JP7172560B2 - Information processing device and computer program for information processing device - Google Patents

Description

This specification discloses a technology related to an information processing apparatus capable of causing a printer to execute printing according to IPP (abbreviation of Internet Printing Protocol).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 discloses that communication is performed according to IPP between a printer and a terminal device, and the printer performs printing according to an instruction from the terminal device.

JP 2016-72785 A JP 2018-136792 A

This specification discloses a technique for notifying a user of a privacy policy regarding disclosure of job information stored in a printer in a situation where communication according to IPP is executed between the information processing apparatus and the printer.

This specification discloses a computer program for an information processing apparatus. The computer program is a first request sending part for sending a first policy information request to a printer according to the following parts, i.e., IPP (abbreviation of Internet Printing Protocol), for the computer of the information processing device, The first policy information request is a command for requesting the printer to transmit policy information indicating a privacy policy regarding disclosure of job information stored in the printer, and the policy information is job information stored in the printer. the first request transmission unit including disclosure restriction information indicating an item corresponding to job information for which a disclosure target user is restricted, and disclosure user information indicating the disclosure target user; a first policy information receiving unit for receiving first policy information, which is the policy information, from the printer according to the IPP in response to one policy information request being transmitted to the printer; A first output control unit that causes an output unit to output a first notification image indicating the privacy policy using the first policy information when the first policy information is received, In the first notification image, the job information corresponding to the item indicated by the disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information is disclosed to a user whose job information is indicated by the disclosure user information included in the first policy information. and a job transmission unit configured to transmit a print job to the printer according to the IPP after outputting the first notification image, wherein the In the printer, when the print job is received from the information processing apparatus, printing according to the print job is executed and job information is stored.

According to the above configuration, the information processing apparatus transmits the first policy information request to the printer according to the IPP, receives the first policy information from the printer, uses the first policy information, and sends the request to the printer. The output unit is caused to output a first notification image indicating a privacy policy regarding disclosure of the stored job information. After outputting the first notification image, the information processing device transmits the print job to the printer according to the IPP. Therefore, in a situation where communication according to IPP is executed between the information processing apparatus and the printer, the user is notified of the privacy policy regarding disclosure of job information stored in the printer before the print job is transmitted to the printer. can do.

A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program described above is also novel and useful. The information processing apparatus itself and the control method for realizing the information processing apparatus are also novel and useful. A communication system comprising the above information processing device and printer is also novel and useful.

1 shows the configuration of a communication system; Fig. 3 shows a sequence diagram of the storage process; 4 shows a sequence diagram of a printing process; FIG. FIG. 4 shows a sequence diagram continuing from FIG. 3 ; FIG. FIG. 4 shows a sequence diagram of an information acquisition process; FIG. 4 shows a sequence diagram of the registration process of the second and third embodiments; FIG. 11 shows a sequence diagram of the printing process of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of the printing process of the third embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 shows a sequence diagram of an example of a printing process;

(Configuration of communication system 2; Fig. 1)
As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication system 2 includes a plurality of PCs (abbreviation for Personal Computer) 10 and 50 and a printer 100 . Each device 10 , 50 , 100 can communicate with each other via a LAN (abbreviation for Local Area Network) 6 . LAN 6 may be either a wired LAN or a wireless LAN.

(Configuration of each PC 10, 50)
Each of the PCs 10 and 50 is a stationary PC, but in a modified example, it may be a portable device such as a notebook PC. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the PCs 10 and 50 are used by different users. Each PC 10, 50 has a similar configuration. Therefore, the description of the configuration of the PC 50 will be omitted, and only the configuration of the PC 10 will be described below. The PC 10 includes an operation section 12 , a display section 14 , a communication interface 16 and a control section 30 . Each unit 12 to 30 is connected to a bus line (reference numerals omitted). In addition, below, an interface is described as "I/F."

The operation unit 12 has a plurality of keys. A user can give various instructions to the PC 10 by operating the operation unit 12 . The display unit 14 is a display for displaying various information. Note that the display unit 14 may function as a so-called touch panel (that is, an operation unit). Communication I/F 16 is connected to LAN 6 .

The control unit 30 has a CPU 32 and a memory 34 . The CPU 32 is a processor that executes various processes according to programs 36 stored in the memory 34 . The memory 34 is composed of ROM, RAM and the like. Memory 34 further stores print application 38 and support information 40 in addition to program 36 described above.

A print application (hereinafter simply referred to as “application”) 38 is an application for instructing the printer 100 to print in accordance with IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). The application 38 may be installed in the PC 10 from a server on the Internet provided by the vendor of the printer 100, or may be installed in the PC 10 from media shipped together with the printer 100, for example.

IPP has a standard technology that enables printers to print via the Internet, and defines communication procedures (that is, protocols) for remotely printing from printers. PWG (abbreviation of Printer Working Group), which is a printing-related specialized working group of IETF (abbreviation of Internet Engineering Task Force), has compiled the standardization specifications of IPP.

In IPP, information is regarded as an object, and the type of object is defined by attributes. For example, the type of object corresponding to job information stored in a printer when printing is executed in the printer is defined by an attribute job-object-attribute. IPP defines job-privacy-attribute and job-privacy-scope as attributes for limiting users to whom job information is disclosed. Information having the job-privacy-attribute is information restricted to users to be disclosed (ie, information made private) among information having the job-object-attribute (ie, job information). Information having job-privacy-scope indicates users to whom information having job-privacy-attribute is disclosed.

The support information 40 is a plurality of items corresponding to information having job-object-attribute and indicates a plurality of items supported by the PC 10 . In this embodiment, the plurality of items include a job name, which is the name of the print job, print settings used for printing, and job status indicating the print execution status. In a modified example, the multiple items indicated by the support information 40 are not limited to the above items (that is, job name, print settings, and job status), and include only some of the above items. Alternatively, it may include other items corresponding to the information having the job-object-attribute (for example, URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) indicating the storage location of the image data).

(Configuration of Printer 100)
The printer 100 is a peripheral device capable of executing printing functions (that is, a peripheral device of each of the PCs 10 and 50). Note that the printer 100 may be a multi-function machine capable of executing a scanning function, a FAX function, etc. in addition to the printing function. Printer 100 has a device name DN. Printer 100 stores function information 138 , policy information 140 , and print history information table (hereinafter referred to as “table”) 142 . Function information 138 indicates the functions that printer 100 can perform. In this embodiment, the printer 100 is capable of performing color printing functions and monochrome printing functions. Alternatively, printer 100 may be capable of performing other functions (eg, duplex printing, etc.).

The policy information 140 is information indicating a privacy policy regarding disclosure of job information, and includes disclosure restriction information and disclosure user information. The disclosure restriction information indicates an item (that is, information to be made private) related to job information restricted to users to be disclosed among the job information. Each of the one or more items has job-privacy-attribute as an attribute. In the example of FIG. 1, the disclosure restriction information indicates the item "job name" and the item "print setting". The disclosure user information indicates a user to whom the job information corresponding to the item indicated by the disclosure restriction information is disclosed, and has job-privacy-scope as an attribute. The public user information is any one of "printing user" indicating the user who caused the printer 100 to execute printing, "administrator" indicating the administrator of the printer 100, and "printing user, administrator". indicate one. In the example of FIG. 1, the user to be disclosed is the "printing user". The policy information 140 is stored in a memory (not shown) of the printer 100 by an administrator of the printer 100, for example.

The table 142 stores print history information that is stored as printing is executed in the printer 100 . The print history information includes job ID, user name, and job information. The job information includes job name, user name and job status.

(Memory process; Figure 2)
Next, referring to FIG. 2, a storage process for PC 10 to store printer information about printer 100 will be described. In the following, for ease of understanding, the operations executed by the CPU of each device (for example, the CPU 32 of the PC 10) will be described mainly for each device (for example, the PC 10) instead of mainly for the CPU. Also, the PC 10 executes each of the following communications via the communication I/F 16 . Therefore, below, description of "via communication I/F16" is abbreviate|omitted.

At T5, the PC 10 receives a login operation for logging into the PC 10 from the user of the PC 10 (hereinafter referred to as "first user"). The login operation includes an operation of entering the username UN1 of the first user. Although not shown, the user name UN1 is registered in the PC 10 in advance by the first user.

Each process after T5 is realized according to the application 38 of the PC 10. FIG. At T10, the PC 10 receives a storage instruction from the first user to store the printer information. In this case, the PC 10 broadcasts a search signal for searching for printers existing around the PC 10 at T12.

The PC 10 receives the device names of the printers from each of the one or more printers connected to the LAN 6 in response to transmitting the search signal at T12. At T14, the PC 10 receives the device name DN of the printer 100 from the printer 100. FIG. In this case, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the search result, which is a list of one or more device names that have already been received, at T16.

In response to the device name DN in the search result being selected by the first user at T20, the PC 10 issues a Get-Printer-Attribute (hereinafter referred to as "GPA") command according to IPP at T22. to the printer 100 . The GPA command includes a character string "print-color-mode-supported" indicating that the printer 100 is requested to send function information.

At T24, the PC 10 receives from the printer 100 function information indicating the color printing function and the monochrome printing function.

At T26, the PC 10 stores the printer information of the printer 100 in the memory 34. FIG. The printer information includes the device name DN of the printer 100 selected in T20 and the received function information (ie, color print function, monochrome print function).

At T30, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a completion screen indicating that the printer information has been stored. When the process of T30 ends, the process of FIG. 2 ends.

(Printing process; Figures 3 and 4)
Next, a printing process for causing the printer 100 to print will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. After the process of FIG. 2 is executed, the process of FIG. 3 is executed. That is, the PC 10 has already stored the printer information of the printer 100 (see T26 in FIG. 2). 3 and 4 are realized according to the application 38 of the PC 10. FIG.

At T110, the PC 10 receives from the first user a print instruction for causing the printer 100 to print. The print instruction includes an operation of selecting the file name "aaa" of the image data to be printed. In this case, the PC 10 generates the job name "aaa" using the file name "aaa" of the selected image data. Note that in a modification, the job name may not be the file name of the image data, and may be any name specified by the user.

At T112, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a setting screen for designating print settings. Specifically, the PC 10 acquires the function information (that is, the color print function and the monochrome print function) included in the printer information (see T26 in FIG. 2) stored in the memory 34, and uses the acquired function information to display on the display unit 14 a setting screen including a "color print" button for specifying the indicated color print function and a "monochrome print" button for specifying the monochrome print function indicated by the acquired function information. Let

When the PC 10 accepts selection of the "color print" button on the setting screen from the first user at T120, the PC 10 transmits a GPA command to the printer 100 according to the IPP at T122. The GPA command includes the string "job-privacy-attributes", the string "job-privacy-scope", and the string "printer-privacy-policy-uri". The character string “job-privacy-attributes” is a character string indicating that the printer 100 is requested to transmit the disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140 . The character string “job-privacy-scope” is a character string indicating that the printer 100 is requested to transmit public user information included in the policy information 140 . In other words, the GPA command including the character string "job-privacy-attributes" and the character string "job-privacy-scope" is a command requesting the printer 100 to transmit the policy information 140 of the printer 100. FIG. The character string “printer-privacy-policy-uri” is a character string indicating a request for transmission of a URI indicating the location of change screen data for displaying the change screen. The change screen is a screen for changing the disclosure restriction information and disclosure user information of the printer 100 .

At T124, the PC 10 receives the URI “U1” indicating the position of the change screen data and the policy information 140 from the printer 100. FIG. The disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140 indicates the item "job name" and the item "print setting". The public user information included in the policy information 140 indicates "print user".

At T126, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a notification screen indicating a privacy policy regarding disclosure of job information. First, when receiving the policy information 140 from the printer 100, the PC 10 uses the policy information 140 and the support information 40 in the memory 34 to specify items whose disclosure is not restricted (that is, items to be made public). do. Specifically, the PC 10 is included in each item (that is, “job name”, “print settings”, and “job status”) indicated by the support information 40, and is indicated by disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140. The item "job status" that is not included in each item (that is, "job name" and "print settings") that is included in the list is specified. Then, the PC 10 displays the first information indicating that the job information corresponding to the specified item "job status" is open to users other than the print user indicated by the open user information included in the policy information 140. Generate a message.

Also, the PC 10 ensures that the job information corresponding to each item (that is, "job name" and "print setting") indicated by the disclosure restriction information is disclosed only to the print user indicated by the disclosure user information. Generate a second message to show Then, the PC 10 receives the first message, the second message, an OK button indicating consent to the privacy policy, a Cancel button indicating not consenting to the privacy policy, the received URI "U1", is displayed on the display unit 14. Since the notification screen includes the first and second messages, the first user can see that the job information corresponding to the items "job name" and "print settings" is disclosed only to the first user, and the item " It can be known that the job information corresponding to "Job Status" is also disclosed to users other than the first user. Further, since the notification screen includes the URI "U1", for example, if the first user is the administrator of the printer 100, the administrator can display the change screen on the PC 10 by selecting the URI "U1". The policy information 140 of the printer 100 can be changed using the change screen. When the process of T126 ends, the process of FIG. 3 ends.

(Continued from Figure 3; Figure 4)
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, processing subsequent to FIG. 3 will be described. After displaying the notification screen on the display unit 14 in T126 of FIG. 3, the PC 10 receives selection of the "OK" button on the notification screen from the first user in T130. In this case, the PC 10 transmits a Validate-Job (hereinafter referred to as "VJ") command according to IPP to the printer 100 at T132. The VJ command includes print settings (ie, color print function) specified in the setting screen. Note that when the Cancel button is selected on the notification screen, the PC 10 terminates the printing process without executing the processes after T132.

When receiving the VJ command from the PC 10 at T132, the printer 100 determines that the print settings (ie, color print function) included in the VJ command can be executed, and transmits 200OK to the PC 10 at T134. 200OK is not a command defined by IPP, but a command defined by HTTP (abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol), and more specifically, a command indicating that processing has been completed normally.

When the PC 10 receives 200 OK from the printer 100 at T134, it transmits a Create-Job (hereinafter referred to as "CJ") command according to IPP to the printer 100 at T140. The CJ command includes the generated job name "aaa", the print settings specified on the setting screen (that is, the color print function), and the user name UN1 of the first user currently logged into the PC 10. .

When the printer 100 receives the CJ command from the PC 10 at T140, it generates a unique job ID "J1" and stores the print history information in the table 142 at T142. The print history information includes the generated job ID "J1", the user name UN1 included in the received CJ command, and job information. The job information includes the job name "aaa" included in the received CJ command, the print setting (that is, color printing) included in the received CJ command, and the job status " Including "not yet". Next, at T144, the printer 100 transmits 200OK including the generated job ID "J1" to the PC10.

When the PC 10 receives 200 OK from the printer 100 at T144, it transmits a Send-Document (hereinafter referred to as "SD") command according to IPP to the printer 100 at T150. The SD command includes the image data having the file name "aaa" selected at T110, the job ID "J1" included in the received 200OK, and the user name UN1 of the first user currently logged in to the PC 10. ,including.

When the printer 100 receives the SD command from the PC 10 at T150, at T152, the printer 100 identifies print history information including the same job ID "J1" as the job ID "J1" included in the SD command from the table 142, and Color printing is performed according to the image data included in the command and the print settings (ie, color print function) included in the specified print history information.

At T154, the printer 100 updates the specified print history information in the table 142. FIG. Specifically, the printer 100 changes the job status included in the job information in the identified print history information from "not completed" to "completed." A job status of "completed" indicates that printing has been completed. The printer 100 then transmits 200OK to the PC 10 at T156. When the process of T156 ends, the process of FIG. 4 ends.

As described above, the PC 10 sends a GPA command including the character string "job-privacy-attributes", the character string "job-privacy-scope", and the character string "printer-privacy-policy-uri" to the printer 100 according to the IPP. (T122 in FIG. 3), receives the URI "U1" and the policy information 140 from the printer 100 (T124), and uses the policy information 140 to display the notification screen on the display unit 14 (T126). After displaying the notification screen, the PC 10 transmits the CJ command and the SD command to the printer 100 according to the IPP (T140 and T150 in FIG. 4). Therefore, in a situation where communication according to IPP is executed between the PC 10 and the printer 100, before image data to be printed is sent to the printer 100, a privacy policy regarding disclosure of job information stored in the printer is set. The first user can be notified.

Further, as described above, when the PC 10 receives an operation of selecting the OK button on the notification screen from the first user (T130 in FIG. 4), that is, when the first user agrees to the privacy policy, the CJ The command and SD command are sent to the printer 100 (T140 and T150). As a result, it is possible to prevent the printer 100 from printing even though the first user has not agreed to the privacy policy.

(Information acquisition process; Fig. 5)
Next, referring to FIG. 5, an information acquisition process for PC 10 or PC 50 to acquire job information included in print history information stored in printer 100 will be described. After the process of FIG. 4 is executed, the process of FIG. 5 is executed. That is, the printer 100 has already stored the print history information (see T154 in FIG. 4). FIG. 5 assumes a situation where a first user who is the user of the PC 10 or a second user who is the user of the PC 50 uses the PC 10 or the PC 50 to obtain job information from the printer 100 . Hereinafter, the first user or the second user will be referred to as "target user", and the PC 10 or PC 50 operated by the target user will be referred to as "target PC". In T205, the target PC receives from the target user a login operation including input of the user name of the target user (that is, UN1 or UN2).

Each process after T205 is realized according to the application 38. FIG. In T210, the target PC receives an information acquisition instruction to acquire job information from the target user. Send. The information request includes the user name of the target user currently logged into the target PC (hereinafter referred to as "target user name"). In this embodiment, the information request is an IPP-compliant Get-Jobs command, but in a modified example, it may be an IPP-compliant Get Job Attribute command. The Get Job Attribute command is a command that includes a job ID specified by the user and requests the printer 100 to send job information in print history information that includes the job ID.

In response to receiving the information request from the target PC in T212, the printer 100 sets the user name UN1 included in the job information in the stored print history information and the target user name included in the information request in S10. , match or not. When the printer 100 determines that the user name UN1 and the target user name match (YES in S10), that is, when the information request includes the user name UN1, the user who sent the information request (that is, the first user ) is the public user information “print user” included in the policy information 140 . Therefore, the printer 100 can determine that there is no need to limit disclosure of job information in response to this information request. In this case, at T220, the printer 100 stores all the information included in the job information in the stored print history information (that is, job name "aaa", print setting (that is, color printing function), job status "completed"). ) to the PC 10. In this specification, “public” means that the printer 100 transmits at least one piece of information included in the job information to the PC 10 when receiving an information request from the PC 10 .

When receiving information from the printer 100 in T220, the PC 10 displays the print history including the job name "aaa", the print settings (that is, the color print function), and the job status "completed" on the display unit 14 in T222. display. When the process of T222 ends, the process of FIG. 4 ends.

On the other hand, if the printer 100 determines in S10 that the user name UN1 and the target user name do not match (NO in S10), that is, if the information request includes the user name UN2, the user who sent the information request (that is, the second user) is not the public user information “print user” included in the policy information 140 . Therefore, the printer 100 can determine that it is necessary to restrict disclosure of job information in response to this information request. In this case, the printer 100 transmits each piece of information corresponding to the item "job name" and the item "print setting" indicated by the disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140 among the job information in the stored print history information to the PC 50. do not send to That is, at T230, the printer 100 transmits to the PC 50 only the job status "completed" included in the stored job information. In the modified example, the printer 100 transmits to the PC 50 the character string "unknown" as the job name, the character string "unknown" as the print setting, and the job status "done" included in the stored job information. may

When the PC 50 receives the job status "completed" from the printer 100 in T230, it determines in T232 that the job name and print settings have not been received, and returns the character string "unknown" as the job name and the print settings. , and the print history including the character string "unknown" and the received job status "completed". As a result, it is possible to prevent the second user, who is the print user, from knowing the job information corresponding to each item indicated by the disclosure restriction information. When the process of T232 ends, the process of FIG. 5 ends.

As described above, printer 100 stores print history information in table 142 in response to receiving a CJ command from PC 10 . When the printer 100 receives an information request including the user name UN1 from the PC 10 before receiving the SD command from the PC 10, the user who sent the information request (that is, the first user) is included in the policy information 140. It is determined that the public user information is "print user", and all information included in the job information in the print history information (i.e., job name "aaa", print settings (i.e., color print function), job status "not yet") ) to the PC 10.

(correspondence relationship)
The PC 10 is an example of an "information processing device". The GPA command at T122 and the policy information 140 at T124 in FIG. 3 are examples of the "first policy information request" and the "first policy information", respectively. The display unit 14 of the PC 10, the notification screen of T126, and the OK button in the notification screen are examples of the "output unit", the "first notification image", and the "consent selection area", respectively. The CJ command at T140 and the SD command at T150 are examples of the "print job". The job name "aaa" and the print setting (color printing) included in the CJ command of T140 are an example of "job information corresponding to the item indicated by the disclosure restriction information". The setting screen is an example of the "setting image". The character string "print-color-mode-supported" included in the GPA command of T22 in FIG. This is an example of the "second character string".

The processing of T122, the processing of T124, and the processing of T126 in FIG. 3 are executed by the "first request transmission unit", the "first policy information reception unit", and the "first output control unit", respectively. is an example. The processing of T140 and T150 is an example of processing executed by the "job transmission unit".

(Second embodiment; FIGS. 6 and 7)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the notification screen is displayed during the storage process. First, referring to FIG. 6, the storage process of this embodiment will be described.

T305-T324 are the same as T5-T24 in FIG. In this embodiment, before storing the printer information in the memory 34, the PC 10, at T330, according to the IPP, the string "job-privacy-attributes", the string "job-privacy-scope" and the string "printer- URI "U1" and policy information 140 are received from the printer 100 in T332.

At T334, the PC 10 uses the received policy information 140 to display a notification screen on the display unit 14. FIG. The notification screen includes a first message, a second message, an OK button, a Cancel button, and the received URI "U1".

The PC 10 stores the printer information in the memory 34 at T342 in response to receiving the operation of selecting the OK button on the notification screen from the first user at T340. The printer information includes the device name DN of the printer 100 selected in T320, received function information (ie, color print function, monochrome print function), and received policy information 140. FIG. This can prevent the printer information from being stored even though the first user has not agreed to the privacy policy. T343 is the same as T30 in FIG. When the process of T343 ends, the process of FIG. 6 ends.

(Printing process; Fig. 7)
Next, the printing process of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. After the processing of FIG. 6 is executed, the processing of FIG. 7 is executed. Each process in FIG. 7 is implemented according to the application 38 .

In T410, the PC 10 receives the print instruction from the first user, and in T422, causes the display unit 14 to display the setting screen. The setting screen includes a "color print" button, a "monochrome print" button, and a "display notification screen" button for redisplaying the notification screen. Thus, for example, if the first user wishes to reconfirm the privacy policy before causing the printer 100 to print, the first user can select the "display notification screen" button to A notification screen can be displayed on the PC 10 . T430 to T456 are the same as T130 to T156 in FIG. When the process of T456 ends, the process of FIG. 7 ends.

(correspondence relationship)
The GPA command at T330 and the policy information 140 at T332 in FIG. 6 are examples of the "first policy information request" and the "first policy information", respectively. The notification screen of T334 is an example of the "first notification image". The “display notification screen” button in the setting screen and the “color print” button (or “monochrome print” button) in the setting screen are examples of the “redisplay selection area” and the “specified area”, respectively.

(Third embodiment; FIGS. 8 and 9)
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the PC 10 acquires the policy information 140 from the printer 100 in each of the storage process and print process. First, referring to FIG. 8, the processing executed by the PC 10 in the printing process of this embodiment will be described. The storage process of this embodiment is the same as the storage process of the second embodiment (see FIG. 6). After the process of FIG. 6 is executed, the process of FIG. 8 is executed. That is, the PC 10 has already stored the printer information of the printer 100 (T342 in FIG. 6).

In S100, the PC 10 monitors acceptance of a print instruction from the first user. If the PC 10 accepts a print instruction from the first user (YES in S100), the process proceeds to S105.

At S105, the PC 10 transmits a GPA command to the printer 100 according to IPP. The GPA command contains the string "job-privacy-attributes", the string "job-privacy-scope" and the string "printer-privacy-policy-uri".

At S<b>110 , the PC 10 receives the URI and policy information 140 from the printer 100 .

In S115, the PC 10 combines the policy information (hereinafter referred to as "first policy information") included in the printer information stored in the memory 34 in T342 of FIG. described as "second policy information") and match. Specifically, the PC 10 sets each item indicated by the disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information (hereinafter referred to as "first disclosure restriction information") and the disclosure information included in the second policy information. It is determined whether or not each item indicated by the restriction information (hereinafter referred to as "second disclosure restriction information") matches. If the items indicated by the first disclosure restriction information and the items indicated by the second disclosure restriction information do not match, the PC 10 determines NO in S115 and proceeds to S120.

In addition, the PC 10 also sets the user range indicated by the public user information included in the first policy information (hereinafter referred to as "first public user information") and the public user information included in the second policy information. (hereinafter referred to as "second public user information"). When the range of users indicated by the first public user information and the range of users indicated by the second public user information do not match, that is, when the users to be disclosed are different, or when the users to be disclosed is added, it is determined as NO in S115, and the process proceeds to S120.

In S115, the PC 10 matches each item indicated by the first disclosure restriction information with each item indicated by the second disclosure restriction information, and sets the range of users indicated by the first disclosure user information to the first public user information. 2 (that is, no user to be disclosed has been added), YES is determined in S115, and the process proceeds to S130.

In S120, the PC 10 utilizes the first and second policy information and the support information 40 in the memory 34 to set the privacy policy indicated by the first policy information and the privacy policy indicated by the second policy information. is displayed on the display unit 14.

Specifically, the PC 10 first identifies items whose disclosure is not restricted in the same manner as in T116 of FIG. Generate a third message indicating Note that if there is an item that is included in each item indicated by the first disclosure restriction information but is not included in each item indicated by the second disclosure restriction information, the PC 10 displays a character string ( For example, "print settings") generates a third message having a mode that is emphasized more than a character string corresponding to a different item (eg, "job status").

Next, the PC 10 sends the job information corresponding to the items included in both the items indicated by the first disclosure restriction information and the items indicated by the second disclosure restriction information to the second disclosure. A fourth message is generated indicating that it is open only to the user indicated by the user information.

Further, when the range of users indicated by the first public user information and the range of users indicated by the second public user information do not match, that is, after the notification screen is displayed at T334 in FIG. , if the disclosure user information included in the policy information 140 stored in the printer 100 has been changed, a fifth message is generated indicating that the disclosure target user has been changed.

Then, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a confirmation screen including the third message, the fourth message, the fifth message, the OK button, the Cancel button, and the received URI. Since a confirmation screen is displayed on the PC 10 when the first policy information and the second policy information do not match, the first user can know that the privacy policy has been changed.

At S125, the PC 10 determines whether or not the OK button has been selected on the confirmation screen. When the OK button is selected on the confirmation screen, the PC 10 determines YES in S125 and proceeds to S130. On the other hand, when the Cancel button is selected on the confirmation screen, the PC 10 determines NO in S125 and terminates the processing of FIG.

In S<b>130 , the PC 10 uses the function information (ie, color print function, monochrome print function) included in the printer information stored in the memory 34 to display the setting screen on the display unit 14 . The setting screen includes a "color print" button, a "monochrome print" button, and a "display notification screen" button.

In S135, the PC 10 determines whether or not the "display notification screen" button has been selected on the setting screen. When the "display notification screen" button is selected on the setting screen, the PC 10 determines YES in S135, and proceeds to S140. On the other hand, when the "display notification screen" button is not selected on the setting screen, the PC 10 determines NO in S135 and proceeds to S145.

In S140, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the notification screen again. The notification screen is the same as the notification screen of T116 in FIG.

At S145, the PC 10 determines whether or not the OK button has been selected on the notification screen. When the OK button is selected on the notification screen, the PC 10 determines YES in S145 and returns to S130. On the other hand, when the Cancel button is selected on the notification screen, the PC 10 determines NO in S145 and terminates the processing of FIG.

In S150, the PC 10 executes print processing for causing the printer 100 to execute printing according to the IPP. The print processing includes transmission of VJ commands, transmission of CJ commands, transmission of SD commands, and the like. When the process of S150 ends, the process of FIG. 8 ends.

(Specific example; Fig. 9)
Next, a specific example realized by the processing in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 assumes a situation where policy information 140 for printer 100 is changed by an administrator of printer 100 after the storage process (see FIG. 6) has been performed.

At T500, the printer 100 accepts an operation from the administrator to change the disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140, and replaces the disclosure restriction information indicating the items "job name" and "print settings" with the item "job name ” is stored.

In T503, the printer 100 accepts an operation from the administrator to change the public user information included in the policy information 140, and replaces the public user information indicating the "print user" with public information indicating the "print user, administrator". Store user information.

T510 and T512 are similar to T110 and T112 in FIG. At T514, the PC 10 receives the URI "U1" and the policy information 140 from the printer 100 (S110 in FIG. 8). The disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140 indicates the item "job name". The public user information included in the policy information 140 indicates "printing user, administrator". In this case, the PC 10 determines that the policy information (that is, the first policy information) included in the stored printer information does not match the received policy information (that is, the second policy information) ( NO in S115).

At T516, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a confirmation screen (S120). Specifically, the PC 10 first identifies items whose disclosure is not restricted (i.e., "print settings" and "job status") as in T116 of FIG. 3, and the items are included in the second policy information. A third embodiment that indicates that the information is disclosed to users other than the print user and the administrator indicated by the disclosure user information, and that the character string "print settings" is emphasized more than the character string "job status." Generate a message. Next, the PC 10 sends a fourth message indicating that the job information corresponding to the item "job name" is disclosed only to the print user and administrator indicated by the disclosure user information included in the second policy information. to generate In addition, the PC 10 generates a fifth message indicating that the disclosure target users have been changed from only the print user to the print user and the administrator. Then, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a confirmation screen including the third message, the fourth message, the fifth message, the OK button, the Cancel button, and the received URI.

At T520, the PC 10 accepts selection of the OK button on the confirmation screen from the first user. In this case, the same processing as T422 to T456 in FIG. 7 is executed, and the processing in FIG. 9 ends.

(correspondence relationship)
The GPA command at T512 and the policy information 140 at T514 in FIG. 9 are examples of the "second policy information request" and the "second policy information", respectively. The confirmation screen is an example of the "second notification screen."

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. Modifications of the above embodiment are listed below.

(Modification 1) At T22 in FIG. 2, the PC 10 may transmit to the printer 100 a GPA command including the character string "all" instead of the character string "print-color-mode-supported". In this case, the PC 10 receives from the printer 100 all information that the printer 100 can transmit (for example, function information 138, policy information 140, etc.). In this case, the processes of T122 and T124 in FIG. 3 may be omitted. In this modified example, a GPA command including the character string "all" is an example of the "first policy information request". In another modified example, the PC 10, at T22 in FIG. ”, the character string “printer-privacy-policy-uri”, etc. (in other words, a GPA command not including the character string “requested-attribute”) may be sent to the printer 100 . In this case as well, the PC 10 receives from the printer 100 all the information that the printer 100 can transmit (for example, the function information 138, the policy information 140, etc.). In this case, the processes of T122 and T124 in FIG. 3 may be omitted. In this modification, the string "print-color-mode-supported", the string "job-privacy-attributes", the string "job-privacy-scope", the string "printer-privacy-policy-uri", etc. A GPA command that does not include is an example of a "first policy information request." Furthermore, in another modification, the PC 10 may receive the policy information 140 from the printer 100 by sending to the printer 100 a command that conforms to IPP and is different from the GPA command. In this modified example, the different command is an example of the "first policy information request".

(Modification 2) The support information 40 may indicate a plurality of items (for example, "document name", "document status", etc.) having document-privacy-attributes as attributes. Also, the disclosure restriction information included in the policy information 140 may indicate an item (for example, "document name") having document-privacy-attributes as an attribute. In this case, the PC 10 replaces the character string "job-privacy-attributes" and the character string "job-privacy-scope" with the character string A GPA command including "document-privacy-scope" is sent to the printer, policy information 140 is received from the printer 100, and a notification screen is displayed on the display unit 14 using the policy information 140 and the support information 40. . Also, the PC 10 transmits the CJ job further including the document name to the printer 100 at T140. The printer 100 stores the job information including the document name and document status at T154. In this modification, a GPA command including the character string "document-privacy-attributes" and the character string "document-privacy-scope" is an example of the "first policy information request."

(Modification 3) At T126, the PC 10 prints a notification image including the first message, the second message, and the URI "U1" instead of displaying the notification screen on the display unit 14. Data may be sent to the printer 100 . As a result, the printer 100 prints the notification image according to the print data. Therefore, in a situation where communication according to IPP is executed between the PC 10 and the printer 100 , the privacy policy can be notified to the first user before the SD command is sent to the printer 100 . In this modified example, the print execution unit (not shown) of the printer 100 is an example of the “output unit”.

(Modification 4) At T116 in FIG. 3, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display a notification screen that includes the first message, the second message, and the URI "U1" but does not include the OK button and Cancel. may In this case, the PC 10 causes the display unit 14 to display the setting screen in T122 without accepting an operation from the first user when a predetermined time has passed since the notification screen was displayed. That is, the 'data transmission unit' may transmit the print job to the printer without the consent selection area being selected by the user.

(Modification 5) In a modification, the notification screen further includes an NG button for instructing transmission of a CJ command that does not include information (eg, job name “aaa”) indicating an item whose disclosure is not restricted (eg, job name). may contain. The PC 10 transmits to the printer 100 a CJ command that does not include the job name "aaa" when the NG button is selected on the notification screen. That is, the 'data transmission unit' may transmit to the printer a print job that does not include job information corresponding to the items indicated by the disclosure restriction information when the consent selection area is not selected by the user. In another modified example, when the NG button is selected on the notification screen, the PC 10 transmits to the printer 100 a CJ command including the character string "unknown" as the job name instead of the job name "aaa". may

(Modification 6) The PC 10 may use the policy information received in S110 to display the notification screen on the display unit 14 without executing the processes of S115 to S125 of FIG. Also in this modified example, the first user can know that the privacy policy has been changed by viewing the notification screen.

(Modification 7) At T122 in FIG. 3, the PC 10 includes the character string "job-privacy-attributes" and the character string "job-privacy-scope", and the character string "printer-privacy-policy-uri". A GPA command that does not include this may be sent to the printer 100 . In this case, the PC 10 receives only the policy information 140 from the printer 100. FIG. In this modified example, the 'third request transmission unit' and the 'URI reception unit' can be omitted.

(Modification 8) The PC 10 does not have to store the support information 40 in the memory 34 . In this case, when the PC 10 receives the URI "U1" and the policy information 140 from the printer 100 at T124 in FIG. A notification screen that does not include the first message is displayed on the display unit 14 .

(Modification 9) When the PC 10 receives a print instruction from the first user at T110 in FIG. 3, the PC 10 may execute the processes T122 to T126 before executing the processes T112 and T120. In this case, the PC 10 displays the setting screen on the display unit 14 when the first user selects the "OK" button on the notification screen. Further, in another modified example, when the PC 10 receives a print instruction from the first user at T110, before executing the processes of T112 and T120, the PC 10 executes the processes of T122 and T124 and executes the first A setting screen including a message, a second message, a URI “U1”, a “color print” button, and a “monochrome print” button may be displayed on the display unit 14 .

(Modification 10) At T322 in FIG. 6, the PC 10 adds the character string "job-privacy-attributes" and the character string "job-privacy-scope" in addition to the character string "print-color-mode-supported." A GPA command containing the string “printer-privacy-policy-uri” may be sent to the printer 100 and the capability information, the URI “U1” and the policy information 140 may be received from the printer 100 .

(Modification 11) In the above-described embodiment, the CPU 32 of the PC 10 executes the program 36 and the application 38 in the memory 34 to implement the processes shown in FIGS. Alternatively, at least one of these processes may be implemented by hardware such as logic circuits.

In addition, the technical elements described in this specification or in the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the techniques exemplified in this specification or drawings achieve multiple purposes at the same time, and achieving one of them has technical utility in itself.

2: communication system, 6: LAN, 10, 50: PC, 12: operation unit, 14: display unit, 16: communication interface, 30: control unit, 32: CPU, 34: memory, 36: program, 38: printing Application 40: Support Information 100: Printer 138: Function Information 140: Policy Information 142: Print History Information Table

Claims (16)

A computer program for an information processing device,
The computer of the information processing device has the following parts, that is,
A first request sending unit for sending a first policy information request to a printer according to IPP (abbreviation of Internet Printing Protocol), wherein the first policy information request is for disclosure of job information stored in the printer. The policy information is a command for requesting the printer to transmit policy information indicating a privacy policy related to the privacy policy, and the policy information includes items corresponding to job information whose disclosure target users are restricted among the job information stored in the printer. the first request transmission unit including disclosure restriction information indicating the disclosure restriction information and disclosure user information indicating the disclosure target user;
a first policy information receiving unit that receives first policy information, which is the policy information, from the printer according to the IPP in response to the transmission of the first policy information request to the printer;
a first output control unit for causing an output unit to output a first notification image indicating the privacy policy using the first policy information when the first policy information is received from the printer; In the first notification image, job information corresponding to items indicated by disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information is disclosed by disclosure user information included in the first policy information. the first output control unit indicating that it is open only to the target user;
A job transmission unit for transmitting a print job to the printer according to the IPP after outputting the first notification image, wherein the printer receives the print job from the information processing device, the job transmission unit for executing printing according to a job and storing job information;
A computer program that acts as The output unit is a display unit of the information processing device,
2. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein said first output control unit outputs said first notification image to said output unit by displaying said first notification image on said display unit. When the user selects the consent selection area that is included in the first notification image and indicates that the user agrees with the privacy policy, the job transmission unit performs the printing according to the IPP. 3. A computer program as claimed in claim 2, for sending a job to the printer. the job transmission unit, when the consent selection area is selected by the user, according to the IPP, transmits the print job including job information corresponding to the item indicated by the disclosure restriction information to the printer;
4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein if the consent selection area is not selected by the user, the print job containing the job information corresponding to items indicated by the disclosure restriction information is not sent to the printer. 2. The first request transmission unit transmits the first policy information request to the printer when accepting from a user a print instruction for causing the printer to execute printing according to the print job. 5. The computer program according to any one of claims 4 to 4. The first request transmission unit transmits the first policy information request to the printer when receiving from a user a storage instruction for causing the information processing device to store function information regarding a function executable by the printer. death,
The computer program further causes the computer to:
a function information receiving unit that receives the function information from the printer according to the IPP when receiving the storage instruction;
5. The computer program according to any one of claims 2 to 4, which functions as a storage control unit that stores the received functional information in a memory of the information processing device after outputting the first notification image. . When the user selects the consent selection area that is included in the first notification image and indicates that the user agrees with the privacy policy, the storage control unit stores the function information in the 7. A computer program as claimed in claim 6, stored in memory. The computer program further causes the computer to:
A first display control unit for displaying a setting image for designating print settings on the display unit when a print instruction for causing the printer to execute printing according to the print job is received from the user, the display control unit comprising: the first display control unit, wherein the setting image includes a redisplay selection area for redisplaying the first notification image; and a designation area for designating the print settings;
8. The computer program according to claim 6 or 7, functioning as a second display control unit that redisplays the first notification image on the display unit when the redisplay selection area is selected by the user. . The storage control unit further stores the first policy information in the memory,
The computer program further causes the computer to:
a second request transmission unit configured to transmit a second policy information request to the printer according to the IPP when a print instruction for causing the printer to execute printing according to the print job is received from the user; the second request transmitting unit, wherein the second policy information request is a command requesting the printer to transmit the policy information;
a second policy information receiving unit that receives second policy information, which is the policy information, from the printer according to the IPP in response to the transmission of the second policy information request to the printer;
When the second policy information is received from the printer, it is determined whether or not the first policy information stored in the memory matches the received second policy information. a judgment unit to
When it is determined that the first policy information and the second policy information do not match, the privacy policy indicated by the first policy information and the privacy policy indicated by the second policy information and a second notification image indicating that the second policy information and the first policy information match the second policy information. 9. The computer program according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the third display control unit does not display the second notification image. The determination unit
When the disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information and the disclosure restriction information included in the second policy information do not match, the first policy information and the second policy information match. decided not to
If the user to be disclosed indicated by the public user information included in the first policy information does not match the user to be disclosed indicated by the public user information included in the second policy information, determining that the first policy information and the second policy information do not match;
and the public user information included in the first policy information, wherein the disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information matches the disclosure restriction information included in the second policy information; 10. The computer program according to claim 9, wherein the computer program determines that the first policy information and the second policy information match when , and the public user information included in the second policy information match. . The computer program further causes the computer to:
a third request transmission for transmitting a URI request for requesting the printer to transmit a URI (abbreviation of Uniform Resource Identifier) indicating a position of image data for displaying an image for changing the policy information according to the IPP; Department and
a URI receiving unit that receives the URI according to the IPP from the printer in response to the URI request being sent to the printer;
11. The computer program product according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said first notification image includes said URI. The information processing device comprises a memory for storing support information indicating the plurality of items supported by the information processing device, which are a plurality of items corresponding to job information stored in the printer,
In the first notification image, job information corresponding to a specific item is also disclosed to users other than the disclosure target users indicated by the disclosure user information included in the first policy information. indicate that
The specific item is included in the plurality of items indicated by the support information stored in the memory, and one or more items indicated by the disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information. 12. A computer program according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which is an item not included in the . the first policy information request is a Get-Printer-Attributes command according to the IPP;
the Get-Printer-Attributes command includes a character string "job-privacy-attributes" indicating a request for the printer to transmit the disclosure restriction information included in the policy information;
13. The computer program according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said disclosure restriction information indicates an item having job-privacy-attributes, which is an attribute indicating a type of said disclosure restriction information. 14. The Get-Printer-Attributes command further includes a character string "job-privacy-scope" indicating that the printer is requested to transmit the public user information included in the first policy information. the computer program described in . The computer program further causes the computer to:
The Get-Printer-Attributes command according to the IPP, the Get-Printer-Attributes command including a first character string requesting the printer to transmit function information indicating functions that the printer can perform. Function as a command sending part to send to the printer,
wherein the first policy information request is a Get-Printer-Attributes command according to the IPP, the Get-Printer-Attributes command including a second string different from the first string; Computer program according to any one of claims 1 to 14. An information processing device,
A first request sending unit for sending a first policy information request to a printer according to IPP (abbreviation of Internet Printing Protocol), wherein the first policy information request is for disclosure of job information stored in the printer. The policy information is a command for requesting the printer to transmit policy information indicating a privacy policy related to the privacy policy, and the policy information includes items corresponding to job information whose disclosure target users are restricted among the job information stored in the printer. the first request transmission unit including disclosure restriction information indicating the disclosure restriction information and disclosure user information indicating the disclosure target user;
a first policy information receiving unit that receives first policy information, which is the policy information, from the printer according to the IPP in response to the transmission of the first policy information request to the printer;
a first output control unit for causing an output unit to output a first notification image indicating the privacy policy using the first policy information when the first policy information is received from the printer; In the first notification image, job information corresponding to items indicated by disclosure restriction information included in the first policy information is disclosed by disclosure user information included in the first policy information. the first output control unit indicating that it is open only to the target user;
A job transmission unit for transmitting a print job to the printer according to the IPP after outputting the first notification image, wherein the printer receives the print job from the information processing device, the job transmission unit for executing printing according to a job and storing job information;
An information processing device.

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