JP6835274B2 - Starter program and terminal device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a content designation program that specifies content data, an output program that outputs content data, and a mobile terminal that executes each 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 causes a printer to print an image indicated by the specified image data. An application for passing image data to a printing application is also disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-203742

In recent years, printers are often so-called MFPs (abbreviations for Multifunction Peripherals) that have not only a print function for recording an image on a sheet but also a fax transmission function for transmitting an image by fax. However, the printing application disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the FAX function of the MFP cannot be used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is a content capable of instructing an output device to execute an output operation selected by a user from a plurality of output operations through an output program. To provide a designated program.

(1) The content designation program according to one form of the present specification can be read by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The OS of the mobile terminal provides a sharing function of invoking a second program designated by the first program and delivering instruction information designated by the first program to the second program. The storage unit stores an output program that can be read by the mobile terminal. The output program can cause the mobile terminal to execute a process of causing an output device capable of communicating through the communication unit to execute a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The content designation program read by the mobile terminal receives a user operation for designating the content data through the operation unit, and among the plurality of output operations, the output program causes the output device to receive the user operation. The second reception process that receives the user operation that specifies the output operation to be executed through the operation unit, the data identification information and the operation identification information are specified to the OS as the instruction information, and the sharing function is used. The mobile terminal is made to execute the start-up process for starting the output program. The data identification information identifies the content data that has been designated in the first reception process. The operation identification information identifies the output operation that has received the designation in the second reception process.

According to the above configuration, by accepting a user operation that specifies each of the content data and the output operation, the output device can output the content data specified by the user in the output operation specified by the user through the output program.

(2) Preferably, the mobile terminal includes a display unit. The storage unit stores a plurality of the output programs. The content designation program includes a program information acquisition process for acquiring a plurality of program identification information for identifying the output program stored in the storage unit from the OS, a plurality of program designation objects, and an operation designation object. The mobile terminal is made to execute the display control process for displaying the selection screen. The program designation object indicates the output program identified by the program identification information. The operation-designated object indicates the output operation that is associated with each of the plurality of program-designated objects and that the output program represented by the corresponding program-designated object can be executed by the output device. In the second reception process, the content designation program accepts a user operation for selecting an object included in the selection screen, and in the activation process when the selection of the action designation object is accepted in the second reception process. The operation identification information that identifies the output operation indicated by the selected operation designation object is designated to the OS as the instruction information, and is indicated by the program designation object corresponding to the selected action designation object. The output program is started by using the sharing function.

According to the above configuration, a user can be made to specify a desired output program from a plurality of output devices installed in a mobile terminal, and the output device can be made to execute an output operation through the output program.

(3) Preferably, the content designation program executes an operation information acquisition process on the mobile terminal for acquiring operation information from the output program through the OS for each of the plurality of output programs identified by the program identification information. Let me. The operation information indicates the output operation that the output program can cause the output device to execute. In the display control process, the content designation program includes the motion designation object indicating the output motion indicated by the motion information in the selection screen.

According to the above configuration, it is not necessary for the content specifying program to recognize in advance the output operation that can be executed by each output program. Therefore, even if the output program supports a new output operation due to, for example, version upgrade, the user can select the output operation in the content designation program.

(4) Preferably, the output program can communicate with a plurality of the output devices through the communication unit. The content designation program causes the mobile terminal to execute a device information acquisition process for acquiring device information from the output program through the OS for each of the plurality of output programs identified by the program identification information. The device information is information indicating the output device capable of executing the output operation indicated by the operation information among the output devices with which the output program can communicate. In the display control process, the content designation program further includes a device designation object of an aspect associated with the action designation object in the selection screen based on the device information. The device-designated object refers to the output device capable of communicating with the output program represented by the corresponding program-designated object and executing the output operation indicated by the corresponding operation-designated object. The content designation program further specifies the device identification information as the instruction information to the OS in the activation process when the selection of the device designation object is received in the second reception process, and is selected. The output program indicated by the program designation object corresponding to the device designation object is started by using the sharing function. The operation identification information identifies the output operation indicated by the operation designation object corresponding to the selected device designation object. The device identification information identifies the output device represented by the selected device designation object.

According to the above configuration, the user can be made to select the output device to be executed the output operation from the plurality of output devices that the output program can communicate with in the content designation program. Further, by layering the program designation object, the operation designation object, and the device designation object, it is possible to simplify the output program, the output operation, and the user operation for selecting the output device.

(5) Preferably, in the start-up process, the content designation program further designates the process information instructing the process to be executed first by the started output program to the OS as the instruction information, and the above-mentioned In the startup process when the selection of the operation designation object is received in the second reception process, the process information instructing the display unit to display the preview screen is designated as the instruction information for the OS. The preview screen includes a preview image showing an image of the content data identified by the content identification information output by the output operation identified by the operation identification information, and the operation identification of the plurality of output devices. It includes an object for accepting a user operation that specifies the output device that executes the output operation identified by information.

According to the above configuration, the user can confirm the image of the output result before causing the output device to output the content data. As a result, it becomes easy to obtain the output result desired by the user. In other words, it is possible to suppress re-processing due to the output result being different from the user's intention.

(6) Preferably, in the activation process when the selection of the device designation object is accepted in the second reception process, the content designation program omits the display of the preview screen and outputs the device to the output device. The processing information instructing the OS to execute is designated as the instruction information for the OS.

According to the above configuration, since the content designation program accepts all user operations, it is possible to simplify the user operations until the content data is output.

(7) Preferably, the content designation program omits the designation of the operation identification information as the instruction information in the activation process when the selection of the program designation object is received in the second reception process, and The processing information instructing the display unit to display the operation selection screen is designated as the instruction information for the OS. The operation selection screen is a first object for accepting a user operation for designating the output device, and a first object for accepting a user operation for designating the output operation to be executed by the output device designated through the first object. Includes 2 objects.

According to the above configuration, the user can specify the output operation for outputting the content data in the output program.

(8) As another example, the output program can communicate with a plurality of the output devices through the communication unit. The content designation program causes the mobile terminal to execute a device information acquisition process for acquiring device information from the output program through the OS for each of the plurality of output programs identified by the program identification information. The device information is information indicating the output operation that can be executed by the output device that the output program can communicate with. In the display control process, the content designation program includes the motion designation object indicating the output motion indicated by the motion information in the selection screen for each output device.

In this way, each object may be layered in the order of the output program, the output device with which the output program can communicate, and the output operation that can be executed by the output device.

(9) The content designation program related to other mobile phones in the present specification can be read by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The storage unit stores an output program that can be read by the mobile terminal. The output program can cause the mobile terminal to execute a process of causing an output device capable of communicating through the communication unit to execute a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The content designation program read by the mobile terminal causes the mobile terminal to execute an operation information acquisition process for acquiring operation information from the output program. The operation information indicates the output operation that the output program can cause the output device to execute. The content designation program performs a first reception process for receiving a user operation for designating the content data through the operation unit and a user operation for designating one of the output operations indicated by the operation information through the operation unit. The mobile terminal is made to execute the second reception process for accepting and the activation process for activating the output program and delivering the data identification information and the operation identification information to the output program. The data identification information identifies the content data that has been designated in the first reception process. The operation identification information identifies the output operation that has received the designation in the second reception process.

According to the above configuration, by accepting a user operation that specifies each of the content data and the output operation, the output device can output the content data specified by the user in the output operation specified by the user through the output program. Further, since the content specification program does not need to recognize the output operation that can be executed by the output program in advance, even if the output program supports a new output operation due to, for example, a version upgrade, the output operation is performed in the content specification program. Becomes selectable.

(10) The output program described in the present specification can be read by a mobile terminal including a display unit, an operation unit, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The communication unit can communicate with an output device that executes at least one of a plurality of output operations that output content data. The storage unit stores an activation source program that can be read by the mobile terminal. The activation source program starts the output program and notifies the output program of at least one of the data identification information for identifying the content data and the operation identification information for identifying the output operation. Can be executed. The output program read by the mobile terminal causes the display unit to display an operation selection screen in response to being started by the OS of the mobile terminal that has received a user operation instructing the start of the output program. 1 Make the mobile terminal execute the display process. The operation selection screen includes an operation designation object corresponding to the output operation to be executed by the output device. The output program receives the user operation for selecting the object included in the operation selection screen through the operation unit, and the selection of the operation designation object in the first reception process. , The mobile terminal is made to execute the second display process of displaying the data selection screen on the display unit. The data selection screen includes a data designation object corresponding to the content data. The output program receives a second reception process for receiving a user operation for selecting the object included in the data selection screen through the operation unit, and a second reception process for receiving the selection of the data designation object in the second reception process. , The mobile terminal is made to execute the third display process of displaying the preview screen on the display unit. The preview screen includes a preview image and an output instruction object. The preview image when the output program is started by the OS is an image obtained by outputting the content data designated in the second reception process in the output operation of receiving the designation in the first reception process. It is an image shown. The output instruction object is an object corresponding to an instruction to cause the output device to execute the output operation. The output program receives a third reception process for receiving a user operation for selecting the object included in the preview screen through the operation unit, and a third reception process for receiving the selection of the output instruction object in the third reception process. The mobile terminal is made to execute an output instruction process for transmitting output instruction information to the output device through the communication unit. The output instruction information when the output program is started by the OS is information for outputting the content data designated in the second reception process by the output operation in which the designation is received in the first reception process. Is. The output program is started by the start source program, and the first display process and the first reception process are performed in response to notification of both the data identification information and the operation identification information from the start source program. , The second display process and the second reception process are omitted, and the mobile terminal is made to execute the third display process. The preview image when the output program is started by the activation source program shows an image in which the content data indicated by the data identification information is output by the output operation identified by the operation identification information. When the output program is started by the activation source program, the output instruction information causes the output device to output the content data indicated by the data identification information in the output operation identified by the operation identification information. Show that.

According to the above configuration, for example, an output program started through a menu screen or the like provides a user interface for designating content data and output operations. On the other hand, the output program started by the starter program that accepts the designation of the content data and the output operation omits the provision of these user interfaces. That is, it is possible to appropriately provide the user interface necessary for outputting the content data to the output device depending on whether or not the content data is started by the starter program.

(11) Preferably, the communication unit can communicate with the plurality of output devices. The output program causes the display unit to display the preview screen further including the device designated object in the third display process when it is started by the activation source program. The device designation object is the object corresponding to the process of designating the output device that executes the output operation. The output program transmits the output instruction information through the communication unit to the output device designated through the device designation object in the output instruction process when it is started by the activation source program.

According to the above configuration, the output device desired by the user can execute the output operation.

(12) Preferably, the activation source program can further notify the output program of the device identification information that identifies the output device. The output program is activated by the activation source program, and in response to notification of the data identification information, the operation identification information, and the device identification information from the activation source program, the first display process, the said. By omitting the first reception process, the second display process, the second reception process, the third display process, and the third reception process, the output device identified by the device identification information is connected to the output device through the communication unit. The mobile terminal is made to execute the output instruction process for transmitting the output instruction information.

According to the above configuration, since the invoking program accepts all user operations, it is possible to simplify the user operations until the content data is output.

(13) Preferably, the output program is started by the starter program, and only the data identification information of the data identification information and the operation identification information is notified from the starter program. The second display process and the second reception process are omitted in response to the fact that the mobile terminal executes the first display process and the selection of the operation designation object is received in the first reception process. The mobile terminal is made to execute the third display process.

According to the above configuration, a user interface for accepting the specification of the output operation for which the invoking program has not accepted the specification is provided, and the user interface for accepting the specification of the content data for which the invoking program has accepted the specification is provided. Is omitted. This suppresses requesting the user for duplicate user operations.

(14) The mobile terminal described in the present specification includes an operation unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, and a control unit. The OS of the mobile terminal provides a sharing function of invoking a second program designated by the first program and delivering instruction information designated by the first program to the second program. The communication unit can be electrically connected to an output device that executes at least one of a plurality of output operations that output content data. The storage unit stores the content designation program and the output program. The control unit that executes the content designation program executes the first reception process for receiving the user operation for designating the content data through the operation unit, and the output device among the plurality of output operations through the output program. A second reception process for receiving a user operation for designating the output operation to be performed through the operation unit, data identification information and operation identification information are specified to the OS as the instruction information, and the sharing function is used. The start-up process for starting the output program is executed. The data identification information identifies the content data that has received the designation in the first reception process, and the operation identification information identifies the output operation that has received the designation in the second reception process. The control unit that executes the output program activated by the content designation program executes an output instruction process for 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 by the output operation identified by the operation identification information.

According to the present invention, by accepting a user operation that specifies each of the content data and the output operation, the output device can output the content data specified by the user in the output operation specified by the user through the output program.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording system 100 according to an embodiment. 2A and 2B are a block diagram of the multifunction device 10 and FIG. 2B is a block diagram of the mobile terminal 50. FIG. 3 shows an example of the information stored in the data storage area 62B, in which (A) shows an operation information record and (B) shows a device information record. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the content output process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the device selection process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the content designation process. 7A and 7B are display examples of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 7A shows a menu screen and FIG. 7B shows a main screen in which the multifunction device 10A is designated as a designated device. 8A and 8B are display examples of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 8A shows a device selection screen, and FIG. 8B shows a main screen in which the multifunction device 10B is designated as a designated device. 9A and 9B are display examples of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 9A shows a data selection screen and FIG. 9B shows a preview screen. 10A and 10B show a display example of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 10A shows a map designation screen and FIG. 10B shows an example of a selection screen. 11A and 11B are display examples of the preview screen, in which FIG. 11A is a preview screen when the multifunction device 10A is designated as the designated device, and FIG. 11B is a preview when the multifunction device 10B is designated as the designated device. Show the screen. 12A and 12B show a display example of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 12A shows a preview screen when the FAX switching icon 128 of FIG. 11A is selected, and FIG. 12B shows another example of the selection screen (B). FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a sharing function realized by the shared API.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. It goes without saying that the embodiments described below are merely examples of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention can be appropriately changed without changing the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the recording system 100 according to the present embodiment. The recording system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of multifunction devices 10A and 10B (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as "multifunction device 10") and a mobile terminal 50. The multifunction device 10 and the mobile terminal 50 are electrically connected. The multifunction device 10 and the mobile terminal 50 may be connected via a communication network 101 such as a wired LAN (abbreviation of Local Area Network) or wireless LAN, or may be connected by a USB (abbreviation of Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like. You may be. The state in which a plurality of devices can communicate is an example of a state in which the plurality of devices are "electrically connected".

[Multifunction device 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. , The CPU 31, the storage unit 32, and the communication bus 33 are mainly provided. The components constituting the multifunction device 10 are connected to each other through 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 printing operation of recording an image indicated by image data on recording paper. The recording paper is an example of a sheet or a recording medium. As the recording method of the printer unit 11, a known method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method can be adopted. The scanner unit 12 executes a scanning 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 for transmitting and receiving image data in a method compliant with the FAX protocol.

Of the plurality of operations described above, the print operation and the fax transmission operation are examples of output operations for outputting the content indicated by the content data. The operation executed by the multifunction device 10 is not limited to these. As an example of the output operation, the multifunction device 10 may execute a media storage 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 multifunction device 10 may display an image indicated by image data acquired from the mobile terminal 50 on the display unit 23.

The operations that can be executed by the multifunction devices 10A and 10B may be different. In the present embodiment, the multifunction device 10A can execute the printing operation and the FAX transmission operation, and the multifunction device 10B can execute the printing operation and the media saving operation. Further, the output device is not limited to one capable of executing a plurality of operations, and may be capable of executing only a single operation. In the MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the multifunction device 10, for example, a device ID that identifies the multifunction device 10 and operation information indicating an operation that the multifunction device 10 can perform may be defined. The operation information may include, for example, an operation ID that identifies an executable operation. The operation ID is an example of the operation identification information.

[Display unit 23]
The display unit 23 includes a display screen for displaying various information. As the display unit 23, a liquid crystal display (abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (abbreviation of Organic Electro-Luminence Display), and the like can be adopted.

[Operation unit 24]
The operation unit 24 receives an operation of a user who selects 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. Further, the operation unit 24 may have a film-like touch sensor 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 by operating the operation unit 24. As an example, the object is a character string displayed on the display unit 23, and one of the objects is highlighted by pressing the direction key of the operation unit 24, and high by pressing the enter button of the operation unit 24. Lighted objects may be selected. As another example, when the operation unit 24 is a touch panel, the object 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 realized as a touch panel accepts a user operation of touching the display screen of the display unit 23. In addition, the operation unit 24 outputs position information indicating a 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 with the upper left edge of the display screen as the origin, the right direction as the positive direction of the x-axis, and the downward direction as the positive direction of the y-axis. As the touch sensor, a well-known method such as a capacitance method or a resistance film method can be adopted.

The term "touch" in the present specification includes all operations of 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, and a display screen. A flick operation in which the acceleration of the input medium that slides up is above the threshold, a pinch-in operation that slides two input media that touched different positions on the display screen in a direction that brings them closer to each other, and two touches that touch different positions on the display screen. A pinch-out operation in which the input media are slid 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 above-mentioned concept of "touch". Further, the input medium may be a user's finger, a stylus, or the like. Hereinafter, tapping at the position of the 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 for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance) can be adopted. 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 the portable storage medium is attached / detached. The CPU 31 can read data or information from the portable storage medium mounted on the mounting unit 26, or write data or information to the portable storage medium mounted on the mounting unit 26. Specific examples of the portable storage medium are not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a USB memory, an SD card, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like.

[CPU31]
The CPU (abbreviation of Central Processing Unit) 31 controls the overall operation of the multifunction device 10. The CPU 31 acquires and executes various programs described later from the storage unit 32 based on various information output from the operation unit 24 and various information acquired from the external device through the communication unit 25. That is, the CPU 31 and the storage unit 32 form an example of the control unit.

[Storage 32]
The storage unit 32 has a program storage area 32A and a data storage area 32B. The OS (abbreviation of Operating System) 34 and the 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. Data or information necessary for executing the control program 35 is stored in the data storage area 32B.

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

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

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

The storage unit 32 includes, for example, a RAM (abbreviation of Random Access Memory), a ROM (abbreviation of Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (abbreviation of Electrically Erasable Read-Only Memory), a CPU (abbreviation of Disk 31), and an HDD (abbreviation of HDD). It is composed of a buffer or the like or a combination thereof.

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

The program stored in the program storage area 32A is executed by the CPU 31. However, in the present 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 later.

Further, the program stored in the program storage area 32A determines an event and operates according to the determination result. However, in the present specification, the operation of each program may be described without making a judgment. That is, in the following description, the description to the effect that "the control program executes the process A according to the condition A" is "determines whether or not the control program is the condition A. The control program makes an affirmative judgment. The process A may be executed depending on the fact that the process A is executed.

Further, the program stored in the program storage area 32A identifies, acquires, extracts, or selects data or the like. When a program specifies data or the like, for example, data that meets the conditions is specified from a plurality of data or the like, and the data or the like or information that identifies the data or the like 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, etc., which are the hardware constituting the multifunction device 10. It is a basic program that provides (abbreviation of Programming Interface). That is, each of the above programs controls each hardware by calling the API provided by the OS 34. However, in the present specification, the operation of each program may be described by omitting OS34. That is, in the following description, the description to the effect that "program B controls hardware C" may refer to "program B controls hardware C through the API of OS34". The same applies to the mobile terminal 50 described later.

[Mobile terminal 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 are the display unit 23, the operation unit 24, the communication unit 25, and the CPU 31 included in the multifunction device 10. Since it is common to the storage unit 32 and the communication bus 33, the description thereof will be omitted again. The CPU 61 and the storage unit 62 are examples of control units. The mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, or the like.

The OS 64, the output program 65, the map program 66, and the program A (not shown) are stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62. Program A is another example of an output program. Further, various information shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the data storage area 62B of the storage unit 62. 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.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 12, the display unit 53 of the mobile terminal 50 is divided into a common display area 80 and a program display area 81. In the common display area 80, the status bar is displayed by the OS 64 regardless of the display contents of the program display area 81. Various information is displayed on the status bar depending on the OS64. In the status bar, for example, a back icon 82 described later, a screen title displayed in the program display area 81, an icon indicating the remaining battery level of the mobile terminal 50, an icon indicating the communication status of the communication unit 55, and the mobile terminal 50 are displayed. An icon or the like indicating a push notification received from an external service is displayed. In the program display area 81, a screen generated by a program running in the foreground is displayed.

Hereinafter, when it is described that "the program causes the display unit 53 to display the screen", it is assumed that 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 the instruction of the program. 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. May be good.

OS64 may be, for example, Android (registered trademark of Google inc.) OS, iOS (registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc.), Windows Phone (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) Operating System, and the like. The OS 64 can execute a plurality of programs installed in the mobile terminal 50 in parallel. A plurality of programs are virtually executed in parallel by a time division multiplexing method, for example. 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 a program screen based on the execution of the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. The “most of the display area” may refer to, for example, the program display area 81. The background is, for example, a state in which a program screen based on the execution of a program different from the program is displayed in most of the display area of the display unit 53. That is, the mobile terminal 50 can display only the program screen based on the execution of the program executed in the foreground on the display unit 53 among the plurality of programs executed in parallel.

Further, the OS 64 provides the program installed in the mobile terminal 50 with a sharing function of starting the second program designated by the first program and passing the instruction information designated by the first program to the second program. The first program can use the sharing function, for example, by executing the API provided by OS64 (hereinafter, referred to as "shared API"). More specifically, the first program executes the shared API with the program ID and the specified information of the second program as arguments. The details of the sharing function will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the sharing source application 41 executes the sharing API of the OS 64 to realize the sharing function (S1). The execution of the shared API requires URI (abbreviation of Uniform Resource Identifier), type, and action as arguments. The URI is information indicating the location of the shared data. The type is information indicating the data format of the shared data. The action is information indicating the type of processing (for example, viewing, editing, sending, printing, etc.) for the shared data to be executed by the sharing destination application. The URI, type, and action are examples of instructional information passed from the sharing source application to the requesting 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) an application that can execute the process indicated by the action on the shared data of the data format indicated by the type from the applications 42, 43, 44, ..., And identifies the application. A list of applications is displayed on the display unit 53 (S3). Then, the OS 64 waits in a state where a user operation for selecting one of the listed 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 receiving the user operation for selecting one of the listed applications through the operation unit 54 (S4). (S5). In the following embodiments, the map program 66 corresponds to the application 41 of FIG. 13, the output program 65 corresponds to one of the applications 42 to 44 of FIG. 13, and the program A (not shown) corresponds to the applications 42 to 44 of FIG. Corresponds to the other one.

The processing of steps S2 to S5 may be executed by the sharing source application. In this case, the sharing source application acquires information from the OS 64 that identifies an application that can execute the process indicated by the action for the shared data in the data format indicated by the type in step S2. Then, in step S5, the sharing source application executes the shared API of OS64 to start the application selected by the user operation.

The output program 65 is a program that causes the multifunction device 10 connected through the communication unit 55 to execute an operation on the content data. The output program 65 transmits, for example, recording instruction information for executing the print operation, FAX instruction information for executing the FAX transmission operation, and the like to the multifunction device 10 through the communication unit 55. The recording instruction information and the FAX instruction information are examples of output instruction information. Further, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen before transmitting the output instruction information.

The map program 66 is an example of a content specification program and an activation source program that allow a user to specify an arbitrary area of a map image and deliver image data indicating a map image of the designated area to an output program 65. The specific example of the content designation program and the start source program is not limited to the map program 66, and is, for example, a paint program that edits an image according to a user operation and delivers image data indicating the edited image to the output program 65. May be good.

More specifically, the map program 66 is an example of an activation source program that accepts a user operation that specifies at least one of an output program, content data, an output operation, and an output device. Hereinafter, the output program specified by the user is described as "specified program", the content data specified by the user is described as "specified data", the output operation specified by the user is described as "specified operation", and the user specifies. The output device is referred to as a "designated device". Further, the start source program specifies the designated data, the designated operation, and the designated information indicating the designated device to the OS 64, and starts the designated program by using the sharing function.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the data storage area 62B stores the program ID and the operation information associated with the program ID. Hereinafter, the record shown in FIG. 3A may be referred to as an “operation information record”. The program ID is an example of program identification information that identifies the output program. The output program 65 is identified by the program ID "001", and the program A is identified by the program ID "002". The operation information indicates an output operation that can be executed by the multifunction device 10 by the output program identified by the corresponding program ID. In the example of FIG. 3A, the output program 65 can cause the multifunction device 10 to execute the print operation and the FAX transmission operation, and the program A can cause the multifunction device 10 to execute the print operation.

The operation information record may be, for example, a so-called manifest file managed by the Android OS. The operation information in this case may be an action defined in the manifest file. For example, the print operation may be indicated by "SEND" and the fax transmission operation may be indicated by "VIEW". Further, FIG. 3A shows only the operation information records of the output program 65 and the program A, but the operation information records of other programs (for example, the map program 66) installed in the mobile terminal 50 are further registered. You may be.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the data storage area 62B can store the device ID, the device information associated with the device ID, and the default flag. Hereinafter, the record shown in FIG. 3B may be referred to as a “device information record”. The data storage area 62B can store one or more device information records. Further, the device information record is not registered at the time when the output program 65 is installed, but is registered in the device selection process described later. Further, the device information record shown in FIG. 3B may be information managed by the output program 65 and may not be directly referenced by another program. Further, the device information record managed by the program A may be registered in the data storage area 62B.

The device ID is an example of device identification information for identifying the multifunction devices 10A and 10B. In the present 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 device information is information indicating an output 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. 3B, "print" indicates a print operation, "FAX transmission" indicates a fax transmission operation, and "media save" indicates a media save operation. That is, the multifunction device 10A in the example of FIG. 3B can execute the printing operation and the fax transmission operation. Further, the multifunction device 10B in the example of FIG. 3B can execute the printing operation and the media saving operation.

The default flag is information indicating a device information record that is preferentially used among a plurality of device information records. The default flag is set to either "ON" indicating that it is used preferentially or "OFF" indicating that it is not used preferentially. That is, the default flag is set to "ON" for one of the plurality of device information records and "OFF" for the other device information records. Hereinafter, the device information record in which "ON" is set in the default flag is referred to as "default device information record".

[Operation of recording system 100]
The operation of the recording system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12. The recording system 100 executes a process of causing the multifunction device 10 to execute an output operation for the content data specified by the mobile terminal 50 based on the 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 111 corresponds to program A, the program icon 114 corresponds to the output program 65, and the program icon 115 corresponds to the map program 66.

Then, the OS 64 accepts the selection of the program icons 111 to 115 through the operation unit 54. The OS 64 activates the output program 65 in response to receiving the selection of the program icon 114 through the operation unit 54, and executes the output program 65 in the foreground. The selection of the program icon 114 is an example of a user operation instructing the start of the output program 65.

[Content output processing]
The output program 65 of the mobile terminal 50 executes a standard startup process in response to being started by the OS 64 that has accepted the selection of the program icon 114. The output program 65 accepts designated data, designated operations, and user operations for designating designated devices in the content output process. Then, the output program 65 causes the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. The details of the content output process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen (S11). FIG. 7B is an example of the main screen. The main screen shown in FIG. 7B includes a plurality of operation icons 116, 117 and device icons 119. Then, the output program 65 accepts the selection of various icons included in the main screen through the operation unit 54 (S12). The process of step S11 is an example of the first display process, the process of step S12 is an example of the first reception process, and the main screen is an example of the operation selection screen.

The operation icons 116 and 117 are examples of operation designation objects corresponding to output operations that can be executed by the designation device. The device icon 119 is an example of a device designation object corresponding to a process for designating a designated device. Further, the device icon 119 describes a device ID that identifies the multifunction device 10A currently designated as the designated device. In the main screen displayed when the output program 65 is started, the device icon 119 specifies that the multifunction device 10A identified by the device ID "MFP-A" included in the default device information record is designated as the designated device. Is shown. Further, the operation icons 116 and 117 correspond to "print" and "fax transmission" indicated by the device information included in the default device information record. On the other hand, when the device information record is not registered, the device icon 119 may display "not selected" or the like, and the operation icon may be hidden.

Next, the output program 65 executes the device selection process in response to receiving the selection of the position of the device icon 119 through the operation unit 54 (S12: device icon) (S13). The device selection process is a process for allowing the user to select a designated device. The details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the output program 65 searches for the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation among the plurality of multifunction devices 10 capable of communicating through the communication unit 55 (S31). The output program 65 uses, for example, SNMP (abbreviation for Simple Network Management Protocol) to transmit a transmission request for device ID and 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 device 10 through the communication unit 55. Next, the output program 65 compares the operation ID of the designated operation with the operation ID included in the operation information received from the multifunction device 10. Then, the output program 65 specifies the multifunction device 10 whose operation information includes the operation ID of the designated operation as the target multifunction device. Since the designated operation has not yet been specified at the stage of the device selection process in step S13, the output program 65 specifies all the multifunction devices 10A and 10B capable of communicating through the communication unit 55 as the target multifunction devices.

The operation information may be model information indicating the model of the multifunction device 10. The output program 65 in this case accesses the correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the model information and the operation ID corresponding to the model information, and acquires the operation 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 device 10 of the model indicated by the model information. The correspondence information may be stored in the mobile terminal 50 or may be stored in a cloud server (not shown).

Next, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the device selection screen (S32). FIG. 8A is an example of a device selection screen. The device selection screen shown in FIG. 8A includes device icons 121 and 122. The device icons 121 and 122 correspond to the multifunction devices 10A and 10B, which are the target multifunction devices specified in step S31. Further, device IDs of the corresponding multifunction devices 10A and 10B are described in the device icons 121 and 122. Then, the output program 65 accepts the selection of the icon included in the device selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S33).

Next, the output program 65 receives the device information of the multifunction device 10 corresponding to the device icon 122, for example, in response to receiving the selection of the device icon 122 through the operation unit 54 (S33: Yes) (S34). .. The method of receiving the device information is common to the process of step S31. When the MIB of the multifunction device 10 is referred to in step S31, the process of step S34 can be omitted.

Next, the output program 65 includes the device ID “MFP-B” described in the selected device icon 122, the device information of the multifunction device 10B identified by the device ID, and the default flag “ON”. The device information record (hereinafter, referred to as “new device information record”) is stored in the data storage area 62B (S35). In step S35, the output program 65 has a device ID included in the new device information record among the device information records already stored in the data storage area 62B (hereinafter, referred to as “old device information record”). It is determined whether or not the old device information record including "MFP-B" exists.

If the old operation record does not exist, the output program 65 adds the new device information record to the data storage area 62B. If the old device information record including the device ID "MFP-B" does not exist, the output program 65 sets the default flags of all the old device information records to "OFF" and stores the new device information record in the data storage area. Add to 62B. Further, when the old device information record including the device ID "MFP-B" exists, the output program 65 sets the default flag of the old device information record to "ON" and sets the default flag of the old device information record to "ON", and all other old device information records Set the default flag to "OFF".

Returning to FIG. 4, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen shown in FIG. 8B again (S11). In the main screen shown in FIG. 8B, the device icon 120 indicating that the operation icon 117 is not included and the device ID “MFP-B” is designated as the designated device is replaced with the device icon 119. It differs from the main screen shown in FIG. 7 (B) in that it is included. Although the output program 65 supports the fax transmission operation, the operation icon 117 is shown in FIG. 8B because the multifunction device 10B identified by the device ID “MFP-B” cannot execute the fax transmission operation. Not included in the main screen. Further, although the multifunction device 10B can execute the media saving operation, since the output program 65 does not support the media saving operation, the operation icon corresponding to the media saving operation is displayed on the main screen shown in FIG. 8 (B). Do not show.

Further, the 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 the switching to the screen immediately before being displayed on the display unit 53. The back icon 82 is not displayed when the main screen, which is the menu screen and the initial screen of the output program 65, is displayed in the program display area 81, and is displayed when the other screens are displayed in the program display area 81. Program. 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, the OS 64 outputs notification information indicating that the back icon 82 has been selected to the output program 65 in response to the acceptance of the selection of the back icon 82 displayed together with the device selection screen through the operation unit 54. The output program 65 skips the processes of steps S33 to S35 in response to receiving the notification information output from the OS 64, 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, assuming that the back icon 82 displayed together with the device selection screen shown in FIG. 8A is selected and the main screen shown in FIG. 7B is displayed, the following description will be continued. ..

Returning to FIG. 4 again, the output program 65 corresponds to the selected operation icons 116 and 117 in response to receiving one selection of the operation icons 116 and 117 through the operation unit 54 (S12: operation icon). The operation ID for identifying the operation and the device ID described in the device icon 119 are temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B. The temporarily stored operation ID is a designated operation ID that identifies the specified operation. The temporarily stored device ID is a designated device ID that identifies 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 device ID “MFP-A” is temporarily stored as the designated device ID.

Next, the output program 65 determines whether or not it has been activated by the sharing function (S14). Then, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the data selection screen in response to the determination that it has not been activated by the sharing function (S14: No) (S15). Further, the output program 65 accepts the selection of the icon included in the data selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S16). Processing in step S15 is an example of a second display processor, processing in step S16 is an example of a process Receptionist. On the other hand, the output program 65 skips the processes of steps S15 and S16 in response to the determination that it has been activated by the sharing function (S14: Yes). The details of the processing when it is started by the sharing function will be described later.

FIG. 9A is an example of a data selection screen. The data selection screen shown in FIG. 9A includes a plurality of data icons 123, 124, 125. Data icons 123 to 125 are examples of data designation objects corresponding to content data that can be designated as designated data. The data ID (for example, file name) of the corresponding content data is described in the data icons 123 to 125. 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) capable of communicating through the communication unit 55.

Next, the output program 65 receives content data corresponding to the selected data icon as designated data in response to receiving one selection of the data icons 123 to 125 through the operation unit 54 (S16: Yes). Temporarily store in the storage area 62B. Alternatively, the output program 65 may temporarily store information specifying the designated data (hereinafter, referred to as “designated data ID”) in the data storage area 62B instead of the designated data itself. The designated data ID may be, for example, information indicating a storage location of the designated data, or a URL indicating the designated data. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the data icon 123 is selected, and the following description will be continued. On the other hand, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen again in response to receiving 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 the preview screen in response to receiving the selection of the data icon 123 through the operation unit 54 (S16: Yes) (S17). Further, the output program 65 accepts the selection of the icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S18). The process of step S17 is an example of the third display process, and the process of step S18 is an example of the third reception process.

FIG. 9B is an example of a 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 designation icon described later. The preview image 126 is an image showing an image in which the designated data specified in step S16 is output by the designated operation designated in step S12. That is, the preview image 126 indicates an image in which the image indicated by the image data identified by the file name “photograph.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 cause the designated device to execute a print operation on the designated data. The FAX switching icon 128 is an example of an operation designation 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 specified operation and an operation designation object corresponding to an operation different from the specified operation among the plurality of operations indicated by the device information of the default device information record. On the other hand, the preview screen when there is one operation indicated by the device information included in the default device information record does not include the operation designation object.

Next, the output program 65 transmits the print instruction information to the multifunction device 10A through the communication unit 55 in response to the selection of the print instruction icon 127 being received through the operation unit 54 (S18: output icon) (S19). The print instruction information is an example of output instruction information for causing the designated device to execute a print operation on the designated data. The print instruction information of this embodiment includes image data identified by the file name “photograph.JPEG” and a designated operation ID that identifies the output operation “print”. Then, the output program 65 transmits the print instruction information to the multifunction device 10A, which is a designated device, through the communication unit 55. The process of step S19 is an example of the 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 device 10A receives 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 a print operation according to the received print instruction information. That is, the printer unit 11 records the image indicated by the content data "photograph.JPEG" included in the print instruction information on the recording paper.

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 (S18: switching icon), and 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 (S17). The details of this process 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 S17 has been selected from the OS 64, and the data shown in FIG. 9 (A). The selection screen is displayed on the display unit 53 again.

[Content specification processing]
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 executes the content output process in response to being started by the OS 64 that has accepted the selection of the program icon 115. The content output process is a process of causing a designated device to execute a designated operation for designated data through a designated program. The details of the content output process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the map program 66 acquires map image data (S41). The map program 66, for example, acquires map image data including the current position of the mobile terminal 50 acquired from GPS (abbreviation of Global Positioning System) from a server (not shown) through the communication unit 55. Specifically, the map program 66 requests the map image data from the server through the communication unit 55, and receives the map image data returned from the server through the communication unit 55.

Next, the map program 66 causes the display unit 53 to display the map designation screen (S42). 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 [Share] icon. In the map display area 129, the map image 130 indicated by the map image data acquired in step S41 is displayed. Then, the map program 66 accepts a user operation for the map display area 129 and the [Share] icon through the operation unit 54 (S43).

Then, the map program 66 changes the map image 130 to be displayed in the map display area 129 in response to receiving the user operation at the position of the map display area 129 through the operation unit 54 (S43: map display area). 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 in accordance with a slide operation, reduced in accordance with a pinch-in operation, and enlarged in accordance with a pinch-out operation.

Further, the map program 66 indicates map image data indicating the map image 130 displayed in the map display area 129 in response to receiving the selection of the [share] icon through the operation unit 54 (S43: [share] icon). Is stored in the data storage area 62B as designated data (S44). The processes of steps S41 to S44 are an example of the first reception process.

Next, the map program 66 acquires the program ID of the output program installed in the mobile terminal 50 (S45). For example, the map program 66 may acquire the program ID included in the operation information record shown in FIG. 3A. Alternatively, when FIG. 3A also includes an operation information record of a program other than the output program, the map program 66 may acquire the program ID associated with the operation information including the output operation. More specifically, the map program 66 may receive the program ID shown in FIG. 3A from the OS 64 as a return value of the API by executing the API for acquiring the program ID. In the present embodiment, the program ID "001" of the output program 65 and the program ID "002" of the program A are acquired. The process of step S45 is an example of the program information acquisition process.

Next, the map program 66 acquires operation information (S46) and device information (S47) from each program identified by the program ID acquired in step S45 (S48). That is, the map program 66 acquires the operation information associated with the program ID from the operation information record shown in FIG. 3A through the OS 64 (S46). Further, the map program 66 acquires the device information managed by each output program from the device information record shown in FIG. 3B through the OS 64 (S47). More specifically, the map program 66 may acquire operation information and device information from the OS 64 or the output program by executing the API provided by the OS 64. The process of step S46 is an example of a part of the program information acquisition process , and the process of step S47 is an example of the device information acquisition process.

In step S46, the map program 66 in the present embodiment acquires the operation information “print” and “FAX transmission” associated with the output program 65 and the operation information “print” associated with the program A. Further, in step S47, the map program 66 includes the device information "print" and "FAX transmission" associated with the device ID "MFP-A" and the device information "MFP-B" associated with the device ID "MFP-B". "Print" and "media save" are acquired as device information associated with the output program 65. On the other hand, the map program 66 cannot acquire the device information associated with the program A in step S47.

Next, the map program 66 causes the display unit 53 to display the selection screen (S49). FIG. 10B is an example of a selection screen. The selection screen shown in FIG. 10B shows program icons 131 and 132 which are examples of program designation objects, operation icons 133, 134 and 135 which are examples of action designation objects, and devices which are examples of device designation objects. Includes icons 136, 137, 138 and so on. Then, the map program 66 accepts the selection of the icon included in the selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S50). Processing in step S49 is an example of a display control process, the process of step S50 is an example of a process Receptionist.

The program icon 131 indicates an output program 65 identified by the program ID “001”. The program icon 132 indicates the program A identified by the program ID “002”. The operation icon 133 indicates the operation information “print” associated with the output program 65. The operation icon 134 indicates the operation information “FAX transmission” associated with the output program 65. The operation icon 135 indicates the operation information “print” associated with the program A. The device icon 136 indicates the multifunction device 10A on which the output program 65 can execute the printing operation. The device icon 137 indicates the multifunction device 10B on which the output program 65 can execute the printing operation. The device icon 138 indicates the multifunction device 10A on which the output program 65 can execute the FAX transmission operation.

Here, the program icon 131, the operation icons 133, 134, and the device icons 136 to 138 are associated with each other. That is, the operation icons 133 and 134 are associated with the program icon 131. Further, the device icons 136 and 137 are associated with the operation icon 133, and the device icon 138 is associated with the operation icon 134. Similarly, the operation icon 135 is associated with the program icon 132. These relationships can also be expressed as each icon being layered or grouped.

That is, the operation icons 133 and 134 indicate output operations that can be executed by the output device 65 indicated by the program icon 131. Similarly, the operation icon 135 indicates an output operation that can be executed by the output device by the program A indicated by the program icon 132. Further, the device icons 136 and 137 indicate the multifunction devices 10A and 10B capable of communicating with the output program 65 indicated by the program icon 131 and executing the printing operation indicated by the operation icon 133. Similarly, the device icon 138 indicates a multifunction device 10A capable of communicating with the output program 65 indicated by the program icon 131 and executing the FAX transmission operation indicated by the operation icon 134.

Then, the map program 66 receives the selection of the program icon 131 through the operation unit 54 (S50: program icon), and uses the data ID of the map image data temporarily stored in step S44 as designated information for the OS 64. The output program 65 indicated by the program icon 131 is started by using the sharing function (S51). Specifically, the map program 66 executes the shared API with the program ID of the output program 65 and the designated information as arguments. The processes of step S51 and steps S52 and 53 described later are examples of start-up processes. When the program icon 132 is selected, the program A is started by using the sharing function instead of the output program 65.

Further, the map program 66 receives the selection of the operation icon 133 through the operation unit 54 (S50: operation icon), and sets the data ID and the operation ID of the print operation indicated by the operation icon 133 as designated information in the OS 64. The output program 65 specified by the program icon 131 corresponding to the operation icon 133 is started by using the sharing function (S52). When the operation icon 134 is selected, the operation ID of the fax transmission operation is included in the designated information instead of the operation ID of the print operation. When the operation icon 135 is selected, the program A is started by using the sharing function instead of the output program 65.

Further, the map program 66 receives the selection of the device icon 136 through the operation unit 54 (S50: device icon), and receives the data ID and the operation ID of the print operation indicated by the operation icon 133 corresponding to the device icon 136. , And are specified for OS64 as the device ID "MFP-A" of the multifunction device 10A indicated by the device icon 136, and the output program 65 indicated by the program icon 131 corresponding to the device icon 136 is shared. (S53). When the device icon 137 is selected, the device ID "MFP-B" is included in the designated information instead of the device ID "MFP-A". When the device icon 138 is selected, the operation ID of the fax transmission operation is included in place of the operation ID of the print operation.

The OS 64 terminates or executes the map program 66 executed in the foreground or in the background according to the execution of the shared API, and starts the output program 65 to execute the map program 65 in the foreground. The output program 65 acquires the designated information from the map program 66 through the OS 64 in response to being started by the map program 66 using the sharing function, and (A), (B), or ((A), (B), or ( The content output process is executed from the position of C). Hereinafter, among the processes shown in FIG. 4, the details of the processes already described will be omitted, and the processes specific to the case of being activated by the sharing function will be mainly described.

First, the output program 65 acquires the designated information output by the program that started the output program 65 (S31: Yes). Specifically, the output program 65 receives the designated information output by the OS 64 as a return value by executing the API that requests the designated information from the OS 64. Then, the output program 65 determines whether or not the data ID, the operation ID, and the device ID are included in the acquired designated information.

First, when activated by the map program 66 that has accepted the selection of the program icon 131, the output program 65 determines that the designated information includes the data ID and does not include the operation ID and the device ID. Then, the output program 65 temporarily stores the data ID included in the designated information as the designated data ID in the data storage area 62B. Further, the output program 65 executes the content output process from the position (A) in FIG. That is, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the main screen (S11).

Then, the output program 65 omits the processes of steps S15 and S16 and performs the process of step S17 in response to the reception of one selection of the operation icons 116 and 117 through the operation unit 54 (S12: operation icon). Execute (S34: Yes). That is, the output program 65 skips the processes of steps S35 and S36, and executes the processes of steps S17 and subsequent steps using the designated data indicated by the designated data ID.

Further, when activated by the map program 66 that has accepted the selection of one of the operation icons 133 and 134, the output program 65 determines that the designated information includes the data ID and the operation ID and does not include the device ID. Then, the output program 65 temporarily stores the data ID included in the designated information as the designated data ID and the operation ID included in the designated information as the designated operation ID in the data storage area 62B. Further, the output program 65 executes the content output process from the position (B) in FIG. That is, the output program 65 skips the processes of steps S11 to S16 and displays the preview screen on the display unit 53 (S17).

The designated information when the operation icon 133 is selected includes an operation ID that identifies the print operation. In this case, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen shown in FIG. 11A in step S17. On the other hand, the designated information when the operation icon 134 is selected includes an operation ID that identifies the FAX transmission operation. In this case, the output program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen shown in FIG. 12A in step S17.

The preview screen shown in FIG. 11A includes a preview image 139, a device icon 119, a print instruction icon 127, and a fax switching icon 128. The preview image 139 shows an image obtained by outputting the map image 130 indicated by the map image data which is the designated data in the print operation which is the designated operation. The device icon 119 indicates that the multifunction device 10A identified by the device ID “MFP-A” included in the default device information record shown in FIG. 3B is designated as the designated device.

Next, the output program 65 executes the device selection process shown in FIG. 5 in response to receiving the selection of the device icon 119 through the operation unit 54 (S18: device icon) (S20). In step S31, the output program 65 specifies the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the print operation, which is the designated operation, among the plurality of multifunction devices 10 that can communicate through the communication unit 55. Since other processes have already been described, the description will be omitted again.

Then, the output program 65 receives the selection of the device icon 122 through the operation unit 54 on the device selection screen shown in FIG. 8A, for example, and 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 again executes the third display process of displaying the preview screen shown in FIG. 11B on the display unit 53 (S17).

The preview screen shown in FIG. 11B is different from the preview screen shown in FIG. 11A in that the device icon 120 is included instead of the device icon 119 and the FAX switching icon 128 is not included. That is, the FAX switching icon 128 is hidden according to the designation of the multifunction device 10B that cannot execute the FAX transmission operation as the designated device. The non-display of the FAX switching icon 128 is an example in which the icon cannot be selected.

Further, the output program 65 sets the designated operation ID temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B as the operation ID of the print operation in response to receiving the selection of the fax switching icon 128 through the operation unit 54 (S18: switching icon). To switch to the operation ID of the FAX transmission operation. Further, the output program 65 again executes the third display process of displaying the preview screen shown in FIG. 12A on the display unit 53 (S35). The preview screen shown in FIG. 12A includes a preview image 140, a fax instruction icon 141, a print switching icon 142, and a grayed out device icon 119.

The preview image 140 is an image showing an image in which the map image 130 indicated by the map image data is faxed and recorded on the recording paper in the fax receiving device. The preview image 140 differs from the preview image 139 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 141 is an example of an output instruction object corresponding to an instruction to cause the designated device to execute a FAX transmission operation for the designated data. The print switching icon 142 is an example of an operation designating object corresponding to an instruction to switch the designated operation from the fax transmission operation to the print operation.

Then, the output program 65 receives the selection of the print switching icon 142 through the operation unit 54 (S18: switching icon), and receives the designated operation ID temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B as the operation of the fax transmission operation. Switch from the ID to the operation ID of the print operation. Further, the output program 65 again executes the third display process of displaying the preview screen shown in FIG. 11A on the display unit 53 (S17). Further, the output program 65 transmits the fax instruction information to the multifunction device 10A, which is the designated device, through the communication unit 55 in response to the selection of the fax instruction icon 141 being received through the operation unit 54 (S18: output icon) (S18: output icon). S19). The FAX instruction information is an example of output instruction information for causing the designated device to execute a FAX transmission operation for the designated data.

The FAX instruction information of the present embodiment includes map image data which is designated data, an operation ID which identifies a FAX transmission operation which is a designated operation, and destination information (for example, a telephone number) which identifies an external device of the FAX transmission destination. including. Although not shown, the control program 35 receives the 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 a FAX transmission operation according to the received FAX instruction information. That is, the FAX unit 13 faxes the map image data, which is the content data included in the FAX instruction information, to the external device specified by the destination information.

Further, the device icon 119 on the preview screen shown in FIG. 12A is grayed out because the device information record of the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the FAX transmission operation is not stored in the data storage area other than the multifunction device 10A. Has been done. Then, even if the output program 65 accepts the user operation of tapping the position of the grayed out device icon 119 through the operation unit 54, the device selection process may not be executed. Graying out the device icon 119 is an example of the icon being unselectable.

Further, the map program 66 is executed again in the foreground in response to the selection of the back icon 82 displayed together with the preview screens shown in FIGS. 11 (A), 11 (B), and 12 (A). The program. That is, the OS 64 executes the output program 65 that has been executed in the foreground in the background, and executes the map program 66 in the foreground. Then, the map program 66 executed in the foreground displays the map designation screen shown in FIG. 10A on the display unit 53.

Further, when activated by the map program 66 that has accepted one selection of the device icons 136, 137, and 138, the output program 65 determines that the designated information includes the data ID, the operation ID, and the device ID. Then, the output program 65 uses the data ID included in the designated information as the designated data ID, the operation ID included in the designated information as the designated operation ID, and the device ID included in the designated information as the designated device ID. Temporarily store in the storage area 62B. Further, the output program 65 executes the content output process from the position (C) in FIG. That is, the output program 65 skips the processes of steps S11 to S18 and transmits output instruction information for executing the designated operation to the designated device through the communication unit 55 (S19).

The designated information when the device icon 136 is selected includes an operation ID for identifying the printing operation and a device ID "MFP-A" for identifying the multifunction device 10A. Further, the designated information when the device icon 137 is selected includes an operation ID for identifying the printing operation and a device ID "MFP-B" for identifying the multifunction device 10B. Further, the designated information when the device icon 138 is selected includes an operation ID for identifying the FAX transmission operation and a device ID “MFP-A” for identifying the multifunction device 10A.

[Action and effect of this embodiment]
According to the above embodiment, the map program 66 accepts at least one designation of the designated program, designated data, designated operation, and designated device, so that the designated device executes the designated operation for the designated data through the designated program. be able to. Further, by implementing the process of starting the output program 65 and passing the specified information from the map program 66 to the output program 65 by the sharing function provided by the OS 64, these processes are implemented in the output program 65 and the map program 66. The output program 65 and the map program 66 can be simplified as compared with the case of

However, the method in which the map program 66 activates the output program 65 and passes the specified information is not limited to the use of the sharing function provided by the OS 64. For example, the map program 66 may operate as a so-called plug-in of the output program 65. For example, the output program 65 may start the map program 66 as a plug-in and acquire the specified information from the map program 66 as a return value.

Further, according to the above embodiment, since the operation information and the device information of each output program are acquired in steps S46 and S47, the map program 66 needs to recognize the operation information and the device information of each output program in advance. There is no. As a result, the user can be made to select an output operation newly supported by the output program due to version upgrade or the like, or an output device newly connected to the communication network 101. However, acquisition of one or both of the operation information and the device information may be omitted. That is, the output program 66 may display an icon on the selection screen based on one of the acquired operation information and the device information, or the information preset in the output program 66.

Further, on the selection screen in the above embodiment, the program icons 131 and 132, the operation icons 133, 134, 135, and the device icons 136, 137, and 138 are displayed in a hierarchical manner. As a result, a plurality of information can be specified by tapping one icon, so that the user operation can be simplified. However, the display information of the program icon, the operation icon, and the device icon is not limited to the example of FIG. 10B. For example, as shown in the selection screen shown in FIG. 12B, each icon may be layered in the order of program icon 131, device icon 136, 137, and operation icon 133A, 133B, 134.

The device icons 136 and 137 shown in FIG. 12B correspond to the multifunction devices 10A and 10B on which the output program 65 identified by the program icon 131 can execute the output operation. That is, the map program 66 specifies the data ID and the designated information including the device ID "MFP-A" to the OS 64 in response to the selection of the device icon 136, and outputs the designated information by using the sharing function. Start program 65. Further, the map program 66 specifies the data ID and the designated information including the device ID "MFP-B" to the OS 64 in response to the selection of the device icon 137, and outputs the designated information by using the sharing function. Start program 65.

Further, the operation icons 133A and 133B shown in FIG. 12B correspond to print operations that the output program 65 can execute on the multifunction devices 10A and 10B. That is, the map program 66 specifies designated information including the data ID, the device ID “MFP-A”, and the operation ID for identifying the print operation to the OS 64 in response to the selection of the operation icon 133A. Moreover, the output program 65 is started by using the sharing function. Further, the map program 66 specifies designated information including the data ID, the device ID “MFP-B”, and the operation ID for identifying the print operation to the OS 64 in response to the selection of the operation icon 133B. Moreover, the output program 65 is started by using the sharing function.

Further, the operation icon 134 shown in FIG. 12B corresponds to a fax transmission operation that the output program 65 can execute on the multifunction device 10A. That is, the map program 66 designates designated information including the data ID, the device ID “MFP-A”, and the operation ID for identifying the FAX transmission operation to the OS 64 in response to the selection of the operation icon 134. And, the output program 65 is started by using the sharing function.

Further, the output program 65 in the above embodiment accepts designation of designated data, designated operation, and designated device according to being started through the menu screen, and causes the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. it can. On the other hand, the output program 65 starts the content output process from different positions (A), (B), and (C) according to the type of the acquired designated information according to the start using the sharing function. To do. As a result, the map program 66 and the output program 65 do not require the user to perform duplicate operations, so that the user operations can be simplified.

The output program 65 in the above embodiment determines the start position of the content output process according to the type of the acquired designated information. However, the method of determining the start position is not limited to this. For example, the map program 66 may further specify the process information instructing the process to be executed first by the activated output program 65 to the OS 64 as the instruction information in steps S51 to S53.

As an example, the map program 66 may include a screen ID that identifies the main screen in the designated information in step S51. As another example, the map program 66 may include a screen ID that identifies the preview screen in the designated information in step S52. The screen ID is an example of processing information. As still another example, in step S53, the map program 66 may include processing information indicating that the processing of steps S11 to S18 is omitted and the output instruction processing is executed in the designated information.

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

Further, the present invention can be realized not only as a mobile terminal 50 but also as a program for causing the mobile terminal 50 to execute a process. Then, the program may be recorded and provided on a non-transitory recording medium. The non-transitory recording medium may include a storage unit mounted on a server that can be connected to the mobile terminal 50 through the communication network 101, in addition to a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like. Then, the program stored in the storage unit of the server may be distributed as information or a signal indicating the program through a 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 (9)

An operation unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, a possible starting source program reading terminal device and a display unit, the front term memory unit, stores the terminal device a plurality of output program readable and, before SL output program is capable of executing the process of executing a plurality of output operation of outputting the content data to the communication possible output apparatus via the communication unit, an instruction to the terminal device,
The invoking program is
A plurality of program information stored in the storage unit, which is information corresponding to each of the plurality of output programs and is information indicating the output operation that the output program can execute in the output device. Program information acquisition process to be acquired and
Display control for displaying a selection screen including a plurality of designated objects corresponding to the output operation that the output program can be executed by the output device based on the plurality of program information acquired by the program information acquisition process. Processing and
Reception processing that accepts the operation of selecting the designated object through the operation unit, and
The output program so that the output program instructs the output device to perform the output operation corresponding to the designated object selected by the operation received in the reception process and the output program can instruct the output device. The startup program that executes the startup processing and execution . The OS of the terminal device provides a sharing function of starting the second program designated by the first program and passing the instruction information designated by the first program to the second program.
In response to receiving the selection of the designated object in the reception process, the activation source program designates and selects the program information corresponding to the selected designated object to the OS as the instruction information. The activation source program according to claim 1, wherein the output program corresponding to the program information corresponding to the designated object is activated by using the sharing function. The invoking program is
Information corresponding to each of the plurality of output programs stored in the storage unit is acquired from the OS, and information indicating the output operation that the output program can be executed by the output device is transmitted through the OS. The terminal device is made to execute the program information acquisition process acquired from the output program.
The plurality of the designated objects in the display control process include a plurality of program designation objects and an operation designation object, and the plurality of the program designation objects include a plurality of the output programs corresponding to the plurality of the program information. Shown, the operation-designated object indicates the output operation that is associated with each of the plurality of program-designated objects, and that the output program indicated by the corresponding program-designated object can be executed by the output device. The activation source program according to claim 2. The output program can communicate with a plurality of the output devices through the communication unit, and can communicate with the plurality of output devices.
The start-up source program causes the terminal device to execute a device information acquisition process for acquiring device information from the output program through the OS for each of the plurality of output programs corresponding to the plurality of program information, and the device information is obtained. , Information indicating the output device capable of executing the output operation indicated by a plurality of the program information among the output devices with which the output program can communicate.
In the display control process, the activation source program further includes a device designation object of an aspect associated with the operation designation object in the selection screen based on the device information, and the device designation object corresponds to the above. Indicates the output device capable of communicating with the output program indicated by the program designation object and performing the output operation indicated by the corresponding operation designation object.
In response to receiving the selection of the device designation object through the operation unit , the activation source program further specifies and selects the device identification information as the instruction information for the OS in the activation process. The output program indicated by the program designation object corresponding to the device designation object is started by using the sharing function, and the program information is indicated by the operation designation object corresponding to the selected device designation object. The activation source program according to claim 3, which is information indicating the output operation , and the device identification information is information indicating the output device indicated by the selected device designated object. The invoking program is
In the startup process, processing information instructing the processing to be executed first by the started output program is further specified to the OS as the instruction information.
In the activation process when accepting the selection of the operation object specified by the processing with pre Ki受, specified for the OS and the processing information for instructing to display a preview screen on the display unit as the instruction information ,
The preview screen is
Previous SL content data, a preview image showing the image output by the output operation corresponding to the specified object selected by the operation accepted by said acceptance process,
The activation source program according to claim 4, wherein among the plurality of output devices, an object for accepting a user operation that specifies the output device that executes the output operation indicated by the program information. The boot source program in the boot process when receiving a selection of the device object specified by the processing with pre Ki受, instructing to execute the output operation to the output device are not shown in the preview screen The activation source program according to claim 5, wherein the processing information to be used is designated as the instruction information for the OS. In response to receiving the selection of the program designation object through the operation unit , the activation source program omits the designation of the program information as the instruction information in the activation process, and displays the operation selection screen. The processing information instructing the unit to display is designated as the instruction information for the OS, and
The operation selection screen is
A first object for accepting a user operation that specifies the output device, and
The activation source program according to claim 5 or 6, which includes a second object for accepting a user operation designating the output operation to be executed by the output device designated through the first object. The output program can communicate with a plurality of the output devices through the communication unit, and can communicate with the plurality of output devices.
The boot source program, for each of the plurality of the output programs corresponding to a plurality of said program information, to execute the device information acquisition processing for acquiring device information from the output program through the OS to the terminal device, the device information , Information indicating the output operation that can be executed by the output device that the output program can communicate with.
The activation source program according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein in the display control process, the operation designation object indicating the output operation indicated by the device information is included in the selection screen for each output device. Launcher program. Operation unit and
Memory and
With the communication department
Display and
A terminal device provided with a control unit
Before term memory unit stores the terminal device readable boot source program and a plurality of output program,
The control unit that executes the activation source program is
Acquire a plurality of program information which is information corresponding to each of the plurality of output programs stored in the storage unit and which is information indicating an output operation that the output program can execute in the output device. Program information acquisition process and
A display control process for displaying a selection screen including a plurality of designated objects corresponding to output operations that can be executed by the output program based on the plurality of program information acquired by the program information acquisition process. ,
Reception processing that accepts the operation of selecting the designated object through the operation unit, and
The output program so that the output program instructs the output device to perform the output operation corresponding to the designated object selected by the operation received in the reception process and the output program can instruct the output device. A terminal device that executes startup processing and execution.

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