JP2003131842A - Image creating system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system which a user orders print from SOHO or a mobile to a convenience store and can receive printing image at one of the plurality of convenience stores. SOLUTION: When secure print is conducted to a virtual printer composed of a plurality of printers, data are transmitted to all printers and it can be abstracted from every printer. Especially, it is supposed that the print will be pulled out at one of the plurality of convenience stores. A job deleting method, a saving method (the image is developed to be quickly printed), and an charging method are inventive.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming system including a document processing device such as a host computer and a plurality of image forming devices for printing a print job generated by the document processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming system proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-65148, a host computer sends a print job and a password set for the print job to one printer. Then, a password is input from the operation unit of the printer, and when the password matches the password, the print job corresponding to the password is printed out. As described above, a function of inputting authentication information such as a password and drawing out a print job held in the printer to print when the authentication information is authenticated is called secure printing.

[0003]

In the image processing system described above, only one image forming apparatus can input a password and pull out a print job. Therefore, when a user sends a secure print job from a host computer to a certain image forming apparatus, moves to the image forming apparatus, and inputs a password from the operation unit to pull out the print job. If the image forming apparatus is in use by another user for a long time or is out of order, the print job cannot be retrieved. Further, in that case, when it is desired to print with another image forming apparatus, it is necessary to return to the host computer once and send the secure print job to the other image forming apparatus again.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in secure printing in which a print job is taken out by inputting a password from the operation unit of the printer, an arbitrary image is selected from among a plurality of image forming apparatuses. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system that can quickly draw a print job from a forming apparatus.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, a document processing apparatus according to the present invention and a document processing apparatus of an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses include a means for designating a secure print mode and a print job. Generating means, a means for setting a virtual image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are grouped, a sending means for sending a print job to a corresponding image forming apparatus based on a print instruction to the virtual image forming apparatus, On the other hand, each image forming apparatus has a print job receiving unit that receives a print job from the document processing apparatus, a secure print job holding unit that holds the print job when the received print job is in the secure print mode, Operation part for entering authentication information, whether the authentication information entered from the operation part is correct The authenticating means for setting, the printing means for printing the print job held in the secure print job holding means when the authenticating means determines that the sending means is in the secure print mode. A print job is sent to all of the plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus.

[0006]

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Computer A4, which is a document processing device
1, a computer B4-2, a color printer A1, which is an image forming apparatus, a color printer B2, a monochrome printer C5-1 and a monochrome printer D5-2 are connected by a network 6. The network 6 of the present embodiment is configured by Ethernet (registered trademark), and physically each device is a network switch 3 and 100bas.
One-to-one connection is made with the eT cables 6-1 to 6-6, and the network exchange 3 controls the routing between the cables. In the present embodiment, the network 6 is configured by Ethernet, but a case where it is configured by another interface that connects a plurality of devices to the network is another embodiment.

First, when performing normal printing from the computer A to the color printer A, the print job created by the computer A is sent to the color printer 1 via the network 6-1, the network switch 3, and the network 6-5. . In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, this print job is a page description language (PDL).
PD described in the Ription Language)
It is L data. Then, in the color printer, the normal print job sent from the computer A passes through the network interface 7 and the CPU bus 12 and is controlled by the CPU in the control unit 11 to control the image memory 13
It is developed as a raster image. Next, the color image forming unit 9 is activated, and the image data read from the image memory 13 is sent to the color image forming unit 9 to form a color image. The image memory 13 is usually a volatile memory and is composed of a high-speed DRAM. The operation unit 10 is for an operator to give various operation instructions. The control unit 11 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and controls the color printer A1.

Next, when performing secure print from the computer A to the color printer A, the secure print job sent from the computer A passes through the network interface 7 and the CPU bus 12 and the control unit 1
After being developed as a raster image under the control of the CPU in 1, it is held in the spool means 8. And the user
The user moves from the place of the computer A to the place of the color printer A and inputs the password from the operation unit 10 of the color printer A. The control unit 11 determines whether the input password is correct, and if correct, the raster image data held in the spool means 8 is transferred to the image memory 13,
When the color image forming unit 9 is activated, the image memory 13
The image data read from is sent to the color image forming section 9 to form a color image. The spool means 8 is usually a non-volatile memory and has a large capacity and is an inexpensive hard disk. This secure print has an advantage that the printout of the confidential document does not have to be seen by others because the print is started after the user enters the password.

Next, when performing normal printing from the computer A to the virtual printer AB, the print job is sent from the computer A to either the color printer A or the color printer B. The virtual printer is a virtual printer in which a plurality of printers are grouped. For example, when the virtual printer AB is composed of the printer A and the printer B, when a print instruction is given to the virtual printer AB, the printer A or the printer It is output from either B. Which printer is used for output depends on the behavior of the scheduling software. For example, if printer A is available, it will be printed by printer A.
Only when the image cannot be used, control such as printing by the printer B or control such as even allocation is performed. This virtual printing has an advantage that when the printer A cannot be used, it is automatically printed by the printer B. In the case of this embodiment, the configuration of the color printer B is the same as the configuration of the color printer A.

Next, when performing secure printing from the computer A to the virtual printer AB, the print job is sent from the computer A to both the color printer A and the color printer B. Then, each printer develops the print job as a raster image and then holds it in the spool unit 8. Then, the user moves from the location of the computer A to the location of the color printer A or the color printer B, and inputs the password from the operation unit 10 of either color printer. Control unit 11
Determines whether the input password is correct, and if correct, prints the raster image data held in the spool means 8. Since the spool means 8 holds the raster image in a format expanded, it is not necessary to perform expansion processing at the time of printing, and printing can be performed immediately. With this configuration, for example, when the user moves to the location of the color printer A and inputs a password on the operation unit 10 of the color printer A to print, the color printer A is not being used by another person. Even if the printer is out of order, it is possible to move to the location of the color printer B as it is, input a password on the operation unit 10 of the color printer B, and print in a short time. In this way, in the case of secure printing, the behavior of the scheduling software does not determine which printer makes up the virtual printer for output,
It is determined by which operation unit the user pulls out and prints.

FIG. 2 is a printer driver setting screen for the user to instruct various parameters when the computer issues a print instruction to the printer. First,
Item 21 is an item for designating a target printer for printing, a list of printers registered in advance is displayed, and one of them is selected. In the list of item 21, the color printer A is a normal printer, the color printer AB is a virtual printer composed of the color printer A and the color printer B, and the printer ABC is the color printer A. And a color printer B and a monochrome printer C. Item 22 specifies the number of copies, item 23
Is a print paper size designation. Item 24 is a check box for instructing normal print or secure print. When the OK button 25 is pressed after designating these items, a print instruction is executed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the process of the printer driver in the computer 4. First, S10
In No. 1, when the operator gives an instruction to print from the application program, the printer driver setting screen described with reference to FIG. 2 is displayed to receive an instruction for each parameter. Figure 2
When OK is pressed on the screen of, the process moves to S102 and item 21
It is determined whether the printer instructed in step 1 is a virtual printer. If it is not a virtual printer, a print job is sent to that printer in S103. In S102, in the case of the virtual printer, it is determined whether or not the secure print is instructed in item 24 in S104. In the case of normal print that is not secure print, S105
Then, any one of the plurality of printers forming the designated virtual printer is selected by the predetermined scheduling software, and the print job is sent to the selected printer. In S104, if it is the secure print, the print job is sent to all the printers of the plurality of printers forming the designated virtual printer in S106. At this time, the same print job is sent to printers of the same type, but print jobs of different formats are sent to printers of different types. For example, when the printer ABC is selected as the target printer in item 21 of FIG. 2, a print job for the color printer is sent to the color printers A and B, and a job for the monochrome printer is sent to the monochrome printer C. . In this embodiment, since the color printer A and the color printer B have the same configuration, the same print job is sent, thereby saving the time for creating the print job. On the other hand, even in the case of a virtual printer in which a plurality of color printers are combined, for example, the resolution of each color printer is different,
When the type of L is different, a print job of a format suitable for each printer is sent.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the print job receiving task of the color printer which is the image forming apparatus. First, in S201, a print job is received from the computer 4. Then S2
In 02, the contents of the print job are checked to determine whether it is a secure print job. In the case of a normal print job that is not a secure print job, the PDL data that is the print job received in step S203 is expanded, converted into raster image data, and printing is executed as it is. In the case of a secure print job in S202, the received print job PDL data is expanded and converted into raster image data in S204. Then, the raster image data is spooled by the spool means 8.
Hold on. In this embodiment, this raster image is compressed and held. By compressing in this way, the capacity required by the spool means can be reduced. On the other hand, in the case of not compressing, another embodiment has the advantage that the time required for compression and decompression can be omitted. Next, in S205, a password is generated for the held print job and it is sent back to the computer that sent the print job. Then, S206
Then, it is determined whether or not an error has occurred in the transmission of the password, and if it occurs, the corresponding print job held in the holding means in S207 is deleted. By transmitting the password to the computer in this manner, the secure print job can be instructed only from the computer which can reach the mail. For example, a user pretends to be a computer A and another computer C
When a secure print job is instructed by the user, the password is sent to the computer A, so that it does not reach the computer C and the user cannot obtain the password. Also, if you pretend to be a false computer,
Since a reply error occurs, the corresponding secure print job is deleted.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the secure print job management task of the color printer which is the image forming apparatus. First, S301
Then, it is determined whether or not there is a print execution notification of the secure print job from another printer.
At 302, the corresponding secure print job is deleted from the holding unit. This is because in the present embodiment, when secure printing is performed to the virtual printer, the secure print job is sent to all the printers, so when one of the printers performs pull-out printing, the printer retains it in another printer. This is because it is not necessary to retain the secure print job that has been performed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when pull-out printing is performed by any printer, the printer performs print execution notification from the printer to the other printer, and the printer that receives the printer execution notification determines that the corresponding secure print job I'm trying to remove.
Next, in S303, it is determined whether or not the operator has issued a pull-out print instruction of the secure print job using the operation unit 10, and if there is a pull-out print instruction, S30
In step 4, the list of secure print jobs held in the holding unit is displayed on the operation unit. Then, in S305, the operator selects a secure print job to be drawn and printed from the list, and in S306,
The operator is prompted to input the password corresponding to the secure print job. Here, the operator uses S2 in FIG.
The password returned to the computer in 05 is input to the operation unit 1
Must be entered using 0. Next, in step S307, it is determined whether the input password is a correct password, that is, whether the password matches the password returned to the computer in step S205 of FIG.
Printing is performed in 308, and after printing, a print execution notification is sent to another printer, and the process returns to S301. In the case of the present embodiment, since the information of each printer that constitutes the virtual printer is described in the print job, the printer to which the print execution notification is sent is determined from that information, but there is no specific destination by broadcasting. You may notify by. If it is determined in S307 that the password is not correct, an error message is displayed in S309 and the process returns to S301.

(Second Embodiment) The second embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that the network is the Internet and that the spool means has a plurality of holding formats. The only differences are the secure print job deletion method, the point of charging for print, and the authentication method. Therefore, only the difference will be described.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the image forming system. First, the first difference from the first embodiment is that the network that connects each computer and each image forming apparatus is the Internet 31. In the first embodiment, since it is a normal network,
Computers and a plurality of image forming apparatuses were dispersed in a general office, a building, or at least a site. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the network is the Internet 31, the computers and the plurality of image forming apparatuses can exist in completely different places. For example, computer A4-1 is in one company A and computer B4-2 is another company B in a completely different place.
The color multi-function peripheral 1 may be present in the convenience store A, and the color multi-function peripheral 2 may be present in the convenience store B near the convenience store A. Under such a configuration, the effect of the present invention becomes greater. For example, if secure printing is performed from the company A by using the color multifunction peripheral A of the convenience store A, and the color multifunction peripheral A of the convenience store A fails after moving from the company A to the convenience store A, I have to go back to company A. At times like this, it's convenient to be able to pull it out at convenience store B near you. You can also use it to print out at a convenient convenience store. For example, when you go out from your own company, draw out at a convenience store on the way and print it out and bring it to your customer, at the convenience store near your company, the convenience store near your customer, the waiting time of the train etc. You can use it as you like, such as by using it.

Next, the second difference from the first embodiment is that a color multi-function peripheral is used as an image forming apparatus. The color multi-function peripheral is an apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a color copying machine, a color printer, a color scanner, and a color FAX. This is because a copy machine is often provided at the convenience store, and the installation area is limited, so that the multifunction machine is advantageous. The configuration of the color multi-function peripheral 1 is similar to that of the color printer 1 of the first embodiment, but has a scanner unit (not shown) and a FAX transmission / reception unit (not shown). Further, the deposit device 33 is for performing self-copy service, and is configured to make a copy of only the amount deposited by the deposit device. Further, as will be described later, this depositing device is also used for billing for secure print, and is configured so that a secure print job can be printed by the amount deposited by this depositing device. The card reader 34 reads an authentication card inserted by the user and, as described later, is for authenticating whether or not the person who pulls out and prints the secure print job has the authority. Further, in the first embodiment, the secure print job is held in a format expanded into a raster image, but in the present embodiment, it has two types of holding formats. The first is a format in which raster images are developed as in the first embodiment, and this is held in the raster image spool means 8-2. The second is P
This is the format of the DL data as it is, and this is held in the PDL spool means 8-1.

FIG. 7 is an example of a virtual printer setting screen in the computer 4 of this embodiment. Row (1)
Is a virtual printer name to be set, and in the case of FIG. 7, it is a convenience store AB. The line (2) is the printer name of the first real printer forming the virtual printer, and the printer A is designated here. Line (3)
Sets a time limit for holding a secure print job in printer A, and here, 4 days is designated. In the present exemplary embodiment, a retention time limit is set, and a secure print job that has exceeded the retention time limit is deleted. Therefore, in printer A,
If pull-out printing is not performed within 4 days after printing, the secure print job is deleted. The line (4) is for designating in what format the print job is held in the printer A, and here, raster image data is designated. If the raster image data is held, the user can obtain the printout in a short time because conversion to the raster image data is not necessary at the time of pulling out and printing. On the other hand, if the PDL data is held, conversion to raster image data is required at the time of pull-out printing, which increases the waiting time of the user.
However, since the capacity of PDL data is smaller than that of raster image data, there is an advantage that the storage capacity of the image forming apparatus is not taken and the conversion from PDL data to raster image data is not necessary in advance. Next, the line (5) is the printer name of the second real printer forming the virtual printer, and the printer B is designated here. Line (6)
Is the retention time limit in printer B, and here, 2 days is designated. The line (7) is for designating in what format the print job is held in the printer B, and here, PDL data is designated.
As described above, in this embodiment, the holding period and the holding format can be changed for each printer. Therefore, for example, when there is a high possibility that the convenience store A will draw and print, the holding period at the convenience store A is set to be longer, and the raster image data having a faster printing time is instructed to be held. On the other hand, when there is a low possibility that the convenience store B draws and prints, it is possible to shorten the holding period of the convenience store B and instruct the image forming apparatus to hold the PDL data that does not burden the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a print job sent from the computer A to each image forming apparatus. This print job is described in PDL. Line (1) shows that this print job is a secure print job, and the setting of item 24 on the printer driver setting screen of the first embodiment is reflected. Then line (2)
Expires on September 8, 2000
It is up to the day, and is calculated from the current time held by the computer and the holding time limit for each printer constituting the virtual printer described in FIG.
That is, if the retention period is 4 days, the expiration date is 4 days later. In the present embodiment, the expiration date information is instructed in a date format, but in the case of instructing it in a format such as the number of days, it is another embodiment. The line (3) shows the holding format, and the setting of the holding format for each printer constituting the virtual printer described in FIG. 7 is reflected. Line (4) and subsequent lines are normal PDL data, and the image information of the page to be printed is described by drawing commands such as a Move command for moving the current position and a Line command for drawing a line.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the print job receiving task of the color multi-function peripheral which is the image forming apparatus in this embodiment. First,
In S401, the print job and the authentication ID are received from the computer 4. This authentication ID is used to determine whether a user has the authority to withdraw the print job, and is used at the time of drawer printing. Then S
At 402, the contents of the print job are checked to determine if it is a secure print job. In the case of a normal print job that is not a secure print job, the PDL data that is the print job received in step S403 is expanded, converted into raster image data, and printing is executed as it is. In the case of a secure print job in S402, it is determined in S404 whether the holding format instructed in the PDL job is the raster image format or the PDL data format. If the raster image format is specified, S
In 405, the received print job PDL data is expanded and converted into raster image data, and the raster image data is held in the spool unit 8-2. On the other hand, P
If the DL data format is instructed, S406
Then, the received print job PDL data is held in the spool means 8-1 as it is.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the print job deletion task of the color multifunction peripheral. In the first embodiment, the secure print job is deleted by the print execution notification from another printer. Although this method has the advantage that the secure print jobs that are no longer needed can be deleted immediately,
In this embodiment in which each printer is connected via the Internet, there is a problem that there is no guarantee that notification can be reliably performed. Therefore, in this embodiment, a retention period is set,
Secure print jobs that exceed the limit are automatically deleted. By doing so, even if the secure print job is sent to all of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that make up the virtual printer, the secure print job is deleted after the retention period expires, so that the unnecessary secure print job is retained in the image forming apparatus. There is no need to worry about being left in the way forever. Figure 1
0, first, in S501, wait for a predetermined time,
In step S502, it is determined whether each secure print job held in the holding unit has passed the holding time limit by comparison with the current time by a timer (not shown). Then, the secure print job whose retention period has expired is deleted from the retaining means in S503.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the print task of the secure print job of the color multi-function peripheral. First, in step S601, it is determined whether or not the operator has given a pull-out print instruction for the secure print job using the operation unit 10. If there is a pull-out print instruction, the operator is prompted to insert an authentication card in step S602. The information of the authentication card inserted in the card reader 34 is read. In step S603, it is determined whether the authentication card is valid, and if it is not valid, a message is displayed and the process returns to step S601. If it is a valid authentication card, in step S604, a list of secure print jobs corresponding to the authentication ID in the inserted authentication card among the secure print jobs held in the holding unit is displayed on the operation unit. In the present embodiment, S4 in FIG.
In 01, the print job is sent with a certain authentication ID. The authentication ID in the inserted authentication card is, for example, 123
If it is 4, a list of print jobs sent together with the authentication ID 1234 is displayed. With such a mechanism, the troublesome work of inputting a password can be omitted, and since only the print job of the authentication ID is displayed, the security is further improved. Then S
In 605, the operator selects a secure print job to be drawn and printed from the list, and then S60
In step 6, it is determined whether or not the amount of money already deposited by the depositing device 33 is sufficient for printing the print job. If not enough, in step S607, a message indicating that the amount is insufficient is displayed, and the process returns to step S601. If enough money has been deposited, in S608,
It is determined whether the holding format of the print job to be printed is a raster image, and if it is a raster image, the raster image is printed in S609. On the other hand, in the case of PDL data, in step S610, the PDL data is developed into a raster image and the raster image is printed.

Conventionally, when printing on a convenience store via the Internet, after printing, the user visits the convenience store or, conversely, delivers it to the user by courier. However, in this case, there is a risk that the user cannot come to the convenience store or the delivery destination of the courier is wrong and the cost cannot be recovered. On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, there is an effect that the cost can be surely recovered by depositing with the deposit device in advance and then withdrawing and printing the secure print job. Further, since the charging system such as the depositing device uses the charging system for self-copying, there is also an effect that it is not necessary to construct a new charging system for printing via the Internet. Further, even when the method of the present invention in which the same secure print job is sent to all of the plurality of convenience stores, the cost only needs to be paid to the convenience store that actually performed the drawer print, and the convenience store just sent may be left as it is. There is an effect.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the preparation instruction execution task of the color multifunction peripheral. The image forming apparatus of the present embodiment can use two types of PDL data format and raster image data format as a secure print job holding format. The former has the advantage that it does not take up space, and the latter has the advantage that it takes less time to print. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a print preparation instruction is received from the user in S701 of FIG. 12, and if the preparation instruction is received, further S702 is performed.
Then, the print job that received the print preparation instruction is P
Determine if it is stored in DL data format,
In the case of yes, in S703, it is converted into raster image data and held. As a result, a print job that receives a print preparation instruction will have a shorter print time when the drawer print is performed later.
As a result, the waiting time of the user can be shortened and the operation rate of the device can be increased. In this embodiment,
The user is notified of the print preparation instruction by e-mail. Specifically, when performing a drawer print at a convenience store, for example, 10 minutes before arriving at the convenience store, by issuing a print preparation instruction by e-mail using a mobile phone, etc. It becomes possible to print. Instead of giving an explicit print preparation instruction by e-mail, etc., it detects the radio waves generated by a specific contactless ID card or mobile phone,
Another embodiment is also one in which a user who approaches the image forming apparatus is identified, the approach itself is regarded as a print preparation instruction, and the holding format of the print job of the user is changed.

(Embodiment 3) The third embodiment of the present invention is different from the second embodiment only in the charging method. Therefore, only the difference will be described. In the second embodiment, the deposit device 33 deposits money, and print jobs within the deposit amount are printed. That is, there is no charge for sending the print job from the document processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus, but only when the print job is printed on the paper. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the document processing apparatus charges a print job to the image forming apparatus itself, and any image forming apparatus does not charge for printing. Specifically, when a print job is sent from the document processing apparatus to a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the print job is passed through a server (not shown) and the server charges the fee. Further, at this time, the charging is performed as one destination regardless of the number of destinations.

(Embodiment 4) The fourth embodiment of the present invention is different from the third embodiment only in the charging method. Therefore, only the difference will be described. In the third embodiment, when the print job is sent from the document processing apparatus to the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the charging is performed as one destination regardless of the number of destinations. On the other hand, in this embodiment, billing is performed according to the number of destinations. That is, the more destinations there are,
The billing amount increases. In addition, billing is performed according to the length of the retention period instructed to each image forming apparatus. That is, the longer the retention period is, the more resources of the image forming apparatus are used.
The billing amount increases. In addition, the charging is performed according to the holding method instructed to each image forming apparatus. That is, although holding in the PDL method takes time until printing, the amount of processing in the image forming apparatus is small and the amount of memory required for spooling is small, so that the charge amount is reduced. On the other hand, holding in the raster image data system requires a development process in the image forming apparatus and requires a large amount of memory for spooling, although it does not take a long time until printing, and thus the billing amount is increased.

(Embodiment 5) The fifth embodiment of the present invention is different from the second embodiment only in the print job holding means. Therefore, only the difference will be described.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the fifth embodiment of the image forming system. First, the first difference from the second embodiment is that in the second embodiment, the secure print job is arranged in the holding unit in each image forming apparatus, but in the present embodiment, it is a service on the Internet. The point is that the server B35 is arranged at the location of the provider B, and the secure print job is held in the PDL spool means 36 in this server B35. The raster image format is different for each image forming apparatus depending on the resolution, bit number, etc. unique to each image forming apparatus, so the format held in the server B is the PDL data format. By adopting such a configuration, there is an effect that it is not necessary to hold the secure print job in each image forming apparatus, and there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the communication amount for sending the secure print job to all the image forming apparatuses. In such a configuration, when performing secure printing from the computer 4 to a virtual printer including a plurality of printers, first, the computer 4 causes the server 35 to perform a secure print job and a list of a plurality of printers included in the virtual printer. And the password will be sent. Then, the user moves to any one of the plurality of printers forming the virtual printer, for example, to the color multifunction peripheral A of the convenience store A, and inputs the password using the operation unit to store the password in the server 35. It is possible to pull out and print the secure print job that is being performed. Even in this configuration, the effect that the color multifunction peripheral of the convenience store A can be immediately pulled out and printed when the color multifunction peripheral of the convenience store A is out of order does not change. Further, since the withdrawal from the printer not included in the virtual printer is rejected, there is an advantage that even if the password is stolen, there is little risk that the confidential document is arbitrarily withdrawn and printed.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart for explaining the control flow of the server B. First, in S801, it is determined whether or not a secure print job is sent from the computer, and if it is sent, the print job and the printer list and the password forming the virtual printer are received in S802, and the PDL format print job received in S803. To the PDL spool means 36,
The printer list and password are also stored separately in association with the printer job. If the secure print job has not been sent in step S801, it is determined in step S804 whether or not the withdrawal request and the password have been sent from each printer, and if the request has been sent, the process proceeds to step S805.
Then, it is checked whether or not the printer requesting withdrawal is included in the printer list stored in S803, and whether the sent password matches the password stored in S803. If it is determined that both are correct, the print job is sent to the printer in S806, and if not, an error message is sent in S807. In this configuration, as a control flow on the printer side, when the operator uses the operation unit 10 to make a pull-out print request for a secure print job, the operation unit 10 is used to allow the operator to input a password, The password is sent to the server 35, and the print job sent back is printed.

Further, this embodiment can also have a plurality of print holding systems, as in the second embodiment.
The first holding method is the PDL spool means 3 of the server 35.
6 is a method of holding in PDL format, and the second holding method is a method of holding in PDL data in the PDL spool means 8-1 of each image forming apparatus as in the second embodiment.
The third holding method is a method of holding the raster image data in the raster image spool means 8-2 of each image forming apparatus as in the second embodiment. Since the first holding method is more intensively held, the holding cost is lower, but the second and third holding methods do not require transfer time from the server to each printer, so printing time is longer. There is an advantage that it can be small. In the present embodiment as well, as in the second embodiment, the holding method can be selected, and conversion from the first holding method to the second and third holding methods is also performed in response to a print preparation instruction. As described above, by copying the secure print job from the server 35 to a specific printer in advance according to the print preparation instruction, there is an effect that it is possible to print quickly when actually performing the pull-out printing.
In the case of holding by the second and third holding methods, the collation of the password is performed on each printer side.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, in secure printing in which a print job is retrieved by inputting a password from the operation unit of the printer, a print job can be quickly sent from any image forming apparatus of a plurality of image forming apparatuses. It is possible to provide an image forming system that can draw out the image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a printer driver setting screen.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a printer driver of the document processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a print task of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a secure job management task of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a virtual printer setting screen.

FIG. 8 is a description example of a print job.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a print task of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a secure job deletion task of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a secure job print task of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a preparation instruction execution task of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a control flowchart of the server according to the fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 Document processor 7 Print job receiving means 8 Secure print job holding means 10 Operation part 11 Authentication means 9 Printing means

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/44 H04N 1/44 F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 HH03 HJ06 HJ08 HK03 HK11 HK19 HN05 HN23 HP04 HQ14 2C087 AB06 BB01 BC04 BD01 BD53 DA02 5B021 AA01 BB02 EE02 NN06 NN18 5C075 AB90 EE02 FF03 FF90 GG90

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system comprising a document processing apparatus and a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the document processing apparatus comprising: a means for designating a secure print mode; a generating means for generating a print job; and a plurality of image forming apparatuses. A means for setting virtual image forming apparatuses grouped together, a sending means for sending a print job to a corresponding image forming apparatus based on a print instruction to the virtual image forming apparatus, while each image forming apparatus includes: A print job receiving unit that receives a print job from the document processing apparatus, a secure print job holding unit that holds the print job when the received print job is in the secure print mode, an operation unit for inputting authentication information, an operation The authentication method to determine whether the authentication information entered from the department is correct And a print means for printing the print job held in the secure print job holding means, and the sending means, in the secure print mode, corresponds to the virtual image forming apparatus. An image forming system which sends a print job to all the image forming apparatuses. 2. The sending means sends the print job to any one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus when not in the secure print mode. The image forming system described. 3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit automatically deletes the print job when the set holding period has expired. 4. The print job includes expiration date information, and the holding unit deletes the print job when the retention period described in the expiration date information has passed. The image forming system described. 5. The image forming system according to claim 4, wherein the expiration date information is variable for each image forming apparatus. 6. Each image forming apparatus further includes a notification unit for notifying an external device that the held print job has been printed, and the print job held by the holding unit in another image forming apparatus. Print completion information receiving means for receiving a notification that the print job has been printed from an external device,
6. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising: deleting a job printed by another image forming apparatus from the holding unit. 7. The print job is described in a page description language, and each image forming apparatus further includes a developing unit that expands the print job described in the page description language into raster image data, and the holding unit. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the compressed image is stored in the form of raster image data that has been expanded. 8. The holding unit can hold a print job in a plurality of formats, the print job includes holding format information, and the holding unit holds in a holding format described in the holding format information. The image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: 9. The image forming system according to claim 8, wherein the holding format information is variable for each image forming apparatus. 10. The holding unit is capable of holding a print job in a plurality of formats, and each of the image forming apparatuses further has a preparation instruction receiving unit for receiving a print preparation instruction from an external apparatus, and the print preparation is performed. 10. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the print job instructed is converted into a format that does not take a relatively long time to print. 11. The image forming apparatus further comprises password sending means for returning the corresponding password to the document processing apparatus after receiving the print job from the document processing apparatus. The image forming system described. 12. The image forming system according to claim 11, wherein when a delivery error occurs in the password delivery means, the corresponding print job is deleted from the holding means. 13. A print job in which each of the image forming apparatuses further has a depositing means and a calculating means for calculating an amount of money required to print each print job, and is capable of paying within the deposited amount after depositing. 13. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system is printed. 14. A document processing apparatus and each image forming apparatus are connected via the Internet, each image forming apparatus is arranged in a different place, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus designated by the document processing apparatus. 14. The charging is not performed when the job is sent to the printer, and the charging is performed when the printing is performed by any one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses that received the print job. The image forming system described. 15. A document processing apparatus and each image forming apparatus are connected by the Internet, each image forming apparatus is arranged in a different place, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus specified by the document processing apparatus. When you send a job to, you will be charged as one destination regardless of the number of destinations,
Of the multiple image forming devices that received the print job,
14. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein charging is not performed at the time of printing by any of the image forming apparatuses. 16. A document processing apparatus and each image forming apparatus are connected by the Internet, each image forming apparatus is arranged in a different place, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus designated by the document processing apparatus. 14. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein a fee is charged according to the number of destinations when the job is sent to. 17. A document processing apparatus and each image forming apparatus are connected by the Internet, each image forming apparatus is arranged at a different place, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus designated by the document processing apparatus. 6. The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein a fee is charged according to the retention period when the job is sent to the image forming system. 18. A document processing apparatus and each image forming apparatus are connected by the Internet, each image forming apparatus is arranged in a different place, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses corresponding to the virtual image forming apparatus designated by the document processing apparatus. 11. The image forming system according to claim 7, wherein a fee is charged according to a holding format when a job is sent to the job forming apparatus. 19. An image forming system comprising a document processing device, a server device, and a plurality of image forming devices, the document processing device comprising: means for designating a secure print mode; generating means for generating a print job; A means for setting a virtual image forming apparatus in which the image forming apparatuses are grouped, a sending means for sending a print job to the server device based on a print instruction to the virtual image forming apparatus,
On the other hand, the server device includes a print job receiving unit that receives a print job from the document processing device, a secure print job holding unit that holds the print job when the received print job is in the secure print mode, and a print job withdrawal request. A unit that receives authentication information from the image forming apparatus, an authentication unit that determines whether the received authentication information is correct, and a print job that is held in the secure print job holding unit when the authentication unit has authenticated the image forming apparatus. Each image forming apparatus has an operation unit for inputting authentication information, a unit for sending the authentication information input from the operation unit to the server and requesting a print job withdrawal, and a print job. Print job receiving means for receiving the Print means for printing the Ntojobu,
The image forming system is characterized in that the authentication means does not authenticate a print job withdrawal request from a device other than a plurality of image forming devices forming the virtual image forming device. 20. Each image forming apparatus further includes a second secure print job holding unit that holds a secure print job, and a second authentication unit that determines whether or not the authentication information input by the operation unit is correct. The server transfers the secure print job and the password to each image forming apparatus without authentication, the image forming apparatus holds it in the second secure print job holding unit, and after the second authentication unit performs authentication, 20. The image forming system according to claim 19, further comprising a printing mode. 21. The print job includes holding format information, and is held on the server side according to the holding format information,
21. The image forming system according to claim 20, wherein whether the image is held by the image forming apparatus is changed. 22. The image forming system according to claim 21, wherein the holding format information is variable for each image forming apparatus. 23. The server further has a preparation instruction receiving unit that receives a print preparation instruction from an external device, and the print job that has received the print preparation instruction is retained on the server side and then on the image forming apparatus side. 23. The image forming system according to claim 20, wherein the print job is moved to hold the print job. 24. Each of the image forming apparatuses further comprises a depositing means and a calculating means for calculating an amount of money required to print each print job, and a print job that can be paid within the deposited amount after depositing. 24. The image forming system according to claim 19, wherein the image forming system is printed. 25. The image forming apparatus further includes a copy unit, and the deposit unit and the calculation unit are also used for charging a copy job.
4. The image forming system according to item 4.