JP7254991B2 - Information processing device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, control method, and program.

2. Description of the Related Art An information processing device that establishes a connection with an external device or the Internet and performs communication is known. Such an information processing device needs to change the communication destination depending on the situation.

In Patent Document 1, when a predetermined application is started, the connection with the Internet is disconnected and the connection with the external device is established, and when the communication with the external device ends, the connection with the external device is disconnected. A technique for establishing connection with the Internet has been proposed.

JP 2014-207650 A

However, in order to switch the communication destination by disconnecting/establishing a connection, the information processing apparatus needs to save information on connection setting details and register the setting information. Therefore, in Patent Literature 1, there is a problem that a load for executing the above processing is generated each time a predetermined application is started or communication with an external device is terminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the load of measures related to disconnection/establishment of connection and to switch communication destinations.

A program of the present invention for solving the above-described problems is a predetermined application program for connecting an information processing device to a first device by a first communication method and by a second communication method. A second connection is established in parallel with a second device, communication is possible by the predetermined application program using the first connection, and communication is possible by the predetermined application program using the second connection operating in a first state in which communication is not possible, or establishing the first connection and the second connection in parallel, and communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible; An instruction for controlling whether to operate in a second state in which communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible has not been received from the predetermined application program, and the first connection and the A computer of an information processing device having an operating system that causes the information processing device to operate in the first state prior to the second state in a state in which the information processing device establishes a second connection in parallel. a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation; and a user requesting that the second connection is established based on the predetermined operation being received while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection. based on the fact that the predetermined operation is accepted while the information processing device establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel. , of the first state and the second state, the state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing apparatus to a state different from the state prioritized by the operating system without executing the display process.
Further, the present invention provides a predetermined application program that causes an information processing device to concurrently establish a first connection with a first device by a first communication method and a second connection with a second device by a second communication method. is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible? , the first connection and the second connection are established in parallel, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and the predetermined application uses the first connection An instruction for controlling whether to operate in a second state in which communication by a program is not possible has not been received from the predetermined application program, and the information processing device is concurrently performing the first connection and the second connection. communication is possible by the predetermined application program using a connection that was not determined to be a connection that uses a communication line connected to the Internet, and the communication is connected to the Internet. A connection determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet is used in preference to a state in which communication by the predetermined application program using the connection determined to use the line is not possible. the information processing in a state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that is not determined as a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet is not possible; a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation in a computer of an information processing device installed with an operating system for operating the device; and receiving the predetermined operation while the information processing device has not established the second connection. display processing for displaying a screen for prompting the user to establish the second connection, and the information processing device establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel based on The instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the first connection and the second connection are selected from the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received in the state. without executing the display process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state different from the state prioritized by the operating system in the state in which the information processing device is established in parallel. and an execution step of performing the first connection is determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet, and the second connection is determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet. It is characterized in that it is not determined to be connected.
Further, the present invention provides a predetermined application program that causes an information processing device to concurrently establish a first connection with a first device by a first communication method and a second connection with a second device by a second communication method. is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible? , the first connection and the second connection are established in parallel, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and the predetermined application uses the first connection An instruction for controlling whether to operate in a second state in which communication by a program is not possible has not been received from the predetermined application program, and the information processing device is concurrently performing the first connection and the second connection. a computer of an information processing device having an operating system that causes the information processing device to operate in the state established by the above-mentioned first state and the second state according to pre-programmed priority information. a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation; and a user requesting that the second connection is established based on the predetermined operation being received while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection. based on the fact that the predetermined operation is accepted while the information processing device establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel. , of the first state and the second state, the state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing apparatus to a state different from the state prioritized by the operating system without executing the display process.

According to the present invention, the communication destination can be switched while reducing the load of measures related to connection disconnection/establishment.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the information processing apparatus of this embodiment. 4 is a flow chart showing processing executed by an application according to the embodiment; It is an example of a screen for allowing the user to select a function to be executed by the application of the embodiment. It is an example of a screen for allowing the user to select an image to be printed by the external device according to the embodiment. It is an example of a screen for causing the external device of the present embodiment to print an image selected by the user. It is an example of a screen displayed when printing is executed by an external device according to the present embodiment. It is a figure showing the communication system of this embodiment. 4 is a flow chart showing processing executed by an application according to the embodiment;

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified below with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the present invention includes any modifications and improvements made to the embodiments described below based on the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Enter should be understood.

(First embodiment)
An information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. As an information processing device, a smart phone is exemplified in this embodiment. Note that a device that can be applied as an information processing device is not limited to this, and any device that can communicate via a plurality of communication lines may be used. That is, the information processing device may be, for example, a mobile terminal, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, or the like. Further, as an external device, in this embodiment, an inkjet recording type multi-function peripheral (MFP) is exemplified. Note that a device that can be applied as an external device is not limited to this, and any device that can communicate with an information processing device may be used. That is, the external device may be, for example, a full-color printer, a monochrome printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, a mobile terminal, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA, a digital camera, or the like. Furthermore, the external device may be a single function device (SFP) instead of an MFP. Also, as long as the external device has a printer function, the recording method of the external device is not limited to the inkjet method, and may be another recording method such as an electrophotographic method.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a smart phone 100, which is an information processing device according to this embodiment.

FIG. 1(a) shows the hardware configuration of the smart phone 100. As shown in FIG. The smart phone 100 includes a CPU 101, an operation unit 102, a network IF 103, a network IF 104, a memory 105, a display unit 106, and a storage device 107, all of which are connected via a system bus.

A CPU 101 is a system control unit and a processor that controls the entire smart phone 100 .

The operation unit 102 is an operation unit for the user to give instructions to the smart phone 100, and is composed of buttons, a touch panel, and the like, for example.

A memory 105 is a random access memory (RAM) as a work area for the CPU 101, and is composed of memory such as SRAM (static RAM). The memory 105 stores program control variables, various setting data, management data of the smart phone 100, etc., and is used as a temporary storage area for various received data.

The display unit 106 is composed of an LED (light emitting diode), an LCD (liquid crystal display), etc., and displays a predetermined screen based on instructions from the CPU 101 .

The storage device 107 is composed of, for example, a flash memory or the like, and stores various programs such as control programs, application programs, and an operating system (OS) executed by the CPU 101 . In this embodiment, the control program stored in the storage device 107 performs software control such as scheduling and task switching under the control of the embedded OS stored in the storage device 107 .

Network IFs 103 and 104 are interfaces (IFs) for smartphone 100 to communicate via different communication lines. In this embodiment, the network IF 103 is an IF for the smart phone 100 to connect to the Internet and perform communication via a mobile communication line such as 3G or 4G. The smart phone 100 establishes a connection with the Internet via a mobile communication line by setting an APN (connection destination), inputting a password, and the like, for example. The network IF 104 is an IF for connecting to and communicating with an external device via a wireless LAN communication line such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). For example, the smart phone 100 detects an access point corresponding to the external device and establishes connection with the external device via a wireless LAN communication line by performing connection settings such as input of a password. Note that in the present embodiment, the number of network IFs included in the smart phone 100 is not limited to two. The smart phone 100 may include at least an IF capable of communicating via a communication line connectable to the Internet and an IF capable of communicating via a communication line connectable to an external device. In addition, the number of IFs may be one as long as one IF can realize communication via a communication line connectable to the Internet and communication via a communication line connectable to an external device. In addition, the communication line used in each IF is not limited to the one described above. For example, other communication lines such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used. It may be a line. Further, the smart phone 100 may not be directly connected to the Internet or an external device using each IF, and may be connected via a device such as a router.

FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the software configuration of the smart phone 100. As shown in FIG. The smart phone 100 has an OS 108 and an application 109 . The OS 108 is a program for controlling the smartphone 100 as a whole. In this embodiment, the OS 108 supports a multi-network function (a function of establishing parallel connections using a plurality of communication lines). Then, when smartphone 100 establishes connections through a plurality of communication lines in parallel, OS 108 determines a communication line to be used by smartphone 100 according to a pre-programmed priority. Note that in this embodiment, the OS 108 has a function of determining whether or not the established communication line is connected to the Internet. Then, when the smart phone 100 establishes connections through a plurality of communication lines in parallel, the OS 108 allows the smart phone 100 to preferentially use the communication line connected to the Internet. In this embodiment, the mobile communication line is a communication line for connecting to the Internet for communication. Therefore, when the connection of the mobile communication line and the wireless LAN communication line is established in parallel, the OS 108 causes the smart phone 100 to preferentially use the mobile communication line. In addition, the OS 108 can receive instructions from the application 109 to establish/release connection on each communication line, switch the connected device, and set the communication line to be used by the smart phone 100 .

The application 109 is an application program for causing the smart phone 100 to execute various functions. In this embodiment, the application 109 has a function of controlling communication between an external device such as a printer and the smart phone 100 and causing the external device such as a printer to print image data stored in the smart phone 100. . Note that the application 109 is installed in the smart phone 100 via the Internet or the like, for example.

The software described above is stored in a memory such as the storage device 107 , expanded in the memory 105 and executed by the CPU 101 . Therefore, in the description of this embodiment, the processing executed by the OS 108 or the application 109 is actually realized by the CPU 101 executing a program corresponding to the OS 108 or the application 109 .

3 to 7 are diagrams showing examples of display screens displayed on the display unit 106 by the application 109. FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen for allowing the user to select a function to be executed by the application 109. As shown in FIG. The display unit 106 displays a plurality of objects corresponding to the functions executable by the application 109 in the screen display of FIG. For example, the “photo print” and “document print” objects are objects for causing an external device to execute print processing, and the “scan” object is an object for causing an external device to execute scan processing.

The "cloud" object is an object for the smartphone 100 to acquire content from a server on the cloud and transmit the acquired content to an external device, thereby causing the external device to print the content on the Internet. is. In addition, the name of the external device to which the smart phone 100 is connected is displayed in the “external device name” portion.

Note that in the screen display of FIG. 3, the application 109 may display objects corresponding to functions other than those described above. For example, objects corresponding to various settings of the external device and the smart phone 100, a function to check the status of the external device, and a function to use the WebUI installed in the external device may be displayed.

FIG. 4 is an example of a screen for allowing the user to select an image to be printed by the external device. The screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, for example, when the user selects an object of "photo printing" or "cloud" on the screen of FIG. These images may be images stored locally in the smartphone 100, or may be images obtained via the Internet. The user can select image data to be printed by tapping the displayed image.

FIG. 5 is an example of a screen for causing an external device to print an image selected by the user. In the screen display of FIG. 5, the display unit 106 displays a plurality of objects corresponding to image data to be printed by the external device and an object for determining whether the external device is to execute printing (a "print" button in the figure). ). The user can cause the external device to print the selected image data by tapping the "print" button.

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen displayed when an external device is caused to execute printing. The display unit 106 displays the setting information, the status state, and the like of the printing executed by the external device in the screen display of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the communication system of this embodiment. The MFP 700 is an external device of this embodiment, and has a function of communicating with the smartphone 100, a function of printing image data received from the smartphone 100, and the like. As shown in FIG. 7, smart phone 100 can establish a connection with Internet 702 via base station 701 using communication line 704 . Note that the communication line 704 corresponds to a mobile communication line such as 3G or 4G in this embodiment. At the same time, smart phone 100 can establish connection with MFP 700 using communication line 705 . The communication line 705 corresponds to a wireless LAN communication line such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) in this embodiment.

In a state in which connections are established in parallel by two or more communication lines, smart phone 100 is in a state in which communication is possible through a communication line instructed by OS 108 among the communication lines for which connection is established. there is Note that, in the present embodiment, as described above, the OS 108 causes the smartphone 100 to preferentially use the communication line 704 when the connections by the communication lines 704 and 705 are established in parallel. . In this embodiment, the smartphone 100 connects directly to the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 without going through an external access point such as a router or a base station. You can also connect using At this time, if the external access point is connected to the Internet 702 , the smart phone 100 can be connected to the Internet 702 even when communicating via the communication line 705 . Therefore, in that state, the application 109 does not have to perform the processing described below.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process of switching a communication line to be used by the smart phone 100 (hereinafter referred to as a line to be used), which is executed by the application 109 in this embodiment. The processing shown in the flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 loading a control program stored in the storage device 107 or an HDD (not shown) provided in the smartphone 100 into the memory 105 and executing the control program. shall be It is also assumed that the processing shown in the flowchart is started when the application 109 is activated by a known activation sequence.

First, the application 109 displays on the display unit 106 a display screen for specifying image data to be transmitted to the MFP 700 (S201). Here, the application 109 shall display the display screen shown in FIG. The timing for displaying the display screen shown in FIG. 4 may be the timing at which the application 109 is activated, or the timing at which the display screen shown in FIG. 4 is called by the user's operation while the application 109 is running. . In the present embodiment, image data is used as an example of data to be specified. Further, when data to be transmitted to a device having a function other than a print function is specified, any data that can be processed by the device may be used. Note that the specified data need not be stored in the smartphone 100 itself, and may be stored in the cloud server 703 or the like with which the smartphone 100 can communicate via the Internet 702, for example. However, in that case, smart phone 100 needs to use a communication line connectable to Internet 702 in order to obtain data from cloud server 703 . Further, the smartphone 100 needs to use a communication line connectable to the Internet 702 when displaying an online manual for the application 109 or the MFP 700 or when rendering image data via the cloud server 703 . Therefore, in this embodiment, the application 109 instructs the OS 108 to use the communication line 704 as a line to be used (S202). Specifically, at this time, the CPU 101 uses the values obtained by executing the program of the application 109 to execute the program of the OS 108 for determining the line to be used.

Upon receiving the instruction, the OS 108 switches the line to be used to the communication line 704 to bring the smart phone 100 into a state for communication using the communication line 704 . By adopting such a form, the application 109 can allow the smart phone 100 to use information on the Internet 702 at timings when it is not necessary to communicate with the MFP 700 . Note that the application 109 does not have to execute the processing of S202 when the OS 108 has already set the communication line 704 as the line to be used.

Next, the application 109 specifies image data to be printed by the MFP 700 (S203). Specifically, at this time, the application 109 specifies image data to be transmitted to the MFP 700 by receiving selection of image data from the user via the display screen of FIG. Note that the number of image data to be specified does not have to be one. For example, when a user selects a plurality of image data, a plurality of image data may be specified. When the application 109 identifies image data stored outside the smart phone 100 such as the cloud server 703 , the application 109 acquires the identified image data through communication with the Internet 702 or the like.

After that, the application 109 accepts the data transmission instruction and determines to cause the MFP 700 to print the image data specified in S203 (S204). Specifically, at this time, the application 109 determines to cause the MFP 700 to execute printing when an operation to an object for causing the MFP 700 to execute printing is received from the user via the display screen in FIG. . Note that the application 109 may, for example, determine to cause the MFP 700 to execute printing when the smart phone 100 is moved within a predetermined range around the MFP 700 without being limited to this form. Note that image data must be transmitted from the smartphone 100 to the MFP 700 in order for the application 109 to cause the MFP 700 to print. Therefore, the application 109 determines whether or not the connection between the smart phone 100 and the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 has been established (S205). If it is determined that the connection has not been established, the application 109 displays a screen prompting the user to establish a connection between the smartphone 100 and the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 (S206). In this way, smart phone 100 can acquire the connection setting information by receiving an operation from the user for detecting the SSID of MFP 700 and inputting a password, etc., and can establish connection with MFP 700 . can. Note that after displaying the screen prompting the user to establish connection, the application 109 again accepts from the user an operation on the object for causing the MFP 700 to execute printing, and executes the process of S204 again. Further, for example, the smartphone 100 may have saved the connection setting information in the memory 105 or the like due to having received an operation from the user before. In this case, the application 109 instructs the OS 108 to establish connection with the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 using the saved connection setting information, thereby skipping the processing of S206 and performing the processing of S207. may be executed.

If it is determined in S205 that the connection between smartphone 100 and MFP 700 via communication line 705 has been established, smartphone 100 has established connections via communication lines 704 and 705 in parallel. . However, at this time, as described above, the communication line 704 is used according to an instruction from the OS 108 . Since communication line 704 is not a communication line capable of communicating with MFP 700 , smart phone 100 cannot transmit image data to MFP 700 in this state. Therefore, in this embodiment, the application 109 instructs the OS 108 to use the communication line 705 as a line to be used (S207). When the OS 108 accepts the instruction, it switches the line to be used to the communication line 705 to bring the smart phone 100 into a state for communication using the communication line 705 . At this time, since the connection through the communication line 704 is continued without being disconnected, the smartphone 100 establishes the connection even when the communication line 704 is used again as a line to be used, such as when re-specifying the image data to be transmitted. There is no need to process the After that, the application 109 causes the smartphone 100 to transmit the image data specified in S203 to the MFP 700, thereby causing the MFP 700 to execute printing (S208). At this time, the application 109 may cause the smart phone 100 to transmit not only the image data but also other information such as print setting information.

After that, the application 109 determines whether or not to switch the used line (S209). Specifically, at this time, the application 109 acquires information about the job processing status from the MFP 700 and determines whether the MFP 700 has finished printing. If the application 109 determines that printing has not ended, it determines not to switch the line used, and if it determines that printing has ended, it determines to switch the line used. This is because the smart phone 100 needs to maintain a state in which communication with the MFP 700 is possible in order to acquire information on the printing status such as the progress status and the presence or absence of errors. Note that in S209, the application 109 may determine whether the transmission of the image data has ended. In this case, if the application 109 determines that the transmission of the image data has not ended, it determines not to switch the line to be used, and if it determines that the transmission of the image data has ended, it determines to switch the line to be used. Further, the application 109 may determine not to switch the line to be used if communication with the MFP 700 is still required even after the transmission of the image data or the printing by the MFP 700 is completed. If communication with the MFP 700 is required to continue, for example, status information of the MFP 700 needs to be acquired continuously, or image data in the smartphone 100 (image data that does not require the Internet 702 for acquisition) continues to be transferred. This applies to cases where

If the application 109 determines not to switch the line in use in S209, the application 109 repeats the process of S209 until it determines to switch the line in use. On the other hand, when the application 109 determines to switch the line to be used, it instructs the OS 108 to use the communication line 704 as the line to be used (S210). Upon receiving the instruction, the OS 108 switches the line to be used and puts the smart phone 100 into a communication state using the communication line 704 . At this time, since the connection with the communication line 704 has been switched in S207 without being disconnected from the communication line 704, the smartphone 100 does not need to perform the processing for establishing the connection in S210. Also, at this time, since the connection through the communication line 705 is not disconnected and continues, the smartphone 100 establishes the connection even when the communication line 705 is used again, such as when transmitting a job again. There is no need to process the After that, the application 109 repeats the processing described above until the operation of the application ends.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the smart phone 100 switches the line to be used so as to use a communication line suitable for each situation where Internet communication is required and communication with the MFP 700 is required. With this configuration, the smart phone 100 can use an appropriate communication line according to the situation.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when it becomes necessary to transmit data to MFP 700 , smart phone 100 switches the communication line to be used without disconnecting the established connection. Therefore, the smart phone 100 does not need to perform processing such as saving and resetting connection setting information each time the communication line to be used is switched. The time required for previous switching can be reduced.

Also, as a method of switching the communication line to be used without disconnecting the established connection, for example, there is a method of switching between valid and invalid mobile data communication settings of the smart phone 100 . However, this method requires the smartphone 100 to display a screen for switching between enabling and disabling mobile data communication settings provided by the OS, and to receive input from the user via the screen. In this embodiment, the application 109 instructs the OS 108 to automatically switch the communication line to be used when the communication line to be used should be switched. Therefore, in this embodiment, the communication line used by the smart phone 100 can be switched without requiring the user to make mobile data communication settings (without displaying a screen for switching between valid and invalid mobile data communication settings). .

(Second embodiment)
In the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the smartphone 100 establishes connections via the communication line 704 and the communication line 705 in parallel, and switches between the lines to be used depending on the situation. However, the smartphone 100 may not support the multi-network function, depending on the type of OS installed, and may not be able to establish connections via the communication lines 704 and 705 in parallel. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration for switching processes in consideration of the type of OS will be described. Since the basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration will be described below.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the application 109 in this embodiment. The processing shown in the flowchart is realized by the CPU 101 loading a control program stored in the storage device 107 or an HDD (not shown) provided in the smartphone 100 into the memory 105 and executing the control program. shall be It is also assumed that the processing shown in the flowchart is started when the application 109 is activated by a known activation sequence.

Since the processing shown in S801 to S810 is the same as the processing shown in S201 to S210, description thereof will be omitted.

First, in S<b>811 , the application 109 determines whether the OS 108 is compatible with the multi-network function of the smart phone 100 . Specifically, at this time, the application 109 recognizes which version is compatible with the multi-network function, and identifies which version the OS 108 version is. If it is determined that the application 109 supports the multi-network function, the application 109 executes the processing shown in S801 to S810. When it is determined that the application 109 does not support the multi-network function, the application 109 executes the processing shown in S812 to S817.

First, in S<b>812 , the application 109 displays on the display unit 106 a display screen for specifying image data to be transmitted to the MFP 700 in the same manner as in S<b>201 . At this time, if the connection via the communication line 704 is established, the application 109 can display content on the Internet. Thereafter, since the smartphone 100 cannot execute the multi-network function, the application 109 specifies image data to be printed by the MFP 700 without performing the processing of S802 (S813). After that, the application 109 determines to cause the MFP 700 to print the specified image data in the same manner as in S804 (S814).

After that, the application 109 determines whether or not the connection between the smartphone 100 and the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 has been established (S815) in the same manner as in the processing of S805. If it is determined that the connection has not been established, the application 109 displays a screen prompting the user to establish a connection between the smartphone 100 and the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 in the same manner as in S806 ( S816). In this way, smart phone 100 can acquire connection setting information by receiving operations such as detection of the SSID of MFP 700 and input of a password from the user. can be established. At this time, since smart phone 100 cannot execute the multi-network function, the connection via communication line 704 is cut off. Further, after displaying the screen prompting the user to establish the connection, the application 109 accepts an operation to the object for causing the MFP 700 to print again from the user, and executes the process of S814 again. Further, for example, the smartphone 100 may have saved the connection setting information in the memory 105 or the like due to having received an operation from the user before. In this case, the application 109 instructs the OS 108 to establish connection with the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 using the saved connection setting information, thereby skipping the processing of S816 and performing the processing of S817. may be executed.

When the connection between the smart phone 100 and the MFP 700 via the communication line 705 is established, the application 109 identifies image data to be printed by the MFP 700 and causes the MFP 700 to print (S817). At this time, the smartphone 100 cannot establish multiple connections, so the application 109 does not perform processing such as S807. After that, the application 109 repeats the processing described above until the operation of the application ends.

By adopting such a form, the application 109 can execute processing according to the type of OS installed in the smartphone 100 .

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, as an example of data communication processing with an external device, an example of sending a job to cause the external device to execute print processing has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, the present invention may transmit a command for executing scanning processing for reading a document set in an external device. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to data communication for setting the external device, data communication for acquiring the state of the external device, and processing for transferring predetermined data to the external device.

In the above-described embodiment, the line to be used is switched at the start and end of data communication, but the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, if the application 109 does not use content on the cloud server 703, the smart phone 100 need not connect to the Internet 702 while the application 109 is running. Therefore, a configuration may be adopted in which the line to be used is switched when the application 109 is started or when the operation ends. Also, the application 109 may switch the line to be used at least one of the start of data communication, the end of data communication, the start of the application 109, and the end of the operation of the application 109. For example, in the case of a configuration in which the line to be used is switched at the four timings described above, even if the communication line 705 is set to be the line to be used after startup and the communication line 704 is set to be the line to be used when data communication ends, etc., at the start of data communication The communication line 705 can be used again. Further, for example, as a selection screen for data to be transmitted, there may be a screen for using content on the cloud server 703 and a screen for not using the content. In this case, the application 109 may switch the line to be used according to the start and end of display of a screen using content on the cloud server 703 .

In the above embodiment, the application 109, which is an application program, executes the control of the present invention, but for example, the OS may execute the control of the present invention. That is, for example, the OS may specify the timing of the start of data communication, the end of data communication, the activation of the application 109, and the end of the operation of the application 109, and switch the line to be used.
As long as the effects of the above-described embodiments can be realized, the order of the processes in the flowcharts of the above-described embodiments may be changed, not all of the processes may be executed, or the contents of the processes may be changed. For example, the application 109 may execute the process of S202 when the application 109 is activated, and execute the process of S201 before the process of S201.

The above-described embodiments supply a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device execute the program. It can also be realized by processing to The embodiments described above can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

100 Smartphone 108 OS
109 Application 700 MFP

Claims (21)

A predetermined application program,
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel, from the second state a computer of an information processing device having an operating system that preferentially operates the information processing device in the first state,
a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display process;
A program characterized by causing the execution of A predetermined application program,
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program, and the information processing device establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel, and is connected to the Internet. communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that was not determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet, and a connection that was determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet. communication by the predetermined application program is possible using a connection determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet, prior to a state in which communication by the predetermined application program is not possible; An information processing device equipped with an operating system that operates the information processing device in a state in which communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that is not determined to be a connection that uses a communication line connected to the Internet is not possible. to the computer,
a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display process;
and
The first connection is determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet, and the second connection is not determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet. program. A predetermined application program,
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel, the first state and the In the computer of the information processing device equipped with an operating system that causes the information processing device to operate in the second state in accordance with the pre-programmed priority information,
a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display process;
A program characterized by causing the execution of When the switching process is executed, the data selected by the user and acquired via the Internet by the communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is transferred to the second connection by the communication by the predetermined application program. 4. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a sending step of sending to the device. a data processing end specifying step of specifying that the processing based on the data transmitted to the second device through communication by the predetermined application program has ended;
The switching process is executed between the first state and the second state in response to the end of the process based on the data transmitted to the second device through communication by the predetermined application program. 5. The program according to claim 4, further comprising a third switching step of switching to a state before being executed. an operation end specifying step for specifying that the operation of the predetermined application program in the information processing device is to be terminated;
a fourth switching step of switching between the first state and the second state to the state before the switching process is executed, in response to specifying that the operation of the predetermined application program is terminated; 5. The program according to claim 4, further executing . switching to a state before the switching process is executed, from among the first state and the second state, in response to the data being transmitted to the second device through communication by the predetermined application program; 5. The program according to claim 4, further causing a switching step to be executed. When data selected by the user and acquired via the Internet by communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is transmitted to the second device, printing based on the transmitted data is performed. 8. A program according to any one of claims 4 to 7, executed by said second device. A display displaying an instruction screen including an area for receiving a transmission instruction for transmitting data selected by the user and acquired via the Internet by communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection. perform more steps,
Data selected by the user and acquired via the Internet by communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is transmitted based on acceptance of the transmission instruction. 9. The program according to any one of claims 4 to 8. 10. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first communication method is mobile communication. 11. The program according to claim 10, wherein the first communication system is 3G or 4G mobile communication. 12. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the second communication method is Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication. The second connection is a form of connecting to the second device by the second communication method without going through an access point outside the second device and outside the information processing device. Item 13. The program according to any one of items 1 to 12. 14. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the switching process is performed while the first connection and the second connection are established in parallel. 15. The switching process is a process of executing an instruction for switching the state of the information processing apparatus by the predetermined application program to the operating system. program described in . A predetermined application program is installed, and
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel, from the second state An information processing device having an operating system that preferentially operates the information processing device in the first state,
receiving means for receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. execution means for executing switching processing for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display processing;
An information processing device comprising: A predetermined application program is installed, and
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program, and the information processing device establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel, and is connected to the Internet. communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that was not determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet, and a connection that was determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet. communication by the predetermined application program is possible using a connection determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet, prior to a state in which communication by the predetermined application program is not possible; An information processing device equipped with an operating system that causes the information processing device to operate in a state in which communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that is not determined to be a connection that uses a communication line connected to the Internet is not possible There is
receiving means for receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. execution means for executing switching processing for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display processing;
has
The first connection is determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet, and the second connection is not determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet. Information processing equipment. A predetermined application program is installed, and
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel, the first state and the An information processing device equipped with an operating system that causes the information processing device to operate in the second state in accordance with preprogrammed priority information,
receiving means for receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. execution means for executing switching processing for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display processing;
An information processing device comprising: A predetermined application program is installed, and
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel, from the second state A control method for an information processing device having an operating system that preferentially operates the information processing device in the first state, comprising:
a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display process;
A control method characterized by having A predetermined application program is installed, and
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program, and the information processing device establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel, and is connected to the Internet. communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that was not determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet, and a connection that was determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet. communication by the predetermined application program is possible using a connection determined to use a communication line connected to the Internet, prior to a state in which communication by the predetermined application program is not possible; An information processing device equipped with an operating system that operates the information processing device in a state in which communication by the predetermined application program using a connection that is not determined to be a connection that uses a communication line connected to the Internet is not possible. A control method comprising:
a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display process;
has
The first connection is determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet, and the second connection is not determined to be a connection using a communication line connected to the Internet. control method. A predetermined application program is installed, and
The information processing device establishes in parallel a first connection with a first device according to a first communication method and a second connection with a second device according to a second communication method, and uses the first connection. operating in a first state in which communication by the predetermined application program is possible and in which communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is not possible; is established, communication by the predetermined application program using the second connection is possible, and communication by the predetermined application program using the first connection is not possible? is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel, the first state and the A control method for an information processing device having an operating system that causes the information processing device to operate in the second state in accordance with pre-programmed priority information, comprising:
a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation;
display processing for displaying a screen for prompting a user to establish the second connection based on the reception of the predetermined operation while the information processing apparatus has not established the second connection; executing the first state and the second state based on the fact that the predetermined operation is received while the information processing device has established the first connection and the second connection in parallel; Among them, the state in which the operating system prioritizes a state in which the instruction is not received from the predetermined application program and the information processing apparatus establishes the first connection and the second connection in parallel is different. an execution step of executing a switching process for switching the state of the information processing device to a state without executing the display process;
A control method characterized by having

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