JP2004094886A - Printing device and system including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the confusion of a user possibly caused in setting an IP address of a printing device to be shared in a network. <P>SOLUTION: This system comprises the printing device and a server device connected via the network. The printing device has nonvolatile storage means for storing IP address information and a setting about whether the IP address is dynamically assigned or not. It acquires the IP address from an IP address dynamic assignment server via the network. When finding the printing device on the network, the server device sends the assigned IP address, acquires the setting result of the IP address and creates the object of the printing device as a shared printing device. When the dynamic assignment of the IP address is not set, the printing device distributes IP address setting information on information searching request via the network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to sharing a printing device connected to a network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An IP address is assigned to a printing device connected to the network, and the printing device is used using the IP address. By sharing the printing device, the printing device can be used on a network. The user looks at the list of available printing devices and decides which printing device to use.
[0003]
In the field of conventional network devices, it has been common for an administrator to statically set an IP address required for device identification. Therefore, when a device (for example, a printing device) is shared on a network, a static IP address is also assigned to the printing device. Therefore, there is no need for the user using the printing apparatus to be particularly concerned about a change in the IP address of the printing apparatus.
[0004]
Recently, printing apparatuses that can use a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) that can dynamically set an IP address, and AutoIP that automatically allocates an IP that does not collide with others even without a DHCP to itself have begun to spread. Some printing apparatuses are also equipped with a dynamic service detection protocol such as Service Location Protocol (SLP) and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). When a printing device connected to a network dynamically acquires an IP address from a DHCP server or the like, software for dynamic service detection on the printing server operates to detect the presence of the printing device and to detect the presence of the printing device. A shared printing device is created as an object above. When a print instruction is issued from the client computer to the shared printing apparatus, the shared printing apparatus transmits a print job using an LPR command to the IP address temporarily assigned to the printing apparatus and performs printing.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the IP address automatically assigned to the printing apparatus by DHCP or the like is temporary. When a protocol that automatically obtains an IP address is used, there is no guarantee that the IP address can be used permanently. When the printing apparatus is restarted, the used IP address is released, and if already used, an IP address different from the original IP address is newly assigned. However, since the user does not always recognize this, the user may be confused.
[0006]
More specifically, when the printing apparatus is restarted, an IP address different from the original IP address may be assigned by DHCP or the like. In the printer server, the dynamic service detection software again detects the presence of the printing device. At this time, since the IP address is different from the previous IP address, it is recognized as another printing device. Create another shared printing device (object). The two shared printing devices existing on the server computer both send print jobs to the same printing device. However, the shared printing device that sends a print job to the original IP address has already been used because the IP address has already been released. No longer. However, it is easy for the user to determine that the service is permanently provided by the original IP address even though the printing apparatus is operating with the temporary IP address, which causes confusion for the user. Results. Further, the presence of an unusable shared printing device on the server computer wastes resources of the server computer.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to prevent user confusion regarding the setting of the IP address of a device shared on a network.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A printing apparatus connected to a network according to the present invention is connected via a network to a non-volatile storage unit for storing IP address information of the printing apparatus and a setting of whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address. The IP address acquisition means for accessing the IP address dynamic assignment server and acquiring the IP address assigned by the IP address dynamic assignment server, and the setting for dynamically assigning the IP address are stored in the nonvolatile storage means. A dynamic service detection response means for delivering an IP address setting result in accordance with the assignment of the IP address via the network when it is not stored. According to the configuration of the present invention, the printing apparatus obtains the IP address by the IP address obtaining means. However, if the setting is to dynamically allocate the IP address, the printing apparatus does not respond to an external information search request. The temporarily allocated IP address is not notified to the user or the print server.
[0009]
In the above-described printing apparatus, for example, when the IP address acquisition unit is further assigned an IP address from the IP address dynamic assignment server, the setting unit that stores the setting that the IP address is not dynamically assigned in the nonvolatile storage unit. And Alternatively, the apparatus further includes an input unit that allows a user to input a setting as to whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address, and the nonvolatile storage unit stores the setting by the input unit. Accordingly, it is possible to determine whether to stop / start a response to an external dynamic service detection according to the IP address setting method of the printing apparatus connected to the network.
[0010]
A system according to the present invention is a system in which a printing device and a server device are connected to a network. The printing apparatus includes a nonvolatile storage unit configured to store IP address information of the printing apparatus and a setting as to whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address, and an IP address dynamic assignment server connected via a network. , The IP address acquisition means for acquiring the IP address assigned by the IP address dynamic assignment server and the setting for dynamically assigning the IP address are not stored in the nonvolatile storage means. And a dynamic service detection response means for delivering IP address setting information in response to the information search request via the service. When the server finds the printing device on the network, the server acquires an IP address setting result and creates an object of the printing device as a shared printing device.
[0011]
The program executed by the computer according to the present invention is connected to a network in a printing apparatus including a nonvolatile storage unit that stores IP address information of the printing apparatus and a setting of whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address. Storing a setting for dynamically assigning an IP address as an initial setting in a nonvolatile storage means; and accessing an IP address dynamic assignment server connected via a network to access the IP address dynamic assignment server. Obtaining the IP address assigned by the above method, and when the setting of dynamically assigning the IP address is not stored in the nonvolatile storage means, the IP address setting result corresponding to the assigned IP address is delivered. The setting for dynamically assigning an IP address is stored in the non-volatile storage means. When in, and a step that does not deliver the IP address setting result in accordance with the IP address assigned via the network.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this system, a printing apparatus 1, a server computer 100, and a client computer 200 that can provide an LPR service are connected to a network 300. When the client computer 200 logs on to the network 300, the OS exposes objects in the domain and provides shared resources. For example, a printing device connected to the server computer 100 is shared by the client computer 200. At the time of printing, the user of the client computer 200 selects the server computer 100, and further selects the printing device 1 connected to the printer server 100.
[0013]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the server computer 100. The server computer 100 includes a CPU 102 for performing overall control, a storage device 104 for storing programs, data, print spools and the like, an input device 106 such as a keyboard, a monitor device 108 having a screen, and a communication device 110 for transmitting and receiving to and from the network 300. Prepare. The storage device 104 stores a printer server OS 120, dynamic service detection software 122, a DHCP server 124, and a shared printing device (object) 126 created by dynamic service detection. The DHCP server 124 dynamically assigns an IP address. The shared printing device 126 is an object of one or more printing devices connected to the server computer.
[0014]
In the server computer 100, dynamic service detection software 122, a DHCP server 124, and a shared printing device (object) 126 created by the dynamic service detection are operating. When the dynamic service detection software 122 detects a printing device having a service that can be printed by the LPD command, the dynamic service detection software 122 automatically creates a shared printing device 126 on the server computer 100 as an object of the printing device. LPD is a command for sending a spooler job to a printer via a network. When the client computer 200 selects the shared printing device 126, a print job is sent to the IP address of the printing device 1 in response to a print request from the client computer 200.
[0015]
FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the printing apparatus 1. The printing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 10 that performs overall control, a printing apparatus control program, a print job processing program, a storage device 12 that stores print data and the like, an operation panel 14, a nonvolatile memory 16, a communication device 18 that transmits and receives data to and from a network, A print data processing unit 20, a print engine control unit 22, and a print engine 24 are provided. The printing apparatus 1 includes a DHCP client 30 as an IP address dynamic acquisition unit, and it is assumed that a static IP address is not assigned in an initial state. In the initial setting, the printing apparatus 1 sets the IP assignment method (dynamic setting / static setting of the IP address) using the operation panel 14 and stores the setting in the nonvolatile memory 16. The setting information in the non-volatile memory 16 can be changed by the operator through the operation panel 14. Further, the printing apparatus 1 includes a dynamic service detection protocol 32 that responds to a request from the outside, and a program 34 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) related to IP address setting.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows an IP address setting process between the server computer 100 and a device (a device such as a printing apparatus). All communication between the utility and the device is performed by SNMP over IPX for managing the status of the device. The utility of the server computer 100 starts searching for devices on the network. When a device responds to this search request, the utility displays a list of a list of discovered devices. When the network administrator selects a list of devices to be set from the list, the utility sets those IP addresses. The device sets an IP address according to the setting, and responds with the result. The utility receives the response and notifies the administrator. Here, the device stops the operation of the dynamic service detection protocol when setting the IP address. Therefore, thereafter, the operation is performed without responding to the information search request from the user. As a result, the set IP address is fixedly assigned.
[0017]
Next, the operation of the printing apparatus 1 will be described. When the power of the printing apparatus 1 is turned on, first, the acquisition of the IP address by the IP address acquisition means (DHCP client) is started. Since the DHCP server 104 operates on the network 300, the printing apparatus 1 accesses the DHCP server 104 and acquires the IP address 11. When recognizing that the IP address 11 has been assigned by DHCP, the printing apparatus 1 stops the activation of the dynamic service detection protocol (DHCP). This change in the IP assignment method is stored in the nonvolatile memory 16. Corresponding to this IP address, the dynamic service detection software 122 on the server computer 100 creates a shared printing device 126 as an object on the server computer 100 for the printing device 1. A print job sent from the client computer 200 to the shared printing device 126 is sent to the printing device 1 via the server computer 100. When the system is started next time, the dynamic service detection protocol is not started according to the setting method stored in the nonvolatile memory 16.
[0018]
Further, the administrator of the printing apparatus 1 can change the IP address 11 dynamically assigned by DHCP to another static IP address 12 on the operation panel 14. In this case, since the IP address 12 is assigned by the administrator in a static setting, it can be considered as a permanent IP address. The printing device 1 stores in the nonvolatile memory 16 that the IP address 12 is statically assigned. In this case, the dynamic service detection protocol is not activated at the next activation.
[0019]
FIG. 5 shows a flow of the initial setting using the operation panel of the printing apparatus 1. First, it is determined whether the setting of the IP address has been selected by the user (S20). If selected, an IP address setting screen is displayed on the LCD display device of the operation panel 14 (S22). Next, it is determined whether the user has selected the automatic acquisition of the IP address (S24). If not selected, the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway are set to the input values in the predetermined memory area (S26). If it is selected, the IP address, the subnet mask, and the default gateway are cleared, and the server 100 is set to obtain the information at startup (S28). If the setting of the IP address has not been selected in step S20, other processing is performed (S30). Next, it is determined whether or not the setting completion is selected (S32), and if not, the process returns to step S20. If the setting completion has been selected, this processing ends.
[0020]
FIG. 6 shows a flow of an initial setting when the printing apparatus 1 is started. When the printing apparatus 1 is started, it is first determined whether an IP address is statically assigned (S40). If it has been statically assigned, then a dynamic service detection protocol is started (S42).
On the other hand, if the IP address is not statically assigned, the DHCP server 104 is searched for on the network, and the acquisition of the IP address is started (S44). If it cannot be obtained normally (NO in S46), the process returns to step S40, and the acquisition of the IP address is repeated. If the IP address can be obtained normally (YES in S46), the process ends.
[0021]
In this embodiment, DHCP is used as the IP address acquisition means. However, BOOTP and AutoIP can be used as well.
[0022]
In DHCP and BOOTP, a server can specify a pair of a MAC address and an IP address to be assigned to the MAC address, and the IP address can be used permanently. Therefore, there may be means for starting dynamic service detection at the time of automatic acquisition of an IP address.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
When the setting for dynamically assigning an IP address is stored in the non-volatile storage means, by stopping the dynamic service detection protocol at the time of automatic acquisition of the IP address, the IP address is assigned according to the IP address assignment via the network. Do not deliver the address setting result. Therefore, it is not necessary to create a plurality of objects for the same shared device, and the user can use the device without worrying about a change in the IP address of the shared device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing a network system including a printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server computer. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an initialization process performed by the operation panel of the printing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an initialization procedure performed when the printing apparatus is started.
1 printing device, 10 CPU, 12 storage device, 14 operation panel, 16 non-volatile memory, 30 DHCP client, 32 dynamic service detection protocol, 34 IP address setting program, 100 server computer, 200 client computer, 102 CPU, 104 storage Device, 122 dynamic service detection software, 124 DHCP server, 126 shared printing device (object), 300 network.

Claims (5)

A printing device connected to a network,
Non-volatile storage means for storing IP address information of the printing apparatus and setting of whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address;
IP address obtaining means for accessing an IP address dynamic allocation server connected via a network to obtain an IP address allocated by the IP address dynamic allocation server;
Dynamic service detection response means for delivering an IP address setting result according to the assignment of the IP address via the network when the setting for dynamically assigning the IP address is not stored in the nonvolatile storage means. Printing device. Further, a setting unit is provided which stores, in the non-volatile storage unit, a setting not dynamically assigning the IP address when the IP address obtaining unit is assigned an IP address from the IP address dynamic assignment server. The printing device according to claim 1. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit that allows a user to input a setting of whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address, wherein the nonvolatile storage unit stores the setting by the input unit. Printing device. A system in which a printing device and a server device are connected to a network,
The printing device,
Non-volatile storage means for storing IP address information of the printing apparatus and setting of whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address;
IP address obtaining means for accessing an IP address dynamic allocation server connected via a network to obtain an IP address allocated by the IP address dynamic allocation server;
Dynamic service detection response means for delivering IP address setting information in response to an information search request via a network when a setting for dynamically assigning an IP address is not stored in the nonvolatile storage means;
When the server device finds the printing device on a network, the server device acquires an IP address setting result and creates an object of the printing device as a shared printing device. A printing apparatus connected to a network, comprising: a nonvolatile storage unit configured to store IP address information and a setting of whether or not to dynamically assign an IP address;
Storing the setting of dynamically assigning an IP address as an initial setting in a nonvolatile storage unit;
Accessing an IP address dynamic assignment server connected via a network to obtain an IP address assigned by the IP address dynamic assignment server;
When the setting for dynamically assigning an IP address is not stored in the nonvolatile storage means, an IP address setting result corresponding to the assigned IP address is delivered. Not storing the IP address setting result in accordance with the IP address assignment via the network when stored in the non-volatile storage means,
A program executed by a computer.

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