JP2002297358A - Image processing system, image processor, managing device, image processor managing method, program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system by which image quality desired by a user is kept without useless power consumption. SOLUTION: A managing device stores image quality characteristic information which indicates what degree of interval is required for performing an image stabilizing processing and what degree of an image quality level is kept as a result and also the device receives the input of an image quality target level which the user wants to minimally keep concerning each printer. When a value which indicates GL1 as the image quality target level of the printer 501 is inputted by the user, for example, the managing device decides that the interval for performing the image stabilizing processing to keep >=GL1 image quality is two hours from the image quality characteristic information and controls that the image stabilizing processing of the printer 501 is performed at two-hour-interval.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing system, a management apparatus, an image processing apparatus, and an image processing apparatus management method in which a management apparatus is connected to an image processing apparatus having a function of performing image stabilization processing. , A program, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image processing apparatus such as a printer, if the execution of a job is continued while the control conditions of each section of the apparatus are always kept constant, the change in the temperature and humidity inside the apparatus and the deterioration of parts such as a photosensitive drum may cause the image processing to fail. The deviation of the density and the formation position from the control target becomes large, and the quality level of the reproduced image (hereinafter, referred to as
It is called "image quality level". ) Will decrease. Conventionally, in order to suppress this decrease in image quality level, in an image processing apparatus,
A so-called image stabilization process is performed to change the control condition to an appropriate condition.

The image stabilization process is a process for determining the value of a control variable that affects image quality in an image processing device. When the image processing apparatus is, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a plurality of toner patterns having different densities are formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum, the density of the toner pattern is detected, and based on the detection result, An optimum value of a control variable such as a developing bias voltage in a developing device or a grid voltage in a charging device (hereinafter, referred to as an “optimum adjustment value”) is determined. Further, the output of the heater and the value of the amount of applied oil in the heat fixing device are also control variables that affect the image quality.

On the other hand, when the image processing device is an image reading device such as a scanner, the voltage of an exposure lamp is a control variable. Conventionally, this image stabilization processing has been frequently performed for the purpose of maintaining high image quality.

[0005]

If image stabilization processing is frequently performed, high image quality can be maintained. On the other hand, when the image processing apparatus is a printer, the photosensitive drum is driven to rotate. Since a considerable amount of electric power is required for driving the charging device and the like, the power consumption increases.

For example, even if the user considers that the image quality may be low because only a character image or the like is mainly printed out to a printer, image stabilization processing is frequently performed. In other words, the printer consumes useless power to maintain high image quality useless for the user. Traditionally, users have been unable to do this.

[0007] Such a problem is not limited to a printer.
This is particularly noticeable in an image processing system in which a plurality of image processing apparatuses having a function of performing image stabilization processing, such as a scanner, are connected to a network. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has an image processing system, an image processing apparatus, and an image processing method capable of maintaining a desired image quality of a user without consuming unnecessary power. It is an object to provide a management device for managing a processing device, a management method for the management device, a program for executing the management method, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image processing system in which a management device and an image processing device having a function of performing image stabilization processing are connected via a network. And the management device is
Image quality level obtaining means for obtaining a target level of image quality obtained when image processing is performed in the image processing apparatus,
Determining means for determining an execution time of the image stabilization processing based on the target level of the image quality acquired by the image quality level acquiring means; and the image processing apparatus performing the image stabilization processing at the execution time determined by the determination means Instruction means for instructing the image processing apparatus to execute an image stabilization process based on an execution instruction from the management apparatus.

Here, the image quality level obtaining means obtains a value input by a user from an input means such as a keyboard provided in the management apparatus as a target image quality level, and also obtains a target image quality from another apparatus via a network. The level value can be obtained, and the ROM and RAM in the management device can be obtained in advance.
Acquisition of the value recorded in the “acquisition” can be considered as being included in the above “acquisition”.

The image processing apparatus further includes image quality characteristic information obtaining means for obtaining image quality characteristic information indicating a relationship between an execution interval of the image stabilization process and an image quality obtained when the image processing is executed. An execution interval of the image stabilization process for the image quality of the target level is obtained from the target level and the image quality characteristic information, and the execution timing is determined based on the execution interval.

Here, the image quality characteristic information obtaining means can obtain the image quality characteristic information from another device via a network, or obtain a value previously recorded in a ROM, a RAM or the like in the management device. This can be considered in the above “acquisition”. Further, the execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by an image processing time.

Further, the execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by the number of times of image processing. The present invention is a management apparatus in an image processing system in which a management apparatus and an image processing apparatus having a function of performing image stabilization processing are connected via a network, wherein image processing is executed by the image processing apparatus. Image quality level obtaining means for obtaining a target level of image quality obtained when the image quality is obtained, determining means for determining an execution time of image stabilization processing based on the target level of image quality obtained by the image quality level obtaining means, and the determining means And instructing means for instructing the image processing apparatus to execute the image stabilization processing at the execution time determined by the image processing apparatus.

The image processing apparatus further includes image quality characteristic information obtaining means for obtaining image quality characteristic information indicating a relationship between an execution interval of the image stabilization process and an image quality obtained when the image processing is performed. An execution interval of the image stabilization process for the image quality of the target level is obtained from the target level and the image quality characteristic information, and the execution timing is determined based on the execution interval.

The execution interval of the image stabilization process is as follows:
It is characterized by being represented by image processing time. further,
The execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by the number of times of image processing. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus having a function of performing image stabilization processing, wherein a receiving unit that receives designation of a target level of image quality obtained when image processing is executed, and an image quality that is received by the receiving unit And determining means for determining an execution time of the image stabilization process based on the target level.

The image processing apparatus further includes recording means for recording image quality characteristic information indicating a relationship between an image quality obtained when the image processing is executed and an execution interval of the image stabilization processing. An execution interval of the image stabilization process for the image quality at the target level is obtained from a target level and the image quality characteristic information, and an execution time is determined based on the execution interval.

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus management method for managing an image processing apparatus connected via a network and having a function of executing image stabilization processing, wherein image processing is executed by the image processing apparatus. An image quality level obtaining step of obtaining a target level of image quality obtained when the image quality is obtained, a determining step of determining an execution time of an image stabilization process based on the target level of image quality obtained by the image quality level obtaining step, and the determining step And an instruction step of instructing the image processing apparatus to execute the image stabilization process at the execution time determined by the image processing apparatus.

[0017] Further, connected via a network,
What is claimed is: 1. A program for executing a process for managing an image processing apparatus having a function of executing an image stabilization process, the image quality level obtaining obtaining an image quality target level obtained when the image processing is executed by the image processing apparatus. Processing, a determination process of determining an execution time of the image stabilization process based on the target level of the image quality acquired by the image quality level acquisition process, and performing the image stabilization process at the execution time determined by the determination process. The present invention is characterized by causing a computer to execute a process including an instruction process for instructing an image processing apparatus.

Further, the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing a process for managing an image processing apparatus having a function of executing an image stabilization process, the program being connected via a network. Is characterized in that the program recorded in the above is the above program.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image processing system 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "system 1") according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a system 1 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of FIG.

As shown in FIG.
Is a server 100 and a plurality of personal computers (P
C) 301, 302, 303... (Hereinafter, a group of these is referred to as a “PC group 300”), and a plurality of scanners 401, 402, 403,. ), A plurality of printers 501, 502, 503,... (Hereinafter, a group of these printers is referred to as a "printer group 500"), and an administrator for operating the system 1 A personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “administrator PC”) 200 is configured to be connected via a network such as a LAN.

Each PC in PC group 300 and administrator PC
Reference numeral 200 denotes a computer main body having a hard disk and the like, a monitor and a keyboard connected to the main body, a network-compatible OS (Operating System) installed in the hard disk, a printer driver, a document, and the like. Application software.

Each PC, when requesting, as one job, a print process of a document created using, for example, application software, by a printer, adds to the image data, a print request signal indicating a print process request, and the like. Various information designated by the user, here, the number of copies, the number of originals, an image mode indicating whether the original is a text original mainly composed of character images or a photographic original mainly composed of halftones, either color or monochrome. Print information, such as a color mode, indicating whether an image should be formed in this mode.

The image mode and the color mode can be automatically specified by analyzing image data instead of being specified by the user. For example, in the image mode, if the existence ratio of the halftone image data in the image is smaller than the predetermined ratio, the character mode is set, and if the existence ratio of the halftone image data is larger than the predetermined ratio. What is necessary is just to set to "photograph mode". These are also set as gradation number information indicating the level of the gradation number. In the color mode, if the chromatic color pixel presence ratio in the image is smaller than a predetermined ratio, the color mode is set to “monochrome”, and if the chromatic color pixel presence ratio is larger than the predetermined ratio, the color mode is set to “full color”. What should I do? Both the image mode and the color mode may be set in units of a job or in units of an image.

When requesting an image reading process by a scanner, for example, as one job, in addition to a reading request signal indicating a request for the image reading process, the image mode and the reading resolution at the time of reading an image of a document. Is sent to the server 100. The server 100 is a PC group 3
When a job request for print processing is made from each PC in the printer group 00, the most suitable device for executing the job is selected from the printer group 500 based on print information from the PC that made the job request. . Then, a job instruction command for instructing execution of the job, print information, and the like are sent to the selected device, and image data sent from the PC that has requested the job is transferred.

When there is a job request for the image reading process, an optimum device for executing the job is selected from the scanner group 400 based on the scanner information from the PC which made the job request. . Then, a job instruction command for instructing execution of the job, scanner information, and the like are sent to the selected device, and the image data read by the device is transferred to the PC that has requested the job. The selection of the optimum device for executing the job is performed in a job assignment process described later.

On the other hand, a PC or the like is used as the server 100, and sends a stabilization instruction command for instructing execution of image stabilization processing to each scanner of the scanner group 400 and each printer of the printer group 500. Let them execute image stabilization processing. When each printer in the printer group 500 receives the job instruction command from the server 100, it forms an image on a sheet by a well-known electrophotographic method. In addition, when each of the printers receives the stabilization instruction command from the server 100, the printer executes an image stabilization process, and information indicating various optimum adjustment values determined as a result (hereinafter, referred to as “device parameter information”). Server 100
To send to.

Each of the scanners of the scanner group 400 is a known device that irradiates an image of a set document with an exposure lamp and reads the reflected light by photoelectric conversion means such as a CCD image sensor to obtain image data. Server 10
When a job execution instruction is received from the server 1, the document image reading operation is started, and the image data obtained by reading is read from the server 1.
Send to 00. When each scanner receives the stabilization instruction command from the server 100, the scanner executes the image stabilization process and sends the device parameter information to the server 100, similarly to the printers described above.

Each of the above printers and scanners (hereinafter, referred to as “scanners”)
Each scanner and each printer are collectively referred to as “external devices”. ) Indicate the non-volatile storage means 5011 and 5011, respectively.
., (Hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “memory”), and stores, in addition to the device parameter information, machine information indicating characteristics of each external device. . Note that the machine information includes environment change information and image quality characteristic information, and details thereof will be described later.

Each external device, when powered on,
The machine information is read out from its own memory together with the power-on information notifying this, and is sent to the server 100. When the power is cut off, the power-off information notifying this is sent to the server 100. Administrator PC 20
0 stores management information necessary for managing the system 1 such as image quality target level information and scheduling information described later in its own memory 201. When the management information is input or changed by an administrator, A signal indicating the content is transmitted to server 100 via the network. Also, based on various information sent from the server 100, the execution status of the image stabilization process in each external device, the state of group formation after the group formation process described later, and the like are managed, and in response to a request from an administrator. The information is displayed on a monitor.

A unique IP address is assigned to the server 100, each PC, and each external device in advance, and the IP address is designated, and a print job request or image data is transmitted to the designated destination. Transmission is performed. (Overall Configuration of Server 100) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of server 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the server 100 includes an overall control unit 110, an information storage unit 120, a work memory 13
0, timer 140, and communication interface 150
It has. The overall control unit 110 updates the information stored in the information storage unit 120 based on various information and commands from each terminal device or external device via the communication interface 150, and updates the external device. Each process in the server 100 is executed, such as instructing image stabilization processing and job execution.

The work memory 130 is constituted by a volatile RAM or the like. The work memory 130 receives various information received from each terminal device or an external device, and stores the information in the information storage unit 120 when the overall control unit 110 executes each process in the server 100. The read information or the like is temporarily stored. The timer 140 counts the elapsed time from the execution of the previous processing in the group formation processing, the elapsed time from the previous execution time of the image stabilization processing in the job allocation processing, and the like.

The information storage unit 120 is constituted by storage means such as a hard disk,
1, management information table 122, job management table 12
3 is stored. FIG. 3 shows the machine information table 121.
It is a figure which shows the content of. As shown in the figure, the machine information table 121 stores environment change information,
Various information such as apparatus parameter information, image quality characteristic information, power-on time, previous stabilization processing execution time, next stabilization processing scheduled time, and environment change group information are written.

The environment change information is defined as
This is information indicating the degree of influence of changes in the in-machine environment such as temperature and humidity on the image quality level of an image obtained by realizing a job (hereinafter, referred to as “environmental fluctuation degree”). The environmental variability can be determined by, for example, experiments in advance in each external device, for example, when the external device is a printer,
It is indicated by the change rate of the density of the formed image with respect to the temperature change in the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the degree of environmental variability in an arbitrary printer in the printer group 500. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the in-machine temperature, the vertical axis indicates the density of the formed image, and the slopes of the straight lines P and Q indicate the environmental variability. A straight line P is a graph showing the relationship between the in-machine temperature and the density of the formed image when the number of prints executed by the printer having the indicated environmental variability is less than 10,000. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the in-machine temperature and the density of a formed image when the number of sheets is 10,000 or more and less than 20,000 sheets.

As shown in the figure, the value of the environmental variability increases as the number of prints executed by the printer having the same increases. This is because as the execution time of the printing operation in the printer increases, the sensitivity of the photosensitive drum and the like included in the printer deteriorates.
This indicates that the device has characteristics that make it more susceptible to the temperature inside the machine.

When the external device is a scanner, the above-mentioned environmental variability is represented by a change rate of an exposure amount when reading an original with respect to a temperature change in the apparatus. The value changes according to the number of originals read by the scanner having the. Here, FIG.
And the description of the machine information table 121 will be continued.

The device parameter information is, as described above,
For example, it is information indicating the optimum adjustment value of the developing bias voltage of the developing device or the grid voltage of the charging device in the printer, which is determined by performing the image stabilization process in each external device. In addition, the device parameter information may indicate an optimum adjustment value other than the items shown in the above example, but in the present embodiment, in the following, in order to make the description easy to understand, when the external device is a printer, Only the optimum adjustment value of the developing bias voltage is indicated, and in the case of a scanner, only the optimum adjustment value of the exposure voltage applied to the exposure lamp is indicated.

Further, the image stabilization processing will be described only when the above-described optimum adjustment values in each external device are determined. The image quality characteristic information is information indicating how long an image stabilization process can be performed to maintain an image quality level. FIG.
It is the figure which showed the specific example of the image quality characteristic information with respect to 01-503 in the graph.

In the figure, for example, a printer 501
Indicates that when the image stabilization process is performed at two-hour intervals, the image quality level is always maintained at a level higher than GL1. In other words, the figure is, for example, in the case of the printer 501, the image quality obtained from this after two hours running image stabilization process, almost GL1
Is a characteristic diagram showing that the characteristic level decreases to the level shown in FIG. Further, for example, when the image stabilization processing is performed at four-hour intervals for the printer 501, image quality higher than that of GL2 is maintained.

The image quality characteristic information is used to carry out an experiment for measuring the degree of deterioration (deterioration) of the quality of an image obtained when the image forming operation is executed almost continuously under a predetermined condition for each printer. Thus, the value is determined in advance. The value of the image quality characteristic information is determined for each scanner in the same manner as the printer. The image quality characteristic information includes an image forming operation per unit time,
In the image reading operation, it can be expressed by the amount of deviation of the image quality level from the target level, the number of prints when the image quality level is deteriorated by a predetermined amount, the image forming operation time, the image reading processing time, and the number of read originals.

The environment change information, the device parameter information, and the image quality characteristic information in the machine information table 121 of FIG. 3 are the same as the information stored in the memory of each external device as described above. When the information is sent from each external device, the information is overwritten and stored in the machine information table 121. These pieces of information are appropriately referred to as needed, for example, when executing a group formation process described later.

The power-on time indicates the power-on time of the external device. The power-on time is the time at which the power-on information is received from the external device. Note that “**” indicates that the power supply of the external device has been shut off, and that the power supply has been shut down is determined by receiving power-off information from the external device. The previous stabilization processing execution time information indicates the time when the device parameter information was sent from each external device, that is, the time when the previous image stabilization was completed.

The next stabilization process scheduled time information is calculated in the stabilization process scheduled time calculation process, and indicates the scheduled execution time of the next image stabilization process of each external device. The environment change group information is information indicating a group name to which each external device belongs after group formation is performed in a group formation process described later.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of the management information table 122. As shown in FIG.
The 22, for each external device, the management information including a target image quality level and the scheduling information is written.
This management information is set by the administrator on the administrator PC 200 and is sent to the server 100 and written in the management information table 122.

The image quality target level is determined for each external device by:
The minimum image quality level, that is, the image quality level desired by the administrator to be maintained at a minimum, of the image formed in the image forming operation and the image read in the image reading operation. The next scheduled stabilization processing time of each external device is calculated based on the level set here and the image quality characteristic information. The image quality target level can be set arbitrarily within a range corresponding to the range from high image quality to low image quality shown in FIG.

The scheduling information determines which of the job and the image stabilization process in each external device has priority in the scheduling process described later, based on the scheduled job start time information and the next stabilization process scheduled time information. This is information indicating the conditions at the time. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of the job management table 123.

As shown in FIG.
23, the job request terminal information, the image mode information, the color mode information, the number of documents, the number of copies, the scheduled job start time information, the scheduled job end time information, Assigned device information has been written. Job request terminal information is information indicating a terminal device that has requested the job to the server 100.

The image mode information, color mode information, document number information, and print copy number information are information included in the above-described print information and scanner information sent from each terminal device. The scheduled job start time information is the scheduled execution start time of the received job, the scheduled job end time information is information indicating the execution end time of the job,
This is calculated based on information such as the number of documents and the number of copies for the job.

The allocation device information is information indicating an external device to execute the received job, and the external device is selected by the job allocation process.
(Processing in Server 100) FIG.
7 is a flowchart showing a main routine of processing contents at 0.

As shown in the figure, the overall control unit 110
First, when a signal of the content related to the management information is received from the administrator PC 200 (“YES” in step S10), a management parameter setting change process of rewriting the content stored in the management information table 122 based on the received signal is performed (step S10). S20). If the signal indicating the content of the management information is not received ("NO" in step S10), the process proceeds to the job request receiving process in step S30.

In the job request receiving process in step S30, a job request from each terminal device is received. When a job request is received, data such as an image mode and a color mode is written in each information column of the job management table 123 in association with the terminal device as described above. Step S
In the machine information receiving process of 40, when environment change information, device parameter information, and the like are received from each external device, the data is written in each information column of the machine information table 121.

The group formation process of step S50 is a process of grouping external devices according to predetermined conditions. The scheduled stabilization time determination process in step S60 determines the next stabilization schedule time for each external device. The job assignment process of step S70 is a process of selecting an optimal external device to execute the received job.

In the scheduling process in step S80, for each external device, execution of the job and the image stabilization process in each external device is prioritized based on the scheduled job start time information and the next stabilization process scheduled time information. This is a process of determining whether or not the next stabilization process scheduled time is in accordance with the determination result. The command issuance processing in step S90 includes a job instruction command for instructing execution of a job and a stabilization for instructing execution of image stabilization processing based on various information stored in each table such as the machine information table 121 of the information storage unit 120. This is a process of sending the activation instruction command to each external device.

Each external device executes the job when receiving the job instruction command, and executes the image stabilization processing when receiving the stabilization instruction command. The job receiving process in step S100 notifies the terminal device that has requested the job of the external device selected as the device that executes the job in the job assignment process,
This is a process of notifying information such as a scheduled job start time and a scheduled job end time of the job.

When the job accepting process of step S100 is completed, the process proceeds to step S110, where a predetermined timer is terminated, and the process returns to step S10 to repeat the above operation. Below, it will be described the contents of the processing in step S40~S80 in order. (Machine information reception processing) FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of the machine information receiving process in FIG. 8 (step S40).

The overall control unit 110 first determines whether any one of environmental change information, image quality characteristic information, device parameter information, power ON information, and power OFF information has been received from one external device. (Step S401).
If it is determined that any information has been received (“YES” in step S401), it is determined whether or not the information is device parameter information (step S402). If it is determined that the information is not device parameter information ("NO" in step S402), the information is environment change information, image quality characteristic information, power ON information, or power OFF.
That would be any of the information. If the information is power-on information, the contents of the environmental change information and the image quality characteristic information received together with the power-on information are stored in the machine information table 12 in steps S403 and S404.
1 is registered (overwritten and saved) in the corresponding information column. Then, the data indicating the time at which the power-on information was received is written in the power-on time column, and the routine goes to Step S406.

On the other hand, if the information is the power-off information, a process of deleting the environmental change information and the image quality characteristic information in the machine information table 121 is performed in steps S403 and S404. Also, the time data in the power-on time column is deleted. In step S402, if the received information is determined to be the device parameter information, the sequence proceeds to step S405, registers it in the device parameter information column of the machine information table 121 (overwritten)
Then, the process proceeds to step S406.

If it is determined that each piece of information such as environmental change information has not been sent from the one external device ("NO" in step S401), the process proceeds to step S407. In step S406, it is determined whether or not each of the processes in steps S401 to S405 has been performed for all the external devices connected to the system 1, and if it is not all (“NO” in step S406), the process proceeds to step S406. S40
Return to 1. If it is determined that the processing has been completed for all external devices ("YES" in step S406), the process returns to the main routine. (Group formation processing) FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the group formation processing (step S50) in FIG.

In the processing shown in the figure, first, it is determined whether or not power ON information or power OFF information has been received from any of the external devices in the machine information receiving processing (FIG. 9) in step S40 (step S501). ). If it is determined in step S501 that the information has been received, then the overall control unit 110 proceeds to the machine information table 1
From step 21, group formation information reading processing such as reading information necessary for group formation processing (hereinafter, also referred to as “group formation information”) such as environment change information of each external device into the work memory 130 is performed (step S 503). . Then, based on the group formation information, an operation mode setting process is executed (step S504), a group assignment process is executed (step S505), and the process returns to the main routine.

The operation mode setting process sets whether each of the external devices registered in the machine information table 121 is managed in the “group operation mode” or the “single operation mode”. Processing. Specifically, when the group formation information is, for example, environment change information, the difference between the value of the environment change information of any external device and the value of the environment change information of any other external device is within a predetermined range. Sometimes, those external devices are managed in a “group operation mode”. On the other hand, with respect to any of the other external devices, an external device in which the difference between the values of the environmental change information is out of the predetermined range is managed in the “single operation mode”. The method of executing the operation mode setting process is not limited to this, and for example, a method described later may be used.

The “group operation mode” means that the external devices whose values indicated in the group organization information are within a predetermined same range are regarded as one group, and for each of the external devices included in the same group, This is a method of performing similar management, such as operating these using device parameter information. Further, the `` single operation mode '' refers to, for example, operating an external device whose value indicated in the group organization information is outside a predetermined range by using device parameter information unique to the external device. In this method, management is performed individually for each external device.

The group assignment process is a process of assigning each external device set to the “group operation mode” in the operation mode setting process to a more detailed group according to the value indicated in the group organization information. Specifically, when the group formation information is, for example, environment change information, among the plurality of external devices, the external device whose environment change information value is within a predetermined range is in the “group operation mode” in the same group. Be managed. On the other hand, when they are outside the predetermined range, they are managed in a “group operation mode” in another group.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S501 that power on information or power off information has not been received from any of the external devices in the machine information receiving process, the overall control unit 110 executes the previous group forming process. It is determined whether or not the elapsed time ΔT has exceeded the predetermined time T (step S502). Here, the elapsed time ΔT is
For example, the time may be measured by a timer 140 provided in the server 100, and the predetermined time T may be a value set by an administrator of the physical system 1 stored in the information storage unit 120 and read out as appropriate. Bayoi.

If it is determined in step S502 that the elapsed time ΔT has exceeded the predetermined time T, the processing in steps S503 to S505 is executed. If it is determined that the elapsed time ΔT has not exceeded the predetermined time T, the process returns to the main routine. As described above, when the elapsed time ΔT from the previous execution of the group formation processing exceeds the predetermined time T, the process proceeds to steps S503 to S503.
The process of S505 is performed because the group formation process is performed based on the group formation information, as described above. For example, when adopting an environmental change information as the group organizing information, its value varies in accordance with the amount of jobs executed in the external device, re-group corresponding to the environmental change information of each external device at that time This is because it is necessary to knit.

In the server 100, the group formation processing is periodically executed, so that even if the environmental fluctuation information of each external device changes, an appropriate group formation state can be maintained. . FIG. 11 (a)
And (b) is an image diagram for explaining the operation content of the group formation process based on the environment change information in the server 100.

FIG. 11A shows an example of the state of group formation of each external device in the server 100. FIG. 11B shows a state in which the group formation processing is executed from the state of FIG. 11A. An example of the later state is shown. FIG.
In the state shown in FIG.
There is set to "group operating mode", the printer 508 and 509 is set to "independent operation mode". Further, the printers 501 to 507 are further divided into groups GE1 to GE3.

Each of the groups GE1 to GE3 has a range (hereinafter referred to as a “group allocation range”) for the value of the environmental change information belonging to each group, and the environmental change information is assigned to each of the groups. An external device with a value outside the range is set to “Single operation mode”.
Is set to Then, the external device set to the “group operation mode” is further assigned to the group corresponding to the value of the environment change information.

Here, the group allocation range is set, for example, by the administrator of the system 1 and a table for writing the contents is provided.
What is necessary is just to store it in 0. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a group assignment table in which the contents of the group assignment range are written.

As shown in the figure, in the group assignment table, the group assignment range set using the thresholds K1 to K4 is written for the groups GE1 to GE3. Then, the thresholds K1 to K4 are
The setting is made by the administrator of the system 1 as described above.
Note that Pe in the group assignment table is:
Shows the value of environmental change information.

In the present embodiment, the number of groups is set to three. However, it is not necessary to limit the number to three. For example, the number may be set to four or more.
Further, the thresholds K1 to K4 are determined based on the operation status of each external device,
Depending on the state of group formation in the server 100,
You may make it change suitably. As shown in FIG. 11B, when the group formation processing is performed in the state shown in FIG. 11A and the predetermined time has elapsed, and the group formation processing is executed again, the external device whose environmental change information has changed is , Printers 503, 505, 507, and 508, the set operation mode and the assigned group change.

As described above, the server 100 executes the group formation process, and, for example, treats the external devices having similar values of the environmental change information as one group, and performs similar management for each external device belonging to the same group. This makes it possible to execute the device parameter sharing process (step S6042) of the scheduled stabilization time determination process described below.

(Scheduled Stabilization Time Determination Process) FIG. 13 shows the stabilization scheduled time determination process in FIG. 8 (step S60).
It is a flowchart showing a subroutine. As shown in the figure, the overall control unit 110 determines whether or not the device parameter information has been changed (step S60).
1). This determination is made based on whether or not the device parameter information has been registered in step S405 in the machine information receiving process (FIG. 9).

When it is determined that the device parameter information has been registered, that is, that there has been a change (step S601).
In "YES"), the external apparatus has changed, it performs the stabilization interval obtaining process in step S602. In this process, based on the image quality target level written in the management information table 122 and the image quality characteristic information written in the machine information table 121, how many times each external device performs the image stabilization process is determined. Is what you want.

Specifically, in the case of the printer 501, for example, the image quality target level value is set by the administrator to “G” shown in FIG.
If it is set to the level corresponding to “L1”, this “G”
The image stabilization processing interval for “L1” is obtained as “2 hours” from the image quality characteristic information (the graph shown in FIG. 5). Similarly, for example, in the case of the printer 503, if the value of the image quality target level value is a level corresponding to “GL2”,
"5 hours" can be obtained.

Next, a stabilization scheduled time calculation process is performed (step S603). In this process, for each external device, the time at which the previous image stabilization process was completed is read from the previous stabilization process execution time information written in the machine information table 121, and at that time, step S
The execution interval of the image stabilization process obtained in the stabilization process interval acquisition process 602 is added, and this is calculated as the next stabilization process scheduled time. Specifically, for example, in the case of the printer 501, the previous stable process execution time is 10:20 am and the target image quality level is "GL1" execution interval of image stabilization processing required is two hours, The next stabilization processing scheduled time is 0:20 pm.

Here, the information indicating the calculated next stabilization processing scheduled time is overwritten in the corresponding column of each external device in the next stabilization processing scheduled time information column of the machine information table 121. The execution interval of the image stabilization process can either be expressed by mere "time", as the "image processing time", that is, the time that image processing such as image forming operation is executed (substantial operating time) You can show it. For example, if the execution interval of the image stabilization process is determined to be two hours for a certain printer, a stabilization instruction command for instructing the execution of the image stabilization process is issued when the operation time of the print output becomes two hours. The image is sent to the printer to execute the image stabilization process.

When the time calculated as the next stabilization processing scheduled time comes, the overall control unit 110 sends a stabilization instruction command to the external device and causes the external device to execute the image stabilization process. As described above, the image stabilization processing execution interval corresponding to the image quality target level set by the administrator is obtained by using the image quality characteristic information stored as unique to each external device. By executing the conversion process, the administrator can, for example,
Is maintained at a high image quality in order to print out photographic images and the like, and the printer 502 only prints out character images and the like. Is set high for the printer 502 and the image quality of both printers can be maintained higher than the desired image quality.

When the target image quality level is set low, the execution interval of the image stabilization process is lengthened, that is, the number of times the image stabilization process is executed is reduced. As a result, the execution of the image stabilization process is reduced. This has the effect of reducing the power consumption required for Therefore, since the image stabilization process has been performed frequently and independently in each printer or the like to maintain high image quality, the administrator cannot manage the image stabilization process. Even with a printer that does not consider this problem, the problem that the image stabilization process is frequently performed and consequently wasteful power is consumed is solved.

When the scheduled stabilization time calculation process in step S603 is completed, the overall control unit 110 subsequently performs a scheduled stabilization time correction process (step S604). This scheduled stabilization time correction process is a process applied to each external device in the group divided into groups in the group formation process. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the scheduled stabilization time correction process. Also,
FIG. 15 shows that, in the above group formation processing, six external devices (here, A to F) correspond to two of E1 and E3.
If you are divided into One group is the stabilized scheduled time correction processing by the correction stabilization scheduled time, the group E1 is, A, B, in the order of C, and the group E3 is, D, E, F- It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that an image stabilization process is performed in order. It should be noted that, in the same drawing, the fact that the image stabilization processing has been performed is indicated by a black square mark.

Hereinafter, the contents of the processing will be described with reference to both figures. As a specific example, the external device A belonging to the group E1 executes the image stabilization processing to make it easier to understand. Since the device parameter information has been rewritten, the description will be made assuming that the scheduled stabilization time correction process is executed in the scheduled stabilization time determination process (FIG. 13).

First, as shown in FIG. 14, it is determined whether or not an external device belonging to the same group has undergone image stabilization processing (step S604).
1). Here, since the image stabilization processing has been performed in the external device A (black square 61 in FIG. 15), it is determined that there is a stabilization record (“YES” in step S6041), and the external device A that has performed the image stabilization processing Device, here external device A
(If there is more than one, the device parameter information sent from the external device having the latest execution time) is referred to, and the optimal adjustment values such as the development bias voltage and the like changed in the image stabilization process are changed. That is, the device parameter is changed to another external device in the group, in this case, the external device B.
And C, and instruct the external devices B and C to overwrite their own memory so that they become new device parameters, that is, share the same optimal adjustment value (step S6042). The arrow 62 shown in FIG. 15 indicates that the device parameters of the external devices B and C have been rewritten to the values changed by the external device A.

Each of the external devices is configured to control the developing bias voltage and the like according to the optimum adjustment value stored in its own memory. Therefore, each external device in the same group is controlled in the developing bias voltage and the like according to the same optimum adjustment value. As described above, if the optimum adjustment value is shared by the external devices in the same group, other external devices (here, the external device A) other than the external device (here, the external device A) that has performed the image stabilization processing are used.
The external devices B and C) can obtain the optimum adjustment value without performing the image stabilization processing. For example, in order to obtain the optimum adjustment value of the developing bias voltage, a plurality of toners having different densities on the surface of the photoconductor drum are obtained. It is not necessary to perform an operation such as forming a pattern.

Therefore, as compared with the conventional configuration in which each external device independently performs the image stabilization process, the number of times the image stabilization process is executed can be reduced for a plurality of external devices in the same group. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumed for power consumption. Further, the time during which the image forming operation or the image reading operation is stopped can be reduced, that is, the time during which the job can be executed is increased, and a plurality of external devices simultaneously execute the image stabilization process. The system does not wait for the requested job because it cannot be executed immediately.
When viewed as a whole, there is an effect that the job execution efficiency is improved and the usability is improved.

Then, the next stabilization processing scheduled time of each external device is set so that the image stabilization process is sequentially performed for each external device (here, external devices A to C) in the same group. A scheduled stabilization time change process for rewriting is performed (step S6043). To do this,
For the following reasons. That is, for example, when the devices are grouped on the condition that the environmental change characteristics are similar, devices that do not have the same characteristics even in the same group are included. Therefore, when sharing the device parameters, the only device to perform the image stabilization process is concentrated, for the other device, the developing bias voltage, etc., based always on device parameters of device to which the characteristics are similar Must be controlled. In this case, since the device parameter to be shared does not always match the value of the device parameter obtained when the other device itself performs the image stabilization process, a certain degree of difference occurs, and the optimum Since a device parameter cannot be obtained, the image quality may be affected. Therefore,
If the image stabilization processing is performed in order or is equalized (not necessarily equal), the image stabilization processing is hardly performed for one device in the same group. Is not always in an optimum state, and overall good image quality can be obtained for each device in the same group.

In this process, as a method of rewriting the scheduled time of the next stabilization processing of each external device, for example, the shortest interval among the stabilization processing intervals of each external device obtained in step S602 (for example, FIG. 15) TE1) is regarded as the stabilization processing interval of each external device, and the image stabilization processing
A method is conceivable in which the next stabilization processing scheduled time is rewritten so that each external apparatus sequentially executes the processing at each of the intervals. By doing so, at least for each external device in the same group, image stabilization processing is sequentially performed for each external device while maintaining image quality equal to or higher than the image quality level set by the administrator. .

Similar effects can be obtained for the devices D to F in the group E3 by performing the device parameter sharing process in step S6042 and the scheduled stabilization time changing process in step S6043. (Job assignment processing) FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of job assignment processing (step S70) in FIG. 8.

As shown in the figure, the overall control unit 110
First it is determined whether there is a job request from the terminal devices (step S701). This determination is made based on the determination by the job request receiving process in step S30. Then, when it is determined that there is a request for the job (“YES” in step S701), if the job is one that requests a print process among a plurality of external devices connected to the server 100, If all the printers in the printer group 500 request image reading processing, all the scanners in the scanner group 400 are confirmed as the device groups to be executed (step S702).

The power is turned on for one of the external devices in the device group confirmed as the job execution target.
It is determined whether the job is in an executable state (step S703). Here, by referring to the power-on time column of the machine information table 121 and determining that the one external device is powered on, the one external device refers to the job management table 123 and manages another job. If it is determined that the device is not scheduled to be executed or is not being executed (the current time does not fall between the scheduled job start time and the scheduled job end time), the job can be executed by the one external device. It is determined to be in such state.

If it is determined that the job is in an executable state (“YES” in step S 703), the last stabilization processing execution time of the one external device stored in the machine information table 121 (ie, , The information indicating the end time of the previous image stabilization process) is read out, and the elapsed time from that time to the current time (hereinafter simply referred to as “elapsed time”) is calculated by taking a time difference (step S704). The information indicating the elapsed time is temporarily stored in the work memory 130 in association with the one external device as “information on the execution state of the image stabilization process” of the one external device.

On the other hand, if the one external device determines that the power is not turned on or that the job is not executable (“NO” in step S 703),
It moves to step S705. In step S705, it is determined whether or not the processes in steps S703 and S704 have been performed for all the devices in the device group confirmed in step S702, and if it is determined that the processes have not been performed (step S70).
5 (“NO”), and returns to step S703.

If it is determined that the process has been performed for all devices (“YES” in step S705), information indicating the elapsed time for each external device is obtained from work memory 130,
The acquired elapsed time for each external device is compared, the device with the shortest elapsed time is selected as the device to execute the job (step S706), and the process returns to the main routine.

The overall control unit 110 writes information indicating the selected external device in an area corresponding to the job in the device information column of the job management table 123. The reason for selecting the external device with the shortest elapsed time is as follows.
This is because it is considered that an external device having the best image quality can be selected. That is, as described above,
Since the quality of an image obtained by a print output or the like deteriorates as the operation time elapses, for example,
This is because if the one with the shortest elapsed time is selected, the degree of deterioration (decrease) of the image quality is substantially the least, that is, a high-quality external device can be selected.

FIG. 17 shows three external devices (here, three external devices).
A, B, and C are described. 7) is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between operation time and image quality in FIG.
The broken line 72 indicates the image stabilization interval of B, the broken line 73 indicates the change of the image quality of C, and the interval T1 indicates the image stabilization processing interval of the external device A, T2 indicates B, and T3 indicates the image stabilization interval in time. . As can be seen from each of the polygonal lines 71 to 73 in the figure, the image quality decreases as time passes, and when the image quality reaches the image quality target level (that is, the minimum image quality level desired by the administrator), the image quality becomes stable. It can be seen that the image quality changes in the cycle of returning to the original high image quality by performing the image conversion processing.

Assuming that one of the external devices A, B, and C having such characteristics is selected at a time T, for example, at a time T, a device for executing a certain job is selected from the previous image stabilization process execution time. A device having the shortest time until the time T (elapsed time from the previous image stabilization process execution time);
If the selected C is in the same figure, it should so that the job is executed in the most image quality is good device.

As described above, according to the job allocation processing of the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of external devices that can execute the requested job, it is possible to select the one with the highest image quality at that time. Therefore, since the quality of the image processed by each external device is not known as in the related art, the device to be executed is appropriately selected, and the inconvenience that the image with poor image quality is printed out hardly occurs. Therefore, there is an effect that it becomes convenient for each user who uses the system 1.

In the job allocation process, information indicating “elapsed time” is acquired as “information on the execution status of the image stabilization process” for each external device, and the external device with the shortest elapsed time is selected. However, for example, information indicating “the time from the current time to the next scheduled image stabilization processing time” may be acquired for each external device, and the external device having the longest time may be selected. This is because the fact that the time until the next image stabilization processing scheduled time is long is the same as the time elapsed from the previous image stabilization processing execution time is short, so that the same effect as described above can be obtained.

Here, the scheduled time for the next image stabilization processing can be confirmed by referring to the machine information table 121. If the difference between the time and the current time is calculated, the time until the next scheduled image stabilization processing time is obtained. Time can be easily obtained. Further, in the above description, a device that is not scheduled or not being executed as a device that executes another job is determined as an external device that can execute the requested job. Even when another job is being executed, when the elapsed time from the previous stabilization processing execution time at the time when the job ends is determined and it is determined that the elapsed time is shorter than other external devices. Alternatively, the one external device can be selected as a device for executing the requested job. Although the execution start time of the requested job is delayed by waiting for the end of another job, a better apparatus is selected in terms of image quality. In such a configuration, the elapsed time is obtained from the previous stabilization processing execution time to the scheduled job end time. This can be applied to a case where an external device in which the time from the current time to the next scheduled image stabilization processing time is the longest is selected. That is, it is only necessary to select an external device in which the time from the scheduled end time of the job to the scheduled time of the next image stabilization process is the longest.

The elapsed time is obtained for each external device, and when the external device having the shortest elapsed time is executing another job, the elapsed time of the other external device is referred to. When the determination is made, that is, when it is determined that the image quality is poor only when the job is executed by another external device, the external device with the shortest elapsed time may be selected.

In the above description, the elapsed time of each external device is calculated on the server 100 side. However, for example, the elapsed time is calculated on each external device side, and the information is transmitted to the server 100. You can also. In this case, the server 100 makes a request to transmit information indicating the elapsed time to each external device, and upon receiving the transmission request, each external device determines the elapsed time from the previous image stabilization processing execution time to the current time. Calculate and send the information to server 100. Then, when the server 100 acquires information indicating “elapsed time” from each external device as “information on the execution state of the image stabilization process” from each external device, the server 100 may select the device with the shortest elapsed time.

This also applies to a case in which an external device in which the time from the current time to the next scheduled image stabilization processing time is the longest is selected. (Scheduling Process) FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the scheduling process (step S80) in FIG.

In the processing shown in the figure, first, it is determined whether or not there is a scheduled execution of the image stabilization processing near the scheduled execution time of the job in each external device (step S80).
1). The determination is based on the scheduled time of the next stabilization process written in the machine information table 121 and the job management table 1
23 is performed on the basis of the scheduled job start time written in. The overall control unit 110 refers to the next stabilization processing scheduled time in the machine information table 121 and the scheduled job start time in the job management table 123 for each external device and determines whether the difference between these times is less than the threshold A. Judge by The threshold value A is written in the management information table 122 for each external device, and is set to a value of about 5 to 10 minutes.

In step S801, when it is determined that the image stabilization process is to be executed near the scheduled start time of the job in each external device, it is determined whether the volume of the job is less than the threshold B (step S80).
2). Here, the job volume, indicates the number of prints to the external device to perform the job to be executed if a printer, showing a number of document images read if a scanner. In addition, the threshold B is set in the management information table 1 by the administrator of the system 1 similarly to the value of the threshold A.
22 and a value of about 10 ± 5 sheets is set.

It is needless to say that the values of the thresholds A and B are not limited to those of the present embodiment.
The setting may be appropriately made according to the usage status of the system 1. Further, in the present embodiment, the value of each of the thresholds is set by the administrator of the system 1 and the management information table 122
However, for example, the server may determine the value according to the operation status of each external device and write the value into the management information table 122.

If it is determined in step S802 that the volume of the job is less than the threshold B, the overall control unit 110
Determines whether the image mode of the job is the “character mode” with reference to the job management table 123 (step S803). If it is determined that the job is in the "character mode", it is next determined whether or not the color mode of the job is "monochrome" (step S804).
Executing a job priority processing if a "monochrome" (step S805), and returns to the main routine of FIG.

The job priority processing is such that the image stabilization processing is performed after execution of a job in each external device, and the external device is controlled so that the job and the image stabilization processing are performed substantially continuously. This is a process of changing the scheduled time of the next stabilization process. As described above, by continuously executing the image stabilization process and the job, operations such as reheating of the heater in the fixing unit and re-driving of the motors of the respective units can be eliminated.

On the other hand, in step S802, if the volume of the job is equal to or larger than the threshold B, if the image mode of the job is not the “character mode” (if the mode is the “photo mode”),
If the color mode of the job is not “monochrome” (if it is “full color”), image stabilization priority processing is executed (step S806), and the process returns to the main routine.

The image stabilization priority processing is different from the job priority processing in that the image stabilization processing is performed before execution of a job in each external device, and the image stabilization processing and the job Is performed so that the next stabilization processing scheduled time of each external device is changed so that the operations are performed substantially continuously. As described above, when the scheduled execution time of a job in each external device is close to the scheduled time of the next stabilization process, the server 100 determines the volume, image mode,
And whether to prioritize the execution of the job or the execution of the image stabilization processing according to the color mode and the color mode. The next stabilization processing scheduled time is changed according to the result of the determination. The processing efficiency of the entire job can be improved while maintaining the image quality level required for the image.

In the job priority processing and the image stabilization priority processing, the server 100 changes the scheduled time of the next stabilization processing so that each external device performs the image stabilization processing and the job substantially continuously. The pre-processing and post-processing, which were performed individually for these executions, are respectively performed once and the common pre-processing and post-processing are executed only once for the image stabilization processing and the job execution. Power saving of the device can be realized.

FIG. 19 shows an example for explaining the effects of the job priority processing and the image stabilization priority processing in the case where the image stabilization processing and the print job in an arbitrary printer of the printer group 500 are individually executed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the content of operation. FIG. 19A shows a case where the image stabilization process is executed after the job is executed, and FIG. 19B shows a case where the job is executed after the image stabilization process is executed. In both figures, the horizontal axis indicates the time axis.

As shown in both figures, the printer executes an image stabilization process and a job in accordance with an instruction from the server 100, and also executes a pre-process and a post-process at the time of execution. As the pre-processing, for example, in the case of a print job in a printer, a process such as rotating the photosensitive drum at a constant speed to bring the photosensitive drum into an idling state may be mentioned.
The post-processing includes, for example, a cleaning process of the photosensitive drum.

Such pre-processing and post-processing in the job are often the same as the pre-processing and post-processing in the image stabilization processing, and as shown in FIG. 20, the image stabilization processing and the job are substantially continuous. By executing it, each process can be completed at once. Figure 20 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation contents when the image stabilization processing and print job at any printer in the printer group 500 are continuously executed.

FIG. 20A shows a case where an image stabilization process is executed after a print job is executed.
FIG. 20B illustrates a case where a print job is executed after the image stabilization processing is executed. FIG. 20 (a)
As shown in (2), the printer receives the image stabilization processing execution instruction from the server 100 almost at the same time as the end of the execution of the print job, and thus starts the execution of the image stabilization processing without performing the post-processing of the print job. . At this time, the printer executes the image stabilization processing without executing preprocessing such as idling processing of the photosensitive drum because the print job has been executed immediately before the execution.

As shown in FIG. 20B, when the printer executes the image stabilization processing prior to the print job, similarly to the case of FIG. The post-processing and the execution of the pre-processing of the print job are omitted. As described above, the server 100 performs the job priority process or the image stabilization priority process in the above-described scheduling process, and changes the scheduled image stabilization time so that the print job and the image stabilization process are continuously performed. Thus, any of pre-processing and post-processing for the print job and the image stabilization processing can be omitted, and power saving of a printer that executes these can be realized.

In the present embodiment, the printer is configured to execute a print job or an image stabilization process immediately upon receiving an instruction to execute the image stabilization process from the server 100. Even if an image stabilization process execution instruction is received during execution, this instruction is not immediately executed, the received instruction content is stored in a memory provided in the printer, and read out at the end of a print job to read out the image. You may comprise so that a stabilization process may be performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, only the printer has been described, but the same effect as that of the printer can be obtained by performing the above-described processing for the scanner. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing after power-on in each external device.

As shown in the figure, when the power is turned on, each external device supplies a power supply O for notifying that the power has been turned on.
A machine information sending process for sending the N information and the machine information stored in each of the external devices to the server 100 is executed (step S1). Next, an image stabilization process is executed (step S2), and when this is completed (“Y” in step S3).
ES "), and sends the device parameter information obtained in the image stabilization process to the server 100 (step S).
4). Then, the process waits until there is an instruction from the server 100 to execute a job or an image stabilization process (step S5).

In step S5, when it is determined that there is any of the above-mentioned execution instructions from the server 100, it is determined whether or not this is a job execution instruction (step S6). (Step S7). When the job is completed (“YES” in step S8),
And returns to step S5, and waits until an instruction from the server 100 again.

On the other hand, in step S6, the server 10
If it is determined that the execution instruction from 0 is not a job execution instruction (image stabilization processing execution instruction) (“NO” in step S6), the process returns to step S2. Then, after executing the processing of steps S2 to S4, in step S5, and waits until an instruction from the server 100 again.

When each of the external devices is instructed to turn off the power by, for example, operating a power switch or the like of the external device, the external device sends the command to the server 1.
The power is turned off by transmitting the power-off information notified to 00. (Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment, the server 100 manages the execution timing of the image stabilization processing for each external device by time, but in the second embodiment, Instead of the "time", the number of image processings is managed by, for example, the number of image formations for each printer and the number of image readings for each scanner.

Since the quality of an image obtained by print output or the like is degraded due to deterioration of the photosensitive drum or the like as the number of processes such as image formation increases, the image stabilization process interval is set to the number of processes. Even if the external device executes the image stabilization process based on the calculated number of processes, the same effect as in the first embodiment in which the interval is controlled by “time” is obtained. Because you can do it.

Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, when the execution timing of the image stabilization process is controlled by the number of processes,
The following description focuses on the differences from the first embodiment, and omits the description of common parts. In the main routine of the first embodiment, the process of step S60 is replaced with the process of determining the expected number of times of stabilization in FIG.
It is necessary to replace the processing in step S70 with the job allocation processing in FIG. 24 and the processing in step S80 with the scheduling processing in FIG.

Further, image quality characteristic information for controlling the execution timing of the image stabilization processing by the number of times of processing, that is, FIG.
The contents of information units of stabilization interval of the vertical axis as "processing count" shown (hereinafter, "processing count corresponding image quality characteristic information"
It is distinguished from the image quality characteristic information of the first embodiment. ) Must be obtained in advance from an experiment or the like and stored in the storage means of each external device.

Further, the server 100 receives the image quality characteristic information corresponding to the number of processes from each external device and stores it in the machine information table 121, as well as the “previous stabilization process execution time” and the “next stabilization process time”. It is necessary to store “the number of processes in the previous stabilization process” and “the scheduled number of processes in the next stabilization process” instead of the “scheduled process time”.

Here, "the number of processings in the previous stabilization processing"
Is the cumulative number of processes that have been executed by the external device when the previous image stabilization process was performed, that is, for a printer, for example, every time an image is formed on one sheet of paper, In this case, the value indicates the cumulative number of times that “1” is incremented each time an image of one document is read.

Here, every time the server 100 instructs execution of a job, the number of times of processing by the job is accumulated, and the number of times is written into the information storage unit 120 in association with the one external device. Thus, the cumulative number of times of processing of each external device is managed. From this, server 1
00, the current cumulative processing count of each external device can be ascertained. When device parameter information is sent from a certain external device, the current cumulative processing count of the external device is read out, and is read out from the external device. Is written and updated in the machine information table 121 as the number of processings in the previous stabilization processing for.

Further, if each external device is configured to accumulate and store the number of times of processing of the job executed by itself, the accumulated number of times of processing up to the time when the image stabilization processing is executed is stored in each external device. It can also be obtained from a device via a network. On the other hand, the “scheduled number of processes at the next stabilization process”
Is a stabilization scheduled number calculation process described later (step S203).
0) is calculated and stored.

Hereinafter, the stabilization scheduled number determination process of FIG.
The contents of the job execution assignment process of FIG. 24 and the scheduling process of FIG. 27 will be sequentially described. FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing the contents of a subroutine of the expected number of times of stabilization determination process in the second embodiment.

The determination as to whether or not the device parameter information has been changed in step S2010 is made in step S601.
And the description is omitted here. In step S2020, a stabilization processing interval acquisition process is performed. Here, the process number is a unit of the stabilization processing interval. The overall control unit 110 calculates a stabilization processing interval based on image quality characteristic information corresponding to the number of times of processing stored in the machine information table 121 and an image quality target level stored in the management information table 122.

Specifically, in FIG. 5, the unit of the stabilization processing interval on the vertical axis is “processing number”, and the numerical value on the vertical axis is “1”.
"100", "600" instead of "6H"
For example, when the image quality target level value set by the administrator is “GL1”, for example, the image stabilization processing interval (number of times) for the printer 501 is 2
It will be required to be 00 times.

In the process of calculating the expected number of times of stabilization in step S2030, the number of times of the previous stabilization process stored in the machine information table 121 is read out for each of the external devices.
The image stabilization processing interval (number of times) obtained in the stabilization processing interval acquisition processing of No. 20 is added, and this is calculated as the scheduled number of processings when the image stabilization processing is next executed. For example, when the number of times of processing for the last stabilization processing of an external device is 10
00, and the calculated number of times of image stabilization processing is 200
In the case of the number of times, the scheduled number of processes in the next stabilization process is 1200
It is the second time. In this case, when the cumulative processing count of the external device reaches 1200, the overall control unit 110 sends a stabilization instruction command to the external device and causes the external device to execute the image stabilization process.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the contents of the expected number-of-stabilization times correction process in step S2040. As shown in the figure, in step S2041, it is determined whether or not there is a stabilization record in the same group, and
In step 2042, the apparatus parameter sharing process is performed. Since the contents of both processes are the same as the processes in steps S6041 and S6042, description thereof will be omitted.

The change processing of the expected number of times of stabilization in step S2043 is obtained by replacing the scheduled time in the above-described processing of changing the expected time of stabilization in step S6043 with the expected number of times. That is, this is a process of rewriting the scheduled number of times of processing in the next stabilization process so that the image stabilization process is performed sequentially for each external device. Accordingly, the same effect as in the first embodiment in which the execution of the image stabilization process is managed by time, that is, even when the device parameters are shared, the overall goodness of each device in the same group. Image quality can be obtained.

(Job Assignment Processing) FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of the job assignment processing in the second embodiment. The processing in steps S3010 to S3030 shown in FIG.
This is the same as the processing of 01 to S703. That is, when the overall control unit 110 determines that there is a job request from each terminal device (“YES” in step S3010),
Among a plurality of external devices connected to the server 100, a device group to execute the job is checked (step S
3020) Further, it is determined whether or not one of the external devices is turned on and the job is in an executable state (step S3030).

If it is determined that the job is in an executable state ("YES" in step S3030),
From the machine information table 121, the previous number of times of execution of the previous stabilization process of the one external device, that is, the cumulative number of processes at the time of execution of the previous image stabilization process is read, and the number of times and the current number of processes of the one external device, for example In the case of a printer, a difference from the number of times of print processing (hereinafter, referred to as “number of times of execution processing”) is calculated (step S3040), and information indicating the number of times of execution processing is associated with the one external device to temporarily work. It is stored in the memory 130.

Steps S3030 and S3040 are performed for all devices in the device group confirmed in step S3020.
It is determined whether or not the processing has been performed. If it is determined that the processing has not been performed yet (“NO” in step S3050), the process returns to step S3030. If it is determined to have been performed for all the devices ( "YES" in step S3050), obtains the execution number of times calculated for each external device from the work memory 130, compares them, execution count is minimized The device is selected as the device to execute the job (step S3060), and the process returns to the main routine. The overall control unit 110 stores information indicating the selected external device in the device information column of the job management table 123.

As described above, by selecting the external device with the smallest number of execution processes, it is possible to select the external device with the least degree of deterioration (decrease) in image quality. FIG.
It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between the number of times of processing and image quality in three external devices A, B, and C, and the polygonal line 81 shows the external device A,
The broken line 82 indicates the change in the image quality of B and the broken line 83 indicates the change of the image quality of C. The interval P1 indicates the image stabilization interval of the external device A, P2 indicates B, and P3 indicates the image stabilization interval by the number of times of processing.

As can be seen from the polygonal lines 81 to 83 in the figure, the quality of the image obtained by image processing, for example, image formation, decreases as the number of times of processing increases, and when the image quality target level is reached, the image quality becomes stable. It can be seen that the image quality changes in the cycle of returning to the original high image quality by performing the image conversion processing. In each of the external devices A, B, and C having such characteristics,
For example, assuming that one device for executing a certain job is selected at the time of the processing number P, the number of times from the previous image stabilization processing execution number to the processing number P is the smallest, that is, the image quality is the best. The external device C will be selected.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a requested job is assigned to any one of the three external devices A, B, and C in the job assignment processing according to the second embodiment. In the figure, it is assumed that job allocation processing for each requested job is sequentially performed at the points indicated by triangles along the time axis, and the selected external device is described below each triangle. I have. Also, the polygonal line 91 is for the external device A, the polygonal line 92 is for B, and the polygonal line 93 is
Because shows a state of a change in image quality and C, the portion is parallel to the time axis of each polygonal line is that a state of the state, for example, waiting for a job is not running, the job is not running This indicates that the number of processes does not increase and the state of the image quality does not change. That is, the vertical axis indicates the state of image quality and the number of times of processing.

For example, if a job is assigned to a certain job at the time of the triangle 94, it is determined that all of the external devices A, B, and C can be executed because the job has not been executed. Among them, the device B that has the least number of processes (that is, the highest image quality level) is selected. Then, when the job allocation processing for another job is performed at the time of the triangle 95,
Since the device B is executing the job, the devices A and C are determined to be executable devices, and among them, the device A having a small number of processes is selected. Similarly, when the job allocation process is performed at another time, a device with a small number of processes is selected.

In the present embodiment, the external device having the smallest number of executions is selected. For example, information indicating the scheduled number of times of the next stabilization is read out from the machine information table 121 and the current number of times is determined. The difference between the number of times of processing and the scheduled number of times of processing may be calculated, and the device having the largest difference may be selected. This is because the fact that the number of times until the next scheduled processing number is large is the same as the fact that the number of times of execution processing is small from the number of times of processing in the previous stabilization processing, so that the same effect as described above can be obtained.

(Scheduling Process) FIG.
It is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the scheduling process in the embodiment. As shown in the figure,
The overall control unit 110, the volume of the job to be executed in each external device determines whether more than number of processes until the next image stabilization process (step S401
0). If it is determined that the difference K is exceeded, the difference K is calculated (step S4020), and it is determined whether the difference K is less than the threshold C (step S4030). Threshold C
As for the thresholds A and B in the scheduling process (FIG. 18) of the first embodiment, the values set by the administrator of the system 1 are stored in the management information table 122.
May be written in the scheduling information column.

If it is determined that the difference K is not smaller than the threshold value C, an image stabilization priority process is executed (step S).
4070), and returns to the main routine. If it is determined in step S4030 that the difference K is smaller than the threshold value C, the process proceeds to step S4040 to step S406.
0, and returns to the main routine.

Steps S4040 to S406
0 corresponds to steps S803 to S8 of the scheduling process (FIG. 18) in the first embodiment.
Since the content is the same as the content of the process in 05, the description is omitted here. Also, the processing content of the image stabilization priority processing in step S4070 is the same as the processing content of the image stabilization priority processing described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the scheduling process in the server 100 is performed in steps S4010 to S4.
By executing the process of 030, it is possible to execute the image stabilization process even when the execution timing is determined by the “number of processes”. Note that the present invention is not limited to the image processing system, but can be applied to a server and an external device included in the image processing system. Further, the method may be a method of managing each external device. Furthermore, it may be the method as a program realized by a computer. The present invention also provides a computer-readable recording medium for storing the program, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, and a CD-R.
OM, MO, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-RA
M, or may be recorded in a semiconductor memory or the like.

The program of the present invention does not need to include all modules for causing a computer to execute the above-described processing. For example, the program includes a communication program and a program included in an OS (Operating System). Alternatively, the computer may execute each process of the present invention using various general-purpose programs that can be separately installed.

(Modifications) It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but the following modifications can be considered. (1) In the image processing system of the present invention, a server, a terminal device, and an external device only need to be communicably connected.
The present invention is not limited to a configuration in which a connection is made using a cable dedicated to a network such as a LAN, but can be applied to a case where a network is configured by a method in which each terminal device communicates via a power line.

(2) In the above embodiment, the administrator inputs management information such as the image quality target level in the administrator PC 200. For example, the administrator
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which management information is input to the server. In this case, the server 100 also serves as the management device. Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the administrator inputs the image quality target level in the management information from the operation panel of each external device.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation panel 520 provided in a certain printer.
Only the image quality target level input unit 521 is extracted and shown. As shown in the figure, the input unit 521 includes keys 522 and 523 for changing the image quality target level, and a decision key 524 for determining the changed image quality target level.
When the key 522 is pressed by the administrator, the display 525 indicating the target image quality level moves in the direction of the low level, and the key 522 is pressed.
When the button 23 is pressed, it moves in a high-level direction. This figure shows a state in which the display 525 has moved from the lowest level to the position of the third step among the levels divided into 16 steps. Here, when the administrator presses the enter key 524, the third level from the lowest level is set as the image quality target level and stored in the memory.

When an image quality target level is set by an administrator, an external device such as a printer sends information indicating the level to the server 100. Server 100 receives the information indicating the target image quality level from the external device may be it to store the machine information table 121. As described above, when the administrator inputs the image quality target level at the operation unit of each external device, each external device independently obtains the input image quality target level and the image quality characteristic information stored therein. The interval of the image stabilization processing is determined (corresponding to the processing of step S602), the next scheduled stabilization processing time is set (corresponding to the processing of step S603), and the image stabilization processing is executed at the set time. it is also possible to configure so. In the case of this configuration, the external device performs the image stabilization process independently based on the input image quality target level, and therefore does not need to be connected to a network.

The administrator PC 200 or an external device does not directly set the level of the image quality, such as GL1, but rather sets various levels, such as when using only character images or using only monochrome printing. The purpose may be set as the image quality target level. For example, if it is set to be used only for character images and monochrome prints, the image quality target level should be set to "Low" and used for photographic images and color prints, considering that high image quality is not required. Is set, it is automatically converted to “High level”. If the image stabilization processing interval is obtained based on the converted image quality target level and the image quality characteristic information, the timing can be adjusted according to the set application. Image stabilization processing is performed.

(3) In the above embodiment, the example in which the administrator sets the image quality levels "GL1" and "GL2" as the image quality target levels has been described. However, the image quality target levels can be automatically set. For example, when the default image mode (predetermined image mode set when the power is turned on or when image processing is not performed for a predetermined time) is a character mode, The image quality level of the image processing apparatus is set to a low level, for example, GL2
If the default image mode is the photograph mode, another image processing apparatus may automatically set the image quality level of the other image processing apparatus to a high level, for example, GL1, according to the default image mode. The target image quality level may be automatically set.

Further, the number of job executions in the character mode and the number of job executions in the photograph mode are compared for each unit such as each unit time, each predetermined number of jobs, and each predetermined number of image processings.
If the majority image mode is the character mode, set it to a low level, for example, "GL2". If the majority image mode is the photo mode, set it to the high level, for example, "GL2".
1 "may be set.

(4) In the above embodiment, in the group formation processing, the processing is performed by using the environment change information. However, the processing may be performed by using the image quality characteristic information. The image quality characteristic information is information indicating how long an image stabilization process can be performed to maintain an image quality level. Therefore, since the image quality characteristic information is also information indicating the degree of deterioration of image quality per unit time or per unit number of sheets, it is necessary to assign a job equally to an external device within the same group using the image quality characteristic information as group formation information. Even if the same apparatus parameter information is used, the degree of image quality deterioration within a group can be made substantially uniform, and deviation from the target image quality is small. Furthermore, a group in which the degree of image quality deterioration per unit time or per unit number is small is first set as a job assignment target, and job allocation is performed evenly within the group, resulting in less image quality deterioration. Since the job is executed by the external device, the number of image stabilization processes can be reduced, and the power consumption of the entire image processing system can be reduced.

(5) In the above embodiment, the environment change information is used as the group formation information in the group formation processing. However, both the environment change information and the image quality characteristic information may be used as the group formation information. In this case, since the external devices having similar values indicated in the two information belong to the same group, even if the same device parameter information is used, the degree of image quality deterioration can be made substantially equal within the same group.

(6) In the above embodiment, a server (PC) is provided as a management device, which is used to change management parameter settings, group formation, machine information reception, scheduled stabilization time calculation, job allocation, Although the scheduling process, the command issuing process, and the job accepting process are executed, a specific image processing device may also serve as the management device. In this case, the image processing device that also serves as the management device may perform the image stabilization process with priority over the other image processing devices, or may set the expected stabilization time equally with the other image processing devices. Alternatively, job assignment may be performed.

(7) In the above embodiment, the image density is considered mainly as an element for determining the image quality level. In the image stabilization processing, the optimal adjustment value of each control variable is mainly determined based on the change in the image density. Is determined, but factors that determine the image quality level include the position of the image and the color balance. Therefore, the optimum adjustment value of each control variable may be determined based on these changes.

(8) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the volume of a job is the number of prints output by a printer or the number of originals read by a scanner. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the data size of the image data of the job, the number of received jobs, the total number of images of the jobs, and the like may be used. (9) In the above embodiment, an image processing system in which a printer and a scanner are connected to the server 100 as external devices has been described.
The present invention can be applied to all configurations in which an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile having a function of executing image stabilization processing is connected.

[0159]

As described above, according to the image processing system of the present invention, the management device obtains a target image quality level obtained when image processing is performed by the image processing device; Determining means for determining an execution time of the image stabilization process based on the target image quality level acquired by the image quality level acquisition means; and the image processing apparatus performing the image stabilization process at the execution time determined by the determination means Instruction means for instructing the user. From this, for example, if the user inputs the target level of image quality from the management device or the like,
The execution time of the image stabilization process is determined according to the target level. For example, the user considers that a certain image processing apparatus only prints out a character image or the like, so that the image quality may be relatively low. In this case, by setting the target level low, it is possible to reduce the number of executions of the image stabilization process of the image processing apparatus, and as a result, the power consumption required to execute the image stabilization process is lower than in the past. There is an effect that it can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an image processing system 1 according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server 100 included in the image processing system 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of a machine information table 121 in the server 100.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an environmental variability in an arbitrary printer in a printer group 500;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a specific example of image quality characteristic information for printers 501 to 503.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a management information table 122 in the server 100.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of a job management table 123 in the server 100.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a main routine of processing contents in server 100.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of a machine information receiving process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of group formation processing.

FIG. 11A shows an example of a state of group formation of each external device in the server 100, and FIG.
It is a figure which shows an example of the state after performing the group formation process from the state of (a).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a group assignment table in which the contents of a group assignment range are written.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of scheduled stabilization time determination processing.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of a scheduled stabilization time correction process.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group stabilization process in which a scheduled stabilization time is corrected by a scheduled stabilization time correction process for each external device when six external devices A to F are grouped into two groups; For groups, A,
In the order of B and C, D, E and F
It is a schematic diagram showing how an image stabilization process is performed in the order of.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a subroutine of a job assignment process.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between operation time of an external device and image quality.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of a scheduling process.

FIG. 19A shows an example in which an image stabilization process is executed after executing a job, and FIG. 19B shows an example in which a job is executed after executing the image stabilization process. FIG.

FIG. 20A shows a state after a print job is executed.
An example of performing image stabilization processing is shown,
FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a print job is executed after the image stabilization processing is executed.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing after power-on in each external device.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of a scheduled stabilization number determination process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a subroutine of a scheduled stabilization frequency correction process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of job assignment processing in the second embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between the number of times of processing by an external device and image quality.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a requested job is allocated to any of three external devices A, B, and C in the job allocation processing.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a subroutine of a scheduling process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an operation panel 520 of a certain external device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image Processing System 100 Server 110 Overall Control Unit 120 Information Storage Unit 121 Machine Information Table 122 Management Information Table 123 Job Management Table 130 Work Memory 140 Timer 150 Communication Interface 200 Administrator PC 201, 4011, 4021, 4031, 5011, 511
211, 5031 Memory 300 PC group 301, 302, 303 Personal computer 400 Scanner group 401, 402, 403 Scanner 500 Printer group 501, 502, 503 Printer 520 Operation panel

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/04 101 H04N 1/04 101 1/23 1/23 Z (72) Inventor Yoshikazu Ikenoue Osaka, Osaka 2-13-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP03 AP04 AQ06 AR01 AS02 HH11 HK10 HK15 HK19 HK23 HR07 HR09 KK03 KK31 5B021 AA01 BB01 BB10 CC00 EE02 AMB05A06 AB08 AC02 AC04 AC56 AC61 AE03 AE04 AE16 5C072 AA01 BA07 BA19 CA14 FB15 FB18 HB04 RA15 UA01 UA05 UA17 UA18 VA05 5C074 AA05 AA08 BB22 DD03 DD09 FF03 FF06 FF15 HH04

Claims (13)

[Claims] An image processing system comprising a management device and an image processing device having a function of performing image stabilization processing connected via a network, wherein the management device performs image processing by the image processing device. Image quality level obtaining means for obtaining a target level of image quality obtained when is executed, and determining means for determining the execution time of the image stabilization process based on the target level of image quality obtained by the image quality level obtaining means, Instruction means for instructing the image processing apparatus to execute the image stabilization process at the execution time determined by the determination means, wherein the image processing apparatus stabilizes the image based on an execution instruction from the management apparatus. An image processing system for performing processing. 2. An image processing apparatus comprising: image quality characteristic information acquiring means for acquiring image quality characteristic information indicating a relationship between an execution interval of an image stabilization process and an image quality obtained when image processing is executed; The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an execution interval of the image stabilization process for the image quality at the target level is obtained from the target level and the image quality characteristic information, and the execution timing is determined based on the execution interval. Processing system. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by an image processing time. 4. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by the number of times of image processing. 5. A management device in an image processing system in which a management device and an image processing device having a function of performing image stabilization processing are connected via a network, wherein the image processing device executes image processing. Image quality level obtaining means for obtaining a target level of image quality obtained when the image quality is obtained, determining means for determining execution time of image stabilization processing based on the target level of image quality obtained by the image quality level obtaining means, A management unit comprising: an instruction unit configured to instruct the image processing apparatus to execute the image stabilization process at the execution time determined by the unit. 6. An image quality characteristic information acquiring unit that acquires image quality characteristic information indicating a relationship between an execution interval of an image stabilization process and an image quality obtained when the image processing is executed, wherein the determining unit includes the image quality 6. The management according to claim 5, wherein an execution interval of the image stabilization processing for the image quality of the target level is obtained from the target level and the image quality characteristic information, and the execution timing is determined based on the execution interval. apparatus. 7. The management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by an image processing time. 8. The management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the execution interval of the image stabilization processing is represented by the number of times of image processing. 9. An image processing apparatus having a function of executing image stabilization processing, comprising: a receiving unit that receives designation of a target level of image quality obtained when image processing is performed; Determining means for determining an execution time of the image stabilization process based on the target level of the image quality. 10. A recording device for recording image quality characteristic information indicating a relationship between an image quality obtained when image processing is executed and an execution interval of the image stabilization process, wherein the determining unit determines the image quality. 10. The image processing according to claim 9, wherein an execution interval of the image stabilization processing for the image quality at the target level is obtained from the target level and the image quality characteristic information, and the execution timing is determined based on the execution interval. apparatus. 11. An image processing apparatus management method for managing an image processing apparatus connected via a network and having a function of executing image stabilization processing, wherein the image processing apparatus executes image processing. An image quality level obtaining step of obtaining a target level of image quality obtained in the step (a); a determining step of determining an execution time of an image stabilization process based on the target level of image quality obtained by the image quality level obtaining step; An instruction step of instructing the image processing apparatus to execute the image stabilization process at the execution time of the image processing apparatus. 12. A program for executing processing for managing an image processing apparatus having a function of executing image stabilization processing, which is connected via a network, wherein the image processing apparatus executes image processing. An image quality level obtaining process for obtaining a target level of image quality obtained in step (a), a determining process of determining an execution time of an image stabilizing process based on the target level of image quality obtained by the image quality level obtaining process, and the determining process determining And an instruction process for instructing the image processing apparatus to execute the image stabilization process at the execution time. 13. A recording medium recording a program for executing a process for managing an image processing apparatus having a function of executing an image stabilization process, the program being connected via a network, the program being recorded on the recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium, wherein the program is the program according to claim 12.