Patent Application
20110019228
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and particularly in detail to an information processing apparatus which performs a print by selectively using one of plural available information forming apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally an information processing apparatus (mainly personal computer (PC)) can set and store plural print output destinations and in a case of performing a print, selects an output destination in use out of the plural output destinations for outputting the print.
In addition, since it is troublesome to select the output destination each time of performing the print, a general OS lets a user set a frequently used print output destination as a standard output destination to eliminate a labor of selecting the output destination at each time of printing.
An example of methods for automatically changing the standard output destination includes a technology where in a case of being incapable of communicating with the existing standard output destination, an image forming apparatus (printer) in which communication is possible is automatically set as a new standard output destination (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-105937). In this technology, however, the image forming apparatus set as the standard output destination can be used, but in a case of desiring to use an image forming apparatus other than the set image forming apparatus, the use can not be realized.
In recent years, printers have been operable by short-distance wireless communication (wireless communication technology where an effective range of Transfer-Jet, Bluetooth or the like is several meters at a maximum). Followed by it, a user has a tendency of selectively use plural printers corresponding to a situation or a location without limiting used printers to one printer.
In a case where the information processing apparatus is connected to plural printers by short-distance wireless, there is a high possibility of setting the print output destination not only to the printer set as the standard output destination but also to the printer connected by the short-distance wireless.
However, in a case where in an environment where the plural print output destination settings are stored in the information processing apparatus, a user sets the print output destination to the printer connected by the short-distance wireless, it is necessary for the user to seek the printer connected by the short-distance wireless out of the print output destination settings stored at printing and designate it as an output destination. This job is troublesome for the user, and when the user selects the other printer by mistake, a print is outputted from the unintended printer, resulting in diminishing an operation efficiency of the user.
In addition, in a system of setting and using the standard output destination, such as a system using a general OS, in a case where a user does not set a printer connected by short-distance wireless as the standard output destination, it is necessary to change the output destination to the printer connected by the short-distance wireless at each time of printing.
For avoiding the trouble of changing the output destination at each time of printing, there is considered a method where at the time of connecting a printer by short-distance wireless, a user changes the standard output destination to the printer connected by the short-distance wireless. However, not only such an operation is troublesome for the user but also in a case where the connection by the short-distance wireless is cut off, there occurs the necessity of once again changing the standard output destination to the other printer.
The present invention has an object of improving convenience in a case of using a printer connected by short-distance wireless.
For solving the above-mentioned problem, according to the present invention, an information processing apparatus connectable to plural image forming apparatuses comprises a unit configured to set a first image forming apparatus to a print output destination among the plural image forming apparatuses, a detecting unit configured to detect a second image forming apparatus which is an image forming apparatus having a driver and connected by short-distance wireless communication, a determining unit configured to, when the detecting unit detects the second image forming apparatus, determine whether or not the second image forming apparatus is set to the print output destination, and a setting changing unit configured to, when the determining unit determines that the second image forming apparatus is not set to the print output destination, change the second image forming apparatus to the print output destination.
According to the present invention, in a case of using the image forming apparatus connected by the short-distance wireless, since the information processing apparatus automatically sets the output destination, it is not necessary for a user to manually select the output destination. Further, when a disconnection of the short-distance wireless communication is detected, the information processing apparatus is automatically restored to the output destination setting before connected, and therefore, it is not necessary for the user to manually restore the output destination to the previous output destination.
In addition, in a case of not setting the output destination automatically, the information processing apparatus in advance confirms the output destination, determines the possibility that the incorrect output destination is set, and requests a user for its confirmation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an erroneous print by an unintended image forming apparatus.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
By referring to
For example, it is assumed that there exist a printer 100 for printing an image, a document or the like connectable in a short distance to a client by Transfer-Jet, and a printer 300 and a client 200 connected through LAN 500 to a rooter 400. Concentric circles show a communication range of Transfer-Jet as a model, and the communication range is a range to the vicinity of the outermost circle.
Here, the connection between the printer 100 and the client 200 is not established by Transfer-Jet and the printer 100 is registered as the output destination in the client 200, but is not set as a standard output destination (refer to a selective screen 130). The printer 300 is set as the standard output destination. When a user performs a print from the client 200 in this state, the print is performed in the printer 300 as long as the setting of the print destination is not changed.
Here, the client 200 is, for example, a handy lap top PC and has a hardware structure shown in
A RAM 203 serves as a main memory, a work area and the like of a main memory. A key board controller (KBC) 205 controls instruction input from a keyboard (KB) 209, a pointing device (not shown) and the like. A display controller (DC) 206 controls a display of a display (DISP) 210.
A disc controller (DKC) 207 controls access to the hard disc (HD) 211 and the floppy (registered trademark) disc drive (FD) 212. The hard disc (HD) 211 and the floppy (registered trademark) disc drive (FD) 212 store therein a boot program, a dispersion server system program, various types of applications, an editing file, a user file and the like. A network interface card (NIC) 208 is a device for exchanging data to and from a network printer, a different network device or PC through (wired) LAN 500 interactively.
A wireless LAN card (WLC) 213 is a device for exchanging data to and from a network printer, a different network device or a PC through wireless LAN interactively. The WLC 213 detects electric field strength, a wireless frequency and the like of the wireless LAN in close proximity thereto corresponding to Transfer-Jet and Bluetooth and provides these pieces of information to the CPU 201. The CPU 201 controls the NIC 208 and the WLC 213 to carry out communication through any of LANs.
A case where the client 200 in such a situation as shown in
When the client 200 detects the connection to the printer 100 by Transfer-Jet, the setting of the standard output destination is changed from the printer 300 to the printer 100. (in the selective screen 130 in
When a user instructs a print in this state, the print is outputted from the printer 100. In this way, the user can automatically output the print in the printer 100 connected by Transfer-Jet without intentionally changing the printer for outputting to the printer 100.
It is assumed that the user (that is, client 200) who has completed the print in the printer 100 leaves away from the printer 100 and moves out of the communication range of Transfer-Jet as shown in
The external I/F module 230 is provided with communication functions for making short-distance wireless communication, TCP/IP communication, USB and serial communication. The standard output destination setting unit 270 is provided with a function for automatically determining and setting the standard output destination and is a resident application periodically monitoring a state of the printer. The print drivers 260 and 261 respectively are associated with the print port monitors 240 and 241.
Here, the print driver 260 is associated with the print port monitor 240, and the print driver 261 is associated with the print port monitor 241. A combination of the print driver 260 and the print port monitor 240 is set as the standard print output destination.
An internal processing flow of the client 200 realizing the present embodiment will be explained with reference to
In the connecting processing shown in the flow chart in
When the client 200 changes from the non-connection state in
Next, a case where the client 200 establishing the short-distance connection to the printer 100 by Transfer-Jet as shown in
When a user with the printer 200 moves out of the communication range of Transfer-Jet to cut off the connection to the printer 100 by Transfer-Jet, the standard output destination setting unit 270 detects the disconnection of the short-distance wireless communication (S600: Yes). In addition, the present standard output destination setting is confirmed (S610). As a result, when it is determined that the standard output destination stays in a state of being setting to the printer 100 cut off in communication (S610: Yes), the setting of the standard output destination is changed to the printer 300 which is the previous output destination stored at step S520 in
By the processing of
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a case where a printer which has set some image forming apparatus as the standard output destination enters into the short-distance wireless communication range of another image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus connected by short-distance wireless can be automatically set as a printer of the standard destination.
As an embodiment developed from the first embodiment, there will be explained a case where one client is simultaneously connected to plural printers by different short-distance wireless communication systems (Transfer-Jet and Bluetooth) as shown in
A printer 700 in
In a case of the state in
The processing of steps S900, S910, S920 and S930 in
It should be noted that in a case where an effective communication range of the printer in the short-distance wireless connection newly detected is the same as that of the printer in the short-distance wireless connection set as the output destination at present (the same in communication system), a user may be required to select the output destination. That is, a popup dialogue screen is displayed to select the output destination, setting the printer selected by the user as the output destination.
As described above, in a case where the client enters into the plural short-distance wireless communication ranges, it is possible to automatically set the printer connected by the short-distance wireless having a shorter communication distance as the output destination.
Many users think that it is convenient to automatically change and set the standard output destination and the output destination, but there are some cases where a user does not want to change the standard output destination depending on a situation. For meeting such a demand, in the present embodiment, an appropriateness determination of the output destination on whether or not the printer set as the output destination is appropriate is made at timing when the user instructs a print, without automatically changing the setting of the output destination. In a case where it is not appropriate, a warning is given to the user to promote the setting change.
In a case where in this state a user is desired to perform a print from a printer (A company iRXXXX) of the standard output destination using the client 200, it is confirmed that the output destination is not the printer 100 connected by Transfer-Jet by presenting the popup dialogue 131 to the user.
An internal operation of a client for realizing the present embodiment will be explained with reference to
When the command monitoring unit 1100 detects that a user instructs a print, the output destination determining unit 1110 confirms whether or not the client 200 is connected to the printer 100 by the short-distance wireless at present (S1200). As a result, when the short-distance wireless connection does not exist, the print of the user is performed by the printer set as the standard output destination at this point (S1250).
In a case where the short-distance wireless connection is detected, it is confirmed whether or not the set output destination is the printer 100 connected by the short-distance wireless by confirming the setting of the output destination for printing (S1210). As a result, when the set output destination is the printer 100 connected by the short-distance wireless, the print corresponding to an instruction of the user is performed by the printer 100 (S1250). When the set output destination is the printer not connected by the short-distance wireless, a confirmation screen of, for example, the popup dialogue 131 for confirming the output destination to the user is presented (S1220).
In a case where the user does not change the output destination to the confirmation screen (in a case where a Yes button of the popup dialogue 131 is clicked), a print is performed from the print set as the standard output destination (S1250). In a case where the user hopes to change the output destination on the confirmation screen (in a case where a No button of the popup dialogue 131 is clicked), the selective screen 130 for once more selecting the output destination is presented to the user to once more require the setting of the output destination (S1240). When the user designates the output destination, a print is performed from the printer of the designated output destination (S1250).
The client 200 in the present embodiment can prevent a risk that a user performs a print to an unintended printer by mistake by executing the above processing including the determination on appropriateness of the output destination.
It should be noted that in a case where the external I/F module 230 includes an infrared ray port, a printer connectable by infrared ray communication may be set as the output destination of the client 200.
Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out and executes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiments, and by a method, the steps of which are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described embodiments. For this purpose, the program is provided to the computer, for example via a network or from a printing medium of various types serving as the memory device (e.g., computer-readable medium).
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-172439, filed Jul. 23, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-172439 | Jul 2009 | JP | national |
