JP2013244637A - Information-processing unit, program and distributed processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information-processing unit, a program and a distributed processing method capable of achieving distributed processing by a management unit and the information-processing unit that are installed in different networks.SOLUTION: An information-processing unit 20 performing distributed processing of data managed by a management unit 40 includes: an identification information acquiring means for acquiring identification information on divided data divided from data; a data acquisition means for designating the identification information on the acquired divided data to acquire the divided data from the management unit; and a data processing means for processing the divided data.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and a distributed processing method.

  For example, when performing multiple copies using a network printing device terminal (such as a printer, FAX, copier, or a combination thereof), printing is performed by using multiple printing device terminals for distributed printing. A technique for reducing the time required for processing is already known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As one method for realizing distributed printing, there is already known a method in which a print server corresponding to distributed printing is provided and the print server distributes a print job to each printer when a request for distributed printing is received.

  In recent years, a cloud service has been attracting attention in which a print server is provided in an external network in a public environment such as the Internet and is managed in an integrated manner. A print server that supports distributed printing needs to request a request from each printer when performing distributed printing.

  However, the print server provided in the external network may not be able to request a request from each printer provided in the internal network in the private environment. For example, a request from a print server provided in an external network to each printer provided in the internal network may be blocked by a firewall or the like.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an information processing apparatus, a program, and a distributed processing method capable of realizing distributed processing by a management apparatus and an information processing apparatus provided in different networks.

  In order to achieve the above object, claim 1 of the present application is an information processing apparatus that performs distributed processing on data managed by a management apparatus, and obtains identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of divided data divided from the data And data acquisition means for specifying the identification information of the acquired divided data to acquire the divided data from the management apparatus, and data processing means for processing the divided data.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the distributed processing by the management apparatus and information processing apparatus provided in the different network is realizable.

It is a lineblock diagram of an example of a printing system concerning this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer system which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of a printing system concerning this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an example showing the processing procedure of the printing system according to the present embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of the user information list stored in the user information storage unit of the authentication server. It is a block diagram of an example of a distributed printing destination list stored in the user information storage unit of the authentication server. It is a block diagram of an example of the apparatus information list stored in the apparatus information storage part of an authentication server. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a print job list stored in a data storage unit of a print server. FIG. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of an example of a divided job list stored in a data storage unit of a print server. It is a sequence diagram of another example showing the processing procedure of the printing system according to the present embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of the other example of the printing system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of another example showing the processing procedure of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing system 1 in FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration in which a client 10 and one or more image forming apparatuses 20 are connected to an internal network N1 in a private environment such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Further, the printing system 1 in FIG. 1 shows an example in which the authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50 are connected to an external network N2 in a public environment such as the Internet.

  The internal network N1 corresponds to an intra-department network or an office network in an office environment, for example. The printing system 1 shows an example of a configuration in which the internal network N1 is connected to the external network N2 via the firewall FW. Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration example in which the client 10 is connected to the internal network N1 in the private environment, a configuration in which the client 10 is connected to the external network N2 in the public environment may be used.

  The client 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 can access the authentication server 30 and the print server 40. In addition, the authentication server 30 and the print server 40 can respond to the request from the client 10 and the image forming apparatus 20.

  The client 10 is an example of an information processing terminal such as a PC (Personal Computer) that registers in the print server 40 a print job that the user wants to print. The client 10 may be in any form such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PC, a tablet PC, a projector, or a scanner as long as it is an information processing terminal that can transmit a print job to the print server 40.

  The image forming apparatus 20 acquires a print job from the print server 40 in response to a request from the user and prints it. The image forming apparatus 20 is an example of a printing device that acquires a print job that a user wants to print from the print server 40 and prints it. For example, the image forming apparatus 20 may take any form such as a printer, a FAX, a copier, or a multifunction machine. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 is not limited to a printing device that prints a print job, and includes a PC that displays a print job, a projector that projects a print job, and the like.

  The authentication server 30 is responsible for user authentication and account information management. The print server 40 is responsible for storing and transmitting print jobs. The rendering server 50 converts the print job data stored in the print server 40 into a printable format. In the printing system 1 of FIG. 1, the authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50 are separated as separate servers. However, the printing system 1 is divided into one or two servers or divided into four or more servers. Forms are also possible. For example, the printing system 1 may have a configuration in which all responsibilities of the authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50 are handled by one server.

<Hardware configuration>
The client 10, the authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50 shown in FIG. 1 are realized by a computer system having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer system according to the present embodiment.

  A computer system 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, an external I / F 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106, a communication I / O. F107, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 108, etc. are provided, and each is connected to each other via a bus B.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used by a user to input each operation signal. The display device 102 includes a display and the like, and displays a processing result by the computer system 100.

  The communication I / F 107 is an interface that connects the computer system 100 to the network N1 or N2. Accordingly, the computer system 100 can perform data communication with other devices via the communication I / F 107.

  The HDD 108 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The programs and data include OS (Operating System) that is basic software for controlling the entire computer system 100 and application software that provides various functions on the OS. The HDD 108 manages the stored programs and data using a predetermined file system and / or DB (Data Base).

  The external I / F 103 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 103a. Thereby, the computer system 100 can read and / or write the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 103. The recording medium 103a includes a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD memory card (SD Memory card), a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory), and the like.

  The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores programs and data such as BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the computer system 100 is started. The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 106 is an arithmetic device that realizes control and functions of the entire computer system 100 by reading a program and data from a storage device such as the ROM 105 and the HDD 108 onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

  The authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50 according to the present embodiment can implement various processes as described later by the hardware configuration of the computer system 100.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a controller 201, an operation panel 202, an external I / F 203, a communication I / F 204, a printer 205, a scanner 206, and the like.

  The controller 201 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, an NVRAM 214, an HDD 215, and the like. The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. The RAM 212 temporarily stores programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores setting information, for example. The HDD 215 stores various programs and data.

  The CPU 211 implements control and functions of the entire image forming apparatus 20 by reading programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 213, NVRAM 214, HDD 215, and the like onto the RAM 212 and executing processing.

  The operation panel 202 includes an input unit that receives input from the user and a display unit that performs display. The external I / F 203 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 203a. Thus, the image forming apparatus 20 can read and / or write the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 203. Examples of the recording medium 203a include an IC card, a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The communication I / F 204 is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus 20 to the network N1. As a result, the image forming apparatus 20 can perform data communication with other apparatuses via the communication I / F 204. The printer 205 is a printing device for printing print data on paper. A scanner 206 is a reading device for reading image data from a document.

  The image forming apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment can realize various processes as described later with the above hardware configuration.

<Software configuration>
The printing system 1 according to the present embodiment is realized by, for example, processing blocks illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 is a processing block diagram of an example of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

  The authentication server 30 executes a program to realize a user authentication request processing unit 31, a distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32, a user information storage unit 33, and a device information storage unit 34. The print server 40 executes a program to realize a job receiving unit 41, a job list acquisition request processing unit 42, a job acquisition request processing unit 43, a distributed print request processing unit 44, and a data storage unit 45. The rendering server 50 implements a data conversion unit 51 and a job information rewriting unit 52 by executing a program. The image forming apparatus 20 executes a program to realize an authentication request unit 21, a job list acquisition request unit 22, a job acquisition request unit 23, a print control unit 24, a job ID transmission unit 25, and a job ID reception unit 26. Yes. In the processing block diagram of FIG. 4, a part of the description unnecessary for the description of the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment is omitted.

<< Authentication Server 30 >>
The authentication server 30 holds a table of user account information and a table of information related to the image forming apparatus 20, and provides authentication and user-specific information upon request.

  The user authentication request processing unit 31 receives a user authentication request from the image forming apparatus 20 and determines whether there is a user that matches the received authentication information. When the authentication information is correct (there is a user that matches the received authentication information), the user authentication request processing unit 31 issues an authentication ticket certifying that the authentication has been made to the request source.

  The distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 receives an inquiry from the image forming apparatus 20 about where to place the distributed printing destination. The distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 acquires information regarding the distributed printing destination registered for each user from the user information storage unit 33 and the device information storage unit 34 and provides the information to the image forming apparatus 20.

  The user information storage unit 33 stores account information of users who can use the printing system 1. The device information storage unit 34 stores information about devices that can use the printing system 1.

<< Print Server 40 >>
The print server 40 holds a table for print jobs, and stores and transmits print jobs in response to requests.

  The job receiving unit 41 receives a print job input from the client 10. The input print job may be data before rendering. The job receiving unit 41 assigns a job ID to the received print job and stores it in the data storage unit 45.

  The job list acquisition request processing unit 42 receives a job list acquisition request from the image forming apparatus 20 together with the authentication ticket. Based on the received authentication ticket, the job list acquisition request processing unit 42 inquires of the authentication server 30 and identifies the user. Then, the job list acquisition request processing unit 42 creates a job list of the specified user's print job and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 20.

  The job acquisition request processing unit 43 receives a job acquisition request from the image forming apparatus 20 together with the authentication ticket. The job acquisition request processing unit 43 inquires of the authentication server whether the received authentication ticket is correct. If the authentication ticket is correct, the job acquisition request processing unit 43 transmits a print job with the specified job ID to the image forming apparatus 20.

  The distributed printing request processing unit 44 receives a distributed printing request from the image forming apparatus 20. The distributed print request processing unit 44 requests the rendering server 50 to divide the print job based on the specified condition. The distributed print request processing unit 44 assigns a job ID again to the divided print job and stores it in the data storage unit 45.

  The data storage unit 45 stores the print job. The data storage unit 45 also stores data before rendering. The data storage unit 45 may store the print job obtained by dividing the original print job until the print processing is completed, or may delete the print job after the division.

<< Rendering server 50 >>
The rendering server 50 converts the data before rendering into a format that can be printed by the image forming apparatus 20.

  The data conversion unit 51 renders the data before rendering (unrendered) into a format printable by the image forming apparatus 20. The data conversion unit 51 receives the job ID of the print job to be rendered from the print server 40, and asynchronously renders the data of the job ID.

  The job information rewriting unit 52 rewrites the printer job language (PJL) data of the print job designated from the print server 40 and divides the print job. The job information rewriting unit 52 divides the print job, for example, in units of copies or pages.

<< Image Forming Apparatus 20 >>
The image forming apparatus 20 receives the user's operation, acquires the print job of the user who has been successfully authenticated from the print server 40, and prints it.

  The authentication request unit 21 transmits authentication information input by the user to the authentication server 30 and requests user authentication. If the user authentication is successful, the authentication request unit 21 stores the authentication ticket issued from the authentication server 30. The authentication ticket is a proof of successful authentication. The job list acquisition request unit 22 requests the print server 40 to acquire a job list. When the job list acquisition request unit 22 requests acquisition of a job list, the job list acquisition request unit 22 also transmits an authentication ticket.

  The job acquisition request unit 23 requests the print server 40 to acquire a print job by specifying a job ID. When the job acquisition request unit 23 requests acquisition of a print job, the job acquisition request unit 23 also transmits an authentication ticket. The job acquisition request unit 23 transmits the print job acquired from the print server 40 to the print control unit 24. The print control unit 24 performs a drawing process for the print job received from the print acquisition request unit 23.

  The job ID transmission unit 25 transmits a plurality of job IDs received from the print server 40 during distributed printing to another image forming apparatus 20. The job ID receiving unit 26 receives a job ID from another image forming apparatus 20 during distributed printing. The job ID reception unit 26 transmits the received print job with the job ID to the job acquisition request unit 23 and acquires the received print job with the job ID from the print server 40.

  The distributed print request unit 27 requests the print server 40 for distributed printing. The distributed printing request unit 27 requests the authentication server 30 to acquire a distributed printing destination.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the printing system 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the printing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an example of the printing system 1 in which three image forming apparatuses 20 are connected to the internal network N1. FIG. 5 shows processing after the print job is stored in the data storage unit 45.

  In step S1, the user enters authentication information (user name, password, etc.) in a UI (User Interface) of the image forming apparatus 20-1 and logs in. In step S <b> 2, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits authentication information to the authentication server 30 and requests the authentication server 30 for authentication.

  In step S3, the authentication server 30 receives an authentication request from the image forming apparatus 20-1. The authentication server 30 confirms whether the user that matches the received authentication information is in the user information list stored in the user information storage unit 33. If there is a user that matches the received authentication information in the user information list stored in the user information storage unit 33, the authentication server 30 determines that the authentication is successful. In step S4, the authentication server 30 issues an authentication ticket, which is a proof of successful authentication, to the image forming apparatus 20-1.

  In step S5, the image forming apparatus 20-1 requests the print server 40 to acquire a job list. When the image forming apparatus 20-1 requests the print server 40 to acquire a job list, the image forming apparatus 20-1 also transmits an authentication ticket.

  In step S6, the print server 40 inquires of the authentication server 30 as to who the authentication ticket received from the image forming apparatus 20-1. In step S7, the authentication server 30 responds to the image forming apparatus 20-1 with the user name corresponding to the authentication ticket. Here, it is assumed that the user name “UserA” is returned from the authentication server 30.

  In step S <b> 8, the print server 40 generates a job list of the print job of the user specified by the authentication ticket from the print job list stored in the data storage unit 45. In step S9, the print server 40 responds to the image forming apparatus 20-1 with the generated job list. The image forming apparatus 20-1 displays a job list on the UI.

  In step S10, the user selects a print job to be distributed from the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-1 from the job list, and then instructs the selected print job to be distributed. In step S <b> 11, the image forming apparatus 20-1 requests the authentication server 30 to obtain a distributed printing destination in order to confirm the distributed printing destination of the selected print job.

  In step S12, the authentication server 30 confirms whether or not the specified distributed print destination of the user is registered in the distributed print destination list from the account information (user name or the like) of the user specified by the authentication ticket. Here, the description will be continued assuming that the distributed printing destination of the identified user is registered in the distributed printing destination list.

  Since the specified distributed printing destination of the user is registered in the distributed printing destination list, the authentication server 30 stores information (such as an IP address) regarding the specified distributed printing destination of the user in the device information storage unit 34. From the connected device information list. In step S <b> 13, the authentication server 30 responds to the image forming apparatus 20-1 with information regarding the specified distributed printing destination of the user.

  In step S <b> 14, the image forming apparatus 20-1 requests the print server 40 for distributed printing of the print job under the specified conditions. The designated condition is a division condition such that, for example, 300 print jobs are distributedly printed by three image forming apparatuses 20-1 to 20-3 in units of 100 copies.

  The print server 40 receives from the image forming apparatus 20-1 a request for distributed printing in which a print job and conditions are specified. In step S15, the print server 40 requests the rendering server 50 to divide the print job based on the designated print job and conditions. For example, the print server 40 requests the rendering server 50 to divide 300 print jobs into 100 × 3 print jobs. The rendering server 50 rewrites the PJL data of the print job designated from the print server 40, and divides the print job based on the designated conditions. For example, the rendering server 50 divides 300 print jobs into 100 print jobs.

  In step S <b> 16, the rendering server 50 newly stores the divided print job in the data storage unit 45 of the print server 40. For example, the data storage unit 45 newly stores 100 copies × 3 print jobs obtained by dividing 300 print jobs.

  In step S17, the print server 40 assigns job IDs to the divided print jobs again. The rendering server 50 notifies the print server 40 of the divided print job using, for example, a path. Note that job ID allocation is not limited to the processing in steps S15 to S17 in FIG. 5, and may be performed by the print server 40 or the rendering server 50. For example, the rendering server 50 may allocate the job ID notified from the print server 40 to the divided print jobs.

  In step S18, the print server 40 responds to the image forming apparatus 20-1 with the job ID assigned to the divided print job. For example, the print server 40 notifies the image forming apparatus 20-1 of job IDs “111”, “222”, and “333” assigned to the divided print jobs.

  In steps S19 and S23, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits two of the three job IDs received from the print server 40 to the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3. For example, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits the job ID “222” to the image forming apparatus 20-2, and transmits the job ID “333” to the image forming apparatus 20-3. Note that the image forming apparatus 20-1 may also transmit an authentication ticket to the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 in steps S19 and S23.

  When the image forming apparatus 20-3 receives the job ID of the divided print job from the image forming apparatus 20-1, in step S20, the image forming apparatus 20-3 designates the job ID and requests the print server 40 to acquire the print job. In step S <b> 21, the image forming apparatus 20-3 acquires a print job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S22, the image forming apparatus 20-3 prints the print job acquired from the print server 40.

  When the image forming apparatus 20-2 receives the job ID of the divided print job from the image forming apparatus 20-1, the image forming apparatus 20-2 designates the job ID and requests the print server 40 to acquire the print job in step S24. In step S25, the image forming apparatus 20-2 acquires a print job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S26, the image forming apparatus 20-2 prints the print job acquired from the print server 40.

  In step S27, the image forming apparatus 20-1 designates a job ID that has not been transmitted to the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 out of the three job IDs received from the print server 40, and prints on the print server 40. Request job acquisition. In step S28, the image forming apparatus 20-1 acquires a print job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S29, the image forming apparatus 20-1 prints the print job acquired from the print server 40.

  As described above, each of the image forming apparatuses 20-1 to 20-3 acquires the print job associated with the job ID from the print server 40 and prints it. In the sequence diagram of FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits the job ID of the print job divided into the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3, but the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits the job ID. 20-2, the image forming apparatus 20-2 may transmit the job ID in the relay format as in the image forming apparatus 20-3.

  In the present embodiment, when 300 print jobs are divided into 100 × 3 print jobs, all of them are divided with the same print attributes. However, 100 copies are divided into color print jobs and 200 copies are divided into 200 print jobs. It may be divided as a monochrome print job.

  In this embodiment, the print job is divided into three print jobs and printed by the three image forming apparatuses 20-1 to 20-3. However, for example, a display other than the image forming apparatus 20 such as a PC is displayed. It may be divided into data that can be displayed by the apparatus and displayed on the display apparatus, or may be divided into data that can be projected by a projection apparatus such as a projector and projected onto the projection apparatus.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits the job ID of the print job divided into the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3. For example, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits information to an information processing terminal such as a smartphone or a mobile phone. The job ID of the print job may be transmitted by e-mail or the like, and the user may input the job ID of the print job from the operation panel 202 of the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3.

  In the printing system 1 that can transmit the job ID of the print job to the information processing terminal by e-mail or the like, for example, the following usage forms are also conceivable. For example, the user registers in advance in the print server 40 a print job of conference materials for the number of participants participating in the conference. Even if several of the participants cannot go to the scheduled conference room due to a sudden business trip or the like, the printing system 1 of this embodiment divides the print job, and the job ID of the divided print job is sent by e-mail or the like. Since it can be acquired, for example, the meeting material can be printed by the image forming apparatus 20 at a business trip destination.

  The printing system 1 according to the present embodiment is premised on PULL printing that acquires and prints a print job stored in the print server 40 using a user operation on the image forming apparatus 20-1 as a trigger.

  When there is a request for distributed printing from the user, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits a distributed printing request to the print server 40. Upon receiving the distributed print request, the print server 40 divides the designated print job into a plurality of pieces, assigns a new job ID (identification ID) to each, and assigns the divided print jobs to the image forming apparatus 20-1 that has made the distributed print request. A plurality of job IDs newly assigned to the print job are sent back as a response to the distributed print request.

  The image forming apparatus 20-1 that has received a plurality of job IDs acquires a print job from the print server 40 based on one of the plurality of job IDs, and forms another image with another job ID. It transmits with respect to apparatus 20-2, 20-3. The other image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 that have received the job ID acquire a print job from the print server 40 based on the job ID.

  By following the above procedure, the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment can print the divided print jobs from the plurality of image forming apparatuses 20-1 to 20-3. In addition, since there is no need to transmit a request from the print server 40 to the image forming apparatuses 20-1 to 20-3, the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment has the image forming apparatuses 20-1 to 20-3. For example, distributed printing can be realized even if it is behind the firewall FW when viewed from the print server 40.

<Data structure>
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a user information list stored in the user information storage unit of the authentication server. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the user information storage unit 33 of the authentication server 30 stores a user information list in which a user name and a password are associated with each other. The user name and password are shown as an example of authentication information. A user whose user name and password are set in the user information list is successfully authenticated in step S3.

  FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of an example of a distributed printing destination list stored in the user information storage unit of the authentication server. As shown in FIG. 7, the user information storage unit 33 of the authentication server 30 stores a distributed printing destination list in which a user name is associated with the device ID of one or more distributed printing destination image forming apparatuses 20. The user name is shown as an example of user account information. The device ID is shown as an example of information for identifying the image forming apparatus 20 that is the distributed printing destination.

  In step S12, the user whose registered image forming apparatus 20 is registered in the distributed printing destination list can determine one or more image forming apparatuses 20 associated with the user name as the distributed printing destination.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an example of a device information list stored in the device information storage unit of the authentication server. As shown in FIG. 8, the device information storage unit 34 of the authentication server 30 stores a device information list in which a device ID, a model, and an IP address are associated with each other. Note that the image forming apparatus 20 registered in the device information list is compatible with the distributed printing of this embodiment. The device information list may further include the presence / absence of a finisher and PPM (Page Per Minute) information. In step S12, a user whose distributed printing destination is registered in the distributed printing destination list can acquire information (such as an IP address) on the specified user's distributed printing destination from the device information list.

  FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an example of a print job list stored in the data storage unit of the print server. As shown in FIG. 9, the data storage unit 45 of the print server 40 stores a print job list in which a job ID, a user name, a job name, the number of pages, and the number of copies are linked. By referring to the print job list, the print server 40 can specify the print job of the user, and can acquire the number of pages and the number of copies of the print job.

  FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of an example of a divided job list stored in the data storage unit of the print server. As shown in FIG. 10, the data storage unit 45 of the print server 40 stores a divided job list in which the job ID, the original job ID, the job name, the number of pages, and the number of copies are linked. In the divided job list, new job IDs are allocated and registered for the divided print jobs. By referring to the divided job list, the print server 40 can specify the divided print job by the new job ID.

<Summary>
According to the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment, even when a request from the print server 40 connected to the external network N2 to the image forming apparatus 20 connected to the internal network N1 is blocked, image formation is performed. Distributed printing by the apparatus 20 can be realized.
[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, a distributed printing destination list is registered in advance. Therefore, in the second embodiment, at the time of distributed printing request, the candidates for the distributed printing destination are extracted from the image forming apparatus 20 near the user and specified by the user. For example, in the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 that is not turned on or the image forming apparatus 20 that is not connected to the internal network N1 is automatically removed.

  In the second embodiment, the system configuration, the hardware configuration, and the software configuration are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description of the same parts is omitted. For example, in the second embodiment, the responsibility of the distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 of the authentication server 30 is different from that of the first embodiment.

  The distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 receives an acquisition request for information regarding the distributed printing destination from the image forming apparatus 20. The distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 generates a list of other image forming apparatuses 20 in the same subnet mask as the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20. Information regarding other image forming apparatuses 20 can be acquired from the device information list stored in the device information storage unit 34. The distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 provides the image forming apparatus 20 with a list of other image forming apparatuses 20 in the same subnet mask as the IP address of the image forming apparatus 20 as distributed printing destination candidates.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the printing system 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of another example showing the processing procedure of the printing system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, the processing from login to job list acquisition performed before the processing in step S <b> 31 is the same as that in FIG. 5, and thus illustration is omitted.

  In step S31, the user requests a candidate list of distributed printing destinations from the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-1. In step S32, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits its own IP address, and requests the authentication server 30 for a plurality of distributed printing destination candidates. In step S33, the authentication server 30 searches the device information list stored in the device information storage unit 34 for the IP addresses of the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 having the same subnet mask as the image forming apparatus 20-1.

  In step S34, the authentication server 30 responds to the image forming apparatus 20-1 with IP addresses of the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 having the same subnet mask as the image forming apparatus 20-1 as a plurality of distributed printing destination candidates. .

  The image forming apparatus 20-1 checks one by one whether there is a response from the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 having the same subnet mask as the image forming apparatus 20-1 based on a plurality of distributed printing destination candidates. To do.

  For example, in step S35, the image forming apparatus 20-1 confirms the response to the image forming apparatus 20-2. Here, an example in which there is no response from the image forming apparatus 20-2 will be described. In step S36, the image forming apparatus 20-1 confirms that there is no response (response) from the image forming apparatus 20-2.

  In step S37, the image forming apparatus 20-1 confirms the response to the image forming apparatus 20-3. Here, an example in which there is a response from the image forming apparatus 20-3 will be described. In step S38, the image forming apparatus 20-1 confirms that there is a response from the image forming apparatus 20-3.

  In step S39, the image forming apparatus 20-1 notifies the image forming apparatus 20-3 that has responded and the image forming apparatus 20-2 that has not responded, and requests a candidate list of distributed printing destinations from the authentication server 30. To do. In step S40, the authentication server 30 is registered in the device information list, is in the same subnet mask as the image forming apparatus 20-1, and can respond to the image forming apparatus 20-1. In response to the image forming apparatus 20-1.

  In step S <b> 41, the user operates the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-1 to select the image forming apparatus 20-3 included in the distributed printing destination candidate list. Further, the user selects a print job to be distributed printed from the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-1 from the job list, and then instructs the selected print job to be distributed printed.

  In step S42, the image forming apparatus 20-1 requests the print server 40 to perform distributed printing of the print job under the specified conditions. In step S43, the print server 40 requests the rendering server 50 to divide the print job based on the designated print job and conditions. The rendering server 50 divides the print job based on the designated condition.

  In step S44, the rendering server 50 newly stores the divided print job in the data storage unit 45 of the print server 40. In step S45, the print server 40 assigns job IDs to the divided print jobs again.

  In step S46, the print server 40 responds to the image forming apparatus 20-1 with the job ID assigned to the divided print job. In step S47, the image forming apparatus 20-1 transmits one of the job IDs received from the print server 40 to the image forming apparatus 20-3.

  When receiving the job ID of the divided print job from the image forming apparatus 20-1, the image forming apparatus 20-3 designates the job ID and requests the print server 40 to acquire the print job in step S48. In step S49, the image forming apparatus 20-3 acquires a print job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S50, the image forming apparatus 20-3 prints the print job acquired from the print server 40.

  In step S <b> 51, the image forming apparatus 20-1 specifies a job ID that has not been transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20-3 from the job IDs received from the print server 40, and requests the print server 40 to acquire a print job. . In step S52, the image forming apparatus 20-1 acquires a print job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S53, the image forming apparatus 20-1 prints the print job acquired from the print server 40.

  Since the authentication server 30 cannot confirm the response to the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3 in the processes in steps S35 to S38, the image forming apparatus 20-1 responds to the image forming apparatuses 20-2 and 20-3. Confirmation is in progress. If the image forming apparatus 20-1 determines in step S39 that the image forming apparatus 20-3 that has responded is a candidate for the distributed printing destination, the processes in steps S39 to S40 can be omitted.

  As described above, in the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the distributed printing destination candidates are extracted from the other image forming apparatuses 20 near the image forming apparatus 20-1 operated by the user, and the distributed printing destination is transmitted to the user. Can be selected. In the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 20 that is not turned on or the image forming apparatus 20 that is not connected to the internal network N1 can be removed from the image forming apparatus 20 that is the distributed printing destination.

<Data structure>
In the second embodiment, the authentication server 30 does not hold a distributed printing destination list as shown in FIG. In other words, in the second embodiment, it is not necessary to register a list of distributed printing destinations for each user in advance.

<Summary>
According to the printing system 1 according to the second embodiment, it is not necessary to register a list of distributed printing destinations for each user in advance, and it is possible to flexibly cope with a case where a user prints at a place different from usual. it can.
[Third Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, another image forming apparatus 20 within the same subnet mask as the image forming apparatus 20 operated by the user is presented to the user as a distributed printing destination candidate list, and the distributed printing destination candidate list is displayed. The user is made to select a distributed printing destination from among the above. Therefore, in the third embodiment, when a user logs in to another image forming apparatus 20 during distributed printing with an image forming apparatus 20, the other image forming apparatus 20 is set as a distributed printing destination.

  In the third embodiment, since the system configuration, the hardware configuration, and the software configuration are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description of the same parts is omitted. For example, in the third embodiment, the distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 32 of the authentication server 30 is deleted, and a distributed printing necessity determination unit 46 is added to the print server 40.

  The distributed printing necessity determination unit 46 of the print server 40 determines whether the divided print job (divided job) associated with the user is registered in the divided job list stored in the data storage unit 45. . If a divided job associated with the user is stored, the distributed printing necessity determination unit 46 generates a list of the divided jobs. In the third embodiment, it is desirable to store the status of the divided job (unprinted, being printed, printed, etc.) in the divided job list of FIG.

<Details of processing>
Below, the detail of the process of the printing system 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of another example showing the processing procedure of the printing system according to the present embodiment.

  In step S61, the user selects a print job to be distributed from the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-1 from the job list, and then instructs the selected print job to be distributed.

  In step S62, the image forming apparatus 20-1 requests the print server 40 to perform distributed printing of the print job under the specified conditions. In step S63, the print server 40 requests the rendering server 50 to divide the print job based on the designated print job and conditions. The rendering server 50 divides the print job based on the designated condition.

  In step S <b> 64, the rendering server 50 newly stores the divided job in the data storage unit 45 of the print server 40. In step S65, the print server 40 assigns job IDs to the divided jobs again. In step S66, the print server 40 selects a job ID for the image forming apparatus 20-1 from the job IDs assigned to the divided jobs and notifies the image forming apparatus 20-1.

  In step S <b> 67, the image forming apparatus 20-1 specifies the job ID received from the print server 40 and requests the print server 40 to obtain a divided job. In step S68, the image forming apparatus 20-1 acquires a divided job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S69, the image forming apparatus 20-1 prints the divided job acquired from the print server 40.

  In step S <b> 70, the user inputs authentication information to the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-2 and logs in in parallel with printing on the image forming apparatus 20-1. In step S <b> 71, the image processing apparatus 20-2 transmits authentication information to the authentication server 30 and requests the authentication server 30 for authentication. In step S <b> 72, the authentication server 30 determines that the authentication is successful if the user who matches the received authentication information is registered in the user information list stored in the user information storage unit 33. In step S73, the authentication server 30 issues an authentication ticket to the image forming apparatus 20-2.

  In step S74, the image forming apparatus 20-2 requests the print server 40 to acquire a job list. When the image forming apparatus 20-2 requests the print server 40 to acquire a job list, the image forming apparatus 20-2 also transmits an authentication ticket.

  In step S75, the print server 40 inquires of the authentication server 30 who the authentication ticket received from the image forming apparatus 20-2 belongs. In step S76, the authentication server 30 notifies the image forming apparatus 20-2 of the user name corresponding to the authentication ticket.

  In step S77, the print server 40 determines whether there is a divided job of the user specified by the authentication ticket from the print job list and the divided job list stored in the data storage unit 45.

  If there is a divided job for the user specified by the authentication ticket, the print server 40 generates a list of the divided jobs for the user specified by the authentication ticket. In step S78, the print server 40 notifies the image forming apparatus 20-2 of the generated divided job list. The image forming apparatus 20-1 displays a list of divided jobs on the UI.

  The user selects a divided job to be distributed and printed from the list of divided jobs displayed on the UI of the image forming apparatus 20-2, and then instructs the divided job to be distributed and printed. In step S79, the image forming apparatus 20-2 designates the job ID of the divided job and requests the print server 40 to acquire the divided job.

  In step S80, the image forming apparatus 20-2 acquires a divided job associated with the job ID from the print server 40. In step S81, the image forming apparatus 20-2 prints the divided job acquired from the print server 40.

  As described above, in the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user logs in to the image forming apparatus 20-2 during the distributed printing in the image forming apparatus 20-1, the image forming apparatus 20-2 is set as the distributed printing destination. Become. Therefore, if the user is performing distributed printing, the user can cause the image forming apparatus 20-2 to perform distributed printing by moving to the image forming apparatus 20-2 near the image forming apparatus 20-1 and logging in. Can do.

<Summary>
According to the printing system 1 according to the third embodiment, for example, there is no problem that the image forming apparatus 20 included in the candidate list of distributed printing destinations displayed on the UI is not located, and the distance Therefore, it is possible to easily designate another image forming apparatus 20 that is very close as a distributed printing destination. Therefore, according to the printing system 1 according to the third embodiment, for example, when the candidate list of distributed printing destinations is displayed by model name and there are a plurality of the same model, the image forming apparatus 20 is distinguished. There is no problem that you can't.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, the distributed printing destination candidates may be automatically searched wirelessly. Further, the selection of the image forming apparatus 20 included in the distributed printing destination candidate list may be automatically performed according to the distance between the image forming apparatuses 20.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and a configuration in which some of the processing blocks illustrated in FIG. 4 are partially exchanged among the authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50 may be employed. Furthermore, in the present exemplary embodiment, distributed printing in the image forming apparatus 20 is described as an example, but distributed processing in the information processing apparatus may be used.

  As long as the information processing device is a device that can acquire divided jobs and perform distributed processing, it can take any form such as a printer, FAX, copier, multifunction device, smartphone, mobile phone, PC, tablet PC, projector, etc. Also good. Further, the management apparatus may be configured to include at least the print server 40, and may further include at least one of the authentication server 30 and the rendering server 50.

  The management device described in the claims corresponds to the print server 40. The management device may have a configuration in which the authentication server 30 and the print server 40 are combined, or may have a configuration in which the print server 40 and the rendering server 50 are combined, the authentication server 30, the print server 40, and the rendering server 50. May be combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing system 10 Client 20, 20-1 to 20-3 Image forming apparatus 21 Authentication request part 22 Job list acquisition request part 23 Job acquisition request part 24 Print control part 25 Job ID transmission part 26 Job ID reception part 30 Authentication server 31 User authentication request processing unit 32 Distributed printing destination acquisition request processing unit 33 User information storage unit 34 Device information storage unit 40 Print server 41 Job reception unit 42 Job list acquisition request processing unit 43 Job acquisition request processing unit 44 Distributed printing request processing unit 45 Data storage unit 46 Distributed printing necessity determination unit 50 Rendering server 51 Data conversion unit 52 Job information rewriting unit 100 Computer system 101 Input device 102 Display device 103, 203 External I / F
103a, 203a Recording medium 104, 212 RAM (Random Access Memory)
105, 213 ROM (Read Only Memory)
106, 211 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
107, 204 Communication I / F
108, 215 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
201 Controller 202 Operation Panel 205 Printer 206 Scanner 214 NVRAM
N1 Internal network N2 External network FW Firewall

JP 2002-215369 A

Claims (10)

An information processing apparatus that performs distributed processing of data managed by a management apparatus,
Identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of divided data divided from the data;
Data acquisition means for specifying identification information of the acquired divided data and acquiring the divided data from the management device;
An information processing apparatus comprising data processing means for processing the divided data. The identification information acquisition means includes
Distributed processing request means for requesting the management device to distribute the data and receiving identification information of the plurality of pieces of divided data from the management device;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an identification information transmitting unit that transmits at least one of the plurality of pieces of identification information of the divided data to another information processing apparatus. The identification information acquisition means includes
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an identification information receiving unit that receives the identification information of the divided data transmitted from the identification information transmission unit of another information processing apparatus. The identification information acquisition means includes
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an identification information receiving unit configured to receive identification information of the divided data associated with a user of the information processing apparatus from the management apparatus. The distributed processing request means is notified of the information processing device that performs distributed processing of the distributed data from the management device,
The identification information transmitting unit transmits at least one of the plurality of pieces of identification information of the divided data to the information processing apparatus that performs the distributed processing of the distributed data notified from the management apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.   6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the management apparatus and the information processing apparatus are provided in different networks that cannot make a request from the management apparatus to the information processing apparatus. . An information processing device that performs distributed processing of data managed by the management device,
Identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of divided data divided from the data;
Data acquisition means for specifying the identification information of the acquired divided data and acquiring the divided data from the management device;
A program for functioning as data processing means for processing the divided data. A distributed processing method executed in a system in which a management device that manages data and an information processing device that processes the data are connected via a network,
The management device
A distribution that allocates identification information to each piece of divided data divided from the data based on a distributed processing request from the first information processing apparatus, and transmits identification information of a plurality of pieces of the divided data to the first information processing apparatus Processing request processing procedure;
Data for transmitting the divided data specified by the identification information to the first or second information processing device based on a data acquisition request specifying the identification information from the first or second information processing device Execute the acquisition request processing procedure,
The first information processing apparatus includes:
A first identification information acquisition procedure for requesting the management device to distribute the data and receiving identification information of the divided data from the management device;
A first data acquisition procedure for specifying the received identification information of the divided data and acquiring the divided data from the management device;
Executing a first data processing procedure for processing the divided data;
The second information processing apparatus includes:
A second identification information acquisition procedure for acquiring identification information of the divided data;
A second data acquisition procedure for specifying the identification information of the acquired divided data and acquiring the divided data from the management device;
And a second data processing procedure for processing the divided data. The first identification information acquisition procedure includes:
A distributed processing request procedure for requesting the management device to distribute the data and receiving identification information of the plurality of pieces of divided data from the management device;
An identification information transmission procedure for transmitting at least one of the plurality of pieces of identification information of the divided data to the second information processing apparatus;
The second identification information acquisition procedure includes:
9. The distributed processing method according to claim 8, wherein an identification information receiving procedure for receiving the identification information of the divided data transmitted from the first information processing apparatus is executed. The first identification information acquisition procedure includes:
Requesting the management device to distribute the data, and executing a distributed processing request procedure for receiving at least one of identification information of the plurality of divided data from the management device;
The second identification information acquisition procedure includes:
9. The distributed processing method according to claim 8, wherein an identification information receiving procedure for receiving identification information of the divided data associated with a user of the information processing apparatus from the management apparatus is executed.

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