Printing system and printer

• US 10,360,549 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2013
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Nobutani, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Asfand M
• Application Number:
  US14/381,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20150073890A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,308 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1222 Increasing security of the print job
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1238 Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1287 via internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/4095 Secure printing computer driven secure printing G06F3/1238
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0009 Details of the software in the checkout register, electronic cash register [ECR] or point of sale terminal [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00

Abstract

A printing system can easily configure a data terminal when a POS application running on a server is used from a data terminal.

A POS system has a server that runs a POS application, a data terminal, and a printer communicatively connected through the Internet to the server. The printer has a local communication unit that establishes communication with the data terminal, a communication relay unit that communicatively connects the data terminal and the server, a configuration settings acquisition unit that gets configuration settings to configure the POS application from the server, and an application configuring unit that configures the POS application based on the configuration settings to use the POS application from the data terminal.

Claims

1. A printing system comprising:

a server comprising;

a memory storing;

a point-of-sale (POS) application, and

configuration information including location information to use the POS application, wherein the configuration information is associated with printer-specific identification information; and

a processor configured to execute the POS application;

a data terminal including a communication interface; and

a printer configured to;

communicatively connect the data terminal and the server through a network,

request, from the server, configuration information corresponding to printer-specific identification information of the printer, the request including the printer-specific identification information, and

receive, from the server, the configuration information including the location information; and

transmit a command to the data terminal to access and display display information generated by the POS application using the location information, the command including the location information,

wherein the data terminal is configured to receive the command from the printer and access, via the printer, the POS application of the server using the location information included in the received command.

2. The printing system described in claim 1, further comprising a communication unit, wherein:

the communication unit comprises;

a password generating unit configured to generate a password based on the printer-specific identification information,

a password output unit configured to output the password,

a password receiving unit configured to receive the password from the data terminal, and

a communication establishing unit configured to establish communication with the data terminal based on the password generated by the password generating unit and the password received by the password receiving unit; and

wherein the data terminal comprises a password input unit configured to receive input of the password, and a password transmitting unit configured to send the password received by the password input unit to the printer.

3. The printing system described in claim 2, wherein:

the communication unit further comprises;

a unique data terminal identifier acquisition unit configured to acquire a unique data terminal identifier specific to the data terminal from the data terminal when establishing communication with the data terminal;

a password mixing unit configured to combine all or part of the printer-specific identification information, data terminal connection attributes received from the server, the unique data terminal identifier, and time information in the password generating unit; and

a connection control unit configured to limit connection to the printer and the server from a data terminal that communicatively connects to the printer based on all or part of the unique data terminal identifier, the printer-specific identification information, the data terminal connection attributes, and the time information.

4. The printing system described in claim 2, wherein:

the password output unit is configured to print the password as an optically readable code; and

the data terminal comprises an input unit configured to receive the code, and an analyzing unit configured to analyze the code, and to acquire and supply the password to the password input unit.

5. The printing system described in claim 2, wherein:

the password output unit is further configured to output a code encrypting the password by near-field communication; and

the data terminal comprises a receiving unit configured to receive the code, and an analyzing unit configured to analyze the code, and to acquire and supply the password to the password input unit.

6. The printing system described in claim 3, wherein:

the unique data terminal identifier is an ID code stored in the data terminal, an optically readable ID code of fixed to the data terminal, or electronic tag data affixed to the data terminal.

7. The printing system described in claim 2, wherein:

the printer comprises a forgery prevention data generating unit configured to generate forgery prevention data in the password generating unit, and a forgery prevention data print unit configured to print the forgery prevention data on the print medium when printing on the print medium.

8. The printing system described in claim 1, wherein:

the server is configured to execute a first application program;

the printer is configured to execute a second application program;

the network includes a first network and a second network;

the printer is communicatively connected to the server through the first network;

the data terminal is communicatively connected to the printer through the second network;

the printer comprises;

a data merging unit configured to acquire first display information generated by the first application program, and configured to generate third display information by performing operations that include combining the first display information with second display information generated by the second application program, and

a print unit that prints print data generated by the second application program; and

the data terminal comprises a display unit that acquires and displays the third display information.

9. The printing system described in claim 8, wherein:

the data terminal comprises an input unit configured to receive first information input to the first application program and second information input to the second application program, and a transmission unit configured to send the first information and the second information received by the input unit to the printer; and

the printer comprises a communication relay unit configured to send the first information from the data terminal to the server.

10. The printing system described in claim 9, wherein:

the printer comprises a connection monitor configured to monitor the connection to the server, and an input/output termination unit configured to stop at least one of receiving the first information by the input unit and transmission to the server when interruption of a server connection is detected.

11. The printing system described in claim 10, wherein:

the data merging unit is further configured to combine stop-input data indicating input of the first information from the data terminal is stopped with the second display information to generate the third display information when interruption of the server connection is detected.

12. The printing system described in claim 10, wherein:

the data merging unit is further configured to output stop-input data indicating input of the first information from the data terminal is disabled by sound from the data terminal when interruption of the server connection is detected.

13. The printing system described in claim 10, wherein:

the data merging unit is further configured to output stop-input data indicating input of the first information from the data terminal is disabled by vibration from the data terminal when interruption of server connection is detected.

14. The printing system described in claim 9, wherein:

the communication relay unit is further configured to temporarily store the first information if loss of a server connection is detected when sending the first information to the server, and to send the first information to the server after the server connection is re-established.

15. The printing system described in claim 8, wherein:

the data terminal is further configured to execute a web browser; and

the web browser embodies the display unit, the input unit, and the transmission unit.

16. The printing system described in claim 8, wherein:

the first application program is configured to generate and send second print data to the printer; and

the print unit comprises a print control unit configured to determine, when the printer receives the second print data, whether or not to print, the printing range, the printing position, and the print timing of the second print data, to combine the second print data with the print data, and to print.

17. The printing system described in claim 8, wherein:

the first application program is a coupon-issuing application configured to generate coupon print data to print a coupon based on the first display information;

the second application program is a second POS application program configured to generate transaction information to print a receipt based on the second display information;

the transaction information is the print data; and

the coupon print data is second print data.

18. A printer of the printing system described in claim 1.

19. A printer comprising:

a first communication circuit configured to communicatively connect to a server through a first network, and to receive, from the server, first display information generated by a first application executed by the server;

a processor configured to;

execute a second application and to thereby generate second display information;

combine the first display information with the second display information to generate third display information displayable by a data terminal, and

combine the second display information with stop-input data to generate fourth display information;

a printing structure configured to print data generated by the second application; and

a second communication circuit configured to transmit display information to the data terminal over a second network, wherein the second communication circuit transmits the third display information when a connection with the server is not interrupted, and transmits the fourth display information instead of the third display information when the connection with the server is interrupted.

20. The printer described in claim 19, further comprising:

an input/output termination unit configured to stop at least one of receiving the first information by the input unit and transmission to the server when interruption of the connection with the server is detected.