JP2021086569A - Information processing apparatus, device system, and job execution method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus, or the like, configured to increase an operating rate of a device.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 11 which communicates with an information processing system 50 to cause a device 20 to execute a job includes: a job information receiving unit 17 which receives job information on a job: a job execution determination unit 16 which determines whether to execute the job in the device, on the basis of the job information received by the job information receiving unit and job schedule information set in advance in the device; a communication unit 14 which transmits, when the job execution determination unit determines not to execute the job, the job information received by the job information receiving unit to the information processing system; and a job execution instruction unit 18 which issues an instruction, when the job execution determination unit determines to execute the job, to the device to execute the job received by the job information receiving unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an equipment system, and a job execution method.

There is known a device for commercial printing in which printed matter is a commercial product, not a device for printing printed matter used internally by employees and the like. In commercial printing, printed matter used for the business activities of general companies and organizations is output. For example, leaflets, pamphlets, posters, catalogs, company information, manuals, etc. may be output.

Among the equipment for commercial printing, for example, in a large high-speed continuous business machine that uses roll paper, paper replacement that requires crane operation, reconnection of peripheral equipment, pretreatment for each paper, setting of image quality, etc. are performed. It is necessary and tends to increase the preparation time for printing. Commercial printing printing companies are also required to produce high-mix low-volume products in order to meet various needs, and it is an issue to shorten the preparation time and improve printing productivity.

On the other hand, printing companies need to efficiently receive orders for highly profitable projects in consideration of the equipment they own and the cost of preparation, and the situation is such that the equipment is idled without finding a suitable project. There are many cases where it falls.

A technique for improving the efficiency of the output of a device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a multifunction device that manages jobs on the cloud, determines whether or not a job can be executed according to device configuration information, and displays alternative machine candidates when the job cannot be executed.

However, the conventional technique has a problem that it is not always easy to increase the operating rate of the device. That is, since the conventional technology does not consider the scheduled job information scheduled to be executed on the device side, there is a possibility that another job cannot be executed by interrupting the job.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device or the like capable of increasing the operating rate of the device.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is an information processing apparatus that communicates with an information processing system and causes a device to execute a job, a job information receiving unit that receives job information related to the job, and the job received by the job information receiving unit. Based on the information and the job schedule information already set in the device, the job execution determination unit that determines whether or not to execute the job in the device and the job execution determination unit must execute the job. When it is determined, the communication unit which transmits the job information received by the job information receiving unit to the information processing system and the job accepted by the job information receiving unit when it is determined that the job execution determining unit executes the job. It is characterized by having a job execution instruction unit for instructing the device to execute the above.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing device or the like capable of increasing the operating rate of the device.

This is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of an equipment system. This is another example of a schematic configuration diagram of an equipment system. This is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing device that constitutes a job management server or a cloud system. This is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of a device. This is an example of a functional block diagram for explaining the functions of the device system by dividing them into blocks. This is an example of a functional block diagram for explaining the functions of the device system in the system configuration of FIG. 2 by dividing them into blocks. It is a figure which shows an example of the data model used in the equipment system. This is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating the overall processing performed by the equipment system. This is an example of a sequence diagram for explaining the overall processing performed by the equipment system when the configuration of the equipment system is shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the print preparation and printing of a job by an arrow line. This is an example of a flowchart showing a procedure for determining whether or not the job execution determination unit can execute a job in the free time. It is a figure explaining the prediction of the state of an apparatus at the start time of a free time. This is an example of a flowchart for explaining a procedure in which the job execution determination unit predicts the state of the device in step S2. It is a figure explaining the method of predicting the preparation time and execution time. It is a figure which shows an example of the neural network used for machine learning.

Hereinafter, as an example of the embodiment for carrying out the present invention, the device system 100 and the job execution method performed by the device system 100 will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Outline of this embodiment>
In order for a printing company that operates commercial printing equipment to increase the operating rate of the equipment and improve profits, it is considered that there should be an ecosystem in which project information (corresponding to a job) can be bought and sold between the companies. Even if the company has received an order or is expected to receive an order, if the job execution is unsatisfactory due to reasons such as the company's equipment is not available or no profit is generated, provide the job to another company. Therefore, other companies can prevent lost opportunities.

FIG. 1 is an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the equipment system 100 of the present embodiment.
(1) The device 20 notifies the device management service 70 of device information (configuration, setting, device status, job status, etc.) on a regular basis or when there is a change. The device management service 70 holds the latest device information of the registered device 20.
(2) The job management server 11 of the printing company 10A registers the job information of the printing company 10A determined that it cannot be executed by its own machine in the job management service 60. Since the job management service 60 holds the status of the device 20 (the above device information) owned by the registered printing company 10 and the list of accepted jobs, it is desired to respond to a new job request. You can search for a viable supplier by the delivery date.
(3) The job management service 60 searches for a device 20 suitable for executing the job, and delivers the job to the printing company 10B that owns the device 20. The device 20 of the printing company 10B executes the job.
(4) The billing service 80 withdraws from the account of the printing company 10A based on the job execution completion notification notified from the device 20 of the printing company 10B (the fee paid by the customer is credited to the printing company 10A). Then, deposit money into the account of the printing company 10B. It is recommended that at least the information provision fee remains for the printing company 10A.

With the above configuration, by printing on the device 20 suitable for job execution, the operating rate of the device 20 can be increased, opportunity loss can be prevented, and profits can be distributed among the vendors who use the device system 100. can do. That is, the printing company 10A can sell the printing job that cannot be executed by the company to another company that can execute it, can receive the information provision fee, and the printing company 10B can increase the operation rate, and for the customer who requests printing. Has the advantage of shortening the waiting time until printing is completed.

<Terminology>
A job is a unit of processing work. When the device 20 is a printer, it is one processing operation executed by the image forming apparatus. For example, printing a certain number of sheets of a document. In the present embodiment, printing by the device 20 is the execution of the job, but the specific processing of the job execution differs depending on the type of the device 20. In addition, the output obtained by executing the job may simply display the result, store the result in the cloud, or the like. E-mail transmission, notification to users, etc. may be output.

The job is as described above, but the job information is information about the job. In this embodiment, the two are not strictly distinguished.

The job schedule information is the start time and end time when the job is scheduled to be executed on a certain device.

<About the configuration>
The configuration of the equipment system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In the device system 100, the cloud system 50, the job management server 11 held by each of the plurality of printing companies 10, and the device 20 communicate with each other via the communication network N. The printing company 10 means a printing facility such as a printing factory, a printing shop, or a predetermined building. In the following, the code of any printing company among the plurality of printing companies 10A and 10B will be referred to as the printing company 10.

The communication network N often includes the Internet because the cloud system 50 is used in the present embodiment. LAN, WAN, etc. are used in the printing company 10. In communication via the Internet, job information should at least be encrypted. In addition, VPN (Virtual Private Network) may be used.

Each printing company 10 has a job management server 11 and a device 20, and the job management server 11 and the device 20 communicate with each other via a network or a dedicated line. Further, the printing company 10 can operate the administrator terminal 12 to communicate with the job management server 11.

The job management server 11 is an information processing device that accepts job registration from the administrator terminal 12 and instructs the device 20 to execute the job (an example of the information processing device within the scope of claims). Therefore, the job management server 11 displays a screen for receiving job information as a Web server on the administrator terminal 12. On the administrator terminal 12, a dedicated application is running on the browser software or the job management server 11.

The job management server 11 determines whether to execute the received job information in the device 20 owned by the job management server 11 or in the cloud system 50. When executing in the cloud system 50, the job management server 11 transmits the received job information to the cloud system 50. Whether to send to the cloud system 50 or to print on the device 20 is determined based on a predetermined rule. For example, the free time is detected from the schedule information of the device 20, the preparation time and the execution time of the received job are calculated, and it is determined whether or not the received job can be executed within the free time. At the time of determination, the state of the device 20 at the start time of the free time can be predicted, and the preparation time can be predicted based on the predicted state of the device 20 and the state of the device 20 set based on the received job information. It is one of the features.

The job management server 11 may be a general PC (Personal Computer), a workstation, a server device, or the like. Further, although the job management server 11 is on-premises in the figure, it may be in the cloud system 50. Further, the job management server 11 and the device 20 may be integrated.

The device 20 is a production printer, a color inkjet printer, or a printer such as a color / monochrome MFP (Multifunction Peripheral / Printer / Product). The printing method includes electrophotographic method, letterpress printing, intaglio printing, lithographic printing, stencil printing, and the like, and the printing method is not limited to these, and any printing method may be used. The device 20 may be called an image forming apparatus or a printer.

Further, even if the device 20 is connected to a finisher (post-processing device) for performing post-processing (post-processing) such as paper folding, saddle stitch binding, case binding, punching, etc. on the printed recording paper. Good. Further, the device 20 may have a scanner function, a fax function, a copy function, and the like.

The commercial printing device 20 is controlled by a DFE (Digital Front End). Therefore, the job management server 11, the device 20, or a device independent of these may have a DFE. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the job management server 11 has a DFE. The DFE creates schedule information of the job to be printed by the device 20 based on the setting from the administrator terminal, and instructs the device 20 to execute the job based on the schedule information. The DFE is also called a print controller and controls printing by the device 20. When the DFE acquires a job, the device 20 uses JDF (Job Definition Format) and PDL to generate raster data for the device 20 to form a toner image or an image with ink, and transmits the raster data to the device 20.

The device 20 is not limited to the image forming device as long as it is a device having a communication function. The device 20 includes, for example, a PJ (Projector: projector), an IWB (Interactive White Board: a white board having an electronic whiteboard function capable of intercommunication), an output device such as a digital signage, a HUD (Head Up Display) device, and an industry. Machines, image pickup devices, sound collectors, medical devices, network home appliances, automobiles (Connected Cars), notebook PCs (Personal Computers), mobile phones, smartphones, tablet terminals, game machines, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), digital cameras, wearables It may be a PC, a desktop PC, or the like.

The administrator terminal 12 may be an information processing terminal such as a PC used by the printing company 10 (administrator, sales person, etc.). The printing company 10 registers the job information that has been ordered (or is likely to be ordered) in the job management server 11 via the administrator terminal 12. For example, browser software or a dedicated application operates on the administrator terminal 12, and a Web page transmitted by the job management server 11 is displayed. The administrator terminal 12 transmits the job information set on the Web page (which is also the screen displayed by the administrator terminal) by the printing company 10 to the job management server 11. The administrator terminal 12 may be a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like, in addition to the PC.

The cloud system 50 is an information processing system having one or more information processing devices. Cloud is an abbreviation for cloud computing, and refers to a usage pattern in which resources on a network are used without being aware of specific hardware resources. The term cloud is used in contrast to the term on-premises (inside equipment managed by the user), but the cloud system 50 may be outside or inside the corporate LAN. One or more information processing devices included in the cloud system 50 are computers and software that function as servers to provide information and processing results in response to requests from clients.

The illustrated cloud system 50 includes a billing service 80, a job management service 60, and a device management service 70. Each service is a function provided by the cloud system 50. There may be three servers corresponding to the billing service 80, the job management service 60, and the device management service 70, respectively, or one or more servers provide the billing service 80, the job management service 60, and the device management service 70. You may. The applications corresponding to the billing service 80, the job management service 60, and the device management service 70 are operating on the server, and the applications can communicate with each other. Each application communicates via, for example, Web API (Application Programming Interface). Although there is no strict definition in Web API, it is an interface between applications or systems called over a network using a protocol such as HTTP.

The job management service 60 receives job information from the job management server 11 of each printing company 10 and centrally manages it, refers to the device information managed by the device management service 70, and distributes the job information to an appropriate printing company 10. To do. The device management service 70 receives the device information from each device 20 and provides the device information to the job management service 60. When the job is delivered to the printing company 10 (when the printing company 10 that received the job does not print), the billing service 80 provides withdrawal information from the printing company 10 that transferred the job and the printing company 10 that received the job. Register the deposit information to. When the job is not delivered (when the printing company 10 who has received the job prints), the withdrawal information from the customer and the payment information to the printing company 10 who executed the job are registered in response to the job execution completion notification.

<Another example of system configuration>
FIG. 2 is another example of the configuration of the equipment system 100. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the printing company 10 registers the job in the job management server 11, but in FIG. 2, for example, the printing company 10 directly registers the job in the cloud system 50. The customer (the person who orders the print) may register.

In this case, there is no priority among the vendors, and the job management service 60 transfers the job information to the most appropriate (for example, quick finish) vendor. There is no charge between vendors.

Since the printing company 10A does not need to accept job registration, it has a printing controller 13 instead of the job management server 11. The job registration method may be the same as when the administrator terminal 12 registers the job in the job management server 11.

<Hardware configuration example>
<< Job management server, cloud system >>
FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing device constituting the job management server 11 or the cloud system 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the information processing device is constructed by a computer, and has a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, an HD 504, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, a display 506, and an external device connection I / F (Interface). ) 508, network I / F 509, bus line 510, controller 511, pointing device 512, DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, media I / F 516.

Of these, the CPU 501 controls the operation of the entire information processing device. The ROM 502 stores a program used to drive the CPU 501 such as an IPL. The RAM 503 is used as a work area of the CPU 501. The HD504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls reading or writing of various data to the HD 504 according to the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The external device in this case is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a printer, or the like. The network I / F 509 is an interface for performing data communication using a communication network. The bus line 510 is an address bus, a data bus, or the like for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501 shown in FIG.

Further, the keyboard 511 is a kind of input means including a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions and the like. The pointing device 512 is a kind of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like. The DVD-RW drive 514 controls reading or writing of various data to the DVD-RW 513 as an example of the removable recording medium. In addition, it is not limited to DVD-RW, and may be DVD-R or the like. The media I / F 516 controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 515 such as a flash memory.

In the case of the cloud system 50, it is often realized by a virtual machine. A virtual machine is an information processing device when another OS is operated on the host OS.

<< Equipment >>
FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the device 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the device 20 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, and a network I / F 950.

Of these, the controller 910 is a CPU 901, a system memory (MEM-P) 902, a north bridge (NB) 903, a south bridge (SB) 904, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, and a storage unit, which are the main parts of a computer. It has a local memory (MEM-C) 907, an HDD controller 908, and a storage unit HD909, and has a configuration in which the NB 903 and the ASIC 906 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

Of these, the CPU 901 is a control unit that controls the entire device 20. The NB903 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 901, the MEM-P902, the SB904, and the AGP bus 921, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target. Has.

The MEM-P902 includes a ROM 902a which is a memory for storing programs and data that realizes each function of the controller 910, and a RAM 902b which is used as a memory for developing programs and data and a memory for drawing at the time of memory printing. The program stored in the RAM 902b is configured to be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD in an installable format or an executable format file. You may.

SB904 is a bridge for connecting NB903 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The ASIC 906 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge connecting the AGP bus 921, the PCI bus 922, the HDD controller 908, and the MEM-C907, respectively. This ASIC906 is a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC906, a memory controller that controls MEM-C907, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data by hardware logic and the like. , And a PCI unit that transfers data between the scanner unit 931 and the printer unit 932 via the PCI bus 922. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface may be connected to the ASIC 906.

The MEM-C907 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HD909 is a storage for accumulating image data, accumulating font data used at the time of printing, and accumulating forms. The HD909 controls reading or writing of data to the HD909 according to the control of the CPU 901. The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for speeding up graphic processing, and the graphics accelerator card can be speeded up by directly accessing the MEM-P902 with high throughput. ..

Further, the short-range communication circuit 920 is provided with an antenna 920a of the short-range communication circuit. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

Further, the engine control unit 930 is composed of a scanner unit 931 and a printer unit 932. Further, the operation panel 940 displays the current setting value, the selection screen, and the like, and displays the panel display unit 940a such as a touch panel that accepts the input from the operator, and the setting value of the condition related to image formation such as the density setting condition. It is provided with a hard key 940b including a numeric keypad for receiving and a start key for receiving a copy start instruction. The controller 910 controls the entire device 20, for example, drawing, communication, input from the operation panel 940, and the like. The scanner unit 931 or the printer unit 932 includes an image processing portion such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

The device 20 can sequentially switch and select the document box function, the copy function, the printer function, and the facsimile function by the application switching key on the operation panel 940. When the document box function is selected, the document box mode is set, when the copy function is selected, the copy mode is set, when the printer function is selected, the printer mode is set, and when the facsimile mode is selected, the facsimile mode is set.

Further, the network I / F950 is an interface for performing data communication using a communication network. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network I / F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922.

<About functions>
FIG. 5 is an example of a functional block diagram for explaining the functions of the device system 100 by dividing them into blocks. Note that FIG. 5 will be described using the system configuration of FIG.

<< Printing company 10A >>
The job management server 11 of the printing company 10A has a communication unit 14, a schedule generation unit 15, a job execution determination unit 16, a job information reception unit 17, and a job execution instruction unit 18. These functions of the job management server 11 are realized by operating any of the components shown in FIG. 3 by an instruction from the CPU 501 according to a program developed on the RAM 503 from the HD 504. A function or means.

The job information reception unit 17 accepts registration of job information from the administrator terminal 12 as, for example, a Web server. The contents of the job information will be described in the cloud system 50. Job information may be manually received from the printing company 10 or may be received via a storage medium.

The job execution determination unit 16 determines whether the job received by the job information reception unit 17 is executed by the printing company 10A or registered in the cloud system 50. For example, can the state of the device 20 at the start of the free time be predicted from the current state of the device 20 and the schedule information scheduled for job execution, and the newly accepted job can be completed by the end of the free time? to decide.

When the printing company 10A determines that the schedule information can be executed, the schedule generation unit 15 generates schedule information and stores it in the job information storage unit 19. The details of the schedule information will be described later, but the schedule information is information indicating a schedule from when to when the job will be executed.

When the job execution determination unit 16 determines that the printing company 10A can execute the job, the job execution instruction unit 18 instructs the device 20 to execute the job based on the schedule information.

The communication unit 14 transmits and receives various information to and from the job management service 60. In the present embodiment, the job information registered by the administrator terminal 12 and the job execution completion notification are transmitted to the job management service 60.

The job management server 11 has a job information storage unit 19. The job information storage unit 19 is constructed in at least one of the HD 504 or the RAM 503 shown in FIG. The job information stored in the job information storage unit 19 may be the same as the job information of the job management service 60 described later.

<< Equipment >>
The device 20 has a communication unit 21, a device information transmission unit 22, and a job execution unit 23. Each of these functions possessed by the device 20 is a function realized by operating any of the components shown in FIG. 4 by an instruction from the CPU 901 according to a program developed on the RAM 902b from the HD 909. It is a means.

The job execution unit 23 executes the job instructed by the job execution instruction unit 18. By executing the job, for example, the print data included in the job information is printed on a recording medium such as paper (printing may be referred to as output).

The device information transmission unit 22 transmits device information related to the device 20 to the device management service 70 via the communication unit 21. The device information includes a configuration such as a printing speed of the device 20, settings such as a paper type and size, a state of the device 20 such as during operation or failure, and schedule information indicating how many jobs have been submitted. The contents of the device information will be described in the cloud system 50.

The communication unit 21 transmits and receives various information to and from the device management service 70. In the present embodiment, the above device information is transmitted to the device management service 70.

<< Printing company 10B >>
The function of the printing company 10B may be the same as that of the printing company 10A. However, in the printing company 10B, a function is used in which the communication unit 14 receives the job information and the job execution instruction unit 18 instructs the device 20 to execute the job. The job execution unit 23 notifies the job execution instruction unit 18 of the completion of job execution. The communication unit 14 of the printing company 10B transmits the job execution completion to the job management service 60 (execution completion notification).

<< Job management service >>
The job management service 60 includes a communication unit 61, a job information registration unit 62, a prediction parameter correction unit 63, a job information distribution unit 64, a device information receiving unit 65, and a billing information notification unit 66. These functions of the job management service 60 are realized by operating any of the components shown in FIG. 3 by an instruction from the CPU 501 according to a program developed on the RAM 503 from the HD 504. A function or means.

The communication unit 61 receives job information from the printing company 10A. In addition, job information and schedule information are transmitted to the printing company 10B. In addition, the job execution completion notification is received from the printing company 10B.

The job information registration unit 62 stores the job information received by the communication unit 61 in the job information storage unit 69. Table 1 shows an example of the job information stored in the job information storage unit 69.

The job information distribution unit 64 determines the device 20 capable of executing the job by referring to the newly registered job information, the existing job information and schedule information, and the device information received from the device management service 70. The job information distribution unit 64 generates schedule information regarding jobs to be distributed to the device. The job information distribution unit 64 transmits job information and schedule information to the job management server 11 of the printing company 10 that owns the most appropriate device 20 via the communication unit 61. The job information distribution unit 64 stores schedule information in the job information storage unit 69 in association with the job information.

The device information receiving unit 65 receives the device information from the device management service 70. The device management service 70 may be transmitted to the job management service 60 each time new device information is received, or may be transmitted periodically or when the load is light. The device information receiving unit 65 may request the device management service 70 and receive device information as a result of the request. In this case as well, it may be requested on a regular basis or in a light load condition.

The billing information notification unit 66 registers the withdrawal information of the printing company 10A and the deposit information of the printing company 10B in the billing service 80 for the job registered by the printing company 10A and executed by the printing company 10B. This is because the printing company 10B receives the fee received by the printing company 10A. However, the information provision fee remains for the printing company 10A. The timing of the notification may be the timing when the printing company 10B completes the execution of the job, but it may also be the timing when the job is transmitted to the printing company 10.

After the job is executed, the prediction parameter correction unit 63 receives the job execution completion notification from the device 20 and stores it, and corrects the prediction parameter based on the past execution result. The prediction parameter is a parameter for predicting the job preparation time and execution time from the job information and the state of the device.

The job management service 60 has a job information storage unit 69. The job information storage unit 69 is constructed in at least one of the HD 504 or the RAM 503 shown in FIG.

Table 1 schematically shows the job information stored in the job information storage unit 69. For the job information, for example, each item of job ID, paper, number of sheets, image quality request, desired delivery date, print data, customer information, schedule information, and log is set as one record. The job ID is identification information that identifies the job information. Paper is the grade and type of paper required for this job. The number of sheets is the number of copies to be printed by the job. The image quality requirement is the image quality (resolution, etc.) required for the printed matter. The desired delivery date is the delivery date of the printed matter. The print data is data to be printed, and has, for example, JDF and PDL. Customer information is information that identifies the customer who requested this job. The schedule information is information on when the device 20 to which the job is assigned (K001 represents the device) executes the job. The log is the start time and end time when the job was actually executed and is included in the job execution completion notification. More detailed job information will be described with reference to FIG.

<< Equipment management service >>
The device management service 70 has a communication unit 71, a device information registration unit 72, and a device information providing unit 73. These functions of the device management service 70 are realized by operating any of the components shown in FIG. 3 by an instruction from the CPU 501 according to a program developed on the RAM 503 from the HD 504. A function or means.

The communication unit 71 receives device information from the device 20 of the printing companies 10A and 10B. When communication is started from the communication unit 71, which may be received from the device 20 in the firewall, a two-way communication mechanism (for example, WebSocket MQTT) is used.

The device information registration unit 72 registers the device information received via the communication unit 71 in the device information storage unit 79. Table 2 shows an example of device information.

The device information providing unit 73 provides the device information registered in the device information storage unit 79 to the job management service 60. Preferably, the device information should be provided without delay when new device information is registered. Alternatively, the device management service 70 provided in response to a request from the device information receiving unit 65, or provided periodically or at a timing when the load is small, has a device information storage unit 79. The device information storage unit 79 is constructed in at least one or more of the HD 504 or the RAM 503 shown in FIG.

Table 2 schematically shows the device information stored in the device information storage unit 79. For device information, for example, each item of device ID, configuration, setting, device status, paper remaining amount, ink remaining amount, and job state is set as one record. The device ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the device 20. The configuration is information on the functions of the device 20, and for example, color printing and black-and-white printing are possible, and the printing speed when possible is set. The settings are the size, type, grade, and the like of the paper set in the device 20. The device state represents the current state of the device 20, such as operating, stopped, or out of order. The remaining amount of paper is the remaining amount of paper, and the remaining amount of ink is the remaining amount of ink. The job state is information about a job submitted to the device 20, for example, schedule information is registered. More detailed device information will be described with reference to FIG.

<< Billing service >>
The billing service 80 has a billing processing unit 81. These functions of the billing service 80 are realized by operating any of the components shown in FIG. 3 by an instruction from the CPU 501 according to a program developed on the RAM 503 from the HD 504. Or a means.

The billing processing unit 81 records the withdrawal information and the deposit information of each printing company 10 and registers them in the billing information storage unit 89. Withdrawal information and deposit information are settled on the settlement date and transferred to the bank account of the printing company 10.

<Functions in the system configuration shown in Fig. 2>
FIG. 6 is an example of a functional block diagram for explaining the functions of the device system 100 in the system configuration of FIG. 2 by dividing them into blocks.

In the description of FIG. 6, since the components having the same reference numerals in FIG. 5 perform the same function, only the main components of the present embodiment may be mainly described.

In FIG. 6, since the printing company 10A does not determine the execution of the job or generate the schedule information, the printing controller 13 has a communication unit 14 and a job execution instruction unit 18. Further, the job management service 60 has a schedule generation unit 15, a job execution determination unit 16, and a job information reception unit 17.

In this case, the job information distribution unit 64 of the job management service 60 determines the device 20 to distribute the job as in the case of the system configuration of FIG. 1, and the schedule generation unit 15 generates and saves the schedule information. The job information distribution unit 64 transmits job information and schedule information to the distribution destination device 20. The print controller 13 or the job management server 11 receives these and stores the job information and the schedule information in the job information storage unit 19.

In this configuration, no charge is generated between the vendors, and the charge processing unit 81 registers the payment information with the printing vendor 10 who sent the job.

<Details of data>
Subsequently, the details of the data used in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is an example of a data model used in the equipment system 100. The information managed by each service is as follows.

・ Customer management service We have the following information about customers.

− Name − Address − Email Address − Account Number (Bank Account)
-Billing service It has the following deposit / withdrawal information (information held by the billing information storage unit 89).

-Registration date-Deposit / withdrawal classification-Amount Supplementally, deposit / withdrawal information is generated when a job is provided to another company. The deposit / withdrawal category of the provider is withdrawal, and the provider is deposit.

-Contractor management service Has information on the following printing vendors 10.

− Name − Address − Email Address − Account Number (Bank Account)
-Device management service (The device 20 transmits the device information to the device management service 70 on a regular basis or when the device information changes).
It has information on the following models (information held by the device information storage unit 79).

-Paper-Image quality-Speed It has the following information about the device 20 (information held by the device information storage unit 79).

-Have information about the configuration below the machine number (information held by the device information storage unit 79).

-Hardware configuration-Software configuration-Settings-Update date and time It has the following information (information held by the device information storage unit 79).

-Status (waiting, preparing, printing, stopped, error, etc.)
-Paper (paper type, remaining amount, etc.)
-Ink (ink type, remaining amount, etc.)
-Adjustment status (alignment, color tone, etc.)
-Update date and time-Job management service Has information about the following jobs (information held by the job information storage unit 19).

-Paper-Number of sheets-Image quality request-Print data-Desired delivery date-Desired amount The desired amount is set in the following cases.
-Set as a customer request when a sales representative provides a job to another company.
-Set as a request when a customer registers a job.

It has the following schedule information information (schedule information among device information).

-Scheduled preparation start date and time-Scheduled preparation end date and time-Scheduled print start date and time-Scheduled print end date and time It has the following information about the execution result (information sent in the job execution completion notification).

-Execution status-Preparation start date and time-Preparation end date and time-Print start scheduled date and time-Print end scheduled date and time-Paper-Number of sheets-Fixed amount The job execution completion notification is generated when the job execution is completed. The printing company 10 makes a deposit and the customer makes a withdrawal. Collection to the customer may be done outside this system.

<Overall operation flow>
FIG. 8 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating the overall processing performed by the equipment system 100.

S101: The device information transmission unit 22 of each device 20 transmits device information to the device management service 70 via the communication unit 21.

S102: The communication unit 71 of the device management service 70 receives the device information, and the device information providing unit 73 transmits the device information to the job management service 60. The device information receiving unit 65 of the job management service 60 receives (receives) the device information.

S103: The administrator terminal 12 registers the job information input by the printing company 10 or the like in the job management server 11.

S104: The job information reception unit 17 of the job management server 11 accepts registration of job information. The job execution determination unit 16 of the job management server 11 determines whether or not a job can be executed based on the schedule information, device information, and new job information of the device 20 stored in the job information storage unit 19. When it is determined that printing can be performed by the own machine, the schedule generation unit 15 generates and holds the schedule information, and the job execution instruction unit 18 instructs the device 20 to execute the job based on the schedule information. The case where it is determined that the subsequent processing cannot be printed by the own machine will be described.

S105: The communication unit 14 of the job management server 11 transmits the job information to the job management service 60.

S106: The communication unit 61 of the job management service 60 receives the job information, and the job information registration unit 62 registers the job information in the job information storage unit 69. The job information distribution unit 64 determines to which device 20 the new job information is to be distributed. The job execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not each device 20 can execute a job, and when a plurality of devices 20 can execute a job, the job execution determination unit 16 determines to which device 20 the job is to be delivered. Can be the same as. The job information distribution unit 64 generates schedule information for the device 20 of the determined printing company 10B.

S107: The job information distribution unit 64 of the job management service 60 distributes job information and schedule information to the job management service 60 that manages the determined device 20.

S108: The communication unit 14 of the job management server 11 receives the job information and the schedule information, and the job execution instruction unit 18 instructs the device 20 to execute the job according to the schedule information.

S109: The job execution unit 23 of the device 20 executes the job.

S110: When the job execution is completed, the job execution unit 23 of the device 20 sends an execution completion notification to the job management server 11.

S111: The communication unit 14 of the job management server 11 sends a job execution completion notification to the job management service 60.

S112: The communication unit 61 of the job management service 60 receives the execution completion notification and stores it in the job information storage unit 19, and the prediction parameter correction unit 63 corrects the prediction parameter. The prediction parameters may be modified, for example, on a regular basis.

S113: The billing information notification unit 66 of the job management service 60 registers the withdrawal information for the printing company 10A and the deposit information for the printing company 10B in the billing service 80.

<< Processing flow in the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 6 >>
FIG. 9 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating the overall processing performed by the equipment system 100 when the configuration of the equipment system 100 is FIG. In the description of FIG. 9, the difference from FIG. 8 will be mainly described. First, the process of step S103 is the same as that of FIG. 8, but in the configuration of FIG. 6, the job management service 60 determines whether or not the job can be executed, so that step S104 is not provided. Therefore, the job information is transmitted to the job management service 60 in step S105.

S105-2: Then, the job execution determination unit 16 of the job management service 60 determines whether or not the job can be executed in the same manner as in step S104.

S105-3: When it is determined that the schedule information can be executed by the company, the schedule generation unit 15 generates the schedule information and stores it in the job information storage unit 69. Further, the job information distribution unit 64 transmits job information and schedule information to its own print controller 13.

If the company determines that it cannot be executed, the processing may be the same as in step S106 and subsequent steps.

<Judgment of job execution feasibility>
Subsequently, a method of determining whether or not the job can be executed will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing print preparation and printing of a job indicated by arrow lines. FIG. 10 shows print preparation and print schedule information for the two devices 20. The dotted line represents print preparation, and the solid line represents printing. The part without the dotted line and the solid line is the free time. The length of the arrow represents time.

FIG. 11 is an example of a flowchart showing a procedure for determining whether or not the job execution determination unit 16 can execute a job in the free time.

The job execution determination unit 16 searches for the free time of the schedule information before the desired delivery date for the device 20 owned by the printing company 10A (if there are a plurality of devices 20) (S1).

The job execution determination unit 16 predicts the state of the device 20 at the start time of the free time from the current device state and the schedule information up to the free time of interest (S2). The state of the device 20 is, for example, the set paper type, paper remaining amount, ink, ink remaining amount, or adjustment state, and the prediction method will be described later. Predicting the state of the device 20 at the start time of the free time in this way is a necessary work before the start of printing.
・ Paper setting, roll paper replacement, ink replenishment, head cleaning, adjustment (alignment, color tone, etc.)
-This is because test printing is required, and commercial printing takes a long time to prepare.

The job execution determination unit 16 determines the necessity of paper replacement, ink replenishment, or adjustment in preparation for job execution from the predicted state of the device 20 and new job information (S3). The new job information also determines the paper type to be set, the required number of paper sheets, ink (type), ink amount, and the like. If these predicted states are different from the states of the device 20 set for executing new job information, it is determined that replacement, adjustment, or replenishment is necessary. The need for head cleaning should also be determined. The prediction of the state of the device 20 and the necessity of head cleaning are determined by referring to the past history.

When paper replacement, ink replenishment or adjustment is required, the job execution determination unit 16 predicts the job preparation time and execution time in consideration of paper replacement, ink replenishment or adjustment (S4). The time required for paper replacement, ink replenishment, or adjustment is estimated in advance for each paper type and adjustment content.

When paper replacement, ink replenishment or adjustment is not required, the job execution determination unit 16 predicts the job preparation time without considering paper replacement, ink replenishment or adjustment (S5). In this case, for example, a certain fixed time (minimum time required for starting the operation of the device 20) is set as the job preparation time.

Next, the job execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not the job can be executed in the free time (S6). That is, in the case of "free time> preparation time + execution time", it is determined that the job can be executed in the free time. However,
-If the estimated execution end time exceeds the desired delivery date, it is judged that execution is not possible in this free time.

Also, if the estimated execution end time does not exceed the desired delivery date, but the next schedule information is registered after the free time, the prediction of the job information preparation time set after the end of the new job is corrected. To do. The prediction method is the same as in step S2. When the preparation time has changed and the preparation start time of the next job information has been advanced in order to meet the desired delivery date, but the estimated execution end time of the new job exceeds the advance preparation start time of the next job information. Judges that it cannot be executed in this free time.

If the job cannot be executed in the free time, the job execution determination unit 16 determines that the job cannot be executed in the free time (S7).

When the job can be executed in the free time, the job execution determination unit 16 sets the schedule information in the free time (S8).

In this way, it is determined whether or not the job can be executed for each free time. If there are multiple free times that can be executed, select the free time to execute the job as shown below.
・ Select a free time that shortens the preparation time for the next schedule information. ・ If the gap time between the next schedule information and the next schedule information is less than the threshold value, select the one with the shorter gap time. If the gap time is equal to or greater than the threshold value, select the one with the longer gap time. These have the following effects.
A. By reducing the preparation time for paper replacement, etc., the productivity as a whole is improved.
B. By reducing idle time when jobs cannot be assigned, overall productivity is improved.
C. Allowing other jobs to be assigned in free time improves overall productivity.

<< Predicting the state of the device in step S2 of FIG. 11 >>
Subsequently, a method of predicting the state of the device in step S2 at the start time of the free time in FIG. 11 will be described in detail.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the prediction of the state of the device 20 at the start time of the free time. Jobs 1 to 3 are set in the device 1, and jobs 1 and 2 are set in the device 2. The thick double-headed arrow 301 between jobs is the job information added in the free time. When it is determined that the job can be executed in the free time, a new job is set in the free time. The procedure for determining whether or not a new job can be set in the free time between the job 2 and the job 3 scheduled to be executed by the device 1 will be described below.

As described in step S2 of FIG. 11, the job execution determination unit 16 wants to predict the state of the device 20 at the start time t of the free time when the job 2 immediately before the free time ends.

FIG. 13 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which the job execution determination unit 16 predicts the state of the device 20 in step S2.

First, the job execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not the paper type of the new job is the same as that of the job 2 (S11). If they are different, the paper needs to be replaced (S12).

Next, the job execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not there is enough paper remaining to execute the job (S13). When the job 1, job 2, and new job have the same paper type, the job execution determination unit 16 subtracts the usage amount of job 1 and job 2 from the current remaining amount of paper in the device information. If job 1 and job 2 have different paper types and the new job has the same paper type as job 2, the usage amount of job 2 is subtracted from the remaining amount of the paper type used by job 2 (not necessarily new). If it is predicted that the paper will run out and be replaced during the execution of job 1 and job 2, or job 2, the amount of paper used after that is subtracted from the amount of paper after replacement.

If the paper is different between the job 2 and the new job, it is necessary to replace the paper. Therefore, the job execution determination unit 16 acquires the remaining amount (not necessarily new) of the paper type used in the new job.
-If there are multiple stocks of the same paper, select a roll with more remaining capacity than the new job so that paper replacement during the execution of the new job is reduced.
-The paper may be used up by selecting a roll with less remaining amount than the new job so that the paper is not discarded.
-The exchange policy can be changed in the administrator image settings.

It is predicted that the remaining amount of paper when the execution of job 2 is completed or the remaining amount of paper of the replaced paper type is compared with the number of sheets required for the new job, and the paper runs out and is replaced during the execution of the job. In that case, it is determined that the paper needs to be replaced with a new one (S14).

Next, the job execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not the ink types are the same and whether or not there is enough ink remaining to execute the job (S15). The idea is the same as the paper type and the remaining amount of paper, but the time required for ink replacement and replenishment is shorter than that of paper. However, the replenishment amount is adjusted so that the replenishment does not occur during the job execution (S16).

Next, the job execution determination unit 16 determines whether or not it is the same as the adjustment state of the job 2 (S17). The adjustment state is the image formation position and color development on the paper, and at the end of the job 2, the adjustment state is in accordance with the paper and image quality requirements of the job 2. Therefore, whether or not the adjustment state is the same as that of the new job is determined by the paper and image quality requirements of the new job, so it is determined whether or not both are the same. If they are not the same, it is determined that the position and color need to be adjusted (S18).

In this way, the state of the device 20 at the start time of the free time can be predicted, and the preparation time can be calculated based on the predicted state of the device 20 and the state of the device 20 set based on the received job information.

<Preparation time, execution time>
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a method of predicting the preparation time and the execution time. The preparation time is the time required for preparation, and the execution time is the time required to execute the job. As shown in FIG. 14, the preparation time can be expressed by "T _pc + T _if + T _hc + T _ac + T _tp ". That is, it is the total of the time required for paper replacement, the time required for ink replenishment, the time required for head cleaning, the time required for adjustment, and the time required for test printing. In this way, the preparation time is the total of the time required for paper replacement, ink replenishment, or adjustment required to obtain the state of the device 20 based on the job information received by the job information receiving unit.
T _pc : If the paper type is the same for the job before the time required for paper replacement and the new job, and a sufficient remaining amount remains, replacement is unnecessary and the value is 0.
T _{if: Time required for ink replenishment If the} ink type is the same as that of the new job and a sufficient remaining amount remains, replenishment is unnecessary and the value is 0.
T _hc : Time required for head cleaning 0 when it can be determined from the past execution history that head cleaning is unnecessary.
T _ac : 0 when the paper and image quality requirements are the same for the job before the time required for adjustment (alignment, color tone, etc.) and the job to be executed, and it can be determined from the past execution history that adjustment is unnecessary.
T _tp : Time required for test printing The execution time can also be expressed _{by "T pc} + T _if + T _hc + T _ac + T _pp". It is the total of the time required for paper replacement during job execution, the time required for ink replenishment, the time required for head cleaning, the time required for adjustment, and the printing time. However, T _pc , T _if , T _hc , and T _ac are the times when the exchange occurs during the execution of the job. Also, in the execution time, the print time T _pp is predicted _{instead of the test time T tp.} The printing time T _pp is calculated by "the number of pages per copy x the number of job information / printing speed".

<Regarding execution completion notification>
When the job execution is completed, the job management server 11 registers the execution completion notification in the job management service 60. The execution completion notification includes a log (preparation time and execution time) of the executed job, an amount of money, and the state of the device 20 before and after the job is executed.

The status of the device 20 before and after job execution is the paper type of the previous job, the paper type of the new job, the remaining amount of paper of the previous job, the number of papers consumed by the new job, and the previous job. Ink type, new job ink type, previous job ink remaining amount, new job ink remaining amount, previous job adjustment state, new job adjustment state, and the like.

The job management service 60 can improve the prediction accuracy of the preparation time and the execution time by accumulating the states of the device 20 before and after the job execution in association with the execution completion notification and performing statistical processing or machine learning.

Machine learning is a technology for making a computer acquire learning ability like a human being, and the computer autonomously generates an algorithm necessary for judgment such as data identification from learning data taken in advance, and newly It is a technology that applies this to forecasts of various types of data. The learning method for machine learning may be any of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, intensive learning, and deep learning, and may be a learning method that combines these learning methods. Machine learning It doesn't matter how you learn for.

FIG. 15 is an example of a neural network 401 used for machine learning. A neural network with a deep hierarchy is called a DNN (deep neural network). The layer between the input layer 31 and the output layer 33 is called an intermediate layer 32. The number of layers and the number of nodes 35 in FIG. 15 are just examples.

The state of the device 20 and the job information before and after the job execution are input to the input layer 31. For non-numeric information such as the paper type and ink type of the job, prepare a numerical value corresponding to the paper type and ink type of the job and enter the numerical value. Alternatively, the paper type and the ink type may be represented by a one-hot vector. The number of nodes in the output layer 33 is two, which corresponds to the preparation time and the execution time.

The input data input to the input layer 31 propagates forward through the node 35 and is transmitted to the output layer 33. The nodes are connected by weights (this is called a parameter), and an activation function is set in each node 35. In this embodiment, since the output of the node of the output layer 33 is brought close to the actual preparation time and execution time, it becomes a regression problem for predicting quantitative data. Therefore, the activation function of the node of the output layer 33 may be an identity map (does not convert anything). A loss function for evaluating the difference between the output of each node of the output layer 33 and the teacher data (preparation time and execution time) is known, and the loss function E in the case of the regression model often uses a square error. The loss evaluated by the loss function propagates the neural network 401 from the output layer 33 to the input layer 31 in the reverse direction, and the parameters (weights connecting the nodes) of the neural network 401 are updated. Such a learning method is called an error backpropagation method.

In FIG. 15, the preparation time and the execution time are predicted, but if the teacher data of the output layer 33 is the state change of the device 20, the state change of the device 20 can also be predicted. In this case, the output layer 33 is provided with a number of nodes corresponding to the state of the device 20, and each node is made to correspond to the state of the device 20. The state of the device 20 in this case is, for example, a paper type, ink, or adjustment state, and the neural network 401 learns the parameters with "1" when there is a state change and "0" when there is no state change.

Although the neural network 401 has been described in FIG. 15, machine learning methods include perceptrons, deep learning, support vector machines, logistic regression, naive bays, decision trees, random forests, and the like. Is not limited.

<Summary>
As described above, in the device system of the present embodiment, by printing with the device 20 suitable for executing the job, the operating rate of the device 20 can be increased, the opportunity loss can be prevented, and the device system 100 can be prevented. Revenue can be distributed among the companies that use the system. That is, the printing company 10A can sell the printing job that cannot be executed by the company to another company that can execute it, can receive the information provision fee, and the printing company 10B can increase the operation rate, and for the customer who requests printing. Has the advantage of shortening the waiting time until printing is completed.

<Other application examples>
Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to examples, the present invention is not limited to these examples, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. And substitutions can be made.

Further, the configuration examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are divided according to the main functions in order to facilitate understanding of the processing by the device system 100. The present invention is not limited by the method of dividing the processing unit or the name. The processing of the equipment system 100 can be divided into more processing units according to the processing content. It is also possible to divide one processing unit so as to include more processing.

Each function of the embodiment described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" in the present specification is a processor programmed to execute each function by software such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, or a processor designed to execute each function described above. It shall include devices such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (digital signal processor), FPGA (field programmable gate array) and conventional circuit modules.

Also, the group of devices described in the examples merely represents one of a plurality of computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, the billing service 80, the job management service 60, and the device management service 70 include a plurality of computing devices such as server clusters. The plurality of computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link, including networks, shared memory, and the like, and perform the processes disclosed herein. Further, the billing service 80, the job management service 60 and the device management service 70 can be configured to share the disclosed processing steps, eg, FIG. 8, in various combinations.

11 Job management server 12 Administrator terminal 13 Print controller 20 Equipment 50 Cloud system 60 Job management service 70 Equipment management service 80 Billing service 100 Equipment system

JP-A-2017-167777

Claims (10)

An information processing device that communicates with an information processing system having one or more information processing devices and causes the device to execute a job.
The job information reception department that accepts job information related to jobs,
A job execution determination unit that determines whether or not to execute a job on the device based on the job information received by the job information reception unit and the job schedule information already set in the device.
When the job execution determination unit determines that the job is not executed, the communication unit that transmits the job information received by the job information reception unit to the information processing system and the communication unit.
When the job execution determination unit determines that the job is to be executed, the job execution instruction unit that instructs the device to execute the job accepted by the job information reception unit, and the job execution instruction unit.
An information processing device characterized by having. The job execution determination unit executes a job on the device based on the free time based on the schedule information of the job executed by the device and the execution time required for executing the job information received by the job information reception unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not to perform the information processing. The job execution determination unit predicts the state of the device at the start time of the free time, and sets the state of the device based on the predicted state of the device and the job information received by the job information receiving unit. Based on the above, the preparation time of the job information received by the job information reception unit is predicted, and
Whether to execute the job information received by the job information receiving unit on the device based on the preparation time, the execution time of the device executing the job information received by the job information receiving unit, and the free time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not the information processing apparatus is used. The state of the device is one or more of the paper type, the remaining amount of paper, the type of ink used by the device, the remaining amount of ink, or the adjustment state regarding the position and color of image formation set in the device.
The job execution determination unit calculates the total time required for paper replacement, ink replenishment, or adjustment required to obtain the state of the device based on the job information received by the job information reception unit as the preparation time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is used. The job execution determination unit calculates the total of the time required for paper replacement, ink replenishment, and adjustment, and the printing time required for printing, which occur during the execution of the job information received by the job information reception unit, as the execution time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4. The job execution determination unit needs to replace the paper before executing the job information received by the job information reception unit, and the paper set in the device based on the job information received by the job information reception unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when a plurality of rolls are in stock, a roll having a larger remaining amount than the number of sheets consumed by the job information received by the job information receiving unit is selected. The job execution determination unit needs to replace the paper before executing the job information received by the job information reception unit, and the paper set in the device based on the job information received by the job information reception unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when a plurality of rolls are in stock, a roll having a remaining amount less than the number of sheets consumed by the job information received by the job information receiving unit is selected. When there are a plurality of free times longer than the time required to execute the job information received by the job information reception unit.
The job execution judgment unit
Select the free time for which the preparation time of the job set next to the job information received by the job information reception unit is shortened.
If the gap time of the next job set is less than or equal to the threshold value, select the one with the shorter gap time, or select the one with the shorter gap time.
If the gap time of the next job set above is greater than or equal to the threshold value, select the one with the longer gap time.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the free time is determined by any one of the above. An information processing system that receives device information from a plurality of devices, an information processing device that communicates with the information processing system and causes the device to execute a job, and a device system having the information processing system.
The information processing device
The job information reception department that accepts job information related to jobs,
A job execution determination unit that determines whether or not to execute a job on the device based on the job information received by the job information reception unit and the job schedule information already set in the device.
When the job execution determination unit determines that the job is not executed, the communication unit that transmits the job information received by the job information reception unit to the information processing system and the communication unit.
When the job execution determination unit determines that the job is to be executed, the job information reception unit has a job execution instruction unit that instructs the device to execute the accepted job.
The information processing system
A device system characterized in that the job information received from the information processing device is delivered to the device determined based on the device information. An information processing system that receives device information from a plurality of devices, an information processing device that communicates with the information processing system and causes the device to execute a job, and a job execution method performed by the device system having the information processing system.
The information processing device
The step in which the job information reception department receives job information related to the job,
The step in which the job information reception department receives job information related to the job,
A step in which the job execution determination unit determines whether or not to execute a job on the device based on the job information received by the job information reception unit and the job schedule information already set in the device. When,
When the job execution determination unit determines that the job is not executed, the communication unit transmits the job information received by the job information reception unit to the information processing system.
When the job execution instruction unit determines that the job execution determination unit executes the job, the job execution instruction unit has a step of instructing the device to execute the job accepted by the job information reception unit.
The information processing system
A job execution method comprising delivering the job information received from the information processing apparatus to the device determined based on the device information.

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