JP2004058631A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of transmitting a notice of a time just before completion at an optimum time without giving a trouble to a user. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming apparatus calculates a scheduled print job end time (step S15) and detects a position of a mobile terminal carried by a user as a client terminal to which a print job is transmitted (step S17). The image forming apparatus calculates a predicted moving time period required by a user for moving from the detected position of the mobile terminal to the image forming apparatus (step S18) and calculates, as an end notice time, a time by subtracting the moving time period from the scheduled print job end time (step S19). When it becomes the end notice time ("Y" in step S22), the notice of the time just before completion is sent to the mobile terminal (step S25). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A system in which a plurality of client terminals and an image forming apparatus such as a printer are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and a plurality of users share the image forming apparatus has become widespread.
Upon receiving a print job from a client terminal, the image forming apparatus that constitutes such a system performs printing (printing) based on the print job. There is something to notify the user. The user can obtain his / her own printed material without waiting if he / she goes to get the printed material so as to arrive at the image forming apparatus one minute after receiving the notification.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described image forming apparatus, the notification immediately before the termination is fixed to one minute before, so if, for example, the user is away from the image forming apparatus by more than one minute, the notification is received. If you try to get the printed material after that, the printing is already completed, and if another user prints during that time, you and other people's printed materials will be mixed on the output tray, There is a problem that a work for distinguishing is required, and the work is increased.
[0004]
Conversely, if the user is in the vicinity of the image forming apparatus, even if the user receives the notification and goes to get the printed matter, the printing has not been completed yet, and the user has to wait.
In order to avoid such a problem, it is sufficient that the user can arbitrarily specify the notification time immediately before the termination. However, in such a case, the user can determine how long it takes to move to the image forming apparatus. It is necessary to judge for yourself, and on the contrary, the trouble increases. Further, in practice, it is difficult for the user to make such a determination, and there is a high possibility that an appropriate time will be designated, and as a result, the above problem cannot be solved.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of notifying a user immediately before the end at an optimal time without any trouble for a user. I do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that is connected to a client terminal via a network and executes a print job received from the client terminal. Detecting means for detecting the position of the corresponding portable terminal; first calculating means for determining the scheduled end time of the print job; and the print job based on the position of the portable terminal and the scheduled end time of the print job. Computing means for determining a time when the end of the print job should be notified, and a notifying means for transmitting a notification to the effect that the print job is completed to the portable terminal at the time determined by the second calculating means. Features.
[0007]
Further, the second calculating means is configured to calculate an expected travel time required for the user carrying the mobile terminal to move to the image forming apparatus based on the position of the mobile terminal. And determining the time to be notified based on the estimated movement time and the scheduled end time of the print job.
Further, the second arithmetic means determines a time earlier than a time obtained by subtracting the expected movement time from a scheduled end time of the print job as the time to be notified.
[0008]
Further, destination information for notifying the portable terminal of the end of the print job is added to the print job, and the notifying unit informs the portable terminal of the end of the print job based on the destination information. Is transmitted.
Further, the detecting means detects the position of the mobile terminal at a predetermined time interval, and the second calculating means detects the position of the newly detected mobile terminal every time the position of the mobile terminal is detected. A timing to notify the end of the print job is obtained based on the position and the scheduled end time of the print job, and the timing is updated.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First Embodiment)
(1-1. Overall Configuration)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system (hereinafter, simply referred to as “system”) including an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 1, in this system, an image forming apparatus 2, client terminals 3, 4,... Are connected via a network, here a LAN (Local Area Network) 1, and the image forming apparatus 2 and a portable terminal are connected. The terminals 6, 7,... Are connected by wireless communication.
Each of the client terminals 3, 4,... Comprises a PC (Personal Computer), and each of the mobile terminals 6, 7,... Has a GPS (Global Positioning System) function and a mobile phone function. An information terminal (PDA). Here, it is assumed that the user A uses the client terminal 3 and owns the mobile terminal 6, and the user B uses the client terminal 4 and owns the mobile terminal 7.
[0011]
Application software for creating documents and graphics is installed in the client terminal 3. When the client terminal 3 receives a print instruction from the user A, the client terminal 3 prints documents and images created by the application software on paper. It is possible to request the image forming apparatus 2 to perform (print) processing. Specifically, the data to be printed (print data) includes a print request, a paper size, the number of prints, and a mobile terminal used to identify a mobile terminal carried by the user of the client terminal 3 (that is, the mobile terminal 6). Data to which additional information such as an ID (here, a telephone number and / or a mail address) is added is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 2 as print job data. Here, the mobile terminal ID is registered by the user A in advance and stored in the client terminal 3. It should be noted that the printer driver may be configured so that the setting can be input when a print instruction is issued. The client terminal 3 reads the registered mobile terminal ID, and includes the read mobile terminal ID in the accompanying information. This configuration is the same for the other client terminals 4 and the like.
[0012]
The image forming apparatus 2 is a multi-function digital copier (Multiple Function Peripheral), a scan job for reading an image of a set document to obtain image data, and performing image formation (printing) based on the data. It executes a job and a print job for forming an image based on print data received from the client terminal 3 or the like. The mobile phone also has a function of communicating with another telephone, and can perform wireless communication with the mobile terminal 6 and the like via a telephone network.
[0013]
Hereinafter, performing image formation based on print data is referred to as “executing a print job”, and receiving print job data (accepting a print job execution request) is referred to as “receiving a print job”. (Request for execution of a print job) may be referred to as “send a print job”.
[0014]
In the present embodiment, each user of the client terminals 3, 4,... Always carries their own mobile terminals 6, 7,..., And the image forming apparatus 2 receives a print job from the client terminal 3, for example. Then, the print job is executed, the scheduled end time of the print job is calculated, the position of the portable terminal 6 is detected, and it is necessary for the user A to move from the current position to the image forming apparatus 2. Then, the expected travel time is calculated. Then, at the time when the movement time is subtracted from the scheduled end time, a notification that the print job is about to end is transmitted to the portable terminal 6 (that is, the user A).
[0015]
Thus, the user A does not need to perform any input operation such as designation of a notification time. If the user A receives the notification and goes to the image forming apparatus 2 to obtain a print, it is almost the same as when the print job has just finished. It is possible to arrive in front of the image forming apparatus 2 at an appropriate time, so that there is no need to wait in front of the image forming apparatus 2, and there is an effect that a print of one's own is hardly mixed with a print of another person.
[0016]
Hereinafter, the configuration of each device and its processing content will be described in detail. However, since each client terminal is basically the same configuration (different users), only the client terminal 3 will be described here, and the client terminal 4 and the like will be described. , The description thereof will be omitted. Similarly, since each mobile terminal has basically the same configuration, only the mobile terminal 6 will be described, and the description of the mobile terminal 7 and the like will be omitted.
[0017]
(1-2. Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 2)
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus 2.
The image forming apparatus 2 is roughly divided into an image reader (IR) unit 22 for reading a document image and data read by the IR unit 22 or print data sent from the client terminal 5 or the like via the LAN 1. And a printer unit 23 that forms an image based on the image.
[0018]
The IR unit 22 includes a scanner 222 that irradiates and scans a document set on the platen glass 221, a CCD sensor 223 that receives reflected light from the document, and photoelectrically converts the reflected light. The signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD sensor 223 is sent to the control unit 100 as document image data.
The printer unit 23 is a device that forms an image by a known electrophotographic method, and includes a print head 231, a photosensitive drum 232, a developing unit 233, a transfer drum 234, a fixing unit 235, a paper feeding unit 236, and the like.
[0019]
The print head 231 emits a laser beam based on a drive signal from the control unit 100 and exposes the photosensitive drum 232. By this exposure, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 232. The electrostatic latent image is sequentially developed for each color by cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) developing units arranged in a developing unit 233 to form a toner image. Is done. On the other hand, a sheet is fed from the sheet feeding unit 236 toward the transfer drum 234, and the sheet is wound around the transfer drum 234. The toner images of each color formed on the photosensitive drum 232 are sequentially transferred so as to be superimposed on the paper wound around the transfer drum 234, and when the transfer is completed, the paper is peeled off from the transfer drum 234. Then, it is sent to the fixing unit 235. The toner image on the paper is fixed on the paper by a heater (not shown) of the fixing unit 235, and the paper passing through the fixing unit 235 is discharged to a discharge tray 237. The operation control of the IR unit 22 and the printer unit 23 is performed by the control unit 100.
[0020]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the control unit 100.
As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 100 is a device controlled by a multi-CPU (Central Processing Unit), and includes four control modules 200 to 500 corresponding to individual CPUs. Here, a module indicates a functional block that executes its control function, including a CPU or a control circuit including the CPU.
[0021]
The control module 200 includes a CPU 201, a flash (flash) ROM 202, an S-RAM 203, an NV-RAM 204 constituting a work area, an image developing unit 205, a wireless communication unit 206, serial I / Fs 207 and 208, and a NIC (Network Interface Card) 209. , A fixed storage device 210 and an operation panel 211.
[0022]
The CPU 201 transmits and receives control commands and the like to and from the control modules 300 to 500, and performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 2. Further, a timer C (not shown) is built in, and the current time can be known.
The FlashROM 202 is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory, and stores firmware for the operation of the CPU 201.
[0023]
The NV-RAM 204 is a memory that stores various setting values. Further, it stores position information indicating the installation location of the image forming apparatus 2 (specifically, information indicating latitude, longitude, altitude, etc.). The position information is input from the operation panel 211 by the administrator of the image forming apparatus 2 and stored in the NV-RAM 204, and is read and used in an end notification process described later. Also, a job management table 2041 (see FIG. 7) is stored.
[0024]
The serial I / F 207 is an interface for transmitting and receiving a control command and the like to and from the control module 300, and the serial I / F 208 is for the serial I / F 208.
The NIC 209 is an interface for connecting to the LAN 1 such as a LAN card and a LAN board.
[0025]
The fixed storage device 210 is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk, and stores print data received from the client terminal 3 or the like. The stored print data is sent to the image developing unit 205 by the CPU 201 when it is time to form an image. Information such as the paper size and the number of prints of the supplementary information is sent to the control module 300.
[0026]
The image development unit 205 develops print data described in page description language (PDL) into bitmap data (image data), and transmits the data to the control module 500.
The operation panel 211 includes a key for receiving a selection input of a copy job or the like, a numeric keypad, a print key, a display unit for displaying input contents, and the like, and is arranged at a position where the user can easily operate. .
[0027]
The wireless communication unit 206 is a mobile phone interface for performing wireless communication with the mobile terminal 6 or the like as a mobile phone via a telephone network. The wireless communication unit 206 communicates with the mobile terminal 6 or the like carried by each user and Acquire position information (information indicating latitude, longitude and altitude by GPS).
The control module 300 includes a CPU 301, a FlashROM 302, an S-RAM 303 forming a work area, an NV-RAM 304 storing various set values, a print load control unit 305, and serial I / Fs 306 and 307.
[0028]
The serial I / F 307 is an interface for transmitting and receiving control commands and the like to and from the control module 200, and the serial I / F 306 is for the serial I / F 306.
The print load control unit 305 is a drive control circuit that performs drive control of members related to the image forming operation, such as the print head 231 and the photosensitive drum 232, and receives an operation instruction from the CPU 301 and is sent from the control module 500. The image data having undergone the image quality correction is received, and members such as the print head 231 are driven based on the image data to execute image formation.
[0029]
The CPU 301 instructs the print load control unit 305 to operate members such as the photosensitive drum 232 related to the image forming operation based on the information such as the number of prints transmitted from the control module 200, and performs the entire image forming. Perform control.
The FlashROM 302 is a non-volatile memory similar to the above-described FlashROM 202, and stores firmware for the operation of the CPU 301.
[0030]
The control module 400 includes a CPU 401, a FlashROM 402, an S-RAM 403 that forms a work area, an NV-RAM 404 that stores various setting values, a serial I / F 405, and an IR load control unit 406.
The serial I / F 405 is an interface for transmitting and receiving control commands and the like to and from the control module 200.
[0031]
The IR load control unit 406 controls driving of members related to the document reading operation, such as the scanner 222 of the IR unit 22. Further, the CCD sensor 223 of the IR unit 22 is driven to perform various types of image processing such as well-known binarization processing such as shading correction, MTF correction, density correction, and error diffusion on the photoelectrically converted original image data. And outputs the image data to the control module 500.
[0032]
The CPU 401 instructs the IR load control unit 406 to perform a scanning operation or the like of the scanner 222, and controls the entire reading process of the document image.
The flash ROM 402 is a non-volatile memory similar to the flash ROM 202, and stores firmware for the operation of the CPU 401.
The control module 500 includes a CPU 501, a FlashROM 502, an S-RAM 503 forming a work area, an NV-RAM 504 storing various setting values, an image quality correction control unit 505, and a serial I / F 506.
[0033]
The image quality correction control unit 505 performs image quality correction processing such as smoothing and halftone reproduction on image data sent from the control modules 200 and 400, and outputs the data to the control module 300.
The CPU 501 instructs the image quality correction control unit 505 to perform image quality correction processing and the like, and performs overall control of image correction and output processing of corrected image data.
[0034]
The flash ROM 502 is a non-volatile memory similar to the flash ROM 202, and stores firmware for the operation of the CPU 501.
The serial I / F 506 is an interface for transmitting and receiving control commands and the like to and from the control module 300.
(1-3. Configuration of Mobile Terminal 6)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobile terminal 6.
[0035]
As shown in the figure, the mobile terminal 6 includes a communication unit 61, an operation panel 62, a control unit 63, a storage unit 64, and a GPS circuit 65.
The communication unit 61 is a mobile phone interface, and performs wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 2 and the like via a telephone network.
The operation panel 62 includes various keys for inputting a telephone number and the like and a display unit for displaying an input screen and the like. The user can set, input, and register his / her own mail address and the like from the operation panel 62. it can.
[0036]
The GPS circuit 65 includes an antenna for receiving a signal from a GPS satellite, detects the current position (latitude, longitude, altitude) based on the received signal periodically, for example, every 5 seconds, and every time the detection is performed. Then, information indicating the current position (position information) is overwritten and stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 64.
The storage unit 64 is configured by a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, for example, and stores a telephone number, a mail address, and the like of the mobile terminal 6. Also, the position information detected by the GPS circuit 65 is stored.
[0037]
The control unit 63 is mainly configured by a CPU, controls the entire operation of the mobile terminal 6 in a unified manner, and smoothly executes communication with the image forming apparatus 2 and the like. When a mail address or the like is input from the operation panel 62, the information is written (registered) in a predetermined area of the storage unit 64. Further, when a position information transmission request is received from image forming apparatus 2, position information stored in storage unit 64 is read out and transmitted to image forming apparatus 2.
[0038]
(1-4) Contents of print job transmission processing executed in client terminal 3
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the contents of the print job transmission process.
As shown in the figure, upon receiving a print instruction from the user A (for example, when a print execution button in the application software is pressed), the client terminal 3 generates print job data in which additional information is added to the print data. (Step S1). Then, the generated print job data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 2 via the LAN 1 (step S2), and the process is terminated.
[0039]
(1-5) Content of end notification processing executed in control unit 100 of image forming apparatus 2
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of the end notification processing. This end notification processing is executed when a print job is received from the client terminal 3 or the like. Here, in order to make the description easy to understand, a case where one print job is received from the client terminal 3 used by the user A will be described as an example.
[0040]
As shown in the figure, when the control unit 100 receives a print job transmitted from the client terminal 3, the control unit 100 temporarily stores the print job in a spool, here, in the fixed storage device 210 (step S11). Then, the print job is registered in the job management table (step S12).
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the job management table 2041.
[0041]
As shown in the figure, the job management table 2041 includes fields for a number (job number), an address, a mobile phone ID, a job start time, a scheduled job end time, and an end notification time. Each time the print job is received, the print job is sequentially added below the record at the current bottom. Therefore, the “job number” indicates the order of receiving (accepting) the jobs. Here, an example is shown in which only one print job transmitted from the client terminal 3 is registered as the job of job number 1.
[0042]
In the “address” column, a storage address indicating the storage location of the print job data in the fixed storage device 210 is written.
In the “mobile ID” column, “mobile terminal ID” included in the incidental information of the received print job is written. By referring to the mobile ID, the mobile terminal of the user using the client terminal that has transmitted the print job can be specified.
[0043]
In the “job start time” column, the time at which the execution of the print job was started is written in step S14 described later, and in the “scheduled job end time” column, the scheduled end time of the print job is written in step S16 described later. It is.
In the “end notification time” column, a scheduled time (end notification time) at which the user of the client terminal that transmitted the print job should be notified that the print job has ended is written in step S20 described below.
[0044]
The job management table 2041 is used to manage the execution order of jobs. The control unit 100 refers to the storage addresses in the “address column” of the print job data corresponding to the job numbers in ascending order of the job numbers. The print job is read out from the fixed storage device 210 and the print job is started. When the print job is completed, the print job is deleted from the job management table 2041. Therefore, print jobs that are being executed and have not been processed remain in the job management table 2041. Here, since only the print job of job number 1 exists as a job to be executed, the control unit 100 starts the print job when the registration processing to the job management table 2041 ends.
[0045]
Returning to FIG. 6, in step S13, it is determined whether the print job of job number 1 has been started. When the start of the print job is determined (“Y” in step S13), the current time is written (registered) as the job start time Ts in the “job start time” column of the record of the job number “1” in the job management table 2041. (Step S14). In the example of FIG. 7, it is 10:00. The current time can be determined by measuring the time by the timer C.
[0046]
Then, a scheduled job end time Te as a scheduled job end time is calculated (step S15). Here, a value Tr (Tr = P / Q: Tr is required to execute the print job) obtained by dividing the number of prints P in the print job by the number of printable sheets Q per minute on a sheet of a designated size. An expected time (time expected from the start to the end of the print job) is added to the job start time Ts to calculate the expected job end time Te (that is, Te = Ts + Tr). ). The value of Q is obtained in advance by experiment or the like for each paper size used for printing and stored in the NV-RAM 204. However, the image forming operation in the printer unit 23 (that is, the Not only the time required for discharging) but also the time required to develop the print data read from the fixed storage device 210 in the image development unit 205, the time required to transfer it to the control module 500, It is desirable that the value be determined in consideration of the time required for the image quality correction processing to be performed.
[0047]
In step S16, the calculated expected job end time Te is written (registered) in the “expected job end time” column of the record of the job number “1” in the job management table 2041. In the example of FIG. 7, it is 10:10.
Then, the control unit 100 detects the position of the portable terminal 6 carried by the user of the client terminal 3 as the portable terminal corresponding to the client terminal that has transmitted the print job (step S17).
[0048]
As means for detecting the position of the portable terminal (position detecting means), here, the "mobile ID" column of the record of job number 1 in the job management table 2041 is referred to, and the portable terminal 6 registered in that column is referred to. The user dials the telephone number, requests the portable terminal 6 to transmit position information as information indicating the current position by data communication or the like, and acquires (receives) the position information from the portable terminal 6. Then, the position of the portable terminal 6 (user A) is detected based on the position of the portable terminal 6 and the position of the self (image forming apparatus 2) read from the NV-RAM 204. Specifically, this is performed by calculating the difference between the two positions for latitude, longitude, and the like. By this position detection, it is possible to know how far the mobile terminal 6 is from the image forming apparatus 2 (separation distance), in which direction, and the like.
[0049]
Subsequently, a movement time Tm estimated to be required for the user A to move to the image forming apparatus 2 is calculated (step S18). Here, the distance is calculated by dividing the distance L between the portable terminal 6 (user A) and the image forming apparatus 2 by the moving speed V of the user A (that is, Tm = L / V). Here, the separation distance L is a value detected by the position detection. The moving speed V indicates a speed (walking speed) when a general user moves in the office. An average speed is measured by an experiment or the like, and information indicating the value is used as a fixed value. It is stored in the NV-RAM 204 in advance. When calculating the moving time Tm, the control unit 100 reads information indicating the moving speed from the NV-RAM 204 to obtain the value of the moving speed V.
[0050]
Next, an end notification time Tn as a time for notifying immediately before the end is calculated (step S19). Here, the end notification time Tn is obtained by subtracting the movement time Tm from the expected end time Te (that is, Tn = Te−Tm). Then, the end notification time Tn is written (registered) in the “end notification time” column of the record of the job number “1” in the job management table 2041 (step S20), and the process proceeds to step S21. For example, when the travel time Tm is 4 minutes, in the example of FIG. 7, the scheduled end time Te is 10:10, and thus the end notification time Tn is 10: 6.
[0051]
In step S21, time measurement by the timer K is started. This timer K is built in the CPU 201.
In step S22, it is determined whether it is time to issue a notification immediately before the end, that is, whether or not the end notification time Tn obtained in step S19 has been reached. This determination can be made by measuring the time by the timer C.
[0052]
Here, if it is determined that it has not reached yet ("N" in step S22), the process proceeds to step S23.
In step S23, it is determined whether or not the count value Kt of the timer K is equal to or greater than a predetermined value Ks (here, 10 seconds). When it is determined that Kt ≧ Ks is not satisfied, that is, Kt <Ks (“N” in step S23), the process returns to step S22. If the end notification time Tn has not been reached (“N” in step S22), the process proceeds to step S23. .
[0053]
On the other hand, if it is determined that Kt ≧ Ks (“Y” in step S23), the timer K is reset (step S24), and the process returns to step S17, from the position detection processing to the registration of the end notification time Tn in step S20. Is executed again (the end notification time is updated because it is the second time). The reason that the end notification time is updated in this way is that the user does not always stay at one place until the print job ends. Thereby, even if the user A moves to another place, the end notification time Tn is updated according to the position every predetermined value Ks (10 seconds), and the position of the user A at that time is updated. Can be detected. Note that the predetermined value Ks is stored in advance in the NV-RAM 204 as a fixed value.
[0054]
When the registration of the end notification time Tn in Step S20 is completed, the process proceeds to Step S21, and the timer K is started again. If the end notification time Tn is not reached ("N" in Step S22), the process proceeds to Step S23. .
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing how the position detection is repeatedly executed until the end notification time Tn. The figure shows that position detection is being performed at the times indicated by arrows K1, K2, K3,. When the user A stays at one place, the end notification time Tn (10:06 in the example) does not change, but as shown in FIG. When the user has moved to the point (moved to a place farther from the image forming apparatus than the point U), the moving time to the image forming apparatus 2 is correspondingly longer. Will be changed to a time earlier than 10:06 (for example, Tn1). On the other hand, when the user moves from the point U to the point S (moves to a place closer to the image forming apparatus than the point U), the moving time is shortened accordingly, so that a time later than 10: 6 (for example, , Tn2).
[0055]
Returning to FIG. 6, when it is determined that the end notification time Tn has been reached (“Y” in step S22), the portable terminal 6 notifies the portable terminal 6 that the printing is to be completed and the user wants to come to get the printed matter (immediately before the end). Is transmitted (step S25), and the end notification processing ends. The notification immediately before the end is made by dialing the telephone number of the mobile terminal 6 to communicate with the mobile terminal 6, and for example outputting a voice message or a warning sound to request that the user come to get the printed matter. Further, when an e-mail address is registered in the “mobile ID” column of the job management table 2041, a method of transmitting an e-mail stating that is registered can be adopted.
[0056]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the timing of notifying immediately before the end is determined according to the position of the mobile terminal (user), so that the user performs any input operation or the like for designating the notification timing. It is not necessary to perform the above operation. If the user receives the notification immediately before the end of the image forming apparatus 2 and retrieves the printed matter from the image forming apparatus 2 at an optimal time according to his / her own position, the image forming apparatus 2 can receive the printed matter. At the time when the print job is completed, it is possible to receive a notification immediately before the completion. As a result, the print job arrives too early and waits for a long time until the print job is completed. Also, because the print job arrives too late, the prints of the user and others are mixed on the output tray 237, and the prints are sorted. It becomes difficult for the user.
[0057]
Further, since the position of the user is detected at the Ks interval and the end notification time Tn is updated, even if the user moves, the notification immediately before the end can be transmitted at an optimal time corresponding to the movement. .
In the above description, the moving speed V and the predetermined value Ks are preliminarily stored as fixed values in the NV-RAM 204. However, the administrator or the like of the image forming apparatus 2 can change the moving speed V and the predetermined value Ks according to the installation environment of the image forming apparatus 2. It is also possible to configure so that any setting can be input from the operation panel 211. As for the moving speed V, the walking speed of the user may change depending on the arrangement of desks and image forming apparatuses in the office, and for the predetermined value Ks, if this value is reduced, the interval between the position detection of the user becomes shorter. (The number of updates of the scheduled end time increases), it is easier to obtain a more accurate position of the user, but on the other hand, the number of times of communication with the mobile terminal for obtaining the position information also increases, and the traffic is reduced. It is desirable that an appropriate value be set after taking these factors into consideration.
[0058]
In the above description, an example in which one print job is received has been described. However, when a plurality of print jobs are registered in the job management table 2041 and they are sequentially executed, the The end notification processing is executed (per print job).
Further, in the above description, the time obtained by subtracting the movement time Tm from the expected end time Te is the end notification time Tn. However, the time of notifying immediately before the end is not limited to the case of “time”, and may be, for example, “time”. It can also be represented. In this case, for example, a time Tr expected to be required from the present time to the end of the print job is obtained, and a time obtained by subtracting the moving time Tm from the Tr is defined as Tq (Tq = Tr−Tm). It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the time immediately before the end is notified. For example, if the time Tr is 600 seconds and the moving time Tm is 100 seconds, the time immediately before the end is notified is "after 500 seconds from the present time".
[0059]
In the above description, the moving speed V of the user is a fixed value. For example, for each user, information indicating the moving speed is registered in advance in the NV-RAM 204, and the moving speed is changed according to the user. A configuration in which the travel time Tm is obtained for each user may be adopted. If it is considered that the walking speed differs depending on the user, by adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to obtain the optimum timing for notifying immediately before the end for each user.
[0060]
Further, the time immediately before the end is notified may be, for example, a predetermined time Td, for example, 10 seconds before the time obtained by subtracting the movement time Tm from the expected end time Te. In some cases, it may not be possible to stand and immediately get the printed matter after receiving the notification immediately before the end, and in consideration of such a case, some time before the calculated end notification time Tn (only by Td). Notifying immediately before the end of the print job makes it easier to synchronize the time when the user comes to the image forming apparatus to obtain a print with the end of the print job. In this case, Tn = Te−Tm−Td.
[0061]
In the above description, the position of the user is detected every predetermined value Ks. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the position is detected only once at the start of the print job, or immediately before the end notification time Tn obtained first, or Tn. The detection may be performed once at a time earlier than the predetermined time.
Note that the user's travel time may be longer than the time from the current time to the scheduled end time, and in such a case, the end notification time is set to the current time to notify immediately before the end. Specifically, for example, when the current time is 10:05 and the scheduled end time is 10:10, and the user is in a place that takes 7 minutes from the image forming apparatus 2, the end notification is issued. The time is 10:03, which is earlier (past) than the current time. In such a case, the current time is regarded as the end notification time, it is determined in step S22 that the notification time has come, and the process proceeds to step S25 to notify immediately before the end.
[0062]
(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the user is notified immediately before the end of the print job. In the present embodiment, however, the user is notified of a warning that he / she wants to come to get the printed matter after the print job is completed. This point is different. Here, a detailed description of the same portions as those in the first embodiment will be omitted, and different portions will be mainly described. Members having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0063]
(2-1) Configuration of Client Terminal 3
The configuration of the client terminal 3 is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, and the transmission of the print job is performed by the same processing as in FIG.
(2-2) Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 2
Although the configuration of the image forming apparatus 2 is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, the CPU 201 includes a timer L and a timer M described later. The NV-RAM 204 stores information indicating predetermined values Ls and Ms described later. The difference is that a warning notification process is performed instead of the end notification process.
[0064]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of the warning notification process. This process is performed when a print job transmitted from the client terminal 3 or the like is received.
As shown in the figure, when the control unit 100 receives a print job from a client terminal, the control unit 100 temporarily stores the print job in a spool, here, in the fixed storage device 210 (step S31). Then, the print job is registered in the job management table (step S32).
[0065]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the job management table 2042 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the job management table 2042 is provided with fields of a job number, an address, a telephone number, and an e-mail address. It is added sequentially below the record at the bottom. Therefore, the “job number” indicates the order of accepting jobs.
[0066]
In the “address” column, a storage address indicating the storage location of the print job data in the fixed storage device 210 is written.
In the “phone number” column, “telephone number” included in the portable terminal ID of the incidental information of the received print job is written, and in the “mail address” column, “mail address” included in the mobile ID is written. If there is only one of the telephone number and the mail address, the information of one of them is written in the corresponding column.
[0067]
The job management table 2042 is used to manage the execution order of the jobs. The control unit 100 refers to the storage addresses in the “address” column of the print job data corresponding to the job numbers in ascending order of the job numbers. The print job is read out from the fixed storage device 210 and the print job is started.
Returning to FIG. 10, in step S33, it is determined whether one print job has been completed. Here, a description will be given below assuming that the print job of job number 1 in FIG. 11 (it is assumed that the print job has been transmitted from the client terminal 3 of the user A) has been completed.
[0068]
When the end of the print job of job number 1 is determined (“Y” in step S33), a timer L as a first timer for counting the elapsed time from the end and a timer as a second timer are provided. The timer M starts counting (step S34).
Then, the control unit 100 detects the position of the portable terminal 6 carried by the user of the client terminal 3 as the portable terminal corresponding to the client terminal that has transmitted the print job (step S35). As means for detecting the position of the portable terminal (position detecting means), the telephone number described in the “telephone number” column of the job number 1 is referred to here, and the telephone of the portable terminal (the portable terminal 6 of the user A) is referred to. By dialing the number, a request for transmitting position information as information indicating the current position is made to the portable terminal 6 by data communication or the like, and the position information is obtained (received) from the portable terminal 6. Then, the position of the portable terminal 6 (user A) is detected based on the position of the portable terminal 6 and the position of the self (image forming apparatus 2) read from the NV-RAM 204. Specifically, this is performed by calculating the difference between the two positions for latitude, longitude, and the like. By this position detection, it is possible to know how far the mobile terminal 6 is from the image forming apparatus 2 (separation distance), in which direction, and the like.
[0069]
Subsequently, it is determined whether the mobile terminal 6 (user A) is within a predetermined range (step S36). This predetermined range is, for example, within a distance of 3 (m) from the image forming apparatus 2 and determines whether the user A is within a distance of 3 (m) around the image forming apparatus 2. .
If it is determined that it is not within the predetermined range ("N" in step S36), it is determined whether or not the count value Mt of the timer M is equal to or more than a predetermined value Ms (step S37). Here, the predetermined value Ms indicates 5 (minutes). That is, it is determined whether five minutes have elapsed since the end of the print job.
[0070]
When it is determined that Mt ≧ Ms is not satisfied, that is, Mt <Ms (“N” in step S37), it is determined whether or not the count value Lt of the timer L is equal to or more than a predetermined value Ls (step S38). Here, the predetermined value Ls indicates 10 (seconds).
When it is determined that Lt ≧ Ls is not satisfied, that is, Lt <Ls (“N” in step S38), the process returns to step S37.
[0071]
If Mt ≧ Ms is not satisfied (“N” in step S37), the process proceeds to step S38, and if Lt ≧ Ls is determined (“Y” in step S38), the timer L is reset (step S39), and the process returns to step S35. Then, the position detection processing and the processing for determining whether or not the position is within the predetermined range in step S36 are executed again. The reason for this is to confirm again whether the user has moved and entered the predetermined range. Thus, the determination can be made every predetermined value Ls (10 seconds).
[0072]
If it is determined in step S36 that the user A has entered the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S40, and it is determined whether or not Mt ≧ Ms. If it is determined that Mt <Ms (“N” in step S40), it is determined whether Lt ≧ Ls (step S41). If it is determined that Lt <Ls (“N” in step S41), the process returns to step S40.
[0073]
If Mt ≧ Ms (“N” in step S40), the process proceeds to step S41, and if Lt ≧ Ls is determined (“Y” in step S41), the timer L is reset (step S42), and the process returns to step S35. . As described above, even if it is once determined that the user A has entered the predetermined range, the position is detected again because the purpose of the user A entering the predetermined range is to retrieve the printed matter. This is because it is possible not only because they have come but also because they have just passed through the predetermined range for another business. In the case of such a passage, when the routine next proceeds to step S36, it is determined to be "N" and the processing after step S38 is performed.
[0074]
The processes of steps S35 to S42 are repeated until it is determined that Mt ≧ Ms. When the user A is not within the predetermined range (“N” in step S36), it is determined that Mt ≧ Ms (step S36). ("Y" in S37), the timer M is reset (step S43), and a warning notification is sent to the portable terminal 6 indicating that printing has been completed and the user wants to come to a print site (step S44). The job is deleted from the job management table 2042 (step S45), and the warning notification process ends.
[0075]
The warning notification means for transmitting the warning notification includes, for example, dialing the telephone number of the mobile terminal 6, communicating with the mobile terminal 6, and transmitting, for example, a voice message or a warning sound indicating that the user wants to come to get a printed matter. Is mentioned. In addition, when a mail address is registered in the “mail address” column of the job management table 2042, a configuration in which a mail to that effect is transmitted may be adopted.
[0076]
On the other hand, when the user A is within the predetermined range (“Y” in step S36), if Mt ≧ Ms is determined (“Y” in step S40), the timer M is reset (step S46), and a warning is issued. Without notifying (prohibiting), the process proceeds to step S45.
The provision of the means for prohibiting the warning notification (warning notification prohibiting means) is provided for the following reason. That is, in the related art, the image forming apparatus in the above-described system, if the print job remains on the discharge tray for a predetermined time, for example, five minutes after the received print job is completed, A warning notification indicating that the user has forgotten to take out the printed matter is transmitted to the user of the client terminal that has transmitted the information, thereby preventing the user from forgetting to take out the printed matter. However, in the related art, a warning notification is always transmitted after a predetermined time elapses. Therefore, a warning notification is also transmitted to a user who comes close to the image forming apparatus for the purpose of obtaining a printed material, and such a user is notified. For that, the warning was very annoying and unkind, resulting in a useless warning. Therefore, in the present embodiment, for the purpose of reducing such useless warnings as much as possible, when the user is near the image forming apparatus 2 (within a predetermined range), Considers that it is highly probable that he will come to get the printed matter, and in such a case, does not send the warning notification, thereby reducing unnecessary warnings.
[0077]
In the above description, the warning is not issued when the user enters the predetermined range. However, for example, an existence time measuring unit that measures the time during which the user is within the predetermined range is provided, and the measured time is provided. If the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, it may be determined that the user has come to get the printed matter, and the warning may not be issued. If the user stays in the predetermined range for a long time, it is considered that there is a high possibility that the user has come to get the printed matter, and in that case, the warning notification is not necessary. Timing while the user is within the predetermined range can be performed as follows. For example, Ls is set to one second, and in step S36, the number of times continuously determined as "Y" is counted. If Ls is set to 1 second, the determination in step S36 is performed every second until Mt ≧ Ms. Therefore, when the number of times is counted, the time during which the user is substantially within the predetermined range is obtained. Can be requested.
[0078]
Furthermore, for example, when a user enters a predetermined range and is approaching the image forming apparatus 2, no warning is issued, in other words, when the user stays at a certain place even when the user is within the predetermined range. , A warning notification may be sent.
This is because some of the users have entered the predetermined range for the purpose of using the product instead of fetching the printed material, and a warning notification may be required for such a user. By adding a condition that the user is coming to the image forming apparatus 2, a warning notification can be transmitted only to the user who has actually obtained the printed material, that is, a warning notification is transmitted to a user who needs the warning notification. And be kind to each user. Here, as means for detecting the moving direction of the user (moving direction detecting means), Ls is set to a very short time, for example, 1 second, the position of the user is detected every second, and the difference between the previous position and the current position is determined. , The direction in which the user is moving can be determined. Then, when the image forming apparatus 2 is located in front of the detected movement direction, it is sufficient that the warning is not issued assuming that the user is heading to the image forming apparatus 2.
[0079]
(3. Modification)
As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following modified examples can be considered.
(3-1) In the first and second embodiments, the image forming apparatus 2 acquires the position information from the portable terminal 6 and detects the position of the portable terminal 6 based on the acquired position information. The means for detecting the position is not limited to the above.
[0080]
For example, the image forming apparatus 2 and the mobile terminal 6 can communicate with each other by a wireless communication method such as Bluetooth standard, infrared communication (IrDA (Infrared Data Association)), IEEE802.11, etc. A configuration in which the separation distance is detected may be adopted. Specifically, in the image forming apparatus 2, the separation distance is obtained by measuring the value of the electric field strength of the radio wave received from the portable terminal 6. If a table in which the value of the electric field strength is associated with the distance is provided in the image forming apparatus 2 in advance, the separation distance can be obtained from the electric field strength by referring to the table. Further, the mobile terminal requests the mobile terminal to transmit data indicating the value of the electric field intensity of the radio wave received by the mobile terminal, and determines the value of the electric field intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the mobile terminal and the self (image forming apparatus). Calculates the difference from the value of the electric field strength of the radio wave output to the portable terminal, and obtains the distance from the difference.
[0081]
In communication with the mobile terminal 6 by Bluetooth or the like, a configuration may be adopted in which the mobile terminal 6 acquires position information detected by the GPS from the mobile terminal 6. Note that the means for acquiring the position information is not limited to the means based on the GPS. For example, a method of measuring the position of the mobile terminal using a base station of a mobile phone may be used.
(3-2) In the second embodiment, the predetermined range is set to be within a distance of about 3 (m) from the image forming apparatus 2, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. Further, it is preferable that the distance can be set and changed by an administrator or the like according to the installation environment of the image forming apparatus 2 or the like. For example, when the image forming apparatus 2 is installed near the user's desk, the range may be narrowed, for example, 50 (cm), since the user may always remain in the communication area. If the image forming apparatus 2 is installed in a dedicated copy room or the like, the range may be set to an appropriate range.
[0082]
(3-3) In the first and second embodiments, a mobile terminal ID (telephone number or the like) for identifying the mobile terminal is added to the print job data sent from the client terminal 3 or the like. The image forming apparatus 2 communicates by dialing or the like to the mobile terminal with reference to the mobile terminal ID. For example, the image forming apparatus 2 previously registers the telephone number of each mobile terminal in an internal table or the like. In advance, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which, during communication, the telephone number or the like of the portable terminal of the other party is read from the table and dialed.
[0083]
(3-4) In the first and second embodiments, the network is not limited to a LAN, but may be a communication network such as the Internet or a WAN (Wide Area Network), and is further limited to a wired or wireless network. Never even. Although the print data is described in page description language (PDL), it may be any data to be used for printing. For example, data in a bitmap format is received as print data, and based on the data, A configuration for performing image formation may also be employed.
[0084]
(3-5) Further, two or more of the above modifications may be combined.
(3-6) In the first and second embodiments, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an MFP. However, the image forming apparatus may be any apparatus that executes a received print job, such as a copying machine or a printer. There may be.
[0085]
(3-7) The present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus, but includes a method for executing the above-described processing, a program for causing a computer to execute the method, and a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible medium. The information may be recorded on a disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, semiconductor memory, or the like. Note that the program does not need to include all the modules for causing the computer to execute the processes described above. For example, various general-purpose programs that can be separately installed, such as a communication program and a program included in the OS, may be used. Each process of the present invention may be executed by a computer using a simple program.
[0086]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the time at which the end of the print job should be notified based on the position of the portable terminal corresponding to the client terminal that transmitted the print job and the predicted end time of the print job And a notification that the print job is completed is transmitted to the portable terminal at that time, so that the user does not need to perform an input operation or the like for designating the notification time, and the optimal time according to the position is obtained. It is possible to receive a notification immediately before the end.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system including an image forming apparatus 2 according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus 2.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a control unit 100.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the portable terminal 6.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a print job transmission process.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the content of an end notification process.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a job management table 2041.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which position detection is repeatedly executed until an end notification time comes.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a positional relationship between a user and the image forming apparatus 2.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a warning notification process according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 11 illustrates a configuration example of a job management table 2042 according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 LAN
2 Image forming apparatus
3, 4 Client terminal
6, 7 mobile terminal
61 Communication unit
63, 100 control unit
65 GPS circuit
200, 300, 400, 500 control module
2041, 2042 job management table

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus which is connected to a client terminal via a network and executes a print job received from the client terminal,
Detecting means for detecting the position of the mobile terminal corresponding to the client terminal from which the received print job is transmitted;
First calculating means for determining a scheduled end time of the print job;
Second calculating means for determining a time to notify the end of the print job based on the position of the portable terminal and the scheduled end time of the print job;
Notifying means for transmitting, to the portable terminal, a notification that the print job is completed at the time determined by the second calculating means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The second calculating means includes:
Based on the position of the mobile terminal, the user carrying the mobile terminal has an expected travel time calculation unit that determines the expected travel time required to move to the image forming apparatus,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time to be notified is obtained based on the estimated movement time and the scheduled end time of the print job. The second calculating means includes:
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a time earlier than a time obtained by subtracting the expected movement time from a scheduled end time of the print job is obtained as the time to be notified. Destination information for notifying the portable terminal of the end of the print job is added to the print job,
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit transmits a notification to the effect that the print job is completed to the portable terminal based on the destination information. 5. The detecting means detects the position of the mobile terminal at predetermined time intervals,
The second calculating means should notify the end of the print job based on the newly detected position of the mobile terminal and the scheduled end time of the print job every time the position of the mobile terminal is detected. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a timing is obtained and the timing is updated.

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