JP2001256029A - Print system, printer and print controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To notify generation of an error to a notifying destination according to a kind of the error when the error, etc., are generated in a printer. SOLUTION: This system is provided with a printer 6 to perform print according to a print request from a host and a status monitoring part 52 to detect the generation of the error, etc., by monitoring a state of the printer 6 under print processing. When the generation of the error is detected, an event notification processing part 53 notifies the generation of the error to a terminal determined corresponding to the error stored in a notifying destination storage part 76.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for managing a printer, and more particularly to a technique for automatically notifying a printer when a predetermined event occurs.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During printing with a printer, an error such as an out of paper or a paper jam may occur, or a warning may be generated to notify that the remaining amount of toner or ink is running low. At this time, the printer displays an error message or the like on a liquid crystal panel or the like of the printer, or notifies a computer connected to the printer, and displays an error message on a screen of the computer.
Or a warning message is displayed.

[0003] On the other hand, for example, in an office or the like, there is a case where a person in charge of managing consumables such as paper or ink is determined. Furthermore, when an error or a warning occurs, a person in charge may be determined for each type of error or the like in order to share work. In such a case, it is convenient to directly notify each manager in charge that an error or warning has occurred.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for notifying the occurrence of the event to a notification destination corresponding to the event when the event occurs in the printing apparatus.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing mechanism for performing a printing process in response to an external print request, and a printing mechanism for performing the printing process. Detecting means for detecting the occurrence of one or more predetermined events, and, when the detecting means detects the occurrence of the predetermined event, indicating the occurrence of the event to a predetermined terminal according to the detected event An output unit for outputting information for transmission is provided.

[0006] According to the first aspect, when a predetermined event occurs in the printing mechanism, the fact is notified to a terminal determined in accordance with the event.

To achieve the above object, according to a second aspect of the present invention, a printing mechanism for starting a printing process in response to an external printing request and a status of the printing mechanism during the printing process are monitored. State monitoring means, and a message transmission means for transmitting a message addressed to a terminal determined according to the event corresponding to the state, when a state corresponding to a predetermined event is detected by monitoring of the monitoring state monitoring means, And a printing system comprising:

According to the second aspect, when the state of the printing mechanism corresponds to a predetermined event, a message is notified to a terminal corresponding to the event.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system in which a plurality of computers and a printing apparatus are connected via a network.
The printing device, in response to a print request from the computer, a printing unit that executes printing, identification information of one or more events, and storage unit that stores the identification information assigned to the terminal in association with each other, When the event that has occurred in the printing unit during printing corresponds to any of the one or more events, the identification information of the event that has occurred and the event are associated with the event with reference to the storage unit. Output means for outputting the identification information of the terminal, and the computer, output means for outputting to transmit a print request, identification information of the event and identification information of the terminal Receiving means for receiving, and output means for outputting to a terminal determined by the identification information of the received terminal to notify information indicating the occurrence of an event determined by the identification information of the received event Equipped with a.

[0010] According to the third aspect, the computer that has requested the printing notifies an event that has occurred in the printing apparatus to a predetermined terminal corresponding to the event.
Thus, the notification can be performed without imposing a further load on the printing apparatus during the printing process.

In the above aspect, the one or more predetermined events include a case where the remaining amount of consumables of the printing apparatus is equal to or less than a predetermined value and a case where the amount of consumables used of the printing apparatus is equal to or more than a predetermined value. At least one of them may be included.

Further, in the above aspect, the terminal includes:
It may be a telephone. This telephone may be either a mobile telephone or a fixed telephone.

To achieve the above object, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing means for receiving a print request from the outside and executing printing, identification information of one or more events, and Storage means for storing the identification information in association with the identification information, and when an event occurred in the printing means during printing corresponds to any of the one or more events, the storage means is referred to and An output unit for outputting information indicating the occurrence of the event to a terminal determined by the identification information of the terminal associated with the identification information of the event. Is done.

According to the fourth aspect, the printing apparatus notifies a predetermined terminal corresponding to the event of the event occurring in the printing apparatus.

To achieve the above object, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transmitting unit for transmitting a print request to a printing device, wherein the printing device transmits the printing request to the printing device during printing based on the printing request. Receiving means for receiving the identification information of the event that has occurred and the identification information of the terminal, and a notification for notifying the terminal determined by the received identification information of the terminal of information indicating the occurrence of the event determined by the identification information of the event Means for providing a print control device.

According to the fifth aspect, the print control apparatus that has transmitted the print request receives the identification information of the event that has occurred from the printing apparatus and the identification information of the terminal of the notification destination, and sends the information to the terminal of the notification destination. Notifies that an event has occurred.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus, comprising: a storage unit for storing identification information of one or more events and identification information assigned to a terminal in association with each other; Output means for outputting a print request to the printer, receiving means for receiving identification information of the event from the printing apparatus, and referring to the storage means, the identification information of the received event is stored in the storage means. Output means for outputting information indicating occurrence of the event to a terminal determined by the identification information of the terminal corresponding to the identification information of the event. You.

According to the sixth aspect, the printing control device that has requested printing receives only the notification of the occurrence of the event from the printing device and sends the notification to the terminal stored in the printing control device and associated with the event. Notifies that an event has occurred.

To achieve the above object, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, identification information of one or more events, identification information assigned to a terminal, and a flag indicating whether notification is necessary are respectively associated with each other. A storage unit for storing a print request, an output unit for outputting a print request to a printing device, a reception unit for receiving identification information of an event from the printing device, and a storage unit for referring to the storage unit. If the identification information is stored in the storage means and the flag corresponding to the identification information of the event indicates that notification is required, the terminal determined by the identification information of the terminal corresponding to the identification information of the event And an output unit for outputting information indicating the occurrence of the event to notify the print control apparatus.

According to the seventh aspect, only when an event is set to require notification in the notification necessity flag of the storage means, the occurrence of the event is notified to the terminal associated with the event.

To achieve the above object, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing a program which can be read and executed by a computer having a display device, wherein the program has one or more events. Area for receiving selection input of the identification information for each of the identification information of the one or more events, and area for receiving the input of the identification information assigned to the terminal for each of the identification information of the one or more events. And causing the computer which has read the program to execute the process of displaying the above on the display device.

According to the eighth aspect, there is provided a recording medium in which a program for receiving an input is recorded for an event to be notified when an event occurs and a terminal to which the event is to be notified.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printing system according to the present embodiment includes a host computer (hereinafter, referred to as a “host”) 1 and a printer as a printing apparatus for printing print data output from the host 1. 6 and LAN 9
Connected by

The host 1 has a host body 11, a display device 12, and a keyboard 13. The host body 11 includes a CPU 20 that executes various programs and the like.
And R in which various data and various programs are stored.
OM 21, RAM 22 for temporarily storing various data and various programs, display controller 23 for controlling display device 12, keyboard controller 24 for controlling keyboard 13, floppy (registered trademark) disk drive 25, hard disk Drive 26, CD-ROM drive 27, printer interface 28, net interface 29
And

The printer 6 is, for example, an ink jet printer capable of performing color printing. When receiving print data from the host 1, the printer 6 executes a predetermined printing process to form an image on printing paper as a printing medium. is there. The printer 6 has a printing mechanism 68 that actually performs printing, and a print control unit 61 that controls these. The print control unit 61 includes a CPU 62 that executes various programs and the like.
And various data and various programs and EEPROM
63, a RAM 64 for temporarily storing various data and various programs, and interfaces 65 and 66 for transmitting and receiving data between the host 1 and the printing mechanism 68.

FIG. 2 shows a device configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment, and a functional configuration of the host 1 and the printer 6. The functions described below are realized by a computer executing a program.

The printer controller 61 includes a communication controller 71
A printing mechanism control unit 72, a status management unit 73,
A status database 74, a notification destination storage unit 76,
Is provided.

The communication control unit 71 controls communication with the host 1 such as receiving print data and the like from the host 1 and outputting status data to the host 1 for transmission.

The printing mechanism control unit 72 transfers the print data included in the print request to the printing control unit 68, and
To execute printing.

The status management unit 73 manages input / output and update of information on the status of the printer 6 stored in the status database 74. For example,
When a status information acquisition request is received from the printer driver 50, the status information 100 is acquired from the status database 74 and returned. Also, when the occurrence of an event stored in the notification destination storage unit 76 such as an error or a warning is detected, the notification destination storage unit 76 is referred to, and when the event is set to be notified, Status code 101, notification destination 102,
And a notification method 103 are set.

The status database 74 stores status information 100. As the status information 100, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a status code 101 indicating the status of the printer 6, a notification destination 102 indicating a notification destination when an error or a warning has occurred, and a notification to the notification destination And method 103. Note that status information 1
The data items included in 00 are not limited to these.

The notification information storage unit 76 stores an identification code of an event indicating that the printer 6 has entered a predetermined state, a notification destination for notifying the occurrence of the event, and a notification method in association with each other. For example, the notification information storage unit 7
FIG. 8 shows an example of the notification information 200 stored in No. 6. That is, the notification information 200 includes the event identification code 201,
A status code 202 corresponding to each event, a notification destination 203 at the time of occurrence of each event, a notification method 204, a comment 205, and a valid flag 206 are included.

The valid flag 206 indicates the status code 2
02 indicates whether or not the occurrence of the event is notified to the terminal indicated by the notification destination 203 when the event indicated by 02 occurs. That is, when the valid flag 206 is ON, the notification is made,
If it is F, no notification is made. Whether to provide the valid flag 206 is optional. That is, when the validity flag is not provided, it is determined whether or not the notification is performed based on whether or not the notification is stored in the notification information 200. That is, only the information about the event to be notified is stored, and the information about the event not to be notified is not stored.

The notification information 200 is input from a notification information input screen 500 shown in FIG.

The host main body 11 includes a communication control unit 30, an application 40, and a printer driver 50.

The communication control unit 30 transmits a print request and a status acquisition request to the printer 6 through the LAN 9.
And communication with the printer 6 such as obtaining status information from the printer 6. When transmitting the print request to the printer 6, notification destination information 200 described later may be transmitted together.

The printer driver 50 has, as its functions, a print management unit 51, a status monitoring unit 52, an event notification processing unit 53, and a display control unit 55.

The print management unit 51 includes the application 40
And print data is generated in response to an instruction from the keyboard 13. A print request including print data is generated and transmitted to the printer 6 via the communication control unit 30. The message status monitoring unit 52 transmits a status information acquisition request to the printer 6, and receives status information from the printer 6 in response to the request. Further, when the occurrence of an event indicating that the printer 6 has entered a predetermined state is confirmed with reference to the received status information 100, the occurrence of the event and the notification destination are notified to the event notification processing unit 53. Specifically, by referring to the status code 101 among the data items included in the status information 100 shown in FIG. 7, it is grasped that an error, a warning, or the like has occurred in the printer 6. If an error or the like has occurred, the notification destination 102 including the identification information, the mail address, or the telephone number of the computer to which the error is to be notified, and the notification method 103 for designating the notification method are sent to the event notification processing. Transfer to section 53.

The event notification processing unit 53 transmits a message to a notification destination based on the information passed from the status monitoring unit 52. Specifically, according to the notification destination 102 and the notification method 103 passed from the status monitoring unit 53, the specified notification destination computer, mobile phone, or the like is notified of the occurrence of the event by the specified method. Is passed to the communication control unit 30.

The display control unit 55 displays a user interface screen or the like on the display device 12 and receives an input from a user. For example, the display control unit 55
Is displayed, and a message screen 300 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed.

The notification information input screen 500 includes an information input section 505, an information read button 550, an information update button 560, a cancel button 570, and a completion button 5
80 are arranged. Each of the buttons 550 to 580 is a virtual button for realizing the same function as a mechanical button by clicking the button with a mouse or the like.

The information input unit 505 further stores an event 5
10, a notification destination 520, a notification method 530, and a comment 540 are included. Event input area 510
Indicates a settable event, and selects a check box 511 of an event to be set. The notification destination 520, the notification method 530, and the comment 540 are input by the user.

The events displayed in the event input area 510 include, for example, an error indicating that the consumables have run out, a warning indicating that the remaining amount of the consumables has become less than a predetermined value, and the like. Specifically, there is one as shown in FIG.

When each event occurs, the identification information of the terminal of the administrator who manages the event is input to the notification destination 520. For example, a mail address of each manager, a telephone number of a seat, a mobile phone number, or an IP address of a computer of each manager is input.

The manager is, for example, a person who should take necessary actions to resolve an error or the like. More specifically, a warning indicating that consumables such as an image forming medium (ink, toner, etc.) or paper are low, or an error indicating that consumables have run out, replenishment, replacement of each consumable, The person in charge of ordering.

In the notification method 530, a notification method corresponding to the notification destination 520 is input. The automatic setting may be performed with reference to the notification destination 520.

When the information read button 550 is pressed, the display control unit 55 acquires the notification destination information 200 stored in the notification destination storage unit 76 of the printer 6 and
Displayed at 05. Event 201 of notification destination information 200,
Notification destination 203, notification method 204, and comment 205
Is the event 510 of the information input unit 505, the notification destination 52
0, a notification method 530, and a comment 540, respectively. The valid flag 206 is a check box 511
And corresponding. When the information update button 560 is pressed, the information input to the information input unit 505 is transmitted to the printer 6, and the notification destination storage unit 76 is updated. Notification destination information 200
And the information input unit 505 have the same correspondence as described above. When the cancel button 570 is pressed, the notification information input screen 500 ends without updating the notification destination storage unit 76,
When the completion button 580 is pressed, the information update button 560
The notification destination storage unit 76 is updated in the same manner as when
The notification information input screen 500 ends.

On the message screen 300, a message display area 301, a coping method button 302, and a print stop button 303 are arranged. When a comment 205 is set in the notification destination information 200, a message 302b corresponding to the comment is displayed on the message screen 300 in addition to the normal error message 301a or the warning message.

Next, a processing flow in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The printer driver 50 receives a print request from the application 40 or the like (S101). The print management unit 51 generates a print request and transmits it to the printer 6 via the communication control unit 30 (S102).

When the host 1 sends a print request, the status monitor 52 sends the status information 1
00 is acquired (S103). Then, the status monitor 52 checks the status code 10 of the status information 100.
1 to determine whether a predetermined event to be notified by the printer 6 has occurred (S104). If an event to be notified has occurred, the event notification processing unit 53 transmits the information for notifying the occurrence of the event to the terminal of the specified notification destination by the method specified in the status information (S105). . At this time, a message screen 300 as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the display device 12 of the host 1 by the display control unit 55.

If no event has occurred, S10
5 is skipped. It is confirmed whether or not a print end notification has been received, and the process from S103 onward is repeated while the notification has not been received. If the print end notification has been received, the process ends (S106).

Thus, the person in charge who is the user of the terminal that has received the notification can know that an event to be dealt with has occurred in the printer.

FIG. 3 shows a device configuration of a printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and a host 1 and a printer 6.
The functional configuration of is shown. In the following description, components denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same functions, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the notification destination storage section 76 is provided in the printer driver 50.

Therefore, the present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that information for identifying an event that has occurred is transmitted from the printer 6 to the host 1. When the status monitoring unit 52 detects the occurrence of an event from the status code 101, the event notification processing unit 53 refers to the notification destination storage unit 54, and sends information to the predetermined notification destination to identify the event that has occurred in a predetermined manner. Send With this configuration, the processing load on the printer is reduced.

FIG. 4 shows a device configuration of a printing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and a host 1 and a printer 6.
The functional configuration of is shown.

In this embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, the event notification processing section 75 is provided in the printer control section 61.

Accordingly, the status management unit 73 monitors the status code 101, detects the occurrence of an event, and notifies the event notification processing unit 53 of the event. This allows
The monitoring of the occurrence of a predetermined event in the printer and the notification of the occurrence of the event are all performed by the printer 6. With this configuration, the printer 6 itself notifies the event, so the processing load on the host 1 is reduced.

FIG. 5 shows a device configuration of a printing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and a host 1 and a printer 6.
The functional configuration of is shown.

In the present embodiment, both the host 1 and the printer 6 have notification destination storage units 76a and 76b. That is, the printer 6 performs common settings in this printing system, and the host 1 performs individual settings for each user of each host. Then, on the selection screen 400 shown in FIG.
It is possible to select whether to notify using 00.

On the selection screen 400, a check box 411 for accepting selection of notification unnecessary, a check box 412 for accepting selection of notification required, and a radio button 413 for selecting notification destination information are arranged.

In the first to third embodiments, the check box 41 for accepting the selection of not requiring notification is used.
Check box 41 for accepting selection of 1 and notification required
By using the selection screen 400 in which the event No. 2 is arranged, the user can select whether or not to notify the occurrence of an event for each host.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a printing system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, there is provided a management server 8 for managing the notification destination information. The management server 8 includes a communication control unit 81
, An event notification processing unit 53, and a notification destination storage unit 76.

The communication control unit 81 controls input and output of data to and from the LAN 9 in order to transmit and receive data to and from the host 1 and the printer 6.

According to this embodiment, the management server 8 which is not the host 1 or the printer 6 which has transmitted the print request notifies the event.

[0069]

According to the present invention, when a predetermined event occurs in a printing apparatus, the occurrence of the event can be notified to a notification destination corresponding to the event.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a device configuration and a functional configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a device configuration and a functional configuration of a printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a device configuration and a functional configuration of a printing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a device configuration and a functional configuration of a printing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a device configuration and a functional configuration of a printing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing data items of status information in the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of notification destination information in the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a notification information input screen 500 in the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message screen 300 in the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a selection screen 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of 0.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Host computer 11 ... Host body 6 ... Printer 9 ... LAN 30 ... Communication control part 40 ... Application 50 ... Printer driver 51 ... Print management part 52 ... Status monitoring part 53 ... Event notification processing part 55 ... Display control part 61 ... Printing Control unit 68 Printing mechanism 71 Communication control unit 72 Printing mechanism control unit 73 Status management unit 74 Panel control unit 74 Status information database 76 Notification destination storage unit 100 Status information 200 Notification destination information 300 Message Screen 400: Selection screen 500: Notification information input screen.

Claims (12)

[Claims] A print mechanism for performing print processing in response to an external print request; detecting means for detecting occurrence of one or more predetermined events in the print mechanism during print processing; Output means for, when the occurrence of the event is detected, outputting the information indicating the occurrence of the event to a predetermined terminal in accordance with the detected event, and outputting the information. 2. A printing mechanism for starting a printing process in response to a printing request from outside, a status monitoring means for monitoring a status of the printing mechanism during the printing process, and a status corresponding to a predetermined event being monitored. A printing system comprising: a message transmitting unit that, when detected by monitoring of a status monitoring unit, transmits a message to a terminal determined according to an event corresponding to the status. 3. A printing system in which a plurality of computers and a printing device are connected via a network, wherein the printing device executes printing in response to a printing request from the computer, Storage means for storing the identification information of the event and the identification information assigned to the terminal in association with each other; and when an event occurring in the printing means during printing corresponds to any of the one or more events, An output unit for outputting the identification information of the event that has occurred and the identification information of the terminal associated with the event with reference to the storage unit. Output means for transmitting the event information, receiving means for receiving the event identification information and the terminal identification information, and an end determined by the received terminal identification information. Respect, the printing system characterized by and an output means for outputting to notify the information indicating the occurrence of a defined event by the identification information of the received event. 4. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein the one or more predetermined events include a case where a remaining amount of consumables of the printing apparatus is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and an amount of consumables used of the printing apparatus. A printing system that includes at least one of the cases where is equal to or more than a predetermined value. 5. The printing system according to claim 3, wherein said terminal is a telephone. 6. A printing means for receiving a print request from outside and executing printing, a storage means for storing identification information of one or more events and identification information assigned to a terminal in association with each other, When the event that occurred in the printing unit corresponds to any one of the one or more events, referring to the storage unit, the identification information of the terminal associated with the identification information of the event that occurred. An output unit for outputting information indicating the occurrence of the event to a determined terminal. 7. An output unit for outputting a print request to a printing device, a receiving unit for receiving event identification information and terminal identification information from the printing device, and the received terminal identification information. Output means for notifying a terminal determined by the following information indicating the occurrence of an event specified by the event identification information. 8. A storage unit for storing identification information of one or more events and identification information assigned to a terminal in association with each other, an output unit for outputting a print request to a printing apparatus, Receiving means for receiving the identification information of the event from the device; and referring to the storage means, when the identification information of the received event is stored in the storage means, identification of the terminal corresponding to the identification information of the event. An output unit that outputs information indicating the occurrence of the event to a terminal determined by the information. 9. A storage unit for storing identification information of one or more events, identification information assigned to a terminal, and a flag indicating whether notification is necessary, and a print request to a printing apparatus. An output unit that outputs the received event identification information from the printing apparatus; and a storage unit that refers to the storage unit and stores the received event identification information in the storage unit. If the flag corresponding to the identification information indicates that notification is required,
An output means for outputting to a terminal determined by identification information of the terminal corresponding to the identification information of the event, information for indicating the occurrence of the event, to the terminal. 10. A recording medium on which a computer-readable program recorded by a computer is recorded, the program comprising: a process of transmitting a print request to a printing device; A process of receiving the identification information of the event that occurred in the printing apparatus and the identification information of the terminal; and transmitting information indicating the occurrence of the event determined by the identification information of the event to a terminal determined by the received identification information of the terminal. A recording medium characterized by causing a computer that has read the program to execute the notifying process. 11. A recording medium on which a computer-readable program recorded by a computer is recorded, wherein the program stores identification information of one or more events and identification information assigned to a terminal in association with each other. A process of transmitting a print request to a printing device; a process of receiving, from the printing device, identification information of the event that has occurred in the printing device during printing based on the print request; and Recording the information indicating the occurrence of the event to a terminal determined by the identification information of the terminal corresponding to the identification information of the received event, and causing the computer reading the program to execute the processing. 12. A recording medium recording a program which can be read and executed by a computer having a display device, wherein the program comprises: identification information of one or more events; and identification information of the one or more events. The process of displaying on the display device an area for receiving the selection input of the identification information and an area for receiving the input of the identification information assigned to the terminal for each of the identification information of the one or more events, the program was read. A recording medium to be executed by a computer.