JP4991477B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically select a suitable alternative apparatus according to a user and a condition. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 101 selects executable apparatus names on the basis of an apparatus switching table TBL3-101, a record having the ID of a user executing a present job, which is included in an error handle table TBL4, and a set value of the present job (S23). The image forming apparatus 101 inquires whether each of the selected image forming apparatus is a ready state or not through an NIC 18 (S24). When there are read-state apparatus, the apparatus having the highest priority is determined as an alternative apparatus, and when there is no read-state apparatus, an apparatus having the highest priority out of the apparatus selected in the step S23 is determined as an alternative apparatus (S26). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an image input / output function and an image forming system in which the image forming apparatus is connected by a network of a plurality of units. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming system to be continued.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 automatically detects printable alternative candidates from other image forming apparatuses connected to the LAN when an error such as a jam occurs and printing is interrupted. A configuration is disclosed in which one is selected by a user, print data is automatically transmitted thereto, and printing is continued.
JP 2007-226291 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, when a large number of image forming apparatuses are connected to a LAN, the user must select one of a large number of alternative candidates, and thus cannot sufficiently cope with urgent printing. On the other hand, which alternative device should be selected depends on printing conditions such as color printing, whether post-processing is necessary, paper size, print paper quality, and the like. Therefore, it is not possible to automatically select an alternative device according to conditions and the user.

  In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming system capable of automatically selecting an appropriate alternative device according to a user.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming system capable of automatically selecting an appropriate substitute device according to a user and conditions.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus comprising a processor, a storage unit storing a program and data, and a communication interface for forming a network with another plurality of image forming apparatuses,
The data includes a first table in which user IDs and device selection priority orders are entered correspondingly,
The program for the processor
(A) In response to the occurrence of an error that interrupts the continuation of the job, the image forming apparatus that continues the job is selected based on the apparatus selection priority order corresponding to the user ID of the job in the first table;
(B) Based on the selection, the image forming apparatus to continue the job is determined, and the determined image forming apparatus transmits the job data via the communication interface to continue the job.

In a second aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the first aspect, the data further includes a second table indicating whether each of the plurality of other image forming apparatuses has a function and whether or not the function can be executed.
In the process (a), the program causes the processor to refer to the second table and select an image forming apparatus that has the function of executing the job and can be executed and is included in the apparatus selection priority order.

  In a third aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the second aspect, the program sends the program to the processor in the process (b) via the communication interface to the image forming apparatus selected in the process (a). An inquiry is made as to whether or not the image forming apparatus is in a ready state, and the image forming apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority among the image forming apparatuses in the ready state is determined as an image forming apparatus for continuing the job.

  In a fourth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the third aspect, when there is no image forming apparatus in the ready state as a result of the inquiry, the program sends the processor to the processor in the process (b). Of the image forming apparatuses selected in the process (a), the image forming apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority order is determined as the image forming apparatus for continuing the job.

  In a fifth aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the first aspect, the program sets the job to each of the image forming apparatuses specified in the apparatus selection priority order in the process (a). Information is transmitted, and in the process (b), information indicating whether or not the job is ready is received from the image forming apparatus that has been determined to be executable based on the transmitted setting information. Among them, the apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority order is determined as the image forming apparatus for continuing the job.

  According to a sixth aspect of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the data includes a predetermined device selection priority order, and the program performs processing (a) on the processor. ), If the user ID of the job is not included in the first table, the default device selection priority order is regarded as the device selection priority order corresponding to the user ID.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, in response to the occurrence of an error, in the first table in which the user ID and the device selection priority order are entered correspondingly, the device selection priority order corresponding to the user ID of the job is entered. Based on this selection, the image forming apparatus that continues the job is selected, and the image forming apparatus that continues the job is determined based on this selection. Therefore, it is possible to automatically select an appropriate alternative device according to the user. The effect of becoming.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect, the second table indicating the presence / absence of each of the functions of the plurality of other image forming apparatuses and whether or not the functions can be executed is referred to. Since the image forming apparatuses included in the selection priority order are selected, it is possible to automatically select an appropriate alternative apparatus according to the user and conditions.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the selected image forming apparatus is in a ready state, and among the ready-made image forming apparatuses, the one having the highest apparatus selection priority order is selected. Since the image forming apparatus is determined to continue the job, it is possible to automatically select a more appropriate alternative apparatus.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, even when there is no image forming apparatus in the ready state, the image forming apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority among the selected image forming apparatuses is allowed to continue the job. Since the device is determined, it is possible to automatically select a more appropriate alternative device.

  According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, the setting information of the job is transmitted to each of the image forming apparatuses designated in the apparatus selection priority order, and the image forming apparatus that has received this and determined that the job can be executed Since the information indicating whether or not it is in a ready state is received and the image forming apparatus in the ready state having the highest apparatus selection priority order is determined as the image forming apparatus that continues the job, Even if the forming apparatus does not include the second table, there is an effect that it is possible to automatically select an appropriate alternative device according to the user and conditions.

  According to the configuration of the sixth aspect, when the user ID of the job is not included in the first table, the default device selection priority order is regarded as the device selection priority order corresponding to the user ID. The user does not necessarily have to enter the device selection priority order in the first table, and the user's burden is reduced.

  Other objects, configurations and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the invention.

  In this image forming apparatus 10, the MPU 11 is connected to the PROM 13, DRAM 14, operation panel 15, printer 16, scanner 17, NIC 18, FAX modem 19, USB port 20, toner remaining amount detector 21, IC card reader 22 via the interface 12. The electronic tag reader 23 and the timer TM are coupled. In FIG. 14, a plurality of interfaces are shown as one block for simplification.

  The PROM 13 is, for example, a flash memory, and stores an operating system (OS), various programs that operate on the upper layer of the OS, and various setting values. The various programs are for causing the image forming apparatus 10 to function as a multifunction peripheral. The functions include copying, scanning, printing, facsimile transmission / reception, electronic mail transmission / reception, and HTTP communication. The DRAM 14 is for a work area.

  The operation panel 15 includes a display unit and a key input unit, and is used for inputting setting information or instructions to display a selection screen, a setting screen, or the like. The printer 16 includes a print engine, a fixing device, a paper feed unit, a conveyance unit, and a paper discharge unit, and forms an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum of the print engine based on bitmap data supplied as print data. Then, this is developed with toner, transferred onto paper, fixed, and discharged. The scanner 17 is for image input in copying and facsimile transmission. The NIC 18 is coupled to a host computer and a server on the network and used for ordering print jobs and consumables. The FAX modem 19 is for facsimile transmission / reception.

  The toner remaining amount detector 21 detects the remaining amount of toner stored in the toner cartridge for the printer 16 and outputs a signal thereof. The IC card reader 22 transmits and receives signals to and from the IC card existing within a predetermined range, reads the user ID and password information, and outputs these as authentication information for the image forming apparatus 10. The electronic tag reader 23 reads out and outputs the ID from the electronic tag fixed to the toner cartridge. This ID includes the type and serial number of the toner cartridge.

  Outputs from the toner remaining amount detector 21 and the electronic tag reader 23 are read by the MPU 11 periodically and when the toner cartridge is mounted in accordance with a program, and stored in the DRAM 14 as Toner.Level and Toner.RFID, respectively, as shown in FIG. .

  The USB memory 24A connected to the port 20 includes, for example, a flash memory chip.

  The host computer 25 has its NIC coupled to the NIC 18 via a hub and to the Internet 26 via a router (not shown). A Web server machine 27 is coupled to the Internet 26 via a router (not shown). On the other hand, the FAX modem 19 of the image forming apparatus 10 and the FAX modem of the Web server machine 27 are coupled via a public line network 28.

  The timer TM is for detecting the current time and for interrupting the timer to the MPU 11.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing a software hierarchical structure of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The OS 30 includes a device driver 31 corresponding to each of various types of hardware in its kernel, for example, Linux.

  A basic service program 33 as middleware is provided in the upper layer of the OS 30 via an API 32 for using various functions in the OS 30. The basic service program 33 includes an operation panel control module 330, a scan module 331 as an image input module, a data processing module for processing input data, and a print module 332 as an image output module for outputting processed image data. And an input / output module.

  The operation panel control module 330 is for displaying an operation button on the operation panel 15 and detecting pressing thereof. The input / output modules include a FAX transmission / reception module 333, an electronic mail transmission / reception module 334, and an HTTP processing module 339. The data processing module includes an IC card control module 335, an RFID control module 336, a format conversion module 337 for converting the format of image data, an unillustrated aggregation processing module, a pagination module, and the like. The basic service program 33 further includes an address book module 338 used as a utility module for specifying facsimile and electronic mail destinations.

  An application 35 is provided in the upper layer of the basic service program 33 via an external API 34. The application 35 is a program created using the module of the basic service program 33 via the external API 34. The application 35 includes a copy module 350, a print module 351, a FAX module 352, an e-mail module 353, a job management module 354, and an operation panel module 355. For example, the copy module 350 is configured by combining a scan module 331 and a print module 332. The FAX module 352 is configured by combining a FAX transmission / reception module 333 and an address book module 338.

  The software of the image forming apparatus 10 further includes a simple text language processing program 38 that is an interpreter for the user application 37. This simple text language processing program 38 interprets a command sentence of the user application 37 and uses functions included in the basic service program 33, the application 35, or the OS 30 via the external API 34, the external API 36, or the API 32, respectively. Thus, the user application 37 is executed.

  The user application 37 is created, for example, by the host computer 25, subjected to grammar check, copied into the USB memory 24A, and read into the DRAM 14 via the port 20. The user application 37 assigns a line number to each line by preprocessing. 5A to 5C and FIGS. 6A to 6C show specific examples of the user application 37. FIG.

  Here, a main menu screen as shown in FIG. 3A is displayed on the operation panel 15, and when the “USER APPLICATION” button on this screen is touched (pressed), the “of FIG. 3B” is displayed. A display other than “USER APPLICATION” and processing related thereto are performed according to the flow shown in FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart showing processing of the simple text language processing program 38 for the user application 37.

  This process is started, for example, every 20 msec by a timer interrupt. Hereinafter, the numbers in parentheses are step identification numbers in the figure.

  (S0) A counter LC indicating the next processing target row number of the user application 37 is initialized to 0.

  (S1) The line indicated by the counter LC is read from the user application 37, the value of LC is assigned to the current counter CLC, and the line number of the statement next to the statement indicated by the current counter CLC is assigned to the next line counter LC. . The statement delimiter is a semicolon ";" or a closing parenthesis "}" as in the C language. In the case of FIG. 5A, LC = 1 follows LC = 0, and then LC = 7 if the conditional statement is not satisfied, and LC = 2 in step S10 described later if the conditional statement is not satisfied.

  (S2) If there is no line to be read in step S1, the process is terminated, and if it exists, the process proceeds to step S3.

  (S3) If the statement is a ResetEnd statement, go to step S4, otherwise go to step S7.

  (S4) If the end flag EF indicating the end of consumable management is “0”, the process returns to step S1, and if it is “1”, the process proceeds to step S5.

  (S5) The success or failure of the conditional expression (REC) described in parentheses of the ResetEnd statement is determined. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S6, and if not, the process of FIG.

  (S6) The end flag EF is reset, an after-order display described later on the operation panel 15 is cleared, and the process returns to step S1.

  (S7) If the CLC line is a conditional phrase, the process proceeds to step S8; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S11.

  In the case of FIG. 5A, LC = 1 row “If Toner.Level <Level.Low1 {” and LC = 2 row “Button (120, 80, 60, 30, cartridge order & CrLf & remaining & Toner. Level.ToPages & sheets) {"is a conditional phrase.

  The latter is an abbreviation of the condition phrase (button phrase) “If Button (120, 80, 60, 30, Cartridge Order & CrLf & Remaining & Toner.Level.ToPages & Sheets) is pushed {”. With this abbreviated description, the nested structure of conditional statements is apparently concealed, so that the user application 37 can be easily viewed and the user application 37 can be easily created.

  (S8) If the line of the current number CLC is a button phrase, button display data is created based on the argument, and displayed on the operation panel 15 as, for example, the button 40 in FIG.

  In the case of the button phrase of LC = 2, among the arguments (120, 80, 60, 30, cartridge order & CrLf & remaining & Toner.Level.ToPages & sheets), (120, 80) are buttons on the operation panel 15 The XY coordinates of the upper left vertex of the button, (60, 30) are the width and height of the button, and “cartridge order & CrLf & remaining & Toner.Level.ToPages & sheets” is the text on the button. Here, & is a character concatenation operator, CrLf indicates a carriage return control code, and Toner.Level.ToPages indicates the above-described toner remaining amount detection value converted into an average number of printed sheets. Button display data creation processing and display processing are performed using functions included in the operation panel control module 330 and the operation panel module 355.

  After this display process, an internal flag F is set, and if this flag F is set in step S8 from the next time, this button display data creation process is omitted.

  (S9) The success or failure of the conditional expression in the conditional phrase is determined, and if satisfied, the process proceeds to step S10, and if not, the process returns to step S1.

  (S10) The content of the next line counter LC is changed to the line number when the condition is satisfied. That is, LC = CLC + 1. Next, the process returns to step S1.

  (S11) If the line of the current number CLC is an End statement, the process proceeds to step S13, and if not, the process proceeds to step S12.

  (S12) Process the contents of the line with the current number CLC, and return to step S1.

  (S13) The end sentence End is executed, and the process of FIG. That is, the button on the operation panel 15 displayed in step S8 is cleared, the internal flag F is reset, and the end flag EF is set.

  Next, a specific example of the processing in FIG. 1 will be described in the case where the user application 37 is as shown in FIG. The end flag EF is initially set to “1”.

  (1) Due to the timer interrupt, LC = 0 is first set at step S0. In step S1, a line ResetEnd (Toner.Level> Level.High) with LC = 0 is read, and CLC = 0 and LC = 1. The conditional expression “Toner.Level> Level.High” of the ResetEnd statement is determined in step S5 through steps S2, S3, and S4. Immediately after cartridge replacement, this conditional expression “Toner.Level> Level.High” is satisfied, and EF = 0 in step S6. Here, the threshold Level.High is stored in advance in the PROM 13 as shown in FIG. 2 together with thresholds Level.Low1, Level.Low2,.

  Returning to step S1, the row “If Toner.Level <Level.Low1 {” of LC = 1 is read, and CLC = 1 and LC = 7. The conditional expression “Toner.Level <Level.Low1” is determined to be negative in step S9 through steps S2, S3, S7, and S8, and the process returns to step S1. In step S1, a line with LC = 7 is read out, and since this is Null, an affirmative determination is made in step S2 and the process ends.

  (2) At the next timer interrupt, first, LC = 0 in step S0. In step S1, a line “ResetEnd (Toner.Level> Level.High)” with LC = 0 is read, and CLC = 0 and LC = 1. An affirmative determination is made in step S4 through steps S2 and S3, and the process returns to step S1. In step S1, the row “If Toner.Level <Level.Low1 {” of LC = 1 is read, and CLC = 1 and LC = 7. The conditional expression “Toner.Level <Level.Low1” is determined to be negative in step S9 through steps S2, S3, S7, and S8, and the process returns to step S1. Since the LC = 7 row is read and this is Null, an affirmative determination is made in step S2 and the processing ends.

  Thereafter, if a negative determination is made in step S9, such processing (2) is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the toner remaining amount Toner.Level decreases with time and becomes less than a preset threshold Level.Low1, the condition “Toner.Level <Level.Low1” is satisfied.

(3) Due to the timer interrupt, LC = 0 is first set at step S0. In step S1, a line “ResetEnd (Toner.Level> Level.High)” with LC = 0 is read, and CLC = 0 and LC = 1. An affirmative determination is made in S4 through steps S2 and S3, and the process returns to step S1. In step S1, the row “If Toner.Level <Level.Low1 {” of LC = 1 is read, and CLC = 1 and LC = 7. The conditional expression “Toner.Level <Level.Low1” is affirmed in step S9 through steps S2, S3, S7, and S8, and the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, LC = 2, and the process returns to step S1.
In step S1, LC = 2 row "Button (120, 80, 60, 30, cartridge order & CrLf & remaining & Toner.Level.ToPages & sheets) {"
Is obtained, CLC = 2, LC = 7 (next line in case of sentence delimiter), and the display data of the button 40 is created as described above in step S8 through steps S2, S3 and S7. This is displayed on the operation panel 15 and the internal flag F is set. Since the display range (120, 80, 60, 30) of the button 40 has not yet been touched (pressed), a negative determination is made in step S9, and the process returns to step S1.

  In step S1, a row Null with LC = 7 is extracted, and the process ends through step S2.

  Thereafter, if the button 40 is not pressed, such processing (3) is performed.

  (4) When the button 40 is pressed, an affirmative determination is made in step S9, LC = 3 in step S10, and the process returns to step S1.

In step S1, a line “Order (Toner.RFID To DefaultDealer)” with LC = 3 is extracted, and CLC = 3 and LC = 4. Through steps S2, S3, S7 and S11, the row with CLC = 3 is processed in step S12. That is, an HTTP request message including the toner cartridge type included in Toner.RFID and the hidden user ID in Order is generated, and the destination DefaultDealer (for example, http: shown in FIG. 2) is transmitted via the NIC 18 and the Internet 26. //km.com:80) to the Web server machine 27. The request line for this message is, for example:
GET /cgi-bin/order.cgi?UserID=21035&Type=KM102 HTTP / 1.0
It is. Here, UserID = 21035 is stored in advance in the PROM 13 as shown in FIG. Type = KM102 is a toner cartridge type that is a part of the contents of Toner.RFID. Transmission / reception of HTTP messages is performed using the HTTP processing module 339 and the OS 30.

  In response to the HTTP request message, the Web server machine 27 starts the CGI program of the path name / cgi-bin / order.cgi included in the message with the query string UserID = 21035 & Type = KM102 included in the HTTP request message as an argument. . As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the received date and time is set as the order date and time, and the toner cartridge type, customer ID, and scheduled shipping date are entered in the table TBL1. The customer ID is the same as the above UserID. The scheduled shipping date is determined based on the inventory status obtained as a result of searching the inventory database 29 using the model as a key. The completion flag in the table TBL1 is reset at the time of ordering and is set at the time of shipment.

  This table TBL1 is linked to a customer information table TBL2 including fields such as customer ID, company name, address, person in charge, department name, department number, telephone number, facsimile number, etc., and a relational database is configured.

  The Web server machine 27 uses the order date and time as the order date and time, generates an HTTP response message including the type of toner cartridge and the scheduled shipping date based on the template file, and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 10.

  In response to this, the image forming apparatus 10 displays the content of the received message on the operation panel 15 as shown in FIG.

  When the processing of such a line of CLC = 3 is completed, the process returns to step S1, the line End of LC = 4 is extracted, and CLC = 4 and LC = 7. Through steps S2, S3, S7, and S11, the line End of CLC = 4 is processed in step S13. That is, the display of the button 40 on the operation panel 15 is cleared, the internal flag F is reset, and the end flag EF is set.

  Thus, even if the processing of FIG. 1 is started by the timer interruption until the toner cartridge is replaced, a negative determination is made in both steps S4 and S5, and as shown in FIG. It is not displayed on the operation panel 15 and the display of the ordered order is maintained.

  After such a process (4), when the toner cartridge is replaced as shown in FIG. 4, the condition of the ResetEnd statement is satisfied, the above process (1) is performed, the process proceeds from step S5 to step S6, and EF = 0, and the displayed order on the operation panel 15 is cleared.

  When it is not necessary to place an order for a toner cartridge because the toner cartridge is in stock, the output of the electronic tag reader 23 is read by the MPU 11 according to a program different from that shown in FIG. Is stored in the DRAM 14 as Toner.RFID shown in FIG. At this time, the same process as step S13 in FIG. 1 is performed by the program. Thus, the toner cartridge ordering button 40 is not displayed on the operation panel 15 until Toner.Level <Level.Low1 is satisfied.

  According to the first embodiment, a conditional reset end instruction ResetEnd is used in accordance with the simple text language processing program 38 using a user application in which a set of a conditional reset end instruction ResetEnd and an attribute of the button 40 and an Order instruction is described. The user who changes the user interface according to the condition even if the conditional statement is substantially nested, because the order command is executed in response to the detection of the on-state. There is an effect that the structure of the application is simplified.

  Further, even if the conditional statement is further nested by the If statement, there is an effect that the structure of the user application that changes the user interface according to the condition becomes simple.

  Also, the attribute of the button 40 as an icon (120, 80, 60, 30, cartridge order & CrLf & remaining & Toner.Level.ToPages & sheets) and consumable ordering order Order (Toner.RFID To DefaultDealer) The button 40 is displayed on the operation panel 15 based on the attribute of the simple user application described as follows, and in response to the detection of the ON, the consumable item ordering information is sent to the destination via the NIC 18 based on the consumable item ordering command. Therefore, it is possible to easily order the consumables by the description of the simple user application, and to cope with this even if the consumable consumption rate suddenly increases or decreases unexpectedly.

  The attribute of the button 40 includes a description of the consumption state “Remaining & Toner.Level.ToPages & sheets”, and the detected consumption state is displayed on the operation panel 15 based on this description. The effect is that consumables can be ordered at the right time.

  Furthermore, since the consumption state is displayed in the display area (120, 80, 60, 30) of the button 40, the user operability is improved.

  Further, since step S4 is arranged before step S5, once the end flag EF is reset, the conditional expression of the reset end command ResetEnd is not determined, and the toner remaining amount detection value fluctuates due to mechanical vibration. In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to continuously detect the ON state of the button 40 without complicating the user application.

  In addition, since the fact that consumables have been ordered is displayed on the operation panel 15 after the consumables ordering information is transmitted, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent multiple consumables from being ordered by a plurality of users.

  Furthermore, since the display of the button 40 on the operation panel 15 is deleted after the consumables ordering information is transmitted, the operability is improved, and it is possible to prevent erroneous operations and repeated ordering of consumables by a plurality of users. .

  In addition, since the deletion is performed based on the end command End included in the user application, it is possible to select whether or not to perform the deletion with a simple description.

  In addition, the toner cartridge type is automatically read from the electronic tag and used as ordering information.

  5B and 5C show user applications that differ from FIG. 5A only in the ordering form.

In the case of FIG. 5B, as the cartridge ordering process,
"Fax cartridgeOrderFile.pdf to address book (dealer1, fax)" is executed using the FAX module 352 in step S12 of FIG. This statement sends the contents of the file cartridgeOrderFile.pdf to the destination. This destination is a return value of the address book (dealer1, fax) which is a function. In the address book, a facsimile number and an e-mail address are entered for each destination, and the argument fax indicates that the facsimile number of the record indicated by the argument dealer1 is the return value of this function.

  In the case of FIG. 5C, “Email cartridgeOrderFile.pdf to address book (dealer1, email)” is executed using the electronic mail module 353 in step S12 of FIG. This statement sends the contents of the file cartridgeOrderFile.pdf to the destination. This destination is a return value of the address book (dealer1, email) which is a function. The argument email indicates that the email address of the record indicated by the argument dealer1 is the return value of this function.

  The process of FIG. 1 can also be applied to a user application unrelated to consumables ordering, and specific examples are shown in FIGS.

  Next, the processing of FIG. 1 for the user application shown in FIG.

  (5) Due to the timer interrupt, LC = 0 is first set at step S0. In step S1, LC = 0 row “Button (20, 30, 60, 30, slip transmission) {” is read, and CLC = 0 and LC = 5. Through steps S2, S3, and S7, a button 41 as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed in step S8, and an internal flag F is set. Since the display range (20, 30, 60, 30) of the button 41 has not been pressed yet, a negative determination is made in step S9, and the process returns to step S1. In step S1, a row Null with LC = 5 is extracted, and the process ends through step S2.

  Thereafter, if the button 41 is not pressed, such processing (5) is performed.

  (6) When the user places a document on the document table of the image forming apparatus 10 and presses the button 41, an affirmative determination is made in step S9, LC = 1 in step S10, and the process returns to step S1.

  In step S1, a line “file.pdf = Scan” with LC = 1 is extracted, and CLC = 1 and LC = 2. Through steps S2, S3, S7 and S11, the row with CLC = 1 is processed in step S12. That is, the scanner 17 operates to read a document image, and the data is converted into a pdf format and converted to file.pdf.

  Returning to step S1, the line “Fax file.pdf to address book (head office accounting department, fax)” with LC = 2 is read, and CLC = 2 and LC = 3. Through steps S2, S3, S7 and S11, the row with CLC = 2 is processed in step S12. That is, the contents of the file file.pdf are transmitted to the destination that is the return value of the address book (head office accounting department, fax).

  Returning to step S1, the line “Email file.pdf to address book (Taro Sasaki, email)” with LC = 3 is read, and CLC = 3 and LC = 5. Through steps S2, S3, S7 and S11, the row with CLC = 3 is processed in step S12. That is, the file file.pdf is e-mailed to the destination which is the return value of the address book (Taro Sasaki, email). For example, a copy of the facsimile transmission content is transmitted to the user.

  Returning to step S1, a null row with LC = 5 is read, and the process of FIG. 1 is terminated through step S2. The button 41 remains displayed on the operation panel 15.

  In the case of FIG. 6B, the same processing as described above is performed, and after sending the e-mail, the End statement is further processed, the display of the button 41 on the operation panel 15 is cleared in step S13, and the internal flag F is reset. At the same time, the end flag EF is set.

  In the case of FIG. 6C, the line “ResetEnd (ICcardID = KM01)” with CLC = 1 is processed in step S12 before the process of FIG. 6B. That is, the encrypted user ID and password stored in the user's IC card 24B are read by the IC card reader 22 via radio waves. Then, the user ID registered in the PROM 13 and the password encrypted twice, for example, are read, the latter is decrypted once, and both are verified. If both of them match and the user ID matches KM01 of “ICcardID = KM01”, that is, if the user authentication with the ID of KM01 succeeds, the condition of the ResetEnd statement is satisfied, and step S5 Is affirmative, and EF = 0 in step S6. Thereafter, the same processing as in FIG. 6B is performed.

  If the user authentication has failed, a negative determination is made in step S5, the processing of FIG. 1 ends, and the button 41 is not displayed on the operation panel 15.

  Therefore, the button 41 is displayed on the operation panel 15 each time only for a specific user, the above-described sequence processing is performed, and the button 41 disappears from the operation panel 15 when the processing is completed. In other words, the user interface can be configured for each user with a simple user application.

  Next, when printing is interrupted due to an error such as a jam or no paper during printing, processing for causing another image forming apparatus to continue printing will be described as a second embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an image forming system. In this system, m image forming apparatuses 101 to 10m and n host computers 251 to 25n are connected to an in-house LAN 26L in a peer-to-peer manner. Has been.

  The host computer 251 also functions as a server that manages the state of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 10m, and the storage device stores a device switching table TBL3 as shown in FIG. This table is for indicating which image forming apparatus can continue printing when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus and printing is interrupted. In the device switching table TBL3, for each image forming device, there are a device number, a device name, device characteristics relating to color printing, post-processing, paper size, paper type, and the like, and device selection default priority order described later. Is included.

  Each device characteristic field includes subfields of whether the function exists (Yes / No) and whether the function can be executed (Enable / Desable). In FIG. 8A, Y (Yes) / N (No), respectively. And EN (Enable) / DE (Desable). For example, if the printer has a color printing function but the color toner is empty, the state of this characteristic is (Y, DE). In addition, the printer has a function for printing A3 paper, but if there is no paper in the paper feed cassette, the state of this characteristic is (Y, DE). The characteristics of the apparatus may be artificially determined. For example, the use of glossy paper is permitted, but if this is not contained in a predetermined glossy paper feed cassette, this characteristic is (Y, DE )

  The administrator of the host computer 251 interactively enters the device number, the device name, the function presence / absence of each device characteristic, and the device selection default priority order in the device switching table TBL3.

In order to automatically update the function execution feasibility value EN / DE of each device characteristic, in FIG. 7, the state detection unit and the state detected by this state detection unit are stored in the database for each of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 10m. And a storage device storing an SNMP agent to be stored and managed. On the other hand, the storage device of the host computer 251 stores an SNMP manager that communicates with each SNMP agent, and a management program for updating the device switching table TBL3 using data received by the manager. These SNMP agents, SNMP managers, and management programs operate in the background in the corresponding devices.

  For example, when it is detected that a staple is empty in an image forming apparatus, this change in status is notified from the SNMP agent of this apparatus to the SNMP manager of the host computer 251 and the management program of the host computer 251 responds to this change. Then, the state change is written in the device switching table TBL3. This device switching table TBL3 can also be used for consumable management. In other words, by expanding the existing consumables management table to include the contents of the device switching table TBL3, it can be used as the device switching table TBL3 of this embodiment.

  A copy of the device switching table TBL3 stored in the host computer 251 is stored in each storage device of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 10n via communication described later. Here, for example, a copy of the device switching table stored in the image forming apparatus 101 is denoted as TBL3-101.

  When printing is interrupted due to an error, the selection of which other image forming apparatus should continue printing differs depending on the installation position of the image forming apparatus, the printing conditions, the urgency of printing, the personality of the user, and the like. On the other hand, since the operation panel 15 provided in the image forming apparatus 10 is generally small, it is complicated to perform a plurality of operations on the operation panel 15. Further, if each user has to specify the priority order when selecting another alternative device, the utilization rate of the error time switching program is lowered.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, for each device, the default priority order when selecting another alternative device is entered in the device switching table TBL3. This default priority order is a setting common to user groups for each device.

  Further, in order to easily change this selection for each user, a HandleError command as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11D can be used in the user application. This command specifies how to deal with the user ID when an error occurs and printing is interrupted.

  The first parameter of the HandleError command is a user ID of an individual or a group such as a department. 11A to 11D, the user ID is 4 digits or 2 digits. In the case of 4 digits, the upper 2 digits indicate a group, and in the case of 2 digits, the group indicates a group.

  The second parameter is an alternative printing mode. When the HandleError command in FIGS. 11A and 11C is set to manual mode, the HandleError command in FIGS. 11B and 11D is set in this mode. Indicates the case of automatic.

  The third parameter shown in FIGS. 11C and 11D describes the device numbers in the device switching table TBL3 of FIG. 8A selectively and in order of priority. , Mode is manual and automatic, indicating that priority order 8; 9; 1; 5 and 8; 9; 1; 5; 2; 3 is applied instead of the device selection default priority order in the device switching table TBL3 .

  In the case of FIG. 11 (C), as shown in FIG. 11 (E), for example, a switching button is provided on the operation panel 15 corresponding to only the devices of device numbers 8, 9, 1, and 5 that can be executed. 42 to 44 are displayed in this device selection priority order. In the case of FIG. 11D, the ready image forming apparatus that can be executed and detected first in this order among the apparatuses of the apparatus numbers 8, 9, 1, 5, 2, and 3 is used as an alternative apparatus. It is done. If no device is ready, the busy device that is feasible and first detected in this order is used as the replacement device. FIG. 11F shows a display screen of the operation panel 15 in the automatic mode.

  The HandleError instruction is used for automatic editing of the error handle table TBL4 as shown in FIG. 9 in step S12 of FIG. 1 in the simple text language processing program 38. That is, if the user ID in the HandleError instruction exists on the error handle table TBL4, the record is overwritten with the parameter of this instruction. If not, this parameter is added to the error handle table TBL4 as a new record. . The error handle table TBL4 is unique to each of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 10m and is stored in the PROM 13 of the corresponding image forming apparatus.

  The user can directly rewrite the error handle table TBL4 without using the HandleError instruction. However, it is easier to write a HandleError instruction in the host computer, store it in the USB memory 24A or the IC card 24B, and automatically edit the error handle table TBL4 in the PROM 13 of the image forming apparatus by the simple text language processing program 38. And be quick.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing that is started in the image forming apparatus when an error event that interrupts printing occurs. Hereinafter, it is assumed that an error has occurred in the image forming apparatus 101 whose apparatus number is 1.

  (S20, S21) If an unscanned document remains when an error occurs, the scan is performed in step S21. This scan is performed in parallel with the processing from step S22.

  (S22) The image forming apparatus 101 transmits the update date and time of the apparatus switching table TBL3-101 to the host computer 251.

  In response to this, the host computer 251 notifies the image forming apparatus 101 if the update date / time is later than that of the apparatus switching table TBL3, otherwise the apparatus switching table TBL3 is stored in the image forming apparatus. 101. The image forming apparatus 101 updates the table TBL3-101 by overwriting with this table.

  (S23) The image forming apparatus 101 can be executed based on the apparatus switching table TBL3-101, the record in the error handle table TBL4 having the ID of the user executing the current job, and the setting value of the current job. Select the correct device name. This ID is read from the IC card 24B described in the first embodiment, authenticated, and temporarily stored in the DRAM 14.

  For example, when this record corresponds to the instruction “HandleError (1038, Manual)”, that is, when there is no third parameter, the device selection default priority order included in the record of No = 1 in FIG. ; 3; 6; 9; ... "apply and = 2, 3, 6, 9,. . . All devices that can execute the current job are selected. If this record corresponds to the instruction “HandleError (1038, Manual, 8; 9; 1; 5)”, that is, if there is a third parameter, this individual priority order “8; 9; 1; 5 "Is applied, No. in the device switching table TBL3. = 8, 9, 1, 5 All devices that can execute the current job are selected. For example, if the current job is set to use glossy paper for color printing, the apparatus is not selected unless the state of the color printing function is (Y, EN).

  (S24) An inquiry is made to each image forming apparatus selected in step S23 as to whether or not it is in a ready state via the NIC 18.

  (S25) If the mode is Auto, the process proceeds to step S26; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S27.

  (S26) If it is determined in step S24 that there is a ready device, the device with the highest priority is determined as the substitute device. If there is no ready device, the device having the highest priority among the devices selected in step S23 is determined as the substitute device. Next, the process proceeds to step S30.

  (S27) The switch buttons corresponding to the devices found to be ready in step S24 are displayed on the operation panel 15 in the device selection priority order, and subsequently, the devices determined to be executable next in step S23. Switch buttons corresponding to those except for those in the ready state are displayed on the operation panel 15 in the device selection priority order. As for the priority order on the operation panel 15, the priority order is higher for the ready state and the group of those that are not so, for example, the higher the order is, the higher the priority order is for the left side in the case of the same line. Further, the background color of the switch button between the ready state and the non-ready state is changed. For example, the background color of the switch button in the ready state is set to green, and the background color of other buttons is set to white.

  As a result, even if there are a large number of selection candidates, the user can easily and quickly switch printing to an appropriate alternative device.

  In addition, the structure which describes the character which shows a ready state without changing a background color may be described in a switch button or the side. Further, the switching buttons corresponding to the devices determined to be executable in step S23 are displayed on the operation panel 15 in the device selection priority order, and the switching buttons corresponding to the ready state are set to a background color different from the others. Or the structure which describes the character which shows that it is a ready state may be described on a switch button or the side.

  (S28) The user selects an appropriate one of the switching buttons displayed on the operation panel 15 of the image forming apparatus 101. The user eliminates the cause of the error without making this selection. For example, in the case of an out-of-paper error, the user replenishes the paper to eliminate the error, selects the cancel button 45 in FIG. You can also.

  (S29) When the switching is canceled, the processing of FIG. 10 is ended, and printing is continued in the image forming apparatus 101. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S30.

  (S30) If the interrupted job includes post-processing such as stapling or punching, the process proceeds to step S31; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S32.

  (S31) The print data from the first page if the number p of sheets printed normally before the interruption is less than or equal to the threshold p0, and the print data from the (p + 1) th sheet otherwise, and the image forming apparatus 101 of this job Are transmitted to the determined alternative device, and the process proceeds to step S33. Here, the threshold value p0 is stored in each of the storage devices of the apparatus having the post-processing function among the image forming apparatuses 101 to 10m (FIG. 8B).

  (S32) The print data from the (p + 1) th sheet and the setting data in the image forming apparatus 101 for this job are transmitted to the determined alternative apparatus.

  (S33) As shown in FIG. 11F, information indicating to which alternative device automatic switching has been performed, whether this alternative job is currently being executed, is in a wait state, has been completed, etc. The state is displayed on the operation panel 15. This state is acquired by communicating with an alternative device via the NIC 18.

  According to the second embodiment, in response to the occurrence of an error that interrupts a job, an image forming apparatus that continues the job is selected based on the apparatus selection priority order corresponding to the user ID of the job in the table TBL4. In the case of the mode, since the image forming apparatus that continues the job is determined based on this selection, it is possible to automatically select an appropriate alternative apparatus according to the user. In the manual mode, based on this selection, an icon corresponding to an image forming apparatus candidate for continuing the job is displayed on the operation panel 15, and the job is continued on the image forming apparatus corresponding to the selected icon. Even if there are many candidates, it is possible to easily select an appropriate alternative device according to the user.

  In addition, the table TBL3 is referred to, and an image forming apparatus that has the function of executing the job and can be executed and is included in the apparatus selection priority order is selected. This makes it possible to automatically select an alternative device, and in the manual mode, it is possible to easily select an appropriate alternative device according to the user and conditions. In the manual mode, the icons corresponding to the alternative candidates are arranged on the operation panel 15 in the order of device selection priority, so that it is possible to easily select a more appropriate alternative device quickly.

  Further, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the selected image forming apparatus is in the ready state. In the automatic mode, the image forming apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority among the ready image forming apparatuses executes the job. Since the image forming apparatus to be continued is determined, there is an effect that a more appropriate alternative apparatus can be automatically selected. In the manual mode, the background color of the icon corresponding to the ready state candidate is different from the background color of the icon corresponding to the non-ready candidate, so that a more appropriate alternative device can be selected more easily and quickly. There is an effect. In manual mode, instead of changing the background color in this way, the same effect can be obtained by displaying characters on the icon corresponding to the ready status candidate or whether it is in the ready status with characters or figures. Is obtained.

  Further, even if there is no image forming apparatus in the ready state, in the automatic mode, the image forming apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority order among the selected image forming apparatuses is determined as the image forming apparatus that continues the job. As a result, it is possible to automatically select a more appropriate alternative device.

  Further, when the user ID of the job is not included in the table TBL4, the default device selection priority order in the table TBL3 is regarded as the device selection priority order corresponding to the user ID. There is no need to enter the order in the table TBL4, and the user's burden is reduced.

  In the second embodiment, the case where the management server manages the device switching table TBL3 has been described. However, the corresponding record of the device switching table TBL3 is stored in each of the storage devices of the image forming apparatuses 101 to 10m. This may be described as a third embodiment of the present invention.

  In the third embodiment, the process shown in FIG. 12A is performed instead of steps S22 to S24 in FIG.

  (S34) For example, when an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 101, as shown in FIG. 12B, the setting data of the job is broadcast to the other image forming apparatuses 102 to 10n. This setting data includes information corresponding to the device function presence / absence (Y / N) of the device switching table TBL3.

  (S35) Each received image forming apparatus determines whether or not the job can be executed based on the setting data. If the determination is affirmative, the image forming apparatus is in a ready state and information indicating that the job can be executed. Is sent to the image forming apparatus 101 as an answer. The image forming apparatus 101 temporarily stores these responses received within a predetermined time in the DRAM 14.

  Other processes are the same as those in the second embodiment.

  According to the third embodiment, job setting information is transmitted to each of the image forming apparatuses designated in the device selection priority order, and the ready state is received from the image forming apparatus that has received the job setting information and determined that the job can be executed. In the automatic mode, the image forming apparatus having the highest apparatus selection priority is determined as the image forming apparatus that continues the job. Even if the image forming apparatus is not equipped with the table TBL3, there is an effect that it is possible to automatically select an appropriate alternative apparatus according to the user and conditions.

  In the manual mode, icons corresponding to the ready image forming apparatuses are arranged on the operation panel 15 in accordance with the apparatus selection priority order. Therefore, even if each image forming apparatus does not include the table TBL3, the user and the conditions Accordingly, there is an effect that an appropriate alternative device can be selected more easily and quickly.

  Note that the present invention includes various other modifications.

  For example, by describing a plurality of application programs or by describing a plurality of combinations of conditional phrases and processing statements in one application program, three or more buttons are displayed on the display screen of FIG. Thus, daily operations may be processed using only this menu.

  Further, the user application only needs to be stored in the image forming apparatus via the input interface, and may be configured via an input interface of another removable memory such as a flash memory card or a communication unit.

  Further, in step S34 in FIG. 10, instead of broadcasting, it may be configured to transmit job setting data by specifying an address for each of the other image forming apparatuses.

  The shape of the icon displayed on the operation panel 15 is not limited to the button, and icons having various shapes may be used.

  Furthermore, instead of the operation panel 15, an interactive input / output device of a computer system coupled via a communication interface of the image forming apparatus, that is, a remote console may be used. In this case, the icon is turned on (selected) by clicking the mouse, for example.

It is a schematic flowchart which shows the process of the simple text language processing program with respect to a user application stored in the image forming apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. 4 is a partial explanatory diagram of data stored in a PROM and a DRAM of the image forming apparatus. FIG. (A) is a diagram showing a main menu screen on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus, and (B) is a diagram showing a menu screen displayed when the “USER APPLICATION” button in (A) is selected. (C) is a figure which shows the screen after selecting the button 40 of (B). FIG. 2 is a process explanatory diagram of FIG. 1 showing a graph of the remaining amount of toner over time. (A) to (C) are diagrams showing specific examples of user applications relating to toner cartridge ordering. (A)-(C) is a figure which shows the specific example of the user application regarding the scan of a slip, facsimile transmission, and electronic mail transmission. It is a schematic block diagram of the image forming system which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. (A) is an explanatory diagram of the device switching table, and (B) shows a threshold value of the number of sheets printed normally by the time of interruption for determining whether or not to restart printing from the beginning when there is post-processing. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the error handle table in which automatic / manual switching mode and apparatus selection priority order are filled in according to user ID. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing that is started in the image forming apparatus when an error event that interrupts printing occurs. (A)-(D) is a figure which shows the HandleError command from which a parameter respectively differs, (E) and (F) are figures which show the operation panel display screen in case switching is a manual mode and an automatic mode, respectively. FIG. 11A is a partial flowchart showing processing used instead of steps S22 to S24 in FIG. 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10B is a schematic block diagram of an image forming system. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a software hierarchical structure of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10, 101, 102 Image forming apparatus 11 MPU
12 Interface 13 PROM
14 DRAM
15 Operation panel 16 Printer 17 Scanner 18 NIC
19 FAX modem 20 Port 21 Remaining toner detector 22 IC card reader 23 Electronic tag reader 24A USB memory 24B IC card 25, 251 Host computer 26 Internet 26L LAN
27 Web server machine 28 Public network 30 OS
31 Device driver 32 API
33 Basic service program 330 Operation panel control module 331 Scan module 332 Print module 333 FAX transmission / reception module 334 E-mail transmission / reception module 335 IC card control module 336 RFID control module 337 Format conversion module 338 Address book module 339 HTTP processing module 34, 36 External API
35 Application 350 Copy module 351 Print module 352 FAX module 353 E-mail module 354 Job management module 355 Operation panel module 37 User application 38 Simple text language processing program 40, 41 button 42-44 switching button 45 cancel button TBL1, TBL2 table TBL3 device Switching table TBL4 Error handle table

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus comprising a processor, storage means storing a program and data, and a communication interface for forming a network with other image forming apparatuses,
The data includes a first table in which user IDs and selection priority orders of the plurality of other image forming apparatuses are entered correspondingly,
The program for the processor
In response to the occurrence of an error interrupting the (a) job, based on the selection択優destination order corresponding to the user ID of the job in the first table, to select the candidate of the image forming apparatus to continue the job, the Send the setting information of the job to each of the candidate image forming apparatuses,
(B) Receiving information indicating whether or not the job is ready from the image forming apparatus that has determined that the job can be executed based on the setting information, and among the image forming apparatuses in the ready state, the one having the highest selection priority were allowed to determine that the image forming apparatus to continue the job, the the image forming apparatus, to continue the job by transmitting the job data via the communication interface,
An image forming apparatus. The program to the processor, in the process (b), in the case where the image forming apparatus does not exist a ready state, the one highest 該選択優destination order of the image forming apparatus was not ready, the Let the image forming device continue the job,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 . In the data, it includes a default selection択優destination order,
The program for the processor
In process (a), in the case where the user ID of the job is not included in the first table, the selection択優destination order該既Jo considered selection択優destination order and corresponding to the user ID,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. The network, the image forming system, wherein the first to third aspects of the image forming apparatus according to any one of the recipient are three or more in peer-to-peer bond.

Images