JP2018180881A - Server and imaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately send a print job to an image forming apparatus capable of executing the printing job from the beginning without going through a process of once transmitting the print job to the image forming apparatus and failing. SOLUTION: A server 3 sets a master image forming device 2 and a slave image forming device 2 according to identification information from an information processing device 1. Further, the server 3 uses the print condition data included in the print job and each state information about the master image forming device 2 and the slave image forming device 2 to cause the master image forming device 2 or the slave image forming device 2 to be used. , The image forming apparatus 2 that performs the printing process based on the printing job is determined. Further, the server 3 transmits to the information processing device 1 that the printing process from the image forming apparatus 2 has been completed. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a server and an image forming system, and in particular, includes a server connected via a network, an information processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus, and in particular, for executing a print job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus. It relates to technology.

  In the image forming system, there has been proposed a technology for causing the image forming apparatus to execute print processing when an information processing apparatus such as a portable information terminal issues an instruction to the image forming apparatus on the network. Further, in such an image forming system, when a print job is transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus and executed, the image forming apparatus does not have a sheet of the size necessary for printing indicated by the print job. In some cases, the print job can not be completed due to the fact that the required type of paper is not stored, the processing time of the print job is long depending on the device performance, and the like. When such a situation occurs, the user cancels the print job from the task of the image forming apparatus in order to complete the print job, and finds out another image forming apparatus that can execute the print job. The print job has to be resent from the information processing apparatus to the new image forming apparatus found. Therefore, for example, as shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3 below, when the print job can not be executed by the image forming apparatus that has received the print job, the print job is made to be executed by another alternative image forming apparatus. Technology has been proposed.

JP, 2000-335057, A JP, 2006-321185, A JP, 2012-166424, A

  However, according to the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in the case where the print job can not be executed in the image forming apparatus to which the print job is initially sent, the printing is performed on another alternative image forming apparatus. I was transferring a job. In other words, the user has to find out the alternative image forming apparatus and transmit the print job to the image forming apparatus again, which takes time and effort. For this reason, it was important to prevent transmission failures for print jobs for the first imaging device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an image forming apparatus capable of executing the print job can be executed from the beginning without passing through the process of temporarily transmitting the print job to the image forming apparatus and failing. The purpose is to enable accurate sending of print jobs.

  A server according to an aspect of the present invention is a server connected to an information processing apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses through a network, and includes a storage unit and the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus through the network. A list control unit that creates a list indicating a list of the plurality of image forming apparatuses and a first communication unit that performs data communication in step b. And transmits the created list to the information processing apparatus from the first communication unit When the first communication unit receives, from the information processing apparatus, master identification information that identifies a master image forming apparatus as an image forming apparatus that the user of the information processing apparatus normally uses, as the master image forming apparatus A first setting unit to set and the first communication unit identify a slave image forming apparatus as an alternative to the master image forming apparatus. When the image identification information is received from the information processing apparatus, the second setting unit configured as the slave image forming apparatus and status information indicating printing conditions that can be executed by the image forming apparatus toward the image forming apparatus The transmission request control unit for transmitting the transmission request from the first communication unit, and the first communication unit receives the state information from the image forming apparatus, the image of the transmission source of the state information When the first status information control unit stored in the storage unit in association with the forming apparatus and the first communication unit receive a print job from the information processing apparatus, the printing condition included in the print job It is determined whether the printing process based on the print job can be executed by the master image forming apparatus using the data of the above and the status information of the master image forming apparatus, and the printing process A first device determining unit that determines the master image forming device as an image forming device that performs the printing process, and the first device determining unit determines the master image forming device as the image forming device. When it is determined that the printing process can not be executed, it is determined whether the printing process can be executed by the slave image forming apparatus using data of the printing condition and the status information of the slave image forming apparatus. And a second device determining unit that determines the slave image forming device as an image forming device that is to perform the printing process when it is determined that the printing process can be performed, and the first device determining unit determines the slave image forming device. The print job is transmitted from the first communication unit to the slave image forming apparatus determined by the master image forming apparatus or the second apparatus determining unit. A first job control unit, and the first communication unit causes the information processing apparatus to transmit the completion notification when the completion notification of the print processing is received from the image forming apparatus; And a control unit.

  An image forming system according to another aspect of the present invention is an image forming system including a server, an information processing apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses through a network, and the server is the above server. The information processing apparatus includes a display unit, an operation receiving unit that receives an operation instruction from a user, a second communication unit that performs data communication with the server, and the second communication unit. A display control unit that causes the display unit to display the list to prompt the designation of the master image forming apparatus and the designation of the slave image forming apparatus; When the designation of the master image forming apparatus is accepted, the identification information for identifying the designated image forming apparatus is transmitted as the master identification information. When the designation of the slave image forming apparatus is accepted in the first device designation control unit and the operation accepting unit, identification information for identifying the designated image forming apparatus is transmitted as the slave identification information. When the second apparatus designation control unit, the second job control unit for transmitting the print job in the image forming apparatus, and the second communication unit receive the end notification, the end notification is displayed on the display unit And a second control unit for displaying on the display.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately send the print job from the beginning to the image forming apparatus capable of executing the print job without passing through the process of temporarily transmitting the print job to the image forming apparatus and failing. Can be

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an essential configuration of the information processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an essential configuration of the image forming apparatus. It is a functional block diagram which shows the principal part structure of a server. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process in an information processing apparatus. It is a figure showing an example of the display screen displayed on the display part of an information processor. It is a figure showing an example of the display screen displayed on the display part of an information processor. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process in a server. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the other process in a server. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the other process in an information processing apparatus. It is a figure showing an example of the display screen displayed on the display part of an information processor. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process in a server. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process in the image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the other process in an information processing apparatus. It is a figure showing an example of the display screen displayed on the display part of an information processor.

  Hereinafter, a server and an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing an entire image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming system 100 includes an information processing apparatus 1, a plurality of, for example, seven image forming apparatuses 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, and 2g (hereinafter collectively referred to as image forming apparatuses 2) and servers. 3 and. The information processing apparatus 1, the image forming apparatus 2, and the server 3 transmit and receive data such as print jobs and messages through the network N such as an intranet or the Internet, for example.

  Further, in the image forming system 100, when the user operates the information processing apparatus 1, in the image forming system 100, a failover function is automatically performed in which switching to the alternative image forming apparatus 2 described below is automatically performed. Or set to off. That is, in the image forming system 100, when the failover function is set to ON, the server 3 is set to one image forming apparatus 2 (hereinafter also referred to as the master image forming apparatus 2) set as an apparatus normally used. In the case where the printing process based on the print job created by the information processing apparatus 1 can not be executed by the operation of the user, the alternative image forming apparatus 2 (hereinafter also referred to as a slave image forming apparatus 2). , And causes the alternative image forming apparatus 2 to execute a print process based on the print job to provide the user with the printed material. In the following description, the case where the failover function is set to ON will be described.

  Here, the information processing apparatus 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of the information processing apparatus.

  The information processing apparatus 1 is, for example, a portable information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet PC, a personal computer, or the like. The information processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an operation unit 20, a display unit 21, a touch panel 22, a communication unit 23, and an HDD 24. These units can mutually transmit and receive data or signals by the CPU bus. The control unit 10 includes a processor, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). The processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), an MPU, or an ASIC. The control unit 10 executes the print request program stored in the HDD 24 or the like by the processor, whereby the control unit 11, the display control unit 12, the first device specification control unit 13, and the second device specification It functions as the control unit 14 and the print job control unit 16. The control unit 11 of the control unit 10, the display control unit 12, the first device designation control unit 13, the second device designation control unit 14, and the print job control unit 16 are operated by the operation based on the above-mentioned print request program. Alternatively, each may be configured by a hard circuit. Hereinafter, the same applies to each embodiment unless otherwise noted. The processor functions as the printer driver unit 15 by executing the printer driver PD stored in the HDD 24.

  The control unit 11 is responsible for overall operation control of the information processing apparatus 1. The control unit 11 is an example of a second control unit in the claims.

  In addition, the control unit 11 is connected to the document data stored in the HDD 24 or the outside of the information processing apparatus 1, for example, the communication unit 23 through the network N according to an operation from the user to the operation unit 20 or the touch panel 22. Read document data from server 3 etc.

  The document data is, for example, a word processor or spreadsheet software executed by the information processing apparatus 1, a file created by an application such as drawing software, or image data such as jpeg or PDF. However, this document data is not a format suitable for the image forming apparatus 2 and its printing, and is data that can not be used directly for printing processing in the image forming apparatus 2.

  The printer driver unit 15 converts document data designated by the user into data of a printer language suitable for the image forming apparatus 2 according to the user's operation instruction received by the operation reception unit described later, and converts the converted document data from the printer language The print job (for example, a PRN file) including print target data created in accordance with the print condition designated by the user and data of the print condition indicating the print condition is created using the above data. Further, the data of the printing conditions includes, for example, data for specifying color printing, monochrome printing, or printing size of A4 or A3.

  When the communication unit 23 receives a list indicating a list of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 2a to 2g from the server 3, the display control unit 12 causes the display unit 21 to display the received list, and the user is notified The display unit 21 causes the display unit 21 to prompt the user to designate the master image forming apparatus 2 as an image forming apparatus normally used by the user and to designate the slave image forming apparatus 2 as a substitute for the master image forming apparatus 2.

  In addition, when the communication unit 23 receives the list and the position information described later of the image forming apparatus 2 included in the list from the server 3, the display control unit 12 displays the received list and the position information Display on 21 Furthermore, when the communication unit 23 receives from the server 3 the list and the later-described status information of the image forming apparatus 2 included in the list, the display control unit 12 displays the received list and the status information Display on 21

  When the first device designation control unit 13 receives, from the user, a request for specifying the master image forming device 2 in the operation reception unit, identification information (for example, the identification information for identifying the master image forming device 2) The IP address of the image forming apparatus 2 is transmitted from the communication unit 23 to the server 3 through the network N as master identification information.

  When the second device specification control unit 14 receives a request for specifying the slave image forming device 2 in the operation receiving unit, identification information for identifying the slave image forming device 2 (for example, the image forming device The IP address of 2) is transmitted from the communication unit 23 to the server 3 through the network N as slave identification information. Further, when the operation accepting unit receives a request for designating a plurality of slave image forming apparatuses 2, the second apparatus designation control unit 14 identifies a plurality of slave image forming apparatuses 2. The identification information is transmitted from the communication unit 23 to the server 3 through the network N as a plurality of slave identification information.

  The print job control unit 16 causes the communication unit 23 to transmit the print job created by the printer driver unit 15 to the server 3 through the network N. The print job control unit 16 is an example of a second job transmission unit in the claims.

  Further, from the server 3, the control unit 11 indicates from the server 3 that the communication unit 23 has finished the printing process based on the print job in the image forming apparatus 2 and indicates the installation position of the image forming apparatus 2 that executed the printing process. When it is received, the display unit 21 displays the reception completion message and the position information. The end is an example of the end notification in the claims.

  The operation unit 20 includes a keyboard having a hard key, a mouse, a pointing device, and the like, and the user inputs an instruction for specifying document data to be printed and printing conditions to the operation unit 20.

  The display unit 21 is configured of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like. Under the control of the control unit 11, the display unit 21 displays an instruction input screen and the like such as print conditions of print processing in the image forming apparatus 2.

  A touch panel 22 is disposed on the front of the display unit 21. The touch panel 22 is a so-called resistive film type or capacitive type touch panel, and detects a touch (touch) by the user on the touch panel 22 together with the touch position. When the touch panel 22 detects a touch by the user, the touch panel 22 outputs a detection signal indicating the coordinate position of the touch point to the control unit 11 or the like. The operation unit 20 and the touch panel 22 are an example of the operation receiving unit in the claims.

  The communication unit 23 has a communication module such as a LAN board, and under the control of the communication control unit 12 and the like, the communication unit 23 communicates with the image forming apparatus 2 and the server 3 through the network N connected to the communication unit 23. Send and receive various data between them. The communication unit 23 is an example of a second communication unit in the claims.

  A hard disk drive (HDD) 24 is a large-capacity storage device that stores the application and document data and the like created by the application. Further, the printer driver PD is stored in advance in the HDD 24.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 2 of the present embodiment will be specifically described. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 2 is a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as, for example, a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 2 includes a control unit 30. The control unit 30 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a dedicated hardware circuit, and the like, and controls the overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 2.

  The image forming apparatus 2 further includes a document reading unit 40, a document feeding unit 41, a printing unit 42, an image memory 43, an image processing unit 44, a display unit 50, a touch panel 51, an operation unit 52, a communication unit 53, and a storage unit. It is configured to have 54.

  When the image forming apparatus 2 performs a document reading operation, the document reading unit 40 optically reads an image or the like of a document fed by the document feeding unit 41 and generates image data.

  When the image forming apparatus 2 performs an image forming operation (i.e., a printing operation), the control of the control unit 30 described later is performed based on the image data generated by the document reading operation, the print job from the information processing device 1, and the like. The printing unit 42 causes the printing unit 42 to print the recording sheet as a recording medium fed from an unillustrated sheet feeding cassette or the like, and forms an image on the recording sheet.

  The document reading unit 40 includes a reading mechanism (not shown) having a light emitting unit, a CCD sensor, and the like under the control of the control unit 30. The document reading unit 40 irradiates a document by the light irradiation unit, receives the reflected light by the CCD sensor, reads an image from the document, and generates image data.

  The image memory 43 is an area for temporarily storing image data of a document image obtained by reading by the document reading unit 40, and temporarily storing data for print processing to be printed by the printing unit 42. It is.

  The image processing unit 44 reads an image read by the document reading unit 40 from the image memory 43 and performs image processing. For example, the image processing unit 44 performs predetermined image processing such as shading correction in order to improve the quality after the image read by the document reading unit 40 is formed by the printing unit 42.

  The printing unit 42 performs image formation such as image data read by the document reading unit 40 and a print job from the information processing apparatus 1. Specifically, when the printing unit 42 performs, for example, color printing, the image forming unit for magenta, the image forming unit for cyan, the image forming unit for yellow, and the image forming unit for black of the printing unit 42 are A toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum by the steps of charging, exposure, and development based on the image composed of the respective color components constituting the printing data, and the toner image is intermediated by the primary transfer roller. Transfer onto transfer belt (not shown).

  The toner images of the respective colors transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt by adjusting the transfer timing to form a color toner image. The secondary transfer roller records the color toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt on the conveyance path from the paper feed unit at the nip portion with the drive roller across the intermediate transfer belt. Transfer to paper (not shown). Thereafter, the fixing unit fixes the toner image on the recording sheet on the recording sheet by thermocompression bonding (not shown). The recording sheet on which the color image has been formed on which the fixing process has been completed is discharged to a discharge tray (not shown).

  The display unit 50 is configured of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like.

  A touch panel 51 is disposed on the front surface of the display unit 50. The touch panel 51 is a so-called resistive film type or electrostatic capacity type touch panel, and detects a touch (touch) by the user on the touch panel 51 together with the touch position. When the touch panel 51 detects a touch by the user, the touch panel 51 outputs a detection signal indicating the coordinate position of the touch point to the control unit 31 and the like described later.

  The operation unit 52 is a hard key including, for example, a menu key for calling a menu, an arrow key for moving the focus of a GUI configuring the menu, and a determination key for performing a confirmation operation on the GUI configuring the menu.

  The communication unit 53 has a communication module such as a LAN board, and between the information processing apparatus 1 and the server 3 through the network N connected to the communication unit 53 under the control of the control unit etc. Perform various data communications. The communication unit 53 is an example of a third communication unit in the claims.

  The storage unit 54 is a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

  The control unit 30 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 2. The control unit 30 includes a control unit 31, a state information control unit 32, and an answer control unit 33.

  The control unit 30 includes a processor, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). The processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), an MPU, or an ASIC. The control unit 30 functions as the control unit 31, the state information control unit 32, and the answer control unit 33 by the print execution program stored in the storage unit 54 or the like being executed by the processor. The control unit 31, the state information control unit 32, and the reply control unit 33 may be configured by hardware circuits, not by the operation based on the print execution program. Hereinafter, the same applies to each embodiment unless otherwise noted.

  The control unit 31 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 2, and the document reading unit 40, the document feeding unit 41, the printing unit 42, the image memory 43, the image processing unit 44, the display unit 50, the touch panel 51. The operation unit 52, the communication unit 53, the storage unit 54, and the like are connected to perform drive control of these units. The control unit 31 is an example of a third control unit in the claims.

  Further, when the communication unit 53 receives a print job from the server 3 through the network N, the control unit 31 causes the printing unit 42 to perform print processing based on the received print job. Furthermore, the control unit 31 causes the communication unit 53 to transmit to the server 3 through the network N that the printing process is completed.

  The state information control unit 32 causes the communication unit 53 to transmit state information indicating print conditions that can be executed by the printing unit 42 to the server 3 through the network N. That is, the status information control unit 32 determines whether color printing is possible in the printing unit 42 (that is, can only monochrome printing be performed), and any sheet such as A4 or A3 as a recording sheet to be subjected to the printing process Data of executable printing conditions such as the remaining number of sheets in size (that is, the number of printable pages in the sheet size) is transmitted to the server 3 as the state information. Further, when the communication unit 53 receives a transmission request described later from the server 3 through the network N, the state information control unit 32 causes the communication unit 53 to transmit the state information from the communication unit 53 to the server 3. The state information control unit 32 is an example of a second state information control unit in the claims.

  When the communication control unit 53 receives from the server 3 that the response control unit 33 inquires whether or not to execute the print processing through the network N, the communication control unit 53 sends, from the communication unit 53, a response indicating that the print processing is to be performed. Send to server 3 through N. Note that the inquiry is an example of inquiry notification in the scope of claims.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the server 3 of the present embodiment will be specifically described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an essential configuration of the server.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the server 3 includes a control unit 60, a communication unit 71, and an HDD 72. These units can mutually transmit and receive data or signals by the CPU bus. The control unit 60 includes a processor, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). The processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), an MPU, or an ASIC. The control unit 60 executes the print management program stored in the HDD 72 or the like by the processor, whereby the control unit 61, the list control unit 62, the first setting unit 63, the second setting unit 64, It functions as a transmission request control unit 65, a status information control unit 66, a first device determination unit 67, a second device determination unit 68, an inquiry control unit 69, and a print job control unit 70. The control unit 61 of the control unit 60, the list control unit 62, the first setting unit 63, the second setting unit 64, the transmission request control unit 65, the state information control unit 66, the first device determination unit 67, the first The second device determination unit 68, the inquiry control unit 69, and the print job control unit 70 may be configured by hardware circuits, not by the operation based on the print management program. Hereinafter, the same applies to each embodiment unless otherwise noted.

  The control unit 61 is in charge of overall operation control of the server 2. The control unit 61 is an example of a first control unit in the claims.

  The list control unit 62, for example, acquires all identification information (IP address) of the server 3 from all the image forming apparatuses 2 connected to the network N, thereby all image forming apparatuses 2 connected to the network N. The above list indicating the list is created, and the created list is transmitted from the communication unit 71 to the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N. In addition, the list control unit 63 is configured, for example, when the information processing device 1 is first connected to the network N and the server 3 acquires identification information (IP address) of the information processing device 1, or the user When the server 3 requests the setting of the master image forming apparatus 2 and the setting of the slave image forming apparatus 2 by operating 1 or the information processing apparatus 1 requests the image forming apparatus 2 on the network N When instructing execution of print processing via the server 3, a list is created.

  When the list control unit 62 creates a list, the list control unit 62 acquires the position information of the image forming apparatus 2 included in the list from the HDD 72, and the list and the acquired position information from the communication unit 71. It is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N. Furthermore, when the list control unit 62 creates a list, the list control unit 62 acquires the above-mentioned state information of the image forming apparatus 2 included in the list from the HDD 72, and the list and the acquired state information from the communication unit 71. It is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N.

  When the communication unit 71 receives the master identification information from the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N, the first setting unit 63 sets the image forming apparatus 2 identified by the master identification information as the master image forming apparatus 2 to the HDD 72. And stored in the HDD 72.

  When the communication unit 71 receives the slave identification information from the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N, the second setting unit 64 sets the image forming apparatus 2 identified by the slave identification information as the slave image forming apparatus 2 to the HDD 72. And stored in the HDD 72. Further, when the communication unit 71 receives a plurality of slave identification information from the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N, the second setting unit 64 determines a plurality of image forming apparatuses 2 identified by the plurality of slave identification information. Are stored in the HDD 72 as the slave image forming apparatus 2 and set in the HDD 72.

  The transmission request control unit 65 causes the communication unit 71 to transmit the transmission request of the state information to the image forming apparatus 2 via the network N, for example, every predetermined time.

  When the communication unit 71 receives the state information from the image forming apparatus 2 through the network N, the state information control unit 66 stores the received state information in the HDD 72 in association with the image forming apparatus 2 of the transmission source. The state information control unit 66 is an example of a first state information control unit in the claims.

  When the communication unit 71 receives a print job from the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N, the first device determination unit 67 determines the print condition data included in the print job and the master stored in the HDD 72. Whether the master image forming apparatus 2 can execute the printing process based on the print job by comparing the data of the printing conditions with the state information using the state information on the image forming apparatus 2 Decide whether or not. That is, the first device determination unit 67 executes the print processing based on the print job in the master image forming device 2 only when the data of the printing condition and the state information on the master image forming device 2 match. Judge that Then, when determining that the printing process can be performed, the first device determining unit 67 determines the master image forming apparatus 2 as an image forming apparatus that performs the printing process.

  When the second device determination unit 68 determines that the first device determination unit 67 can not execute the print processing based on the print job in the master image forming device 2, the printing included in the print job By comparing the data of the printing conditions with the status information using the data of the conditions and the status information about the slave image forming apparatus 2 stored in the HDD 72, the slave image forming apparatus 2 concerned It is determined whether print processing based on the print job can be executed. That is, the second device determination unit 68 executes the printing process based on the print job in the slave image forming device 2 only when the data of the printing condition and the state information on the slave image forming device 2 match. Judge that Then, when determining that the printing process can be performed, the second device determining unit 68 determines the slave image forming apparatus 2 as an image forming apparatus that performs the printing process.

  When the second device determination unit 68 determines that the plurality of slave image forming apparatuses 2 can execute the printing process, the inquiry control unit 69 directs the plurality of slave image forming apparatuses 2 to that The communication unit 71 is transmitted via the network N to inquire whether or not to execute the printing process.

  The print job control unit 70 communicates a print job via the network N to the master image forming apparatus 2 determined by the first apparatus determining unit 67 or the slave image forming apparatus 2 determined by the second apparatus determining unit 68. Send from section 71. The print job control unit 70 is an example of a first job transmission unit in the claims.

  The communication unit 71 includes a communication module such as a LAN board, and under the control of the control unit 61, the communication unit 71 communicates with the information processing apparatus 1 and the image forming apparatus 2 through the network N connected to the communication unit 71. Send and receive various data between them. The communication unit 71 is an example of a first communication unit in the claims.

  The HDD 72 is a large-capacity storage device, and stores in advance the position information indicating the installation positions of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 2 (that is, all the image forming apparatuses 2 connected to the network N). .

  Further, when the communication unit 71 receives a notification that the printing process has been completed from the image forming apparatus 2 through the network N, the control unit 61 acquires the position information of the image forming apparatus 2 from the HDD 72, and the process is completed. The communication unit 71 transmits the information and the acquired position information to the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N.

  Next, the operation of the image forming system 100 of the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 15.

  First, with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, designation processing of the master image forming device 2 and the slave image forming device 2 in the information processing device 1 will be specifically described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the information processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus.

  In the information processing apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the display control unit 12 determines whether the communication unit 23 receives a list indicating the list of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 2 from the server 3 (S1). When the display control unit 12 does not determine that the list or the like has been received (NO in S1), the display control unit 12 causes the information processing device 1 to be in the standby state without proceeding to S2.

  On the other hand, when the display control unit 12 determines that the list or the like has been received (YES in S1), the display control unit 12 causes the display unit 21 to display the received list or the like (S2). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the display control unit 12 displays a list of the image forming apparatuses 2a to 2g included in the list and the received position information and state information of each of the image forming apparatuses 2a to 2g. 21 is displayed on the display unit 21 to prompt the user to designate a commonly used image forming apparatus, that is, the master image forming apparatus 2. For example, as shown on the display screen of FIG. 6, the display control unit 12 displays a check box 22A1 for displaying an image for indicating that the user has operated the image forming apparatus 2a so that the user can designate the image forming apparatus 2a. It is displayed on the display unit 21. Similarly, as shown in the display screen of FIG. 6, the display control unit 12 is operated by the user to allow the user to designate the image forming apparatuses 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f and 2g, respectively. Check areas 22A2, 22A3, 22A4, 22A5, 22A6, and 22A7 for displaying an image for indicating that are displayed on the display unit 21, respectively.

  Then, whether or not one of the check boxes 22A1 to 22A7 is specified by the user and the normal setting key 22B1 is specified by the user on the display screen shown in FIG. Is detected to determine whether designation of the master image forming apparatus 2 has been performed (S3). If the touch panel 22 does not detect that one of the check fields 22A1 to 22A7 has been designated by the user (NO in S3), the first device designation control unit 13 does not proceed to S4, and performs information processing The device 1 is put in a standby state.

  On the other hand, in the first device designation control unit 13, any one of the check fields 22A1 to 22A7, for example, the check field 22A1 is designated, accepted by the touch panel 22, and the normal setting key 22B1 is designated, When it is detected that it has been accepted (YES in S3), it is determined that the image forming apparatus 2a is designated as the master image forming apparatus 2. Then, the first device specification control unit 13 causes the communication unit 23 to transmit the identification information of the image forming apparatus 2a to the server 3 through the network N as master identification information (S4). In the image forming system 100, when the failover function is set to OFF, the process does not proceed to S5, and the process is temporarily ended in the process of transmitting the master identification information in S4.

  When the display control unit 12 detects that the master identification information has been transmitted, the display control unit 12 switches the display of the list on the display unit 21 (S5). For example, the display control unit 12 switches the display screen shown in FIG. 6 to the display screen shown in FIG. 7 and causes the display unit 21 to perform a display prompting designation of an alternative image forming apparatus, that is, the slave image forming apparatus 2. . Further, on the display screen shown in FIG. 7, for example, as indicated by a dotted line in the same figure, it is illustrated that the image forming apparatus 2a is set as the master image forming apparatus 2, and the touch panel 22 and the second The device designation control unit 14 prevents the designation of the image forming device 2a from being designated as both the master image forming device 2 and the slave image forming device 2 by not accepting the designation in the check box 22A1.

  Subsequently, in the display screen shown in FIG. 7, for example, whether or not at least one check box 22A2 to 22A7 is designated by the user, and the normal setting key 22B1 is designated by the user. Is detected to determine whether designation of the slave image forming apparatus 2 has been performed (S6). If the touch panel 22 does not detect that the user has designated at least one of the check fields 22A2 to 22A7 (NO in S6), the second device designation control unit 14 does not proceed to S7, the information processing device Let 1 be in the standby state.

  On the other hand, in the second device designation control unit 14, at least one check box 22A2 to 22A7, for example, check boxes 22A3, 22A4, and 22A5 is designated, accepted by the touch panel 22, and the alternative setting key 22B2 is designated. When it is detected that the touch panel 22 receives the request (YES in S6), it is determined that the image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e are designated as the slave image forming apparatus 2. Then, the second device specification control unit 14 causes the communication unit 23 to transmit the identification information of the image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d and 2e as slave identification information to the server 3 through the network N (S7).

  As described above, when the display control unit 12 performs a display prompting designation of the master image forming apparatus 2 and a display prompting designation of the slave image forming apparatus 2, the display screens of FIGS. 6 and 7 are displayed. As shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 21 displays the position information of each of the image forming apparatuses 2 a to 2 g. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the user can designate the master image forming device 2 and the slave image forming device 2 in a state in which the installation positions of the plurality of image forming devices 2a to 2g are grasped. Printed matter by the printing process in the device 2 or the slave image forming device 2 can be easily obtained.

  In addition, when the display control unit 12 performs a display prompting the designation of the master image forming apparatus 2 and a display prompting the designation of the slave image forming apparatus 2, the display control unit 12 is shown on each display screen of FIGS. As described above, the display unit 21 displays the state information of each of the image forming apparatuses 2 a to 2 g. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the user appropriately designates the master image forming device 2 and the slave image forming device 2 in a state in which the print conditions executable by each of the printing units 42 of the plurality of image forming devices 2a to 2g are grasped. The printing process can be reliably performed by the master image forming apparatus 2 or the slave image forming apparatus 2.

  Next, setting processing of the master image forming device 2 and the slave image forming device 2 in the server 3 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing at the server.

  In the server 3, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, when the user operates the information processing apparatus 1, the list control unit 62 sets the master image forming apparatus 2 and the slave image forming apparatus 2 in the server 3. When a request for setting is made, a list showing a list of the image forming apparatuses 2a to 2g is created. Further, the list control unit 62 acquires each position information and each state information of the image forming apparatuses 2a to 2g from the HDD 72 and causes the communication unit 71 to transmit it to the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N together with the created list ( S31).

  Then, the first setting unit 63 determines whether the communication unit 71 has received the master identification information from the information processing apparatus 1 (S32). If the first setting unit 63 does not determine that the master identification information has been received (NO in S32), the first setting unit 63 does not proceed to S33 and puts the server 3 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the first setting unit 63 has received the master identification information (YES in S32), the image forming apparatus 2a identified by the master identification information is stored in the HDD 72 as the master image forming apparatus 2. Then, the HDD 72 is set (S33).

  Then, the second setting unit 64 determines whether the communication unit 71 has received the slave identification information from the information processing apparatus 1 (S34). If the second setting unit 64 has not determined that the slave identification information has been received (NO in S34), the second setting unit 64 does not proceed to S35, and puts the server 3 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when the second setting unit 64 determines that slave identification information has been received (YES in S34), the image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e identified by the slave identification information are slave image forming apparatuses. 2 are stored in the HDD 72 and set in the HDD 72 (S35). As described above, in the present embodiment, since the plurality of image forming apparatuses 2 are set as the slave image forming apparatus 2, even if the master image forming apparatus 2 can not execute the print processing based on the print job, any slave The image forming apparatus 2 can reliably execute the printing process based on the print job.

  Next, storage processing of status information from the image forming apparatus 2 in the server 3 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process in the server.

  In the server 3, as shown in FIG. 9, the transmission request control unit 65 determines, for example, whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission request control unit 65 finished the process of S37 described later. (S36). When it is not determined that the predetermined time has elapsed (NO in S36), the transmission request control unit 65 causes the server 3 to be in a standby state without proceeding to S37.

  On the other hand, when the transmission request control unit 65 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S36), the transmission request for the state information is sent to the image forming apparatus 2 through the network N and the communication unit 71. To send (S37).

  Then, the state information control unit 66 determines whether the communication unit 71 has received the state information from the image forming apparatus 2 (S38). When it is not determined that the state information has been received (NO in S38), the state information control unit 66 causes the server 3 to be in the standby state without proceeding to S39.

  On the other hand, when determining that the state information has been received (YES in S38), the state information control unit 66 stores the received state information in the HDD 72 in association with the image forming apparatus 2 of the transmission source (S39). In addition, the state information control unit 66 performs the process of S39 for each predetermined time.

  Next, transmission processing of status information in the image forming apparatus 2 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus 2, as shown in FIG. 10, the state information control unit 32 determines whether the communication unit 53 has received the transmission request (S61). When it is not determined that the transmission request has been received (NO in S61), the state information control unit 32 does not proceed to S62 and sets the image forming apparatus 2 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the status information control unit 32 determines that the transmission request has been received (YES in S61), the above-mentioned status information indicating print conditions executable by the printing unit 42 is transmitted from the communication unit 53 through the network N It is sent toward 3 (S62). In addition, the state information control unit 32 performs the process of S62 for each predetermined time. As described above, in the present embodiment, the status information from the image forming apparatus 2 is transmitted to the server 3 every predetermined time, and is updated by the HDD 72. Therefore, the server 3 can grasp the latest executable printing conditions in the printing unit 42 of the image forming apparatus 2 and can appropriately execute the image forming apparatus 2 capable of executing the print job from the information processing apparatus 1. And can be easily determined.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the print job creation process and the print job transmission process in the information processing apparatus 1 will be specifically described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process in the information processing apparatus. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus.

  In the information processing apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 11 determines whether the operation accepting unit has accepted a request for instructing creation of a print job by the user (S11). For example, when the print job creation key is displayed on the display unit 21 (not shown), the control unit 11 creates a print job by detecting whether the print job creation key is designated by the user. Determine if a request has been made to indicate. If the touch panel 22 does not detect that the print job creation key has been designated (NO in S11), the control unit 11 does not proceed to S12 and puts the information processing apparatus 1 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 11 detects that the print job creation key is designated by the user and accepted by the touch panel 22 (YES in S11), the user designates document data to be subjected to print processing. It is determined whether or not it is (S12). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 displays on the display unit 21 a display prompting specification of document data to be subjected to print processing, for example, a specification field 22C to specify document data to be subjected to print processing. . Then, if the touch panel 22 does not detect that the designation field 22C is designated (NO in S12), the control unit 11 does not proceed to S13, and puts the information processing apparatus 1 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when the designation field 22C is designated by the user and the touch panel 22 detects that the designation column 22C has been received (YES in S12), the control unit 11 determines that the designation processing of the document data is requested. Then, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 21 to display the file names of document data stored in advance in the HDD 24, for example, “sentence 1. pdf”, “sentence 2. txt”, and “sentence 3. pdf” Not shown). Then, for example, when the control unit 11 detects that “text 1. pdf” is specified by the user and the touch panel 22 detects that it is received, the document data of the “text 1. pdf” is designated as the specified document data. Is set (S13). Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 displays the file name "Sentence 1. pdf" of the document data designated in the designation column 22C.

  Then, the control unit 11 determines whether the user has requested the specification of the printing conditions in the printing process (S14). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 sets condition setting keys 22D for setting printing conditions, such as double-sided printing key 22D1, page aggregation key 22D2, number of copies key 22D3, and paper size key 22D4 on the display unit 21. Display. Then, if the touch panel 22 does not detect that the condition setting key 22D is designated (NO in S14), the control unit 11 does not proceed to S15, and puts the information processing apparatus 1 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when the condition setting key 22D is designated by the user and the touch panel 22 detects that the condition setting key 22D is received (YES in S14), the control unit 11 determines that the designation of the printing condition is requested. Then, the control unit 11 sets the designated printing condition (S15). For example, when the control unit 11 detects that the double-sided printing key 22D1 has been designated and received by the touch panel 22 on the display screen shown in FIG. 12 by the user, the control unit 11 prompts specification of whether to perform double-sided printing. The display unit 21 is made to display (not shown). Then, for example, when double-sided printing (on) is designated by the user and the acceptance by the touch panel 22 is detected, the control unit 11 sets double-sided printing as the printing condition. On the other hand, when the control unit 11 specifies that the double-sided printing is not performed (off) by the user, and detects that the double-sided printing is received by the touch panel 22, the double-sided printing is not performed as the printing condition, that is, single-sided printing Set to do. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 displays "OFF" designated at the display position of the duplex printing key 22D1. When the control unit 11 sets that double-sided printing is to be performed, the control unit 11 displays “ON” designated at the display portion of the double-sided printing key 22D1 (not shown).

  Further, for example, when the control unit 11 detects that the page aggregation key 22D2 is designated and accepted by the touch panel 22 on the display screen shown in FIG. 12 by the user, the control unit 11 designates whether or not to perform page aggregation. To cause the display unit 21 to display a prompt (not shown). Then, for example, when the user designates that page aggregation is to be performed (on) is detected, and the control unit 11 detects that the touch panel 22 receives an instruction, a specific page such as “2 in 1” or “4 in 1” is received. The display unit 21 is caused to make a display prompting designation of aggregation (not shown). Then, when it is detected that the page consolidation of “2 in 1” is designated by the user and the touch panel 22 receives the page consolidation, for example, the control unit 11 sets the page consolidation of “2 in 1” as the printing condition. Then, the control unit 11 displays “2 in 1” set in the display portion of the page aggregation key 22D2 (not shown). On the other hand, when it is specified that the user does not perform page consolidation (off) and the touch panel 22 detects that the page consolidation is received, the control unit 11 sets that page consolidation is not performed as the printing condition. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 displays "OFF" designated at the display position of the page aggregation key 22D2.

  Further, for example, when the control unit 11 detects that the print copy number key 22D3 is designated by the user on the display screen shown in FIG. 12 and accepted by the touch panel 22, the control unit 11 displays a display prompting designation of the print copy number. It is performed by the unit 21 (not shown). For example, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 21 to display a ten key (not shown) in order to input a number of print copies. Then, when the control unit 11 detects that, for example, “1” is designated by the user and accepted by the touch panel 22, the control unit 11 determines that one copy is designated as the number of print copies, and one copy is set as the print condition. Set the number of copies. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 displays the number of copies “1” designated as the display position of the number of copies copy key 22 D 3.

  Further, for example, when the control unit 11 detects that the paper size key 22D4 is designated and accepted by the touch panel 22 on the display screen shown in FIG. 12 by the user, a display prompting designation of the paper size is displayed It is performed by the unit 21 (not shown). For example, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 21 to perform a display prompting designation of a specific sheet size such as “A4” or “A3” (not shown). Then, when the control unit 11 detects that, for example, “A4” is designated by the user and accepted by the touch panel 22, the control unit 11 determines that A4 is designated as the sheet size, and the sheet size of A4 as the printing condition Set Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 displays the sheet size "A4" designated as the display position of the sheet size key 22D4.

  Then, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the operation receiving unit receives an instruction to create a print job (S16). For example, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a print job creation instruction has been issued by detecting whether or not the setting key 22E is designated by the user on the display screen shown in FIG. If the touch panel 22 does not detect that the setting key 22E has been designated (NO in S16), the control unit 11 does not proceed to S17 and puts the information processing apparatus 1 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when control unit 11 detects that setting key 22E is designated by the user and accepted by touch panel 22 (YES in S16), printer driver unit 15 selects the document data designated in S12 (for example, , Document data of file name "document 1. pdf" is converted to data of printer language suitable for the image forming apparatus 2, and using the data of printer language converted, the printing conditions designated in the above S14 Print target data created according to (for example, “double-sided printing; off”, “page consolidation; off”, “number of copies: 1 copy,“ paper size; A4 ”), and data of printing conditions indicating the printing conditions Create a print job including the (S17). When the printer driver unit 15 creates a print job as described above, the printer driver unit 15 stores the created print job in the HDD 24.

  Then, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the operation receiving unit receives an instruction to transmit a print job (S18). For example, the control unit 11 determines whether a print job transmission instruction has been issued by detecting whether the transmission key 22F is designated by the user on the display screen shown in FIG. If the touch panel 22 does not detect that the transmission key 22F is designated (NO in S18), the control unit 11 does not proceed to S19, and puts the information processing apparatus 1 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when control unit 11 detects that transmission key 22F is designated by the user and accepted by touch panel 22 (YES in S18), control unit 11 determines that a print job transmission instruction has been requested. Then, the print job control unit 16 causes the communication unit 23 to transmit the print job created in S17 to the server 3 through the network N (S19). The transmitted print job (data) includes data indicating the file name (for example, “document 1. pdf”) of the document data created as the print job.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 13, transmission processing of a print job to the image forming apparatus 2 in the server 3 and transmission processing of print processing end to the information processing apparatus 1 will be specifically described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing at the server.

  In the server 3, as shown in FIG. 13, the first device determination unit 67 determines whether the communication unit 71 has received a print job from the information processing device 1 through the network N (S 41). When it is not determined that the print job has been received (NO in S41), the first device determination unit 67 does not advance to S42 and places the server 3 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the first apparatus determination unit 67 determines that a print job has been received (YES in S41), data of the printing conditions included in the print job and the master image formation stored in the HDD 72 The master image formation is performed by comparing the data of the printing condition with the status information using the status information of the device 2a, and determining whether the data of the printing condition matches the status information. It is determined whether the printing process based on the print job can be executed by the device 2a (S42). Then, when the first device determining unit 67 determines that the data of the printing conditions and the state information match, and determines that the printing process can be executed by the master image forming device 2a (in S42) YES), the master image forming apparatus 2a is determined as the image forming apparatus 2 to be subjected to the printing process (S43). Thereafter, the process proceeds to S44 described later.

  On the other hand, when the first device determination unit 67 determines that the printing condition data and the state information do not match, and determines that the master image forming device 2a can not execute the printing process (S42) NO), the second device determination unit 68 uses the data of the printing condition included in the print job and the status information about the slave image forming devices 2c, 2d and 2e stored in the HDD 72, The printing condition data and the status information are compared, and it is determined whether or not the printing condition data matches the status information, and at least one of the slave image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e It is determined whether print processing based on the print job can be executed (S45). Then, the second device determination unit 68 determines that the printing condition data and the state information do not match, and determines that the slave image forming devices 2c, 2d, and 2e can not execute the printing process. In the case (NO at S45), the process is ended on the assumption that the alternative image forming apparatus 2 could not be determined.

  On the other hand, the second device determination unit 68 determines that the data of the printing condition and the state information match, and the printing process is executed by at least one of the slave image forming devices 2c, 2d, and 2e. If it is determined that it can be performed (YES in S45), the second device determining unit 68 determines whether the slave image forming device 2 determined to be able to execute the printing process is one slave image forming device 2 (S46). That is, the second device determination unit 68 determines whether the number of the image forming apparatuses 2 determined to be able to execute the printing process among the slave image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d and 2e is one. Do. When the second device determination unit 68 determines that three slave image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e can execute the printing process (NO in S46), the inquiry control unit 69, for example. Causes the communication unit 71 to transmit to the plurality of slave image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e whether to execute the print processing through the network N (S47). Then, the second device determination unit 68 determines whether the communication unit 71 receives an answer to the inquiry from the image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e after the inquiry control unit 69 transmits the inquiry. It discriminates (S48). If the second device determination unit 68 does not determine that the response has been received (NO in S48), the second device determination unit 68 does not proceed to S49, and puts the server 3 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the second device determining unit 68 determines that the response has been received (YES in S48), the slave image forming device 2 that has first transmitted the response, for example, the slave image forming device 2c, It is determined as the slave image forming apparatus 2 which performs the printing process (S49). As described above, in the present embodiment, when it is determined that the plurality of slave image forming apparatuses 2c, 2d, and 2e can execute the printing process, the inquiry control unit 69 transmits a message indicating that the inquiry is to be made. It is determined that one slave image forming apparatus 2c is to execute the printing process. Therefore, in the present embodiment, even when there are a plurality of alternative image forming apparatuses 2, it is possible to easily determine one alternative image forming apparatus 2 that actually executes the printing process, and the printing process is performed. It can be done smoothly.

  When the second device determination unit 68 determines that only one slave image forming device 2, for example, the slave image forming device 2c can execute the printing process in S46 (YES in S46) The second device determining unit 68 determines the slave image forming device 2c as the slave image forming device 2 that performs the printing process (S49).

  When the print job control unit 70 determines the master image forming apparatus 2a as the image forming apparatus 2 that causes the first device determining unit 67 to perform the printing process in S43, the print job control unit 70 selects the master image forming apparatus 2a. A print job is sent from the communication unit 71 through the network N (S44).

  When the second apparatus determining unit 68 determines the slave image forming apparatus 2c as the image forming apparatus 2 to be subjected to the printing process in S49, the print job control unit 70 selects the slave image forming apparatus 2c. A print job is sent from the communication unit 71 through the network N (S44).

  Then, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the communication unit 71 has received the print processing end command from the master image forming apparatus 2a or the slave image forming apparatus 2c through the network N (S50). When it is not determined that the print processing has been completed (S50: NO), the control unit 61 does not proceed to S51, and places the server 3 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 61 determines that the print processing has been completed (YES in S50), the control unit 61 acquires, from the HDD 72, the positional information of the image forming apparatus 2a or 2c of the transmission source to the effect. The communication unit 71 causes the communication unit 71 to transmit to the information processing apparatus 1 through the network N (S51).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 14, the process of transmitting the reply to the server 3 in the image forming apparatus 2 and the process of transmitting the print process end to the server 3 will be specifically described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process in the image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus 2, as shown in FIG. 14, the answer control unit 33 determines whether the communication unit 53 has received from the server 3 the effect of making the above inquiry via the network N (S61). When it is not determined that the response to the inquiry has been received (NO in S61), the response control unit 33 does not proceed to S62, and sets the image forming apparatus 2 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the response control unit 33 determines that the request to inquire has been received (YES in S61), the communication unit 53 transmits a response to the effect that the printing process is to be executed to the server 3 through the network N S62).

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 2, as shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 31 determines whether the communication unit 53 has received a print job from the server 3 through the network N (S65). When it is not determined that the print job has been received (NO in S65), the control unit 31 does not advance to S66 and sets the image forming apparatus 2 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when determining that the print job has been received (YES in S65), the control unit 31 causes the print unit 42 to perform the printing process based on the received print job (S66). Then, when the printing process is completed, the control unit 31 causes the communication unit 53 to transmit to the server 3 through the network N that the printing process has been completed (S67).

  Next, notification processing for notifying the user of the end of print processing based on a print job in the image forming apparatus 2 in the information processing apparatus 1 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of another process in the information processing apparatus. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus.

  In the information processing apparatus 1, as illustrated in FIG. 15, the control unit 11 indicates that the print processing based on the print job by the communication unit 23 is completed in the image forming apparatus 2 and that the print processing is performed in the image forming apparatus 2 It is determined whether position information indicating the installation position has been received from the server 3 (S21). When the control unit 11 does not determine that the processing has been completed and the position information has been received (NO in S21), the control unit 11 does not proceed to S22 and sets the information processing apparatus 1 in the standby state.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 11 determines that the end and the position information have been received (YES in S21), the control unit 11 causes the display unit 21 to display the end and the position information (S22). For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 21 to display that the printing process based on the print job for the file name "document 1. pdf" has been executed by the 2F image forming apparatus 2c. Thus, the notification processing for notifying the user of the end of the print processing is completed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the server 3 substitutes the master image forming apparatus 2 as an image forming apparatus normally used by the user and the master image forming apparatus 2 according to the user's operation on the information processing apparatus 1. The slave image forming apparatus 2 is set. In addition, server 3 includes data of printing conditions included in the print job from information processing device 1, status information on master image forming device 2 stored in HDD 72, and status information on slave image forming device 2. The master image forming device 2 or the slave image forming device 2 is determined as the image forming device 2 to be subjected to the printing process based on the print job. Further, the image forming apparatus 2 transmits, to the server 3, an indication that the printing process has been completed. Further, when the server 3 receives an end message from the image forming apparatus 2, the server 3 sends the information indicating the end message and the position information of the image forming apparatus 2 to the information processing apparatus 1. Further, when the information processing apparatus 1 receives from the server 3 that the image processing apparatus 2 has ended and the position information of the image forming apparatus 2, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the display unit 21 to display the completion and the position information. Therefore, in the present embodiment, unlike the above-described conventional example, the image forming apparatus 2 is capable of executing the print job from the beginning without passing through the process of temporarily transmitting the print job to the image forming apparatus 2 and failing. It is possible to accurately send the print job.

  In addition to the above description, when the server 3 receives from the image forming apparatus 2 that the print processing based on the print job has been completed, it transmits only the received completion to the information processing apparatus 1, and the information concerned The configuration may be such that the notification process is performed by displaying only the end of the display unit 21 of the processing device 1.

  In the above embodiment, the configurations and processes shown by the above embodiment using FIGS. 1 to 16 are only one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations and processes.

1 information processor 11 control unit (second control unit)
12 Display control unit 13 First device specification control unit 14 Second device specification control unit 16 Print job control unit (second job transmission unit)
20 Operation Unit (Operation Reception Unit)
21 display unit 22 touch panel (operation receiving unit)
23 Communication unit (second communication unit)
2 Image forming apparatus 31 control unit (third control unit)
32 status information control unit (second status information control unit)
33 Answer control unit 42 Printing unit 53 Communication unit (third communication unit)
3 server 61 control unit (first control unit)
62 list control unit 63 first setting unit 64 second setting unit 65 transmission request control unit 66 state information control unit (first state information control unit)
67 first device determination unit 68 second device determination unit 69 inquiry control unit 70 print job control unit (first job transmission unit)
71 Communication unit (first communication unit)
72 HDD (storage unit)
100 imaging system

Claims (8)

A server connected to an information processing apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses via a network,
A storage unit,
A first communication unit that performs data communication with the information processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus through the network;
A list control unit configured to create a list indicating a list of the plurality of image forming apparatuses and to transmit the created list to the information processing apparatus from the first communication unit;
When the first communication unit receives, from the information processing apparatus, master identification information identifying a master image forming apparatus as an image forming apparatus that a user of the information processing apparatus normally uses, the first communication unit sets the master image forming apparatus A first setting unit,
A second setting unit configured to set the slave image forming apparatus when the first communication unit receives slave identification information identifying a slave image forming apparatus as a substitute for the master image forming apparatus from the information processing apparatus; When,
A transmission request control unit that causes the first communication unit to transmit, to the image forming apparatus, a transmission request of status information indicating print conditions executable by the image forming apparatus;
When the first communication unit receives the status information from the image forming apparatus, the first status information control unit causes the storage unit to store the status information in association with the image forming apparatus as a transmission source. ,
When the first communication unit receives a print job from the information processing apparatus, the master using the data of the printing condition included in the print job and the state information of the master image forming apparatus It is determined whether the image forming apparatus can execute the printing process based on the print job, and when it is determined that the printing process can be executed, the master image forming apparatus is determined as an image forming apparatus to perform the printing process. A first device determination unit to
If the first device determination unit determines that the printing process can not be performed by the master image forming device, the slave image is generated using the data of the printing condition and the state information of the slave image forming device. The second apparatus which determines whether or not the printing process can be executed by the forming apparatus, and determines that the slave image forming apparatus is the image forming apparatus to be subjected to the printing process when it is determined that the printing process can be executed The decision unit,
The first communication unit transmits the print job to the master image forming apparatus determined by the first apparatus determining unit or the slave image forming apparatus determined by the second apparatus determining unit 1 job control unit,
A first control unit configured to transmit the end notification to the information processing apparatus when the first communication unit receives an end notification of the print process from the image forming apparatus. An image forming system comprising a server, an information processing apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses through a network,
The server is a server according to claim 1;
The information processing apparatus is
A display unit,
An operation receiving unit that receives an operation instruction from a user;
A second communication unit that performs data communication with the server;
When the second communication unit receives the list, the display unit displays the list on the display unit, and causes the display unit to display a prompt for specifying the master image forming apparatus and the slave image forming apparatus. A display control unit to be performed;
A first device specification control unit for transmitting, as the master identification information, identification information for identifying the designated image forming apparatus when the designation of the master image forming apparatus is accepted in the operation accepting unit;
A second device specification control unit for transmitting, as the slave identification information, identification information for identifying the specified image forming apparatus when specification of the slave image forming apparatus is received in the operation receiving unit;
A second job control unit for transmitting a print job in the image forming apparatus;
An image forming system including: a second control unit configured to display the end notification on the display unit when the second communication unit receives the end notification; The image forming apparatus is
A printing unit that performs printing on a recording medium;
A third communication unit that performs data communication with the server;
A second state information control unit for transmitting the state information indicating print conditions executable by the printing unit;
A third control unit that, when the third communication unit receives the print job, causes the print unit to perform print processing based on the print job, and transmits the end notification; The image forming system according to 2. The second device designation control unit, when the operation accepting unit accepts designation of a plurality of slave image forming devices, a plurality of identification information respectively identifying the plurality of designated image forming devices Transmission from the second communication unit as the slave identification information of
When the first communication unit receives the plurality of slave identification information, the second setting unit sets a plurality of image forming apparatuses respectively identified by the plurality of slave identification information as the slave image forming apparatus. The image forming system according to claim 3. If the second device determination unit determines that the plurality of slave image forming apparatuses can execute the printing process, the server may execute the printing process toward the plurality of slave image forming apparatuses And a query control unit that sends a query notification of whether or not
Each of the slave image forming apparatuses further includes an answer control unit for transmitting an answer indicating that the printing process is to be performed when the third communication unit receives the inquiry notification.
When the first communication unit receives the response from each of the slave image forming devices, the second device determining unit causes the image forming device that originally transmitted the response to perform the printing process. The image forming system according to claim 4 determined as an image forming apparatus. The transmission request control unit causes the first communication unit to transmit a transmission request for the state information to each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses at predetermined time intervals.
The second status information control unit of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses transmits the status information when the third communication unit receives the transmission request. The image forming system described in. Position information indicating an installation position of each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is stored in advance in the storage unit,
When the list control unit creates the list, the list control unit acquires the position information of the image forming apparatus included in the list from the storage unit, and directs the list and the position information to the information processing apparatus. Let me send
The display control unit causes the display unit to display the list and the position information when the second communication unit receives the list and the position information from the server. An image forming system according to any of the above. When the list control unit creates the list, the list control unit acquires the status information of the image forming apparatus included in the list from the storage unit, and directs the list and the status information to the information processing apparatus. Let me send
The display control unit causes the display unit to display the list and the state information when the second communication unit receives the list and the state information from the server. An image forming system according to any of the above.

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