JP2022067915A - Server system and control method for server system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a server system and information processor, capable of executing printing via cloud print service using the printing data reflected with the setting that the OS or cloud print service cannot reflect to the print setting.SOLUTION: A server system includes: first reception means for receiving the information of a printer requested for registration; acquisition means for acquiring a driver generating PDL data to be transmitted to the registered printer from some other server system; a second reception means for receiving image data to be printed by the printer from the information processor; and means for causing the acquired driver to generate PDL data based on the received image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

It relates to an information processing device, a control method and program of the information processing device, and a server system capable of communicating with the information processing device.

A printing system is known in which a user registers information of a printing device in a cloud print service in advance and sends print data to the printing device via the cloud print service to print. The user accesses the cloud print service from an information processing device such as a PC, selects a printing device to be used for printing from the printing devices registered in the cloud print service, and instructs printing of print data.

The information processing device generates a print job and puts it in the print queue on the cloud print service. The printing device accesses the cloud print service, acquires a print job spooled in the print queue generated on the cloud print service, and outputs the print job (Patent Document 1).

Representative examples of cloud print services include, for example, GoogleCloudPrint (registered trademark) (Patent Document 1), Microsoft HybridPrint (registered trademark), and uniFLOW Online (registered trademark).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-238924

The module for submitting a print job from the client terminal to the cloud print service is provided as a standard printing system by the operating system (OS) of the client terminal.

In the past, when printing using a printer driver created by each vendor, each vendor distributed a module to the client computer that could generate print data corresponding to the vendor-specific function. Then, the module generated print data reflecting the vendor-specific settings. Therefore, it was difficult to reflect the vendor-specific settings in the print data without installing the printer driver on the client computer.

The server system described in the present invention aims to execute printing via the cloud print service by using print data reflecting settings that cannot be reflected in the print settings of the OS or the cloud print service.

A server system that can generate print data based on image data received from an information processing device.
A reception means for accepting registration of printing device information,
An acquisition means for acquiring a driver for generating PDL data to be transmitted to a printing device whose registration has been accepted from another server, and an acquisition means.
A receiving means for receiving print data to be printed by the printing device from the information processing device, and
A server system comprising: means for converting the received print data into PDL data by the acquired driver.

Printing via the cloud print service can be executed using print data that reflects the settings that cannot be reflected in the print settings by the OS or the cloud print service.

In this embodiment, it is a figure which shows an example of the hardware composition in the client computer 100. It is a figure which shows an example of the network configuration in this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram in the printer driver distribution service 300 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block in the print extension application distribution server 400 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block in the cloud print service 500 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the sequence which registers the printer 200 in the cloud print service 500 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the information database of the printer held by the cloud print service 500 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the information database of the printer held by the printer driver distribution service 300 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the information database of the printer held by the print extension application distribution server 400 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is a figure which shows an example of the sequence which installs a print setting application 1052 in a client computer 100. In this embodiment, it is a figure which shows an example of the operation panel which displayed the printable job list received from the cloud print service 500. In this embodiment, it is a figure which shows an example of the print common dialog displayed on the client computer. It is a figure which shows an example of the print setting screen in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the capacity information of a printer in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the printing process in the cloud print service 500 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is a sequence diagram in the case of generating PDL data by the cloud print service. In this embodiment, it is a sequence diagram when the print extension application generates PDL data. In the second embodiment, it is a sequence diagram in the case of generating PDL data using the PDL conversion service. It is a figure which shows an example of the network configuration in 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the printer driver distribution service in 3rd Embodiment. In the third embodiment, it is a sequence diagram which shows the process of registering the printer information in a cloud print service. In the third embodiment, it is an example of a table showing information on the driver package managed by the driver distribution service. In the third embodiment, it is an example of a table showing information of a printer registered in the cloud print service.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a client computer (information processing device) that uses the cloud print service in the present embodiment. A detailed explanation is given below.

The CPU 101 controls the entire device according to a program stored in the ROM 1021 or RAM 1022 of the main storage device 102 or the auxiliary storage device 105.

The RAM 1022 is also used as a work area when the CPU 101 performs various processes. The auxiliary storage device 105 records a cloud driver 1050, an operating system (OS) 1053, an application 1051, a print extension application 1052, and the like. In the following description, the main storage device 102 and the auxiliary storage device 105 are collectively referred to as a storage device.

An input device such as a pointing device 109 or a keyboard 108 represented by a mouse / touch panel is connected to the system bus 107 through an input I / F 103 and is a device for a user to give various instructions to a computer.

The output I / F 104 is an interface for outputting data to the outside, and outputs data to an output device such as a monitor 110 or a panel 111. Further, the client computer 100 has a shooting function and is equipped with a camera 112.

The client computer 100 is connected to the printer 200 and each system described later in FIG. 2 via the network 150 via the communication I / F 106. Further, 107 is a common data system bus for exchanging data between I / Fs and modules.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a printing system that simplifies the network environment showing the present embodiment.

The client computer 100 and the printer 200 are connected to the network 150. The client computer 100 and the printer 200 are connected to the same intra-network and are in a communicable state.

Further, the printer 201 and the printer 202 are connected to another intranet 204, and the network 150 is connected to the intranet 204 via the Internet 203. A printer driver distribution service 300, a print extension application distribution service 400, and a cloud print service 500 are connected to the Internet 203.

The printer driver distribution service 300 is a server system composed of one or a plurality of information processing devices that execute a service of distributing a printer driver to a client computer 100 on a Web basis. The client computer 100 searches for the printer 200 by a protocol such as WSD (Web Services for Devices) or IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). The client computer 100 acquires and installs a printer driver specified based on the printer identification information and model information of the found printer 200 from the printer driver distribution service 300. The printer driver registered in the printer driver distribution service 300 is updated by the printer vendor. The client computer 100 automatically or manually obtains a new version of the printer driver from the printer driver distribution service 300, and updates the installed printer driver.

The print extension application distribution service 400 is a server system composed of one or a plurality of information processing devices that execute a service for distributing an application executed by the client computer 100. The print extension application is an application for expanding the print function provided by the cloud print service or the OS. With the print function provided by the cloud print service and the OS, only standard functions that can be used by printers of any vendor, such as color mode and double-sided printing, can be set for printing. By using the print extension application, it is possible to use printing functions that cannot be set by the cloud print service or the printing function provided by the OS, such as needleless staples, poster printing, and saddle stitch binding. Become.

When the client computer 100 receives a user operation requesting the installation of the print extension application, the client computer 100 accesses the print extension application distribution service 400 and installs the print extension application. Further, when the application identifier is described in the Inf (Information) file of the printer driver installed in the client computer 100, the print extension application is installed. The application identifier is application identification information for identifying the application corresponding to the printer registered in the cloud print service 500 among the applications registered in the print extension application distribution service 400. The client computer 100 accesses the print extension application distribution service 400 and installs the print extension application corresponding to the identifier described in the Inf file.

The cloud print service 500 is a service constructed on the cloud, which is a server system composed of one or a plurality of information processing devices. In the present embodiment, the cloud print service 500 can be connected to each intranet, and can be connected to the client computer 100, the printer 200, the printer 201, and the printer 202 via the Internet. The cloud print service 500 manages an account using a user ID and a password, and the client computer 100 accesses the cloud print service 500 using the account information entered by the user.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the client computer 100 stores the URLs of the cloud print service 500 and the print extension application distribution service 400 in advance. Further, it is assumed that the cloud print service 500 stores the URL of the printer driver distribution service 300 in advance.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the printer driver distribution service 300. The printer driver distribution service 300 is a server system composed of one or a plurality of information processing devices having the same configuration as the information processing device shown in FIG. The printer driver registration unit 301 and the printer driver response unit 302 are realized by the CPU of the information processing device constituting the printer driver distribution service 300 executing a program.

The printer driver distribution service 300 is a service that exists on the cloud via the Internet, and enables distribution of packages related to printer drivers to external services and client computers 100. The package related to the printer driver is, for example, a printer driver or a driver expansion package.

The printer driver registration unit 301 registers the uploaded package in the printer driver database 310 when the external service and the client computer 100 instruct to register the package related to the printer driver. The printer driver registration unit 301 registers, for example, a printer driver distributed by a printer vendor or the like and a driver extension package for extending the printer driver in the printer driver database 310.

The printer driver response unit 302 acquires the corresponding package from the printer driver database 310 and responds when there is an acquisition request regarding the printer driver or the extended package from the external service or the client computer 100. For example, suppose that a request for a printer driver corresponding to a printer 200 for which a print queue is generated is received from a client computer 100. The printer driver response unit 302 reads the printer driver corresponding to the printer 200 from the printer driver database 310 and transmits the printer driver to the client computer 100. The printer driver response unit 302 can also receive a request from the client computer 100 to acquire a driver expansion package for extending the installed printer driver. In that case, the printer driver response unit 302 reads out the driver extension package corresponding to the requested printer driver from the printer driver database 310 and sends it to the client computer 100.

The printer driver database 310 stores a database described later in FIG. 5B. In addition to printer drivers corresponding to various printers, the printer driver database 310 also stores the driver expansion package 303.

The driver expansion package 303 is an example of a package distributed from the printer driver distribution service 300. The driver expansion package 303 has a driver information unit 304 and a device capability information unit 305. The driver information unit 304 has information such as a HWID for identifying the printer, a COID (Compatible ID), information indicating that the package is a driver expansion package, and a version of the driver expansion package 303. The device capability information unit 305 has device capability information and prohibition information of the corresponding printer 200. The device capability information is, for example, information such as whether the printer 200 supports color printing or double-sided printing. In addition to the above capability information, the capability information included in the driver expansion package 303 is printed using a plurality of types of paper, such as whether vendor-specific needleless binding is possible, saddle stitch binding is possible, and so on. Includes whether or not mixed paper printing is possible.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the print extension application distribution service 400. The application registration unit 401 and the application response unit 402 are realized by executing a program by the CPUs of one or a plurality of information processing devices constituting the print extension application distribution service 400.

The print extension application distribution service 400 is a service that exists on the cloud via the Internet, and enables distribution of the print extension application to an external service or a client computer 100. The print extension application distribution service 400 is not limited to the print extension application 1052, and may be capable of distributing other applications.

The application registration unit 401 registers the uploaded application in the application database 410 when the external service and the client computer 100 instruct to register the print extension application 1052.

When the application response unit 402 receives a request for acquisition of the print extension application 1052 from the external service or the client computer 100, the application response unit 402 acquires the corresponding application from the application database 410 and transmits it to the request source.

The application database 410 is a database distributed by a vendor or the like and in which information on a print setting application that has received a registration request from an external service or a client computer 100 is registered. Details of the information registered in the application database 410 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5C.

The print extension application 1052 in this embodiment has a setting file unit 10521 and an execution file unit 10522. The setting file unit 10521 has application identification information for identifying the print extension application 1052, and information such as HWID and COID for identifying the corresponding printer 200. The executable file unit 10522 is an executable file unit of the print extension application 1052. The executable file unit 10522 can display the print setting screen by receiving the print setting UI (User Interface), the processing for the print job at the time of printing execution, and the push notification from the external service. In the present embodiment, the execution file unit 10522 of the print extension application includes a module that generates PDL (Page Description Language) data from the print data. The executable file unit 10522 generates PDL data that reflects the print settings set on the print setting screen provided by the print extension application. Then, the generated PDL data is transmitted to the cloud print service 500.

By generating PDL data with a print extension application, even if print settings are made for non-standard items such as IPP that cannot be interpreted by the cloud print service, print data that reflects the print settings can be generated. Can be done.

FIG. 3C is a functional block diagram of the cloud print service 500 showing an embodiment of the present invention. Each functional block is realized by executing a program by the CPUs of one or a plurality of information processing devices constituting the cloud print service 500.

The cloud print service 500 is a service that exists on the cloud via the Internet, and can provide functions related to printing. The present embodiment has the functions of a printer registration unit 501, a print queue generation unit 502, a printer list generation unit 503, a search response unit 504, and a printer database 510. Further, it has the functions of the print job management unit 505, the print job generation unit 506, and the print job storage area 511. Further, these functions may be provided in another cloud print service linked with the cloud print service 500.

Hereinafter, the case where the printer 200 is registered in the cloud print service 500 and printing is performed using the printer 200 is described as an example, but the printer 201 and the printer 202 that can be connected to the cloud print service 500 can also be realized by the same processing. It is possible.

When the printer 200 gives an instruction to register the printer, the printer registration unit 501 generates a print queue by using the print queue generation unit 502, and associates the generated print queue with the printer identification information in the printer database 510. to register. The fact that the print queue of the printer and the printer identification information are registered in association with each other in this way is described as the fact that the printer is registered. Various attributes may be added to the printer registered here. The various attributes correspond to, for example, the location of the printer.

The print queue generation unit 502 generates a print queue on the cloud print service 500 according to the control of the printer registration unit 501. When the client computer 100 sends a print instruction to the cloud print service 500, the print job is registered in the print queue generated by the print queue generation unit 502.

The printer list generation unit 503 generates a list of registered printers. When the client computer 100 requests a list of printers registered in the cloud print service 500, a list of printers is generated.

The search response unit 504 responds to the client computer 100 with the information of the registered printer based on the printer search for the cloud print service 500 from the client computer 100. The search response unit 504 passes the search result to the printer list generation unit 503 to generate a printer list. Then, the printer list generated by the printer list generation unit 503 is returned to the client computer 100.

The print job management unit 505 receives image data and print settings from the client computer 100, and transmits the print job generated by the print job generation unit 506 to the printer 200. Further, the print job management unit 505 saves the print job generated by the print job generation unit 506 in the print job storage area 511.

The printer database 510 is a database that stores information about printers registered in the cloud print service 500. The contents stored in the printer database 510 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5A.

First, a process of registering the printer 200 in the cloud print service 500 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of a process of registering the printer 200 showing the embodiment of the present invention in the cloud print service 500. In the present embodiment, the printer 200 is accessed from the client computer 100, and the registration request of the printer 200 is transmitted to the cloud print service 500 by operating the printer 200.

The printer 200 supports a cloud print function (a function of receiving a print job from a cloud print service and printing) and a Web UI function for operating the printer 200 from the client computer 100. The Web UI function is a function of generating a UI and publishing it on a network. The client computer 100 supports a cloud print client function (a function of transmitting a file to a cloud print service) and a Web UI client (for example, a Web browser) for operating a Web UI. Further, the cloud print service 500 represents a cloud print service on the Internet.

The user first uses the WebUI client of the client computer 100 to open the WebUI of the printer 200, and selects a button for registering the printer in the cloud print service on the WebUI. When the selection is made, in S410, the client computer 100 sends a registration request to the cloud print service to the printer 200.

In S411, the printer 200 transmits the registration request to the cloud print service to the cloud print service 500 according to the registration request to the cloud print service received in S410. As described above, in the present embodiment, the WebUI client of the client computer 100 transmits the registration request of the printer 200 to the cloud print service 500. This request may be transmitted by operating from an input device attached to the printer 200, for example, a panel. At this time, the printer 200 sends a printer registration request to the cloud print service 500 without making a request from the client computer 100.

In S411, the information of the printer 200 is attached to the cloud print service registration request transmitted to the cloud print service 500. The information of the printer 200 includes the name of the printer 200, the information for identifying the model of the printer (HWID), and the COID for identifying the type of the printer such as an inkjet printer or a laser printer. Further, the printer information includes IP address information and capability information files related to functions standardized by IPP and the like.

Upon receiving the registration request in S411, the cloud print service 500 causes the print queue generation unit 502 to create a print queue for transmitting a print job to the printer 200 in S412. The printer registration unit 501 registers the printer information and the capability information in the printer database 510, and generates a record of the printer for which the registration request has been made. Further, the print queue generation unit 502 generates a print queue. This print queue is created by using the received printer 200 information, such as the printer name (device name), the HWID and COID that identify the printer model, and the printer IP address.

Next, in S413, the cloud print service 500 transmits a download request for the driver extension package 303 to the printer driver distribution service 300. This is a request for receiving the driver expansion package 303 corresponding to the printer registered in the cloud print service 500. The cloud print service 500 transmits a download request for the driver extension package 303 and the HWID and COID of the printer 200 to the printer driver distribution service 300.

In S414, the printer driver distribution service 300 transmits the corresponding driver expansion package 303 to the cloud print service 500 based on the received HWID and COID. The printer driver distribution service 300 identifies from the printer driver database 310 a driver extension package whose extension flag is a TRUE package and which matches the received HWID from the printer driver database shown in FIG. 5B. If the extension flag is TRUE but the driver extension package that matches the received HWID is not specified, the printer driver distribution service 300 identifies the driver extension package that matches the received COID with the extension flag TRUE. Then, the printer driver distribution service 300 transmits the printer expansion package specified by the cloud print service 500. If the driver expansion package can be specified only by the HWID, in S413, only the HWID may be transmitted to the printer driver distribution service 300.

Here, the printer driver database will be described with reference to FIG. 5B. FIG. 5B is an example of the printer driver database 310 held by the printer driver distribution service 300. The package name refers to the name of the package acquired from the driver information unit 304 at the time of registration. HWID refers to identification information (model-specific identification information) used when identifying the model of the printer 200. The COID is identification information that identifies the category of the printer that uses the driver. Package refers to the name of the package that includes the driver expansion package 303. The package may be information such as a file path as long as it is information that can identify the driver or driver extension package corresponding to the record. The extension indicates whether the driver extension package 303 is an extension file. If the extension is "FALSE", the package is a printer driver, not an expansion package. On the other hand, when the extension is "TRUE", the package is not a printer driver but a package that extends the driver. The application identifier is the identification information of the application used when expanding the print setting screen by using the capacity information stored in the printer expansion package. In this embodiment, only the printer expansion package has the application identifier, but the printer driver may have the application identifier.

The printer driver database shown in FIG. 5B is updated by the printer driver registration unit 301. The printer driver registration unit 301 analyzes the driver information unit 304 when registering the package in the printer driver database 310. The printer driver registration unit 301 acquires information such as a package name, HWID and COID, and whether or not it is a driver expansion package, and registers it in the printer driver database 310 together with the driver expansion package 303.

In S415, the cloud print service 500 analyzes the device capability information unit 305 of the downloaded driver expansion package 303 and expands the print queue. The cloud print service 500 acquires the capability information of the printer 200 from the device capability information unit 305 of the driver expansion package 303. Then, the cloud print service 500 updates the capability information of the printer corresponding to the print queue of the printer information of the printer database 510. In S415, the cloud print service 500 rewrites the capability information associated with the print queue with the capability information acquired from the driver expansion package. Note that the cloud print service 500 may add the capability information related to the setting items not associated with the print queue among the capability information acquired from the driver extension package to the capability information corresponding to the print queue. Further, the cloud print service 500 may acquire information indicating the hardware configuration of the printer 200 from the printer 200, and determine the capability information from the capability information and the hardware configuration information included in the driver expansion package. Further, the cloud print service 500 may acquire information indicating the hardware configuration of the printer 200 from the printer 200, and determine the capability information from the capability information and the hardware configuration information included in the driver expansion package.

By the above processing, the print queue is expanded with the device capability information peculiar to the vendor for the printer 200 registered in the cloud print service 500. Then, in S416, the printer database 510 is updated with the information of the expanded printer 200. By the above processing, the capacity information expanded by the driver expansion package is registered in the printer database 510 as the capacity information corresponding to the print queue.

FIG. 5A is an example of the printer database 510 held by the cloud print service 500. The device name refers to the name (device name) of the printer acquired from the printer 200 at the time of registration. HWID refers to an identifier (model-specific identifier) used to identify the model of the printer 200. The COID is identification information for identifying a printer category such as whether the printer 200 is an inkjet printer or a laser beam printer. The IP address refers to the IP address of the printer to be connected. The package refers to the package name of the driver expansion package 303 used to expand the print queue corresponding to the printer. If it is not expanded, it will be null. Further, although not shown, device capability information and the like are registered in a database in a JSON (Javascript Object Notification) format. If the printer capability information is expanded by the driver expansion package, the expanded capability information is stored. The format in which the device capability information is stored is not limited to JSON and may be any other data format. Further, FIG. 5A may store the information of the printer and the information of the user who can use the printer in association with each other.

FIG. 9 is an example of the ability information stored in association with the print queue. As an example, the ability information is in JSON format, and each setting represents a function. In addition, each function has options that can be set in an array format.

Reference numeral 901 indicates standard capability information defined by IPP or the like. “Duplex” is a setting item related to the double-sided function, and indicates that it has “Duplex” representing double-sided printing and “One-Sided” representing single-sided printing as options for the setting item. "Color" is a setting item related to color printing, and indicates that it has "Mono" indicating black-and-white printing and "Color" indicating color printing as options. "Orientation" is a setting item regarding the orientation of the paper used for printing, and indicates that it has "Portrait" indicating the portrait direction and "Landscape" indicating the landscape direction as options. The capability information described in 901 is a standard setting item or option defined by IPP or the like that can be provided from the printer 200 to the cloud print service 500. By expanding the device capability information using the driver expansion package, even standard setting items defined by the IPP or the like described in 901 can have vendor-specific options. For example, by expanding "Standard", which is a setting item related to paper binding, "Saddle Stitch" indicating saddle stitching is added to "Standard left top", which indicates one upper left binding, which is a standard option. You will be able to set it.

Reference numeral 902 is capability information extended by the driver expansion package 303, for example, capability information regarding vendor-specific setting items. The functions are Extension_Setting1 and Extension_Setting2, and the options are Extension_option1 and Extension_option2. The Extension setting includes, for example, a setting related to needleless binding and a setting related to paper mixing in which a plurality of types of paper are mixed in one job. If it is a paper mixing function, a character string indicating paper mixing is entered in "Extension_Setting1". Then, for example, a character string indicating an option indicating that A3 and A4 papers are used, and a character string indicating an option indicating that the "Extension_option2" B4 and B5 papers are used are entered in "Extension_option1". By referring to the file shown in FIG. 9 by the print extension application, it is possible to provide a print setting screen in which vendor-specific setting items can be set.

The explanation is returned to FIG. In S417, when the registration in the printer database 510 is completed, the cloud print service 500 transmits a cloud print service registration request response including a registration URL for cloud print registration and a registration URL presentation request to the printer 200.

In S418, the printer 200 receives the cloud print service registration request response and the registration URL presentation request, and the printer 200 outputs the registration URL information. In S418, the printer 200 displays the URL on the monitor 110 or prints a piece of paper on which the registered URL information is described, and notifies the user of the registered URL. Further, the printer 200 may notify the client computer 100 of the registration URL via the Web UI.

In S419, the user accesses the cloud print service 500 indicated by the registration URL presented by the printer 200. In that case, since it is necessary to log in to a cloud account that can access the cloud print service 500, it is necessary to input the user ID and the password.

The cloud print service 500 links the user and the printer 200 from the registration URL including the cloud account and the printer information. As a method of associating, for example, there is a method of associating printer information with a user token. However, the method is not limited. Then, in S420, the cloud print service 500 transmits the user token including the information of the cloud print service 500 to the printer 200, and ends the registration process of the printer 200 in the cloud print service 500. The printer 200 will subsequently access the cloud print service 500 using the user token.

Next, a process for generating a print queue of the printer 200 registered in the cloud print service 500 on the client computer 100 and installing the print extension application will be described.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of a process of installing the print extension application 1052 on the client computer 100 showing the embodiment of the present invention.

When the client computer 100 outputs to the printer 200 using cloud print, the client computer 100 transmits a print job to the cloud print service 500. Therefore, it is necessary to generate a print queue on the client computer 100 to send a print job to the cloud print service 500.

In the present embodiment, the printer search function of the operating system 1053 as a standard function is used to generate a print queue of the printer registered in the cloud print service 500. Normally, when searching for a printer, the target is a printer on the same intranet. For example, in FIG. 2, when the client computer 100 searches for a printer, the printer 200 can be found, but the printer 201 and the printer 202 beyond the intranet cannot be found. In this embodiment, the client computer 100 can access the cloud print service 500. When a printer is registered in the cloud print service 500, the printer registered in the cloud print service 500 can be found by searching for a printer. In the present embodiment, in addition to the printer 200 described above, the printer 201 and the printer 202 are registered in the cloud print service 500, and these printers can also be found by the printer search function of the OS.

The client computer 100 performs a printer search, which is a standard function of the above-mentioned operating system 1053 (S610). In S610, the client computer 100 searches for a printer registered in the cloud print service 500 in addition to the printer on the same intranet as the client computer 100. The client computer 100 accesses the cloud print service and sends a list request for printer information registered on the cloud print service to the cloud print service 500.

Upon receiving the printer search information, the search response unit 504 of the cloud print service 500 presents the available printer to the client computer 100. Therefore, the cloud print service 500 generates a printer list including printer information that can be used by a user accessing the cloud print service 500 from the client computer 100 (S611). This printer information is the printer name (device name) described above, the HWID that identifies the printer model, and the printer IP address. The printer list generation unit 503 of the cloud print service 500 creates the printer list including the printer information by using the information of the printer database 510.

The cloud print service 500 returns the created printer list to the client computer 100 (S612). At this time, the cloud print service 500 also transmits information such as HWID and COID, which are printer identification information shown in FIG. 5, as printer information included in the printer list. The client computer 100 causes the monitor 110 to display a printer selection screen that can be used by the user based on the printer list. The user selects the printer he / she wants to use from the presented printer list.

The operating system 1053 of the client computer 100 installs the cloud driver 1050 used in the cloud print service 500, and generates a print queue for the selected printer (S613). The client computer 100 acquires information on a printer selected by the user from the cloud print service 500, and uses the information to generate a print queue. The client computer 100 generates a print queue based on the HWID, COID, IP address, and printer capability information acquired from the cloud print service 500. If the cloud driver 1050 is already installed on the client computer 100, the client computer 100 does not install the cloud driver 1050. The client computer 100 generates a print queue by using the printer information acquired from the already installed cloud driver 1050 and the cloud print service 500.

When the operating system 1053 of the client computer 100 succeeds in generating the print queue, it requests the printer driver distribution service 300 to download the driver extension package 303 (S614). The client computer 100 transmits a request for acquisition of the HWID, COID, and driver extension package to the cloud print service 500. The client computer 100 may transmit only one of the HWID and the COID to the cloud print service 500.

Upon receiving the download request, the printer driver distribution service 300 performs a download process for the client computer 100 (S615). The printer driver distribution service 300 identifies a package matching the HWID received from the driver extension package registered in the printer driver database 310, and transmits the package to the client computer 100. If there is no driver extension package that matches the received HWID, the printer driver distribution service 300 identifies the driver extension package that matches the received COID. Then, the printer driver distribution service 300 transmits the specified printer expansion package to the client computer 100.

The operating system 1053 of the client computer 100 installs the driver expansion package 303, and expands the capacity information of the print queue generated based on the cloud driver 1050 described above (S616). The client computer updates the capacity information corresponding to the print queue with the device capacity information of the printer expansion package. That is, the print queue is expanded with the device capability peculiar to the vendor for the printer 200 registered in the cloud print service 500.

Next, the client computer 100 transmits a download request to the print extension application distribution service 400 (S617). At that time, the operating system 1053 makes a download request for the print extension application 1052 associated with the target printer based on the identifier information of the print extension application 1052 described above. In the present embodiment, in the print extension application distribution service 400, the identifier information of the print extension application 1052 of the driver extension package 303 and the print extension application 1052 are linked one-to-one.

Further, in the print extension application distribution service 400, metadata describing the identifier information of the print extension application 1052 and the HWID association information included in the printer information may be stored. In that case, the metadata is used to download an appropriate print extension application 1052.

Upon receiving the download request, the print extension application distribution service 400 performs a download process for the client computer 100 (S618). The application response unit 402 identifies the application corresponding to the application identifier notified from the client computer 100 from the application database 410 shown in FIG. 5C. The application response unit 402 sends the specified print extension application to the client computer. The client computer 100 installs the print extension application 1052 (S619).

FIG. 5C is an example of the application database 410 held by the print extension application distribution service 400. The application name is the name of the application that is stored in the database including the print extension application 1052. The application identifier is information for identifying an application including the print extension application 1052. The app package is the stored file path of the application containing the print extension application 1052. The application package may be a folder name stored in the application or the like as long as it is information that can identify the package of the registered print extension application.

The application database 410 is updated by the application registration unit 401. The application registration unit 401 analyzes the setting file unit 10521 and acquires the application name and the application identifier. The application registration unit 401 registers the above information in the application database 410 together with the print extension application 1052.

After installation, the print extension application 1052 is linked to the printer 200 on a one-to-one basis in the client computer 100. Therefore, by holding the model information and print setting information of the printer 200 in the printer 200, it is possible to present an appropriate print setting UI to the user. Alternatively, the print extension application 1052 may communicate with the cloud print service 500, acquire target model information and print setting information, and provide a UI using the information. After the installation of the print extension application 1052 is completed, the user can make detailed print setting changes.

In the present embodiment, after the print queue is generated in the client computer 100, the client computer accesses the printer driver distribution service and acquires the driver extension package. The client computer 100 may acquire the information of the expanded print queue from the cloud print service 500 and may not expand the print queue on the client computer. In this case, the client computer 100 omits S614 to S616. Further, the client computer 100 may acquire the information of the expanded print queue from the cloud print service 500 and then execute the process described in S614 to S616.

Next, in the present embodiment, an operation when printing is executed on the client computer 100 will be described.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing an example of a print common dialog displayed by the OS 1503 on the client computer 100. The area 801 is a printer queue of a printer registered in the cloud print service 500, and is an area for selecting a print queue used for printing. When the user selects the area 801 of the print common dialog, a list of print queues registered in the cloud print service 500 is displayed. The user selects the print queue to be used for printing from the displayed print queue.

The detailed setting button 800 is a button for activating the print extension application 1052. When the user selects the detailed setting button 800, the print setting screen described later in FIG. 8B is displayed.

The "print" button 802 is a button for the user to instruct the start of printing. When the user selects the "print" button 802, the client computer 100 sends the image data and the currently set print settings to the cloud print service 500. When printing is instructed in the print common dialog displayed by OS 1053, the cloud driver 1050 transmits image data and print settings to the cloud print service 500. The print job generation unit 506 of the cloud print service 500 generates PDL data based on the image data received from the client computer 100 and the print settings, and stores the job as a print job in the print job storage area 511.

FIG. 8B is a screen displayed on the client computer 100 when the detailed setting button 800 is selected in FIG. 8A. When the user selects the advanced setting button 800, the OS 1053 identifies the print extension application 1052 corresponding to the selected print queue. OS 1053 launches the specified print extension application 1052. The started print extension application 1052 displays the print setting screen shown in FIG. 8B.

Area 803 is an area where print settings are displayed. Area 803 is vendor-specific, such as the paper orientation, number of copies, and color mode that are standardly defined by IPP, etc., as well as bookbinding printing settings and paper mixing settings that use paper of multiple paper sizes for one job. Setting items can be set.

Reference numeral 804 is an extended setting, and is an operation unit generated by the capability information extended by the driver expansion package 303. 805 is an area for switching the displayed screen and changing the items to be set.

The "OK" button 806 is a button for confirming the print settings set on the print setting screen shown in FIG. 8B and returning to the print common dialog shown in FIG. 8A. When the "OK" button is selected, the print settings set on the print setting screen shown in FIG. 8B are passed to the OS 1053.

The "print" button 807 is a button for the print extension application 1052 to give a print instruction to the cloud print service 500. When the "print" button 807 is selected, the print extension application 1052 executes the executable file unit 10522 of the print extension application 1052 and generates PDL data reflecting the set print settings. Then, the print extension application 1052 transmits the generated PDL data and the print settings to the cloud print service 500. When the PDL data is generated by the print extension application 1052, the cloud print service 500 transmits the PDL data and the print settings to the printing device without generating the PDL data.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the print extension application generates PDL data. By doing so, even if the cloud print service 500 does not generate PDL data reflecting the settings of the print extension application 1052, the PDL data reflecting the settings of the print extension application 1052 can be transmitted to the printing device. ..

The process of instructing the cloud print service 500 to print from the print common dialog shown in FIG. 8A in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 starts after the OS 1053 displays the common dialog.

OS1053 accepts the selection of the detailed setting button 800 (S1301). OS1053 starts the print extension application corresponding to the print queue selected in the print common dialog (S1302). The print extension application 1052 displays the print setting screen shown in FIG. 8B (S1303). The print extension application 1052 accepts changes in print settings from the user. The print extension application 1052 accepts the selection of the "OK" button 805 (S1304). When the user selects the "OK" button 805, the print extension application 1052 transmits the print settings set in the OS 1053 (S1305). The OS 1053 receives the print settings from the print extension application 1052 and displays the print common dialog. The user selects the "print" button 802 of the print common dialog (S1306). The OS 1053 transmits the print settings received from the print extension application 1052 and the image data to be printed to the cloud print service 500 as print data (S1307).

The cloud print service 500 receives image data and print settings from OS 1053 of the client computer 100, and generates PDL data based on the received image data and print settings (S1308). Here, PDL data reflecting only the print settings that can be supported by the cloud print service 500 is generated. The cloud print service 500 saves a print job using the generated PDL data as print data in the print job storage area 511 (S1309).

As described above, when the cloud print service 500 generates PDL data, only the print settings that the cloud print service 500 can support can be reflected in the PDL data. The print settings that the cloud print service 500 can support include, for example, settings related to color and monochrome printing, settings related to double-sided printing, and the like. Of the print settings transmitted in S1307, the print settings that the cloud print service 500 cannot support are not reflected in the PDL data and are not reflected in the output by the printer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the print setting is made by using the print extension application, the print extension application 1052 instructs printing as shown in FIG. 12, and the print extension application generates PDL data. By doing so, even if the print extension application has a print setting that cannot be supported by the cloud print service, it is possible to print using the PDL data that reflects the print setting. .. In this embodiment, the print settings that the cloud print service cannot support include, for example, an aggregate setting for printing multiple pages on one sheet, a mode setting for saving recording material at the time of printing, bookbinding, and stamps. Settings etc.

The operating system 1053 of the client computer 100 accepts the user to select the detailed setting button 800 (S1010). OS 1053 launches the print extension application 1052 corresponding to the selected print queue (S1011).

The print extension application 1052 accepts the setting change from the user and accepts the selection of the "print" button 807 (S1012). The print extension application 1052 transmits a request for acquiring print data to be printed to the OS 1053 (S1013). Then, the operating system 1053 transmits the image data as print data to the print extension application 1052 (S1014). The print extension application 1052 converts the image data received as print data and the print settings into vendor-specific PDL data (S1015). The PDL data generated by the print extension application 1052 is a data format that can be analyzed by the printer 200, and has print commands that can realize all the functions mounted on the printer 200. Therefore, various functions changed in the above-mentioned print setting UI can be converted into print commands and generated as PDL data.

Then, the print extension application 1052 transmits the converted PDL data as print data to the cloud print service 500 (S1016). The print extension application 1052 may transmit the print settings as print data together with the PDL data to the cloud print service 500. Further, the print extension application 1052 transmits PDL data to the cloud print service 500 by using a predetermined API (Application Programming Interface).

The cloud print service 500 receives print data including PDL data from the print extension application 1052, and the print job management unit 505 registers the print data including the received PDL data as a print job in the print job storage area 511 (S1017). ..

When the cloud print service 500 receives the PDL data generated by the print extension application 1052, the print job generation unit 506 of the cloud print service 500 does not operate. The process of the print job generation unit 506 is a process of converting data in a format that cannot be analyzed by the printer 200 into an appropriate form when it is transmitted to the cloud print service 500. Therefore, unlike the present embodiment, it is not necessary to perform additional conversion processing on the PDL data generated by the print extension application that is converted into the print job format. The cloud print service 500 controls not to convert the received PDL data based on the predetermined API received from the print extension application 1052.

The cloud print service 500 may analyze the data and print settings received from the print extension application 1052 and determine whether or not to perform a process of converting the received print data into PDL data. For example, when the source of the print data is a print extension application, the process of converting the print data received by the cloud print service 500 into PDL data may not be performed. On the other hand, when the source of the print data is OS1053, the process of converting the received print data into PDL data may be performed.

Therefore, the cloud print service 500 has a process of determining whether or not the received data should be converted. Further, the print extension application 1052 may instruct the cloud print service 500 not to perform the job conversion process. According to this embodiment, the cloud print service 500 can manage the PDL data that enables the functions mounted on the printer 200 to be realized.

In this embodiment, it is possible to give a print start instruction using the cloud print service 500 from both the print common dialog provided by OS 1053 and the print setting screen provided by the print extension application 1052. Then, depending on whether printing is instructed from the print common dialog or printing is instructed from the print extension application, it is switched between generating PDL data in the clout print service and generating PDL data in the print extension application.

When the "print" button 802 of the print common dialog provided by OS 1053 is selected, the print extension application 1052 is automatically started, the image data is passed to the print extension application 1052, and the print setting screen shown in FIG. 8B is displayed. May be. The user makes detailed print settings on the print setting screen shown in FIG. 8B as necessary. When the user selects the "print" button 807, PDL data is generated based on the image data and print settings acquired by the print extension application 1052, and the generated PDL data and print settings are transmitted to the cloud print service 500. At this time, the print extension application 1052 uses a predetermined API and controls the cloud print service 500 so as not to generate PDL data. In the case of the above modification, the detailed setting button 800 of FIG. 8A and the “OK” button 805 of FIG. 8B may not be provided. Further, the print common dialog shown in FIG. 8A does not have the "print" button 802, and the user always selects the "detailed setting" button 800, starts the print extension application, and then instructs the print extension application to print. May be good. In this case, the PDL data is generated by the print extension application regardless of the contents of the print settings.

Next, a process of printing a print job registered in the cloud print service 500 from the printer 200 will be described.

When the user logs in to the printer 200, the printer 200 sends a request for acquiring the bibliographic information of the print job registered in the print queue of the cloud print service 500 to the cloud print service 500. The bibliographic information acquired here is information necessary for displaying the UI of the printer 200, such as the file name of the image data, the number of copies to be printed in the color mode, and the generation date and time of the print job.

The cloud print service 500 generates a printable job list from the bibliographic information of the print job stored in the print queue. Then, the cloud print service 500 transmits the printable job list generated to the printer 200. When the printer 200 receives the printable job list sent by the cloud print service 500, the list of print jobs is displayed on the operation panel. FIG. 7 is an example of an operation panel displaying a printable job list received from the cloud print service 500. “Aaa.doc” to “jJJ.pdf” are print jobs in the cloud print service. The user selects a desired print job from the operation panel and presses the print button 701 to execute printing. The printer 200 that has accepted the print execution requests the cloud print service 500 to acquire a print job. The acquisition request includes the ID of the print job to be acquired, that is, the print job ID. Hereinafter, printing is realized by executing the process shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process performed by the cloud print service 500 when the cloud print service 500 showing the present embodiment receives a print job acquisition request from the printer 200. Unless otherwise specified, this process is performed by each processing unit of the cloud print service 500. First, the print job management unit 505 receives a print job acquisition request (including a print job ID of the print job to be output) from the printer 200 (S1001).

Upon receiving the request, the print job management unit 505 specifies the designated print job from the print job storage area 511. The print job management unit 505 passes the specified print job to the print job generation unit 506, and generates a print job suitable for the output destination printer 200 (S1002).

The print job management unit 505 acquires the generated print job from the print job generation unit 506, and sends the print job to the printer 200 that is the print request source (S1003).

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user operates the printer 200 and the printer 200 acquires the selected print job from the cloud print service 500. The printer 200 may periodically access the cloud print service 500 and acquire a print job managed in association with the print queue of the printer 200 from the cloud print service 500.

By the above processing, the print job registered in the cloud print service 500 is executed.

With the above configuration, even if the client computer 100 has print settings that cannot be supported by the cloud print service 500, print data reflecting the print settings can be transmitted to the printing device.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the print extension application 1052 of the client computer 100 converts the print data into the print data corresponding to the printing apparatus. Due to the specifications of the operating system 1053, it may not be possible to realize it in an environment where the print extension application 1052 cannot be installed. In the second embodiment, a means for realizing all the functions mounted on the printer 200 even when the print extension application 1052 does not exist will be described.

In the second embodiment, the case where the cloud print service 500 receives the print data from the client computer 100 and the external server system generates the PDL data corresponding to the printing device will be described. By the second embodiment, even if the client computer 100 or the print extension application 1052 cannot generate print data according to the printing device as the transmission destination, the print data according to the printing device can be generated. Can be generated.

Since the hardware configuration of the client computer is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

An example of the network configuration in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. With respect to FIG. 14, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and only different configurations will be described.

The PDL conversion service 600 refers to a service that converts a PDL into a PDL having a print command capable of realizing all the functions of the printer 200 that can be analyzed by the printer 200. The PDL conversion service 600 may be realized by a module registered for the extension area prepared in the cloud print service 500, or may be provided as another cloud service and realized by cooperating with the cloud print service 500. Is also good. By setting the PDL conversion service 600 as a transmission destination for the cloud print service 500, it is possible to transmit the data to the PDL conversion service 600 after the cloud print service 500 receives the print data.

In the second embodiment, the registration of the printer 200, the generation of the print queue in each component, and the user's print instruction means are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus are omitted. Hereinafter, the process of transmitting print data to the cloud print service 500 by the user giving a print instruction will be described.

In the first embodiment, the print instruction can be given from both the print common dialog and the print setting screen provided by the print extension application. Then, when the print instruction is given in the print common dialog, the operation system transmits the print data to the cloud print service 500. Then, when a print instruction is given on the screen provided by the print extension application, the print extension application transmits the print data to the cloud print service 500. In the second embodiment, it is assumed that the OS 1053 transmits the print data to the cloud print service 500 regardless of which screen the print is instructed to print.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of PDL conversion processing in which print data is transmitted to the cloud print service 500 and the PDL conversion service 600 is used, which shows the second embodiment.

The operating system 1053 of the client computer 100 receives a print instruction from the user (S1110). OS 1053 transmits print data including image data and print settings to the cloud print service 500 (S1111).

When the cloud print service 500 receives the print data, the cloud print service 500 transmits the print data to the PDL conversion service 600 set as a destination in advance (S1112).

When the PDL conversion service 600 receives print data from the cloud print service 500, it converts the print data into PDL data that enables all the functions of the printer 200 to be realized (S1113). The PDL conversion service 600 transmits the converted PDL data to the cloud print service 500 (S1114). In S1114, it is assumed that the PDL conversion service 600 transmits PDL data and print settings to the cloud print service 500 in the form of print data. The print job management unit 505 registers the print data including the received PDL data as a print job in the print job storage area 511 (S1115). According to this embodiment, the cloud print service 500 can manage PDL data that can realize the functions mounted on the printer 200.

The print job stored in the print job storage area 511 of the cloud print service 500 by the above method is read from the printer and printed by the same method as in the first embodiment.

Further, in the present embodiment, the PDL conversion process is performed by using the PDL conversion service 600 from the cloud print service 500, but it may be realized at another timing. For example, print data is transmitted from the client computer 100 to the PDL conversion service 600 without going through the cloud print service 500, and PDL conversion is performed. Then, after the PDL conversion, the PDL conversion service 600 may transmit the print data including the PDL data and the print settings to the cloud print service 500 to register the print job.

By the above means, even in an environment where the print extension application 1052 cannot be installed, all the functions installed in the printer can be realized by printing using the standard printing system provided by the operating system.

<Third embodiment>
In the third embodiment, a method of installing a vendor-specific driver package in the cloud service 500 and printing with a printer driver will be described. The cloud service 500 in which the driver package is installed converts the print data received from the client terminal by the driver. By doing so, it is possible to generate print data that reflects the vendor-specific print settings.

An example of the functional block of the printer driver distribution service 300 in the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a drawing that replaces FIG. 3A in the first embodiment. With respect to FIG. 15, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and only different configurations will be described.

The driver package 306 is an example of a package distributed from the printer driver distribution service 300. The driver package 306 has a driver information unit 307, a device capability information unit 308, and a drawing unit 309. Like the driver information unit 304, the driver information unit 307 has HWID and COID for identifying the printer, information indicating that the package is a driver expansion package, and information such as a version of the driver expansion package 303. The device capability information unit 308 has device capability information and prohibition information of the corresponding printer 200 in the same manner as the 305. The device capability information is, for example, information such as whether the printer 200 supports color printing or double-sided printing. In addition to the above capability information, the capability information included in the driver expansion package 303 is printed using a plurality of types of paper, such as whether vendor-specific needleless binding is possible, saddle stitch binding is possible, and so on. Includes whether or not mixed paper printing is possible.

The drawing unit 309 can convert GDI data, XPS data, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other data into PDF, PwgRaster, PCL, and PDL unique to the printer vendor.

As described above, the printer driver distribution service 300 has a driver package 306, and the driver package is provided to the cloud service 500.

FIG. 16 describes a method of installing a printer driver according to a third embodiment in a cloud service. FIG. 16 is a drawing showing a process alternative to FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. With respect to FIG. 16, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and only different configurations will be described.

In the present embodiment, the printer 200 is accessed from the client computer 100, and the printer 200 is operated. As a result, the printer 200 sends a registration request for the printer 200 to the cloud print service 500.

The printer 200 supports a cloud print function (a function of receiving a print job from a cloud print service and printing) and a Web UI function for operating the printer 200 from the client computer 100. The Web UI function is a function of generating a UI and publishing it on a network. The client computer 100 supports a cloud print client function (a function of transmitting a file to a cloud print service) and a Web UI client (for example, a Web browser) for operating a Web UI. Further, the cloud print service 500 represents a cloud print service on the Internet.

Next, in S1512, the cloud print service 500 transmits a download request for the driver package 306 to the printer driver distribution service 300. This is a request for receiving the driver package 306 corresponding to the printer registered in the cloud print service 500. The cloud print service 500 transmits the driver package 306 download request and the HWID and COID of the printer 200 to the printer driver distribution service 300. The HWID and COID notified to the printer driver distribution service 300 in S1512 are the HWID and COID acquired from the printer 200 by the cloud print service 500 in S411.

In S1512, the printer driver distribution service 300 transmits the corresponding driver package 306 to the cloud print service 500 based on the received HWID and COID. The printer driver distribution service 300 identifies the printer driver and the driver extension package corresponding to the received HWID from the printer driver database 310 from the printer driver database 310.

Here, the tables shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B will be described. FIG. 17A is a table showing information on the driver package managed by the driver distribution service 300. FIG. 17A is a table corresponding to FIG. 5B in the first embodiment. FIG. 17B is a table showing information on printers registered in the cloud pret service 500. The table shown in FIG. 17B is a table corresponding to FIG. 5A of the first embodiment.

Here, it is assumed that the printer iR-ADV CCCC shown in FIG. 17B is added to the cloud print service 500 in S410. The cloud print service 500 registers the data in the iR-ADV CCCC column of FIG. 17B based on the data acquired from the printer 200. The cloud print service 500 notifies the printer driver distribution service 300 of the HWID. The printer driver distribution service 300 specifies a driver package to be installed in the cloud print service 500 based on the received HWID. In FIG. 17A, there are a plurality of packages that match the HWID of the device iR-ADV CCCC. One package has a TRUE flag indicating that the driver has been expanded, and one package has a FALSE flag indicating that the driver has been expanded. The package with the above flag TRUE is not a printer driver, but a package for expanding printer information. In such a case, the printer driver distribution service gives priority to the printer driver whose extension flag is FALSE and transmits the printer driver to the cloud print service 500.

The printer driver distribution service 300 executes the following processing when the printer driver and the driver extension package corresponding to the HWID notified from the cloud print service 500 are not specified. The printer driver distribution service 300 transmits a printer driver matching the COID received from the cloud print service 500 to the cloud print service 500. If both the printer driver and the extended package that match the received COID exist, the printer driver distribution service 300 gives priority to the printer driver and transmits the printer driver to the cloud pret service 500. If the driver expansion package can be specified only by the HWID, in S413, only the HWID may be transmitted to the printer driver distribution service 300.

The cloud print service 500 downloads the driver package 306 from the printer driver distribution service 300 in S1513. Then, the driver package 306 downloaded in S1514 is installed in the cloud service 500.

Then, in S1515, the cloud print service 500 causes the print queue generation unit 502 to create a print queue for transmitting a print job to the printer 200. The printer registration unit 501 registers the printer information and the capability information in the printer database 510, and generates a record of the printer for which the registration request has been made. Further, the print queue generation unit 502 generates a print queue. This print queue is created by using the received printer 200 information, such as the printer name (device name), the HWID and COID that identify the printer model, and the printer IP address. By performing the above processing, the IP address and package of the printer database shown in FIG. 17B are registered.

Subsequent processing is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, a method of printing using a printer driver installed in the cloud service, which is a third embodiment, will be described. In the third embodiment, since the printer driver installed in the cloud print service 500 generates PDL data, the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 11 described in the description of the first embodiment will be described. The description of the parts where the same processing as that of the first embodiment is performed will be omitted, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described here.

The cloud print service 500 receives image data and print settings from OS 1053 of the client computer 100, and generates PDL data based on the received image data and print settings (S1308). The cloud print service 500 acquires the device name of the printer used for printing from the print settings received from the operation system 1053. The cloud print service 500 refers to FIG. 17B and identifies a driver corresponding to the printer with the acquired device name. Then, the cloud print service 500 determines whether or not the specified driver is installed. When the printer driver specified based on the above determination is installed in the cloud print service 500, the drawing unit 309 of the specified printer driver causes the printer driver to generate PDL data. If it is determined that the printer driver corresponding to the acquired device name is not installed in the cloud print service 500, the cloud print service 500 executes the following processing. The cloud print service 500 generates PDL data using a module that the cloud print service 500 has in advance, without using a driver acquired from the printer driver distribution service 300. Further, even if the driver is not specified from the acquired printer name, the cloud print service 500 generates PDL data using a module that is possessed in advance.

After that, the cloud print service 500 passes the generated PDL data to the print job generation unit 506, generates a print job to be used as print data, and stores the generated PDL data in the print job storage area 511 (S1309).

With the above configuration, PDL data can be generated using the driver distributed by the printer driver distribution service. By installing the printer driver registered in the printer driver distribution service in the cloud service 500, it is possible to generate PDL data that reflects print settings that the cloud print service 500 cannot support.

<Other embodiments>
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 (9)

A server system that can generate PDL data based on image data received from an information processing device.
The first receiving means for receiving the information of the printing device for which registration is requested, and
An acquisition means for acquiring a driver for generating PDL data to be transmitted to the registered printing device from another server system, and
A second receiving means for receiving image data to be printed by the printing device from the information processing device, and
A server system comprising: a means for causing the acquired driver to generate PDL data based on the received image data. The server system according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission means for transmitting the PDL data generated by the acquired driver to the printing apparatus. The server system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquisition means acquires the driver from the other server system by transmitting the received information to the other server system. The server system according to claim 3, wherein the received information is the HWID of the printing apparatus. Further, it has a generation means for generating PDL data based on the image data received from the information processing apparatus.
When the driver corresponding to the printing device selected from the information processing device to the printing device used for printing is not installed in the server system, the PDL data is generated based on the image data by using the generation means. The server system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A storage means for storing the information of the printing device for which registration is requested and the acquired driver identification information in association with each other.
Based on the correspondence stored in the storage means, the information processing apparatus further includes a determination means for determining whether or not a driver corresponding to the printing apparatus selected for the printing apparatus used for printing is installed. ,
The server system according to claim 5, wherein the generation means generates PDL data by the acquired driver or the generation means based on the result of the determination by the determination means. The server system according to claim 5, wherein the driver supports a setting item that is not supported by the generation means. It is a control method of a server system that can generate PDL data based on image data received from an information processing device.
The first receiving process for receiving the information of the printing device for which registration is requested, and
The acquisition process of acquiring a driver for generating PDL data to be transmitted to the registered printing device from another server system, and
A second receiving step of receiving image data to be printed by the printing device from the information processing device, and
A method for controlling a server system, which comprises a step of causing the acquired driver to generate PDL data based on the received image data. The control method for a server system according to claim 8, further comprising a transmission step of transmitting the generated image data to the printing apparatus in the PDL data generation step based on the received image data.

Images