JP2000242452A - Image formation control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To report a state under processing or standby at present concerning an image forming device which desires print processing. SOLUTION: A system 100 is constituted by connecting a server device 1, plural client PC2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and printers 7 and 8 on a network 9. When the print data are inputted from the client PC2 and the printer 7 is under image formation or spool state (standby) at present in the case of performing image forming processing with the printer 7, such a state is reported so that the waiting time for the print processing of a user can be reduced and speedy image forming processing can be performed. Further, when the state under image formation or spool is reported, control can be performed so as to execute processing with the other printer 8 as well.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming control system, and more particularly to an image forming control system to which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming control system,
Examples of the image forming apparatus connected to the network include a printer and a copier. When these are used, print data and a print request are sent from a client device to a desired image forming apparatus via a server device, and image forming processing, that is, print output is performed.

However, the above-described image forming control system is shared by a plurality of users. For example, a print request is output to a desired image forming apparatus, and is output several minutes after the output. When recording paper is picked up, the print data from another client device is being processed (printing), and therefore, in many cases, its own data is being spooled (waiting). In this case, since the print data (document) requested by the user is not output until the output of the previously input print data is completed, the user has to wait.

[0004] To avoid such a situation, for example, there is an "network printer automatic selection system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-198210. According to this, a printer operation status control mechanism is provided in a server device, and when a printout request from a terminal device is received via an input / output control mechanism, printout is performed for all server devices set in the memory. Forward the request. Each server device responds to the printout request transferred by the printer output control mechanism, and outputs a use permission signal if the printer is not in use. By automatically selecting the printer that actually performs the printing process based on the use permission signal, the waiting time until output is reduced.

[0005]

However, in the network printer shown in the above-mentioned prior art, since it is unknown which printer is automatically selected, the recording paper is output by which printer. There is a problem that it is difficult to judge whether it is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is intended for a case where a desired one of a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network is currently processing or waiting. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming control system that controls a printing process to be executed by another image forming apparatus.

[0007]

According to an aspect of the present invention, a plurality of client devices, a plurality of image forming devices, and a server device are connected on a network, and the server device uses the plurality of client devices. An image forming control system for controlling data transmission / reception, in which a desired image forming apparatus is processing or waiting for a print request from a client apparatus other than the client apparatus of the print request in response to a print request from the client apparatus. In the case of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes: a state information notifying unit that notifies the client apparatus of current state information; and a display unit that displays the state information notified by the state information notifying unit. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming control system in which a plurality of client devices, a plurality of image forming devices, and a server device are connected on a network, and the server device controls data transmission and reception. When a desired image forming apparatus is processing or waiting for a print request from another client apparatus other than the client apparatus that issued the print request in response to a print request from the apparatus, the image forming apparatus sends a request to the client apparatus. State information notifying means for notifying the current state information, a display means for displaying the state information notified by the state information notifying means, and a print request to an image forming apparatus other than the desired image forming apparatus. And a print request transmitting unit for transmitting the print request.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming control system in which a plurality of client devices, a plurality of image forming devices, and a server device are connected on a network, and the server device controls data transmission and reception. When a desired image forming apparatus is processing or waiting for a print request from another client apparatus other than the client apparatus that issued the print request in response to a print request from the apparatus, the image forming apparatus sends a request to the client apparatus. State information notifying means for notifying the current state information by means of the client device, a display means for displaying the state information notified by the state information notifying means, and a selecting means for selecting an image forming apparatus other than the desired image forming apparatus And a print request transmission unit for transmitting a print request to the image forming apparatus selected by the selection unit. And it features.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
In the invention described in any one of the above, the status information includes fault information at the time of occurrence of the fault.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the display means comprises a liquid crystal display, and displays the status information notified by the status information notification means on a pop-up screen. Is displayed.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an image forming control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show an embodiment of an image forming control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of an image forming control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a server device 1 and client PCs 2, 3.
4, 5 and 6 and printers 7 and 8 are connected on a network 9.

The server device 1 controls data transfer performed between the printers 7 and 8 and the client PCs 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 connected via the network 9.
The client PCs 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 include an input device (not shown) for inputting print data and a print request from a user, a display device (not shown) for displaying data content transmitted via a server, It consists of.

When the printers 7 and 8 can process the print request transmitted via the server device, they execute the printing process. However, in the printers 7 and 8,
If a print request from another client PC is being processed or spooled (standby), a message to that effect is sent as a message to the print requesting client PC via the server device. The client PC receiving this message displays the message on the display device. For example, when the display device is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like, displaying the message on a pop-up screen allows the user to be notified more effectively.

Therefore, after transmitting the print request and the print data, the user checks the status on the display device of the client PC owned by the user even if the desired printer is being used or spooled by another client PC. can do.

Further, even when a failure, for example, a paper jam, a toner shortage, or other functional failure occurs in the printers 7 and 8 on the network, the situation is displayed on the client device that has issued the print request. The user can instantly grasp the situation, and can quickly perform necessary processing on the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first operation example of the image forming control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, for example, the client PC 2
The operation when a print request is transmitted from the printer to the printer 7 will be described.

The client PC 2 transmits print data to the printer 7 via the server 1 (step S).
1). In the printer 7, other client PCs 3,
It is confirmed whether print data from any of 4, 5, and 6 is being processed or spooled (step S
2). In step S2, another client PC
If print data has not been received from any of 3, 4, 5, and 6 (step S2 / none), print data is printed by printer 7 (step S3), and recording paper is output (step S4). ).

In step S2, if the print data of any of the other client PCs 3, 4, 5, and 6 is being processed or spooled (step S2 / Yes), the client PC 2 is notified of "currently, A message such as "Processing / spooling print data from client PC" is transmitted and displayed on a display device (not shown) of client PC 2 (step S5). An operation indicating that the user has confirmed the content of the message displayed on the display device (not shown), for example, an “OK button”
Is pressed (step 6). When the “OK button” is pressed, the printer 7 terminates the processing of the print data that is currently being processed or is being spooled.
The printing process is performed on the print data transmitted (step S3), and the recording paper is output (step S4).

As shown in the first operation example of the present invention,
The user can display the current state of the image forming apparatus desired for the printing process on the user's PC device. Situation can be grasped.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a second operation example of the image forming control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, for example, the client PC 3
An example of the operation when a print request is transmitted from the printer to the printer 8 will be described.

The client PC 3 transmits print data to the printer 8 via the server device 1 (step S1).
1). In the printer 8, other client PCs 2,
It is checked whether any of the print data 4, 5, and 6 is being processed or spooled (step S12).
In step S12, the other client PCs 2,
If no print data has been received from any of the printers 4, 5, and 6 (step S12 / none), the printer 8 performs print processing of the print data (step S13) and outputs recording paper (step S14).

In step S12, if the print data of one of the other client PCs 2, 4, 5, and 6 is being processed or spooled (step S12 / Yes), the client PC 3 is notified that "currently, Processing print data from client PC / Spooling "
Is transmitted and displayed on a display device (not shown) of the client PC 3 (step S1).
5).

Next, for example, a "printer selection button" for selecting a printer other than the printer 8 connected on the network 9 is displayed on a display device (not shown) of the client PC 3 (step S16). A button for selecting the printer 7 is pressed from the displayed "Printer Selection Button" (step S17), and it is confirmed whether or not there is print data currently being processed or spooled in the printer 7 (step 18). In step S18, if there is no print data currently being processed or data being spooled (step S18 / none), print processing of the print data transmitted from the client PC 3 is performed (step S13), and recording paper is output. (Step S1
4).

In step S18, if there is print data currently being processed or print data being spooled (step S18 / Yes), it is confirmed whether or not to perform print processing with the printer 7 selected in step S17. (Step S19). When printing is performed by the printer 7 (step S19 / YES), print processing of the print data transmitted from the client PC 3 is performed (step S13).
The recording paper is output (step S14). When the printing process is not performed by the printer 7 (step S19 / NO),
The "printer selection button" is displayed again on the display device (not shown) of the client PC 3, and a desired printer is selected.

As shown in the second operation example of the present invention,
If the image forming apparatus desired for the printing process is currently being processed or is on standby, the status can be grasped, and at the same time, by pressing the displayed “printer selection button”, other image forming apparatuses can be immediately connected. To execute the printing process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a third operation example of the image forming control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, for example, the client PC 4
An operation example when a print request is transmitted from the printer 7 to the printer 7 will be described.

The client PC 4 sends print data to the printer 7 via the server 1 (step S2).
1). In the printer 7, other client PCs 2,
It is checked whether any of the print data 3, 5, and 6 is being processed or spooled (step S22).
In step S22, the other client PCs 2,
If no print data has been received from any of 3, 5, and 6 (step S22 / none), the printer 7 prints the print data (step S23), and outputs recording paper (step S24).

In step S22, if the print data of any one of the other client PCs 2, 3, 5, and 6 is being processed or spooled (step S22 / Yes), the client PC 4 is notified that "currently, Processing print data from client PC / Spooling "
Is transmitted and displayed on a display device (not shown) of the client PC 3 (step S2).
5).

Next, among the printers other than the printer 7 connected to the display device (not shown) of the client PC 4 on the network 9, the printer with the least load, that is, the printer which is not in the printing process or in the standby state, is automatically selected. (Step S26). In the case shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the printer 8 is not currently processing.

Next, the printer 8 is displayed as a selectable printer on a display device (not shown) of the client PC 4 (step S27), and whether or not to execute the printing process in the printer 8 is input by the user, for example, ""OKbutton" is displayed (step S28).

The user presses the displayed "OK button" to execute the printing process with the content displayed on the display device (not shown) of the client PC 4 (step S29). The printer 8 prints the print data transmitted from the client PC 4 (step S2).
3) Output recording paper (step S24).

As shown in the operation example 3 of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus for which a printing process is desired is currently being processed or is on standby, the situation can be grasped and the most load is automatically detected. Since a small number of image forming apparatuses are selected and whether or not printing is performed by the printer is displayed on the user's PC, useless waiting time in the printing process can be reduced.

The embodiment described above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, when a print request is transmitted from an arbitrary client device, the server device informs all image forming devices connected to the network of the current status, and the notified content is managed by the server device. However, it is also possible to configure so that an image forming apparatus capable of processing a print request earliest is automatically selected.

[0036]

As is clear from the above description, according to the image forming control system of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus which the user intends to use is currently used by another client PC, the image forming apparatus is used. This is displayed by a pop-up message or the like, so that it is possible to reduce the trouble of the user meaninglessly going to the image forming apparatus to retrieve the recording paper.

Further, according to the image forming control system of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus which the user intends to use is currently used by another client PC, the fact is displayed by a pop-up message or the like. Thus, it is possible to switch to another vacant image forming apparatus by selecting a button or the like. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the waiting time when trying to print out desired print data.

Further, according to the image forming control system of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus which the user intends to use is currently used by another client PC, the fact is displayed by a pop-up message. Thereby, it is possible to automatically switch to another vacant image forming apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the waiting time when trying to print out desired data.

Further, according to the image forming control system of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus which the user intends to use is currently inoperable due to a paper jam, a functional failure, or the like, the fact is displayed by a pop-up message. By doing so, the user can quickly grasp the situation. Therefore, the waiting time can be reduced by executing the printout of the desired data in another image forming apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system conceptual diagram showing a configuration of an image forming control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a first operation example of the image forming control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a second operation example of the image forming control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a third operation example of the image forming control system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 server device 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 client PC 7, 8 printer 9 network 100 image forming control system

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image forming control system in which a plurality of client devices, a plurality of image forming devices, and a server device are connected on a network, and the server device controls data transmission and reception, wherein a print request from the client device is provided. When the desired image forming apparatus is processing or waiting for a print request from another client apparatus other than the client apparatus that has issued the print request, the image forming apparatus transmits a current request to the client apparatus. An image forming control system, comprising: status information notification means for notifying status information; and a display means for displaying the status information notified by the status information notification means. 2. An image forming control system in which a plurality of client devices, a plurality of image forming devices, and a server device are connected on a network, and the server device controls data transmission and reception, wherein a print request from the client device is provided. When the desired image forming apparatus is processing or waiting for a print request from another client apparatus other than the client apparatus that has issued the print request, the image forming apparatus transmits a current request to the client apparatus. Status information notifying means for notifying status information; the client device; display means for displaying the status information notified by the status information notifying means; and an image forming apparatus other than the desired image forming apparatus. An image forming control system, comprising: a print request transmitting unit that transmits a print request. 3. An image forming control system in which a plurality of client devices, a plurality of image forming devices, and a server device are connected on a network, and the server device controls data transmission and reception, wherein a print request from the client device is provided. When the desired image forming apparatus is processing or waiting for a print request from another client apparatus other than the client apparatus that has issued the print request, the image forming apparatus transmits a current request to the client apparatus. Status information notifying means for notifying status information; the client device; display means for displaying the status information notified by the status information notifying means; and selection for selecting an image forming apparatus other than the desired image forming apparatus. Means for transmitting a print request to the image forming apparatus selected by the selecting means Image forming control system characterized by comprising: a stage, a. 4. The image forming control system according to claim 1, wherein the status information includes fault information when a fault occurs. 5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a liquid crystal display, and displays the status information notified by the status information notification unit on a pop-up screen.
Item 12. The image forming control system according to item 1.