JP2006094127A - Notification method, interruption inhibition method, interruption control method, job processor, and user terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notify a user of a processing state of a job in an MF machine for executing job request data transmitted from a client PC with voice. <P>SOLUTION: When the job request data for requesting the execution of the job by using voice read-aloud software are generated in the client PC 100, the client PC 100 adds a notification request flag to the job request data and transmits them to the MF machine 200 via a network 300. When the notification request flag is added to the received job request data, the MF machine 200 outputs data showing the processing state of the job by a voice means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for notifying a job processing status by sound.

  In recent years, one multi-function machine (hereinafter referred to as MF machine: multi-function machine) having functions such as printer, facsimile, copying, and scanning is connected to a plurality of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs) via a network. May be shared by other PCs. Such an MF machine processes jobs such as printing requested by a plurality of PCs in the order of requests and discharges printed matter. On the other hand, the user of each PC that has made a job request selects and acquires the printed material of the job requested by the user from among the printed materials corresponding to a plurality of types of jobs discharged to the discharge tray of the MF machine.

  By the way, when the MF machine and the PC are remotely arranged via the network, the user of each PC requests a job at the place where the PC is installed and then moves to another place where the MF machine is installed. In many cases, the output result corresponding to the job requested by the user cannot be obtained even if the output tray is moved. For example, since the MF machine is executing a job requested by a user of another PC prior to the job requested by the user, the job requested by the user has not been started yet. Various cases are assumed, such as a user interrupt request. In such a case, the user is forced to go back and forth between the place where the PC is installed and the place where the MF machine is installed until the output result corresponding to the job he requested is obtained. It was a hassle.

  A plurality of techniques have been proposed in order to inform the user of each PC of the progress status of the job in the MF machine and reduce the user's effort to collect the output result as described above. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a remote printing system in which the progress status of a job in each of a plurality of remote printing apparatuses can be grasped on the host computer side. In this system, the processing status of all jobs processed in the MF machine is managed in the PC and the contents are displayed. Patent Document 2 proposes a sheet stacking apparatus that displays a tray that is currently being discharged and a stacking status such as the presence / absence and amount of sheets in the discharge tray on a display unit of a multifunction peripheral that can remotely control a plurality of jobs. This display unit is arranged at a high position so that the user can visually check the operation status even from a remote position. Patent Document 3 proposes a printer control device that notifies the state of the printer and its change with sound, or generates a notification sound when printing is completed. According to this printer control apparatus, the user of each PC can judge and recognize the status of the printer remotely by voice.

JP-A-6-67825 JP-A-8-67408 JP-A-7-172032

By the way, when a printed matter corresponding to a plurality of types of jobs is discharged on the discharge tray, it is extremely difficult for a visually handicapped person to select a printed matter corresponding to the job requested by the user. In order to make it easy for a visually handicapped person to obtain the requested printed matter from the discharge tray, a technique for transmitting the state of the MF machine to the visually handicapped person through a sense other than vision is required.
However, since both the above-described technologies of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 display the job processing status in the printer or the multifunction peripheral, it is impossible for the visually handicapped person to recognize the displayed processing status. Further, the printer control device of Patent Document 3 notifies the user of the printer status by sound. When there is a print instruction from multiple PCs, every time printing is completed, the sound is notified, but since it is not known who requested the print, the printed matter is obtained for the visually impaired It is still difficult to do.
As described above, it is still difficult for a visually handicapped person to specify the output result of a job that he / she started without assistance, regardless of which technique is used.
The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that makes it possible to reliably collect output results of jobs submitted by visually impaired persons.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a process in which a job processing apparatus that executes a job in accordance with job request data requesting execution of a job receives the job request data, and the job processing apparatus receives the job request data. A determination process for determining whether or not the job request data includes a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound; and the job processing apparatus includes the notification request in the determination process. And a notification control process for outputting a sound indicating the status of the job requested by the job data determined to be transmitted.
The sound indicating the job status may be a voice uttered by a person, a beep sound, an instrument sound, or a simple melody.

  In a preferred aspect, the notification method includes a generation process in which a user terminal connected to the job processing apparatus generates the job request data as a process before the reception process, and the generation process generated in the generation process. When the job request data is generated through a voice output function that converts information displayed on the display means of the user terminal into voice data and outputs the voice data, the user terminal sends the job processing device to the job processing device. A job request data transmission process for transmitting the request data including the notification request. Preferably, in the job request data transmission process, the user terminal further transmits the user name of the user terminal, and in the notification control process, the job processing apparatus outputs a sound indicating the job status. At this time, a message including the user name may be output as voice.

  In addition, according to the present invention, a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data that requests execution of a job receives a job request data, and a job request that the job processing apparatus receives in the reception process. A management process for managing the processing status data representing the processing status of the job requested by the data, and a notification requesting that the job processing device notify the job processing status of the job to the received job request data by sound. A determination process for determining whether or not a request is included, and for the user terminal that is the transmission source of the job request data determined to include the notification request in the determination process, the job processing apparatus includes: A job status notification process for transmitting job status notification indicating the job processing status data or a change thereof; and A user terminal receives the job status notification transmitted in the transmission process from the job processing device, obtains a job processing status in the job processing device based on the job status notification, and processes the job And a voice output process for generating and outputting voice indicating the above.

  This notification method includes a generation process in which a user terminal connected to the job processing apparatus generates the job request data as a process before the reception process, and a display on the display unit of the user terminal in the generation process. A job request data transmission process for transmitting the job request data including the notification request when the job request data is generated via a voice output function for converting the information to be converted into voice data and outputting the voice data. Have.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention relates to information displayed on the display unit of the user terminal as audio data in a user terminal connected to a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data for requesting execution of the job. When the job request data is generated via the voice output function that converts the job request data into the job request data, the job request data includes a notification request for requesting that the job processing status be notified by sound. A transmission process for transmitting to the apparatus, and the job processing apparatus interrupting execution of the job and executing another job during execution of the job requested by the job request data. An interrupt request detection process for detecting an interrupt request to request, and the job processing device includes the job request data in the job request data A determination process for determining whether or not an intelligence request is included, and the interrupt request is detected during execution of a job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request in the determination process. And an interrupt prohibiting process for rejecting the interrupt request.

  Further, the present invention relates to the job processing in which a user terminal connected to a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data requesting execution of the job interrupts execution of the job and executes another job. Generating and transmitting a job request data including an interrupt prohibition request for causing the job processing device to reject an interrupt request to the device and transmitting the job request data to the job processing device; and the job processing device, An interrupt request detection process for detecting the interrupt request during execution of a job requested by the job request data, and an interrupt prohibition request for the job processing device to reject the interrupt request in the job request data. A determination process for determining whether or not the job processing apparatus has received the interrupt in the determination process. An interrupt prohibiting process for rejecting the interrupt request when the interrupt request is detected during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the stop request. Provide an interrupt disable method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a generation process in which a user terminal connected to a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data that requests execution of the job generates job request data, and the generation process When the job request data is generated through an audio output function that converts information displayed on the display means of the user terminal into audio data and outputs the audio data, the user terminal indicates the processing status of the job. A transmission process for transmitting to the job processing apparatus a notification request for requesting notification by the job request data, and during execution of the job requested by the job request data, Detecting an interrupt request that requests the job processing apparatus to interrupt the execution of the job and execute another job And the user terminal when the interrupt request is detected during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined by the job request data determined to include the notification request. And an inquiry process for inquiring whether or not to permit the interrupt request.

  Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an audio output unit, a reception unit that receives job request data for requesting job execution, and the job request data received by the reception unit includes the job processing status. Determination means for determining whether or not a notification request for requesting notification by sound is included, and a job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request by the determination means. There is provided a job processing apparatus comprising: a notification control unit that outputs a voice indicating a state by the voice output unit.

  The present invention further includes a receiving unit that receives job request data for requesting execution of a job, a management unit that manages processing status data representing a processing status of a job requested by the job request data received by the receiving unit, Judgment means for judging whether or not the job request data accepted by the acceptance means includes a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound, and the notification request by the determination means is included. Job status notification means for transmitting job status notification indicating job processing status data or a change thereof to a user terminal that is a source of job request data determined to be A processing device is provided.

  In addition, the present invention requests the job processing apparatus to interrupt the execution of the job and execute another job during execution of the job requested by the job request data requesting execution of the job. Whether the job request data includes an interrupt request detection unit for detecting an interrupt request to be performed, and a notification request for notifying the job processing status by sound or an interrupt prohibition request for rejecting the interrupt request. A determination means for determining whether or not the interrupt request is detected when the interrupt request is detected during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request or the interrupt prohibition request. The job processing apparatus is characterized by having an interrupt prohibiting means for rejecting the job.

  In addition, the present invention requests the job processing apparatus to interrupt the execution of the job and execute another job during execution of the job requested by the job request data requesting execution of the job. An interrupt request detecting means for detecting an interrupt request to be performed, and the interrupt during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound. There is provided a job processing apparatus comprising: inquiry means for inquiring whether or not to permit the interrupt request to a user terminal that is a transmission source of the job request data when a request is detected.

  Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a display unit, a voice output unit, and a generation unit that generates job request data for requesting job execution to a job processing apparatus connected via a network. When the job request data generated by the generating unit is generated through an audio output function that converts information displayed on the display unit into audio data and outputs the audio data, the job request data There is provided a user terminal comprising job request data transmission means for transmitting a notification request for requesting to notify a processing status of a job to a processing apparatus by voice in the job request data. In a preferred aspect, the job request data transmission means further transmits the user name of the user terminal.

  Further, the present invention provides a display unit, a voice output unit, a generation unit that generates job request data for requesting execution of a job to a connected job processing device, and the job request generated by the generation unit. When the data is generated through an audio output function that converts information displayed on the display means into audio data and outputs the audio data, the job processing apparatus is notified of the job processing status. Job request data transmission means for transmitting the job request data including a notification request for requesting notification, and processing status data of the job requested to be executed by the job request data from the job processing device or a change thereof A receiving unit that receives a job status notification indicating the job status, and the job processing based on the job status notification received by the receiving unit. Obtains the processing status of the job in the apparatus, to provide a user terminal and having an audio output means for outputting a sound indicating the processing status.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably collect the output result of a job submitted by a visually impaired person.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First embodiment)
(1. Configuration)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a remote control system according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the remote operation system includes client PCs 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D that are user terminals, and each of the client PCs 100A, 100B, and 100C is connected to the MF machine 200 via the network 300, The client PC 100D is connected to the MF machine 200 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 400. This remote operation system is provided with a notification function unique to this embodiment. With this notification function, the users of the client PCs 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D can recognize the status of the job requested by themselves by sound.
In the illustrated example, four client PCs are connected to the MF machine. However, the number of client PCs is not limited to four and may be plural or single.

Each of the client PCs 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D is a general personal computer, for example, a control unit 101 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 used as a work area of the control unit 101, Non-volatile memory 103 composed of ROM (Read Only Memory), hard disk, etc., operation unit 104 composed of keyboard, mouse, etc., display unit 105 composed of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and its drive circuit, voice to the user A voice output unit 106 for transmitting prompts and information on the screen, and a communication unit 107 that enables data exchange with the MF device 200 are provided. These are connected to each other by a bus 108. Although illustration is omitted, a device such as a Braille display that converts text displayed on the screen into Braille and displays it on a dedicated display may be connected to the client PC 100 and used.
In this specification, the client PCs 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D are simply referred to as client PCs 100 when it is not necessary to distinguish them.

  In the non-volatile memory 103 of the client PC 100, in addition to the OS (Operating System) software, information necessary for driving control of the MF machine 200 such as a printer driver, a scanner driver, and a FAX driver is generated in the client PC 100, and is stored in the MF machine 200. Various software including software necessary for sending is stored. Further, document creation software, drawing software, and the like are also stored in the nonvolatile memory 103. These functions are executed by the control unit 101 to realize various functions.

  Further, the non-volatile memory 103 has voice reading software (voice output function) for performing so-called voice reading, which converts text data representing characters and sentences displayed on the screen into voice signals and outputs them from the voice output unit 106. Is stored. This voice reading software can read out kanji conversion candidates when inputting Japanese, prompts displayed on the screen, and the like in addition to reading a home page and mail. In this embodiment, the user of the client PC 100 generates job request data using this voice output function.

The MF machine 200 is a job processing apparatus that, upon receiving job request data requesting job execution, processes the requested job in accordance with the received job request data.
As shown in FIG. 3, the MF machine 200 includes a control unit 201, a copy module 202, a fax module 203, a printer module 204, and a scanner module 205 controlled by the control unit 201. The copy module 202, the fax module 203, the printer module 204, and the scanner module 205 are modules for executing a copy function, a fax function, a printer function, and a scanner function, respectively. Control the output section.

  Further, the MF machine 200 has a job management module 206 for managing a job requested to the own machine. The job management module 206 has a job queue for storing job request data for requesting job execution by any of various functions of the MF machine 200 such as a copy function, a fax function, a printer function, and a scanner function in the order of generation. The job request data stored in the job queue is sequentially transmitted to modules (hereinafter referred to as function execution modules) that execute each function, such as the copy module 202, the fax module 203, the printer module 204, and the scanner module 205. . When the MF machine 200 receives a job request from the client PC 100 via the communication unit 207, the MF machine 200 temporarily stores the job request data in a hard disk (not shown) and uniquely identifies the job in the received job request data. A job ID that is an identification number is assigned and stored in the job queue as a new record.

  Further, the user interface includes an operation unit 208 that receives an instruction input from the user, a voice output unit 209 for notifying the printer status and job processing status by voice, and a display unit 210. These are all connected by a bus 220.

(2. Operation)
The operation of the first embodiment will be described below.
First, when the user of the client PC 100A issues a print job instruction using the operation unit 104, the control unit 101 that has detected this instruction starts the job activation process in FIG. First, in step Sa1, the control unit 101 generates job request data including various pieces of attribute information such as the number of pages to be printed and whether it is a color page or a monochrome page, in addition to page data to be printed (hereinafter, print data).

  Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the voice reading software is activated in the client PC 100A (step Sa3). If not started, the control unit 101 proceeds to step Sa7 and transmits the job request data to the MF machine 200 via the printer driver.

  When the speech-to-speech software is activated (step Sa3; Yes), the control unit 101 considers that the user of the client PC 100A is a visually impaired person and sets the notification request flag in the job request data generated in step Sa3 to ON. After (Step Sa5), the job request data is transmitted to the MF machine 200 (Step Sa7).

The job request data transmitted in this way is received by the MF machine 200 via the network 300. When the reception of job request data is detected by the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200, the control unit 201 delivers the job request data to the job management module 206. The job management module 206 temporarily stores the received job request data on a hard disk (not shown), assigns a job ID to the job request data, and creates a new record including at least the job ID and a notification request flag copy. Append to the end of the job queue. Here, it is assumed that job ID “3” is assigned.
Here, every time the control unit 201 completes execution of a job, the job management module 206 sequentially transfers job request data at the head of the job queue to each function execution module. When the job request data is delivered from the job management module 206 to each function execution module, the control unit 201 executes the job execution process shown in the flowchart of FIG.

When the control unit 201 detects that the job request data having the job ID “3” is transmitted from the job management module 206 to the printer module 204 after the execution of the job preceding the job ID “3” is completed, 5 job execution processing is started.
First, in step Sb1, the control unit 201 analyzes job request data having a job ID “3”, and acquires print data and attribute information from the job request data. Next, in step Sb3, the control unit 201 determines whether or not the notification request flag is on in the acquired attribute information.

  If the attribute information notification request flag is on, that is, if the voice reading software is activated by the user of the client PC 100A who is the job requester, YES is determined in step Sb3, and the next step Sb5 Proceed to

  In step Sb5, the control unit 201 sounds the first notification sound for notifying the start of the print job requested by the job request data. Next, the control unit 201 executes the print job (step Sb7) and discharges the printed matter to a paper discharge tray (not shown) of the MF machine 200. When the discharge of all the printed materials is completed, the control unit 201 sounds a second notification sound for notifying the end of the job (step Sb9), and ends the job execution process. Thus, the user can know the start timing and end timing of the job, and can reliably collect the output result of the job requested by the user.

  On the other hand, when the notification request flag of the job request data is in an off state, that is, when the voice reading software is not activated by the user of the client PC 100A who is the requester of the job (step Sb3; No), the control unit 201 executes the job It is determined that there is no need to notify the start or end of As a result, the job is immediately executed (step Sb7 '), the printed matter is output, and the routine is terminated.

  Note that the MF machine 200 may be able to set on / off of a notification sound at the start / end of a job. In such a case, in both the above-described steps Sb5 and Sb9, control is performed so that the start and end notification sounds are sounded even when the setting in the MF machine 200 is off. By doing so, the start and end notification sounds are generated only when the user receives job request data from the client PC 100 who is visually impaired. As a result, some notification sound is generated from the MF machine 200. The visually impaired person can then recognize that it is related to the job he requested.

The first notification sound and the second notification sound may be the same, but it is preferable to use different notification sounds. By using different notification sounds, the user can determine the start and end of a job. Further, when each type of notification sound is designated by the client PC 100A that is the request source of the print job, it is preferable to use the designated type of notification sound. In this case, the notification sound may be a beep sound or an instrument sound. Further, it may be possible to determine the start and end of a job using a simple melody. For example, if the user designates a favorite melody sound and the melody sound is sounded at the time of notification, the notification sound of the job requested by the user and the notification sound of the job requested by another user are displayed. It becomes possible to distinguish.
In place of the notification sound, a voice message such as “printing has started” or “printing has ended” may be used. With such a configuration, a visually impaired user can know the start timing and end timing of a job by the notification sound or voice specified by the user, and can reliably collect the output result of the job requested by the user. .

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the voice reading software is activated in the client PC 100, the notification request flag of the job request data is controlled to be automatically set to ON. When a print job is instructed using the unit 104, the notification request flag may be set to ON when an instruction input for requesting notification by a sound of the job status is made by the user. As a result, not only visually impaired people but also healthy people can use the notification function, so that the user who does not have the visually impaired sounds by sound because the MF machine 200 is remotely located from his / her PC. When notification is desired, notification by a voice message or notification sound can be received. As a result, the healthy person can easily obtain the output result of the job he requested.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of a print job is shown, but the same control may be performed in the case of a copy job, a FAX transmission job, or the like. Further, the notification is not limited to the notification at the start or end of a job, and similar control may be performed when a condition that affects the progress of the job occurs, such as a paper jam or out of paper.

(Modification of the first embodiment)
(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, an example of automatically starting a job by sounding a notification sound or voice at the start of a job has been shown, but instead, after sounding a notification sound informing that the job can be started, You may make it start a job, after accepting a user's confirmation about whether to start a job.

  Specifically, first, in step Sb5, the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 stands by after generating a first notification sound notifying that it can be started. When the user hears the first notification sound and moves to the MF machine 200 and desires to start a job, the user presses a start button (not shown) provided on the operation unit 208 of the MF machine 200. When detecting that the start button has been pressed, the control unit 201 ends the standby state and starts executing the job. Other steps are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In this modification, since the user gives a final instruction to start job execution after moving to the place where the MF device 200 is installed, the user can more reliably collect the output result of the job requested by the user. Is possible. Further, if the output result corresponding to another job remaining on the unshown discharge tray of the MF machine 200 is removed and then the start button is pressed, the other output result and the own output result are mixed and distinguished. It becomes possible to avoid the situation that it becomes impossible to stick.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the job output result can be reliably collected by notifying the start and end of the job. However, another user interrupts another job during execution of this job. If it is output, there is a problem that the output result of the interrupted job is mixed. As a result, collection of reliable output results by visually impaired persons is hindered. In view of such circumstances, in addition to the configuration according to the first embodiment described above, when an interrupt processing request is generated, it is also possible to perform a configuration in which control is performed to prohibit the interrupt.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the interrupt control process 1 according to this modification. This interrupt control process 1 is activated when an interrupt request is generated during execution of an arbitrary job. Specifically, upon detecting that an interrupt request (not shown) on the operation unit 208 of the MF machine 200 has been pressed, the control unit 201 starts the interrupt control process 1 shown in FIG. To do. Here, it is assumed that an interrupt request is generated during execution of a print job according to the first embodiment.

  First, when detecting an interrupt, the control unit 201 refers to the job queue of the job management module 206 and determines whether or not the notification request flag is set to ON in the job request data corresponding to the job currently being executed. (Step Sc1). If it is determined NO, the control unit 201 stops the job being executed, executes the job requested by the interrupt (step Sc5), and then resumes the execution of the stopped job.

  If the notification request flag is set to ON in the job request data corresponding to the job being executed, the determination result in step Sc1 is YES. In this case, the control unit 201 displays a message for prohibiting interruption on a display (not shown) of the display unit 210 without stopping the job being executed (step Sc3), and ends the interrupt control processing 1.

  As described above, according to this modification, interruption is automatically prohibited for a job for which the notification request flag is set to ON, so that the output result of the job requested by the user can be more reliably collected. Is possible.

  Note that the message for prohibiting interruption in step Sc3 is not limited to the above-described form, and a notification sound that refuses acceptance of interruption processing may be generated.

  Further, in this modification, an example in which whether or not to prohibit interruption is detected after detecting depression of the interruption button is shown, but the job corresponding to the job request data in which the notification request flag is set to ON is executed. The inside may be configured such that processing for uniformly disabling the interrupt button is performed so that even if another user presses the interrupt button, the interrupt button is not accepted. As a result, an effect similar to that in the case where the interruption is prohibited after the interruption button is received can be obtained.

(Modification 3)
In the first embodiment described above, when the job is started or ended in the MF machine 200, a notification sound for informing the start and the end is sounded. However, “Mr. XX's job is started” “XX”. A voice message such as “Your job has ended” may be played. As a result, even when job request data is transmitted from at least two client PCs 100 out of a plurality of client PCs 100 running the voice reading software and received by the MF device 200, the user name of the client PC that requested the job Since a voice message specifying the message flows, each user can more reliably collect the job output result.

  In this case, the MF machine 200 needs to store the speech-to-speech software stored in the client PC 100 in the first embodiment described above on a hard disk (not shown).

  Further, the client PC 100 stores in advance at least one set of voice message text data used when notifying the nonvolatile memory 103 of the start and end. These voice message text data are, for example, the contents of “start job of [user name]” and “job of [user name] ended”, and the [user name] portion is the client PC 100 content. Can be replaced with user name data. When the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 determines in step Sa3 in FIG. 4 that the speech-to-speech software has been activated, the control unit 101 reads out the voice message text data and “name” of the user information stored in its own device. The user name data described in the "" field is acquired, and the [user name] portion of the voice message text data is replaced with the acquired user name data. Then, the replaced text data is transmitted to the MF machine 200 together with the job request data and the notification request flag.

  The control unit 201 of the MF device 200 newly assigns a job ID to the received job request data, and then stores the text data in the job queue together with the notification request flag. When notifying the user of the start and end of the job (steps Sb5 and Sb9 in FIG. 5), the stored text data is read and converted into voice data using voice reading software, and then the voice output unit 209 is used. Output to the outside.

In this case, a plurality of sets of voice message text data may be stored and the user may select them, or voice message text data created by the user himself / herself may be stored in advance.
Further, text data input by the user may be used when various settings for causing the MF machine 200 to execute a job requested by the user are performed. In this case, if the user inputs text for voice message including his / her name using the operation unit 104, the control unit 101 does not need to replace the [user name] part.

  As another aspect of this modification, when the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 determines in step Sa3 in FIG. 4 that the speech-to-speech software is activated, in step Sa5, a notification request flag is added to the job request data. In addition, the user name data described in the “name” field of the user information stored in the client PC 100 may be automatically added to the job request data and transmitted.

  In this case, a hard disk (not shown) of the MF machine 200 stores at least one set of voice message text data used when notifying the start and end of a job. In this case, the text data for voice message has the content stored in the client PC 100 in the above-described mode. When notifying the user of the start and end of the job, the control unit 201 reads the voice message text data from the hard disk, and the [user name] portion of the read text data is the user name data transmitted from the client PC 100. Replace. The voice message text data after the replacement is converted into voice data by voice reading software, and is output from the voice output unit 209 to the outside.

  As in the first embodiment described above, also in the third modification, a voice message indicating the job status other than the start or end of the job may be notified. The status of the job to be notified may be anything as long as it occurs during the execution of the job and affects the progress of the job, such as interruption, paper jam, or paper out. By notifying the user of the detailed job status as a voice message including the user name, the user can collect the output result of the job requested by the user more reliably and without assistance.

(Second Embodiment)
In this embodiment, the progress of the job is notified to the user at the client PC 100 that requested the job, not at the MF machine 200 side. In the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for portions common to the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted.

(Constitution)
The configuration of the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but differs in the points described below.

  The MF machine 200 according to the second embodiment stores job status notification software in a hard disk (not shown) in addition to the configuration of the MF machine of the first embodiment. In accordance with the job status notification software, the control unit 201 monitors the job queue stored in the job management module 206, generates a job status notification packet shown in FIG. Send to PC100.

  Here, the job queue stored in the job management module 206 will be described. This job queue is a matrix in which records representing individual jobs performed by the MF machine 200 are arranged in accordance with job request data received from each PC. One record is generated when new job request data is received by the MF device 200 and added to the job queue. Each record includes at least a job ID for identifying a job to be performed in accordance with the job request data, a copy of the notification request flag included in the job request data, address information of the job request source client PC 100, “being executed”, “waiting for execution”. Current state information indicating the current state of the job specified by the job ID. Further, in addition to the above information, detailed status information such as “printing first sheet” and “duplicate two copies completed” is added to the record corresponding to the job whose current status is being executed. Current status information and detailed status information in each record are sequentially updated as the job progresses. When execution of a job corresponding to a certain record is completed, the record is deleted from the job queue.

  The job status notification packet is generated and transmitted when a predetermined change occurs in the job queue described above. In the following, the triggers for generating the job status notification packet are listed, and the generation and transmission modes of the job status notification packet will be described for each.

a. When job request data whose notification request flag is on is received, and a new record corresponding to the job request data is added to the job queue. In this case, the control unit 201 determines that all records remaining in the job queue ( A job status notification packet corresponding to a new record (including a new record) is generated and transmitted to the client PC 100 that is the transmission source of the job request data.

b. When the job being executed is completed and the record corresponding to the job is deleted from the job queue In this case, the control unit 201 has the notification request flag “1” among the records remaining in the job queue. All records are obtained, all client PCs 100 that are job request sources in those records are obtained, and a job status notification packet for notifying completion of execution of the job is transmitted to the client PCs 100.

c. When a change occurs in the current status information or detailed status information in a record corresponding to a certain job, the control unit 201 also records in which the notification request flag is “1” among the records remaining in the job queue. All the client PCs 100 that are job request sources in those records are obtained, and a job status notification packet for notifying the new current status information or detailed status information of the job is transmitted to the client PCs 100. To do.

d. When an interrupt process for executing another job occurs during execution of a job corresponding to a record for which the notification request flag is set, also in this case, the control unit 201 causes the b. And c. The client PC 100 that is the transmission destination of the job status notification packet is obtained by the same procedure as described above, and a similar job status notification packet including the current status information of the interrupt job is transmitted to the client PC 100.

  Here, the job status notification packet transmitted from the MF machine 200 to the client PC 100 has a configuration as shown in FIG. First, “Job ID” is an ID for identifying a job whose status is to be notified by the job status notification packet. In this case, the job ID included in the job queue record is used as it is. “Destination” is the communication address of the client PC 100 that is the destination of the job status notification packet. “Own job” is turned on when the job whose status is notified by the job status notification packet is a job requested by the client PC 100 as the destination. Thereby, when the progress status of the job is notified from the MF device 200, the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 can know whether the notified job is a job requested by the own device.

  The client PC 100 according to the second embodiment is the first embodiment in that the RAM 102 stores a job status table for storing information related to the job processing status notified from the MF machine 200 via the network 300. Is different. The control unit 101 of the client PC 100 updates this job status table every time a new job status notification packet is received from the MF device 200.

  FIG. 8A shows an example of the job status table T1 stored in the RAM 102 of the client PC 100. Each record of the job status table has “own job flag”, “job ID”, “current status”, and “detailed status” fields. Each record in the job status table is sorted in ascending order according to the job ID, and the sort order is maintained even when records are added. As a result, the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 can calculate the number of jobs waiting to be executed among other jobs preceding the own job.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 8A, the job having the job ID “2” is currently being executed, and the first page is being printed. Further, since the own job flag of the job having the job ID “5” is turned on, the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 recognizes that the job ID “5” is the job requested by the own machine. The job having this job ID “5” is currently waiting to be executed.

  When the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 receives a job status notification packet as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 101 first refers to the job ID and determines whether a record with the job ID exists in the job status table. When a job status notification packet including a job ID not stored in the job status table is received, a new record is added to the job status table, and the job ID and other information included in the received job status notification packet Is stored in each field of the new record. When a job status notification packet indicating information about a job having a job ID for which a record already exists in the job status table is received, that is, the job ID described in the received job status notification packet is the job status. If it exists in the table, the current status information included in the received job status notification packet is overwritten in the “current status” field of the record corresponding to the job ID. Further, when the received job status notification packet includes detailed status information about the job being executed, the “detailed status” field is similarly overwritten. When a job status notification packet notifying completion of execution is received, a record related to the notified job is deleted from the job status table.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the client PC 100 according to the second embodiment includes voice reading software having a voice output function for converting text data displayed on the display unit in the nonvolatile memory 103 into voice data and outputting the voice data. Although stored, in the second embodiment, this voice reading software is also used when the client PC 100 notifies the user of the job processing status.

(Operation)
Hereinafter, the operation of the second embodiment will be described in detail.
First, the control unit 101 of the client PC 100A executes a job activation process (FIG. 4) similar to that of the first embodiment and requests the MF machine 200 for a print job. In brief, first, the control unit 101 generates job request data for requesting a print job (step Sa1). Next, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the voice reading software is activated (step Sa3). When the speech-to-speech software is activated, the determination result is YES, and the notification request flag in the job request data is set to ON (step Sa5). Next, the control unit 101 transmits the job request data to the MF device 200 (step Sa7). The job request data includes IP address information for uniquely identifying the client PC 100A.

  On the other hand, when receiving the job request data transmitted from the client PC 100A, the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 generates a new job record according to the job request data, adds it to the end of the job queue, and sends a notification request. It is determined whether or not the flag is on. When the notification request flag is on, the control unit 201 generates a job status notification packet corresponding to all records remaining in the job queue at that time, and transmits the job status notification packet to the client PC 100A. After that, every time the contents of the job queue change until the execution of all the jobs requested by the job request data transmitted from the client PC 100A is completed, a job status notification packet indicating the status of the job after the change Is transmitted to the client PC 100A.

  When the control unit 101 of the client PC 100A receives the job status notification packet from the MF machine 200 after transmitting the job request data, the control unit 101 executes the status notification process shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 9, first, the control unit 101 updates the job status table T1 stored in the RAM 102 based on the details of the received job status notification packet (step Sd1). If it is immediately after requesting a new job, a job status notification packet for notifying the occurrence of the new job is received from the MF device 200. Therefore, the control unit 101 determines the job notified by this job status notification packet. A new record is created and added to the job status table T1. When a plurality of job status notification packets are received, a new record is created for each packet and sorted in ascending order according to job ID. As a result, for example, a job status table T1 as shown in FIG. 8A is created.

  Subsequently, the control unit 101 refers to the “own job” field and the “current state” field of the job status table T1, and determines that the currently executed job is a job requested by another client PC 100 (hereinafter, “other job”). ) Is determined (step Sd3). If this determination result is NO, that is, if the flag of the “Own Job” field of the record whose “Current State” field is “Executing” is turned on, the execution of the own job has already started. Therefore, the process proceeds to step Sd15. Processing after step Sd15 will be described later.

  On the other hand, as shown in the job status table T1, if the currently executed job (job ID “2”) is another job, the determination result in step Sd3 is YES. In this case, the control unit 101 calculates the number of records in which the “current state” field is “waiting for execution” among the records in which the “own job” field is turned off in the job state table T1, and the result is calculated. The user is notified by voice (step Sd5). In the case of the example in FIG. 8A, since there are two records whose current state is “Waiting for execution”, a voice message such as “Current job is being executed. Two jobs are waiting to be executed” is the voice of the client PC 100A. Output from the output unit 106.

  Next, in step Sd7, when the control unit 101 receives a new job status notification packet (step Sd7; YES), the process proceeds to step Sd9, and updates the job status table T1 based on the received job status notification packet. . FIG. 8B shows the updated job status table T2 in this embodiment. On the other hand, when a new job status notification packet is not received (step Sd7; NO), the determination in step Sd7 is repeated until the determination result in step Sd7 becomes YES.

  Next, in step Sd11, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the execution of the job having the job ID “2” is completed based on the received job status notification packet and the updated job status table T2. If NO, that is, if the current state of the job having the job ID “2” in the job state table T2 is “being executed”, the process returns to step Sd5 to calculate the number of jobs waiting for execution and give the result to the user. Notify by voice. The control unit 101 repeats the processes from step Sd5 to step Sd11 until the determination result of step Sd11 becomes YES.

  On the other hand, if a job status notification packet notifying completion of execution of the job corresponding to the record having the job ID “2” in the job status table T2 is received in step Sd7, the determination result in step Sd11 is YES, and the control unit 101 Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the next job to be executed is the own job (step Sd13). In the present embodiment, in the job status table T2, the job that is being executed next to the job ID “2” is the job having the job ID “3”, and since this is another job, it is determined as NO, and the routine Returns to step Sd5. Thereafter, the control unit 101 repeats the processes from step Sd5 to step Sd13 until the determination result of step Sd13 becomes YES.

  If the determination result in step Sd13 is YES, that is, if the “current state” field of the record in which the flag of the “own job” field is on in the job state table T2, the process proceeds to step Sd15. . In step Sd15, the control unit 101 notifies the user by voice that the job is to be started with a content such as “start copying”. The control unit 101 updates the job status table every time it receives a job status notification packet including detailed status information about its own job, and notifies the progress of the job by voice based on the updated contents (step Sd17; YES, Sd19, Sd21; NO, Sd23). As the contents of the message output from the audio output unit 106 of the client PC 100A as the job progresses, for example, “printing the first page”, “printing the second page”, “partial print” “Completed.”, All of which correspond to information sequentially transmitted from the MF machine 200 as detailed status information.

  Thereafter, the control unit 101 waits for reception of a new job status notification packet, and repeats the processing from step Sd17 to Sd23 until the determination result of step Sd21 becomes YES.

  On the other hand, when a job status notification packet notifying that the execution of the own job has been completed is received (step Sd17; YES, Sd19, Sd21; YES), the user is notified by voice that the job has ended (step Sd25). . Thereby, the status notification process in FIG. 9 ends.

  According to the embodiment described above, when the user of the client PC 100 stays in front of the client PC without moving to the place where the MF device 200 is installed, the job requested by the user is executed. Whether it is scheduled or after the execution of the job is started, the progress status can be known sequentially. As a result, the output result of the job requested by the user can be collected more reliably.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the voice reading software is activated in the client PC 100, the notification request flag is automatically set to ON in the job request data. When a print job is instructed using the unit 104, a notification request flag is added to the job request data by setting the client PC 100 to notify the progress of the job in the MF machine 200 by voice. You may make it do. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the client PC 100 notifies the job processing status by voice has been described. However, while the voice notification is being performed, the notification content is simultaneously displayed on the display unit 105. It may be. Accordingly, not only visually impaired people but also healthy people can use the notification function, and therefore, a user who does not have a visually impaired voice is used because the MF device 200 is remotely located from his / her PC. Voice notification can also be received when notification is desired. As a result, the healthy person can easily obtain the output result of the job he requested.

(Modification of the second embodiment)
(Modification 1)
In the present modification, a case will be described in which an interrupt request is generated in the MF machine 200 before execution of the own job in the status notification process according to the first embodiment is completed. Specifically, in this modified example, when an interrupt request is generated in the MF machine 200 during execution of the own job, it is confirmed by voice whether or not the user of the client PC 100 is permitted to interrupt. Further, when interruption by the user is permitted as a result of the confirmation by voice, the processing status of the interrupted job is also notified to the user by voice.

  Hereinafter, the operation according to this modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of interrupt control processing 2 executed by the control unit 201 when an interrupt button is detected by the MF device 200. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of interrupt notification processing executed by the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 when the MF machine 200 makes an inquiry to the client PC 100 as to whether or not to permit job interruption. .

  In this modification, it is assumed that an interrupt button (not shown) on the MF machine 200 operation unit 208 is pressed during execution of a print job according to the second embodiment. As a result, the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 detects that an interrupt request has been generated, temporarily stops the job being executed, and then starts the interrupt control process 2 shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 201 refers to the record of the job stored in the job queue of the job management module 206 for the job that has been executed immediately before detecting the interrupt request, and whether the notification request flag is on. It is determined whether or not (step Se1). If NO is determined here, that is, if the notification request flag is OFF, the control unit 201 executes the job requested by the interrupt (step Se9) and then ends the interrupt process, and the interrupt request is detected. Return to the job that was being executed immediately before

  If the notification request flag in the record of the print job being executed in the job queue is on, the determination result in step Se1 is YES, and the process proceeds to step Se3.

  Here, each record of the job request data stored in the job queue of the job management module 206 stores IP address information for specifying the requesting client PC 100 of each job request data. In step Se3, the control unit 201 identifies the requesting client PC 100 of the print job being executed by referring to the IP address information of the job queue, and inquires whether to permit interruption to the identified client PC. Send. In this modification, the request source of the print job being executed is specified as the client PC 100A, and an inquiry is transmitted to the client PC 100A.

  The control unit 101 of the client PC 100A that has received the inquiry transmitted in this manner temporarily stops the status notification process in FIG. 9 and executes the interrupt notification process shown in FIG. In step Sf1, the control unit 101 notifies the user by voice that an interrupt has occurred in the MF device 200, and inquires whether the interrupt is permitted. In this case, for example, a voice message such as “Interrupt request has occurred. Do you want to allow it?” Is output from the voice output unit 106 of the client PC 100A.

  Next, in step Sf <b> 3, the user inputs an instruction as to whether or not to allow interruption at the operation unit 104. Based on the instruction input, control unit 101 determines whether or not an interrupt is permitted (step Sf5). If the result is NO, that is, if the interrupt is rejected by the user, the routine proceeds to step Sf7 '. In step Sf7 ', the control unit 101 transmits information indicating that no interrupt is permitted to the MF device 200, and ends the interrupt notification process. On the other hand, if YES is determined in step Sf5, that is, if the interrupt is permitted by the user, a message indicating that the interrupt is permitted is transmitted to the MF machine 200 (step Sf7).

  In step Se5 in FIG. 10, the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 receives a notification that the interrupt transmitted from the client PC 100A is permitted or not permitted. Next, the control unit 201 determines whether or not an interrupt is permitted based on the received notification (step Se7). As a result, if NO is determined, that is, if the interruption is not permitted, the process proceeds to Step Se11, and a message for prohibiting the interruption is displayed on a display (not shown) of the display unit 210 (Step Se11). Thereafter, the interrupt control process 2 is terminated. Then, the control unit 201 returns to the job that was being executed immediately before the interrupt request was generated.

  On the other hand, if YES is determined in step Se7, that is, if the interrupt is permitted, the process proceeds to step Se9, and the control unit 201 executes the interrupt process for the job for which the interrupt is requested. During the execution of this interrupt processing, the control unit 201 follows the job status notification software and sends a job status notification packet (FIG. 7) indicating the status after the transition to the client PC 100A every time the detailed status changes. To send. When the execution of the interrupt process is completed, the control unit 201 ends the interrupt control process 2, and the job executed immediately before the interrupt control process 2 is started, that is, the print executed based on the request of the client PC 100A. Resume job execution.

  The control unit 101 of the client PC 100A that has transmitted the interrupt permission notification in step Sf7 in FIG. 11 waits for reception of a job status notification packet transmitted from the MF device 200. When the control unit 101 receives the job status notification packet (step Sf9; YES), the control unit 101 determines that the job status notification packet relates to the interrupt job, and adds it to the end of the job status table stored in the nonvolatile memory 103. A new record is added (step Sf11). Next, based on the details of the record relating to the interrupt job added to the job status table, the control unit 101 notifies the user of the current status information relating to the interrupt job (step Sf13; NO, Sf15). . Thereafter, the control unit 101 waits for reception of a new job status notification packet, and repeats the processing from step Sf9 to Sf15 until the determination result of step Sf13 is YES.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the interrupt job has been completed as a result of receiving the job status notification packet (step Sf13; YES), the control unit 101 notifies the user that the interrupt job has ended and that the own job has been resumed by voice. To do. For example, a voice message such as “Interrupt processing is complete. Mr. XX's job is resumed” is output from the voice output unit 106 of the client PC 100A (step Sf17). Thus, the interrupt notification process is completed, and the process returns to the process of notifying the status of the own job (after step Sd17 in FIG. 9).

  As described above, according to this modification, the user of the client PC 100A can freely select whether or not to permit an interrupt when there is an interrupt request during the execution of the job requested by the client PC 100A. Even when the job is permitted, a voice notification is always given about the processing status of the interrupted job, so that it is possible to know when the job is resumed.

(Modification 2)
In the second embodiment described above, the control unit 101 of the client PC 100A notifies the user of the job processing status by voice. However, during the status notification process in FIG. Even when an abnormality such as cutting or paper jam occurs, the client PC 100 may notify the voice. This function is given as an additional function of the above-described job status notification software.

  In this case, when the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 detects a state indicating something abnormal in the state of the own machine, the control unit 201 transmits an MC state notification packet indicating the details to the client PC 100A. This MC status notification packet has at least address information of the client PC 100 indicating the destination of the packet and status information for notifying the content of the detected status.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 receives the MC status notification packet from the MF machine 200, the voice output unit 106 sends a voice message indicating the status of the MF machine 200 based on the status of the MF machine 200 indicated by the packet. Output via.

  With such a configuration, even when a job is interrupted due to any change in the state of the MF machine 200, the details are notified to the user of the client PC 100. It becomes possible to always grasp the processing status of the job.

  Preferably, the MC status notification packet is sent from the MF device 200 to the client PC 100 not only when an abnormality occurs in the MF device 200 but also when the abnormality is resolved, and a voice to the effect that the abnormality has been resolved in the client PC 100 is transmitted. In such a configuration, the user of the client PC 100 can know the resumption of the job that has been interrupted due to the occurrence of an abnormality in the MF machine 200, and the job processing status in the MF machine 200 can be determined. It becomes possible to grasp in more detail.

(Third embodiment)
In the third embodiment, a case will be described in which, when job request data is generated in the client PC 100, the user of the client PC 100 designates interrupt prohibition as an attribute of the job request data. In addition, since the structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, it uses the same referential mark about a common component, The description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Operation)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the interrupt prohibition setting process executed in the client PC 100.

  First, when the user of the client PC 100 wishes to prohibit interruption during the execution of his job, he / she sets “Disable Interrupt” to ON using voice reading software when inputting an instruction to request the job (step S1). Sg1). In this step, the user also inputs instructions for other settings such as the number of copies to print and page numbers.

  Next, in step Sg3, the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 generates job request data including an interrupt prohibition request flag based on a user instruction input in step Sg1, and transmits the job request data to the MF machine 200.

  On the other hand, in the MF machine 200, the job request data is received from the client PC 100 via the communication unit 207, and the control unit 201 that has detected reception passes the job request data to the job management module 206. The job management module 206 temporarily stores the delivered job request data on a hard disk (not shown), and after assigning a job ID to the job request data, at least a new record including the job ID and an interrupt prohibition request flag To the end of the job queue. When the job management module 206 detects that the execution of the job request data stored in the job queue by each function execution module is completed, the job management module 206 transmits the job request data to be executed next to the corresponding function execution module. To do.

  When the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 detects pressing of an interrupt button (not shown) during execution of the job request data transmitted from the job management module 206, the control unit 201 executes the interrupt control process 3 shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 201 refers to the job request data stored in the job queue of the job management module 206 to determine whether interrupt prohibition is on for the job being executed (step Sh1). ). If NO is determined here, that is, if the job prohibition is disabled in the job request data corresponding to the job being executed, the control unit 201 executes the job requested by the interrupt (step Sh5). Processing 3 ends.

  On the other hand, when the interrupt prohibition is set to the ON state for the job being executed (step Sh1; YES), the control unit 201 displays a message for prohibiting the interrupt on a display (not shown) of the display unit 210 (step S1). After the Sh3), the interrupt control process 3 is terminated. Then, the control unit 201 returns to the job that was being executed immediately before detecting the interrupt request.

  Note that the message for prohibiting interruption is not limited to the above-described form, and a notification sound that refuses acceptance of interruption processing may be generated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example of determining whether or not to disable an interrupt after detecting the pressing of an interrupt button has been shown. However, during execution of a job corresponding to job request data including an interrupt prohibition designation, it is uniformly performed. By performing a process of invalidating the interrupt button, a configuration may be adopted in which another user does not accept even when the interrupt button is pressed. As a result, an effect similar to that in the case where the interruption is prohibited after the interruption button is received can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, when the user inputs an instruction about the details of the job request using the voice reading software in the client PC 100, the interrupt prohibition designation is performed, so that the voice reading software is used. While the job requested by the user is being executed, the interrupt processing requested in the MF machine 200 can be prohibited.

  The designation of prohibition of interruption does not necessarily have to be performed using the voice reading software, but can be set on an input screen for performing detailed setting of printing displayed on the display unit 105 of the client PC 100. As a result, a user who does not have a visual impairment can also set interrupt prohibition for a job that needs to be output immediately.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of a print job has been described. However, the same control may be performed for a copy job, a FAX transmission job, or the like.

(Other variations)
While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the following modifications may be considered in the present invention.

  In any of the first and second embodiments described above, when the job request is transmitted from the client PC 100 to the MF device 200, if the voice reading software is executed in the client PC 100, the on-state notification is automatically performed. The request flag is set in the job request data. However, voice-to-speech software is one example, and any software that can be used by a visually impaired person in the client PC 100 is acceptable. For example, when it is detected that the braille display is connected to the client PC, a flag indicating that may be set to ON when a job is requested.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the notification request flag is automatically set to ON. However, when it is detected that the speech-to-speech software is being executed, confirmation is made to the user. It is also possible to set the notification request flag to ON after that.

  Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments described above, an example of a print job has been described, but the same control may be performed when a FAX transmission job is requested from the client PC 100 to the MF machine 200.

  Further, when the MF machine 200 receives job request data as a result of starting a copy job, a FAX transmission job, a scanner job, etc. in the MF machine 200, the notification sound or the sound according to the first and second embodiments described above is also provided. You may set so that the notification of the job processing status by voice may be performed in the MF machine 200 or the client PC 100.

  Further, for example, by installing well-known software such as XCA (Xerox Copier Assistant) for converting text into speech on the client PC 100 connected via USB to the MF machine, it is possible for the visually handicapped person to make detailed copy settings without assistance. Even in the case of the configuration, when job request data for requesting a copy job is generated in the client PC 100, the same control as in the first to third embodiments described above may be performed.

  In the second embodiment, the job processing status is notified from the MF device 200 to the client PC 100 and the notified processing status is notified in the client PC 100. Instead, the MF device 200 is used. May notify the job processing status by voice. In this case, the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 refers to the job request data stored in the job queue, calculates the number of jobs waiting to be executed when other jobs are being executed, and notifies the result. During the execution of the own job, notification of the processing status, notification of the processing status of the other job being executed in the interrupt processing, and the like are performed using the audio output means of the MF machine 200. According to this aspect, since it is not necessary to notify the client PC 100 of the job status, it is possible to obtain an effect that the job processing status can be notified to the user more easily by voice.

  In the embodiment described above, software for notifying the job processing status by voice in the MF machine 200 and the client PC 100 is stored in the MF machine 200 and the client PC 100 in advance, and the software and the interrupt for prohibiting interruption are stored. Is stored in advance in the MF machine 200. However, such software is written in a recording medium that can be read by a computer device such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), for example, and the software is transferred to the MF machine or the client PC using such a recording medium. Of course, it is also possible to install it. By doing in this way, it becomes possible to give a function similar to that of the MF machine 200 or the client PC 100 according to the present invention to a general MF machine or a client PC.

It is a figure which shows an example of the job alerting | reporting system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of composition of client PC100 concerning the embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of composition of MF machine 200 concerning the embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of job activation processing executed by the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 in the first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of job execution processing executed by the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 in the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the interrupt control process 1 in the modification of the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the job status notification packet which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows an example of the job status table memorize | stored in RAM102 of client PC100 in the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a status notification process executed by the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 in the embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of interrupt control processing 2 executed by the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 in Modification 1 of the embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an interrupt notification process executed by the control unit 101 of the client PC 100 in Modification 1 of the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the interruption prohibition setting process performed by client PC100 in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an interrupt control process 3 executed by the control unit 201 of the MF machine 200 in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100A, 100B, 100C, 100D ... Client PC, 200 ... MF machine, 101 ... Control unit, 102 ... RAM, 103 ... Non-volatile memory, 104 ... Operation unit, 105 ... Display unit, 106 ... Audio output unit, 107 ... Communication , 108 ... Bus, 200 ... MF machine, 201 ... Control part, 202 ... Copy module, 203 ... Fax module, 204 ... Printer module, 205 ... Scanner module, 206 ... Job management module, 207 ... Communication part, 208 ... Operation 209 ... Audio output unit 210 ... Display unit 220 ... Bus 300 ... Network 400 ... USB

Claims (23)

A job processing device that executes a job in accordance with job request data for requesting execution of the job, and a reception process for receiving the job request data;
A determination process in which the job processing apparatus determines whether or not the received job request data includes a notification request for requesting notification of the processing status of the job by sound;
The job processing apparatus has a notification control step of outputting a sound indicating the status of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request in the determination step. Notification method to do. The neglect control process includes outputting a sound for notifying the start of the job requested by the job request data, and then detecting an instruction input for instructing the start of the job in the job processing apparatus. The notification method according to claim 1, further comprising: As a process before the reception process,
A user terminal connected to the job processing device generates the job request data, and
When the job request data generated in the generation process is generated through a voice output function that converts information displayed on the display unit of the user terminal into voice data and outputs the voice data, the user terminal The notification method according to claim 1, further comprising: a job request data transmission step of transmitting the job request data including the notification request to the job processing apparatus. In the job request data transmission process, the user terminal further transmits the user name of the user terminal,
The notification method according to claim 3, wherein, in the notification control process, the job processing apparatus outputs a message including the user name as a voice when outputting a sound indicating the status of the job. A job processing device that executes a job in accordance with job request data for requesting execution of the job, and a reception process for receiving the job request data;
A management process in which the job processing apparatus manages processing status data indicating a processing status of a job requested by the job request data received in the receiving process;
A determination process in which the job processing apparatus determines whether or not the received job request data includes a notification request for requesting notification of the processing status of the job by sound;
For the user terminal that is the transmission source of the job request data determined to include the notification request in the determination process, the job processing device sends a job status notification indicating the job processing status data or a change thereof. Sending job status notification process;
The user terminal receives the job status notification transmitted in the transmission process from the job processing device, obtains a job processing status in the job processing device based on the job status notification, and processes the job And a voice output process for outputting a voice indicating. When the job status notification transmitted in the job status notification process includes processing status data of one or more other jobs preceding the job requested by the job request data,
The notification method according to claim 5, further comprising a step of outputting a sound indicating a processing status of the one or more other jobs as a step before the sound output step. When the job status notification transmitted in the job status notification process includes processing status data of another job executed by interrupting the job during execution of the job requested by the job request data,
The notification method according to claim 5, wherein the voice output process includes a process of outputting the processing status data of the other job as a voice. A device including device state data indicating the detected device state from the job processing device to the user terminal when the job processing device detects the state of the device that causes the job execution to be interrupted. Further comprising sending a status notification;
The notification method according to claim 5, wherein the voice output process includes a process of outputting the device status data as voice. As a process before the reception process,
A user terminal connected to the job processing device generates the job request data, and
When the job request data is generated through a voice output function for converting information displayed on the display means of the user terminal into voice data and outputting the voice data in the generation process, the notification request is sent to the job request data. The notification method according to claim 5, further comprising: a job request data transmission process including transmission.   10. The notification method according to claim 9, wherein, in the voice output process, the user terminal outputs the processing status data transmitted in the job status notification process as voice through the voice output function. As a process before the reception process,
When the user terminal connected to the job processing apparatus detects an instruction input requesting to notify the processing status of the job by voice, the job request data including the notification request is generated and the job is generated. The notification method according to claim 1, further comprising a generation transmission process of transmitting to the processing device. In a user terminal connected to a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data for requesting execution of the job, via a voice output function that converts information displayed on the display means of the user terminal into voice data and outputs the voice data When the job request data is generated, a transmission process for transmitting to the job processing apparatus a notification request for requesting notification of the job processing status by sound in the job request data;
While the job requested by the job request data is being executed, the job processing device detects an interrupt request for requesting the job processing device to suspend execution of the job and execute another job. Interrupt request detection process;
A determination process in which the job processing apparatus determines whether the notification request is included in the job request data;
The job processing apparatus rejects the interrupt request when the interrupt request is detected during execution of a job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request in the determination process. An interrupt disable method comprising: an interrupt disable process. A user terminal connected to a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data requesting execution of the job requests the job processing apparatus to interrupt execution of the job and execute another job. Generating and transmitting job request data including an interrupt prohibition request for causing the job processing device to reject the interrupt request and transmitting the job request data to the job processing device;
An interrupt request detection process in which the job processing device detects the interrupt request during execution of a job requested by the job request data;
A determination process in which the job processing apparatus determines whether the job request data includes an interrupt prohibition request for rejecting the interrupt request;
The job processing apparatus rejects the interrupt request when the interrupt request is detected during the execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the interrupt prohibition request in the determination process. An interrupt disable method comprising: an interrupt disable process. 14. The notification process according to claim 12, wherein the interrupt prohibition process further includes a notification process for notifying that the interrupt request has been rejected by either an audio output unit or a display unit of the job processing apparatus. Interrupt disable method. A generation process in which a user terminal connected to a job processing apparatus that executes a job according to job request data that requests job execution generates job request data;
In the generation process, when the job request data is generated through an audio output function that converts information displayed on the display unit of the user terminal into audio data and outputs the audio data, the user terminal A transmission process for transmitting to the job processing device a notification request for requesting to notify the processing status by sound;
While the job requested by the job request data is being executed, the job processing device detects an interrupt request for requesting the job processing device to suspend execution of the job and execute another job. Interrupt request detection process;
When the job processing apparatus detects the interrupt request during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request, the job processing device issues the interrupt request to the user terminal. An interrupt control method comprising: an inquiry process for inquiring whether to permit or not. Audio output means;
Accepting means for accepting job request data for requesting job execution;
Determining means for determining whether or not the job request data received by the receiving means includes a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound;
Job processing comprising: notification control means for outputting, by the voice output means, a sound indicating the status of the job requested by the job request data determined by the determination means to include the notification request. apparatus. Accepting means for accepting job request data for requesting job execution;
Management means for managing processing status data representing the processing status of the job requested by the job request data received by the receiving means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the job request data received by the receiving means includes a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound;
Job status notification means for transmitting the job processing status data or a job status notification indicating a change thereof to a user terminal that is the transmission source of the job request data determined by the determination means to include the notification request. And a job processing apparatus. Interrupt that detects an interrupt request that requests the job processing device to execute another job while the job requested by job request data requesting job execution is interrupted. Request detection means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the job request data includes a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound;
Interrupt prohibiting means for rejecting the interrupt request when the interrupt request is detected during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the notification request. Job processing device to be used. Interrupt that detects an interrupt request that requests the job processing device to execute another job while the job requested by job request data requesting job execution is interrupted. Request detection means;
Determining means for determining whether or not the job request data includes an interrupt prohibition request for rejecting the interrupt request;
Interrupt prohibiting means for rejecting the interrupt request when the interrupt request is detected during execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include the interrupt prohibit request. Job processing device. Interrupt that detects an interrupt request that requests the job processing device to execute another job while the job requested by job request data requesting job execution is interrupted. Request detection means;
When the interrupt request is detected during the execution of the job requested by the job request data determined to include a notification request for notifying the processing status of the job by sound, the job request data Inquiry means for inquiring to a user terminal as a transmission source whether or not to permit the interruption request. Display means;
Audio output means;
Generating means for generating job request data for requesting job execution to a connected job processing apparatus;
When the job request data generated by the generation unit is generated through an audio output function that converts information displayed on the display unit into audio data and outputs the audio data, the job processing A user terminal comprising: job request data transmission means for transmitting a notification request for requesting the apparatus to notify the processing status of a job by sound in the job request data.   The user terminal according to claim 21, wherein the job request data transmitting unit further transmits a user name of the user terminal. Display means;
Audio output means;
Generating means for generating job request data for requesting job execution to a connected job processing apparatus;
When the job request data generated by the generation unit is generated through an audio output function that converts information displayed on the display unit into audio data and outputs the audio data, the job processing Job request data transmitting means for transmitting a notification request for requesting the apparatus to notify the processing status of a job by sound, in the job request data;
Receiving means for receiving processing status data of a job requested to be executed by the job request data or a job status notification indicating a change thereof from the job processing device;
A user terminal comprising: audio output means for obtaining a job processing status in the job processing apparatus based on the job status notification received by the receiving means, and outputting a sound indicating the processing status.

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