JP2008033415A - Image forming device, mobile terminal, data processing system, and data processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain via an image forming, device information about print information that a server device stores by means of the communication function of a commercially available cellphone and to freely instruct the print information to be printed from the image forming device selected by the user of a mobile terminal. <P>SOLUTION: A printer 301, which is capable of communicating via a network 300 with a print server 302 that stores print information, receives requests directly from a cellphone 304 by radio communication. A new request conforming to the request received at the print server 302 is transferred to the print server 302 via the network 300. For the transferred request, response information returned from the print server 302 is received and the printer 301 transfers this information to the cellphone 304. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to data processing in which an image forming apparatus and a server apparatus communicate via a network, and further, the image forming apparatus and a portable terminal communicate with each other wirelessly to process print information.

  In recent years, mobile terminals typified by mobile phones have evolved in various ways due to their convenience. That is, not only a telephone function but also a model having a mail transmission / reception function and a web browsing function by connecting to the Internet. In addition, there are those that can be attached to e-mails or that can be mounted with a small storage medium such as an SD card manufactured by Matsushita Electric. And, models that can display office documents, such as PDF (Portable Document Format) PDF documents made by Adeobe System and documents that are formats such as Microsoft's Power Point application, captured by this SD card, have appeared. ing.

  Accordingly, various inventions have been made regarding printing using a portable terminal and a printing system. Various proposals have been made because of having a plurality of communication methods.

  For example, there is a client device that is a mobile terminal connected to a network, a plurality of output devices, and an output mediation server. In this case, the print job from the client device is temporarily held in the mediation server, and printing is executed in accordance with an instruction from the output device. In a system configuration using such a portable terminal, information specifying a print job is transmitted from the client device to the output device using a second network such as infrared communication. And the proposal which transmits a printing instruction | indication to a mediation server with the information is also made | formed (for example, refer patent document 1).

  Moreover, in order to print the data preserve | saved on the network with respect to the output device which is not connected to a network, a portable terminal mediates a portable terminal and acquires data using the internet. And the proposal which transmits the data which the portable terminal acquired to the output device using infrared communication is also made | formed (for example, refer patent document 2).

  On the other hand, a printing system that temporarily stores a print job in a print server and outputs it by giving an instruction from an available printing apparatus has been commercialized.

  In the case of such a printing system, an operation of selecting a target print job and instructing printing on the printing apparatus is necessary. For this reason, a user interface capable of displaying a print job list stored in the print server or selecting a print job is required.

However, it is not realistic to prepare a sufficient user interface for all printing apparatuses. For example, some low-cost printing apparatuses do not have a panel itself. Therefore, a portable terminal that is easy to carry is used to connect the portable terminal and the print server to exchange information. Thereby, a proposal has been made to display a print job list stored in a print server on a portable terminal and transmit a print instruction (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent No. 3685083 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-178023 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-348386

  However, in order to connect a portable terminal, for example, a cellular phone, and a server computer, which is a print server, it is necessary to provide a wireless LAN access point, for example. In addition, it has been difficult to develop an infrastructure because a mobile phone that can be connected to a wireless LAN has to be prepared.

  In addition, due to the functions of many mobile phones, a method of connecting via the Internet is also conceivable, but since communication contents go out to the outside once, not only there are security problems, but the cost is high, and it is a reality for office use It was n’t right.

  In addition, it is conceivable that the cellular phone using the extension telephone system is compatible with the wireless LAN, but this method also has a difficult infrastructure.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to acquire, via an image forming apparatus, information related to print information stored in a server apparatus using a communication function of a mobile phone. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism that can freely issue a print instruction for print information from an image forming apparatus selected by a user of a portable terminal.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.

  An image forming apparatus capable of communicating via a network with a server device that stores print information, in response to receiving a first request from the mobile terminal, and a communication unit that communicates with the mobile terminal by wireless communication, Acquisition means for acquiring information managed by the server apparatus from the server apparatus; transfer means for transferring information acquired by the acquisition means to the portable terminal via the communication means; And printing means for acquiring and printing the print information stored in the server device in response to receiving the request.

  The portable terminal of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.

  A portable terminal capable of communicating with a server device for storing print information and an image forming apparatus capable of communicating via a network, wherein the transmitting device transmits a first request to the communication means of the image forming device; In response to the request, the image forming apparatus receives from the communication means a response based on response information returned from the server apparatus, and the image forming apparatus communicates based on the response received by the receiving means. And means for transmitting a second request to the means.

  The data processing system of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.

  A data processing system in which an image forming apparatus capable of communicating via a network with a server device that stores print information communicates with a terminal device, wherein the image forming apparatus communicates with a mobile terminal by wireless communication; In response to receiving a first request from the portable terminal, an acquisition unit that acquires information managed by the server device from the server device, and an information acquired by the acquisition unit via the communication unit Transfer means for transferring to a portable terminal; and printing means for acquiring and printing print information stored in the server device in response to receiving a second request from the portable terminal; The terminal includes a transmission unit that transmits a first request to the communication unit of the image forming apparatus, and response information that the image forming apparatus responds from the server apparatus to the first request. Receiving means for receiving from said communication means a response brute, based on the response received by said receiving means, characterized in that a transmission means for transmitting a second request to the communication unit of the image forming apparatus.

  The data processing method of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.

  A data processing method in an image forming apparatus that includes a communication unit that communicates with a portable terminal and that can communicate with a server device that stores print information via a network, and a communication step of communicating with the portable terminal by wireless communication; In response to receiving a first request from the mobile terminal, an acquisition step of acquiring information managed by the server device from the server device, and information acquired by the acquisition step via the communication step A transfer step of transferring to a mobile terminal; and a print step of acquiring and printing print information stored in the server device in response to receiving a second request from the mobile terminal. To do.

  A data processing method in a portable terminal capable of communicating with a server device that stores print information and an image forming apparatus that can communicate via a network, wherein the first request is transmitted to the communication unit of the image forming apparatus In response to the first request, the image forming apparatus receives a response based on response information returned from the server apparatus from the communication unit, and based on the response received by the receiving process, And a transmission step of transmitting a second request to the communication means of the image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, from the image forming apparatus selected by the user of the mobile terminal, the information regarding the print information stored in the server apparatus is acquired via the image forming apparatus using the communication function of a commercially available mobile phone. Print instructions for printing information can be freely performed.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Description of system configuration>
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a printer will be described as an example of an image forming apparatus. Moreover, although the example of PDA and a mobile telephone is shown as an example of a terminal device, if it is a device provided with an equivalent communication function, it will not be limited to these.

  In FIG. 1, a CPU 101 loads a control program stored in a ROM 102 or a hard disk 104 into a RAM 103 and executes it. The RAM 103 stores various information such as driving conditions and management data of each unit connected to the system bus 114 and data necessary for operation.

  The CPU 101 executes a control program loaded in the RAM 103 and controls each device described later connected to the system bus 114 as a whole.

  The control unit 105 controls various processes of the present invention together with various functions to be described later. The display unit 106 displays various types of information such as driving conditions, apparatus states, or input information.

  The operation unit 107 is a button such as an arrow key or an online button for performing input operations such as settings and commands by the user.

  The communication control unit 108 connects to an intranet or the Internet via a wireless or wired network, and transmits and receives document data including image data and control commands. The wireless communication control unit 109 can directly exchange data with a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) or a mobile phone by, for example, infrared communication.

  The recording apparatus 110 receives image data or print data received from an information generation source such as a client computer that can communicate via the communication control unit 108 via the print control unit 111 and forms it on a recording sheet as a permanent visible image. Eject the chart paper.

  The image memory 112 temporarily stores received image data or print data. Depending on the device and state, it may be in the hard disk 104 or the RAM 103.

  The image processing unit 113 compresses and encodes image data to be transmitted, decompresses and decodes received image data, and converts received print data into image data. Further, the image processing unit 113 performs an image optimization process or the like to make image data suitable for the writing characteristics of the recording apparatus 110, etc., as required.

  The system bus 114 is connected to the CPU 101, ROM 102, hard disk 104, RAM 103, and control unit 105. Further, a display unit 106, an operation unit 107, a communication control unit 108, a wireless communication control unit 109, a print control unit 111, an image memory 112, and an image processing unit 113 are connected to the system bus 114.

  Needless to say, the recording apparatus 110 may be anything other than the electrophotographic recording method, such as an inkjet method, a thermal head method, a dot impact method, or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a portable terminal that can be connected via the wireless communication control unit 109 illustrated in FIG. This example corresponds to the case where the mobile terminal is a mobile phone. In the present embodiment, the following configuration is described as an example, but it is applicable to a device capable of performing information communication, and is not particularly limited to the function of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. .

  In FIG. 2, a mobile phone 200 is configured with a control unit 205 as a center, and a digital signal processing unit 203, a display unit 206, an operation unit 207, and an external I / F 208 are connected thereto.

  The control unit 205 is a main unit for realizing the functions of the mobile phone, and is configured by a CPU, EEPROM, Flash, SRAM, etc. (not shown).

  The digital signal processing unit 203 is connected to an audio input unit 201 to which a microphone 213 is connected, an audio output unit 202 to which a speaker 214 is connected, and an RF input / output unit 204 to which an antenna 215 is connected. The digital signal processing unit 203 performs signal processing for encoding the digital audio signal and decoding the digital audio signal.

  The audio input unit 201 converts an analog audio signal from the microphone 213 into a digital signal. The audio output unit 202 is a part for driving the received digital audio signal with a speaker. The RF input / output unit 204 performs high-frequency transmission / reception.

  The display unit 206 outputs information to the user and includes an LCD driver, an LCD display device, and the like. The display unit 206 may have a 2.6-inch wide QVGA liquid crystal screen, for example, and may be configured so that a home page of a PC site can be displayed and browsed by operating a key panel.

  The operation unit 207 is a part for the user to input operation information to the mobile phone 200, and includes a function button and a numeric keypad.

  The external I / F 208 provides an interface with an external device, and includes a communication interface circuit, a 16-pin connector, and the like. The power supply unit 209 generates and supplies power necessary for each block based on the battery power supply.

  The infrared communication function unit receives infrared rays by a photodiode and amplifies a received signal obtained by photoelectric conversion, and infrared transmission that drives a light emitting diode (LED) to emit infrared rays. An infrared light receiving unit 210 is provided.

  The infrared communication function unit 211 includes an infrared modulation unit 211 that includes an infrared demodulation unit that converts a received signal received and amplified into a digital bit string, and an infrared modulation unit that converts a bit string to be emitted as infrared rays into a prescribed pulse. Is provided. Further, the infrared communication function unit includes an infrared data controller 212 that controls data conversion with the control unit 205 for an infrared protocol.

  It is also possible to arrange a CPU in the infrared data controller 212 and implement it by embedded software control.

  In addition to the original function of performing wireless communication with a wireless base station, the mobile phone 200 with the infrared communication function having such a configuration has a function of communicating with a peripheral device at a short distance of, for example, about 1 m through infrared light.

  Further, the mobile phone 200 includes an imaging lens system, a CCD image receiving unit, and an image processing unit as a camera function processing unit (not shown), and has a function of capturing and processing still images and video images. Furthermore, captured image data or image data captured from a video image can be stored in an SD memory or the like. And based on the operation instruction from a key operation part, it can also be made to print from the recording device 110 shown in FIG. Further, the mobile terminal may be a digital camera having a communication function.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of an image forming system including a portable terminal and an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. This example shows an example in which the printer 301 and the print server 302 are connected as a wired LAN. However, as will be described later, the present invention can be applied even if the LAN is a wireless LAN.

  In FIG. 3, a printer 301, a print server 302, and a print client computer 303 are connected by a network 300 that forms an intranet, for example.

  Further, the mobile phone 304 and the PDA 305 can communicate with the printer 301 by direct wireless communication 306 such as infrared communication (IrDA) different from the network 300.

  The mobile phone 304 or the PDA 305 sends a request for obtaining a list of job files stored and managed in the print server 302 to the printer 301 by wireless communication 306 instead of the display unit (including the case where the printer 301 is not provided). Do. At this time, a job file list acquisition request is notified from the printer 301 to the print server 302 via the network 300.

  In response to this, when the print server 302 notifies the printer 301 of the job list, the job list data is transmitted to the mobile phone 304 via the wireless communication 306. As a result, a job list screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit of the mobile phone 304 based on the control of the control unit of the mobile phone 304.

  In addition, since a print instruction button and a cancel button are displayed on this display screen as will be described later, a print instruction for one or a plurality of job files selected by operating the operation unit of the mobile phone 304 is given. Can do.

  Then, the printer 301 is notified of an instruction for the job file for which printing has been instructed, via the wireless communication 306. In response to this, the printer 301 issues a print instruction to the print server 302 via the network 300.

  Accordingly, the print server 302 reads out the job file selected and instructed by the mobile phone 304 from the memory resource, and executes the printing process.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the print client computer 303 transmits a print job to the print server 302.

  The print job is temporarily held on an external storage device provided in the print server 302, for example, a hard disk.

  The printer obtains a list of jobs held in the print server 302 via the printer 301 using the wireless communication 306 using the mobile phone 304, the PDA 305, or the like in front of the target printer, for example, the printer 301.

  A target print job is selected from the job list displayed on the mobile phone 304 or the PDA 305, and a print instruction is issued to the print server 302 via the printer 301 using the wireless communication 306.

  Upon receiving the print instruction, the print server 302 transmits the retained print job to the printer 301, and the printer 301 performs printing. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which a print job instructed to be selected is transferred to another printer or MFP on the network 300 other than the printer 301. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of printers are selected, and the selected plurality of jobs are sorted and transferred to the selected printer in job units, page units, or attribute units.

  Needless to say, there may be a plurality of printers, print servers, and print client computers.

  In the data processing system configured as described above, a printer 301 as an image forming apparatus is configured to be able to communicate with a predetermined protocol via a print server 302 and a network 300.

  The mobile phone 304 and the PDA 305 as mobile terminals have a communication function of directly communicating with each other via the wireless communication control unit 109. In this embodiment, the communication function is IrDA.

  Then, for example, a request (received as data) is received from the mobile phone 304, and a new request according to the request is transferred to the print server 302 via the network 300. In response to the transferred request, response information returned from the print server 302 is received and transferred to the end of the mobile phone 304 via the wireless communication control unit 109. At that time, the CPU 101 analyzes the request received from the mobile phone 304 and generates a new request to be transferred to the print server 302, for example, a request such as a job list request which is management information.

  The new request includes an acquisition request for acquiring print information managed by the print server 302. The print request managed by the print server 302 is transferred to a designated device and printed. .

  In this case, the print request for transferring the print information managed by the print server 302 to the designated device for printing includes information for specifying the device.

  The information for specifying the device is, for example, an IP address. Here, the device includes other image forming apparatuses and information processing apparatuses connected to the network.

  4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 206 of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. This screen is a print job display screen and corresponds to a state in which a job list stored in the print server 302 is displayed. Note that jobs that cannot be displayed on one screen can be scroll-displayed by a scroll operation of the key operation unit. In this case, a list of jobs that can be displayed may be limited so that jobs that are not displayed on the list screen can be managed by a user other than a specific user.

  In FIG. 4, 401 is an example of a user interface of an application that operates on a mobile phone, and displays a list of print jobs held on the print server. In particular, in FIG. 4, the file name is bbb. A file F1 called “pdf” and a file name “ddd. In this example, the file F2 called pdf is selected.

  Reference numeral 402 denotes a print button. By selecting this, the selected file is printed. A cancel button 403 is selected to cancel the selected file.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure in the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a data processing procedure example by a printer, which is an example of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Note that S501 to S514 indicate each step. Each step is realized by the control unit 105 shown in FIG. 1 executing based on a control program stored in the RAM 103.

  Alternatively, it may be realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program stored in the ROM 102 or an SD memory or a memory card mounted via a memory interface (not shown). In the present embodiment, each step is described as being executed by the control unit 105.

  When this system in the printer is activated, first, in S501, a data reception waiting state is entered. In step S502, when the printer receives any data, the process advances to step S503 to determine whether the data received by the control unit 105 via the wireless communication control unit 109 is job list acquisition request data from the portable terminal. To do. The received data is temporarily stored in a reception buffer secured in the RAM 103.

  If it is determined that the data is job list acquisition request data, the process advances to step S504 to analyze the job list acquisition request data and specify a target print server.

  As an specifying method, for example, an IP address for the print server 302 is included in job list acquisition request data acquired from a portable terminal, and a method of specifying by the IP address can be considered. Of course, in an environment where there is only one print server, it is needless to say that this step may be omitted by using a preset IP address of the print server. In the present embodiment, the following description will be made assuming that the print server 302 is specified.

  Next, when the print server is specified by the control unit 105, in step S505, the specified print server 302 is requested to obtain a list of print jobs held in the memory resource on the print server 302. And return to the data reception waiting state of S501. Here, the memory resource is an external storage device, such as a hard disk.

  Of course, the job list acquisition request data includes a user ID or the like by an operation from the mobile phone 304, and a list of print jobs with a specific user ID may be requested. Needless to say. If the telephone number of the operator of the mobile phone is registered in the print server 302 as data, the mobile phone number can be used. Also, the mobile number may use the last 4 digits, or may use the last 8 digits or all the digits.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 105 determines in step S503 that the data received from the portable terminal via the wireless communication control unit 109 is not job list acquisition request data, the process advances to step S506.

  In step S <b> 506, it is determined whether the data received by the control unit 105 is job list data from the print server 302 via the communication control unit 108.

  If the control unit 105 determines that the data acquired from the print server 302 via the communication control unit 108 is job list data, the process advances to step S507. In step S507, the job list data received from the print server 302 is transmitted to the infrared communication destination, and the process returns to the data reception waiting state in step S501. Here, the infrared communication destination is a portable terminal.

  Of course, an ID for identifying the request source may be embedded in the job list acquisition request data acquired from the print server 302. In that case, it goes without saying that the acquired job list data also contains an ID for identifying the requester in the first place, and it is possible to use a method such as checking the other party to whom the job list is transmitted based on the ID. .

  On the other hand, if the control unit 105 determines in step S506 that the data received by the printer is not job list data, the process advances to step S508 to determine whether the data received by the printer is print instruction data received from the mobile terminal. . In the portable terminal, when the print button 402 shown in FIG. 4 is instructed by the user, print instruction data is generated and transmitted to the printer.

  If it is determined in step S508 that the data received by the control unit 105 is print instruction data, the process advances to step S509 to analyze the print instruction data received from the portable terminal and specify a target print job.

  In step S510, the control unit 105 transmits a print instruction for the specified print job to the print server 302, and returns to the data reception waiting state in step S501.

  In this embodiment, as a method for specifying the print server, the IP address of the print server may be included in the print instruction data, or the IP address of the print server is set in advance. May be specified. Needless to say, other methods may be used.

  As a method for specifying a print job, for example, there is a print job ID for specifying a print job in the attribute of the job list data returned in S507, and a method using the print job ID is conceivable. That is, a print instruction is transmitted to the print server with the print job ID.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S508 that the data received by the control unit 105 is not print instruction data, the process advances to step S511 to determine whether the received data is print data received from the print server 302. If it is determined that the data is print data, the process advances to step S512 to start print processing for the print data received from the print server 302, and returns to the data reception waiting state in step S501.

  Here, the port for receiving the print data from the print server 302 is determined based on, for example, “9100” and the like, and this procedure may not be necessary. In that case, it goes without saying that there is no S508 and the process may proceed to S513.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S511 that the data received by the control unit 105 is not print data received from the print server 302, the process advances to step S513 to determine whether the received data is end data. Here, in the case of end data, the process exits the loop and ends this processing.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 105 determines in S511 that the data is not end data, the process proceeds to S514, where the data is discarded as irrelevant data, and the process returns to the data reception waiting state in S501.

  Of course, it is needless to say that this step may be omitted if the method for ending this process is not a method based on data reception but some other method is provided.

  As described above, a mobile terminal (such as the mobile phone 304) that could not be connected to the network 300 via the printer 301 is connected to the network 300 without changing the communication function from what is called a commercially available mobile terminal. You can connect.

  Furthermore, by using the user interface of the mobile terminal, it is possible to construct a printing system that temporarily stores a print job using the mobile phone in the print server 302 and outputs the print job to an available printing apparatus.

  In other words, for the printer 301 that does not have a sufficient user interface, infrastructure maintenance is not required, and a special mobile terminal is not required, and printing instructions using the versatile user interface function of the mobile terminal can be freely given. Yes.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, as a method of connecting the portable terminal and the printer, the second wireless network is used instead of the network connecting the printer and the print server.

  And the proposal which uses the user interface with which a portable terminal is provided as a user interface of a printer was demonstrated.

  However, it is conceivable that the information is erroneously displayed on another nearby mobile phone because of being wireless, or it is operated secretly from another mobile phone by a malicious user.

  Therefore, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, before and after using the mobile terminal, a mechanism that does not allow communication from other mobile terminals may be incorporated so as to be adaptable to the above problem. Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described in detail. The hardware configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure in the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. This example is a data processing procedure example by a printer, which is an example of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. In addition, S601-S608 shows each step. Each step is realized by the control unit 105 shown in FIG. 1 executing based on a control program stored in the RAM 103. Note that the CPU 101 may be realized by executing a control program stored in the ROM 102 or an SD memory or a memory card mounted via a memory interface (not shown). In the present embodiment, each step will be described as being executed by the control unit 105.

  Further, S601 corresponds to S501 and S502 shown in FIG. 5, and S606 corresponds to the same steps as S503 to S514 shown in FIG.

  When receiving data and receiving data in S601, that is, the processes up to S501 and S502 shown in FIG. 5, the process proceeds to S602, where the printer is currently processing using the mobile terminal, that is, whether the status is in use. Determine if.

  If it is determined in S602 that the control unit 105 is not in use, the process proceeds to S603, a flag indicating that the state is in use is set, and an identifier is issued to identify the user in S604. Return the identifier to the issued mobile terminal.

  Subsequently, the process from S605, that is, the processes from S503 to S514 shown in FIG. 5 is performed. If it is determined that the process is finished, the state is changed from being used to not being used in S606, and this process is finished.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S602 that the control unit 105 is in use, the process proceeds to S607, and the identifier issued from the printer to the portable terminal in S604 embedded in the received data is being communicated. Obtain from a mobile device. In step S605, the mobile phone in use is specified when there is no identifier or the identifier is different but different.

  If it is determined in 608 whether the mobile terminal is in use by the control unit 105 based on the difference in identifiers, and if it is determined that the mobile terminal is in use, the process proceeds to S605 and the mobile terminal is used. The print job output process is executed according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 105 determines in step S608 that the mobile terminal is not in use, the process is terminated as it is currently in use.

  In S608, it is needless to say that the mobile terminal may add processing such as determining whether or not to allow retry processing after a certain period of time, instead of disabling it because it is suddenly in use.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the communication unit of the image forming apparatus identifies the user of the terminal device, restricts interruptions from other terminal devices, and occupies the processing for requests from the terminal devices. After completion of the above, the occupation state is released. Thereby, since the communication means of the mobile terminal is wireless, it is possible to avoid a state in which information is erroneously displayed on another mobile phone nearby or is secretly operated from another mobile phone by a malicious user. That is, even in a communication environment in which communication with a plurality of portable terminals is possible, it is possible to execute a printing process that safely accepts a printing instruction from a portable terminal owned by a user specified as a print job selection instructor.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, infrared communication has been described as an example of communication means between a mobile phone and a printer. However, especially in the case of infrared communication, since it is directional wireless communication, the specification is assumed when a printer is specified from a mobile phone.

  However, in non-directional wireless communication such as Bluetooth, when a mobile phone is pointed at the target printer, a communication session with a printer other than the intended printer may be executed to establish a normal connection. obtain.

  Therefore, it goes without saying that, in addition to the processing shown in the first and second embodiments, means or steps for confirming the printer that is currently connected may be incorporated before connection.

  As the confirmation means or confirmation step, for example, a method of displaying whether or not to connect to the user interface of the printer and selecting the connection can connect the printer and the mobile phone.

  In addition, a method is conceivable in which the printer and the mobile phone are connected only after the LED of the printer is lit, whether or not this printer is acceptable is displayed on the user interface of the mobile phone, and selected.

  It goes without saying that any other means may be used as long as it can confirm the printer to be connected.

  As a result, even when wireless communication with no directivity such as Bluetooth is used, when a mobile phone is pointed at the target printer, a communication session with a printer other than the intended printer is executed normally. You can connect to and print instructions.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In the above embodiment, a list of print jobs stored in the external storage device included in the print server 302 is acquired, and the print job selected from the list of jobs displayed on the display unit of the mobile phone 304 is printed. The case where instructions are given has been described.

  On the other hand, it may be configured to instruct by adding a condition relating to print output when instructing to print the print job. Here, the print instruction is a copy number instruction, a paper size instruction, a layout print instruction, a double-sided print instruction, or the like.

  At this time, a print setting screen that can be displayed by the mobile terminal is acquired from the print server 302 to set a print condition or a list of print output destinations so that the print destination and the print condition can be set. It may be configured to be.

  Accordingly, by instructing the print server 302 at the same time as selecting a print job, printing conditions, output destination, and the like, a print instruction intended by the user can be issued from the portable terminal.

[Fifth Embodiment]
The configuration of a data processing program that can be read by the image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the memory map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a storage medium that stores various data processing programs readable by the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  Although not particularly illustrated, information for managing a program group stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.

  Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs in the computer, and a program for decompressing when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

  The functions shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in this embodiment may be performed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, the storage medium storing the software program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Therefore, as long as it has the function of the program, the form of the program such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS is not limited.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD, etc. Can be used.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As another program supply method, a browser on a client computer is used to connect to an Internet home page. Then, the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server, an ftp server, and the like that allow a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer are also included in the claims of the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  In addition, the functions of the above-described embodiments are not only realized by executing the program code read by the computer. For example, based on an instruction of the program code, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing. Needless to say, the process includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

  Further, the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. Needless to say.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

  Although various examples and embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will not limit the spirit and scope of the present invention to the specific description in the present specification.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram explaining an example of the portable terminal which can be connected via the radio | wireless communication control part shown in FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system including a mobile terminal and an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen displayed on the display part of the portable terminal shown in FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first data processing procedure in the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second data processing procedure in the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. It is a figure explaining the memory map of the storage medium which stores the various data processing program which can be read with the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

301 Printer 302 Print Server 303 Client Computer 304 Mobile Phone 305 PDA

Claims (23)

An image forming apparatus capable of communicating via a network with a server device that stores print information,
A communication means for communicating with the portable terminal by wireless communication;
An acquisition means for acquiring information managed by the server device from the server device in response to receiving a first request from the portable terminal;
Transfer means for transferring the information acquired by the acquisition means to the portable terminal via the communication means;
Printing means for acquiring and printing print information stored in the server device in response to receiving a second request from the portable terminal;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether the request received from the portable terminal via the communication unit is a first request or a second request.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first request is an acquisition request for acquiring information managed by the server apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second request is a print request for printing print information managed by the server apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second request includes information for specifying the device.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information specifying the device is an IP address.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is list information of print information managed by the server apparatus.   The communication means identifies a user of the terminal device, restricts interruptions from other terminal devices, occupies processing for a request from the terminal device, and releases the occupied state after the request ends. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the communication unit identifies a user of the terminal device based on an identifier. A portable terminal capable of communicating with a server device that stores print information and an image forming apparatus capable of communicating via a network,
Transmitting means for transmitting a first request to the communication means of the image forming apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving, from the communication means, a response based on response information sent from the server apparatus to the image forming apparatus in response to the first request;
A transmission unit configured to transmit a second request to the communication unit of the image forming apparatus based on the response received by the reception unit;
A portable terminal characterized by comprising:   The mobile terminal according to claim 10, further comprising a connection destination display unit that displays a connection confirmation result for specifying an image forming apparatus to which the transmission unit is initially connected on a display unit. A data processing system in which an image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a server device that stores print information via a network and a terminal device communicate with each other,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A communication means for communicating with the portable terminal by wireless communication;
An acquisition means for acquiring information managed by the server device from the server device in response to receiving a first request from the portable terminal;
Transfer means for transferring the information acquired by the acquisition means to the portable terminal via the communication means;
Printing means for acquiring and printing print information stored in the server device in response to receiving a second request from the portable terminal;
Have
The portable terminal is
Transmitting means for transmitting a first request to the communication means of the image forming apparatus;
Receiving means for receiving, from the communication means, a response based on response information sent from the server apparatus to the image forming apparatus in response to the first request;
A transmission unit configured to transmit a second request to the communication unit of the image forming apparatus based on the response received by the reception unit;
A data processing system comprising: A data processing method in an image forming apparatus that includes a communication unit that communicates with a portable terminal and can communicate with a server device that stores print information via a network,
A communication step of communicating with the mobile terminal by wireless communication;
An acquisition step of acquiring information managed by the server device from the server device in response to receiving a first request from the portable terminal;
A transfer step of transferring the information acquired by the acquisition step to the portable terminal via the communication step;
In response to receiving a second request from the mobile terminal, a printing process for acquiring and printing print information stored in the server device;
A data processing method characterized by comprising:   The data processing method according to claim 13, further comprising a determination step of determining whether the request received from the portable terminal through the communication step is a first request or a second request.   15. The data processing method according to claim 13, wherein the first request is an acquisition request for acquiring information managed by the server device.   16. The data processing method according to claim 13, wherein the second request is a print request for printing print information managed by the server device.   17. The data processing method according to claim 13, wherein the second request includes information for specifying the device.   18. The data processing method according to claim 17, wherein the information for specifying the device is an IP address.   The data processing method according to claim 13, wherein the information is print information list information managed by the server device.   The communication step identifies a user of the terminal device, restricts interruptions from other terminal devices, occupies processing for a request from the terminal device, and releases the occupied state after the request ends. The data processing method according to any one of claims 13 to 19.   The data processing method according to claim 20, wherein the communication step identifies a user of the terminal device based on an identifier. A data processing method in a portable terminal capable of communicating with an image forming apparatus capable of communicating via a network with a server device that stores print information,
A transmission step of transmitting a first request to the communication means of the image forming apparatus;
In response to the first request, the image forming apparatus receives a response based on response information returned from the server apparatus from the communication unit;
A transmission step of transmitting a second request to the communication means of the image forming apparatus based on the response received by the reception step;
A data processing method characterized by comprising: 23. The data processing method according to claim 22, further comprising a connection destination display step of displaying a connection confirmation result for specifying the image forming apparatus connected first in the transmission step on a display unit.

Images