JP5682268B2 - Printing system, transmission control apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a transmission control device, and a program.

Various inventions have been proposed for print processing in which an image based on electronic data designated as a printing target is formed on a recording material such as paper by an image forming apparatus and output.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an address of each image forming apparatus that receives an input of image data and forms an image corresponding to the data on a recording material, and position information indicating an installation position of each image forming apparatus. Are stored in association with each other, an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the current position of the device itself, a current position indicated by the acquired position information, and the address stored in the storage unit. Output destination switching means for determining a distance between the installation positions indicated by the position information, and switching the output destination of the image data to the address stored in the storage means in association with the position information of the installation position with the closest calculated distance; An invention such as an image data output device provided with output means for outputting image data to the image forming device of the switched address is disclosed.

  For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a distance measurement unit that communicates with a wireless communication terminal and measures a distance between the wireless communication terminal, a print data acquisition unit that acquires print data, and an image formation unit that forms an image. And a preparatory operation start means for starting a preparatory operation for causing the image forming means to form an image in response to the measured distance being equal to or less than a first threshold, and the measured distance is the first threshold value. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming start unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the acquired print data in response to being less than or equal to a second threshold value less than a threshold value of 1. Is disclosed.

JP 2007-304981 A JP 2008-017341 A

  In recent years, it has been considered to execute print processing based on a file (an example of electronic data) designated in advance as a print target in accordance with a user (user) instruction to the image forming apparatus. Specifically, for example, the user registers a file desired to be printed in the server in advance, and then visits a convenience store and the like, and issues a print instruction in the image forming apparatus installed there, For example, the image forming apparatus acquires the corresponding file from the server and performs the printing process.

  The present invention waits for the user at the installation location of the image forming apparatus when the print processing based on the electronic data previously designated as the print target is executed according to the user's instruction to the image forming apparatus. The purpose is to shorten the time.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an association unit that associates electronic data designated as a print target with a portable terminal device, and a portable terminal device associated with the electronic data by the association unit and the image forming apparatus. A transmission unit that transmits electronic data associated with the portable terminal device to the image forming device for a combination of the portable terminal device and the image forming device whose distance is equal to or less than a threshold, and the transmission unit includes: A printing system is characterized in that electronic data set as a printing target is transmitted step by step, and stepwise transmission of electronic data is controlled using a threshold value set for each step .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first aspect, the threshold value is set based on a data amount of electronic data set as a print target.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printing system according to the first or second aspect , wherein the transmission means transmits a plurality of pieces of electronic data according to a threshold set for each partial data obtained by dividing the electronic data into a plurality of pieces. The transmission of each partial data divided into two is controlled.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first or second aspect , the transmission unit controls transmission of electronic data at a first transmission speed with a first threshold, Electronic data transmission at a second transmission speed higher than the first transmission speed is controlled by a second threshold set shorter than the first threshold.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first or second aspect , after the partial data obtained by dividing the electronic data into a plurality of parts is transmitted to different image forming apparatuses, one image forming apparatus is provided. The partial data is transmitted from the other image forming apparatus to restore the electronic data in the one image forming apparatus, and the transmission means controls the transmission of the partial data to each image forming apparatus by the first threshold value. The transmission of partial data from another image forming apparatus to one image forming apparatus is controlled by a second threshold set shorter than the first threshold.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the process of transmitting electronic data associated with a portable terminal device to the image forming apparatus is the transmission. Deletion that deletes electronic data transmitted to the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus when it is determined that the portable terminal apparatus is not in a state of approaching the image forming apparatus after being started by the means Means are provided.

The present invention according to claim 7, for the combination of the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which the distance between the associated mobile terminal apparatus and the image forming apparatus becomes less than the threshold value to the electronic data designated to be printed A transmission unit that transmits the electronic data associated with the portable terminal device to the image forming apparatus, the transmission unit performing transmission of the electronic data set as a print target in stages. A transmission control device that controls stepwise transmission of electronic data using a threshold value set for each .

The present invention of claim 8, the computer, and a portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value of the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus associated with the electronic data designated to be printed Is a program for realizing a transmission function for transmitting electronic data associated with the portable terminal device to the image forming apparatus, the transmission function transmitting electronic data set as a print target. Is a program that controls the stepwise transmission of electronic data using a threshold set for each step .

According to the present invention described in claims 1, 7 and 8, when the print processing based on electronic data designated in advance as a print target is executed in accordance with a user instruction to the image forming apparatus, the present invention is Compared with the case where the image forming apparatus is not applied, the waiting time of the user at the installation place of the image forming apparatus can be shortened. In addition, it is possible to distribute the load related to transmission of electronic data designated as a print target.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the transmission timing can be adjusted according to the data amount of the electronic data designated as the print target.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the electronic data transmitted to the image forming apparatus from remaining without being used for the printing process.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the flow of the process which concerns on download of the file of the printing target in the printing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of a computer that operates as a transmission control device in a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the 3rd modification of the printing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of a computer that operates as a transmission control device in a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates an outline of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The printing system of this example includes devices such as a mobile terminal device 10, a user location management device 20, a file management device 30, a download management device 40 (an example of a transmission control device), and an output terminal 50 (an example of an image forming device). Has been.

An operation example of the printing system of this example will be schematically described.
In the printing system of this example, the position of the portable terminal device 10 carried by the user (user) is managed by the user position management device 20, and a user who desires printing of a certain file (an example of electronic data) First, the file is designated as a print target and registered in the file management apparatus 30. After that, when going to an installation position (for example, a convenience store) of one of the output terminals 50, the download management apparatus 40 causes the portable terminal apparatus 10 to A file designated as a print target by the user for the output terminal 50 in which the distance to each output terminal 50 is measured and the measured distance is equal to or less than a preset threshold value (range indicated by reference symbol R). Is controlled so that download (transmission) to the output terminal 50 is started.
As a result, the time for the user to wait for the completion of file download at the installation location of the output terminal 50 is reduced, and the printing process by the output terminal 50 can be performed promptly.

FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the printing system of this example.
The portable terminal device 10 is a terminal device that can be carried by each user who uses the printing system of this example, and has functional units such as a position detection unit 11 and a position information transmission unit 12. As the mobile terminal device 10, for example, various devices such as a mobile phone terminal and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) can be used.

  The position detection unit 11 detects the current position of itself (the mobile terminal device 10). The mobile terminal device 10 of this example includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) function unit as an example of the position detection unit 11, and detects the current position by the GPS function unit.

  The position information transmission unit 12 transmits position information indicating the current position detected by the position detection unit 11 to the user position management device 20 by wireless communication. Communication with the user location management device 20 is performed using, for example, its own mobile terminal ID (an example of information for identifying the mobile terminal device 10).

  The user location management device 20 is a device that manages the location of each user who uses the printing system of this example, and has functional units such as a user location detection unit 21 and a user location storage unit 22.

  The user position detection unit 21 detects the position of the user carrying the mobile terminal device 10 based on the position information transmitted from the mobile terminal device 10. In this example, a correspondence table in which correspondence between a user ID (an example of information for identifying a user) and a mobile terminal ID (that is, correspondence between the user and the mobile terminal device 10) is set in advance is included. The user ID is acquired by referring to the correspondence table of the portable terminal ID indicating the transmission source, and the position of the user specified by the user ID is specified (detected) by the position information.

  The user position storage unit 22 stores the position of the user detected by the user position detection unit 21 (the position of the mobile terminal device 10 carried by the user). In this example, position information indicating the current position of the user corresponding to the user ID (that is, the latest position information) is stored in association with the user ID. Note that past location information related to the user may also be left as a history.

  The file management apparatus 30 is an apparatus for registering (storing) and managing a file designated as a print target by each user who uses the printing system of this example, and includes functional units such as a file storage unit 31 and a file search unit 32. have.

  The file storage unit 31 stores actual data and file attributes (attribute information such as a file name, a file size, and the number of pages) of a file designated as a print target by the user. In this example, the user ID of the user who made the designation is associated with the file designated as the print target. The user ID associated with the file is a transmission source device (the mobile terminal device 10 or other device) together with the registration instruction when registering the file designated as the file to be printed by the user in the mobile terminal device 10 or other device. ).

  The file search unit 32 performs various search processes on the file storage unit 31. As an example, based on a search request for inquiring about the presence of a file by specifying a user ID, the presence or absence of a file stored in the file storage unit 31 in association with the user ID is returned to the request source as a search result. As an example, based on a search request for inquiring about a file attribute of a file by specifying a user ID, the file attribute of the file stored in the file storage unit 31 in association with the user ID is returned to the request source as a search result. As an example, based on a search request for inquiring the actual data of a file by specifying a user ID, the actual data of the file stored in the file storage unit 31 in association with the user ID is returned as a search result to the request source.

  The download management device 40 downloads (sends) a file designated as a print target by the user from the file management device 30 to the output terminal 50 based on the distance between the portable terminal device 10 carried by the user and the output terminal 50. ) Is a device that manages processing, etc., and has functional units such as an output terminal position storage unit 41, a distance calculation unit 42, a file acquisition determination unit 43, a file deletion determination unit 44, a file acquisition unit 45, and a file deletion unit 46. ing.

  The output terminal position storage unit 41 stores the position of each output terminal 50 provided in the printing system of this example. In this example, position information transmitted from each output terminal 50 is stored in association with an output terminal ID (an example of information for identifying the output terminal 50) indicating the transmission source. In this example, the position information is transmitted from the output terminal 50 and stored in response to a request from the download management apparatus 40. For example, when the output terminal 50 is added to the printing system, the output terminal 50 is added. The download management device 40 uses a configuration in which an input of the output terminal ID and position information of each output terminal 50 is received and stored by the administrator of the system in the download management device 40. May be.

  The distance calculation unit 42 calculates the distance between the user who registered the file designated as the print target in the file management apparatus 30 and each output terminal 50 provided in the printing system of this example. In this example, based on the user position information (current position) stored in the user position management device 20 and the position information of the output terminal 50 stored in the output terminal position storage unit 41, the user and the output The distance from the terminal 50 is calculated. In this example, the linear distance between the point indicated by the user's position information and the point indicated by the position information of the output terminal 50 is calculated, but the distance is calculated using another calculation method. For example, the distance along the road may be calculated using map information or the like. Further, based on the map information or the like, it may be calculated that the position information of the user and the position information of the output terminal 50 exist in the same area on the map (for example, in a store, in a floor, in a conference room, etc.). Good. The combinations of the user who calculates the distance and the output terminal 50 may be all combinations of each user who uses the printing system of this example and each of the output terminals 50 provided in the printing system of this example. It may be limited to a combination of users who have registered files to be printed in the file management device 30. One or more output terminals 50 that are candidates for printing by the user are stored in association with the user in advance. Based on the association, the combination with the output terminal 50 may be switched for each user, and may be in accordance with the operation mode of the system.

  The file acquisition determination unit 43 makes a determination on the start of the download process from the file management device 30 to the output terminal 50 for the file designated as the print target by the user based on the calculation result by the distance calculation unit 42. In this example, the distance calculated for each output terminal 50 for the user is compared with a threshold value, and it is determined that the file download process is started for the output terminal 50 whose distance to the user is equal to or less than the threshold value. The threshold value may be a fixed threshold value or a threshold value calculated according to the file attributes (file size or number of pages) of the file to be downloaded. For example, a reference transmission speed (transmission data amount per unit distance) indicating a data amount that is assumed to be transmitted while the user moves in a predetermined unit distance is set, and the file to be downloaded is set. The result obtained by dividing the file size by the reference transmission rate can be used as a threshold value. When the communication speed differs for each output terminal 50, a reference transmission speed may be set in advance for each output terminal 50 and used for calculation of the threshold value.

  The file acquisition unit 45 executes file download processing from the file management apparatus 30 to the output terminal 50 based on the determination result by the file acquisition determination unit 43. As a method for downloading a file, a Push type in which the file management apparatus 30 actively transmits the corresponding file to the output terminal 50 of the transmission destination may be used, and the file management apparatus 30 may output the transmission destination. A Pull type that passively transmits a corresponding file in response to a request from the terminal 50 may be used.

  The file deletion determination unit 44 makes a determination regarding the deletion processing from the output terminal 50 of the file downloaded to the output terminal 50 based on the calculation result by the distance calculation unit 42. In this example, a situation that the mobile terminal device 10 carried by the user is assumed not to be in a state of approaching the download destination output terminal 50 is set in advance as a file deletion condition, and is downloaded by the file acquisition unit 45. If it is detected that the deletion condition is met after the processing is started, it is determined that the file downloaded to the output terminal 50 is deleted. As the deletion condition, for example, when the distance to the user exceeds a threshold value related to download start determination (threshold value used in the file acquisition determination unit 43), the distance to the user changes even after a predetermined time elapses. No (when the range of change falls within a predetermined range), when the distance to the user tends to increase (when the increase in distance continues for a predetermined number of times or longer), and the like.

  The file deletion unit 46 executes a deletion process from the output terminal 50 on the file downloaded to the output terminal 50 based on the determination result by the file deletion determination unit 44. The file deletion from the output terminal 50 may be configured such that the file deletion unit 46 directly deletes the file on the output terminal 50 side, and a deletion instruction specifying the file to be deleted is transmitted to the output terminal 50. The output terminal 50 that has received the instruction may be configured to delete the corresponding file, and can be realized by various configurations.

  The output terminal 50 is a device that executes printing based on a file downloaded from the file management device 30 by receiving a print instruction by a user who designates the file as a print target, and includes a position information transmission unit 51 and a print output unit 52. And so on. As the output terminal 50, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a printing apparatus having a printing function as a main function, or a multifunction machine having a copying function, a facsimile function, etc. in addition to the printing function can be used.

  The position information transmission unit 51 transmits position information indicating the current position of itself (output terminal 50) to the download management device 40. Communication with the download management apparatus 40 is performed using, for example, its own output terminal ID (an example of information for identifying the output terminal 50). In this example, the location information input by the installation operator or the like when the output terminal 50 is installed is stored and transmitted to the download management device 40. For example, a location detection unit such as a GPS function unit is provided on the output terminal 50. The position information may be automatically detected and transmitted by the position detection unit.

  The print output unit 52 selects an image based on the file downloaded from the file management apparatus 30 in response to receiving a print instruction from a user who designates the file as a print target and registers the file in the file management apparatus 30. Is printed on a recording material such as paper. In this example, the output terminal 50 is configured to accept user ID input from the user, perform user authentication, and accept a print instruction based on a file designated as a print target by the user. 50, a presentation unit of the mobile terminal device 10 is provided, and the user ID is read from the mobile terminal device 10 presented to the presentation unit (or the mobile terminal ID is read from the mobile terminal device 10 presented to the presentation unit. Thus, another authentication method such as a configuration in which the user ID is obtained in the light of the correspondence table between the mobile terminal ID and the user ID and user authentication is performed based on the user ID may be used. Further, for example, when a file designated as a print target is registered in the file management apparatus 30, key information such as a character string and a number to be input when executing the print processing of the file is presented to the user and output. When the terminal 50 receives an input of key information from a user, a file corresponding to the key information may be printed.

An example of processing related to downloading of a file to be printed in the printing system of this example will be described with reference to the flow illustrated in FIG.
In the download management device 40 of this example, first, the user ID (D1) of the user whose location information is stored in the user location management device 20 is acquired (step S11), and the file registered in the file management device 30 is acquired. The file attribute (D2) is acquired (step S12), and the position information (D3) of the output terminal 50 provided in the printing system of this example is acquired (step S13).

  Thereafter, at each predetermined time interval, the distance calculation unit 42 obtains the user position information (position information of the portable terminal device 10 carried by the user) (D4) stored in the user position management device 20. Obtaining (step S14), the distance between the user and the output terminal 50 is calculated based on the obtained position information of the user and the position information of the output terminal 50 (step S15), and is designated as a print target by the user. It is determined whether the downloaded file is being downloaded (step S16).

  If it is determined in step S16 that the file is not being downloaded, the file acquisition determination unit 43 determines whether the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 42 is equal to or less than a threshold value determined according to the file. Then, it is determined whether or not to start the download process of the file (step S17). As a result, when the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 42 is not less than the threshold value and it is determined that the download process is not started, the process returns to the process of step S14, while the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 42 is If it is equal to or less than the threshold value and it is determined to start the download process, the file acquisition unit 45 executes the download process from the file management apparatus 30 to the output terminal 50 for the actual data (D5) of the file (step S18). ).

  If it is determined in step S16 that the file is being downloaded, it is determined whether the download process has been completed (step S19). If it is determined that the download process has not been completed, the file acquisition determination unit 43 is in a state in which the user is approaching the download destination output terminal 50 based on the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 42. Based on whether or not there is, it is determined whether or not the file downloaded to the output terminal 50 is to be deleted from the output terminal 50 (step S20). As a result, when it is determined that the user is approaching the download destination output terminal 50 and the file downloaded to the output terminal 50 is not deleted from the output terminal 50, the process returns to step S14. On the other hand, when it is determined that the file downloaded to the output terminal 50 is to be deleted from the output terminal 50 instead of being in a state where the user is approaching the download destination output terminal 50, the file deletion unit 46 outputs A process of deleting the file downloaded to the terminal 50 from the output terminal 50 is executed (step S21).

As described above, in the printing system of this example, the user and the portable terminal device 10 carried by the user are associated with each other, designated by the user and the user as a printing target, and registered in the file management device 30. By associating the file, the file designated as the print target and the portable terminal device 10 are indirectly associated with each other, and the portable terminal device 10 associated with the file designated as the print target ( A file associated with the mobile terminal device 10 for the combination of the mobile terminal device 10 and the output terminal 50 in which the measured distance is less than or equal to a threshold value. Is downloaded (transmitted) to the output terminal 50.
In addition, it is good also as a structure which associates a file and the portable terminal device 10 directly instead of the structure which associates a file and the portable terminal device 10 indirectly like this example.

Next, a modified example of the printing system of this example will be described.
As a first modification, a configuration for performing step-by-step download in units obtained by dividing a file set to be printed into a plurality of parts will be described.
Specifically, for example, the download management device 40 relates to a download in units of one page or more, and a reference indicating the number of pages that are assumed to be transmitted while the user moves a predetermined unit distance. Set the transmission speed (number of transmission pages per unit distance), and use the initial value of the acquisition start page number indicating the download start page position and the remaining number of pages indicating the remaining download amount as the initial page of the file to be downloaded. The page number and the total number of pages of the file are set, and the result obtained by dividing the remaining page number by the reference transmission speed is used as a threshold for determining download start. When approaching and the distance between the two becomes less than or equal to the threshold, in order from the acquisition start page number (toward the end page side) To initiate a partial download. At this time, the number of pages to be downloaded (referred to as the number of acquired pages) is determined according to the distance between the user and the output terminal 50, as will be described later. After that, the acquisition start page number is updated with the result of adding the acquisition page number to the current acquisition start page number, and the remaining page number is updated with the result of subtracting the acquisition page number from the current remaining page number. The process for the next partial download is repeated using the result of dividing the number of remaining pages by the reference transmission speed as a new threshold until the number of remaining pages becomes zero. Here, the number of acquired pages is calculated by, for example, the following formula (however, the decimal part is rounded up).
Number of acquired pages = number of remaining pages x {1- (user distance / download start distance)}
In the above formula, the user distance represents the distance between the user and the output terminal 50, and the download start distance corresponds to a threshold value related to the download start determination. Note that the number of acquired pages may be calculated using another mathematical expression.

As a second modification, a configuration will be described in which a file set as a print target is downloaded step by step while switching the download speed.
Specifically, for example, the download management device 40 has a first threshold for determining a start timing of a low-speed download that is a relatively low-speed download, and a start timing of a high-speed download that is a download faster than the speed. And the second threshold value set to be shorter than the first threshold value, the mobile terminal device 10 (the user who carries the mobile phone) approaches the output terminal 50, and the distance between the two is the first threshold value. (Range indicated by reference symbol R1) The low-speed download of the file is started at the stage below, and then the mobile terminal device 10 further approaches the output terminal 50 and the distance between them is a second threshold value (range indicated by reference symbol R2). Start high-speed download at the following stage. As an example, in low-speed download, download is executed with a transfer amount (transmission speed) of 50000 bytes / second, and in high-speed download, download is executed with a transfer amount (transmission speed) of 1000000 bytes / second. Of course, the download may be executed with a transfer amount other than this example.

FIG. 4 illustrates an outline of a printing system according to the second modification.
In the example of FIG. 4, a plurality of n output terminals 50-1, 50-2,..., 50-n are relatively short distances (in this example, the first set for each output terminal 50). A range R1 determined by the threshold value is arranged in an overlapping position). For example, there are n output terminals 50-1, 50-2,..., 50-n as the output terminals 50 whose distance from the user is equal to or less than the first threshold, Assume that low-speed download has started for 50-1, 50-2,..., 50-n. In this state, if the distance from any of the output terminals 50 (the output terminal 50-2 in the example of FIG. 4) is equal to or less than the second threshold value (range indicated by the symbol R2), the output terminal 50 On the other hand, the high-speed download is started, while the low-speed download started for the other output terminals 50 is stopped.

  Note that a file downloaded to another output terminal (other than the output terminal 50-2 in the example of FIG. 4) halfway when the low-speed download is stopped is based on the determination by the file deletion determination unit 44. It is deleted by the deletion process by. In the file deletion determination unit 44, for example, a method for determining deletion at the time when high-speed download of a file is started in any one of the output terminals 50, or high-speed download of a file is completed in any of the output terminals 50, and the output It is determined that the terminal 50 is to be deleted when the printing process is completed, or the mobile terminal device 10 located within the first threshold is outside the range determined by the third threshold that is a distance greater than or equal to the first threshold. Even if it is determined to delete the file on the output terminal 50 side when the low-speed download is stopped by various methods such as a method of determining that the deletion is to be deleted when it is found from the calculation result of the distance calculation unit 42 Good.

  Further, the first threshold value may be set individually for each output terminal 50 as in this example, or may be set commonly for a plurality of output terminals 50. In the case of setting common to a plurality of output terminals 50, for example, a plurality of output terminals 50 installed at a relatively short distance may be treated as a group, and a threshold related to the distance from the center of gravity position of the group may be used. Based on the map information or the like, a threshold value related to the distance to the area including the plurality of output terminals 50 may be used, or another type of threshold value may be used. Note that these threshold values are stored in, for example, a storage unit in the download management device 40, and are read out as necessary and used for the determination process.

As a third modification, a plurality of output terminals 50 installed at relatively short distances are treated as a group, and each file portion obtained by dividing a file set as a print target is separately downloaded to the output terminals 50 in the group. After that, a configuration in which file parts are aggregated and combined in one output terminal 50 will be described.
Specifically, for example, the download management device 40 stores information on a plurality of output terminals 50 handled as a group, and includes a first threshold value for determining the download start timing of each file portion, and each file. A stage in which the distance between the mobile terminal device 10 (the user who carries the mobile device) and the group of the output terminals 50 is equal to or less than the first threshold value, using the second threshold value for determining the timing at which the parts are aggregated and combined. Thus, the download of the file portion obtained by dividing the file to be downloaded according to the number of output terminals 50 in the group to each of the different output terminals 50 in the group is started, and the distance from any output terminal 50 in the group is At the stage where the second threshold value or less is reached, the output terminal 50 (and other output terminal 50) is notified of this, and the other output terminal 50 the downloaded file portions by the transfer to the output terminal 50 is aggregated file portion to the output terminal 50, at the output terminal 50 by joining these file portions to restore the file.

Note that the position of the group of the output terminals 50 in the measurement of the distance between the portable terminal device 10 and the group of the output terminals 50 may be the average of the positions of the output terminals 50 belonging to the group. The output terminal 50 may be the closest or farthest (or Nth closest or Nth distant) output terminal 50 or may be a value calculated by another method.
Examples of the plurality of output terminals 50 handled as a group include a plurality of output terminals 50 provided in a LAN (Local Area Network) configured using a router or the like. The file portion can be transferred between the two using a LAN line.

FIG. 5 illustrates the configuration of a printing system according to the third modification.
The output terminal 50 of this example has a configuration further including a file partial transfer unit 53 and a file partial combination unit 54 in addition to the position information transmission unit 51 and the print output unit 52.
In this example, a file restoration instruction is transmitted from the download management device 40 to the output terminal 50 determined as the file destination aggregation destination, and a file transfer instruction is transmitted to the other output terminals 50. It is assumed that the output terminal ID of the output terminal 50 determined as the file destination aggregation destination is attached to this transfer instruction.

In the output terminal 50 that has received the file transfer instruction, the file part transfer unit 53 transmits the downloaded file part to the output terminal 50 identified by the output terminal ID attached to the transfer instruction.
In the output terminal 50 that has received the file restoration instruction, the file part combination unit 54 waits until the transmission of the file part from the other output terminal 50 is completed, and all the file parts related to the restoration target file are prepared. Depending on the situation, the file is restored by performing a combination process of these file parts. In this example, information necessary for combining the file parts, such as the position of the file part in the file to be restored (that is, the order in which the file parts are combined) is added to each file part. Combine the file parts and restore the file.

  If each output terminal 50 recognizes the other output terminals 50 in the group, the download management device 40 restores the file to the output terminal 50 determined as the file destination aggregation destination. The output terminal 50 that has transmitted the instruction and has received the restoration instruction may transmit a file part transfer instruction to the other output terminals 50 in the group. You should add.

  Here, in the description so far, a file designated as a print target is registered in the file management apparatus 30 and the file is stored in the file management apparatus based on the distance from the mobile terminal device 10 (the user who carries the file). Although the case of downloading from the output terminal 50 to the output terminal 50 has been described, other types of electronic data may be targeted. For example, Web content published on a Web server may be targeted. In this case, the address of the Web content is registered in the file management device 30 and the distance from the mobile terminal device 10 (the user who carries it) The Web content indicated by the address registered in the file management apparatus 30 may be downloaded from the corresponding Web server to the output terminal 50 based on the above.

FIG. 4 illustrates a main hardware configuration of a computer that operates as the download management device 40 (an example of a transmission control device) in the printing system of this example.
In this example, a main memory such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 61 that performs various arithmetic processes, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 62 that is a work area of the CPU 61, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 63 that records basic control programs. Auxiliary storage device (for example, magnetic disk such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive), rewritable non-volatile memory such as flash memory) 64, various An input / output I / F 65 that is an interface with an input device such as an operation button or a touch panel used for an input operation by a display device for displaying and outputting information, and a touch panel or other devices, or wired or wirelessly with another device or system IN to communicate Communication I / F 66 is over the face, is composed of a computer having hardware resources like.
Then, the program according to the embodiment of the present invention is read from the auxiliary storage device 64 or the like, loaded into the RAM 62, and executed by the CPU 61, thereby copying the functions of the transmission control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is realized on the computer of the machine 1.

In this example, each function unit of the download management apparatus 40 is provided in one computer, but each function unit may be provided in a distributed manner in a plurality of computers. Further, the download management device 40 may be provided integrally with other management devices (for example, the user position management device 20 and the file management device 30), or the download management device 40 may be provided in each output terminal 50. In this case, each output terminal 50 only needs to measure the distance from the mobile terminal device 10 (the user who carries the mobile device) only for itself (the output terminal 50).
In addition, the program according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a computer according to the present example, for example, in a format read from an external storage medium such as a CD-ROM storing the program or a format received via a communication line. Set to
Moreover, it is not restricted to the aspect which implement | achieves each function part by software configuration like this example, You may make it implement | achieve each function part with a dedicated hardware module.

10: Portable terminal device, 11: Position detection unit, 12: Location information transmission unit,
20: User position management device, 21: User position detection unit, 22: User position storage unit,
30: File management device, 31: File storage unit, 32: File search unit,
40: Download management device, 41: Output terminal position storage unit, 42: Distance calculation unit, 43: File acquisition determination unit, 44: File deletion determination unit, 45: File acquisition unit, 46: File deletion unit,
50: Output terminal 51: Position information transmission unit 52: Print output unit

Claims (8)

An associating means for associating electronic data designated as a print target with a mobile terminal device;
The combination of the correlating means portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which the distance between the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus associated with the electronic data is equal to or less than the threshold value by, associated with the mobile terminal device electronics Transmitting means for transmitting data to the image forming apparatus;
Equipped with a,
The transmission means performs stepwise transmission of electronic data set as a printing target, and controls stepwise transmission of electronic data using a threshold set for each step.
A printing system characterized by that. The threshold is set based on the data amount of electronic data set as a print target.
The printing system according to claim 1. The transmission means controls transmission for each partial data obtained by dividing the electronic data into a plurality of values by a threshold set for each partial data obtained by dividing the electronic data into a plurality of pieces.
The printing system according to claim 1 , wherein the printing system is a printing system. The transmission means controls transmission of electronic data at a first transmission speed by a first threshold, and sets transmission of electronic data at a second transmission speed higher than the first transmission speed to be shorter than the first threshold. Controlled by the set second threshold,
The printing system according to claim 1 , wherein the printing system is a printing system. After each partial data divided into a plurality of electronic data is transmitted to different image forming apparatuses, the partial data is transmitted from one image forming apparatus to another image forming apparatus, and the electronic data is restored in the one image forming apparatus. Is what
The transmission unit controls transmission of partial data to each image forming apparatus by a first threshold, and transmission of partial data from another image forming apparatus to one image forming apparatus is set to be shorter than the first threshold. Controlled by a second threshold,
The printing system according to claim 1 , wherein the printing system is a printing system. When it is determined that the mobile terminal device is not in a state of approaching the image forming apparatus after the transmission unit starts processing to transmit electronic data associated with the mobile terminal device to the image forming apparatus In addition, the electronic data transmitted to the image forming apparatus includes a deleting unit that deletes the electronic data from the image forming apparatus.
The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein: The combination of the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value of the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus associated with the electronic data designated to be printed, associated with the mobile terminal device A transmission means for transmitting electronic data to the image forming apparatus ;
The transmission means performs stepwise transmission of electronic data set as a printing target, and controls stepwise transmission of electronic data using a threshold set for each step.
A transmission control apparatus. On the computer,
The combination of the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which the distance is equal to or less than the threshold value of the portable terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus associated with the electronic data designated to be printed, associated with the mobile terminal device A program for realizing a transmission function for transmitting electronic data to the image forming apparatus ,
The transmission function performs stepwise transmission of electronic data set as a printing target, and controls stepwise transmission of electronic data using a threshold set for each step.
A program characterized by that .

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