to the client terminal. By doing so, the values set in each preset can be displayed on the client terminal.

In S610, the client terminal 102 selects the preset name detailed on the remote setting screen from the remote setting preset 406 of FIG.

In S611, the client terminal 102 transmits the preset name and print data selected in S610 to the image forming apparatus 101 using the communication protocols of HTTP and IPP.

In S612, the preset management unit 307 of the image forming apparatus 101 searches the preset name acquired in S611 from the preset list of the preset DB 308, and extracts the detailed setting information. Then, the extracted detailed setting information is added to the print settings included in the print data received in S611, and the process proceeds to the print process of S613.

In S613, the image forming apparatus 101 reflects the print settings extracted in S612 in the print process of the print data received in S611, and performs print control.

By the above sequence, from the print setting process on the preset screen of this embodiment by the client terminal 102 and the image forming apparatus 101 to the saving of preset information and the update of the list, the transmission of print data, the extraction process of preset information, and the print process. Is carried out. In S607 to S611, the case where the user transmits the name of the preset set on the remote setting screen to the client terminal and selects the remote setting preset on the client terminal has been described as an example. If the preset setting information stored in S606 is applied to the print data received from the client terminal in S611, the processes of S607 to S610 may not be performed. For example, when the remote setting set in S605 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus, the identification information of the print data is notified to the image forming apparatus. This identification information is the identification information generated by the client terminal. The image forming apparatus stores the identification information notified from the client terminal and the print setting set on the remote setting screen in association with each other. When the client terminal transmits the print data to the image forming apparatus in S611, the printing data to which the above identification information is added is transmitted to the image forming apparatus. Then, the image forming apparatus may add the print setting stored in the image forming apparatus to the print data in association with the identification information of the print data added to the print data, and execute printing.

Next, the flow of the pre-print setting acceptance process of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The image forming apparatus 101 transmits the remote setting screen shown in FIG. 5 from the client terminal 102 to the Web browser and the Web view. The client terminal 102 implements a predetermined print setting through the preset screen of the remote setting screen, and notifies the image forming apparatus 101 of the completion of the setting. A mechanism for acquiring the terminal information of the client terminal 102 is programmed in the preset screen, and by reading this when the Web browser or Web view displays it, the terminal information of the client terminal 102 is extracted. Upon receiving the notification of the completion of the print setting on the preset screen, the image forming apparatus 101 receives the set print setting information and the acquired terminal information from the Web browser and the Web view and internally holds them. When the client terminal 102 requests the remote setting screen request from the image forming apparatus 101 in S601 of FIG. 6, this flow is started.

In S1001, the central processing unit 201 transmits the remote setting screen to the client terminal 102, and displays the remote setting screen on the Web browser and Web view.

In S1002, the central processing unit 201 accepts editing of print settings using the remote setting screen and the preset screen.

In S1003, the central processing unit 201 determines whether the "done" button 505 has been pressed in order to determine whether the print setting has been completed on the preset screen. Here, if the "Done" button 505 has not been pressed yet, the process returns to S1001 and the display of the remote setting screen and the preset screen is repeated. If the "Finish" button 505 is pressed, the process proceeds to S1004.

In S1004, the central processing unit 201 generates preset information from the setting information and information such as "user name" by the preset management unit 307, and automatically names and saves the preset DB 308. Each print setting registered in the preset DB 308 is identified based on the generated preset information. By including the user name in the preset information, it is possible to easily identify which user has set the preset on the remote setting screen. In addition, by automatically generating the name of the preset, the user can save the trouble of setting the name.

In S1005, the central processing unit 201 notifies the client terminal 102 of the list of preset information stored in the preset DB as the list information of the remote setting preset of the image forming apparatus 101.

By the above processing, the preset information of the pre-print setting of the image forming apparatus 101 is saved and the notification processing to the client terminal 101 is executed.

The flow of the preset information associating process of the image forming apparatus 101 in this Example will be described with reference to FIG. After the preset list information notification process shown in FIG. 7 is executed, the image forming apparatus 101 receives the print data to which the print setting is applied from the client terminal 102 from the client terminal 102. At that time, the preset name of the remote setting preset that can be acquired from the communication protocol used is also acquired at the same time. When the reception of the print data and the preset name is completed, the print setting matching the preset name is extracted by referring to the preset information list held in the preset DB 308. If the corresponding preset name can be searched, the print setting is applied to the print data and the print process is performed. If the corresponding preset name cannot be searched, the default print settings are applied and the print process is performed. When the image forming apparatus 101 detects the transmission of the print data and the preset name from the client terminal 102 in S611 of FIG. 6, this flow is started.

In S2001, the central processing unit 201 receives the print data transmitted from the client terminal 102.

In S2002, the central processing unit 201 extracts the preset name from the communication protocol used at the same time when the print data is received, and acquires it as the preset information.

In S2003, the central processing unit 201 searches for a preset name that matches the preset name acquired in S2002 and the preset information list managed by the preset management unit 307 in the preset DB 308.

In S2004, the central processing unit 201 determines in S2003 whether the preset management unit 307 has the same name from the list of preset DB 308 and the associated print setting information exists. If it does not exist in the list of preset information, the process proceeds to S2005. On the other hand, if there is a print setting that matches the preset name in the list of preset information, the process proceeds to S2006.

In S2005, the central processing unit 201 reflects the set value so that the print setting applied to the print process is executed by the default print setting.

In S2006, the central processing unit 201 reflects the set value of the preset information whose preset names match in the preset DB 308 for the print process.

In S2007, the central processing unit 201 executes the printing process according to the set print setting value.

By the above processing, the preset information association processing of the image forming apparatus 101 and the printing reflecting the print settings in this embodiment are executed.

FIG. 9 is a hardware block diagram illustrating the configuration of the client terminal 102 of this embodiment.

The central processing unit 601 reads the program stored in the auxiliary storage device 603 into the main storage device 602 and executes it. Further, the central processing unit 601 comprehensively controls each device connected to the system bus 607.

The main storage device 602 functions as a main memory and a work memory of the central processing unit 601.

The auxiliary Kikuo device 603 stores an operating system (OS) and various control program bodies. Since the auxiliary storage device 603 is also used for the purpose of temporarily or long-term holding a large amount of data, the printed document transmitted to the image forming apparatus 101 is held in this area.

The Network 604 is connected to the network 104, is connected to an information terminal outside the client terminal 102 by a priority or wireless network, and is responsible for input / output of communication data. Through this Network 604, it is possible to acquire the remote setting screen and the preset screen of the image forming apparatus 101 described in this embodiment, acquire the preset information list, and transmit the print data.

The operation unit I / F 605 is an interface unit with the operation unit 606, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 606 to the operation unit 606. Further, the operation unit I / F 605 serves to transmit the information input from the user to the apparatus by the operation unit 606 to the central processing unit 601.

The operation unit 606 includes a liquid crystal panel and a sound source as an output device, and a touch panel, a hard key, and a microphone as an input device. The operation unit 606 acquires the information of the remote setting screen and the preset screen of the image forming apparatus 101 via the Network 604, and displays the screen on the Web browser and the Web view. The operation unit 606 operates the remote setting screen and the preset screen displayed by the user, and performs the preset settings described in this embodiment. In addition, the preset information automatically registered in advance is also reflected in the list of remote setting presets on the OS standard print UI screen of the operation unit 606 by notification from the image forming apparatus 101 after pressing the "Done" button on the remote setting screen. Will be done.

A disk drive for a portable disk storage medium such as a CD or DVD, a flash memory, a memory reader / writer for a portable non-volatile storage medium such as a microSD, or the like may be connected to the system bus 607. The printed document of the embodiment can also be stored in the auxiliary storage device 603 via the portable storage medium.

FIG. 10 shows a sequence diagram when another print data is input to the image forming apparatus 101 by a user after saving and printing preset information from the remote setting screen in the print sequence of FIG. 6 in this embodiment. ..

In S701, the client terminal 102 selects the image forming apparatus 101 in the OS standard printing 401 shown in FIG. The client terminal 102 transmits a request for acquiring capability information to the selected image forming apparatus 101. The ability information is information related to image processing and print settings that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 101. For example, it is information such as whether or not color printing is possible, whether or not double-sided printing is possible, and whether or not an aggregation setting for printing a plurality of pages on one page is possible.

In S702, the image forming apparatus 101 notifies the client terminal 102 of the preset information list stored in the preset DB 308. In S702, the image forming apparatus 101 notifies the preset information list in addition to the information regarding the image processing and the print setting that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 101. By doing so, it is possible to notify the client terminal of the information necessary for applying the print settings set on the remote setting screen so far to the print job. In this embodiment, the list of preset names is transmitted to the client terminal, but the preset names and the setting values associated with the presets may be transmitted.

In S703, the client terminal 102 acquires a preset information list from the image forming apparatus 101.

In S704, the client terminal 102 updates the list of remote setting presets 406 on the main UI screen of the OS standard printing of FIG.

In S705, the client terminal 102 selects a preset name pre-registered at the time of past printing from the user in the list of remote setting presets 406 of FIG. By doing so, the user can display the remote setting screen again and use the remote setting set in the past again without making the print setting.

After that, the steps from S706 to S712 have the same sequence as the processes from S611 to S613 in FIG.

By the above sequence, when the client terminal 101 inputs the second print data from the user to the image forming apparatus 101, the pre-settings of S601 to S605 in FIG. 6 are omitted, and the print settings automatically registered in the past are omitted. Can be selected as the remote setting preset 406. According to this embodiment, the trouble of displaying the remote setting screen on the client terminal 101 and pre-registering the detailed settings every time printing is started can be solved by automatically registering the detailed settings as preset information at the time of pre-registration. can.

<Other embodiments>
In the above embodiment, the presets displayed in the preset 405 of FIG. 4 are set by collectively setting the setting values of the OS standard printing. In addition to the OS standard printing setting values, vendor-specific setting values may also be set collectively. In this case, the user can set the print setting as a preset by accessing the image forming apparatus by using the Web browser or the like of the client terminal. The set print settings that are presets are stored in the image forming apparatus. Then, at the timing described later in S702, the image forming apparatus transmits a list of registered preset names to the client terminal. The print settings registered together with the name may be notified to the client terminal. By doing so, it is possible to perform printing registered in advance in the image forming apparatus without having to make settings again by the user.

The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program code. This is the process to be executed. In this case, the computer program and the storage medium in which the computer program is stored constitutes the present invention.

Claims (10)

A control means for displaying a print setting screen including at least one setting item that cannot be set on the client terminal based on an instruction from the client terminal.
A storage means for storing the print settings set on the print setting screen, and
A control means for applying the print setting stored in the storage means to a print job received from the client terminal to execute printing, and a control means.
To identify the print setting stored in the storage means in response to a request for acquisition of capability information of the image forming apparatus received from the client terminal after printing to which the print setting stored in the storage means is applied. An image forming apparatus comprising: a transmission means for transmitting information to the client terminal. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is information indicating that the print setting is a setting used in past printing. A receiving means for receiving information for identifying a user from the client terminal,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information is set based on the information received by the receiving means. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image forming apparatus processes the received print job according to a predetermined protocol. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined protocol is an Internet Printing Protocol. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the print setting set on the print setting screen includes setting values of a plurality of setting items. The print job includes print settings that can be set on the client terminal.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control means adds the print settings stored in the storage means to the print settings included in the print job. The control means may execute the other print job by applying the print setting identified based on the information in accordance with the receipt of the other print job including the information transmitted by the transmission means. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A control process for displaying a print setting screen including at least one setting item that cannot be set on the client terminal based on an instruction from the client terminal.
A storage process for storing the print settings set on the print setting screen, and
A control step of applying the print settings stored in the storage process to a print job received from the client terminal to execute printing, and
In order to identify the print setting stored in the storage step in response to a request for acquisition of capability information of the image forming apparatus received from the client terminal after printing to which the print setting stored in the storage step is applied. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus, which comprises a transmission step of transmitting the information of the above to the client terminal. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the control method of the image forming apparatus according to claim 9.

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