JP2003271348A - Image output system and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image output system and an image forming device capable of arbitrating a job among a plurality of image forming devices without increasing the load of a network in a system where the plurality of image forming devices are connected on the network. <P>SOLUTION: This image output system is constituted of a plurality of pieces of electronic equipment including a plurality of image forming devices 1 and a first communicating means 71 connecting the pieces of electronic equipment to configure a network. This image output system is also provided with a second communicating means 72 for connecting the image forming devices, and when any output processing through the first communicating means 71 in an image forming device 1a to which a print job is applied cannot be performed, the print job is transferred from the image forming device 1a to which the print job is applied through the second communicating means 72 to another image forming device 1b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image output system and an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a scanner, an MFP (M
image output system in which multiple image forming devices such as an ulti function printer) are connected via a network,
In particular, the present invention relates to an image output system capable of arbitrating jobs between these image forming apparatuses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, with the improvement of computer performance and the reduction of price, networks, especially LAN (Local Area)
a Network), computers are used. When LAN spreads as described above, L
It is common practice to share peripherals on the AN. One of such shared peripheral devices is an image forming apparatus (copier, scanner, MFP, etc.), and a plurality of image forming apparatuses are often connected and used.

As described above, in a system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses, each job that is requested to output is usually designated as an apparatus that outputs the output when the output instruction is issued. However, in such a case, job output requests are concentrated on a specific image forming apparatus, and although one apparatus can output the job, another apparatus waits for the job output. Therefore, the use of the image forming apparatus becomes inefficient.

As a technique for solving such a problem,
It has been proposed to arbitrate (negotiate) jobs among a plurality of image forming apparatuses on a network to improve the utilization efficiency of the image forming apparatuses.

For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-3259 and 2001-66950, when a certain image forming apparatus is in printer operation (or copying operation), a copy request is made to the image forming apparatus. If there is (or a print request), a system is disclosed in which the image data related to this copy request (or print request) is transferred to another vacant image forming apparatus and output.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-331453 discloses a system in which one print job is divided, distributed to a plurality of devices, and output.

[0007]

In the conventional system described above, when performing job arbitration as described in each of the above publications, when the job arbitration is required, an image is transferred between the image forming apparatuses. It is necessary to transfer data. Such transfer of image data is performed via a LAN connecting these image forming apparatuses.

However, the LAN is used for communication of image data related to the print request from the personal computer to the printer, and further communication of various data in addition to the data for printing is performed. It is normal.

If data transfer related to the job arbitration function is further superimposed on such a LAN, the load on the network is increased and the performance of peripheral devices on the LAN is degraded. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is a system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected on a network without increasing the load on the network in the system. An object of the present invention is to provide an image output system and an image forming apparatus capable of arbitrating a job among these plural image forming apparatuses.

[0011]

The present invention provides an image output system in which a network is constructed, which comprises a plurality of electronic devices including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a first communication means for connecting the electronic devices to each other. The second communication means for connecting the image forming apparatuses of the above, and when the output processing cannot be performed via the first communication means in the image forming apparatus to which the print job is given, the image to which the print job is given An image output system having a function of transferring a print job from a forming apparatus to another image forming apparatus via a second communication unit.

Thus, the data can be transferred to and output from the plurality of image forming apparatuses via the second communication means. Therefore, it is possible to output the data to the image forming apparatus by using only the resource of the device to be output and without concentrating the load on the first communication unit.

Further, the present invention is the image output system, wherein the first communication means is a wired LAN, and the function of confirming the state of the device on the network by the communication path of the wired LAN.

Since the first communication means is constituted by the wired LAN, the state of the device on the network can be always confirmed by the communication path of the wired LAN. In addition, since the state of the device on the network is the wired LAN and the transfer of the print data is performed by the second communication unit or wirelessly, the burden concentration on one interface can be reduced.

The present invention is the image output system wherein the second communication means is wireless.

Since the second communication means is wireless, the communication means can be easily installed without installing a cable or the like. When the printer normally used cannot output and another printer outputs, it is desirable that another printer located at a position close to the normally used printer and capable of wireless communication is used.
By applying the present invention to a printer in a position where such wireless communication is possible, even if a printer that is normally used has a problem, the problem can be avoided.

Further, the present invention is the image output system, wherein the second communication means has a protocol for confirming the state of the device.

Thus, the state of the device can be confirmed using the second communication means. Therefore, the state of the device connected only by the second communication means can be confirmed.

Further, the present invention is an image output system in which a plurality of electronic devices including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a first communication means for connecting the electronic devices are connected to each other and a network is constructed. The image forming apparatus is classified into one or two or more groups, and each image forming apparatus in the group has a function of constantly monitoring the operating state of the image forming apparatus in the group, and outputs from the plurality of image forming apparatuses. And a function of selecting an image forming apparatus capable of performing a print request, a job for which a print request is generated is transferred to all the image forming apparatuses forming a specific group, and the image forming apparatus selected by the selection is performed. Is an image output system having a function of processing the job.

As a result, when data arbitration occurs, it is not necessary to transfer data between the image forming apparatuses.
Therefore, the network forming the LAN is not overloaded.

The present invention is an image output system having a function of controlling at least one image forming apparatus having a copy function so as to be in a standby state preferentially to other image forming apparatuses.

As a result, the copy job processed by the walk-up (the user brings his / her own job) causes inconvenience to the user if it is output by another device by arbitration. The same device that performed the scanning process can easily output the data, and the above problem can be avoided.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus constituting the above-mentioned image output system, wherein the function of constantly monitoring the operating state of the image forming apparatuses in the group and the output from the plurality of image forming apparatuses are provided. The image forming apparatus has a function of selecting a possible image forming apparatus, and further has a function of processing a job selected by the selection and having a print request.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described.
Embodiments of an image output system and an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the image output system according to the first embodiment. Figure 2
3 is an explanatory diagram of a scanner in the image output system according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the MFP in the image output system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the network I / F in the image output system of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of address information in the image output system of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 shows the first embodiment.
6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a processing procedure in the image output system of FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the processing procedure in the image output system of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a third example of a processing procedure in the image output system of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example of flags in the image output system of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a header in the image output system of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a job situation in the image output system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the job status in the image output system of the second embodiment.

The first embodiment will be described. In the image output system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatuses MFPa1a, MFPb2b, and printer c2c, and a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”).
PCd3d and PCe3e which are shown) are connected by the wired LAN 71 which is the first communication means to form a network. The wired LAN 71 of FIG. 1 has a bus type configuration. The MFP 1 is
A multi-function printer having a printer function and a copy function is shown. Further, as an example of the bus type LAN as described above, there are 10BASE2 / 10BASE5 (IEEE802.3 CSMA / CD) and the like. Also, because the MFP1s that replace each other are located close to each other, the 10BASE-T or 100BAS star-type LAN cable from the same hub (but not the switching hub) is used.
You may connect using E-TX.

Further, the MFPs a1a, MFPb2b, the scanner a4a, the scanner b4b, and the printer c2c.
Are connected to each other by a wireless communication device 72 as a second communication means. As an example of the wireless 72, IEEE 802.11
There is a wireless LAN etc. which is being standardized by The second communication means 72 can have a protocol for confirming the status of the device.

The connection between the PCd 3d and the monitor 5d, and the connection between the PCe 3e, the monitor e 5e and the scanner e
4e is connected to a commonly used input / output interface, for example, parallel, USB, RS-232C.
Are connected by.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the scanner 4 in this embodiment. The scanner 4 includes a CPU 40. The CPU 40 exchanges information with other functional units via the I / O bus 491 and the memory bus 492.

The I / O bus 491 has a lamp 45, a motor drive 461, and an operation panel 48.
, An I / O device 441, and an I / O device 442 are connected.

The lamp 45 turns on and off according to an instruction from the CPU 40, and transmits information regarding turning on and off to the CPU 40. A motor 462 is connected to the motor drive 461, and the motor drive 461 sends an instruction from the CPU 40 to the motor 4
Tell 62. In addition, the motor drive 461 is CP
Information regarding the rotation of the motor 462 is transmitted to the U40. The motor 462 follows the instructions given
Rotate and stop rotation. Operation panel 4
8 transmits the user's instruction to the CPU 40. The operation panel 48 also receives information from the CPU 40 and displays the information.

The I / O device 441 is the I / O bus 49.
Memory bus 492 and host I /
It is also connected to the F443 and exchanges information with them. The host I / F 443 is connected to the host I / F of the image forming apparatus (host I / F 154 in FIG. 3).

The I / O device 442 is the I / O bus 49.
Memory bus 492 and wireless I / F
444 is also connected and exchanges information with them. The wireless I / F 444 is connected to the wireless I / F of the image forming apparatus (wireless I / F 156 in FIG. 3). The wireless I / F 443 and the wireless I / F 15 of the image forming apparatus
The wireless LAN (second communication means) 72 is connected to the wireless LANs 6 and 6.

A program ROM is attached to the memory bus 492.
41, an image memory 42, an image processing ASIC 43,
The CCD 47, the I / O device 441, and the I / O device 442 are connected.

The program ROM 41 exchanges information with the CPU 40 about the information of the program written in advance. The CCD 47 reads a document to be scanned and converts the read content into an electric image signal. The image memory 42 stores the image data read by the CCD 47. The image processing ASIC 43 is a CCD 47
The image data read by is subjected to predetermined image processing.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the MFP (image forming apparatus) 1 in this embodiment. MFP1 is a CPU
The CPU 10 includes a bus 161 and a bus 16
2 and other functional units.

The bus 161 has a video data processing section 141, an I / O device 151, and an I / O device 1.
52 and the I / O device 153 are connected. V
The video data processing unit 141 further uses the engine I /
It is connected to the F142 and exchanges information. The I / O device 151 is connected to the host I / F 154, the bus 161, and the bus 162. The host I / F 154 is connected to the scanner host I / F (host I / F 443 in FIG. 2) and receives image information from the scanner 4.

The network I / F 155 is connected to the I / O device 152. In addition, network I /
The F155 is connected by a wired LAN (first communication means) 71 and exchanges information with the network.

The wireless I / F 156 is wirelessly connected to the wireless LAN 72 or the like, and transmits / receives information via the wireless. In addition, the wireless I / F 156 is the I / O device 15
It is connected with 3. The wireless I / F 156 is connected to a wireless (second communication unit) 72 such as a wireless LAN and sends / receives a print job.

The bus 162 includes a program ROM 11
The image memory 12 and the HDC 131 are connected to each other. The program ROM 11 exchanges information with the CPU 10 about the information of the program written in advance. The image memory 12 stores image data to be printed. The HDC 131 is connected to the external storage device 132 and is involved in writing relatively large data to the external storage device 132 or calling data from the external storage device 132.

FIG. 4 shows the network I / I described in FIG.
The details of F155 are shown. Network I / F 15
5 is a network communication unit 61 and a packet generation unit 62.
A packet analysis unit 63, a data transfer unit 64, and a reception address table 65.

The network communication unit 61 is connected to a wired LAN (first communication means) 71 for receiving data from the network and transmitting data to the network.

The packet analysis unit 63 receives the received information (packet) from the network communication unit 61 and analyzes the packet. During the analysis, data is exchanged with the reception address table 65. When the analysis is completed, the packet analysis unit 63 sends the data to the data transfer unit 64. The data transfer unit 64 is an MFP (image forming apparatus).
Data is sent to one I / O device (I / O device 152 in FIG. 3). When the MFP 1 sends data to the network, the data transfer unit 6 from the I / O device 152 in FIG.
The data is transferred to 4. Next, the data transfer unit 64
The data is sent to the packet generator 62. Packet generator 6
2 converts the data into a packet and sends it to the network communication unit 61. The network communication unit 61 sends the packet to the network.

FIG. 5 shows an example of address information of each device. As illustrated in FIG. 5, each of the MFP 1, the MFP 2, and the printer 1 has a wired address adrP1, a wired adrP2, and a wired adrP3, and a wireless address wireless adrP1 or wireless adr.
It has P2 and wireless adrP3. Further, each of the scanner 1, the scanner 2 to the scanner 3 has a wireless address, that is, wireless adrS1, wireless adrS2, wireless adrS3.
have.

Next, the procedure of processing in the image output system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Note that the following processing shows processing when attention is paid to a specific image forming apparatus in the system.

First, a specific image forming apparatus (hereinafter,
Control of the job is started by the startup of "own machine"). Since the image forming apparatus started up is in the idle state at first, the flag showing the state of the own apparatus is set to the flag showing the idle state (S1). The setting of this flag will be described later. At this time, the fact that the device itself is in the idle state is notified to the other device through the wired LAN or the wireless LAN (when the condition of the device itself changes, the notification is made to the other device). Similarly, each image forming apparatus also knows the states of other machines.

In S2, it is determined whether or not there is a request for copy scan. As a result of the determination, if there is a request for copy scan, the process proceeds to S3. S3 is a "copy / scan request" step. This "copy / scan request"
Details of the step will be described later. In the step of S3, the flag showing the state of the own machine is set to the flag showing the state under execution, and the copy / scan process is started in S4.

When the copy / scan processing is started, S
At 5, it is determined whether the job is about to end. It should be noted that the weight of the remaining job is used to determine whether or not it is about to end (details will be described later). If it is determined by this determination that it is near the end, the flag indicating the state of the own device is set to the flag indicating the state near the end (S6).

Next, in S7, it is determined whether or not there is a reservation for another job. If it is determined that there is no reservation as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to S8, and it is determined whether or not there is a copy scan request. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that there is a copy scan request), the process proceeds to S9. When the process proceeds to S9, the own device is set to the reserved state, and the flag indicating the state of the own device is set to the flag indicating the reserved state. Then, it progresses to S10. Further, even if "Yes" in S7 and "No" in S8, the process proceeds to S10.

In S10, it is determined whether or not the job is completed. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the job is completed, the process proceeds to S11. When the process proceeds to S11, it is determined whether or not there is a reservation. When it is determined that there is no reservation, the process proceeds to step S1 described above, and the idle state is set. If there is a reservation in S11, the process returns to S3 to execute the reserved job.

If the result of determination in step S2 is that there is no copy scan request, processing advances to step S12. In S12, it is determined whether or not there is a print job. If it is determined that there is a print job as a result of the determination, S1
Go to 3. If there is no print job, the process returns to S2.

In S13, the job processing conditions are checked to determine whether or not the output is possible in the own machine. The job processing condition checked here is, for example, a job specified to be output by another device, or a condition (number of pages, etc.) that should be preferentially output by another device. What are you doing?

When it is determined in S13 that the process can be performed by the own device, the process proceeds to S14. In S14, it is confirmed whether or not there is another operating machine, and if not, the print job is output by itself (S17, S18).

If there is another machine in operation, it is confirmed whether or not there is an idle machine or a machine that is in the process of being executed but is near the end and has no reservation. (S15, S16). If there is such an other machine, the machine itself outputs the print job, but if there is no other machine, the machine returns to S2 in a standby state so that it can cope with a new incoming copy job. The above S1
“Other machine” in 5 and 16 refers to an image forming apparatus having a print function.

Next, more specific processing when a copy / scan request is made will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In S31, it is determined whether or not the own device is in the idle state. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that it is in the idle state, the process proceeds to S32. In S32, a copy scan process is requested of the own device, and then the process proceeds to S33. S
Proceeding to 33, it is determined whether the request to the own machine has been accepted. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that it has been accepted, the copy / scan operation is executed by itself.

Next, in S31, when it is determined that the own machine is not in the idle state, the process proceeds to S34, and it is determined whether the own machine satisfies the condition that the job is about to end and there is no reservation. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the own device does not satisfy the above condition, the process proceeds to S35. If it is determined that the device satisfies the above conditions, the process proceeds to S32.

In S35, it is determined whether or not the job relating to the copy / scan request is a job that must be printed (printed) by itself. If the result of determination is that printing with another device is acceptable, then the flow proceeds to S36. For a job that must be printed by itself, the process returns to S34, and when the condition in S34 is satisfied, a processing request is issued to the own machine.

In S36, it is determined whether or not another idle machine exists. If it is determined that there is another device in the idle state, the process proceeds to S37. When the process proceeds to S37, another idle machine is requested to perform the process, and then S3 is performed.
Go to 8.

In S38, it is determined whether or not the request to the other machine in S37 has been accepted. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that it is accepted, the process proceeds to S39. In addition, S
If the result of the determination in 39 is that it is not accepted (indicated as "N" in the figure), the process proceeds to S41.

In step S39, a message indicating that the process is to be processed by another device is displayed on the device itself, the job is transferred to the device, and the printing process is performed on the device.

If there is no other device in the idle state in S36, the process proceeds to S40. In step S40, it is determined whether or not there is another machine that is near the end of the job and has no reservation. As a result of the determination, if there is another device satisfying the above conditions, the process proceeds to S37, and if not, the process proceeds to S41.

In S41, it is determined whether or not there is a print cancel instruction. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that there is the cancel instruction, the copy scan process is not performed and the process ends. If it is determined that there is no cancel instruction, the process proceeds to S31.

Next, the control for always checking the status of the devices on the network will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in S51, the operating status of another device is inquired, and the process proceeds to S52. In S52, S51
As a result of the inquiry, the process proceeds to S53 if a notification of new information is received. In S53, the operation flags of other devices are updated based on the new information, and the process proceeds to S55.
In addition, the reception from another device may be an inquiry about the operating status of the device itself. In this case, the operating status of the own device is notified to the other devices, and the process proceeds to S55.

In S55, it is determined whether or not the own device is operating. If the result of the determination is that it is in operation, S
Proceed to 56. In S56, it is determined whether or not the operation flag of the own machine is a notation indicating that it is in operation. If the result of determination is that it is not in operation, processing advances to S57. In S57, the operation flag of the own device is updated, and the process proceeds to S58. In S58,
The other device is notified that the operation flag of its own device has been updated to the operating state, and then the process proceeds to S52.

If it is determined in S55 that the device is not in operation (for example, the device is stopped due to an error or the like), the process proceeds to S59. In S59, it is determined whether or not the operation flag of the own device is a notation indicating that it is in operation. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the operation flag is the operation notation, the process proceeds to S60.

In S60, the operation flag of the own machine is updated to the notation that it is not in operation, and the process proceeds to S61. In S61,
The other device is notified that the operation flag of its own device has been updated to the notation that it is not in operation, and then the process proceeds to S52.

The flags indicating the status of each image forming apparatus in the above description will be described. FIG. 9 shows a flag indicating the processing state of each image forming apparatus. The status of each device is represented by a combination of an operation flag and a processing flag.

The operation flag is a flag indicating whether or not each image forming apparatus is in operation. When the image forming apparatus is in operation, the operation flag is 1. When the device is not in operation, the operation flag is 0.

The value of the processing flag is determined by calculating the "remaining job weight" in the following formula. That is,
If the weight of the remaining jobs is 0, the processing flag is 0. If the weight of the remaining jobs is not 0, the processing flag is 1.

Weight of remaining job = (remaining number of prints)
× (paper size) × (number of colors) × (single-sided or double-sided)

In the above formula, the value for the paper size is 1 when the printing paper is the postcard size, and A
2 for 5 size, 3 for B5 size, A4
Use 4 for size, 5 for B4 size, and 6 for A3 size. As the value of the number of colors, 4 is used when printing is full-color printing, and 1 is used when printing is single-color. The value of 1-sided or 2-sided is 2 for double-sided printing.
Is used for single-sided printing.

When the flags of the respective image forming apparatuses in FIG. 9 are arranged in the order of the operation flag and the processing flag, when 11 is being processed, when 10 is being processed, it is 0 at the end of processing.
When it is 0, it indicates that it is in the idle state.

As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, for example, when the user of the PCd instructs the printing, even when the image forming apparatus which receives the printing instruction cannot immediately output the job corresponding to the printing instruction. The print data can be transferred to another preset image forming apparatus via the wireless LAN.

As a result, even when data transfer occurs between the image forming apparatuses related to the arbitration function, this data transfer does not give a load to the wired LAN, so that the network is connected to the network. It is possible to prevent performance degradation of peripheral devices.

The second embodiment will be described. The system configuration according to the second embodiment is similar to that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, among the devices (PC, MFP, scanner, etc.) connected by LAN, at least the image forming apparatuses are connected by the second communication means such as wireless communication, and the job arbitration is performed. By performing the data transfer between the image forming apparatuses by the second communication means, the load on the wired network of the LAN is reduced.

On the other hand, in the system according to the second embodiment, when the job is generated, the transfer destination is not limited to one image forming apparatus but a plurality of image forming apparatuses included in the same LAN. An image forming apparatus that can transfer the job and output the job at the earliest time is used for output processing. As a result, even when arbitration is required between these devices, data transfer related to arbitration does not occur, and the load on the network can be avoided.

For example, the print settings from PCd can be set in the MFP
The setting is such that print data is transferred to both a and MFPb. With this setting, the print data from PCd is transferred to both MFPa and MFPb. As a result, even if the MFPa is being used as a copying machine, if the MFPb is usable, the user can use the MFPb to output data and obtain a printed matter at this time. However, in this way the printed matter
In the case of obtaining in b, since the MFPb already has the data related to the job, the data transfer from the MFPa to the MFPb does not occur. When the job is completed in MFPb, the result is notified to MFPa, and the same print job data existing in MFPa is deleted.

In the above example, of course, it is also possible to transfer the print job to the three MFPs a, b, and c by setting. In this way, when the print job is set to be sent to three printers, when printing is completed by one of the three printers, no printing is performed.
The same print job as the completed print job remains on the table. As a matter of course, the jobs remaining in the two printers that are not printing are erased after the printing in the other one is completed.

A header as shown in FIG. 10 is provided for a print job in order to monitor the processing status of each print job regardless of whether the output device is designated to output. That is, bits 1-0
Indicates the number of colors, bit 4-2 indicates the paper size, bit 14-5 indicates the number of prints (copies), and bit 15 indicates one side or both sides. The header defines the weight of the job. Further, the print job status is monitored using a mathematical expression regarding the weight of the job and a value calculated by the mathematical expression. For the above formula,
This is as described in the first embodiment. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a flag indicating the processing state of each image forming apparatus is set to
It is provided in each image forming apparatus.

Next, PCd, PCe, MFPa and M
A case where many print commands are issued from FPb will be described. Due to many print commands, print jobs a to n
Is generated. The generated print job is MF
It is supposed to be transferred to Pa, MFPb and printer c.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the status of a print job transferred to each image forming apparatus. For example, for the MFPa of FIG. 11A, job a, job b, and
Jobs c, d, and e are stored.
These jobs are similarly stored in the MFPb and the printer c.

In principle, each image forming apparatus processes jobs from the top. However, if another image forming apparatus is processing, it is examined whether to process the job described below without processing the job. If another image forming apparatus is not processing, the unprocessed job is processed.
Furthermore, the print jobs are processed in the order in which they were first transferred. In the figure, the job described below is a job transferred after the job described above.

In FIG. 11A, the MFP a prints a print job a.
Indicates that the MFPb is processing the print job b and the printer c is processing the print job c. In addition, the MFP
The print job b, which is being processed by b, is about to be completed.

In the case of FIG. 11A, the remaining print number of job a is 2, the remaining print number of job b is 0, and the job c is
It is assumed that the remaining number of prints of is 7. Based on this assumption
The weight of the remaining jobs is calculated as follows. Job a: 2 × 4 × 4 × 1 = 32 Job b: 0 × 1 × 1 × 1 = 0 Job c: 7 × 4 × 4 × 2 = 224

From the above calculation results, the flags of the image forming apparatuses shown in FIG. 5 are 11 for MFPa, 10 for MFPb, and 11 for printer c. That is, it can be seen that the MFPb is near the end and is most suitable for processing the next job. However, as a determination when the processing flag does not become 0, it is possible to optimize the processing by comparing the values of the respective jobs at that time and allowing the smallest one to perform the processing.

FIG. 11B shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which is after FIG. 11A. Since the print job b is completed in the MFPb, the job b transferred to the MFPa, the MFPb, and the printer c is deleted.

FIG. 11C shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which is after FIG. 11B. Jobs a, c, d, e and f have been transferred to the MFPb. The MFP a is processing the print job a and the printer c is processing the print job c. The MFPb considers which job of the jobs in FIG. 11C is to be processed in order from the top. However, in the case of a job being processed by another image forming apparatus, the job below it is examined without processing the job. That is, in the case of FIG. 11C, since jobs a and c are being processed by another device, job d that is not processed by another device is M
FPb processes. Further, FIG. 11C shows that the job a processed by the MFPa is about to end. Further, FIG. 11C shows that the new print job f is transferred to the MFPa, the MFPb, and the printer c. The new job is usually labeled below. That is, the processing order is later.

FIG. 11D shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which is after FIG. 11C. Since the MFPa has completed the job a, the job e is newly started. Job a transferred to MFPa, MFPb, and printer c has been deleted. Also,
The job d being processed by the MFPb is about to end.
Further, a new print job g has been transferred to MFPa, MFPb, and printer c.

Next, another example of the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus will be shown. In this example, it is assumed that the printer c is set to output only jobs with a large number of output sheets (for example, 10 sheets or more). Further, instead of the number of output sheets, the weight of the job may be set to determine whether to output.

In FIG. 12A, MFPa, MF
In each of Pb and printer c, job c,
j, k, l are stored. Then, the MFPa processes the job k, the MFPb processes the job j, and the printer c processes the job c. Further, the job c is about to end.

FIG. 12B shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which corresponds to FIG. 12A. At this time, the printer a has finished processing the job c, but at this time, there are no more than 10 sheets of jobs to be output by the printer c among the remaining jobs, so that the printer c is newly added. It enters the standby state without starting the processing of various jobs.

FIG. 12C shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which is after FIG. 12B. MFPb finishes processing print job j,
Job j transferred to Pa, MFPb, and printer c
Has been erased. The MFPb considers the next job to be processed from the top. Job k is being processed. The job 1 below it is not processed and can be processed by the MFPb. Therefore, MFPb processes job 1.

FIG. 12D shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which is after FIG. 12C. When the MFPa finishes processing the print job k,
Job k transferred to Pa, MFPb, and printer c
Has been erased. The MFPa considers the next job to be processed from the top. Job 1 is being processed. The job m below it is not processed and can be processed by the MFPa. Therefore, the MFPa processes the job m.
Furthermore, MFPa, MFPb, and printer c
A new print job n has been transferred to.

FIG. 12E shows the status of the print job transferred to each image forming apparatus, which is after FIG. 12D. Since the number of output sheets of the job n is 25 and the job is output by the printer c, the printer c starts the processing of the print job n.

In this way, the image output system of this embodiment can increase the load on the network without increasing the load on the network.
It is possible to arbitrate jobs among a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

[0096]

According to the present invention, in a system in which a plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to a network, job arbitration among the plurality of image forming apparatuses can be performed without increasing the load on the network in the system. It is possible to obtain an image output system and an image forming apparatus that enable the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an image output system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a scanner in the image output system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an MF in the image output system according to the first embodiment.
Explanatory drawing of P.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a network I / F in the image output system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of address information in the image output system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a processing procedure in the image output system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of another example of a processing procedure in the image output system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a third example of a processing procedure in the image output system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a flag in the image output system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a header in the image output system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a job status in the image output system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of another example of a job status in the image output system according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1a, 1b MFP 10 CPU 11 Program ROM 12 image memory 131 HDC 132 HDD 141 Video data processing unit 151, 152, 153 I / O devices 154 Host I / F 155 Network I / F 156 Wireless I / F 161 I / O bus 162 memory bus 2c printer 3d, 3e PC 4, 4a, 4b, 4e Scanner 40 CPU 41 Program ROM 42 image memory 43 Image processing ASIC 441, 442 I / O device 443 Host I / F 444 Wireless I / F 45 lamps 461 motor drive 462 motor 47 CCD 48 Operation panel 491 I / O bus 492 memory bus 5d, 5e monitor 61 Network Communication Department 62 packet generator 63 Packet analysis unit 64 data transfer unit 65 Received address table 71 LAN 72 radio

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP04 HH03 HJ06 HJ08                       HK11 HN05 HN15 HQ02                 2H027 DA31 EE07 EJ13 EJ15 FC02                       ZA07 ZA09                 5B021 AA01 BB02 BB10 EE02                 5C062 AA05 AA14 AA35 AA37 AB38                       AC04 AC42 AC43 BC04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image output system comprising a plurality of electronic devices including a plurality of image forming apparatuses and a first communication means for connecting the electronic apparatuses to each other, wherein the plurality of image forming apparatuses are connected to each other. When the image forming apparatus provided with the print job cannot perform output processing via the first communication unit, another image is provided from the image forming apparatus provided with the print job. An image output system having a function of transferring a print job to a forming apparatus via a second communication unit. 2. The first communication means is a wired LAN,
Then, the status of the devices on the network is checked by the wired LAN.
The image output system according to claim 1, which has a function of confirming the communication path. 3. The second communication means is wireless.
Or the image output system according to 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second communication means has a protocol for confirming the state of the device.
The image output system according to the item. 5. An image output system comprising a plurality of electronic devices including a plurality of image forming devices and a first communication unit connecting the electronic devices to each other, wherein the plurality of image forming devices are connected to each other. The image forming apparatus is classified into one or more groups, and each image forming apparatus in the group has a function of constantly monitoring the operating state of the image forming apparatus in the group and an image that can be output from the plurality of image forming apparatuses. A job for which a print request has been issued is transferred to all the image forming apparatuses forming a specific group, and the image forming apparatus selected by selection selects the job. An image output system having a processing function. 6. The image according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus has a function of controlling at least one image forming apparatus having a copy function so as to be in a standby state with priority over other image forming apparatuses. Output system. 7. The image forming apparatus constituting the image output system according to claim 5, wherein the function of constantly monitoring the operating state of the image forming apparatuses in the group and output from a plurality of image forming apparatuses are possible. Image forming apparatus having a function of selecting a different image forming apparatus, and further having a function of processing a job selected by the selection and having a print request.