JP2003050688A - Image forming system, image forming method, and server device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform setting and operations at the time of performing one print request by suing a plurality of image forming devices. SOLUTION: When a job to image forming device 104 and 105a-105d is inputted from any of a server 102 and client device 103a-103c, the inputted job is performed by using those image forming devices. In this case, setting necessary for the performance of the job is displayed so as to be associated with each image forming device on the screen of any of the server device and the client devices from which the job is inputted based on information related with the function of each of those image forming devices stored in the server device, and the setting of the function can be performed according to the display.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming method, and a server device, and more particularly to a plurality of image forming devices, a server device that manages the image forming device, and the image forming device. The present invention relates to a setting method for executing a job using a plurality of image forming apparatuses in an image forming system including a client apparatus that requests a job.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer is commonly used by a plurality of computers. In this case, the user selects a desired printer from the computer to be used and causes the selected printer to execute the desired job via a general-purpose interface such as LAN or an interface using dedicated hardware.

Also known is a server / client system, in which a client user's job is sent to a printer via a controller server.

In recent years, in the light printing market called print-on-demand, the opportunity for a computer to perform a large number of jobs on the image forming apparatus is increasing, and a large number of jobs can be performed efficiently and at low cost. There is a need for a way to get it done.

In order to perform jobs efficiently, one job is not executed by one image forming apparatus, but a server having a high-performance controller function capable of handling a large number of jobs and a plurality of image forming devices connected to the server. An apparatus is indispensable, and particularly when a large amount of printing is performed, a document server system is used that manages one job into a plurality of print jobs and outputs them by a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

[0006]

However, when a plurality of print jobs divided from one job are executed using a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the image processing and the supply executed in the image forming apparatus on the client are performed. Paper tray,
Although it is necessary to set the finishing process, it is difficult to determine which image forming apparatus each setting corresponds to, and to determine the correspondence, the specifications and features of each image forming apparatus, or each unit Since it was necessary to familiarize yourself with the name, etc., you cannot easily make settings.

As another method, desired settings are prepared in advance for each image forming apparatus, and the settings prepared for each image forming apparatus to be used when output by a plurality of image forming apparatuses are performed. There is also a method of selecting, but this method also takes time and effort.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an image forming system capable of facilitating setting and operation when one job is executed using a plurality of image forming apparatuses, An object is to provide an image forming method and a server device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an image forming apparatus system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a server apparatus that manages the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus. An image forming system including a client apparatus for requesting a job to an apparatus, wherein the server apparatus and the client apparatus respectively include an input unit for inputting a job to the image forming apparatus and a display unit. In addition, the server apparatus has a storage unit that stores information regarding a settable function of each image forming apparatus, and a plurality of jobs input from the input unit of the server apparatus or the client apparatus are stored. When it is executed by using a set of image forming apparatuses including an image forming apparatus, the information based on the information stored in the storage means is used. The display unit of the server device or the client device, to which the job is input, displays the settings necessary for executing the job in association with each image forming device of the set of image forming devices. It is provided with a setting display means that enables setting of functions according to the display.

That is, according to the present invention, in an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a server apparatus that manages the image forming apparatus, and a client apparatus that requests a job to the image forming apparatus, each image forming is performed by the server apparatus. When a job for the image forming apparatus is input from either the server apparatus or the client apparatus, a storage unit is provided for storing information regarding a settable function of the apparatus, and the input job includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses. Necessary for executing the job on the display means of the server device or the client device to which the job is input based on the information stored in the storage means when the job is executed using the set of image forming apparatuses. Various settings are displayed in association with each image forming apparatus of the set of image forming apparatuses, and the function can be set according to the display.

With this configuration, when one job is executed by using a plurality of image forming apparatuses, it is displayed when setting the functions such as image processing, paper feed tray, and finishing processing for the image forming apparatuses. From the displayed screen, it is possible to easily determine which image forming apparatus each setting corresponds to. Therefore, it is not necessary to be familiar with the specifications and characteristics of each image forming apparatus, or the name of each unit, and the setting can be easily performed according to the displayed screen.

Further, as in the prior art, the settings are prepared for each image forming apparatus in advance, and the settings for each image forming apparatus are used when output is executed using a plurality of image forming apparatuses. When performing output using a plurality of image forming apparatuses instead of selecting, the setting for each image forming apparatus can be arbitrarily performed, so that preparation or setting need not be performed in advance and the operation is simplified. be able to.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[Description of System Outline] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an outline of an image forming system as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B shows a conventional image forming system for comparison.

Each system uses an MFP (MultiFunction P) as an apparatus for inputting and outputting an image.
eripheral: multifunction peripheral device)
Client terminals 103a to 103 having 104 and 105a to 105d, a printer 107, and scanners 106a and 106b, and transmitting jobs to these devices.
c and the document server 102, which is the print control apparatus of the present invention, are connected by the network 101.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 1B, all the devices are connected to the same network 101. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. In the document server 102, the public network 1
01a and a private network 101b.

For this reason, the document server 102 has two network interface cards (NIC) 111 and 112 corresponding to two networks on the motherboard 110 as hardware, and the NIC 111 is connected to the public network 101a. , NIC112 is a private network 1
Connected to 01b.

Client terminals 103a to 103c are connected to the public network 101a.
These terminals are, for example, personal computers.
Many devices other than these may be connected as clients. Hereinafter, these clients are collectively referred to as 103.

On the other hand, the private network 101b
The MFPs 105a to 105d and the printer 107 are connected to the. Each of the MFs 105a to 105d scans or prints in monochrome, or has a low resolution or 2
It has functions to perform simple color scanning and color printing of values. Although not shown, other devices such as an MFP, a scanner, a printer, or a facsimile other than the above may be connected to the private network 101b. Of these input devices, MF
P and the printer are collectively referred to as a printing device. The document server 102, which is the print control apparatus of the present invention, generates a print job to be printed by the plurality of printing apparatuses.

The MFP 104 is a full-color MFP capable of scanning or printing in full color with high resolution and high gradation, and in this embodiment, it is connected to the document server 102 through a dedicated interface card 113. This is because the amount of transmitted / received data becomes enormous, and the private network 101b may be connected.

Further, the scanners 106a and 106b are
This is an apparatus for capturing an image image recorded on a sheet-shaped medium such as paper. In the present embodiment, a scanner 106b directly connected to the document server 102 by a SCSI interface, and a public network 101a.
There are two types of scanner 106a connected to (or private network 101b).

Explaining the hardware configuration of the document server 102, a board called a mother board 110 on which a CPU, a memory, etc. are mounted is provided with an interface called a PCI bus.
IC (Network Interface Car
d) 111, 112, a dedicated I / F card 113, a SCSI card 114, etc. are connected.

Here, the user of each client terminal 103 is a so-called DTP (DeskTop Public).
Hing) application software is operated to create / edit various documents / graphics. In each client terminal 103, the created document / graphic is written in a page description language (Page DescriptionLan).
The network 101a is converted into the network 101a.
It is sent to the MFPs 104 and 105 via the and printed out.

The MFPs 104 and 105 are respectively the document server 102 and the network 101b, or
It has a communication means capable of exchanging information via the dedicated interface 109, and the information and status of the MFPs 104 and 105 can be stored in the document server 102 or the client terminal 103 via the document server 102.
Will be informed. Further, the document server 102
Utility software that operates by receiving the information is stored in (or the client terminal 103), and the MFPs 104 and 105 are managed by the document server 102 (or the client terminal 103).

[Arrangement of MFPs 104 and 105] Next,
The configurations of the MFPs 104 and 105 will be described with reference to FIGS. However, the difference between the MFPs 104 and 105 is the difference between full-color and monochrome, and in many parts other than color processing, the full-color device includes the configuration of the monochrome device. Therefore, the function of the full-color device 104 will be mainly described here. A description of monochrome devices will be added as needed.

The MFPs 104 and 105, as shown in the block diagram of FIG.
A scanner unit 201 that reads an image, a scanner IP unit 202 that processes the read image data, a FAX unit 203 that sends and receives an image using a telephone line typified by a facsimile, and image data using a network. And NIC unit 204 for exchanging device information
The full-color MFPs 1-4 have a dedicated I / F unit 205 for exchanging information with the document server 102. Then, the core unit 206 temporarily stores the image signal and determines the route according to the operation mode of the MFP.

The image data output from the core unit 206 is sent to the printer unit 209 for forming an image via the printer IP unit 207 and the PWM unit 208. The sheet printed out by the printer unit 209 is sent to the finisher unit 210, where sorting processing and finishing processing are performed.

[Structure of Scanner Unit 201] The structure of the scanner unit 201 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 301 denotes a platen glass on which a document 302 to be read is placed. The original 302 is illuminated by an illumination lamp 303, and its reflected light passes through mirrors 304, 305, 306, and a lens 30.
It is condensed by 7 and imaged on the CCD 308.

The first mirror unit 310 including the mirror 304 and the illumination lamp 303 moves at a constant speed v, and the second mirror unit 311 including the mirrors 305 and 306.
Moves at a speed of 1 / 2v to scan the entire surface of the original 302. The first mirror unit 310 and the second mirror unit 311 are driven by the motor 309.

[Configuration of Scanner IP Unit 202] The configuration of the scanner IP unit 202 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 4A. The input optical signal is the CCD sensor 3
It is converted into an electric signal by 08. This CCD sensor 3
Reference numeral 08 is an RGB 3-line color sensor, and image signals of RGB are input to the A / D conversion unit 401.
After the gain adjustment and the offset adjustment are performed here, 8-bit digital image signals R0, G0, B0 for each color signal are obtained.
Is converted to. After that, the shading correction unit 402 performs a known shading correction for each color using the read signal of the reference white plate. Furthermore, CCD sensor 3
Since the 08 color line sensors are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, the line delay adjustment circuit (line interpolation section) 403 corrects the spatial deviation in the sub-scanning direction.

Next, the input masking section 404 uses the CCD.
This is a part that converts the color space of the read image determined by the spectral characteristics of the R, G, and B filters of the sensor 308 into the standard color space of NTSC, and various characteristics such as the sensitivity characteristics of the CCD sensor 308 / spectral characteristics of the illumination lamp. A 3 × 3 matrix calculation is performed using the device-specific constants that have been taken into consideration, and the input (R0, G0, B0) signals are converted into standard (R, G, B) signals.
Convert to signal.

Further, a brightness / density converter (LOG converter)
405 is an R for storing a look-up table (LUT)
It is composed of AM, and the RGB luminance signals are C1, M1,
The density signal of Y1 is converted.

When monochrome image processing is performed by the MFP 105, monochromatic A / D conversion 401 and shading 402 are performed using the monochromatic 1-line CCD sensor 308 according to the configuration shown in the block diagram of FIG. 4B. After that, it is sent to the core unit 206.

[Structure of FAX Unit 203] The structure of the FAX unit 203 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. First, at the time of reception, the data coming from the telephone line is transferred to the NCU unit 5
01 receives and converts the voltage, and the demodulation unit 504 in the modem unit 502 performs A / D conversion and demodulation operation, and the decompression unit 506 develops the raster data. Generally F
A run length method or the like is used for compression and expansion in AX. The image converted into raster data is stored in the memory unit 507.
The image data is temporarily stored in, and after being confirmed that the image data has no transfer error, the image data is sent to the core unit 206.

Next, at the time of transmission, the image signal of the raster image transferred from the core unit is compressed by the compression unit 505 such as the run length method, and the modulation unit 503 in the modem unit 502 performs D / A. After performing conversion and modulation operations, N
It is sent to the telephone line via the CU unit 501.

[Structure of NIC Unit 204] The structure of the NIC unit 204 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 6A.
It is this NIC unit 204 that has a function of an interface to the network 101, for example, 10B.
It plays a role of obtaining information from the outside or transmitting the information to the outside by using an Ethernet cable or the like conforming to the standards such as case-T / 100Base-TX.

When information is obtained from the outside, first, the voltage is converted by the transformer 601 and sent to the LAN controller 602. The LAN controller unit 602 has a first buffer memory (not shown) inside,
After determining whether the information is necessary information, the information is sent to the second buffer memory (not shown), and then the signal is transferred to the core unit 206.

Next, in the case of providing information to the outside, the data sent from the core unit 206 is added with necessary information in the LAN controller unit 602, and the transformer unit 60 is added.
1 to the network 101.

[Structure of Dedicated I / F Unit 205] Dedicated I / F
A unit 205 is an interface unit of the full-color MFP 104, and is composed of 4 colors × 8 bits of image data and a communication line to which multi-valued bit signals of CMYK are sent in parallel.

It is possible to use the Ethernet cable for transmission as in the case of other MFPs, but in this case, it is necessary to output at a speed (transfer rate) commensurate with the processing capacity of the MFP 104, and the amount of data is required. The performance of other devices connected to the network may be sacrificed under the influence of, so such a dedicated parallel interface is used.

[Structure of Core Unit 206] The structure of the core unit 206 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 6B. The bus selector unit 611 of the core unit 206 plays a role of traffic control in using the MFPs 104 and 105. That is, the bus is switched according to various functions in the MFPs 104 and 105 such as a copy function, network scan, network print, facsimile transmission / reception, or display.

The path switching pattern for executing each function is as follows: Copy function: scanner 201 → core 206 → printer 2
09 ・ Network scan: Scanner 201 → Core 206
→ NIC section 204 ・ Network print: NIC section 204 → Core 206
→ printer 209 ・ facsimile transmission function: scanner 201 → core 206
-> FAX unit 203-Facsimile receiving function: FAX unit 203-> Core 206
→ Becomes the printer 209.

Next, the image data output from the bus selector unit 611 is compressed by a compression unit 612, a memory unit 613 composed of a large-capacity memory such as a hard disk (HDD), and an expansion unit 6.
It is sent to the printer IP unit 207 via 14. The compression method used by the compression unit 612 is JPEG or JB.
A general method such as IG or ZIP can be used.
The compressed image data is managed for each job (processing request) and is stored together with additional data such as a file name, creator, creation date and time, and file size.

Furthermore, by providing a job number and password as a processing request and storing them together, the personal box function can be supported. this is,
Temporary storage of data or printout to specific people (H
This is a function for prohibiting (reading from DD). When an instruction to print out the stored job is issued, the password is authenticated, and then the memory unit 613 calls it to decompress the image to return it to a raster image and send it to the printer IP unit 207.

[Configuration of Printer IP Unit 207] The configuration of the printer IP unit 107 will be described with reference to FIG. 7A.
The output masking / UCR circuit unit 701 includes M1, C1,
The Y1 signal is transferred to Y, M, C, which are the toner colors of the image forming apparatus.
This is a part for converting the K signal using matrix calculation,
The C1, M1, Y1, and K1 signals based on the RGB signals read by the CCD sensor 308 are corrected to C, M, Y, and K signals based on the spectral distribution characteristics of the toner and output.

Next, in the gamma conversion unit 702, C,
The M, Y, K signals are converted into C, M, Y, K data for image output using a look-up table (LUT) RAM in consideration of various tint characteristics of the toner, and the spatial filter 703 outputs the C, M, Y, K data. After being sharpened or smoothed, the image signal is sent to the core unit 206.

In the monochrome MFP 105, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the block diagram of (1), the output masking / UCR circuit unit 701 is not provided, the binarization circuit 704 is provided after the spatial filter 703, and the image signal is sent to the core unit 206 as monochrome data.

[Configuration of PWM section 208] PWM is performed using the block diagram of FIG. 8A and the graph showing the signal waveform of FIG. 8B.
The configuration of the unit 208 will be described. The image data (the monochrome MFP 105 has a single color) separated into four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) sent from the printer IP unit 207, respectively. An image is formed through each PWM unit 208.

Reference numeral 801 is a triangular wave generator, and 802 is a D / A converter (D / A converter) for converting an input digital image signal into an analog signal. 8B of FIG. 8B and the output signal from the triangular wave generation unit 801 indicated by 81 of FIG. 8B.
The output signal from the D / A converter 802 shown by is compared in magnitude by a comparator 803,
A signal as shown by 3 is sent to the laser drive unit 804 and converted into a laser beam by the laser 805 corresponding to each of CMYK.

Then, the polygon scanner 913 scans each laser beam, and the corresponding photosensitive drum 9 is scanned.
17, 921, 925, 929 are irradiated to form a latent image.

[Configuration of Printer 209 (Color MFP
104)] FIG. 9 is a side perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the color printer unit. 913 is a polygon mirror, 4
It receives four laser beams corresponding to CMYK emitted from one semiconductor laser 805. One of them is the mirror 9
14, 915, 916 to scan the photosensitive drum 917, the next one scans the photosensitive drum 921 to the mirrors 918, 919, 920, and the next one scans the mirrors 922, 9
23, 924 to scan the photosensitive drum 925, and
The book goes through the mirrors 926, 927, and 928 to the photosensitive drum 9.
Scan 29.

On the other hand, reference numeral 930 is a developing device for supplying yellow (Y) toner, which follows the photosensitive drum 9 according to the laser beam.
A yellow toner image is formed on 17 and a developing device 931 supplies magenta (M) toner. The developing device forms a magenta toner image on the photosensitive drum 921 according to the laser beam, and 932 is cyan (C). Is a developing device that supplies a toner of No. 1 to form a cyan toner image on the photosensitive drum 925 according to the laser light, and 933 is a developing device that supplies black (K) toner to the photosensitive drum 9 according to the laser light.
A black toner image is formed on 29. 4 colors (Y
The toner image of MCK) is transferred onto the sheet, and a full-color output image can be obtained.

Sheets fed from any of the sheet cassettes 934 and 935 and the manual feed tray 936 are adsorbed on the transfer belt 938 via the registration rollers 937 and conveyed. Toners of respective colors have been developed on the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929 in advance in synchronization with the feeding timing, and the toners are transferred onto the sheet as the sheet is conveyed. The sheet onto which the toners of the respective colors have been transferred is separated and conveyed by the conveyor belt 939, and the fixing device 940 fixes the toner on the sheet. The sheet that has passed through the fixing device 940 is a flapper 95.
When the sheet is guided downward by 0, the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the flapper 950, and then is switched back and discharged. As a result, the sheets are ejected in a face-down state, and when printed in order from the first page, the correct page order is obtained.

The four photosensitive drums 917, 921,
925 and 929 are arranged at equal intervals with a distance d, and the conveyance belt 939 causes the sheet to move at a constant speed v.
It is being carried in and is synchronized with this timing,
The four semiconductor lasers 805 are driven.

[Configuration of Printer 209 (Monochrome MF
P105)] FIG. 10 is a side perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a monochrome printer unit. A polygon mirror 1013 receives the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 805. The laser light is reflected by the mirrors 1014, 1015, 101.
6, the photosensitive drum 1017 is scanned. On the other hand, 103
Reference numeral 0 denotes a developing device for supplying black toner, which forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 1017 in accordance with the laser beam, and the toner image is transferred onto a sheet, so that an output image can be obtained.

Sheet cassettes 1034, 1035 and
A sheet fed from any one of the manual feed trays 1036 passes through the registration rollers 1037 and then passes through the transfer belt 103.
8 is adsorbed on and conveyed. The toner is developed in advance on the photosensitive drum 1017 in synchronism with the feeding timing, and the toner is transferred onto the sheet as the sheet is conveyed. The sheet on which the toner is transferred is separated,
The fixing device 1040 fixes the toner on the sheet. The sheet that has passed through the fixing device 1040 has the flapper 10
The sheet 50 is once guided downward and the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the flapper 1050, then is switched back and discharged. As a result, the sheets are ejected in a face-down state, and when printed in order from the first page, the correct page order is obtained.

[Structure of Finisher 209] FIG. 11
FIG. 6 is a side perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a finisher portion. The fixing unit 940 (or 104 of the printer unit 209)
The sheet discharged from 0) is put into the finisher unit 209. The finisher unit 209 includes a sample tray 1101 and a stack tray 1102, which are switched and discharged according to the type of job and the number of discharged sheets.

There are two sort methods, a bin sort method that has a plurality of bins and distributes to each bin, and an electronic sort function and a bin (or tray), which will be described later, are shifted to the front side and output for each job. Sorting can be performed by a shift sort method that distributes sheets. The electronic sort function is called collate, and if you have the large-capacity memory described in the core section, you can use this buffer memory to change the buffered page order and discharge order, the so-called collate function. It can also support the function of electronic sorting. Next, the group function is a function that sorts each job, whereas sorting sorts each job.

Further, when the sheets are discharged to the stack tray 1102, it is possible to store the sheets before the sheets are discharged for each job and bind them by the stapler 1105 immediately before the sheet is discharged.

In addition, a Z-folding machine 1104 for folding the paper into a Z-shape and a puncher 11 for punching two (or three) holes for a file until reaching the above-mentioned two trays.
06, each processing is performed according to the type of job.

Further, the saddle stitcher 1107 binds the central portion of the sheet at two places and then folds the sheet in half by engaging the central portion of the sheet with the rollers.
Performs the process of creating booklets such as weekly magazines and pamphlets. The sheets bound by the saddle stitcher 1107 are discharged to the booklet tray 1108.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, a function such as binding with glue (gluing) for bookbinding, or trimming for aligning the end faces on the opposite side to the binding side after binding is added. Is also possible.

The inserter 1103 is the tray 111.
Tray 1 without passing the sheet set to 0 to the printer
101, 1102, 1108. As a result, the sheet set in the inserter 1103 can be inserted (middle insertion) between the sheets sent to the finisher 209. The tray 1110 of the inserter 1103 is set face-up by the user, and the pickup roller 1111 feeds sheets in order from the uppermost sheet. Therefore, the sheet from the inserter 1103 is conveyed to the trays 1101 and 1102 as it is, and is discharged face down. When it is sent to the saddle stitcher 1107, it is sent once to the puncher 1106 side and then switched back to send the face orientation.

[Configuration of Document Server 102] Next, the document server 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The configuration of No. 02 will be described.

A client print job, which is a processing request input from the NIC 111 or SCSI 114, is loaded into the server by the input device control unit 1201 and plays a role by being connected to various client applications in the server. As input of client print job, PDL (Page Descr)
option Language: page description language (JCL) data and JCL (JobControl Language)
e) Accept data. Input device control unit 1201
Responds to various clients with status information about printers and servers, and the output of this module is the appropriate PD.
It has the role of connecting all the components of L and JCL.

Next, the input job control unit 1202 manages the requested list of client print jobs and creates a job list for accessing each client print job submitted to the server. Furthermore, this module has three functions: job routing that determines the route of a print job, job split that controls whether or not RIP is performed after division, and job scheduling that determines the order of print jobs.

Rasterization processing (RIP) unit 1203
Exists one or more. 1203-a, 1203
-B, 1203-c, or the number can be further increased if necessary, but here, they are collectively referred to as 1203.
The RIP module RIPs the PDLs of various jobs to create bitmaps of appropriate size and resolution. Regarding RIP processing, PostScript (A
Dobe's registered trademark), PCL, TIF
Rasterization processing is possible in various formats such as F, JPEG, and PDF.

The data conversion unit 1204 plays a role of compressing a bitmap image created by RIP and performing format conversion, and selects an optimum image image type that matches each printer. For example, when it is desired to handle a client print job in page units, PDF (Port) is added to the bitmap data after rasterizing TIFF, JPEG, etc. in the RIP unit.
Able Document Format) header is added, and processing such as editing as PDF data is performed. The print data generated by converting or dividing the client print job, which is the processing request, into a format suitable for the printing apparatus to be output is called a print job.

The output job control unit 1205 takes page images of print jobs and manages how they are handled based on command settings. The page image is printed by the printer or saved in the hard disk 1207. Whether or not the print job after printing is left in the hard disk 1207 can be selected, and when saved, it can be recalled. Furthermore,
This module is a hard disk 1207 and RAM12
Manages interaction with 08.

The output device control unit 1206 controls which device is to be output and which device is to be clustered (connecting a plurality of devices and printing them all at once), and controls the interface card 11 of the selected device.
2 or 113. Also, this module is M
It also plays a role of monitoring the status of the FPs 104 and 105 and transmitting the status of the apparatus to the document server 102.

[Page Description Language (PDL)] Next, PDL data used in this embodiment will be described. P
Descriptions of PDL represented by ostScript (registered trademark of Adobe) language are classified into the following three elements: (a) image description by character code (b) image description by graphic code (c) image description by raster image data To be done.

That is, PDL is a language for describing an image composed of a combination of the above elements, and the data described in that is called PDL data.

FIG. 13A shows an example of PDL data, and FIG. 13B shows an image drawn according to the PDL data of FIG. 13A. L1311-L1 of FIG. 13A
Three lines of 313 are descriptions corresponding to the character R1301 of FIG. 13B, two lines of L1321 to L1322 of FIG. 13A are descriptions corresponding to the figure R1302 of FIG. 13B,
L1331 to L1332 of FIG. 13A (omitted in the middle) are descriptions corresponding to the raster image image1 of FIG. 13B.

Explaining the description of the character information R1301, L1311 is a description for designating the color of the character, and in parentheses are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow in order.
The concentrations of w and Black are shown in the range of 0.0 to 1.0. In this description, the character color is specified as black. L1312 is the character string "IC" in the variable String1.
Is substituted. In L1313, the first and second parameters indicate the x coordinate and the y coordinate of the start position coordinates on the paper on which the character string is laid out, the third parameter indicates the character size, and the fourth parameter indicates the character interval. The fifth parameter indicates the character string to be laid out. That is, in L1313, the instruction is to lay out the character string "IC" from the coordinate position (0.0, 0.0) with a size of 0.3 and an interval of 0.1.

Next, the description of the graphic R1302 will be described. L1321 designates the color of the line as in L1311, and Cyan is designated here. Next, L1322 is a description that specifies drawing a line, where the first and second parameters are the xy coordinates of the start coordinate of the line and the third and fourth parameters are the respective end coordinates. The fifth parameter indicates the line thickness.

Further, the description of the raster image image1 will be described. L1331 indicates that the raster image is a variable im.
It is substituted into age1. Here, the first parameter represents the image type of the raster image and the number of color components, the second parameter represents the number of bits per color component, and the third,
The fourth parameter represents the image size of the raster image in the x and y directions. The fifth and subsequent parameters are raster image data. The number of raster image data is the product of the number of color components forming one pixel and the image size in the x and y directions. In L1331, the CMYK image has four color components (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Blac).
k), the number of raster image data is
4 × 5 × 5 = 100. Next, L1332 indicates that the image1 is laid out in a size of 0.5 × 0.5 from the position of the coordinates (0.0, 0.5).

The raster image data shown in FIG. 13B is actually the RAM 1208 (or, for each CMYK color component).
It has been developed in Disk1207), for example R130
Corresponding to 1 in the CMYK RAM 1208, C =
0, M = 0, Y = 0, K = 255 are stored, and R is stored.
The portions 1302 are C = 255, M = 0, and Y, respectively.
= 0 and K = 0 are stored.

In the document server 102, the PDL data sent from the client 103 is the PD
RAM 1208 (or Disk1) in the form of L data as it is, or in the form of being rasterized as described above.
207) and saved as needed.
Since the document server 102 itself has the same function as the client, the PDL data generated by the printer driver according to the drawing data generated by the application is also written in the RAM 1208.
Saved as needed.

[Network 101] Next, the network 101 will be described with reference to FIG. The network 101 is as shown in FIG.
A network configured as shown by 01a is connected by a device called a router that connects networks to each other, and a LAN (Local Area Network) is connected.
Configure a further network 1406 called k).

The LAN 1406 is the internal router 1
Another LAN 140 via 401 and dedicated line 1408
7 may be connected to the router 1405, and such a mutual connection between networks may form a large-scale network including many devices.

Next, the data transmitted in the network 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Data 1421 existing in the device A (1420a) of the transmission source is
The device B (14
20b), regardless of the type of the data (image data, PDL data, program), the data 14
21 is image-wise divided into subdivisions as indicated by 1422. This divided data 1423, 1424
A destination address called a header 1425 (an IP address of the destination when the TCP / IP protocol is used) is added to the packet 1426 and the like, and the packet 1
427 is sequentially transmitted on the network 101.
Address of device B and header 14 of packet 1430
If 31 matches, the data 1432 is separated and reproduced in the same manner as in the source device A.

[Scanner Driver] Next, the scanner driver will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 16 shows a GUI (Graphical User Interface: G) displayed on the screen by the scanner driver for instructing the scanning operation in the document server 102 (or the client 103).
This is a graphic user interface, which allows the user to instruct desired setting parameters and convert a desired image into data.

First, reference numeral 1601 denotes a scanner driver window, in which a source device selection column 16 for selecting a target transmission source is set as a setting item.
There is 02. Generally, the above-mentioned scanner 201 or the like is selected, but an image may be brought from the memory 108, or a digital camera or the like may be selected. 1
Reference numeral 603 denotes a button for making detailed settings for the selected source device. Click here to enter device-specific setting information on a separate screen and select an image processing mode (for example, text mode / photo mode). do it,
It is possible to input an image in a processing mode suitable for data.
1604 is the image size, 1605 is the resolution, 160
Reference numeral 6 is a column for selecting each color mode. Further, 1607 to 1609 are parts for determining the size of the image area, and the unit and the length and width are input respectively.

When the prescan key 1612 is clicked after making these designations, the document server 10
2 (or the client 103) gives a prescan instruction to the device selected in the source device selection column 1602, and starts image input. Since the image is pre-scanned here, the image is read with a coarser resolution than the actual resolution, and the obtained image is used as a preview image.
11 is displayed. At the time of display, it is displayed together with the scale 1610 according to the unit 1607 of the image area.

If it is determined that the preview image is OK, a scan instruction is issued by clicking the scan key 1613, and the image is input (scanned) at the set resolution this time. If NG is judged in the preview image, prescan is performed again to confirm, and if cancelled, the cancel key 16 is pressed.
Click 14.

[Printer Setting] Printer setting will be described below with reference to FIG. The printer setting is to specify the output destination of the print job or the input source of the scanned image in the document server 102 by the GUI from the document server 102 (or the client 103).

First, the GUI will be described. 17
Reference numeral 01 is a printer setting window. The user first adds 1702, deletes 1703, and changes 1704 printers.
Select one of When the addition 1702 is selected, the printer type 1705 is selected, and then detailed information according to the printer type is set. When the MFP 105 connected to the network is selected, the printer name 1706, the IP address 1707, and the mounting status 1708 of the finishing option are set, and then the OK button 1709 is clicked to additionally register the printer. If the user wants to cancel the registration, he / she does not need to click the OK button 1709, but the cancel button 1710.
Alternatively, registration can be canceled by clicking the close window button 1711. Delete 1
The same applies when 703 and the change 1704 are selected.

[Cluster Setting] Next, the cluster setting will be described with reference to FIG. In the cluster settings, set which printer is to be the output destination of clustering (connecting multiple printers and printing simultaneously).
The setting is performed using the GUI from the document server 102 (or the client 103).

Reference numeral 1801 denotes a cluster setting window, and the user first adds 1802 and deletes a cluster 180.
3. Change 1804 is selected. If the addition 1802 is selected, the type of cluster (job dividing method) 1
Select 805. Here, as the division method, job division 1806, number of copies division 1807, page division 1808,
Then, a color monochrome division 1809 is prepared. After selecting the type of cluster, the cluster name 1810 is entered. A list 1811 of printers that can be registered as output destinations for clustering registered in the printer settings is displayed, and the user checks the check box of the printer to be registered as an output destination for clustering. And
It is registered by clicking the OK button 1811.
If the user wants to interrupt the registration, he / she cancels the registration by clicking the cancel button 1813 or the window close button 1814 without clicking the OK button. The same applies when the deletion 1803 and the change 1804 are selected.

[Printer Driver] Next, the process of transmitting image data from the document server 102 (or the client 103) to the printer by the printer driver will be described with reference to FIG. The printer driver can send the image image desired by the user to a destination such as a printer in accordance with the user's instruction input through the GUI for instructing the print operation.

Here, 1901 is a window called a print dialog of the printer driver, and 1902 is a transmission destination selection column for selecting a target output destination as a setting item therein. Generally, the aforementioned MFP
104, 105, the printer 107, or the logical printer registered in the cluster setting (in the present embodiment, since the MFP 104 and the MFP 105c are set in the cluster setting, the logical printers “104-105c Cl
user ”) is selected as the destination. Reference numeral 1903 denotes a page setting column for selecting an output page from a job, which is the document server 102.
(Or, which page of the image image created by the application software running on the client 103 is to be output is determined. Reference numeral 1904 is a copy number setting column for specifying the number of copies, and 1907 is a property key for making detailed settings regarding the transmission destination device selected in the transmission destination selection column 1902. Type of processing,
Alternatively, device-specific information such as an image processing method is read and setting items unique to the device are displayed on another screen. Details of displaying the device-specific information and setting items will be described later. The user can input desired settings on the detailed setting screen displayed by clicking the property key. Accordingly, special image processing, for example, by changing the parameters of the gamma conversion unit 702 and the spatial filter unit 703 in the printer IP unit 207, it is possible to perform finer color reproduction and sharpness adjustment.

When the desired setting is completed, the OK button 1905
The print job generation process is started by clicking. To cancel, cancel button 1906
Click to cancel printing. In the print job generation process, the printer driver of the present invention can set the cluster logical printer, so that the print job to be generated has print settings for a plurality of printers. That is, a print job having a plurality of sets of print settings as attributes is generated by the printer driver of the present invention.

[Job Submitter] The job submitter will be described with reference to FIG. The method of using the job submitter from the viewpoint of the user is the same as that of the print driver described above, but the job submitter is a tool for collectively transmitting the files on the client 103 to the document server 102, and the print driver is an application on the client 103. Start the data with
(Or PCL) is converted into a format and transmitted to the document server 102, whereas the job submitter directly transmits data in various formats to the document server 102.

In the GUI 2001 of the job submitter,
As a setting item, there is a destination selection column 2002 for selecting a target output destination. The transmission destination is generally selected from the above-described MFPs 104 and 105, the printer 107, or the cluster logical printer registered in the cluster setting. Reference numeral 2005 denotes a page setting column for selecting an output page from a job, and it becomes possible to select an arbitrary file in the document server 102 (or client 103) and send it to the document server 102. Furthermore, in order to make detailed settings,
There is a property key 2004, and when you click here, the job ticket menu in the next section appears. When the desired setting is completed, the job is transmitted to the document server 102 by clicking the OK button 2010, and when cancelled, the job can be canceled by clicking the cancel button 2011.

[Job Ticket] Next, the job ticket will be described with reference to FIG. A print driver as shown in FIG. 19 or a job submitter G as shown in FIG.
When the property key (1907 or 2004) of the UI is clicked, a GUI 2101 for job ticket setting as shown in FIG. 21 appears.

The job ticket is stored in the MFPs 104 and 105.
It is possible for the user to set device-specific functions such as the printer, the printer 107, or the cluster logical printer created by the cluster setting, and the property in the printer driver according to the target output destination 1902 or 2002. Similarly, separate setting items 2102 are displayed based on device-specific information. At that time, the user can select any setting item 2103.

When the desired setting is completed, the OK button 2
Clicking 104 returns to the screen of the print driver or the job submitter, and in the case of canceling, clicking the cancel button 2105 cancels.

When the cluster logical printer created by the cluster setting is selected as the output device, the job ticket is the information set 210 shown in FIG.
There will be a plurality of sets of 3.

[Device Status] MFP 104, 1
05 or a network interface part in the printer 107, a MIB (Management In
A standardized database called "formation base" has been constructed, and SNMP (Simp
le Network Management Pro
to communicate with a computer on the network via the network management protocol called
Document server 102 regarding the states of devices connected to the network, including 4, 105.
(Or, information can be exchanged with the client 103).

For example, it is possible to detect what kind of function the finisher 210 is connected to as the equipment information of the MFPs 104 and 105, and to detect whether or not an error or jam is currently occurring, or whether printing or idle is being performed, as status information. Equipment information of the MFPs 104 and 105, device status, network settings, job history,
It is possible to obtain all static information and dynamic information such as usage management and control.

FIG. 22 shows a GUI of a utility showing the device status.
When the tab 2202 indicating 105a is selected, the MF
The equipment information of the device of P105a is graphic 220
The state of the device can be determined from the information represented by 3 and shown in 2204 and 2205. Further, by clicking the detail display key 2207, details such as equipment information can be known. When the Close key 2208 is clicked, the device status screen is closed.

[Job Status] The job status will be described with reference to FIG. Job status screen 23
01 indicates three statuses, namely, a job status 2302 for knowing the status of the print job in the document server 102, a print status 2303 for notifying the status of the print job passed to the printer, and a history of completed print jobs. Finished job 2304 is represented.

In the job status 2302, the status of each print job is Waiting (before RIP) or Ri.
The RIP-processed print job represented by “pping (during RIP)” is passed to the next print status.

In the print status 2302, if each print job is normal, it is represented by Waiting (waiting for printing) or Printing (during printing), and when an error or jam occurs, that fact is displayed. After the printing is completed, it is passed to the next finished job.

In the finished job 2304, the history of print jobs can be viewed. Printed jobs that have ended normally are displayed as Printed, and print jobs that are canceled midway are displayed as Canceled.

[Division of Job] Next, the case where a color image and a monochrome image are mixed in the same job will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, in the document server 102 or the client 103, the color / monochrome cluster print is selected as the destination of the printer driver or the job submitter, and the client print job from the client 103 (a plurality of sets for the cluster logical printer is selected. A job ticket having print settings (hereinafter referred to as a cluster print job) is transmitted to the document server 102, or a cluster print job generated by the printer driver of the document server 102 is received. Is shown.

The document server 102 temporarily spools the sent cluster print job in step S2401 and determines the processing order in consideration of the priority of the cluster print job in step S2402.
The cluster print job sent is the step S240.
In step 3, the data is converted into a format managed in page units so that RIP can be performed in page units. here,
For example, PDF (Portable Data For)
mat) format and whether or not the entire cluster print job is a color job or a black-and-white job is specified in Manual in step S2404. Yes)).

If it is specified by Manual, the process advances to step S2414 to determine whether the cluster print job is a color job. If it is not a color job, black and white RIP is executed for all pages (step S2
415), if it is a color job, color RIP (step S2416) is executed for all pages.

On the other hand, in Step S2404, Aut
If it is determined that "o" is instructed, step S240
In step 5, it is determined whether or not the page is designated by Manual. If the page is designated by Manual, the process proceeds to step S2409. Step S2
In 409, it is determined whether or not the page is designated as a color page so that the RIP is performed as previously designated in page units, and the page designated as the monochrome page is subjected to monochrome RIP (step S2410). , Pages designated as color pages are subjected to color RIP (step S2411). Each time the RIP of each page ends, it is determined whether or not the page is the end (step S2412). If it is not the page end, the process proceeds to the next page (step S2413), and the processes after step S2409 are performed again.

As described above, R for all pages
When IP ends, job output control step S2407
Then, the monochrome page is transmitted to the monochrome MFP 105, and the color page is transmitted to the color MFP 104, and the corresponding MFP is controlled (step S2408).
It is printed out. In addition, prior to this transmission processing,
The RIP print data for each page is divided into a color page and a monochrome page, which are combined with a header for controlling job start and a footer for controlling job end to regenerate a plurality of print jobs.

[Clustering Print] Clustering print is a method of printing simultaneously using a plurality of printers to which one controller is connected. For example, the document server 102 of FIG. 1A has four monochrome MFPs (105a). 105d) or an operation of printing all at once using the color MFP 104 and the monochrome MFP 105.

A job in which color / black and white are mixed as described above is divided, and each color / black and white RIP job is performed by the output device control unit (1206 in FIG. 12) to the color MFP 104 or the monochrome MFP 105. It is decided, and the job is sent to each printer and output.

The combination of printers in this clustering print is only for monochrome printers, only for color printers,
A combination of one color / black and white or a plurality of each may be used. These combinations can be freely set by the user in the cluster setting.

[Job Split] Furthermore, when performing clustering printing, there are the following three types of data division transfer methods.

(A) Job division: Job 1 is sent to the MFP 10
5a, job 2 to MFP 105b, etc.
A so-called load balancing method in which a vacant printer is always found and transferred so that the number of Waiting jobs is relatively small so that the jobs are evenly distributed to each printer.

(B) Division of number of copies: A method of evenly dividing the number of copies of one job by the clustered printers. However, when a fraction is obtained, the fraction is assigned to one of the printers.

(C) Page division: a method of equally dividing pages of one job by clustered printers.
However, when a fraction is obtained, the fraction is assigned to one of the printers. The color black and white division 1809 also corresponds to one page division process.

[Display of Job Ticket] Next, a method of displaying a job ticket, which is a setting screen at the time of clustering for outputting in a plurality of image forming apparatuses in this embodiment, will be described.

The job ticket is displayed by the printer driver or the job submitter as described above, and is activated by the document server 102 or the client 103 together with the printer driver or the job submitter.

The printer driver converts a document image handled on a computer into a PDL that can be RIP processed by a document server, and stores a PDL conversion program and information unique to an image forming apparatus as an output destination. Have

On the other hand, the job submitter has a transmission program for directly transmitting a document image file to the document server 102 and information peculiar to the image forming apparatus which is the output destination.

Information specific to the image forming apparatus (hereinafter,
The device-specific information) means that, as shown in FIG.
The number of paper feed trays and the paper size that can be placed on the paper feed tray,
This is data representing attributes such as the type of finishing device and the type of finishing such as stapling and punching that can be performed when there is a finishing device, and is composed of attribute information 2501 and possible values 2502 of each attribute information 2501.

By reflecting such device-specific information on the screen of the computer terminal, as shown in FIG. 21, print settings for designating various processing methods such as finishing processed by the image forming apparatus at the time of printing. A screen (also called a job ticket screen in this embodiment) is displayed. The print processing method information specified by the user is sent in a state in which a job ticket is included in the PDL as print settings when a print instruction is issued by the printer driver, and a job image is displayed by the job submitter. When the file is sent, the job ticket information is sent together with the file of the document image.

[Generation of Job Ticket] Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 26, regarding the generation of the print setting screen of the logical printer of the cluster and the display on the screen, which is performed when the printer driver is installed (installed). explain.

When installing the printer driver, the user executes the printer driver installation program in a desired computer terminal of the document server 102 or the client computer 103. Here, the printer driver installation program is the document server 10
2. A printer driver and a print setting screen (job ticket screen) are generated from a PDL conversion program stored in the client computer 103 and image forming apparatus unique information.

When the printer driver installation program is started in step S2601, the document server 10 is displayed on the screen of the computer terminal in step S2602.
The image forming apparatus connected to the No. 2 and the set cluster logical printer are displayed as shown in FIG. Then, in step S2603, the user selects any one of the desired image forming apparatus or cluster.

If the image forming apparatus is selected in step S2603, the printer driver installation program is assigned to the selected image forming apparatus and the conversion program stored in the disk 1207 or the RAM 1208 of the document server 102 in step S2604. A printer driver and a job ticket are generated based on the device-specific information. Further, when a printer driver and a job ticket are generated on the client computer 103, the conversion program and device specific information stored in the document server 102 are sent to the client computer 103 via the network 101, and based on this, Client computer 10
A printer driver and a job ticket are generated on the printer 3.

On the other hand, when the cluster logical printer is selected in step S2603, the cluster logical printer selected in step S2605 is a cluster logical printer (for example, an MFP) configured by image forming apparatuses of the same type.
A cluster "Page Split 105ab" that is dispersed in page units into 105a and 105b, or a cluster (for example, MFPs 104 (color) and 105c (B / B) that is composed of image forming apparatuses of different types).
W: cluster logical printer composed of black & white)).

If it is determined in step S2605 that the printer is a cluster logical printer composed of image forming apparatuses of the same type, the flow advances to step S2604 to convert the conversion program and clusters in the same manner as in the case of the above image forming apparatus. A printer driver is generated based on the device-specific information assigned to the image forming apparatus that constitutes the printer driver. Further, as will be described later, since the generated job ticket screen of the printer driver changes depending on the number of print settings that can be set, the user interface dynamically changes according to the acquired device unique information. For example, the job ticket screen of the printer driver consisting of one device is shown in FIG.
The job ticket screen of the printer driver of the cluster logical printer (especially, printers having different attributes) is displayed as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2605 that the image forming apparatus is a cluster logical printer composed of different types, in step S2606, the document server 102 determines in step S2606 that each of the image forming apparatuses forming the cluster logical printer. The device unique information is combined (combined) to generate the device unique information for the cluster selected in step S2603.

When the device-specific information for the cluster is combined and generated, the document server 102
Then, the type information of the image forming apparatus is added to the attribute information 2401 of each device unique information. For example, the image forming apparatus 10
In the case of the cluster logical printer composed of 4 and 105c, as shown in FIG. 28, from the device unique information (a) of the MFP 104 and the device unique information (b) of the MFP 105, as shown in (c), the image forming apparatus The device-specific information for the cluster configured by the image forming apparatuses 104 and 105c is generated by adding the type information.

Then, in step S2607, step S
A printer driver for the cluster is generated based on the device unique information of the cluster logical printer generated in 2606 and the conversion program.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a job ticket screen for making detailed settings of a print processing method for a cluster logical printer composed of image forming apparatuses of different types using the printer driver thus generated. As shown in the figure, it is possible to easily determine which image forming apparatus each setting is for from this screen. The device-specific information of this embodiment is, for example, P
PD file (PostScript Printer)
Description) enables the PostScript printer driver to refer to the PPD file and change the UI of the printer driver that performs print settings. As shown in FIG. It becomes possible to provide a user interface for making respective print settings of the printer.

Also in the introduction of the job submitter, by using the sending program instead of the conversion program of the printer driver, the job ticket screen is generated as in steps S2601 to S2607.

Further, the device unique information of the cluster may be generated at the time of setting the cluster. FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing the processing when generating the device unique information of the cluster when setting the cluster.

When the user sets the desired cluster logical printer on the document server 102 or the client 103 in step S3001, step S300
2, the cluster logical printer set in the document server 102 is a cluster logical printer (for example, the MFP 10) configured by image forming apparatuses of the same type.
5a and 105b) or a cluster logical printer (for example, a cluster configured by the MFPs 104 and 105c) configured by different types of image forming apparatuses.

If it is determined that the cluster logical printer is composed of image forming apparatuses of the same type, the disk 1 of the document server 102 is determined in step S3003.
The device unique information of the corresponding image forming apparatus stored in 207 or the ROM 1208 is assigned as the device unique information of the cluster logical printer.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the cluster logical printer is composed of image forming apparatuses of different types,
In step S3004, the document server 102 combines the device-specific information of the image forming apparatuses forming the cluster to generate device-specific information for the set cluster.

When incorporating the device-specific information for the cluster, the document server 102 adds the type information of the image forming apparatus to the attribute information 2401 of each device-specific information. For example, in the case of a cluster logical printer composed of the image forming apparatuses 104 and 105c, the device unique information (a) of the MFP 104 and the MF as shown in FIG.
From the device-specific information (b) of P105, the device-specific information for the cluster configured by the image forming apparatuses 104 and 105c to which the type information of the image forming apparatus is added as shown in (c) is generated and set. Assigned as device-specific information for the cluster logical printer.

As described above, the device unique information of the cluster logical printer is generated and assigned at the time of cluster setting, and the device unique information assigned when the printer driver or the job submitter is installed is used. Job ticket screen (print setting screen) of the cluster logical printer configured by the image forming device of the type
In FIG. 29, it is possible to easily determine which image forming apparatus each setting is for, as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when one print request is executed by using a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the image processing, the paper feed tray, and the finishing which are processed by the image forming apparatuses are executed. When setting processing etc.,
From the displayed screen, it is possible to easily determine which image forming apparatus each setting corresponds to. Therefore, it is not necessary to be familiar with the specifications and characteristics of each image forming apparatus, or the name of each unit, and the setting can be easily performed.

Further, as in the prior art, the settings are prepared for each image forming apparatus in advance, and the settings for each image forming apparatus used when output is executed using a plurality of image forming apparatuses. When performing output using a plurality of image forming apparatuses instead of selecting, since the setting at the time of output to each image forming apparatus can be arbitrarily performed,
There is no need to make preparations and settings in advance, and the operation can be simplified.

[Other Embodiments] The object of the present invention is to:
A storage medium in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads the program code stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, it can be achieved by executing it.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD
-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

Moreover, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, but also the OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code. It is needless to say that this also includes a case where the above) performs a part or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that a case where the CPU or the like included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is also included.

When the present invention is applied to the above storage medium, the storage medium stores the program code corresponding to the above-described flowcharts (shown in FIGS. 24, 26 and / or 30). Become.

[0150]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When one print request is executed by using a plurality of image forming apparatuses, when setting functions such as image processing, a paper feed tray, and finishing processing for the image forming apparatuses, the respective settings are displayed on the displayed screen. It is possible to easily determine which image forming apparatus corresponds to the image forming apparatus. Therefore, it is not necessary to be familiar with the specifications and characteristics of each image forming apparatus, or the name of each unit, and the setting can be easily performed according to the displayed screen.

Further, as in the conventional case, the setting is prepared in advance for each image forming apparatus, and the setting for each image forming apparatus is used when output is executed using a plurality of image forming apparatuses. When performing output using a plurality of image forming apparatuses instead of selecting, the setting for each image forming apparatus can be arbitrarily performed, so that preparation or setting need not be performed in advance and the operation is simplified. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an outline of an image forming system as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a conventional image forming system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a scanner unit in FIG.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a color configuration of the scanner IP unit in FIG.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing a monochrome configuration of the scanner IP unit in FIG. 2.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a FAX unit in FIG.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram showing a configuration of a NIC unit in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the core unit of FIG. 2.

7A is a block diagram showing a configuration for color of the printer IP unit of FIG. 2. FIG.

7B is a block diagram showing a monochrome configuration of the printer IP unit of FIG. 2. FIG.

8A is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PWM unit in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a signal waveform in each part of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view showing a configuration of a printer unit of the color image forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view showing a configuration of a printer unit of the monochrome image forming apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a configuration of a finisher section of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram showing a processing configuration inside the document server of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 13A is a diagram showing a description example of PDL data.

FIG. 13B is a diagram showing an example of drawing the PDL data of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the network configuration of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing data transfer in a network.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a scanner driver.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for printer setting.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen at the time of cluster setting.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a printer driver.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a job submitter.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a job ticket display screen.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a device status display screen.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a job status display screen.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing an operation when a color image and a monochrome image are mixed in the same job.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of device-specific information.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an operation when introducing a planter driver.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when a printer driver is installed.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an example of generating device-specific information of a cluster.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of a job ticket display screen of a cluster.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of cluster setting.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 network 102 document server 103 client computer 104 color MFP 105 monochrome MFP

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. An image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a server apparatus that manages the image forming apparatus, and a client apparatus that requests a job to the image forming apparatus, wherein the server apparatus and the client An input unit for inputting a job to the image forming apparatus;
Display means, respectively, the server device has a storage means for storing information about the settable function of each image forming apparatus, from the input means of either the server device or the client device When the input job is executed using a set of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the server apparatus to which the job is input based on the information stored in the storage unit. Alternatively, a setting display that causes the display unit of the client device to display the settings necessary for executing the job in association with each image forming device of the set of image forming devices and enables the setting of the function according to the display. An image forming system comprising means. 2. The setting display unit includes a determination unit that determines whether or not an image forming apparatus having a different function is included in the set of image forming apparatuses, and an image forming apparatus that has a different function by the determination unit. The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising: a function information generating unit that generates information about a function of the set of the image forming apparatus from the information stored in the storing unit when it is determined that the image forming apparatus has a function. . 3. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein a set of the image forming apparatuses can be set in advance, and the setting display means displays a display when setting the set. . 4. The plurality of image forming apparatuses and the client apparatus are connected to the server apparatus via different routes.
The image forming system according to item. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a color image forming apparatus and a monochrome image forming apparatus are connected to the server apparatus via different routes. system. 6. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the function includes a function relating to a finishing process for an output sheet. 7. An image forming method in an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a server apparatus that manages the image forming apparatus, and a client apparatus that requests a job to the image forming apparatus, the server comprising: A step of storing information regarding a settable function of each image forming apparatus in a storage unit of the apparatus; an input step of inputting a job to the image forming apparatus from either the server apparatus or the client apparatus; When the job is executed by using a set of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the server device or the client to which the job is input based on the information stored in the storage unit. The settings necessary for executing the job are associated with each image forming device of the set of image forming devices on the display unit of the device. And a setting display step of making it possible to set the function according to the display. 8. The setting display step includes a determination step of determining whether or not an image forming apparatus having a different function is included in the set of image forming apparatuses, and an image forming apparatus having a different function in the determination step. 8. The image forming method according to claim 7, further comprising a function information generating step of generating information on the function of the set of the image forming apparatus from the information stored in the storage means when it is determined that . 9. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein a group of the image forming apparatuses can be set in advance, and the setting display step is performed when the group is set. 10. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of image forming apparatuses and the client apparatus are connected to the server apparatus via different routes. 11. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein a color image forming apparatus and a monochrome image forming apparatus are connected to the server apparatus via different routes. 12. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein the function includes a function related to a finishing process for an output sheet. 13. A computer that executes an image forming method in an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a server apparatus that manages the image forming apparatus, and a client apparatus that requests a job to the image forming apparatus. A program, wherein the storage means of the server device stores information regarding settable functions of each image forming device, and an image forming process including a plurality of image forming devices is performed from either the server device or the client device. When a job to be executed using a set of devices is input, the job is input to the display unit of the server device or the client device to which the job is input, based on the information stored in the storage unit. The settings necessary for executing the above are displayed in association with each image forming apparatus of the set of image forming apparatuses. A computer program characterized by causing a setting display step to be performed, which allows a function to be set according to the display. 14. A computer program for executing an image forming method in an image forming system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a server apparatus that manages the image forming apparatus, and a client apparatus that requests a job to the image forming apparatus. A storage medium for storing, wherein the storage means of the server device stores information regarding the settable function of each image forming device, and a plurality of image forming devices are stored from either the server device or the client device. When a job to be executed by using a set of image forming apparatuses is input, based on the information stored in the storage unit, the display unit of the server device or the client device to which the job is input is input. , The settings necessary for executing the job are displayed in association with each image forming device of the set of image forming devices. A storage medium including code for executing a setting display step that enables setting of a function according to the display. 15. A server device that manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and stores input means for inputting a processing request to the image forming apparatuses, and device-specific information regarding a settable function of each image forming apparatus. And a storage means for storing the image data, the input processing request is executed by using a set of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and based on the device unique information stored in the storage means, Setting display means for displaying the setting necessary for executing the processing request on the display unit in association with each image forming apparatus of the set of image forming apparatuses, and setting the function according to the display. Characteristic server device. 16. An image forming method in a server device for managing a plurality of image forming apparatuses, comprising: storing device-specific information relating to a settable function of each image forming apparatus; and a process request to the image forming apparatus. When the input step of inputting and the input processing request are executed using a set of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, based on the device unique information stored in the storage means, The settings required to execute the processing request job are displayed in association with each image forming apparatus of the set of image forming apparatuses,
And a setting display step that enables setting of a function according to the display. 17. A computer program that causes a computer to execute an image forming method in a server device that manages a plurality of image forming apparatuses, and stores device-specific information regarding a settable function of each image forming apparatus, An input step of inputting a processing request to the image forming apparatus, and when the input processing request is executed using a set of image forming apparatuses including a plurality of image forming apparatuses,
Based on the device-specific information stored in the storage means, the settings required to execute the processing request job are displayed in association with each image forming apparatus of the set of image forming apparatuses, and the function is set according to the display. And a setting display step for enabling the following.