JP6879335B2 - Content designation program and mobile terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a content designation program for designating content data and a mobile terminal for executing the content designation program.

Conventionally, there have been known applications in which a user specifies content data and an output device executes an output operation for the specified content data. For example, the application described in Patent Document 1 causes a user to specify image data stored in a mobile terminal, and causes a printer to print an image indicated by the image data.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-203742

In recent years, the methods for specifying content data have diversified, and it is required to develop an interface suitable for each method. For example, the interface for extracting a desired area from a map image and the interface for editing an image to be printed on the surface of a CD-ROM or the like are significantly different. Therefore, there is a tendency to develop a plurality of programs having a designation interface specialized for a specific designation method.

On the other hand, the process for causing the output device to execute the output operation may differ greatly depending on the manufacturer or model of the output device. Therefore, in order to execute the process, it is necessary to develop a program suitable for each output device. However, it is extremely difficult to develop a plurality of programs having an optimum designation interface for a specific designation method, and then further implement the optimum processing for causing the output device to execute the output operation in each program. In particular, if a plurality of output devices having different specifications are attempted to execute an output operation, the implementation load of the optimum processing for each output device increases the possibility of affecting the implementation of the designated interface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to have an interface for accepting designation of content data, and to perform processing in a format independent of the manufacturer or model of the output device. The purpose is to provide a content specification program capable of executing a specified operation.

(1) The content designation program described in the present specification can be read by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network. The output device can perform at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The storage unit can store an output program that can be read by the mobile terminal. The output program is used for the provided information acquisition process for acquiring the designated data information, the designated device information, and the designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program, and the output device identified by the designated device information. It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute an output process of transmitting output instruction information through the communication unit. The output instruction information is information that causes the content data identified by the designated data information to execute the output operation identified by the designated operation information. The content designation program includes a first reception process for receiving a user operation for designating the content data through the operation unit, and the output device capable of executing the designated operation while being able to communicate with the mobile terminal through the communication unit. The mobile terminal is made to execute the first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of device identification information for identifying the device. The designated operation is one of the plurality of output operations. The content designation program is designated by the second reception process and the first reception process of receiving a user operation for designating one of the plurality of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process through the operation unit. The output of the designated data information for identifying the content data, the designated device information which is the device identification information designated in the second reception process, and the designated operation information for identifying the designated operation. The mobile terminal is made to execute the output instruction process provided to the output program in order to execute the process.

According to the above configuration, the content designation program can cause the output device to execute the designation operation for the content data for which the designation has been accepted by providing various information to the output program. That is, the content designation program can cause the output device to execute the designated operation by processing in a format that does not depend on the manufacturer or model of the output device.

(2) Preferably, the content designation program uses the search instruction process for instructing the output program to execute the first search process, and the device identification information provided by the output program in response to the search instruction process. The mobile terminal is made to execute the first acquisition process acquired from the output program. The output program searches for the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal through the communication unit and executing the designated operation from the network through the communication unit, and the first search process and the first search process. It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the first providing process of providing the device identification information of the output device found in the above to the content designation program.

According to the above configuration, the content designation program can instruct the output program to execute the output operation in a format independent of the manufacturer and model of the output device.

(3) Preferably, the content designation program uses the determination instruction process for instructing the output program to execute the first determination process, and the designated device information provided by the output program in response to the determination instruction process. The mobile terminal is made to execute the second acquisition process acquired from the output program. The output program includes an acquisition information storage process for storing the designated device information in the storage unit, a first determination process for determining whether or not the designated device information is stored in the storage unit, and the designated device. In response to the determination in the first determination process that the information is stored, it is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the second provision process of providing the designated device information to the content designation program. The content designation program instructs the output device identified by the designated device information to execute the output process in the output instruction process when the designated device information is acquired in the second acquisition process.

According to the above configuration, since the process of accepting the designation of the output device is omitted, it is possible to simplify the user operation until the output device executes the designated operation.

(4) Preferably, the mobile terminal includes a display unit. The content designation program performs the display process of displaying the designated device information acquired from the output program in the second acquisition process and the first object on the display unit, and the user operation of selecting the first object. The mobile terminal is made to execute the first acquisition process and the second reception process in response to the reception of the third reception process received through the operation unit and the selection of the first object in the third reception process.

According to the above configuration, for example, after the output program stores the designated device information, when an output device suitable for executing the designated operation is newly connected to the communication network, the designated operation is executed in the output device. Can be made to.

(5) Preferably, the content designation program provides information indicating that the designated device information cannot be acquired in the display process when the designated device information cannot be acquired from the output program in the second acquisition process. , The display unit is displayed instead of the device identification information.

According to the above configuration, since it is possible to make the user recognize that the designated device information could not be acquired, it is possible to prompt the user to select the output device by selecting the first object.

(6) Preferably, in the second reception process, the content designation program can further receive an instruction operation instructing the output program to execute the acquisition information storage process through the operation unit. In the output instruction process when the instruction operation is further received in the second reception process, the output program is further provided with the storage instruction information instructing the execution of the acquisition information storage process.

According to the above configuration, the user can be made to select whether or not to let the output device that has received the designation in the second reception process execute the designated operation from the next time onward.

(7) Preferably, the mobile terminal includes a display unit. The content designation program has a generation instruction process that instructs the output program to execute the generation process, and a third acquisition that acquires the data identification information provided by the output program in response to the generation instruction process from the output program. The process is executed by the mobile terminal. The output program provides the mobile terminal with the generation process of generating preview image data indicating a preview image and a third provision process of providing data identification information for identifying the preview image data to the content designation program. It is possible to execute it. The preview image is an image showing the result of causing the output device identified by the designated device information to perform the designated operation on the content data identified by the designated data information. The content designation program causes the mobile terminal to execute a fourth acquisition process for acquiring the preview image data identified by the data identification information and a preview display process for displaying the preview screen on the display unit. The preview screen includes the preview image shown by the preview image data acquired in the fourth acquisition process and a second object. The content designation program outputs the output in response to the fourth reception process of receiving the user operation for selecting the second object through the operation unit and the reception of the selection of the second object in the fourth reception process. The mobile terminal is made to execute the instruction processing.

According to the above configuration, the content designation program can allow the user to confirm the preview image showing the result of the designated operation, and then execute the designated operation in a format independent of the manufacturer and model of the output device. That is, it is possible to suppress the user from executing a specified operation that is different from the intention.

(8) For example, one of the plurality of output operations is a print operation for recording an image on a sheet. The preview image when the designated operation information indicates the printing operation shows the result of recording the image indicated by the image data identified by the data identification information on the sheet.

(9) Preferably, the content designation program has a display process for displaying the third object on the display unit, a fifth reception process for receiving a user operation for selecting the third object through the operation unit, and the first. In response to the acceptance of the selection of the three objects in the fifth reception process, the mobile terminal is made to execute the fourth acquisition process and the preview display process. The content designation program receives the designation of the content data in the first reception process, and receives the designation of the device identification information in the second reception process, and then in the display process, the first aspect that can be selected. 3 The object is displayed on the display unit. On the other hand, the content designation program has an aspect that cannot be selected in the display process before accepting the designation of the content data in the first reception process or before accepting the designation of the device identification information in the second reception process. The third object is displayed on the display unit.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to make the user recognize that the preview display process cannot proceed, so that it is possible to prompt the user to specify the content data and the output device.

(10) Preferably, the content designation program has a second determination process for determining whether or not the output program is stored in the storage unit, and the designated operation capable of communicating with the mobile terminal through the communication unit. The second search process for searching the network for the output device capable of executing the above, the second determination process for determining that the output program is not stored, and the second search process for determining that the output program is not stored. In response to the discovery of the output device, the mobile terminal is made to execute the first notification process for notifying that the output program needs to be installed.

(11) More preferably, the content designation program notifies that it is necessary to connect the output device to the communication network in response to the fact that the output device could not be found in the second search process. 2 The mobile terminal is made to execute the notification process.

Preparing a new output device that can execute a specified operation often requires a lot of time and effort compared to installing an output program. That is, if an output device capable of executing the specified operation cannot be immediately prepared, there is a high possibility that the output program will be installed, which is useless. Therefore, by performing the notification by the above-mentioned procedure, it is possible to prevent the user from performing unnecessary work.

(12) For example, the content designation program causes the mobile terminal to execute the output instruction process in response to the determination in the second determination process that the output program is stored.

(13) For example, the storage unit stores the designated operation information corresponding to the content designation program in advance at the time of installation of the content designation program. In the first acquisition process, the content designation program has a plurality of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of executing the designated operation identified by the designated operation information stored in advance in the storage unit. Is acquired, and in the output instruction process, the designated operation information stored in advance in the storage unit is provided to the output program.

In this way, the designated operation information that the content designation program can provide to the output program may be fixed. On the other hand, the content specification program causes the user to specify one of a plurality of output operations, and executes the first acquisition process and the output instruction process using the specified operation information for identifying the specified output operation. May be good.

(14) The mobile terminal described in the present specification includes an operation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network. The output device can perform at least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting content data. The storage unit can store an output program and a content designation program. The control unit that executes the output program identifies by the provided information acquisition process for acquiring the designated data information, the designated device information, and the designated operation information provided from the content designation program to the output program, and the designated device information. An output process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device is executed through the communication unit. The output instruction information is information that causes the content data identified by the designated data information to execute the output operation identified by the designated operation information. The control unit that executes the content designation program performs a first reception process of receiving a user operation for designating the content data through the operation unit, and a designated operation in a state in which communication with the mobile terminal is possible through the communication unit. The first acquisition process for acquiring a plurality of device identification information for identifying the output device that can be executed is executed. The designated operation is one of the plurality of output operations. The control unit that executes the content designation program receives a user operation for designating one of the plurality of device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process through the operation unit, and the first reception process. The designated data information for identifying the content data designated in the reception process, the designated device information which is the device identification information designated in the second reception process, and the designation for identifying the designated operation. The operation information is executed with the output instruction process provided to the output program in order to execute the output process.

According to the present invention, by providing various information to the output program, it is possible to cause the output device to execute a designated operation for the content data for which the designation has been accepted, in a format that does not depend on the manufacturer or model of the output device. ..

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 is a flowchart of the content designation process. In FIG. 4, (A) is a flowchart of the device selection process, and (B) is a flowchart of the notification process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed by the output program 66. 6A and 6B are display examples of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 6A shows a menu screen and FIG. 6B shows a label editing screen. FIG. 7 is a display example of the label edit screen, in which (A) shows the state before accepting the designation of the designated data and the designated device, and (B) shows the state after accepting the designation of the designated data and the designated device. Shown. 8A and 8B show a display example of the display unit 53, in which FIG. 8A shows a device selection screen and FIG. 8B shows a preview screen. FIG. 9 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 configured to be able to communicate with each other through the communication network 101. The communication network 101 may be, for example, a wired LAN (abbreviation for Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, or a combination thereof.

[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. , CPU (abbreviation of Central Processing Unit) 31, storage unit 32, and 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.

The print operation and the fax transmission operation among the above-mentioned plurality of operations 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 output operation is a label printing operation for recording a disk-shaped image (hereinafter referred to as "label image") on the surface of a CD-ROM, an embossing operation for forming irregularities on the surface of a card or the like, and a postcard. It may include a postcard printing operation for recording an image on a label, a garment printing operation for recording an image on a fabric, and the like. These operations can be performed only by an output device having dedicated hardware for recording an image on a recording medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a card, a postcard, a cloth) different from a general recording paper. Further, the output operation includes a bookbinding operation for binding a plurality of recording sheets on which an image is recorded, a 3D printing operation for generating a three-dimensional structure based on CAD data, an embroidery operation for sewing a thread into a cloth to generate an image, and the like. May include. These operations can also be realized only by an output device having dedicated hardware.

The operations that can be performed by the multifunction devices 10A and 10B may be different. In the present embodiment, the multifunction device 10A can execute a print operation, a fax transmission operation, and a label print operation, and the multifunction device 10B can execute a print operation, a media storage operation, and a label print 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. Even if the MIB (abbreviation of Management Information Base) of the multifunction device 10 defines, for example, a device ID for identifying the multifunction device 10 and operation information indicating an operation that the multifunction device 10 can perform. Good. The operation information may include, for example, an operation ID for identifying an executable operation. The device ID is an example of device identification information, and the operation ID is an example of 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, the concept of "touch" may include bringing the input medium close to a position where the distance from the display screen is very small. Further, the input medium may be a user's finger, a touch pen, 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.

[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 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. The data storage area 32B stores data or information necessary for executing the control program 35.

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

Further, "data" and "information" are the same data and information as long as they are recognized as having the same meaning even if the format (for example, text format, binary format, flag format, etc.) is changed for each computer. Treated as. For example, information indicating that there are "two" is 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 Program Read-Only Memory), a CPU (abbreviation of Memory), 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, the 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. The same applies to the mobile terminal 50 described later.

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 for identifying the data or the like is stored in a predetermined storage area. Refers to the process of memorizing. 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 same applies to the mobile terminal 50 described later.

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 OS34. However, in this 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 the configuration is the same as that of the storage unit 32 and the communication bus 33, the description thereof will be omitted. 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 content designation program 65, and the output program 66 are stored in the program storage area 62A 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. 6 to 8, 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, the title of the screen displayed in the program display area 81, the icon indicating the remaining battery level of the mobile terminal 50, the icon indicating the communication status of the communication unit 55, and the push received by the mobile terminal 50 from the external service. An icon or the like indicating a notification 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.

The content designation program 65 accepts user operations that specify at least one of the content data, the output operation, and the output device. Hereinafter, the content data specified by the user is referred to as "designated data", the output operation specified by the user is referred to as "designated operation", and the output device specified by the user is referred to as "designated device". Further, the content designation program 65 can start the output program 66 by designating the designated data ID, the designated operation ID, and the designated device ID. The designated data ID is an example of designated data information for identifying designated data, the designated device ID is an example of designated device information for identifying the designated device, and the designated action ID is a designation for identifying the designated action. This is an example of operation information.

The content designation program 65 according to the present embodiment edits a label image according to a user operation, and provides the output program 66 with label image data indicating the label image as designated data. However, the specific example of the content designation program 65 is not limited to this. As an example, the content designation program 65 may cause the user to specify one of a plurality of photo data stored in the data storage area 62B and provide the designated photo data to the output program 66. .. As another example, the content designation program 65 may cause the user to specify an arbitrary area of the map image and provide the output program 66 with image data indicating the map image of the designated area.

The data storage area 62B can store the designated operation ID. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the designated operation ID for identifying the label print operation is stored in the data storage area 62B. The designated operation ID may be included in the setting file read by the content designation program 65 at startup, or may be directly described in the source code of the content designation program 65, for example. That is, the designated operation ID is stored in the data storage area 62B at the timing when the content designation program 65 is installed in the mobile terminal 50. In the present embodiment, an example in which the designated action ID used by the content designation program 65 is fixed in advance will be described, but the designated action ID for identifying the designated action designated by the user may be used.

The content designation program 65 can start the output program 66 as a so-called plug-in, for example. In this case, the content designation program 65 may execute the plug-in API for starting the application as a plug-in with the information specifying the output program 66, the URI, and the designated information as arguments. The argument specified by the plug-in API may be, for example, intent-format information used in the Android OS. Alternatively, the content designation program 65 may start the program 66 by executing the explicit shared API described later. The arguments specified in the explicit shared API may be common to the plug-in API.

The output program 66 is started by, for example, the content designation program 65. The output program 66 is a program that acquires the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID provided from the content designation program 65, and causes the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. The output program 66 can acquire various information provided by the content designation program 65 by referring to, for example, an argument in the intent format. The output program 66 transmits, for example, output instruction information for executing the label print operation to the multifunction device 10 through the communication unit 55.

Further, the output program 66 operates according to various information acquired from the content designation program 65, and can provide the generated information generated by the operation to the content designation program 65. As the generated information, for example, the image data generated by the output program 66, the URL indicating the location of the generated image data, the result information indicating the operation result by the output program 66, and the like can be considered.

As an example, the output program 66 may provide the generated information to the content designation program 65 by adding the generated information to the argument in the intent format. The argument to which the output program 66 has added the generated information is provided as a return value to the content specification program 65. As a result, the content designation program 65 can acquire various information included in the return value. As another example, the output program 66 may provide generation information to the content specification program 65 as a return value of the plug-in API or the explicit shared API executed by the content specification program 65 to start the output program 66. Good.

As another example, the output program 66 may provide the generated information to the content designation program 65 by storing the generated information in the area of the storage unit 62 accessible to the content designation program 65. In this case, the content designation program 65 acquires the generated information by reading the generated information stored in the storage unit 62. As another example, the output program 66 provides the content specification program 65 with the generation information by executing the API for passing the arguments to the application, using the information for specifying the content specification program 65 and the generation information as arguments. You may. The argument in this case may also be intent-format information.

The OS 64 provides the program installed in the mobile terminal 50 with a sharing function that starts the second program designated by the first program and provides the designated information specified 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). At least URI (abbreviation of Uniform Resource Identifier), type, and action are required as arguments to execute the implicit shared API. The argument may be, for example, intent-formatted information. The sharing source application 41 may include other information in the argument of the implicit sharing API. 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. URIs, types, and actions are examples of designated information provided by 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 content designation program 65 corresponds to the application 41 of FIG. 9, and the output program 66 corresponds to one of the applications 42 to 44 of FIG.

The processing of steps S2 to S5 may be executed by the sharing source application. In step S2, 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. Then, in step S5, the sharing source application starts the application selected by the user operation by executing the explicit sharing API with the information, URI, type, and action that identifies the application acquired from the OS 64 as arguments. Can be made to. The sharing source application 41 may include other information in the argument of the explicit sharing API.

Alternatively, the sharing source application executes an explicit sharing API with predetermined application-identifying information, URI, type, and action as arguments in response to the user being instructed to use the sharing function. May start a predetermined sharing destination application. In the present embodiment, for example, the output program 66 may be set as a predetermined sharing destination application in the content designation program 65 which is the sharing source application. More specifically, the information for specifying the output program 66 may be described in the setting file referenced by the content designation program 65 at startup or the source code of the content designation program 65.

The data storage area 62B can store the registration device ID. At the time of installation of the output program 66, the registration device ID is not stored in the data storage area 62B. Further, the registration device ID is a designated device ID registered by the output program 66 in step S63 described later, and is read out by the output program 66 in step S53 described later. On the other hand, programs other than the output program 66 may not be able to register, change, read, or the like the registration device ID.

[Operation of recording system 100]
The operation of the recording system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. The recording system 100 executes a process of causing the multifunction device 10A designated based on the user operation to perform a label print operation on the content data designated 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. 6A is an example of a menu screen. The menu screen shown in FIG. 6A includes a plurality of program icons 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The program icons 111 to 115 correspond to the programs installed in the mobile terminal 50. For example, the program icon 114 corresponds to the content designation program 65, and the program icon 115 corresponds to the output program 66. In this embodiment, the program icon 115 corresponding to the output program 66 may be hidden.

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

[Content specification processing]
The content designation program 65 executes the content designation process in response to being started by the OS 64 that has received the selection of the program icon 114 without relying on the sharing function. The content designation program 65 accepts a user operation for designating designated data and a designated device in the content designation process. Then, the content designation program 65 provides the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID to the output program 66. The details of the content designation process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the content designation program 65 determines whether or not the output program 66 is already installed (S11). As an example, the content designation program 65 may determine whether or not the executable file of the output program 66 is stored in the program storage area 62A. As another example, the content specification program 65 may specify the program ID of the output program 66 and execute a function that asks the OS 64 whether or not the output program 66 is installed. Then, the content specification program 65 may determine whether or not the output program 66 is installed based on the return value of the function. The process of step S11 is an example of the second determination process.

Next, the content designation program 65 determines in the output program 66 whether or not the registration device ID is stored in the data storage area 62B in response to the determination that the output program 66 is installed (S11: Yes). Inquire (S12). The content designation program 65 executes a function for starting the output program 66, for example, with information instructing the presence / absence of the registration device ID as an argument. The process of step S12 is an example of a determination instruction process for instructing the output program 66 to execute the first determination process described later.

As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 stores the registration device ID in the data storage area 62B in response to the inquiry regarding the presence / absence of the registration device ID from the content designation program 65 (S51: Yes). Whether or not it is determined (S52). The output program 66 provides the registration device ID to the content designation program 65 in response to the determination that the registration device ID is stored in the data storage area 62B (S52: Yes) (S53). On the other hand, the output program 66 provides a Null value to the content designation program 65 in response to the determination that the registration device ID is not stored in the data storage area 62B (S52: No) (S54).

The output program 66 provides the content designation program 65 with the registration device ID or the Null value as the return value of the function executed by the content designation program 65 in step S12, for example, in steps S53 and S54. Further, the information provided to the content designation program 65 in step S54 is not limited to the Null value as long as it is a predetermined value indicating that the registration device ID does not exist. The process of step S52 is an example of the first determination process, and the process of step S53 is an example of the third provision process.

Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 acquires the registration device ID or the Null value from the output program 66 (S13). Then, the content designation program 65 temporarily stores the acquired registration device ID as the designated device ID in the data storage area 62B. Next, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the label edit screen (S14). The process of step S13 is an example of the second acquisition process, and the process of step S14 is an example of the display process. Then, the content designation program 65 accepts the selection of the icon included in the label edit screen through the operation unit 54 (S15).

FIG. 6B is an example of a label editing screen when the registration device ID “MFP-A” is acquired in step S13. FIG. 7A is an example of a label editing screen when the registration device ID could not be acquired in step S13. The label editing screen shown in FIG. 6 includes a label image display area 121, a plurality of editing icons 122, 123, 124, a device icon 125 which is an example of the first object, and a preview icon 126 which is an example of the third object. And include.

The label image display area 121 is an area for displaying a label image edited by using the edit icons 122 to 124. The edit icon 122 corresponds to an instruction to add a character string to the label image. The edit icon 123 corresponds to an instruction to add a color to the label image. The edit icon 124 corresponds to an instruction to add a photo to the label image. The device icon 125 corresponds to an instruction to switch the designated device. The preview icon 126 corresponds to an execution instruction of the preview display process described later.

The characters of the registration device ID “MFP-A” acquired in step S13 are added to the device icon 125 shown in FIG. 6 (B). On the other hand, to the device icon 125 shown in FIG. 7A, a character "unselected" indicating that the registration device ID could not be acquired in step S13 is added. In the label edit screen, "MFP-A" and "not selected" may be displayed at positions different from the device icon 125. Further, the preview icon 126 shown in FIGS. 6B and 7A is grayed out as an example of a non-selectable aspect. However, as another example of the non-selectable aspect, the preview icon 126 may be hidden on the label editing screen shown in FIGS. 6 (B) and 7 (A).

Next, the content designation program 65 executes the device selection process in response to receiving the selection of the device icon 125 through the operation unit 54 (S15: device icon) (S16). The process of accepting the selection of the device icon 125 in step S15 is an example of the third acceptance process. The device selection process is a process of causing a user to specify a designated device. The details of the device selection process will be described with reference to FIG. 4A.

First, the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 to search for the multifunction device 10 (S31). The content designation program 65 executes a function for starting the output program 66, for example, with the information instructing the search of the multifunction device 10 and the designated operation ID stored in the data storage area 62B as arguments. The process of step S31 is an example of a search instruction process for instructing the output program 66 to execute the search process described later (hereinafter, referred to as “search instruction”).

As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 is identified by the designated operation ID in a state where it can communicate through the communication unit 55 in response to receiving a search instruction from the content designation program 65 (S55: Yes). The multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation is searched from the communication network 101 through the communication unit 55 (S56). The process of step S56 is an example of the first search process.

The output program 66 uses, for example, SNMP (abbreviation of Simple Network Management Protocol) to transmit transmission request information for requesting transmission of the device ID and operation information stored in the MIB to the multifunction device 10 through the communication unit 55. .. Next, the output program 66 receives the device ID and the operation information returned from the multifunction device 10 through the communication unit 55. Next, the output program 66 compares the designated operation ID acquired from the content designation program 65 with the operation ID included in the operation information received from the multifunction device 10. Then, the output program 66 specifies the multifunction device 10 whose operation information includes the same operation ID as the designated operation ID as the target multifunction device.

The operation information may be model information indicating the model of the multifunction device 10. The output program 66 in this case accesses the correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship 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).

The target multifunction device specified in step S56 is a multifunction device 10 capable of transmitting and receiving information conforming to SNMP, that is, a state in which communication is possible through the communication unit 55 at the present time, and is capable of executing a designated operation. It is 10. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the multifunction devices 10A and 10B are specified as the target multifunction devices. Then, the output program 66 provides the device IDs “MFP-A” and “MFP-B” of the multifunction device 10 found in step S56 to the content designation program 65 as the return value of the function executed in step S31. (S57). The process of step S57 is an example of the second provided process.

As another example, the output program 66 specifies the device ID and operation information received from the multifunction device 10 or the device ID and model information received from the multifunction device 10 as the return value of the function executed in step S31. It may be provided to program 65. Then, the content designation program 65 may specify the target multifunction device based on the information. The specific method in which the content designation program 65 specifies the target multifunction device may be the same as the above-described method in which the output program 66 specifies the target multifunction device.

As another example, the transmission request information may include a designated operation ID. The control program 35 of the multifunction device 10 may receive transmission request information from the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 and determine whether or not the designated operation ID included in the transmission request information is stored in the MIB. Then, the control program 35 may transmit the device ID to the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25 in response to the determination that the designated operation ID is stored in the MIB. On the other hand, the control program 35 does not transmit the device ID to the mobile terminal 50 in response to the determination that the designated operation ID is not stored in the MIB. Then, the output program 66 of the mobile terminal 50 may specify the multifunction device 10 indicated by the device ID received through the communication unit 55 as the target multifunction device.

Returning to FIG. 4A, the content designation program 65 acquires the device IDs “MFP-A” and “MFP-B” provided by the output program 66 in response to the search instruction process (S32). Next, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the device selection screen (S33). Then, the content designation program 65 accepts the selection of the icon or the check box included in the device selection screen through the operation unit 54 (S34). The process of step S32 is an example of the first acquisition process, and the process of step S34 is an example of the second reception process.

FIG. 8A is an example of a device selection screen. The device selection screen shown in FIG. 8A includes device icons 131 and 132 and a check box 133. The device icons 131 and 132 correspond to the device IDs of the target multifunction devices found in step S56. Further, the device icons 131 and 132 describe the corresponding device IDs. The check box 133 is an object for receiving an instruction operation instructing the output program 66 to execute the acquisition information storage process described later. The acquisition information storage process is a process of storing the designated device ID designated through the device selection screen in the data storage area 62B as the registration device ID.

Next, the content designation program 65 assigns the device ID “MFP-A” described in the selected device icon 131, for example, in response to receiving the selection of the device icon 131 through the operation unit 54 (S34: Yes). , Temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B as the designated device ID (S35). If the designated device ID is already temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B, it is overwritten with the designated device ID designated in step S34. Further, the output program 66 temporarily stores information indicating whether or not the check box 133 is checked in the data storage area 62B. The check of the check box 133 is an example of an instruction operation. S34 and S35 are examples of specific processing.

Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a label edit screen including the device icon 125 in which the designated device ID temporarily stored in step S35 is described (S14). For example, when the position of the device icon 125 shown in FIG. 7A is tapped and the position of the device icon 131 shown in FIG. 8A is tapped, the content designation program 65 is shown in FIG. 6B. The displayed label edit screen is displayed on the display unit 53.

Next, the content designation program 65 edits the label image according to the user operation in response to receiving the selection of the edit icons 122 to 124 through the operation unit 54 (S15: edit icon) (S17). Then, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the label editing screen in which the edited label image is arranged in the label image display area 121 (S14). The process of accepting the selection of the edit icons 122 to 124 in step S15 is an example of the first acceptance process.

Further, the content designation program 65 temporarily stores the label image data indicating the edited label image as the designated data and the data ID for identifying the label image data as the designated data ID in the data storage area 62B. The data ID is an example of data identification information. The content designation program 65 and the output program 66 can read, edit, or delete the data stored in the storage unit 62 by using the API of the OS64. The data ID is information in a format used for designating data in the API of OS64. The data ID is, for example, a file path or a URI. If the label image and the designated data ID are already temporarily stored in the data storage area 62B, the label image data and the designated data ID designated in step S17 are overwritten.

The storage destination of the label image data indicating the edited label image may be, for example, an external server (not shown) such as a cloud server. That is, the content designation program 65 may transmit the label image data indicating the edited label image to the external server through the communication unit 55. Then, the content designation program 65 may temporarily store the data ID of the label image data as the designated data ID in the data storage area 62B. The designated data ID in this case may be, for example, in the form of a URL for downloading the label image data from an external server.

As an example, the content designation program 65 displays a software keyboard (not shown) on the display unit 53 in response to the selection of the edit icon 122, and a character string input through the software keyboard is placed at a position desired by the user. Deploy. As another example, the content specification program 65 displays a list of selectable colors on the display unit 53 in response to the selection of the edit icon 123, and displays the color selected through the operation unit 54 as the background of the label image. Set to color. As yet another example, the content specification program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display a list of selectable photos in response to the selection of the edit icon 124, and the user desires the photos selected through the operation unit 54. Place it in the desired position.

FIG. 7B is an example of the label editing screen after the label image has been edited in the label editing screen shown in FIG. 6B. In the label editing screen shown in FIG. 7 (B), the edited label image is arranged in the label image display area 121 and compared with the label editing screen shown in FIGS. 6 (B) and 7 (A). It differs in that it includes a preview icon 126 in a selectable manner, and is otherwise common.

Next, the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 to generate preview image data in response to receiving the selection of the preview icon 126 through the operation unit 54 (S15: [preview] icon) (S18). The content designation program 65 starts the output program 66, for example, with the information instructing the generation of the preview image data and the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID stored in the data storage area 62B as arguments. Execute the function for. The process of accepting the selection of the preview icon 126 in step S15 is an example of the fifth acceptance process. The process of step S18 is an example of the generation instruction process for instructing the output program to execute the generation process described later (hereinafter, referred to as “generation instruction”).

As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 generates preview image data indicating a preview image (S59) in response to receiving a generation instruction from the content designation program 65 (S58: Yes). Specifically, the output program 66 reads the label image data from the data storage area 62B using the API of the OS 64, and generates the preview image data using the label image data. The preview image is an image showing the result of causing the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. The preview image according to the present embodiment shows an image in which the label image is recorded on the surface of the CD-ROM by the multifunction device 10A. Further, the output program 66 temporarily stores the generated preview image data in the data storage area 62B. Further, the output program 66 provides the data ID of the generated preview image data to the content designation program 65 as a return value of the function executed in step S18 (S60). The process of step S59 is an example of the generation process, and the process of step S60 is an example of the third provided process.

Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 acquires the data ID from the output program 66, and uses the data ID to read the preview image data identified by the data ID from the data storage area 62B (S19). Next, the content designation program 65 causes the display unit 53 to display the preview screen (S20). Then, the content designation program 65 accepts the selection of the icon included in the preview screen through the operation unit 54 (S21). The process of step S19 is an example of the third acquisition process and the fourth acquisition process, the process of step S20 is an example of the preview display process, and the process of step S21 is an example of the fourth reception process.

FIG. 8B is an example of a preview screen. The preview screen shown in FIG. 8B includes a preview image 135 and a print icon 136 which is an example of the second object. The preview image 135 is an image represented by the preview image data read from the data storage area 62B in step S19. The print icon 136 corresponds to an instruction (hereinafter, referred to as “output instruction”) for causing the output program 66 to execute the output process described later.

When the label image data is stored in the external server, the output program 66 receives the label image data from the external server through the communication unit 55 in step S59, and generates the preview image data using the label image data. Then, the preview image data may be transmitted to the external server through the communication unit 55. Further, the content designation program 65 may receive the preview image data from the external server through the communication unit 55 in step S19.

Next, the content designation program 65 instructs the output program 66 to execute the output process in response to the selection of the [print] icon being accepted through the operation unit 54 (S21: Yes) (S22). For example, the content designation program 65 starts the output program 66 with the information instructing the execution of the output process and the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID stored in the data storage area 62B as arguments. Execute the API of. The API executed here may be an API for invoking the output program 66 as a plug-in, or may be an explicit shared API. The process of step S22 is an example of the first provision process or the output instruction process of providing the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated operation ID to the output program in order to execute the output process.

When the designated device ID stored in the data storage area 62B and the registered device ID acquired from the output program 66 in step S13 are the same, the content designation program 65 executes the output process using the registered device ID. Information indicating that the device may be used may be provided to the output program 66 instead of the designated device ID. Further, the content designation program 65 further provides the storage instruction information to the output program 66 according to the fact that the check box 133 has been checked. The storage instruction information is information for causing the output program 66 to execute the acquisition information storage process described later.

As shown in FIG. 5, the output program 66 receives the output instruction from the content designation program 65 (S58: No), and the designated data ID, the designated device ID, and the designated device ID provided by the content designation program 65. Acquire the specified operation ID. Further, the output program 66 reads out the registration device ID stored in the data storage area 62B as the designated device ID in response to the acquisition of the information indicating that the registration device ID is used. These processes are an example of the provided information acquisition process.

Then, the output program 66 transmits the output instruction information to the multifunction device 10A identified by the designated device ID through the communication unit 55 ( S61 ). The output instruction information is information for causing the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data. That is, the output instruction information in the present embodiment is information for recording the label image indicated by the label image data on the surface of the CD-ROM. The output instruction information includes the designated data indicated by the designated data ID. Specifically, the output program 66 reads the designated data using the API of the OS 64, generates output instruction information including the read designated data, and transmits the generated output instruction information to the multifunction device 10A through the communication unit 55. .. S61 is an example of output processing.

When the designated data ID is a URL for downloading the designated data from the external server, the output program 66 receives the designated data from the external server through the communication unit 55, and outputs output instruction information including the received designated data. You may generate and transmit the generated output instruction information to the compound machine 10A through the communication unit 55. Alternatively, the output program 66 may transmit output instruction information including a URL for downloading the designated data from the external server to the multifunction device 10A through the communication unit 55.

On the other hand, although not shown, the control program 35 of the multifunction device 10A receives output instruction information from the mobile terminal 50 through the communication unit 25. Then, the control program 35 executes an output operation according to the received output instruction information. The multifunction device 10A in the present embodiment causes the printer unit 11 to perform a label printing operation of recording a label image indicated by designated data included in the output instruction information on the surface of the CD-ROM. Alternatively, the multifunction device 10A may download the designated data from the external server using the URL included in the output instruction information, and have the printer unit 11 execute the label print operation for the designated data.

Further, the output program 66 determines whether or not the storage instruction information has been acquired from the content designation program 65 (S62). Then, the output program 66 stores the designated device ID acquired from the content designation program 65 in the data storage area 62B as the registration device ID in response to the determination that the storage instruction information has been acquired (S62: Yes) (S62: Yes). S63). If the registered device ID is already stored, it is overwritten with the designated device ID acquired from the content designation program 65. The process of step S63 is an example of the acquired information storage process. On the other hand, the output program 66 skips the process of step S63 in response to the determination that the storage instruction information has not been acquired (S62: No).

Returning to FIG. 3, the content designation program 65 executes the notification process (S23) in response to the determination that the output program 66 is not installed (S11: No). The notification process is a process that prompts the user for work necessary for the content designation program 65 to execute the process. The details of the notification process will be described with reference to FIG. 4 (B).

First, the content designation program 65 searches the communication network 101 for the multifunction device 10 that can perform the designated operation identified by the designated operation ID while being able to communicate through the communication unit 55 (S41). .. Since the process of step S41 is common to the process of step S56, the description thereof will be omitted again. The process of step S41 is an example of the second search process.

Next, the content designation program 65 needs to install the output program 66 in response to the discovery of the multifunction device 10 that can communicate and execute the designated operation (S42: Yes). Notify the user of the terminal 50 (S43). The content designation program 65 may display, for example, the message "Please install the output program" on the display unit 53. Further, the content designation program 65 may activate a browser program (not shown) by using the sharing function to display the download site of the output program 66 on the browser program. The process of step S43 is an example of the first notification process.

On the other hand, the content designation program 65 sets the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation on the communication network in response to the failure to find the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation in a communicable state (S42: No). Notify the user of the mobile terminal 50 that it is necessary to connect to the 101 (S44). The content designation program 65 may display, for example, a message "Please connect a multifunction device capable of executing a label print operation" on the display unit 53. The process of step S44 is an example of the second notification process.

[Action and effect of this embodiment]
According to the above embodiment, the content designation program 65 can cause the designated device to execute the designated operation for the designated data by providing various information to the output program 66. That is, the content designation program 65 can cause the designated device to execute the designated operation by processing in a format that does not depend on the manufacturer or model of the designated device.

Further, according to the above embodiment, since the processing of step S56 is executed by the output program 66, the multifunction device 10 capable of executing the designated operation is specified by the processing in a format independent of the manufacturer and model of the multifunction device 10. be able to. However, the process of step S56 may be executed by the content designation program 65 as in step S41.

Further, according to the above embodiment, since the registration device ID acquired from the output program 66 in step S13 can be used as the designated device ID, the device selection process can be omitted and the output instruction process can be executed. As a result, the user operation can be simplified when the same multifunction device 10 as before is made to execute the designated operation. Further, the check box 133 allows the user to select whether or not to register the device ID of the designated device selected in the device selection process as the registration device ID.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the output program 66 manages the registration device ID has been described, but the content designation program 65 may manage the registration device ID. That is, the content designation program 65 may execute the process corresponding to steps S52 and S53 instead of the process of steps S12 and S13. Further, the content designation program 65 may execute the process corresponding to step S63 before and after step S22 according to the check box 133 being checked.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the user can be made to select an output device different from the output device identified by the registration device ID in the device selection process. As a result, for example, the multifunction device 10 newly connected to the communication network 101 can be designated as the designated device. Further, according to the above embodiment, by describing "not selected" in the device icon 125, the user can be made to recognize that the registered device ID could not be acquired in step S13.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the content designation program 65 executes the output instruction process after having the user confirm the preview image showing the result of the designated operation, so that the execution of the designated operation different from the user's intention is suppressed. Will be done. Further, according to the above embodiment, the preview icon 126 cannot be selected until the designated data and the designated device are designated, so that the user can recognize that the preview display process cannot proceed.

Further, according to the above embodiment, when the output program 66 is not installed and there is a multifunction device 10 capable of communicating and executing a designated operation, the installation of the output program 66 is urged and communication is performed. If there is no multifunction device 10 that can execute the designated device in a possible state, the connection of the multifunction device 10 is urged. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from performing unnecessary work.

Further, in the above embodiment, the output program 66 has an interface for the content designation program 65 and an interface for the multifunction device 10, and does not have an interface for the user. That is, the output program 66 executes the process shown in FIG. 5 in the background. However, the configuration of the output program 66 is not limited to this, and may further have an interface for accepting designation of designated data, designated device, or designated operation from the user. The output program 66 in this case is executed in the foreground, for example, in response to the selection of the program icon 115 shown in FIG. 6 (A).

Further, in the mobile terminal 50 of the above embodiment, the CPU 61 executes various programs stored in the program storage area 62A of the storage unit 62, whereby 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 ... Content designation program 66 ... Output program 50 ... Mobile terminal 53 ... Display unit 54 ... Operation unit 62 ... Storage unit

Claims (13)

A content designation program that can be read by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, and the output device is a content. At least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting data can be executed, the storage unit can store an output program that can be read by the mobile terminal, and the output program is the plurality of output operations. The output instruction information for executing the above can be transmitted to the output device, and the content designation program corresponds to the designated operation which is a part of the output operation of the plurality of output operations.
The content designation program is
The first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and executing the designated operation through the communication unit.
Specific processing for specifying one of the device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process as designated device information according to the operation through the operation unit, and
The output program is provided with designated data information for identifying the content data designated by an operation through the operation unit, the designated device information specified by the specific process, and designated operation information for identifying the designated operation. It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the first provision process to be provided.
The output program can cause the mobile terminal to execute an output process of transmitting the output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information provided by the first provided process through the communication unit. Yes, the output instruction information is identified by the designated operation information provided by the first provision process with respect to the content data identified by the designated data information provided by the first provision process. Information to execute the specified operation
The content designation program can cause the mobile terminal to execute a determination instruction process for instructing the output program to execute the first determination process.
The output program
Acquired information storage processing for storing the designated device information in the storage unit, and
In response to the instruction in the determination instruction process, the first determination process for determining whether or not the designated device information is stored in the storage unit, and the first determination process.
The third provision process of providing the designated device information stored in the storage unit to the content designation program in response to the determination in the first determination process that the designated device information is stored is described. It is possible to have a mobile terminal execute it,
The content designation program is
It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the second acquisition process for acquiring the designated device information provided by the third provision process.
A content designation program capable of providing the designated device information acquired in the second acquisition process to the output program in the first provision process. The content designation program causes the mobile terminal to execute a search instruction process instructing the output program to execute the first search process.
The output program
The first search for searching the communication network for the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal through the communication unit and executing the designated operation in response to an instruction in the search instruction processing. Processing and
It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the second provision process of providing the device identification information of the output device found in the first search process to the content designation program.
The content designation program according to claim 1, wherein the content designation program acquires the device identification information provided by the second provision process in the first acquisition process. Before Symbol mobile terminal is provided with a display unit,
The content designation program is
It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the display process of displaying the designated device information acquired in the second acquisition process and the first object on the display unit.
The content designation program according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mobile terminal executes the first acquisition process in response to receiving the operation of selecting the first object through the operation unit. When the designated device information cannot be acquired in the second acquisition process, the content designation program displays information indicating that the designated device information cannot be acquired in the display process in place of the device identification information. The content designation program according to claim 3, which is displayed on the unit. The content designation program executes the acquired information storage process in the first providing process in response to receiving an operation instructing the output program to execute the acquired information storage process through the operation unit. The content designation program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further providing the output program with the storage instruction information for instructing. The mobile terminal is provided with a display unit.
The content designation program can cause the mobile terminal to execute a generation instruction process that instructs the output program to execute the generation process.
The output program
The generation process for generating preview image data indicating a preview image in response to an instruction in the generation instruction process, and the preview image performs the output operation for the content data identified by the designated data information by the designated device. It is an image showing the result of having the output device identified by the information execute.
It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the fourth providing process of providing the data identification information for identifying the preview image data to the content designation program.
The content designation program is
A third acquisition process for acquiring the data identification information provided by the fourth provision process, and
The fourth acquisition process for acquiring the preview image data identified by the data identification information, and
The mobile terminal is made to execute the preview display process for displaying the preview screen on the display unit, and the preview screen includes the preview image shown by the preview image data acquired in the fourth acquisition process and the second object. Including
The content designation program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mobile terminal executes the first provision process in response to receiving the operation of selecting the second object through the operation unit. One of the plurality of output operations is a print operation for recording an image on a sheet.
The content designation program according to claim 6, wherein the preview image when the designated operation information indicates the print operation is a result of recording an image represented by the image data identified by the data identification information on a sheet. The content designation program is
Display processing to display the third object on the display unit,
In response to receiving the operation of selecting the third object through the operation unit, the mobile terminal is made to execute the fourth acquisition process and the preview display process.
In the display process after accepting the operation for designating the content data and accepting the operation for designating the device identification information, the third object in a selectable mode is displayed on the display unit.
6. Claim 6 for displaying the third object in a non-selectable mode on the display unit in the display process before accepting the operation for designating the content data or before accepting the operation for designating the device identification information. Or the content designation program described in 7. A content designation program that can be read by a mobile terminal including an operation unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, and the output device is a content. At least one of a plurality of output operations for outputting data can be executed, the storage unit can store an output program that can be read by the mobile terminal, and the output program is the plurality of output operations. The output instruction information for executing the above can be transmitted to the output device, and the content designation program corresponds to the designated operation which is a part of the output operation of the plurality of output operations.
The content designation program is
The first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and executing the designated operation through the communication unit.
Specific processing for specifying one of the device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process as designated device information according to the operation through the operation unit, and
The output program is provided with designated data information for identifying the content data designated by an operation through the operation unit, the designated device information specified by the specific process, and designated operation information for identifying the designated operation. It is possible to cause the mobile terminal to execute the first provision process to be provided.
The output program can cause the mobile terminal to execute an output process of transmitting the output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information provided by the first provided process through the communication unit. Yes, the output instruction information is identified by the designated operation information provided by the first provision process with respect to the content data identified by the designated data information provided by the first provision process. Information to execute the specified operation
The content designation program is
A second determination process for determining whether or not the output program is stored in the storage unit, and
A second search process for searching the communication network for the output device that can communicate with the mobile terminal through the communication unit and can execute the designated operation.
When the second determination process determines that the output program is not stored and the output device is found in the second search process, the second determination process notifies that the output program needs to be installed. 1 A content designation program that causes the mobile terminal to execute notification processing. The content designation program performs the second notification process for notifying that the output device needs to be connected to the communication network in response to the failure to find the output device in the second search process. The content designation program according to claim 9, which is executed by the terminal. The content designation according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the content designation program causes the mobile terminal to execute the first provision process in response to the determination in the second determination process that the output program is stored. program. A mobile terminal including an operation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, and the output device outputs content data. It is possible to execute at least one of a plurality of output operations to be performed, the storage unit can store a content designation program and an output program, and the output program is an output for executing the plurality of output operations. The instruction information can be transmitted to the output device, and the content designation program corresponds to a designated operation which is a part of the output operations of the plurality of output operations.
The control unit that executes the content specification program
The first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and executing the designated operation through the communication unit.
Specific processing for specifying one of the device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process as designated device information according to the operation through the operation unit, and
The output program is provided with designated data information for identifying the content data designated by an operation through the operation unit, the designated device information specified by the specific process, and designated operation information for identifying the designated operation. It is possible to execute the first provision process to be provided,
The control unit that executes the output program can execute an output process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information provided by the first provided process through the communication unit. The output instruction information is identified by the designated operation information provided by the first provision process with respect to the content data identified by the designated data information provided by the first provision process. This is information for executing the specified operation.
The control unit that executes the content designation program can execute a determination instruction process that instructs the output program to execute the first determination process.
The control unit that executes the output program
Acquired information storage processing for storing the designated device information in the storage unit, and
In response to the instruction in the determination instruction process, the first determination process for determining whether or not the designated device information is stored in the storage unit, and the first determination process.
In response to the determination in the first determination process that the designated device information is stored, the third provision process of providing the designated device information stored in the storage unit to the content designation program is executed. It is possible to
The control unit that executes the content designation program
It is possible to execute the second acquisition process for acquiring the designated device information provided by the third provision process.
A mobile terminal capable of providing the designated device information acquired in the second acquisition process to the output program in the first provision process. A mobile terminal including an operation unit, a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit can communicate with a plurality of output devices through a communication network, and the output device outputs content data. It is possible to execute at least one of a plurality of output operations to be performed, the storage unit can store a content designation program and an output program, and the output program is an output for executing the plurality of output operations. The instruction information can be transmitted to the output device, and the content designation program corresponds to a designated operation which is a part of the output operations of the plurality of output operations.
The control unit that executes the content specification program
The first acquisition process of acquiring a plurality of device identification information for identifying the output device capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and executing the designated operation through the communication unit.
Specific processing for specifying one of the device identification information acquired in the first acquisition process as designated device information according to the operation through the operation unit, and
The output program is provided with designated data information for identifying the content data designated by an operation through the operation unit, the designated device information specified by the specific process, and designated operation information for identifying the designated operation. It is possible to execute the first provision process to be provided,
The control unit that executes the output program can execute an output process of transmitting output instruction information to the output device identified by the designated device information provided by the first provided process through the communication unit. The output instruction information is identified by the designated operation information provided by the first provision process with respect to the content data identified by the designated data information provided by the first provision process. This is information for executing the specified operation.
The control unit that executes the content designation program
A second determination process for determining whether or not the output program is stored in the storage unit, and
A second search process for searching the communication network for the output device that can communicate with the mobile terminal through the communication unit and can execute the designated operation.
When the second determination process determines that the output program is not stored and the output device is found in the second search process, the second determination process notifies that the output program needs to be installed. 1 A mobile terminal that executes notification processing.

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