JP6711438B2 - Mobile terminal and output program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an output program that outputs content data and a mobile terminal that executes the output program.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printing application that allows a user to specify image data or the like stored in a mobile terminal and cause a printer to print an image represented by the specified image data. Further, an application that transfers image data to a printing application is also disclosed.

JP 2012-203742 A

A printer in recent years is often a so-called MFP (abbreviation of MultiFunction Peripheral) capable of executing not only a print operation for recording an image on a sheet but also a FAX transmission operation for FAX-transmitting an image. However, the print application disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is not possible to instruct the MFP to execute a FAX operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to instruct an output device capable of executing a plurality of output operations to execute any of the plurality of output operations. To provide an output program.

(1) The output program described in this specification can be read by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The communication unit may be electrically connected to a plurality of output devices that perform at least one of a plurality of output operations that output content data. The storage unit stores a boot source program readable by the mobile terminal. The activation source program can cause the portable terminal to execute activation of the output program and processing of notifying the output program of data identification information for identifying the content data. The output program read by the portable terminal identifies a specified output device in response to a user operation specifying one of the plurality of output devices being accepted through the operation unit. Storage control processing for storing information in the storage unit, first acquisition processing for acquiring the data identification information in response to being activated by the activation source program, and the output device identified by the device identification information A second acquisition process for acquiring motion information indicating the output motion that can be executed, a first judgment process for judging whether the motion information indicates a plurality of the output motions, and a plurality of the output motions. And a first acceptance process for accepting a user operation for designating a target motion, which is one of the plurality of output motions indicated by the motion information, through the operation unit according to the judgment made by the first judgment process. The mobile terminal is caused to execute a first output instruction process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device through the communication unit. The output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the data identification information in the target operation. The output program executes a second output instruction process for transmitting the output instruction information to the output device through the communication unit, in response to the one determination by the first determination process to indicate one of the output operations. To run. The target operation in the second output instruction process is the output operation indicated by the operation information.

According to the above configuration, when the output device can execute a plurality of output operations, the content data is output by the output operation specified by the user from the plurality of output operations. That is, it is possible to cause the output device to execute the output operation desired by the user. On the other hand, when the output device can execute only one output operation, the content data is output by the output operation. This simplifies the user operation.

(2) Preferably, the output operation includes a first operation and a second operation different from the first operation. The mobile terminal includes a display unit. The output program includes a preview image showing an image in which the content data is output in the target operation, an output instruction object corresponding to an instruction designating the target operation, and a motion switching object corresponding to switching of the target operation. It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute a preview display process for displaying a preview screen including a display screen on the display unit, and in the first reception process, a user operation for selecting an object included in the preview screen is performed by the operation unit. Accept through. The output program, in the preview display process when the first determination process determines that a plurality of output actions are shown, includes the first preview image, the first output instruction object, and the first action switching object. The image is displayed on the display unit. The first preview image is the preview image showing an image obtained by outputting the content data in the first operation. The first output instruction object is the output instruction object corresponding to the instruction for designating the first action as the target action. The first motion switching object is the motion switching object corresponding to switching from the first motion to the second motion. The output program causes the mobile terminal to execute the first output instruction processing in response to receiving the selection of the first output instruction object in the first reception processing, and selects the first action switching object. In response to being accepted in the first accepting process, the preview display process for displaying the preview screen including the second preview image, the second output instruction object, and the second action switching object on the display unit is the mobile terminal. To run. The second preview image is the preview image showing an image obtained by outputting the content data in the second operation. The second output instruction object is the output instruction object corresponding to the instruction that specifies the second action as the target action. The second action switching object is the action switching object corresponding to the switching from the second action to the first action.

According to the above configuration, the user can confirm the image of the output result before the output device outputs the content data. Further, when the output process is switched by the action switching object, the preview image corresponding to the output process after switching is switched. As a result, it becomes easier to obtain the output result desired by the user. In other words, it is possible to prevent the process from being redone when the output result is different from the user's intention.

(3) Preferably, the output program causes the display unit to display the preview screen in which the operation switching object is not selectable, in response to the output determination program determining that the output operation is one output operation. Causes the mobile terminal to execute the preview display processing.

According to the above configuration, the user can be made aware that the output device can execute only one output operation.

(4) Preferably, the device identification information identifies a first device that is one of a plurality of the output devices. In the preview display process, the output program causes the display unit to display the preview screen further including a device switching object. The device switching object is the object corresponding to switching of the output device that causes the output operation to be executed. The output program is capable of executing the first operation among the plurality of output devices communicable via the communication unit in response to receiving the selection of the device switching object in the first reception processing. A second process for receiving a specific process for specifying a device and a user operation for specifying the second device, which is one of the output devices specified in the specific process, through the operation unit; and the second process for the second device. The mobile terminal is caused to execute the second acquisition process and the first determination process.

According to the above configuration, when it is desired to cause another output device to perform the output operation indicated by the output instruction object, the user can specify the output device desired by the device switching object included in the preview screen.

(5) Preferably, the output program causes the display unit to display the preview screen further including the device switching object in the preview display processing when the output program is started. The output program executes a first display process for displaying an operation selection screen on the display unit in response to being activated by the OS of the mobile terminal that has accepted a user operation for instructing activation of the output program. To run. The operation selection screen includes an operation designation object corresponding to the output operation executable by the first device and the device switching object. The output program is responsive to a third acceptance process for accepting a user operation for selecting the object included in the action selection screen through the operation unit, and for accepting a selection of the action designation object in the third acceptance process. And causing the mobile terminal to execute a second display process of displaying a data selection screen on the display unit. The data selection screen includes a plurality of data objects corresponding to each of the content data. The output program receives the user operation for selecting the object included in the data selection screen through an operation unit, and the output program according to the selection of the data object received by the fourth reception process. In response to the preview display processing for displaying the preview screen not including a device switching object on the display unit and the selection of the output instruction object received in the first reception processing, the first device is transmitted through the communication unit. And causing the mobile terminal to execute a third output instruction process of transmitting the output instruction information to the mobile terminal. The output instruction information in the third output instruction process is information for outputting the content data, the designation of which has been accepted in the fourth acceptance process, in the output operation of which the designation has been accepted in the third acceptance process.

When the preview screen is displayed through the function selection screen and the data selection screen as in the above-described configuration, the output device is already specified through the function selection screen, and therefore it is not necessary to include the device switching object in the preview screen.

(6) Preferably, a back object is displayed on the display unit together with the preview screen. The back object is the object corresponding to the switching to the screen displayed on the display unit immediately before the preview screen is displayed. Then, when the output program is started by the OS and the selection of the back object is accepted by the operation unit, the data selection screen is displayed on the display unit. On the other hand, when the output program is activated by the activation source program and the selection of the back object is accepted by the operation unit, the activation source program is executed in the foreground instead of the output program. The foreground is a state in which a screen resulting from the execution of the program is displayed in the display area of the display unit.

According to the above configuration, when the output program is activated by the activation source program, the back object on the preview screen cannot return to the function selection screen. Therefore, it is desirable to include the device switching object in the preview screen when it is activated by the activation source program.

(7) Preferably, the output program updates the device identification information stored in the storage unit with device identification information for identifying the second device in response to execution of the second reception process. An update process is executed by the mobile terminal, and in the first first display process after the update process is executed, the fact that the device identification information stored in the storage unit has been updated is notified.

According to the above configuration, the user can be made aware that the device identification information stored in the storage unit has been changed. In addition, since the executable operation may be different for each output device, the user recognizes the process that has become available or the process that has become unavailable due to the switching from the first device to the second device. be able to.

(8) Preferably, a back object is displayed on the display unit together with the preview screen. The back object is the object corresponding to switching from the preview screen to the immediately preceding screen. The immediately preceding screen is a screen displayed on the display unit immediately before the preview screen is displayed on the display unit. When the output program is activated by the OS and the selection of the back object is accepted by the operation unit, the data selection screen is displayed on the display unit as the immediately preceding screen. When the output program is started by the starting source program and the selection of the back object is accepted by the operation unit, the starting source program is executed in the foreground instead of the output program. The foreground is a state in which a screen resulting from the execution of the program is displayed in the display area of the display unit. The activation source program executed in the foreground causes the display unit to display the screen immediately before the activation of the output program as the immediately preceding screen.

According to the above configuration, when the output device to which the output instruction information should be transmitted is not specified yet, the user can specify the output device desired.

(9) For example, the storage unit stores type information indicating a type of the content data and one or more output operations associated with the type information. The output program further determines whether the plurality of output operations indicated by the operation information are associated with the type information of the content data identified by the data identification information in the first determination process. to decide.

(10) The mobile terminal described in the present specification includes an operation unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, and a control unit. The communication unit may be electrically connected to a plurality of output devices that perform at least one of a plurality of output operations that output content data. The storage unit stores an output program and a starting source program. The control unit that executes the activation source program activates the output program and notifies the output program of data identification information for identifying the content data. The control unit that executes the output program is device identification information that identifies the designated output device in response to receiving a user operation that designates one of the plurality of output devices through the manipulation unit. A storage control process for storing in the storage unit. The control unit executing the output program activated by the activation source program includes a first acquisition process of acquiring the data identification information, and the output operation executable by the output device identified by the device identification information. A second acquisition process for acquiring motion information indicating the above, a first judgment process for judging whether or not the motion information indicates a plurality of the output actions, and a first judgment process for indicating a plurality of the output actions. In response to the determination, a first operation for receiving a user operation for designating a target operation, which is one of the plurality of output operations indicated by the operation information, through the operation unit, and the output device through the communication unit. And output instruction processing for transmitting output instruction information to the. The output instruction information is information for outputting the content data identified by the data identification information in the target operation. The control unit executes the second output instruction process of transmitting the output instruction information to the output device through the communication unit, in response to the determination made by the first determination process to indicate one output operation. The target operation in the second output instruction process is the output operation indicated by the operation information.

According to the present invention, when the output device can execute a plurality of output operations, the content data is output by the output operation specified by the user from the plurality of output operations. Therefore, the output operation desired by the user is output. It can be executed by the device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording system 100 according to the embodiment. 2A is a block diagram of the multi-function device 10, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram of the mobile terminal 50. FIG. 3 is an example of information stored in the data storage area 62B, where (A) shows the device ID and operation information, and (B) shows the device update flag. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the standard activation process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the external activation process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of device selection processing. 7A and 7B are display examples of the display unit 53, where FIG. 7A shows a menu screen and FIG. 7B shows a main screen that does not include a device switching message. FIG. 8 is a display example of the display unit 53, (A) shows a main screen including a device switching message, and (B) shows a device selection screen. 9A and 9B are display examples of the display unit 53, where FIG. 9A shows a data selection screen and FIG. 9B shows a preview screen. 10A and 10B are display examples of the display unit 53, where FIG. 10A shows a map designation screen, and FIG. 10B shows a preview screen when the motion information indicates a plurality of output motions. 11A and 11B are display examples of the preview screen. FIG. 11A is a preview screen when the operation information indicates only one output operation, and FIG. 11B is the FAX switching icon 128 of FIG. 10B. Shows the preview screen when FIG. 12 shows a display example of the preview screen when the device switching icon 119 of FIG. 10B is selected. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a sharing function realized by the sharing API.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately changed without changing the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a recording system 100 according to this embodiment. The recording system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a multifunction device 10A and a multifunction device 10B (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as a "multifunction device 10") and a mobile terminal 50. The multi-function device 10 and the mobile terminal 50 are electrically connected. The multi-function device 10 and the portable terminal 50 may be connected to each other through a communication network 101 such as a wired LAN (abbreviation of Local Area Network) or a wireless LAN, or connected by a USB (abbreviation of Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like. May be. The state in which the plurality of devices can communicate is an example of the state in which the plurality of devices are “electrically connected”.

[Complex machine 10]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the multifunction device 10 includes a printer unit 11, a scanner unit 12, a FAX unit 13, a display unit 23, an operation unit 24, a communication unit 25, and a mounting unit 26. , CPU 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication bus 33 are mainly provided. The respective constituent elements of the multifunction peripheral 10 are connected to each other via the communication bus 33. The multifunction device 10 is an example of an output device.

[Printer unit 11, scanner unit 12, FAX unit 13]
The printer unit 11 executes a print operation for recording an image represented by image data on a recording sheet. The recording paper is an example of a sheet or a recording medium. A known method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method can be adopted as a recording method of the printer unit 11. The scanner unit 12 executes a scan operation of reading an image recorded on a document and generating image data. The FAX unit 13 executes a FAX transmission operation and a FAX reception operation of transmitting and receiving image data in a method based on the FAX protocol.

The printing operation and the FAX transmission operation among the plurality of operations described above are examples of the output operation for outputting the content indicated by the content data. Note that the operations performed by the multifunction machine 10 are not limited to these. As an example of the output operation, the multi-function device 10 may execute a media saving operation of storing the content data acquired from the mobile terminal 50 in the portable storage medium mounted on the mounting unit 26. As another example of the output operation, the multi-function peripheral 10 may display an image represented by the image data acquired from the mobile terminal 50 on the display unit 23.

The operations that can be executed by the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B may be different. In this embodiment, the multi-function peripheral 10A can execute a print operation and a FAX transmission operation, and the multi-function peripheral 10B can execute a print operation, a FAX transmission operation, and a media storage operation. Further, the output device is not limited to the one capable of performing a plurality of operations, and may be capable of performing only a single operation. The MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the multifunction device 10 may define, for example, a device ID that identifies the multifunction device 10 and operation information that indicates an operation that the multifunction device 10 can perform. The motion information may include, for example, a motion ID that identifies a motion that can be executed. The motion ID is an example of motion identification information.

[Display 23]
The display unit 23 includes a display screen that displays various types of information. As the display unit 23, a liquid crystal display (abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (abbreviation of Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), or the like can be adopted.

[Operation unit 24]
The operation unit 24 receives a user operation for selecting an object displayed on the display screen of the display unit 23. Specifically, the operation unit 24 has a button, and outputs various operation signals associated with the pressed button to the CPU 31. Furthermore, the operation unit 24 may include a film-shaped touch sensor that is superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 23. That is, the display unit 23 may be configured as a touch panel display.

The “object” refers to an image that can be selected by the user operating the operation unit 24. As an example, the object is a character string displayed on the display unit 23, one of the objects is highlighted by pressing the direction key of the operation unit 24, and is displayed by pressing the enter button of the operation unit 24. The light-displayed object may be selected. As another example, the object when the operation unit 24 is a touch panel may be an icon, a button, a link, or the like displayed on the display unit 23, and the object displayed at the touch position may be selected.

The operation unit 24 implemented as a touch panel receives a user operation of touching the display screen of the display unit 23. The operation unit 24 also outputs position information indicating the position on the display screen touched by the user. The position information can be expressed, for example, as coordinates (x, y) on the xy plane in which the upper left corner of the display screen is the origin, the rightward direction is the positive x-axis direction, and the downward direction is the positive y-axis direction. A known method such as a capacitance method or a resistance film method can be adopted for the touch sensor.

It should be noted that the term “touch” in this specification includes all operations for bringing the input medium into contact with the display screen. That is, a tap operation for separating the touched input medium from the display screen within a predetermined time, a long touch operation for keeping the touched input medium stationary on the display screen, a slide operation for sliding the touched input medium on the display screen, a display screen A flick operation in which the acceleration of the input medium that slides up is equal to or greater than a threshold value, a pinch-in operation that slides two input media that have touched different positions on the display screen toward each other, two A pinch-out operation or the like in which the input mediums are slid in directions away from each other is an example of touch.

Further, even if the input medium does not touch the display screen, bringing the input medium close to a position where the distance from the display screen is very small may be included in the concept of the “touch”. Further, the input medium may be a user's finger, a touch pen, or the like. Hereinafter, tapping of the position of an icon displayed on the display unit 53 will be described as an example of a user operation for selecting the icon.

[Communication unit 25]
The communication unit 25 is an interface for communicating with an external device through the communication network 101. That is, the multifunction device 10 outputs various information to the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 and receives various data or various information from the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. The specific communication procedure of the communication unit 25 is not particularly limited, but Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance) can be used, for example. The multifunction device 10 may have a mounting interface such as a USB cable instead of the communication unit 25.

[Mounting part 26]
The mounting unit 26 is an interface to which a portable storage medium is attached and detached. The CPU 31 can read data or information from the portable storage medium mounted on the mounting unit 26, or can write data or information on the portable storage medium mounted on the mounting unit 26. The specific example of the portable storage medium is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a USB memory, an SD card, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like.

[CPU 31]
A CPU (abbreviation of Central Processing Unit) 31 controls the overall operation of the multifunction machine 10. The CPU 31 acquires various programs to be described later from the storage unit 32 and executes the programs based on various information output from the operation unit 24, various information acquired from the external device through the communication unit 25, and the like. That is, the CPU 31 and the storage unit 32 configure an example of the control unit.

[Memory unit 32]
The storage unit 32 has a program storage area 32A and a data storage area 32B. An OS (abbreviation of Operating System) 34 and a control program 35 are stored in the program storage area 32A. The control program 35 may be a single program or an aggregate of a plurality of programs. The data storage area 32B stores data or information necessary for executing the control program 35.

It should be noted that "data" and "information" in this specification are common in that they are bits or bit strings that can be handled by a computer. “Data” refers to data that can be handled by a computer without considering the meaning of each bit. On the other hand, “information” refers to information in which the operation of the computer branches depending on the meaning of each bit. Further, the "instruction" is a control signal for prompting the destination device to perform the next operation, and may include information, or have a property as information itself. There is also.

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

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

The storage unit 32 is, for example, a RAM (abbreviation of Random Access Memory), a ROM (abbreviation of Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (abbreviation of Electrically Erasable Programmable vCPU), and a HDD (HD). It is composed of a buffer or the like or a combination thereof.

The storage unit 32 may be a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium is a non-transmission medium. In addition to the above examples, the non-transmission medium also includes a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and a DVD-ROM. The non-transmission medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electric signal that carries a program downloaded from a server or the like on the Internet is a computer-readable signal medium that is a kind of computer-readable medium, but a non-transitory computer-readable storage. Not included in the media.

The program stored in the program storage area 32A is executed by the CPU 31. However, in this specification, the operation of each program may be described by omitting the CPU 31. That is, in the following description, the description to the effect that “the program A executes the process A” may refer to “the CPU 31 executes the process A described in the program A”. The same applies to the mobile terminal 50 described below.

Further, the program stored in the program storage area 32A determines an event and operates according to the determination result. However, in this specification, the operation of each program may be described by omitting the determination. That is, in the following description, the description that "the control program executes the process A according to the condition A" is "determines whether the control program is the condition A. The control program makes a positive determination. The process A is executed according to the above.

In addition, the program stored in the program storage area 32A specifies, acquires, extracts, or selects data and the like. When the program specifies the data etc., for example, the data that matches the condition is specified from a plurality of data etc., and the data itself or the information for identifying the data etc. is stored in a predetermined storage area. Refers to processing. The information for identifying the data or the like is, for example, identification information for identifying the data or the like, an index of an array in which the data or the like is stored, a pointer of a storage area in which the data or the like is stored, or the like. The same applies to the process in which the program acquires, extracts, or selects data or the like.

The OS 34 is an API (Application) for controlling the printer unit 11, the scanner unit 12, the FAX unit 13, the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, the mounting unit 26, and the like, which are the hardware configuring the multifunction peripheral 10. It is a basic program that provides (Programming Interface). That is, each program described above controls each hardware by calling the API provided by the OS 34. However, in this specification, the operation of each program may be described by omitting the OS 34. That is, in the following description, the description that “the program B controls the hardware C” may mean that “the program B controls the hardware C through the API of the OS 34 ”. The same applies to the mobile terminal 50 described below.

[Mobile device 50]
As shown in FIG. 2B, the mobile terminal 50 mainly includes a display unit 53, an operation unit 54, a communication unit 55, a CPU 61, a storage unit 62, and a communication bus 63. The display unit 53, the operation unit 54, the communication unit 55, the CPU 61, the storage unit 62, and the communication bus 63 included in the mobile terminal 50 include the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, the CPU 31, which are included in the multifunction peripheral 10. Since it is common to the storage unit 32 and the communication bus 33, the repetitive description will be omitted. The CPU 61 and the storage unit 62 are an example of a control unit. The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, or the like.

An OS 64, an output program 65, and a map program 66 are stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62. Further, in the data storage area 62B of the storage unit 62, various information shown in FIG. 3 is stored. Further, the data storage area 62B may be provided with a content data folder in which content data is stored. The content data may be, for example, image data, photo data, document data, spreadsheet data, presentation data, moving image data, music data, or the like.

The display unit 53 of the mobile terminal 50 is divided into a common display area 80 and a program display area 81, as shown in FIGS. In the common display area 80, a status bar is displayed by the OS 64 regardless of the display content of the program display area 81. Various information is displayed on the status bar by the OS 64. In the status bar, for example, a back icon 82 described later, a title of a screen displayed in the program display area 81, an icon indicating the remaining battery level of the mobile terminal 50, an icon indicating the communication state of the communication unit 55, and the mobile terminal 50 are displayed. An icon or the like indicating the push notification received from the external service is displayed. In the program display area 81, the screen generated by the program running in the foreground is displayed.

Hereinafter, when it is described that “the program causes the display unit 53 to display a screen”, the program screen is displayed in the program display area 81 and the status bar is displayed in the common display area 80. The program screen is a screen displayed in the program display area 81 according to a program instruction. However, the display unit 53 can switch between a partial screen mode in which the display area is divided into a common display area 80 and a program display area 81, and a full screen mode in which the entire display area is the program display area 81. Good.

The OS 64 may be, for example, Android (registered trademark of Google Inc.) OS, iOS (registered trademark of Cico Systems, Inc.), Windows Phone (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Operating System, or the like. The OS 64 can execute a plurality of programs installed in the mobile terminal 50 in parallel. The plurality of programs are virtually executed in parallel by, for example, a time division multiplexing method. Further, the OS 64 executes one of a plurality of programs executed in parallel in the foreground and executes the other programs in the background.

The foreground is, for example, a state in which the program screen resulting from the execution of the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. The “most part of the display area” may refer to the program display area 81, for example. The background is, for example, a state in which a program screen resulting from execution of a program different from the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. That is, the portable terminal 50 can cause the display unit 53 to display only the program screen resulting from the execution of the program that is being executed in the foreground among the plurality of programs that are being executed in parallel.

Further, the OS 64 provides the program installed in the portable terminal 50 with the sharing function of activating the second program specified by the first program and passing the instruction information specified by the first program to the second program. The first program can use the sharing function, for example, by executing an API provided by the OS 64 (hereinafter, referred to as “shared API”). More specifically, the first program executes the shared API using the program ID and the designation information of the second program as arguments. Details of the sharing function will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

First, the sharing source application 41 executes the sharing API of the OS 64 for realizing the sharing function (S1). To execute the shared API, a URI (abbreviation of Uniform Resource Identifier), a type, and an action are required as arguments. The URI is information indicating the location of shared data. The type is information indicating the data format of shared data. The action is information indicating the type of processing (for example, browsing, editing, transmitting, printing, etc.) on the shared data to be executed by the sharing destination application. The URI, type, and action are examples of the instruction information passed from the sharing source application to the request destination application.

On the other hand, the applications 42, 43, 44,... Which are candidates for the sharing destination application declare in advance to the OS 64 the data format of the shared data that can be processed and the type of processing that can be executed. Therefore, the OS 64 identifies (S2) the application that can execute the process indicated by the action on the shared data in the data format indicated by the type from the applications 42, 43, 44,. A list of applications is displayed on the display unit 53 (S3). Then, the OS 64 waits in a state in which a user operation for selecting one of the displayed applications can be accepted through the operation unit 54 (S4).

Next, the OS 64 starts the application with the URI, the type, and the action as arguments in response to the user operation for selecting one of the applications displayed in the list being received through the operation unit 54 (S4). (S5). In the following embodiments, the map program 66 corresponds to the application 41 of FIG. 13, and the output program 65 corresponds to one of the applications 42 to 44 of FIG.

The processes of steps S2 to S5 may be executed by the sharing source application. In this case, the sharing source application acquires, from the OS 64, information specifying an application capable of executing the process indicated by the action for the shared data in the data format indicated by the type in step S2. Then, the sharing source application executes the sharing API of the OS 64 to activate the application selected by the user operation in step S5.

The output program 65 is a program that causes the multi-function peripheral 10 connected through the communication unit 55 to perform an operation on content data. The output program 65 is, for example, recording instruction information for executing a print operation, scan instruction information for executing a scan process, FAX instruction information for executing a FAX transmission operation, and saving for executing a media saving operation. The instruction information and the like are transmitted to the multifunction machine 10 through the communication unit 55. The recording instruction information, the scan instruction information, the FAX instruction information, and the medium storage instruction information are examples of output instruction information. In addition, the output program 65 displays a preview screen on the display unit 53 before transmitting the output instruction information.

The map program 66 is a program that allows the user to specify an arbitrary area of the map image and delivers image data indicating the map image of the specified area to the output program 65. The map program 66 is an example of a boot source program that receives a user operation for designating content data. The activation source program is a program that designates designation information for identifying the received content data to the OS 64 and activates the output program 65 by using the sharing function. Note that the specific example of the boot source program is not limited to the map program 66, and may be, for example, a paint program or the like that edits an image according to a user operation and delivers image data indicating the edited image to the output program 65.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the data storage area 62B can store the device ID and the operation information associated with the device ID. Hereinafter, the record shown in FIG. 3A may be referred to as “motion information record”. The operation information record is not registered when the output program 65 is installed, but is registered in the device selection process described later.

The device ID is an example of device identification information for identifying the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B. In this embodiment, the device ID of the multifunction device 10A is "MFP-A", and the device ID of the multifunction device 10B is "MFP-B". The multifunction device 10 identified by the device ID included in the operation information record is an example of the first device. The operation information is information indicating an operation that can be executed by the multifunction device 10 identified by the corresponding device ID, and is acquired from the multifunction device 10 identified by the corresponding device ID. In the example of FIG. 3A, “print” indicates a print operation and “FAX transmission” indicates a FAX transmission operation. That is, the multifunction peripheral 10A in the example of FIG. 3A can execute the print operation and the FAX transmission operation.

Further, the data storage area 62B stores a device update flag as shown in FIG. The device update flag is a flag indicating whether the operation information record shown in FIG. 3A has been updated. That is, the device update flag is set by the output program 65 to either “ON” indicating that the operation information record has been updated or “OFF” indicating that the operation information record has not been updated. The initial value of the device update flag is “OFF”.

[Operation of recording system 100]
The operation of the recording system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The recording system 100 executes processing for causing the multifunction peripheral 10 to perform an output operation for content data designated by the mobile terminal 50 based on a user operation.

First, the OS 64 of the mobile terminal 50 displays the menu screen on the display unit 53 and displays the status bar on the common display area 80. FIG. 7A is an example of a menu screen. The menu screen shown in FIG. 7A includes a plurality of program icons 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The program icons 111 to 115 correspond to the programs installed in the mobile terminal 50. For example, the program icon 114 corresponds to the output program 65, and the program icon 115 corresponds to the map program 66. The OS 64 receives selection of the program icons 111 to 115 through the operation unit 54. The OS 64 activates the output program 65 in response to the selection of the program icon 114 received through the operation unit 54. The selection of the program icon 114 is an example of a user operation for instructing the activation of the output program 65.

[Standard startup process]
The output program 65 of the mobile terminal 50 executes the standard activation process in response to being activated by the OS 64 that has accepted the selection of the program icon 114. The output program 65 displays various screens for accepting user operations for designating content data, output operation, and output device in the standard startup process, and accepts user operations through the screens. Hereinafter, the content data designated by the user will be referred to as “designated data”, the output operation designated by the user will be referred to as “designated operation”, and the output device designated by the user will be referred to as “designated device”. Then, the output program 65 causes the designated device to perform the designated operation for the designated data. Details of the standard activation process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the output program 65 determines the value of the device update flag shown in FIG. 3(B) (S11). Then, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen shown in FIG. 7B in response to the device update flag being set to “OFF” (S11: No) (S12). On the other hand, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen shown in FIG. 8A in response to the device update flag being set to “ON” (S11: Yes) (S13). Further, the output program 65 sets “OFF” to the device update flag in step S13. The processing of steps S12 and S13 is an example of the first display processing. The main screen is an example of the operation selection screen.

The main screen shown in FIG. 7B includes a plurality of operation icons 116 and 117 and a device icon 119. The motion icons 116 and 117 are an example of a motion designation object corresponding to the motion indicated by the motion information included in the motion information record. That is, the operation icons 116 and 117 correspond to the operations that can be performed by the multifunction machine 10 identified by the device ID included in the operation information record. The device icon 119 is an example of a device switching object that causes the output program 65 to execute the process of switching the designated device. In the device icon 119, a device ID “MFP-A” that identifies the multifunction peripheral 10A currently designated as the designated device is described. On the other hand, when the motion information record is not registered, “unselected” or the like may be displayed on the device icon 119.

In the main screen shown in FIG. 8A, an operation information record including a device ID “MFP-B” and operation information “print”, “FAX transmission”, and “save media” is stored in the data storage area 62B. Is displayed when That is, in the main screen shown in FIG. 8A, the operation icons 116 to 118 corresponding to the operation information “print”, “FAX transmission”, and “save media” and the device ID “MFP-B” are designated devices. And a device icon 120 indicating that it is designated. Further, the main screen shown in FIG. 8A includes a device switching message "Media storage function is now available." Details of the device switching message will be described later.

Next, the output program 65 receives the selection of the icon included in the main screen through the operation unit 54 (S14) . Output program 65, for example in response to acceptance of the selected position of the device icon 119 through the operation unit 54 (S14: device icon), executes the device selection process (S15). The device selection process is a process for allowing the user to select the designated device. Note that the same processing is executed when the device icon 120 shown in FIG. 8A is selected. Details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

First, the output program 65 searches for a multi-function peripheral 10 capable of executing the designated operation among the plurality of multi-function peripherals 10 capable of communicating via the communication unit 55 (S41). The output program 65 uses, for example, SNMP (abbreviation of Simple Network Management Protocol) to send a transmission request for the device ID and the operation information stored in the MIB to the multifunction device 10 through the communication unit 55. Next, the output program 65 receives the device ID and the operation information returned from the multifunction machine 10 through the communication unit 55. Next, the output program 65 compares the action ID of the designated action with the action ID included in the action information received from the multifunction machine 10. Then, the output program 65 identifies, as the target multifunction peripheral, the multifunction peripheral 10 in which the motion ID of the designated motion is included in the motion information. Since the designated operation has not been designated at the stage of the device selection processing in step S15, the output program 65 specifies all the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B that can communicate through the communication unit 55 as the target multifunction peripherals. The process of step S41 is an example of the specific process.

The operation information may be model information indicating the model of the multifunction machine 10. In this case, the output program 65 accesses the correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the model information and the motion ID corresponding to the model information, and acquires the motion ID corresponding to the received model information. That is, the correspondence information is also information indicating an operation that can be executed by the multifunction peripheral 10 of the model indicated by the model information. The correspondence information may be stored in the mobile terminal 50 or a cloud server (not shown).

Next, the output program 65 displays the device selection screen on the display unit 53 (S42). FIG. 8B is an example of the device selection screen. The device selection screen shown in FIG. 8B includes device icons 121 and 122. The device icons 121 and 122 correspond to the multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B that are the target multifunction peripherals identified in step S41. Further, in the device icons 121 and 122, the device IDs of the corresponding multifunction peripherals 10A and 10B are described. Then, the output program 65 receives the selection of the icon included in the device selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S43) .

Next, for example, in response to the selection of the device icon 122 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S43: Yes), the output program 65 receives the operation information of the multifunction peripheral 10 corresponding to the device icon 122 (S44). .. The method of receiving the motion information is the same as the process of step S41. When the MIB of the multifunction peripheral 10 is referred to in step S41, the process of step S44 can be omitted. The process of receiving the motion information in steps S41 and S44 is an example of the first acquisition process. The multifunction device 10 corresponding to the selected device icon is an example of the second device.

Next, the output program 65 includes an operation information record (hereinafter, ““MFP-B”) described in the selected device icon 122 and operation information of the multifunction machine 10B identified by the device ID. The new motion information record” is stored in the data storage area 62B (S45). When the motion information record is not stored in the data storage area 62B, the output program 65 newly stores the new motion information record in the data storage area 62B. This process is an example of the storage control process.

If an operation information record (hereinafter referred to as “old operation information record”) is already stored in the data storage area 62B, the output program 65 compares the old operation information record with the new operation information record. .. Then, the output program 65 overwrites the old motion information record with the new motion information record when the old motion information record and the new motion information record are different (S45). This process is an example of the update process. That is, when the multifunction device 10 different from the designated device is selected in the device selection process, the designated device is switched by the update process. On the other hand, the output program 65 skips the process of step S45 when the old motion information record and the new motion information record match.

Further, the output program 65 sets “ON” to the device update flag and generates a device switching message in step S45. The device switching message is a message included in the main screen displayed when the device update flag is set to “ON”. The device switching message is a message notifying that the designated device has been switched. Specifically, the output program 65 identifies an operation, which is not indicated by the operation information included in the old operation information record, among the operations indicated by the operation information included in the new operation information record. Then, the output program 65 generates a device switching message that notifies that the specified operation can be executed.

The output program 65 may always overwrite the old motion information record with the new motion information record in step S45 without comparing the old motion information record with the new motion information record. Further, the output program 65 may set the device update flag to “ON” and generate the device switching message only when the old operation information record and the new operation information record are different.

For example, when the device ID included in the old motion information record is “MFP-A” and the device ID included in the new motion information record is “MFP-B”, as shown in FIG. A device switching message "Media storage function is now available." is generated. Then, the device switching message is included in the main screen in the first first display process after the update process is executed. The device switching message may be generated in step S12. In this case, the output program 65 temporarily stores the old motion information record in step S45, and deletes the old motion information record in step S12.

Further, a back icon 82 is further displayed in the common display area 80 when the device selection screen is displayed in the program display area 81. The back icon 82 is an example of a back object corresponding to switching to the screen displayed immediately before on the display unit 53. The back icon 82 is not displayed when the main screen, which is the initial screen of the menu screen and the output program 65, is displayed in the program display area 81, and is displayed when other screens are displayed in the program display area 81. It The back icon 82 may be displayed in the program display area 81 instead of the common display area 80. Further, the output program 65 may display the back icon 82 in the program display area 81.

Then, when the OS 64 receives the selection of the back icon 82 displayed together with the device selection screen through the operation unit 54, the OS 64 outputs notification information indicating that the back icon 82 is selected to the output program 65. In response to receiving the notification information output from the OS 64, the output program 65 skips the processes of steps S43 to S45 and causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen again. That is, the main screen displayed on the display unit 53 immediately before the device selection screen is displayed is displayed again. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the back icon 82 displayed together with the device selection screen shown in FIG. 8B is selected and the main screen shown in FIG. 7B is displayed, and the following description will be continued. ..

Returning to FIG. 4, the output program 65 responds to the selection of one of the motion icons 116 and 117 via the operation unit 54 (S14: motion icon), and then the motion corresponding to the selected motion icon 116 or 117. And the device ID described in the device icon 119 are temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B. The temporarily stored action ID is a designated action ID for identifying the designated action. The temporarily stored device ID is a designated device ID for identifying the designated device. In the present embodiment, the following description will be continued assuming that the operation ID of the print operation is temporarily stored as the designated operation ID and the apparatus ID “MFP-A” is temporarily stored as the designated apparatus ID.

Next, the output program 65 displays the data selection screen on the display unit 53 (S16). Further, the output program 65 receives the selection of the icon included in the data selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S17). Processing in step S16 is an example of the second display processing.

FIG. 9A is an example of the data selection screen. The data selection screen shown in FIG. 9A includes a plurality of data icons 123, 124, 125. The data icons 123 to 125 are examples of data objects corresponding to content data that can be designated as designated data. In the data icons 123 to 125, the data ID (for example, file name) of the corresponding content data is described. The content data corresponding to the data icons 123 to 125 may be stored in the content data folder or may be stored in a server (not shown) that can communicate with the communication unit 55.

Next, the output program 65 receives the selection of one of the data icons 123 to 125 via the operation unit 54 (S17: Yes), and sets the content data corresponding to the selected data icon as the designated data. It is temporarily stored in the storage area 62B. Alternatively, the output program 65 may temporarily store, in the data storage area 62B, information specifying the designated data (hereinafter, referred to as "designated data ID") instead of the designated data itself. The designated data ID may be, for example, information indicating the storage location of the designated data or a URL indicating the designated data. In the present embodiment, the following description will be continued assuming that the data icon 123 is selected. On the other hand, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen again in response to the notification information indicating that the back icon 82 displayed together with the data selection screen has been selected from the OS 64.

Next, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a preview screen in response to the selection of the data icon 123 received through the operation unit 54 (S17: Yes) (S18). Further, the output program 65 receives selection of an icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S19). The process of step S18 is an example of the preview display process, and the process of step S19 is an example of the second reception process.

FIG. 9B is an example of the preview screen. The preview screen shown in FIG. 9B includes a preview image 126, a print instruction icon 127, and a FAX switching icon 128. On the other hand, the preview screen shown in FIG. 9B does not include the device switching icon described later. The preview image 126 is an image showing an image obtained by outputting the designation data designated in step S17 by the designation operation designated in step S14. That is, the preview image 126 shows an image in which the image represented by the image data identified by the file name “Photo.JPEG” is recorded on the recording paper.

The print instruction icon 127 is an example of an output instruction object corresponding to an instruction to specify a print operation as a specified operation and an instruction to cause a specified device to execute a print operation for specified data. The FAX switching icon 128 is an example of a motion switching object corresponding to an instruction to switch the designated operation from the print operation to the FAX transmission operation. That is, the preview screen includes an output instruction object corresponding to the designated action and a action switching object corresponding to the action different from the designated action among the plurality of actions indicated by the action information of the action information record. On the other hand, the preview screen when there is one motion indicated by the motion information included in the motion information record does not include the motion switching object.

Next, when the output program 65 receives the selection of the print instruction icon 127 through the operation unit 54 (S19: output icon), the output program 65 transmits the print instruction information to the multifunction peripheral 10A through the communication unit 55 (S20). The print instruction information is an example of output instruction information for causing the designated device to execute the printing operation for the designated data. The print instruction information of this embodiment includes image data identified by the file name “photograph.JPEG” and a designated action ID that identifies the output action “print”. Then, the output program 65 transmits the print instruction information to the multifunction peripheral 10A, which is the designated device, through the communication unit 55. The process of step S20 is an example of the second output instruction process. The print instruction information may include a designated data ID such as a URL instead of the designated data itself.

On the other hand, although not shown, the control program 35 of the multifunction peripheral 10A receives the print instruction information from the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Then, the control program 35 causes the printer unit 11 to execute the print operation according to the received print instruction information. That is, the printer unit 11 records the image represented by the content data “Photo.JPEG” included in the print instruction information on the recording sheet.

Returning to FIG. 4 again, the output program 65 receives the selection of the FAX switching icon 128 included in the preview screen shown in FIG. 9B through the operation unit 54 (S19: switching icon), and then outputs the data. The designated operation ID temporarily stored in the storage area 62B is switched from the operation ID of the print operation to the operation ID of the FAX transmission operation. Further, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen again (S18). This process is the same as when the switch icon is selected in steps S35 and S36, and the details will be described later. Further, the output program 65 receives the notification information indicating that the back icon 82 displayed together with the preview screen displayed in step S18 is selected from the OS 64, and accordingly, the data shown in FIG. The selection screen is displayed again on the display unit 53.

On the other hand, the OS 64 activates the map program 66 in response to receiving the selection of the program icon 115 included in the menu screen through the operation unit 54. The map program 66 of the mobile terminal 50 displays the map designation screen on the display unit 53 in response to being activated by the OS 64 that has accepted the selection of the program icon 115. FIG. 10A is an example of a map designation screen. The map designation screen shown in FIG. 10A includes a map display area 129 and a [preview] icon. Then, the map program 66 receives a user operation on the map display area 129 and the [preview] icon through the operation unit 54.

In the map display area 129, a part of the map image that can be displayed by the map program 66 is displayed. In the map display area 129 at the time of starting the map program 66, for example, a map image 130 including the current position of the mobile terminal 50 acquired from GPS (abbreviation of Global Positioning System) is displayed. The map program 66 acquires, for example, map image data indicating the map image 130 to be displayed from the server (not shown) through the communication unit 55. Specifically, the map program 66 requests the server for map image data through the communication unit 55, and receives the map image data returned from the server through the communication unit 55.

Then, the map program 66 changes the map image 130 displayed in the map display area 129 in response to the user operation at the position of the map display area 129 being accepted through the operation unit 54. The map program 66 acquires map image data indicating the changed map image 130 from the server. The map image 130 displayed in the map display area 129 is, for example, slid following a slide operation, reduced following a pinch-in operation, and enlarged following a pinch-out operation.

Further, the map program 66 stores the map image data indicating the map image 130 displayed in the map display area 129 in the data storage area 62B in response to the selection of the [Preview] icon received through the operation unit 54. Let Then, the map program 66 designates the designation information to the OS 64 and activates the output program 65 using the sharing function. That is, the map program 66 executes the shared API using the program ID of the output program 65 and the data ID of the map image data as arguments.

[External start processing]
In response to the execution of the shared API, the OS 64 ends or executes the map program 66 that was being executed in the foreground in the background, and activates the output program 65 to execute the output program 65 in the foreground. The output program 65 executes an external starting process in response to being started by the map program 66 using the sharing function. The external activation process is a process for causing the designated device to output the output operation for the designated data designated by the map program 66. The details of the external activation process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the output program 65 acquires the designation information output by the program that started the output program 65 (S31: Yes). Specifically, the output program 65 receives the designation information output by the OS 64 as a return value by executing an API that requests the OS 64 for the designation information. Then, the output program 65 temporarily stores the data ID included in the designation information as the designated data ID in the data storage area 62B. Next, the output program 65 determines whether or not the motion information record is stored in the data storage area 62B (S32) . Processing step step S32 is an example of a second determination process.

Next, the output program 65 executes the device selection process in response to the determination that the operation information record is not stored in the data storage area 62B (S32: No) (S33). Since the process of step S33 is the same as the process of step S15, the repetitive description will be omitted. As a result, the motion information record is registered in the data storage area 62B. That is, the output program 65 receives the designation of the designation device in step S33. On the other hand, the output program 65 skips the process of step S33 in response to determining that the operation information record is stored in the data storage area 62B (S32: Yes).

Next, the output program 65 determines whether the designated device can execute a plurality of output operations (S34). That is, the output program 65 determines whether the operation information included in the operation information record shown in FIG. 3A indicates a plurality of output operations (S34). The process of step S34 is an example of the first determination process.

The output program 65 displays the preview screen shown in FIG. 10B on the display unit 53 in response to the determination that the designated device can execute a plurality of output operations (S34: Yes) (S35). On the other hand, when the output device 65 determines that the designated device can execute only one output operation (S34: No), it causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen shown in FIG. 11A (S36). ). Then, the output program 65 receives the selection of the icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S37). The processing of step S35, S36 is an example of a preview display process.

The preview screen shown in FIG. 10B includes a first preview image 131, a device icon 119, a print instruction icon 127 that is an example of a first output instruction object, and a fax switch that is an example of a first action switching object. And an icon 128. The first preview image 131 is an example of a preview image showing an image in which the map image data identified by the data ID acquired in step S31 is output by the print operation. On the other hand, the preview screen shown in FIG. 11A is different from the preview screen shown in FIG. 10B in that it does not include the FAX switching icon 128. The non-display of the action switching object is an example in which the action switching object cannot be selected. The preview screen displayed in steps S34 and S35 differs from the preview screen displayed in step S18 in that it includes the device icons 119 and 120.

The first preview image 131 is an example of a preview image showing an image in which the map image data identified by the data ID acquired in step S31 is output by a print operation that is a temporary specifying operation. The output program 65 sets one of the plurality of output operations included in the operation information record as a temporary specified operation. The temporary designation operation may be designated by the MIB of the multifunction machine 10, or may be preset in the output program 65, for example. The output program 65 causes the data storage area 62B to temporarily store the action ID for identifying the temporary designated action as the designated action ID. That is, when the temporary designation operation is the FAX transmission operation, the preview screen shown in FIG. 11B is displayed instead of the preview screen shown in FIG. Of the plurality of output operations indicated by the operation information of the operation information record, the print operation, which is a temporary specified operation, is an example of the first operation, and the FAX transmission operation is an example of the second operation.

Next, when the output program 65 receives the selection of the print instruction icon 127 through the operation unit 54 (S37: output icon), the output program 65 outputs the print instruction information, which is an example of the output instruction information, to the multifunction machine which is the designation device. It transmits to 10A through the communication part 55 (S38). The print operation corresponding to the selected print instruction icon 127 is an example of the target operation. The process of transmitting the print instruction information in step S38 is the same as the process already described in step S20, and thus the repetitive description will be omitted. Each of the process of step S38 executed by selecting the print instruction icon 127 shown in FIG. 10B and the process of step S38 executed by selecting the print instruction icon 127 shown in FIG. , An example of first output instruction processing.

In response to the selection of the FAX switching icon 128 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S37: switching icon), the output program 65 sets the designated operation ID temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B to the operation ID of the print operation. To the operation ID of the FAX transmission operation. Further, the output program 65 again executes the preview display processing for displaying the preview screen shown in FIG. 11B on the display unit 53 (S35). The preview screen shown in FIG. 11B is an example of a preview screen including the second preview image 132, the device icon 119, the FAX instruction icon 133, and the print switching icon 134.

The second preview image 132 is an image showing an image recorded on the recording paper in the apparatus that received the FAX image of the map image 130 represented by the map image data. The second preview image 132 differs from the first preview image 131 in that it includes, for example, a FAX header. The FAX header includes, for example, a name indicating a FAX transmission source and a FAX transmission time. The FAX instruction icon 133 is an example of a second output instruction object corresponding to an instruction to specify a FAX transmission operation as a specified operation and an instruction to cause a specified apparatus to execute a FAX transmission operation for specified data. The print switching icon 134 is an example of a second motion switching object corresponding to an instruction to switch the temporary designated operation from the FAX transmission operation to the print operation.

Then, in response to the selection of the print switching icon 134 being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S37: switching icon), the output program 65 sets the designated operation ID temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B to the FAX transmission operation. The ID is switched to the operation ID of the print operation. Further, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen shown in FIG. 10A again (S35). Further, in response to the selection of the FAX instruction icon 133 received through the operation unit 54 (S37: output icon), the output program 65 transmits FAX instruction information to the multifunction peripheral 10A, which is the designated device, through the communication unit 55 ( S38). The FAX instruction information is an example of output instruction information for causing a designated device to execute a FAX transmission operation for designated data.

The FAX instruction information of the present embodiment includes map image data that is specified data, a specified operation ID that identifies a FAX transmission operation that is a specified operation, and destination information (for example, a telephone number) that specifies an external device that is a FAX transmission destination. Including and Although not shown, the control program 35 receives FAX instruction information from the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Then, the control program 35 causes the FAX unit 13 to execute the FAX transmission operation according to the received FAX instruction information. That is, the FAX unit 13 FAX-transmits the map image data, which is the content data included in the FAX instruction information, to the external device specified by the destination information.

In addition, the output program 65 receives the selection of the device icon 119 on the preview screen shown in FIG. 10B through the operation unit 54 (S37: device icon), and then performs the device selection process shown in FIG. Is executed (S34). In step S41, the output program 65 identifies the multifunction machine 10 capable of executing the output operation identified by the designated operation ID among the plurality of multifunction machines 10 capable of communicating through the communication unit 55. The other processing has already been described, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Then, the output program 65, for example, in the device selection screen shown in FIG. 8B, in response to receiving the selection of the device icon 122 through the operation unit 54, the designated device ID temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B. Is switched from the device ID “MFP-A” of the multifunction device 10A to the device ID “MFP-B” of the multifunction device 10B. Further, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen shown in FIG. 12 (S35). The preview screen shown in FIG. 12 is different from the preview screen shown in FIG. 10B in that the device icon 120 is included instead of the device icon 119.

Further, in response to the selection of the back icon 82 displayed together with the preview screens shown in FIGS. 10(B), 11(A), 11(B), and 12, the map program 66 is in the foreground. Will be executed again. That is, the OS 64 executes the output program 65, which has been executed in the foreground, in the background, and the map program 66 in the foreground. Then, the map program 66 executed in the foreground displays the map designation screen shown in FIG.

[Operation and effect of this embodiment]
According to the above-described embodiment, both the output instruction icon and the operation switching icon are displayed on the preview screen when the designated device can execute a plurality of output operations. Thereby, the content data is output in the target operation designated by the user from the plurality of output operations. That is, it is possible to instruct a designated device capable of executing a plurality of output operations to execute any of the plurality of output operations. On the other hand, on the preview screen when the designated device can execute only one output operation, the output instruction icon for instructing execution of the output operation is displayed, and the operation switching icon is not displayed. This allows the user to recognize that the designated device can execute only one output operation.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the motion switching object is hidden on the preview screen shown in FIG. 11A has been described, but the method of making the motion switching object unselectable is not limited to this. The motion switching object may be grayed out. Then, the output program 65 does not have to execute the device selection process even if it accepts the selection of the grayed out action switching object through the operation unit 54. When the designated device can execute only one output operation, the output program 65 may omit the preview display process and cause the designated device to execute the output operation.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the user can check the image of the output result by displaying the preview screen on the display unit 53 before outputting the designated data to the multi-function peripheral 10. As a result, it becomes easier to obtain the output result desired by the user. In other words, it is possible to prevent the process from being redone when the output result is different from the user's intention.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to receive the designation of the multifunction machine 10 that executes the designated operation through the device icons 119 and 120. Here, the screen transition from the preview screen to the main screen by the back icon 82 is possible in the standard activation process, but not possible in the external activation process. Therefore, the device icons 119 and 120 may be included in the main screen in the standard starting process and the preview screen in the external starting process. On the other hand, it is not always necessary to include the device icons 119 and 120 on the preview screen in the standard startup process.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the device switching message is displayed on the main screen displayed next in response to the update of the motion information record. This allows the user to recognize the change of the designated device. In addition, since the executable operation may differ for each multi-function peripheral 10, the user can recognize the available operation or the unavailable operation due to the switching of the designated device.

In the device selection process executed in step S33, the process in step S45 may be omitted. That is, the designation of the multifunction machine 10 in step S33 is used only for transmitting the output instruction information in step S38 immediately after that, and the operation information record including the device ID and the operation information of the multifunction machine 10 is stored in the data storage area 62B. It does not have to be stored.

Further, in the portable terminal 50 of the above-described embodiment, the CPU 61 executes various programs stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62 to realize each process executed by the control unit of the present invention. Explained. However, the configuration of the control unit is not limited to this, and a part or all of the configuration may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (also referred to as IC (Integrated Circuit)).

Furthermore, the present invention can be realized not only as the mobile terminal 50, but also as a program that causes the mobile terminal 50 to execute processing. Then, the program may be provided by being recorded in a non-transitory recording medium. The non-transitory recording medium may include a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like, as well as a storage unit mounted in a server connectable to the mobile terminal 50 through the communication network 101. The program stored in the storage unit of the server may be distributed as information or a signal indicating the program through the communication network 101 such as the Internet.

10... Multifunction device 11... Printer unit 12... Scanner unit 25, 55... Communication unit 31, 61... CPU
35... Control program 65... Output program 66... Map program 50... Mobile terminal 53... Display unit 54... Operation unit 62... Storage unit

Claims (10)

An output program readable by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, and a display unit, wherein the storage unit stores a startup source program readable by the mobile terminal and starts the startup. The original program can cause the mobile terminal to execute determination of content data and activation of the output program,
The output program is
Storage control processing for storing device identification information for identifying at least one output device connectable to the mobile terminal through the communication unit in the storage unit;
The content data determined by the activation source program for the first operation, which is one of a plurality of output operations that can be executed by the output device identified by the device identification information stored by the storage control process. a first preview image showing the image output in operation and the target, an output indicating object, to display the first preview screen including the operation switching object corresponding to the switching of the operation of said object on said display unit A first operation that is one of the plurality of output operations and is different from the first operation in response to receiving an operation on the operation switching object through the operation unit while the first preview screen is displayed. targeting 2 operation, the start and the target the content data determined by the source program and the second preview image showing the output by the image at operation was, the output instruction object and a second containing the said operation switching object A preview display process for displaying a preview screen on the display unit,
The content data determined by the activation source program in response to receiving an operation on the output instruction object through the operation unit in a state where one of the first preview screen and the second preview screen is displayed. An output program for causing the mobile terminal to execute a first output instruction process for instructing the output device identified by the device identification information stored by the storage control process to output in the target operation. The output program is
A second acquisition process for acquiring operation information indicating the output operation executable by the output device identified by the device identification information stored by the storage control process;
A first determination process of determining whether or not the operation information indicates the plurality of output operations;
The output program according to claim 1, which causes the mobile terminal to execute the preview display processing in response to the first determination processing determining that the operation information indicates the plurality of output operations. The output program is
In response to the first determination processing determining that the operation information indicates one output operation, the content data determined by the activation source program is set as the target for the one output operation. The preview display processing for displaying on the display unit a first preview screen including the first preview image showing an image output by an action and an output instruction object and indicating that the action switching object is not selectable. The output program according to claim 2, which is executed by the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal is connectable to the plurality of output devices through the communication unit,
The device identification information identifies a first device that is one of the plurality of output devices,
The output program causes the display unit to display the first preview screen and the second preview screen further including a device switching object in the preview display processing, and the device switching object causes the output operation to be executed. is a Luo object to respond to the switching of the device,
The output program is capable of executing the first operation among the plurality of output devices communicable via the communication unit in response to receiving an operation of selecting the device switching object via the operation unit. Identification processing to identify the device,
The second acquisition process and the first determination process for the second device in response to receiving an operation specifying the second device, which is one of the output devices specified in the specifying process, through the operation unit. The output program according to claim 2, which causes the mobile terminal to execute The output program causes the display unit to display the first preview screen and the second preview screen further including the device switching object in the preview display processing when the program is started by the starting source program,
The output program causes the mobile terminal to perform a first display process for displaying an operation selection screen on the display unit in response to being activated by the OS of the mobile terminal that has received an operation for instructing activation of the output program. And the operation selection screen includes an operation designation object corresponding to the output operation executable by the first device and the device switching object,
The output program executes a second display process of displaying a data selection screen on the display unit in response to receiving an operation of selecting the action designation object included in the action selection screen through the operation unit, the portable terminal. And the data selection screen includes a plurality of data objects corresponding to each of the content data,
The output program is
Displaying the first preview screen and the second preview screen that do not include the device switching object on the display unit in response to receiving an operation of selecting the data object included in the data selection screen through the operation unit. The preview display process,
In response to the operation of selecting the output instruction object included in the first preview screen and the second preview screen not including the device switching object being received through the operation unit, the first device is transmitted to the first device through the communication unit. A second output instruction process for transmitting output instruction information is executed by the mobile terminal, wherein the output instruction information is the content data corresponding to the data object selected by the operation, and the content data corresponding to the data object selected by the operation. The output program according to claim 4, which is information to be output by the output operation corresponding to the operation designation object. Wherein and back object is displayed on the display unit together with the first preview screen and the second preview screen, the back object that corresponds to the switching to the previous screen from the first preview screen and the second preview screen an object, the previous screen is just before the first preview screen and the second preview screen is displayed on the display unit, a screen displayed on the display unit,
The data selection screen is displayed on the display unit as the immediately preceding screen in response to the output program being activated by the OS and the selection of the back object being accepted by the operation unit,
In response to the output program being activated by the activation source program and the selection of the back object being accepted through the operation unit, the activation source program is executed in the foreground instead of the output program, and the foreground is A screen resulting from the execution of the program is being displayed in the display area of the display unit,
The output program according to claim 5, wherein the activation source program executed in the foreground causes the display unit to display the screen immediately before the activation of the output program as the immediately previous screen. The output program is
The update process of updating the device identification information stored in the storage unit with the device identification information for identifying the second device in response to receiving an operation of designating the second device through the operation unit. Let your mobile device run
The output program according to claim 5 or 6, which notifies that the device identification information stored in the storage unit has been updated in the first first display process after the update process has been executed. The output program is
A second determination process of determining whether or not the device identification information is stored in the storage unit;
The activation in response to the content data is determined and the device identification information by the original program is determined in the second determination processing is stored, to execute a pre-Symbol first determination process, to the mobile terminal ,
8. The mobile terminal is caused to execute the specific processing in response to the second determination processing determining that the content data is determined by the activation source program and the device identification information is not stored. The output program described in any one of. The storage unit stores type information indicating the type of the content data, and one or more output operations associated with the type information,
9. The output program further determines in the first determination process whether or not the plurality of output operations indicated by the operation information are associated with the type information of the content data. Output program according to any one. Operation part,
Storage part,
Communication department,
Display part,
A mobile terminal including a control unit,
The storage unit stores an output program and a starting source program,
The control unit that executes the activation source program executes determination of content data and activation of the output program,
The control unit that executes the output program,
Performing storage control processing for storing device identification information for identifying at least one output device connectable to the mobile terminal through the communication unit in the storage unit;
The content data determined by the activation source program for the first operation, which is one of a plurality of output operations that can be executed by the output device identified by the device identification information stored by the storage control process. a first preview image showing the image output in operation and the target, an output indicating object, to display the first preview screen including the operation switching object corresponding to the switching of the operation of said object on said display unit A first operation that is one of the plurality of output operations and is different from the first operation in response to receiving an operation on the operation switching object through the operation unit while the first preview screen is displayed. targeting 2 operation, the start and the target the content data determined by the source program and the second preview image showing the output by the image at operation was, the output instruction object and a second containing the said operation switching object A preview display process for displaying a preview screen on the display unit,
The content data determined by the activation source program in response to receiving an operation on the output instruction object through the operation unit in a state where one of the first preview screen and the second preview screen is displayed. A mobile terminal that executes a first output instruction process for instructing the output device identified by the device identification information stored by the storage control process to output in the target operation.

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