Printing System and Printer

• US 20150073890A1
• Filed: 03/28/2013
• Published: 03/12/2015
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 10,360,549 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.38
• 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 on which a POS application program runs;

a data terminal having a communication capability; and

a printer connecting communicatively to the server through a network;

the printer including

a communication unit that communicatively connects to the data terminal,

a communication relay unit that communicatively connects the data terminal and the server through the network,

a configuration settings acquisition unit that acquires configuration settings to configure the POS application from the server based on printer-specific identification information unique to the printer, and

an application configuring unit that configures the POS application based on the configuration settings when communication with the data terminal is established, and enables using the POS application from the data terminal.

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

the communication unit has a password generating unit that generates a password based on the printer-specific identification information, a password output unit that outputs the password, a password receiving unit that receives the password from the data terminal, and a communication establishing unit that establishes 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

the data terminal has a password input unit that receives input of the password, and a password transmitting unit that sends the password input to the password input unit to the printer.

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

the communication unit has a unique data terminal identifier acquisition unit that acquires 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 that combines all or part of the printer-specific identification information, data terminal connection attributes sent from the server, the unique data terminal identifier, and time information in the password generating unit; and

a connection control unit that limits 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 prints the password as an optically readable code; and

the data terminal has an input unit that inputs the code, and an analyzing unit that analyzes the code, and acquires and supplies the password to the password input unit.

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

the password output unit outputs a code encrypting the password by near-field communication; and

the data terminal has a receiving unit that receives the code, and an analyzing unit that analyzes the code, and acquires and supplies 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 affixed to the data terminal, or electronic tag data affixed to the data terminal.

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

the printer has a forgery prevention data generating unit that generates forgery prevention data in the password generating unit, and a forgery prevention data print unit that prints the forgery prevention data on the print medium when printing on the print medium.

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

a first application program runs on the server;

a second application program runs on the printer communicatively connected to the server through a first network;

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

the printer has a data merging unit that acquires first display information generated by the first application program, and generates third display information 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 has a display unit that acquires and displays the third display information.

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

the data terminal has an input unit that receives first information input to the first application program and second information input to the second application program, and a transmission unit that sends the first information and the second information input to the input unit to the printer; and

the printer has a communication relay unit that sends the first information from the data terminal to the server.

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

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

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

the data merging unit combines 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 outputs 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 outputs stop-input data indicating input of the first information from the data terminal is disabled by vibration from the data terminal when interruption of the server connection is detected.

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

the communication relay unit temporarily stores the first information if loss of the server connection is detected when sending the first information to the server, and sends the first information to the server after the server connection is re-established.

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

a web browser runs on the data terminal; 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 generates and sends second print data to the printer; and

the print unit has a print control unit that, when the printer receives the second print data, controls whether or not to print, the printing range, the printing position, and the print timing of the second print data, combines the second print data with the print data, and prints.

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

the first application program is a coupon-issuing application that generates coupon print data to print a coupon based on the first information;

the second application program is a second POS application program that generates transaction information to print a receipt based on the second information;

the transaction information is the print data; and

the coupon print data is the second print data.

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

19. A printer comprising:

a first communication unit that communicatively connects to a server through a first network;

a processor that runs a second application program;

a second communication unit that communicatively connects through a second network to a data terminal, and receives first information input to the first application program from the data terminal, and second information input to the second application program;

a data merging unit that communicatively connects to a server through a first network and acquires first display information generated by the first application program running on the server, combines the first display information with second display information generated by the second application program, and generates third display information displayable by the data terminal;

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

a communication relay unit that sends the first information from the data terminal through the first network to the server.

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

a connection monitor that monitors the connection to the server;

an input/output termination unit that stops at least one of receiving the first information by the input unit and transmission to the server when interruption of the server connection is detected;

the data merging unit combining 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.