Print system, print server, control method thereof, and program capable of registering printer configuration information in a service provider in an environment in which a service for providing the printing function is utilized

• US 8,576,422 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2009
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kimura, Mitsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, NGON BINH
• Application Number:
  US12/643,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20100171973A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.14, 358/1.1, 358/1.15, 358/1.18, 358/1.6, 358/1.16, 358/3.23, 358/403, 358/434, 358/442, 358/462, 358/476, 358/508, 358/1, 707/9, 707/600, 707/636, 707/661, 707/705, 707/726, 707/758, 707/769, 707/781, 707/821, 707/822, 707/825, 709/221, 709/223, 709/201, 709/212, 709/217, 709/220, 709/226, 709/227, 709/230, 709/238, 709/245, 709/249, 709/250, 713/1, 713/182, 713/183, 713/166, 713/167, 710/65, 710/1, 710/5, 710/9, 710/11, 710/15, 710/18, 710/19, 710/22, 710/23, 710/26, 710/28, 710/31, 710/36, 710/39, 710/40, 710/46, 710/100, 710/104, 710/105, 710/200, 710/220, 710/240
• US Class Current: 358/1.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1203 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1226 Discovery of devices having required properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1228 Printing driverless or using generic drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1231 Device related settings, e.g. IP address, Name, Identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1272 Digital storefront, e.g. e-ordering, web2print, submitting a job from a remote submission screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1287 via internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1293 Printer information exchange with computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/4095 Secure printing computer driven secure printing G06F3/1238

Abstract

A client terminal transmits a request to a printing apparatus for a registration web page for registering, in a print server, a printing apparatus used in a print service provided by the print server. The printing apparatus collects configuration information of the printing apparatus in response to reception of the request, and creates link information which contains the collected configuration information and is used to access the print server. The printing apparatus then generates a registration web page containing the created link information, and transmits it to the client terminal. The print server receives the configuration information of the printing apparatus transmitted from the client terminal via the registration web page transmitted to the client terminal. The print server creates printing apparatus information which associates the configuration information with user information of the user of the client terminal, and manages it in a storage medium.

Claims

1. A printer which communicates with a client terminal and a print server for providing print data generated on the basis of data acquired by an external service to the printer, the printer comprising:

a reception unit adapted to receive from the client terminal a registration request for registering configuration information of the printer to the print server;

a transmission unit adapted to transmit, in response to reception of the registration request by said reception unit, the configuration information of the printer managed and associated with user information input via a user authentication screen transmitted from the print server to the client terminal; and

a printing unit adapted to print print data, after the print data is received, which is provided by the print server in response to a designation for causing the printer to print the data,

wherein the designation for causing the printer to print the data and a designation of a print setting via a print setting screen corresponding to the printer are allowed because the user information associated with the configuration information of the printer is managed by the printer server.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmission unit transmits to the client terminal the configuration information of the printer, and transmits to the client terminal a web screen for causing the client terminal to access the print server to display the user authentication screen.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said configuration information of the printer includes at least one of a double-sided printing function, a paper feed cassette and a device model.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmission unit transmits a URL of a printer registration page set with the configuration information of the printer as a parameter, and

wherein at said client terminal, in response to selection of a hyperlink of the URL, the configuration information of the printer is transmitted to the print server.

5. A control method of a printer which communicates with a client terminal and a print server for providing print data generated on the basis of data acquired by an external service to the printer, the method comprising:

a reception step of receiving a registration request for registering configuration information of the printer to the print server from the client terminal;

a transmission step of transmitting, in response to reception of the registration request in said reception step, the configuration information of the printer managed and associated with user information input via a user authentication screen transmitted from the print server to the client terminal; and

a printing step of printing print data, after the print data is received, which is provided by the print server in response to a designation for causing the printer to print the data,

wherein the designation for causing the printer to print the data and a designation of a print setting via a print setting screen corresponding to the printer are allowed because the user information associated with the configuration information of the printer is managed by the printer server.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing, in executable form, a program for causing a computer to control a printer which communicates with a client terminal and a print server for providing print data generated on the basis of data acquired by an external service to the printer, the program causing the computer to:

receive a registration request for registering configuration information of the printer to the print server from the client terminal;

transmit, in response to reception of the registration request, the configuration information of the printer managed and associated with user information input via a user authentication screen transmitted from the print server to the client terminal; and

print print data, after the print data is received, which is provided by the print server in response to a designation for causing the printer to print the data,

wherein the designation for causing the printer to print the data and a designation of a print setting via a print setting screen corresponding to the printer are allowed because the user information associated with the configuration information of the printer is managed by the printer server.