JP2006238087A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain optimum application of a system by providing an image forming apparatus having an I/F which can be connected to a wide area network (NW) with a means to transmit data only to a set specific host and a port, as a means for informing a host of apparatus state through the NW. <P>SOLUTION: Data expressing apparatus state are transmitted to the network by a multicast system using an IP packet. In the case of sending a multicast packet, a multicast address and a port number are set (refer to Table 2) and only the set host can receive and process the packet, so that unnecessary processing is not carried out differently from a broadcast system and the processing load of the apparatus can be reduced. Further a method for sending the apparatus state to be notified to the network at timing (when the apparatus state is changed as shown in the contents of a sending condition in Table 2) determined on the apparatus side is employed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can be connected to a network such as the Internet or an intranet (for example, a printer (multifunction) MFP such as a printer, a copy / fax / printer, a facsimile machine, etc.), and more specifically, The present invention relates to the image forming apparatus including means for notifying a host apparatus or the like such as a PC (Personal Computer) that issues an image output request through a network by a multicast method using an IP packet through a network.

Today, an image forming apparatus (for example, a printer apparatus, an MFP machine, a facsimile apparatus, etc.) that performs print output based on image data and a host apparatus such as a PC are connected to a network, and an output request is made from the host apparatus via the network. An image output system that operates an image forming apparatus and performs print output is widely used.
Such an image output system is constructed in such a configuration that the image forming apparatus can be used jointly by a plurality of host apparatuses (users) or a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be used from the host apparatus side. In such a system configuration, the image forming apparatus is usually placed at a location away from the user of the host apparatus. For this reason, an output request is made without confirming the difference in function / operating condition of each image forming apparatus or the current state of the device (including the usable / unusable state), thereby achieving optimum use of the system. There is a danger of not.
In view of this, an image forming apparatus having means for notifying the state of a device has been proposed so that the host side can know whether image formation with the required output conditions is possible when the user needs it.
The following Patent Document 1 shows this example. The image data processing system described in Patent Document 1 includes means for the printer to broadcast-transfer its current state to all nodes on the network. The scanner or the PC itself performs an operation for knowing the status of the printer, and can immediately transfer an image requesting output without checking the status of the printer. In this image data processing system, the printer status is broadcast using IEEE1394 isochronous transfer.
JP 2003-345533 A JP 2004-104535 A

However, the image data processing system described in Patent Document 1 basically uses a method of broadcasting a device status by IEEE 1394 isochronous transfer that serves as an interface between digital devices. There is a problem that the system cannot be easily expanded as in the case of using an I / F (interface). In addition, the system described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that a processing load is imposed on receiving unnecessary data because the system performs broadcast transfer to all nodes on the network.
By the way, in contrast to the broadcast method, a multicast method that performs data transfer only to a plurality of set transmission destinations is known. As a conventional example related to an image data processing system using such a multicast method, Patent Document 2 can be cited. However, in the multicast method in Patent Document 2, when a multifunctional MFP (image forming apparatus) performs data transfer between each functional unit, a plurality of counterpart functional units are transmitted through a packet switch network provided in the apparatus. It is used to perform high-speed data transfer at the same time. By adopting this method, it is intended to improve data transfer efficiency and function expandability. Accordingly, an image forming apparatus that receives an image output request from a host device via a wide area network such as Ethernet (registered trademark) notifies the device status only to a plurality of set devices and ports in the host device. It does not provide a means.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. An image forming apparatus having an interface connectable to a wide area network notifies the host apparatus side of the state of the apparatus via the network. As a means to be solved, it is possible to transmit data only to a specific set device and port, and to provide means for enabling optimal use of the system.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having means for forming an image based on image information and network control means for transmitting data to the network by a multicast method using an IP packet, An image forming apparatus comprising: a detecting unit configured to transmit data representing a detected device state to the network by the network control unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the network control unit transmits data representing the detected device state to the network at a timing when the detected device state is changed. It is characterized by that.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the network control unit changes at least one of the multicast address and the port number of the IP packet according to the content of the detected device state. It is characterized by doing so.

According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus that can be connected to a network such as the Internet or an intranet, the device status is notified to the network by a multicast method using an IP packet. Since only the host device that has set the address and port for receiving the packet can reduce the burden on the host device, and the host side has already obtained it without making an inquiry to the image forming device when making an output request. Check the status of the device (for example, do not use the output device in the case of a jam) and take immediate action, operate the image forming device in response to an output request from the host device via the network, and print out For optimal use of image output system It becomes possible.
In addition, since the data indicating the detected device state is transmitted to the network at the timing when the device state changes, and the device state is notified only when the change occurs, the number of transmitted packets can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of packets to be sent out and to provide relevance of state changes by notifying a combination of changes in specific states or notifying when the number of changes reaches a certain number. Efficiency.
In addition, by changing the multicast address and port number according to the contents of the device status to be notified, by providing detailed services and by not receiving extra packets, the host device side that receives the multicast packets and the image formation to be transmitted It is possible to reduce the processing load on the apparatus side.

Embodiments relating to the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described below. In this embodiment, as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention having an I / F that can be connected to a wide area network, an MFP having multiple functions such as copying, FAX, and printer is shown as an example.
First, a schematic configuration of an image output system that performs print output by operating the MFP (image forming apparatus) of the present embodiment via a network will be described.
FIG. 1 exemplifies a schematic configuration of an image output system according to the present embodiment.
The image output system shown in FIG. 1 includes MFPs (devices A, B, and C) 100a, 100b, and 100c as image forming apparatuses, host PCs (PC-y and PC-z) 200y and 200z, a router 300, and a local area. A network (LAN) 400 is used as a system element, and an image output system in which the MFPs 100a, 100b, and 100c perform print output (image formation) based on image data in accordance with an output request from the host PCs 200y and 200z is configured. Yes. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the MFPs 100 a, 100 b, 100 c and the host PCs 200 y, 200 z are assumed to exist in the same subnet (LAN) 400 and are connected to other subnets via the router 300. Also, an example in which the host device is a PC (personal computer) has been shown. However, as long as the MFP has a function capable of instructing an output request, the MFP device may be used as the host device. The device is not limited to a PC.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the hardware configuration of the MFP in FIG.
The hardware configuration of the MFP shown in FIG. 2 includes a controller 1, an operation panel 20, an FCU (Facsimile Control Unit) 21, and an engine unit 22.
The controller 1 includes a CPU 2, a system memory 3, a north bridge (NB) 4, a south bridge (SB) 5, an ASIC 6, a local memory 7, an HDD 8, a flash ROM 9, an NVRAM 10, an SDRAM 11, an Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 12, and a USB I. / F13, IEEE 1394 I / F14, Centronics I / F15, and I / F16 for external storage medium.
The operation panel 20 is connected to the ASIC 6 of the controller 1. Further, the FCU 21 and the engine (plotter) unit 22 are connected to the ASIC 6 of the controller 1 by a bus 23.
As for the internal configuration of the controller 1, a local memory 7, HDD 8, Flash ROM 9, NVRAM 10, SDRAM 11 and the like are connected to the ASIC 6, and the CPU 2 and the ASIC 6 are connected via the NB 4 of the CPU chip set. The controller 1 corresponds to the case where the interface of the CPU 2 is not disclosed by connecting the CPU 2 and the ASIC 6 via the NB 4.
The ASIC 6 and the NB 4 are connected via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 17. In the software configuration to be described later, in order to execute and control one or more processes that form an application or a platform, the ASIC 6 and the NB 4 are connected via the AGP 17 instead of the low-speed bus, thereby preventing a decrease in performance. .

The CPU 2 performs overall control by driving software.
The NB 4 includes a CPU 2, a system memory 3, an SB (South Bridge) 5, an ASIC 6, an Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 12, a USB I / F 13, an IEEE 1394 I / F 14, a Centronics I / F 15, and an I / F 16 for an external storage medium. It is a bridge for connecting.
The SB 5, Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 12, USB I / F 13, IEEE 1394 I / F 14, Centronics I / F 15, and external storage medium I / F 16 are connected to the NB 4 via the bus 18. The SB 5 is a bridge for connecting the bus 18 to a ROM, peripheral device (not shown) or the like.
A system memory 3 is a memory used as a drawing memory of the MFP. The local memory 7 is a memory used as an image buffer and a code buffer.
The ASIC 6 is an IC adapted for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing. The HDD 8 is an example of a storage device used as a storage (auxiliary storage device) for storing image data, document data, programs, font data, forms, and the like.

The Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F 12 is an interface device connected to a network constituting an image output system (see FIG. 1) according to the present invention. The USB I / F 13, the IEEE 1394 I / F 14, and the Centronics I / F 15 are interfaces conforming to the respective standards, and are usually used for connecting peripheral devices, but may be connected to a network.
The flash ROM 9 is a memory in which programs and data can be written from the outside. The NVRAM 10 and the SDRAM 11 are memories that hold information even in a power-off state, and are also used as locations for storing device information that represents the state of the device including functions and operating conditions used for managing the device.
The external storage medium I / F 16 is for transferring data to and from a removable external storage medium. For example, the external storage medium I / F 16 conforms to the standard of an external storage medium such as an SD card, a compact flash (registered trademark), or a ROM-DIMM. Provide an interface.
The operation panel 20 is a user I / F unit that receives an input operation from an operator and displays information necessary for the operation or the like toward the operator. The FCU 21 has a memory, and is used to temporarily store received facsimile data when the power is turned off.
Depending on the configuration of the MFP, there are also devices that are not equipped with the Flash ROM 9, SDRAM 11, USB I / F 13, IEEE 1394 I / F 14, Centronics I / F 15, external storage medium I / F 16, and FCU 21.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the software configuration of the MFP shown in FIGS.
The software configuration of the MFP shown in FIG. 3 is roughly composed of an application unit 50 and a platform unit 60.
The application unit 50 performs processing specific to user services related to image forming processing such as a printer, copy, fax, and scanner. The application 50 includes a printer application 51 that is a page description language and printer application, a copy application 52 that is a copy application, a fax application 53 that is a facsimile application, a scanner application 54 that is a scanner application, It has a network file application 55 which is a network file application.
The platform unit 60 interprets a processing request from the application 50 and generates a hardware resource acquisition request (each module will be described later), and manages one or more hardware resources to control the service. A system resource manager (SRM) 63 that arbitrates an acquisition request from an operating system (OS) 61.
The control service includes a system control service (SCS) 62, an engine control service (ECS) 64, a memory control service (MCS) 65, an operation panel control service (OCS) 66, a fax control service (hereinafter referred to as FCS) 67, and a network control service. (NCS) 68, security control service (CCS) 69, and other service modules.

The platform 60 includes an application program interface (hereinafter referred to as API) 80 that can receive a processing request from the application 50 using a predefined function.
The OS 61 executes the software of the platform 60 and the application 50 in parallel as processes.
The SRM 63 process, together with the SCS 62, controls the system and manages hardware resources. For example, the process of the SRM 63 performs execution control by performing arbitration according to a request from an upper layer that uses hardware resources. Specifically, the SRM 63 determines whether the requested hardware resource is available (whether it is not used by another request), and if it is available, the requested hardware resource can be used. Is notified to the upper layer. In addition, the SRM 63 performs scheduling for using hardware resources in response to a request from an upper layer, and directly executes the request contents (for example, paper conveyance and image forming operation by the printer engine, memory allocation, file generation, etc.). .
The process of the SCS 62 performs processing such as application management, operation unit control, system screen display, LED display, hardware resource management, and interrupt application control.
The ECS 64 process controls the engine (plotter) unit 22 which is a hardware resource (not shown).
The MCS 65 process performs memory control such as memory acquisition and release, image data compression and decompression, and the like.
The process of the OCS 66 controls the operation panel 20 serving as information transmission means between the operator and the main body control.
The FCS 67 process is used for performing facsimile transmission / reception using the PSTN or ISDN network from each application layer of the system controller, registration / quotation of various facsimile data managed in the backup memory, facsimile reading, facsimile reception printing, and the like. API is provided.

The NCS 68 process provides a service that can be used in common for applications requiring network I / O. Data received from the network side by each protocol is distributed to each application, and data from each application is distributed. Mediates when sending to the network side. This is a network control service that is necessary for notifying the network of the device status to be described later. The CCS 69 process provides security services to the application 50.
The CPU 2, which controls the entire MFP, starts up and executes SCS62, SRM63, ECS64, MCS65, OCS66, FCS67, NCS68, and CCS69 on the OS 61 as well as a printer application 51 that forms the application 50, and a copy The application 52, the fax application 53, the scanner application 54, and the net file application 55 are activated and executed.
As described above, the MFP machine according to the present embodiment can process the processes commonly required for each application by the platform 60 in an integrated manner.
Depending on the configuration of the MFP, the applications 51 to 55, FCS 67, CCS 69, etc. may not exist.

The above-mentioned MFP is equipped with means for notifying the network of information indicating the status of the device managed in the device.
When the host PC uses the MFP machine, the information indicating the device status of the MFP machine checks the available MFP machine by knowing this information, and immediately makes an output request according to the result. The desired output result can be obtained quickly and without error.
For this reason, the MFP device needs to notify information indicating the device status. In this proposal, however, in response to a request from the host PC, notification is made at a timing determined by the device instead of a method of notifying information. A method of sending the device status to the network is used. In particular, in the present embodiment, data representing the device status to the network is transmitted by a multicast method using IP packets.
Conventionally, when device information is transmitted to a network, a method using a broadcast packet is known (see Patent Document 1 above), but there is a problem that processing load increases because unnecessary data is received.

The multicast method using IP packets adopted in the present proposal has an advantage that the load on the device is reduced because the device (host PC or the like) for which the address and port for the multicast packet are set receives the packet.
As information showing a device state, the following information is contained, for example.
-Toner / ink remaining, no toner / ink remaining-Paper remaining, no paper-Jam (paper feeding, paper ejection)
-Cover open, door open-Mail reception, FAX reception-Plotter status (in use = printing, idle)
-HDD and memory usage capacity-Unauthorized access-Other conditions that require administrator intervention Note that functions and operating conditions may be included in addition to the information indicating the device status.

Next, a means for multicasting information representing the device status to the network using IP (Internet Protocol) packets will be described in more detail.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the present embodiment for performing multicasting of information representing the device state. FIG. 4 is a configuration example of the structure in the NCS 68 (see FIG. 3), the applications 51 to 55 (see FIG. 3), the service, and the hardware group 30 (see FIG. 2) around the NCS 68.
In the NCS 68 shown in FIG. 4, the status check unit 71 is an element unit for inquiring the status of the hardware group 30 in the device through the service layer (see FIG. 3) including the services 62 and 64 to 69. It also has a function that can respond to inquiries from other parts in the NCS 68. Note that messages and data exchanges with other services and applications other than information representing the device status include a data transmission unit 75 and a data reception unit 73 from the application / other services as corresponding element units, and these Is done via.
Examples of the hardware group 30 for inquiring the status include a plotter 22, a scanner 25, a panel 20, an FCU 21, an HDD 8, and the like. The state check unit 71 may inquire directly to the hardware group 30 or inquire about the state via the applications 51 to 55.
The multicast protocol control unit 77 is a part that performs transmission / reception of a multicast protocol and assembly / disassembly of packets (IP packets to be described later). This control unit may be composed of one task, or may be composed of a plurality of tasks for each multicast address or port number. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of port numbers may be assigned to one multicast address (in the figure, a plurality of “Ports A1, A2, A3”, “PortB1” are assigned to each of addresses A, B, and C. , B2 ”and“ Port C1, C2 ”).
The other protocol control unit 79 includes a large number of tasks that handle many protocols. Detailed explanation is omitted because it is not related to the present plan.

Packet exchange with the outside through the network is performed through the NCS 68 and the network I / F 12.
Examples of multicast packets include SSDP (IPv4 Address: 239.255.255.250, Port No .: 1900) and mDNS (IPv4 Address: 224.0.0.251, Port No .: 5353). The multicast address is defined in the range of 224 / 8-239 / 8 by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority). Information is stored in the following URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
http://www.iana.org/assignments/multicast-addresses
In this document, only the description of the embodiment of IP (Internet Protocol) v4 is given, but the present plan can also be implemented by IPv6 multicast.
FIG. 6 shows the structure of an IPv4 multicast packet in Ethernet (registered trademark). As shown in the figure, “Destination Mac Address” stores a value calculated from the multicast IP address. Since it is multicast, it is usually a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packet. In “Destination IP address”, a multicast IP address is stored.
FIG. 7 is an example of sending a multicast packet. As shown in the figure, in this example, when sending data representing the device status to the network, the MFP device sends the same multicast packet three times, and the third sending interval is double the second sending interval. It is set so that a transmission error can be avoided by using such a method. The sending timing is optimized so that the setting can be changed according to the data contents and the application to be used.

FIG. 5 shows a table [Table 1] indicating the types of device states that the MFP machine sends to the network.
In the status type table illustrated in [Table 1] in the figure, the remaining resources such as toner, paper, and HDD capacity in the information indicating the device status described above (refer to the above [0016] section) are changed. By giving a quantitative condition to the quantity and further attaching a condition to the paper size, the state is expressed in more detail. In addition, in [Table 1], whether or not output request processing such as printing, SCAN transmission, FAX transmission, copying, etc., instructed by the host PC or the user from the operation unit has been completed, is listed as device status data. , Indicating that the target of multicast. These device states are given a state ID for each item, and the device state is expressed by a combination of data indicating whether the state ID and the state are affirmed or not (1, 0). Similarly to the paper size and the like, in the case of having a color plotter, the toner / ink generally has an ID for each color. Many other states are assumed.
The state IDs indicating the types of the device states are stored in the NVRAM 10 or the HDD 8 (see FIG. 2) whose data is not erased when the power is turned off as information for managing the devices.
Further, as shown in an operation flow (FIG. 8) for sending the device status to the network, which will be described later, in the present plan, the operation of sending only the selected device status is performed without sending all the device statuses to the network. In this case, the device state to be selected is designated by the above-described state ID, and the desired operation is executed.

Although it has been described above that it is possible to select the type of device status to be transmitted to the network, in the present plan, it is possible to further set transmission conditions.
This sending condition is a condition for sending at a timing when a change occurs in the device state. Therefore, even if the state check unit 71 performs the state check operation at a predetermined cycle, if there is no change in the state, the device state is not transmitted to the network, and is transmitted periodically. In comparison, the number of transmitted packets can be reduced.
Also, when a change occurs in the device status and the device status is sent to the network by multicast, the multicast address or port number is changed according to the changed device status and the available information is sent to the required recipient. It is possible to perform an operation of providing a detailed service and eliminating a processing burden caused by receiving an unnecessary packet. For example, even with the same multicast address, the port number 60001 is used for toner, the port number 6602 is used for FAX reception, and the port number is properly used depending on the service.
Furthermore, as the contents of the above-described device state that determines the transmission condition, the condition change in a combination of specific states is used as a condition, or the condition that the number of changes reaches a certain number, thereby reducing the number of transmission packets, It makes it possible to have state change relevance. For example, the former may be implemented in such a manner that, when a minor error in the device is not notified, an error that requires the intervention of an administrator occurs in the device, along with a related minor error. In the latter case, since the number of received sheets increases when FAX reception is performed several times, notification may be performed once every several times.

Hereinafter, an example relating to the transmission condition set for performing the transmission operation of the information indicating the device state as described above will be shown.
FIG. 9 shows an example of a table for designating the contents of the sending conditions and the multicast address and port number according to the contents. FIG. 10 is a table showing definitions of device state combinations (related to the contents of the transmission conditions in FIG. 9).
[Table 2] in FIG. 9 is an example of transmission conditions. Here, an example is shown in which it is possible to perform settings such as changing the multicast address and port number according to the contents of the transmission conditions.
In the example of [Table 2], the multicast operation is enabled by setting the condition for sending periodically (sending condition ID 5), but the other sending conditions ID 1 to 4 are at the timing when the device state changes. Multicast operation with different port numbers specified.
The sending condition ID1 is a condition that a change occurs in the selected state (see FIG. 5).
The sending condition ID2 is a condition that a change occurs in the state combination A, and the state combination A is “residual combination ID A” in [Table 3] in FIG. A condition change of “no amount” has occurred, ie, any size has become “no remaining amount”.
The transmission condition ID3 is a condition that a change occurs in the state combination B. The state combination B is “FAX reception” “HDD remaining capacity” as shown in “State combination ID B” in [Table 3] in FIG. The condition change of the combination of “10% or less” has occurred, that is, all of them are in the state shown in the combination.
The sending condition ID 4 is based on the condition that the number of state changes has reached a predetermined value.
The transmission condition table (FIG. 9) and the state combination table (FIG. 10) indicating the types of these transmission conditions are used as information for managing the device, such as the NVRAM 10 and HDD 8 (FIG. 2) whose data is not erased when the power is turned off. , Reference).
Further, as shown in an operation flow (FIG. 8) for sending the device status to the network, which will be described later, in the present plan, it is possible to set a sending condition and perform an operation to send the device status to the network according to the setting condition. Therefore, in this case, the transmission condition to be selected is designated by the above-described transmission condition table, and the intended operation is executed.

Next, the operation of sending the device status from the MFP machine to the network will be described according to the control flow.
This control flow sets a transmission condition (see FIG. 9) for the state type selected from the state type table (see FIG. 5) when performing control to send data indicating the device state as a multicast packet. Then, the operation according to the setting is performed.
FIG. 8 shows a control flow according to this embodiment of the operation performed when sending the device status to the network.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an outline of an operation sequence in the processing system in the MFP, and corresponds to the state acquisition step and the multicast packet sending step in the control flow of FIG. The configuration of the processing system shown in FIG. 11 is the same as that in FIG.
With reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 8, a control flow for sending a multicast packet of data indicating a device state will be described.
This control flow is started when the activation of each function is completed after the power of the MFP is turned on and a processing request can be accepted.
When activated, first, a status type to be notified to the network is selected (step S101). This process is a process of selecting a type to be actually transmitted from the types of device states prepared as device states that can be multicast. The type of device state to be selected is selected in relation to the transmission condition, and the transmission condition is set at the same time (step S102).
For example, the state type table (see FIG. 5) and the sending condition table (see FIG. 9) described above are prepared, and the sending condition table changes from the sending condition table to the sending condition ID1 (sending condition: selected state) by operation from the operation panel 20. If a status ID is selected from the status type table at the same time, the status type and transmission conditions are set according to these selections. Even when the conditions after the transmission condition ID2 in the transmission condition table are selected, the state type is determined according to the transmission condition and the transmission condition, as described above. For example, in the case of the transmission condition ID2 or the transmission condition ID3, The state type is selected and set by referring to the combination table (FIG. 10).

When the transmission conditions are set as described above, the device status is acquired through the status check unit 71 of the NCS 68 (see FIGS. 4 and 11) for the status type indicated in the set conditions (see FIG. 4 and FIG. 11). Step S103).
The device state is acquired according to the operation sequence shown in FIG. 11 (the operations from (1) to (7) shown with arrows in the same figure are performed in the order of the assigned numbers). That is, the multicast protocol control unit 77 acquires the state indicated by the condition set through the state check unit 71. According to the sequence of FIG. 11, the multicast protocol control unit 77 makes a (1) state acquisition request to the state check unit 71, and the state check unit 71 makes a (2) state acquisition request to the service layers 62 and 64-69. Furthermore, the service layers 62 and 64 to 69 make (3) status acquisition requests to the applications 51 to 55 and the hardware 30. Upon receiving these status acquisition requests, each of the applications 51 to 55 and the hardware 30 passes the detected status information to the multicast protocol control unit 77 via the service layers 62 and 64 to 69 and the status check unit 71 (in the figure, (4) to (6) are shown in the operation sequence of status information). At this time, the printer application 51 and the fax application 53 are inquired about the status such as printing completion and transmission completion, not the hardware 30.

After acquiring the information indicating the device status, the multicast protocol control unit 77 transmits the acquired status information to the network as a multicast packet (see (7) Packet transmission in FIG. 11. Note that in the example shown in FIG. , It is sent using Port C1 of Address C, but it can be changed by setting the sending condition).
When sending to the network as a multicast packet, the operation is performed according to the sending conditions set in the previous step S102. In the control flow of FIG. 8, for the first acquired state information, a multicast packet is immediately sent to the designated multicast address and port number (step S104).
Thereafter, after a certain SLEEP time (step S105), information indicating the device state is acquired again through the state check unit 71 as in the previous step S101 (step S106).
After acquiring the information indicating the device status, it is determined whether or not the transmission condition is satisfied in light of the transmission condition (see FIG. 9) set in the previous step S102 (step S107). This determination is made according to the example of FIG. 9, whether or not a change has occurred in the state or combination of states, or whether or not the number of state changes has reached a predetermined value even if a state change has occurred. Is obtained as a result of judgment.
If the sending condition is satisfied as a result of judging the sending condition (step S107-YES), the status information acquired at this timing is sent to the network as a multicast packet (step S104), and steps S105 to 107 are executed again.
On the other hand, if the transmission condition is not satisfied (step S107-NO), steps S105 to 107 for acquiring information indicating the device state and checking the transmission condition are performed again after a certain SLEEP time.
The above-described sending operation (S104 to 107) of the information indicating the device status to the network performed according to the sending condition is continued until the control flow is stopped when the power is turned off.

An outline of processing on the host PC side that receives a multicast packet sent from the MFP to the network will be described.
FIG. 12 shows a control flow of multicast setting and processing for receiving the device status from the network.
The control flow shown in FIG. 12 is when the activation of each function is completed after the host PC is turned on, and a processing request can be issued to a device such as an MFP machine via the network. It is activated.
When started, first, initial settings such as a multicast address and a port number for receiving are performed (step S201).
After that, it takes the Listen state and waits for the reception of the multicast packet (step S202). The multicast address and port number specified in the multicast packet at the time of reception are set in this host PC, and whether the packet is to be received. If the multicast address and the port number are different, the packet is not to be received, so no further processing is performed (step S203-NO), and the Listen state is taken again.
On the other hand, if the multicast address and port number match the setting of this host PC and the packet is to be received (YES in step S203), the packet is disassembled, and the status information obtained is processed thereafter (for example, an output request is made). Processing such as storing in the storage unit is performed so that it can be used for the MFP device check processing (step S204), and then the Listen state is again established.
The multicast packet reception / processing operations (S202 to 204) are continued until the control flow is stopped when the power is turned off.

1 illustrates an outline of a configuration of an image output system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows an outline of the hardware configuration of devices A to C (MFP machines) in FIG. 3 shows an outline of a software configuration of the MFP shown in FIG. The block structural example of this embodiment apparatus for performing the multicast of the information showing an apparatus state is shown. An example of a table indicating the type of device status sent from the MFP to the network is shown. The structure of the IPv4 multicast packet in Ethernet (trademark) is shown. An example of sending a multicast packet is shown. The control flow of the operation | movement in which an MFP machine sends an apparatus state to a network is shown. An example of a sending condition table that specifies the contents of sending conditions and a multicast address and port number according to the contents is shown. 10 is a table showing definitions of device status combinations (related to the contents of transmission conditions in FIG. 9). An outline of an operation sequence in the processing system in the MFP machine at the time of status acquisition and transmission of a multicast packet is shown. The control flow of the multicast setting and process for a host to receive an apparatus state from a network is shown.

Explanation of symbols

1. Image forming apparatus (MFP), 2. CPU,
6. ASIC, 12. Ethernet (registered trademark) I / F,
20. Operation panel 21. Engine part (plotter)
68 .. Network Control Service (NCS),
71 .. Status check part, 77 .. Multicast protocol control part.

Claims (3)

  An image forming apparatus having means for forming an image based on image information and network control means for transmitting data to a network by a multicast method using an IP packet, comprising means for detecting a state of the device, and detecting An image forming apparatus characterized in that data representing the device status is transmitted to the network by the network control means.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network control unit transmits data representing the detected device state to the network at a timing when the detected device state changes. Image forming apparatus.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network control unit changes at least one of the multicast address and the port number of the IP packet according to the detected contents of the device state. An image forming apparatus.

Images