JP2007086970A - Job processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for checking a processing status of each job processing device. <P>SOLUTION: A server A200 functions as a job-processing device in a cooperative system which executes cooperative processing which coordinates a plurality of job processing. A job-processing part 210 executes job processing according to instructions for the cooperative processing, and then a processing status checking part 220 checks the processing status of the job processing executed by the job-processing part 210. An execution status screen formation part 230 forms execution status screen data indicating the execution status of the job processing based on the contents of the checking by the processing status checking part 220. The execution status data thus formed are supplied to a multifunction machine 100 which is the request origin of the cooperative processing, and an execution status screen is displayed on the multifunction machine 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for linked service processing that realizes various linked processing by linking various services existing on a network.

  A collaborative system that provides various services by connecting scanners, facsimile machines, printers, copiers, and multifunction machines that integrate these functions to a network and cooperating with information processing devices such as personal computers and mail servers has been proposed. ing.

  In recent years, a technique for linking web applications provided by various servers scattered on the Internet has been proposed. It is expected that system development costs can be greatly reduced if a variety of existing services can be used by connecting application services provided by various providers on the Internet to form a single linked system. . In such a background, Patent Documents 1 and 2 propose technologies for using devices having various functions on a network in cooperation through message exchange and processing.

  In cooperative processing using a plurality of servers existing on the network, for example, target data to be processed is sequentially transferred to each server according to the processing content described in the instruction, and is converted into target data by each server. The job process is executed for this.

  In such cooperation processing, it is desirable to be able to grasp the status of job processing executed by each server (job processing device). For example, when it takes more time than expected for the cooperation processing, if it is possible to grasp the status of job processing of each server, it becomes easy to examine countermeasures.

  Incidentally, Patent Document 3 discloses a print management system that can easily identify the contents of a print job, and Patent Document 4 relates to a specific state of a device on a network edited by a network administrator. A network management apparatus is disclosed in which information can be obtained from each device at any time.

JP 2003-99398 A JP 2004-265425 A JP-A-10-301900 JP 2002-140242 A

  From the background described above, in a linkage system that executes linkage processing in which a plurality of job processes are linked, it is expected that a linkage system that can check the processing status of each job processing apparatus from a multifunction peripheral, for example, is expected. It was.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of confirming the processing status of each job processing apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a job processing apparatus according to a preferred aspect of the present invention is a job processing apparatus in a cooperative system that executes cooperative processing in which a plurality of job processes are linked, and includes instructions for cooperative processing. The job processing execution status information according to the request of the job requesting apparatus that is the request source of the cooperation processing, and the job processing unit that executes the job processing according to Is provided to the job requesting apparatus.

  In the above configuration, execution status information provided to the job requesting apparatus includes, for example, display screen data indicating the execution status, audio data indicating the execution status, and print data indicating the execution status. it can. With the above configuration, the job processing execution status can be confirmed from the job requesting apparatus.

  In a preferred aspect, the job processing apparatus further includes a screen forming unit that forms an execution status screen indicating an execution status of job processing based on the confirmation content by the processing status checking unit, and the execution status information is an execution status. A screen is provided to the job request apparatus. In a desirable aspect, the processing status confirmation unit is configured to execute a job by another job processing device that is responsible for the cooperative processing in addition to the execution status of the job processing by the job processing device for the cooperative processing requested to be confirmed by the job requesting device. The execution status of the process is confirmed, and the screen forming unit forms an execution status screen relating to the execution status of a plurality of job processes by a plurality of job processing apparatuses responsible for the linkage processing.

  In a desirable mode, the screen forming unit forms a list screen displaying a list of execution statuses of a plurality of job processes by associating an identifier for specifying the job process with the progress status of the job process for each job process. It is characterized by. In a preferred aspect, the screen forming unit forms a detailed screen of the execution status including the progress rate of the job processing for each job processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a program according to a preferred aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as a job processing apparatus in a cooperation system that executes cooperation processing. It functions as a job processing unit that executes job processing according to the instruction sheet, and a processing status confirmation unit that checks the processing status of job processing, and executes job processing execution status information in response to a request from the job requesting apparatus that is the source of the cooperation processing Is provided to the job requesting apparatus.

  The program having the above configuration may be provided via a network, for example, or may be provided by being stored in a storage medium such as an optical disc. The program having the above-described configuration may be divided into a plurality of programs. For example, a form in which a program serving as a main body is provided first, and an additional program for adding a part of the function later is provided.

  In a preferred aspect, the program causes a computer to function as a screen forming unit that forms an execution status screen indicating the execution status of job processing based on the confirmation content by the processing status checking unit, and the execution status screen is used as the execution status information. Is provided to the job requesting apparatus. In a preferred aspect, the processing status confirmation means includes, in addition to the execution status of job processing by the computer functioning as the job processing device, other jobs responsible for the coordination processing for which the confirmation is requested by the job requesting device. The execution status of the job processing by the processing device is confirmed, and the screen forming means forms an execution status screen regarding the execution status of the plurality of job processing by the plurality of job processing devices responsible for the linkage processing.

  In a preferred aspect, the screen forming unit forms a list screen displaying a list of execution statuses of a plurality of job processes by associating an identifier for specifying the job process with the progress status of the job process for each job process. It is characterized by. In a preferred aspect, the screen forming means forms a detailed screen of the execution status including the progress rate of the job processing for each job processing.

  According to the present invention, the processing status of each job processing apparatus can be confirmed from the job requesting apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a cooperation system according to the present invention.

  1 is a system in which a plurality of servers (reference numerals 200 to 206) functioning as job processing apparatuses and a multifunction peripheral 100 functioning as a job requesting apparatus are connected to each other via a network 300. A typical example of the network 300 is the Internet, but other public networks may be used. The network 300 may include a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The server A 200, the server B 202, the server C 204, and the server D 206 are servers that provide a processing service for target data such as document data and image data in the form of a web application service, for example. Each of these servers can execute one or more types of jobs (services).

  FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration inside the server A200. The server B202, the server C204, and the server D206 have the same functional configuration as the server A200, but are simplified in FIG. Each of the servers A200 to D206 has a hardware configuration (not shown) such as a CPU, a memory, and a hard disk. The software (program) for causing these hardware configurations to function as a job processing device and the hardware configuration cooperate to form a job processing unit 210, a processing status confirmation unit 220, and an execution status screen shown in FIG. Each function of the unit 230 is realized. For example, each process described in the program is executed step by step mainly by the CPU and the memory, and if necessary, a storage area inside the hard disk is used, so that the job processing unit 210, the processing status confirmation unit 220, the execution status Each function of the screen forming unit 230 is realized. Details of these functions will be described later.

  The multi-function device 100 is a device having at least a part of functions such as a scanner, a printer, a copier, and a facsimile.

  FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration inside the multifunction peripheral 100. The multi-function device 100 includes a hardware configuration such as a CPU, a memory, and an operation input device in addition to a hardware configuration for realizing functions such as a scanner, a printer, a copier, and a facsimile. The hardware configuration cooperates with software that controls the hardware configuration, thereby realizing the functions of the UI (user interface) unit 110, the cooperation processing request unit 120, and the cooperation processing management unit 130 illustrated in FIG. For example, the functions of the cooperation processing request unit 120 and the cooperation processing management unit 130 are realized mainly by the CPU and the memory, and the UI unit 110 is operated by using an operation input device such as a liquid crystal touch panel, a numeric keypad button, and various control buttons. The function is realized.

  In the system according to the present embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 100 requests a plurality of servers A200 to D206 to perform processing according to an appropriate processing flow, thereby linking services provided by the individual servers. Is realized.

  The cooperation service is realized based on the instruction sheet. The instruction includes the definition of the unit job. The definition of a unit job is, for example, the server name of the server that executes the unit job, and the method name for specifying the unit job for the server (that is, the unit job is specified by specifying the server and the method). In addition, processing parameters to be given to the method are included. In the instruction sheet, unit job definitions are arranged in an order corresponding to the execution order of the unit jobs. The instruction sheet can be described in, for example, XML, and is created by the multifunction device 100 in accordance with a user instruction. Alternatively, an already created instruction may be selected by the user.

  When requesting the cooperation service, the cooperation processing request unit 120 of the multifunction peripheral 100 requests each server of the server A 200 to the server D 206 to execute a unit job according to the instruction of the cooperation processing. As a result, target data to be processed is sequentially transferred to each server, and job processing is executed on the target data by each server. For example, the target data obtained as a result of the cooperation process is returned to the multi-function peripheral 100, and the user uses the target data.

  The target data that is the target of the cooperation processing is, for example, document data or image data. Examples of job processing executed by each server include various processing such as character reading processing, image enlargement / reduction processing, and image resolution conversion processing. Note that the target data transferred between servers may be subjected to encryption processing using a public key or the like as necessary.

  As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 100 requests the servers A200 to D206 to perform processing according to an appropriate processing flow, thereby providing services provided by the individual servers. A linked service is realized. In the system of the present embodiment, the processing status of job processing of each server can be confirmed from the multifunction peripheral 100.

  Therefore, a description will be given of the processing procedure of the cooperation service by the system of FIG. 1 and the confirmation procedure of the job processing status of each server. The parts already shown in FIG. 1 will be described below using the reference numerals in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the cooperation service processing procedure and the job processing status confirmation procedure of each server in the system of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the processing procedure of the cooperation service using the two servers of the server A 200 and the server B 202 is shown in S200 to S216. Also, the confirmation procedure of the job processing status in the cooperation service is shown in S250 to S260. Hereinafter, the processing content will be described for each step of the flowchart of FIG.

  In S <b> 200, the cooperation process request unit 120 of the multifunction peripheral 100 interprets the contents of the instruction sheet and starts the cooperation process according to the contents of the instruction sheet. For example, scan data (target data) obtained by scanning a document is transmitted to the server A 200 based on the URL described in the instruction sheet. At that time, the instruction file is transmitted to the server A 200 together with the target data.

  In S202, the server A 200 receives a job process execution request (cooperation process execution request), and generates a job identifier for specifying the job process. The job identifier is not particularly limited as long as it can uniquely identify the corresponding job. For example, the job identifier is generated from the identification information of the server A 200 and the execution start time of the job. Then, the server A 200 transmits the job processing execution status confirmation URL (uniform resource locator) corresponding to the job identifier and the job identifier to the multifunction device 100.

  In S204, the job processing unit 210 of the server A 200 executes job processing according to the contents of the instruction sheet file. The server A 200 stores the correspondence between the job identifier generated in S202 and the job processing of the identifier. That is, when a plurality of job processes are executed in the job processing unit 210, the job identifiers are associated with each other so that the job process corresponding to the identifier can be specified.

  In S206, the job processing unit 210 of the server A200 calls the server B202 according to the contents of the instruction file. That is, in the instruction file in this example, an instruction to call the server B 202 from the server A 200 and request the server B 202 for job processing is described. Therefore, the job processing unit 210 of the server A 200 transmits the target file and the instruction file to the server B 202 according to the instruction.

  In step S208, the server B 202 receives a job process execution request (cooperation process execution request), and generates a job identifier for specifying the job process. The job identifier is not particularly limited as long as it can uniquely identify the corresponding job. For example, the job identifier is generated from the identification information of the server B 202 and the execution start time of the job. Then, the server B 202 transmits the URL (uniform resource locator) of the job processing execution status confirmation service and the job identifier corresponding to the job identifier to the server A 200.

  In S210, the job processing unit 210 of the server B 202 executes job processing according to the contents of the instruction sheet file. The server B 202 stores the correspondence between the job identifier generated in S208 and the job processing of the identifier. That is, when a plurality of job processes are executed in the job processing unit 210, the job identifiers are associated with each other so that the job process corresponding to the identifier can be specified.

  In step S212, the job processing in the server B 202 ends, and the server B 202 notifies the server A 200 of the end of job processing. In step S214, the server A 200 that has received the end notification from the server B 202 notifies the multifunction peripheral 100 of the end of job processing. Thus, in S216, the end of the cooperation process is confirmed by the multifunction peripheral 100 that has received the end notification from the server A200.

  Steps S250 to S260 show the procedure for checking the execution status of job processing in each server from the multifunction peripheral 100 during execution of job processing of the cooperation service described above.

  In S250, the job identifier of the cooperation process for confirming the execution status is specified from the multifunction peripheral 100. That is, the user who uses the multi-function peripheral 100 starts the execution status confirmation service by specifying the URL of the execution status confirmation service transmitted from the server A200 in S202, and further, the job identifier transmitted from the server A200 in S202. Is specified.

  In step S252, the processing status confirmation unit 220 of the server A 200 that has received the execution status confirmation instruction confirms the processing status of the job corresponding to the designated job identifier. In the cooperation process of this example, the server A 200 is called from the server B 202 to request the server B 202 for job processing.

  Therefore, in S254, the processing status confirmation unit 220 of the server A200 designates the URL of the execution status confirmation service transmitted from the server B202 in S208 and activates the execution status confirmation service of the server B202, and in S208, the server The job identifier transmitted from B202 is designated. In step S256, the processing status confirmation unit 220 of the server B 202 that has received the execution status confirmation instruction confirms the processing status of the job corresponding to the designated job identifier. As a result, execution status information indicating the processing status of job processing in the server B 202 is transmitted to the server A 200. In the present embodiment, the execution status information is described in HTML.

  In S <b> 258, the execution status screen forming unit 230 of the server A <b> 200, based on the confirmation result by the processing status confirmation unit 220, the execution status information of the job processing being executed in the server A <b> 200 and the job of the server B <b> 202 transmitted from the server B <b> 202. Execution status screen data reflecting processing execution status information is formed. The execution status screen data is described in HTML. In S260, the UI unit 110 of the MFP 100 interprets the transmitted execution status screen data and displays the execution status screen on a liquid crystal panel or the like.

  The job processing status confirmation procedure described above allows the user to confirm the job processing execution status in each server from the execution status screen displayed on the multifunction peripheral 100. Next, an execution status screen displayed on the multifunction device 100 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an execution status screen displayed on the multifunction peripheral 100. The execution status screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the liquid crystal panel of the multi-function peripheral 100 when the UI section 110 of the multi-function peripheral 100 interprets the HTML screen data formed by the execution status screen forming section 230 of the server A200. The

  FIG. 3A shows a list screen displaying a list of execution statuses of a plurality of job processes executed on a plurality of servers. In this list screen, a list of job identifiers (JobID) corresponding to each of a plurality of job processes is shown, and furthermore, each job identifier has a job execution status and job type specified by the job identifier. Is associated with the progress of the job.

  For example, in FIG. 3A, the job with the job identifier “3a51-2987” is currently “executing”. Further, this job is a “job flow” job, and shows the cooperation processing itself that has been started in the multifunction peripheral 100. For this reason, the progress status of this job identifier indicates the completion status of jobs included in the linkage processing (1/2 jobs are completed). Further, FIG. 3A shows a plurality of jobs included in the job (cooperation processing) with the job identifier “3a51-2987”.

  For example, the job with the job identifier “3a51-298” is a scan job executed by the multi-function peripheral 100, and it is indicated that the job has already been completed. The job with the job identifier “3a51-2989” is an external service call job called from the multifunction peripheral 100, and is currently being executed. The job with the job identifier “3a51-2989” is, for example, a job for calling the server A200 from the multifunction peripheral 100.

  In FIG. 3A, a job with a job identifier “3a51-2989” is a job for further executing a job with a job identifier “3864-2988”. For example, the server A200 called by the multi-function device 100 further includes a server. This is a job for calling B202.

  As described above, the list screen of FIG. 3A shows the processing status of each job process included in the job (cooperation process) specified by the job identifier “3a51-2987”. It is possible to easily grasp how far the processing has progressed.

  Note that the job identifier “3a51-2990” is also displayed on the list screen of FIG. In this way, when there are a plurality of currently executed cooperative processes, the plural cooperative processes are displayed as a list. Furthermore, since a job (cooperation processing) may be executed in parallel with one instruction sheet, a list of jobs executed in parallel may be displayed.

  FIG. 3B shows a detailed screen showing details of the execution status such as the progress rate of the job processing for each job processing. The detailed screen of FIG. 3B is an example of a detailed screen related to the job with the job identifier “3a51-2989” displayed on the list screen of FIG. The detailed screen of FIG. 3B shows that the job identifier (JobID) of the job corresponding to this screen is “3a51-2989” and that the job type is an external service call. That is, according to the example shown in FIG. 3A, the job calls the server A 200 from the multifunction peripheral 100.

  In the detail screen of FIG. 3B, the URL of the server called by the job with the job identifier “3a51-2989” (for example, the URL of the server A 200), the progress rate of the job, and the processing outline of the job Is displayed.

  Further, according to the example shown in FIG. 3A, the job with the job identifier “3a51-2989” is called by the job (for example, the MFP 100) that further executes the job with the job identifier “3864-2988”. Server A200 further calls server B202). Therefore, the URL of the external service to be called (for example, the URL of the server B 202) is also displayed on the job details screen shown in FIG.

  As described above, detailed information on the processing status of the job specified by the job identifier “3a51-2989” is displayed on the detailed screen in FIG. Of course, in response to a user request or the like, a detailed screen related to a job with another job identifier is also displayed.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In the above-described embodiment, the server A 200 forms execution status screen data reflecting the execution status information of the two servers, the server A 200 and the server B 202. It is also possible to extend this method to cooperative processing in which job processing is executed in the order of server A200, server B202, and server C204. For example, the execution status information of the server C204 is transmitted to the server B202, and the server B202 that acquired the server C204 transmits the execution status information of the server B202 and the server C204 to the server A200. Execution status screen data reflecting the above may be formed.

  In addition, the server A 200 may not collect the execution status information of all servers. For example, the URL of a service that provides execution status information of the server B202 is transmitted from the server B202 to the server A200, the server A200 forms screen data including the URL as link information, and the screen data is combined. To the machine 100. Then, when the user specifies a URL included in the screen data from the multi-function device 100, the URL, that is, the service providing the execution status information of the server B202 is accessed, and the execution status of the server B202 may be confirmed. .

  Furthermore, the processing status of each server may be confirmed, and the job processing of each server may be changed or the processing parameters may be changed as necessary. For example, the URL of a service that accepts operations such as job processing change, cancellation, and parameter change related to job processing is embedded in the detailed screen of each job processing (see FIG. 3B). By designating the URL included in the screen data from, a service for changing or canceling job processing may be made accessible.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, embodiment mentioned above is only a mere illustration in all the points, and does not limit the scope of the present invention.

It is a whole block diagram of the cooperation system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the confirmation procedure of the job processing status of each server. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an execution status screen displayed on a multifunction peripheral. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  100 MFP, 200 server A, 220 processing status confirmation unit, 230 execution status screen forming unit.

Claims (10)

A job processing apparatus in a linkage system that executes a linkage process in which a plurality of job processes are linked,
A job processing unit that executes job processing according to the instructions for linkage processing;
A processing status check unit for checking the processing status of job processing;
Have
Providing job processing execution status information to the job requesting device in response to a request from the job requesting device that is the source of the cooperation processing,
A job processing apparatus. The job processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A screen forming unit that forms an execution status screen showing the execution status of the job processing based on the confirmation content by the processing status confirmation unit;
Providing an execution status screen as the execution status information to the job requesting device;
A job processing apparatus. The job processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
The processing status confirmation unit is configured to execute the job processing execution status by another job processing device that is responsible for the cooperative processing in addition to the job processing execution status by the job processing device for the cooperation processing requested to be confirmed by the job requesting device. Check
The screen forming unit forms an execution status screen related to an execution status of a plurality of job processes by a plurality of job processing devices responsible for the linkage processing.
A job processing apparatus. The job processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The screen forming unit forms a list screen displaying a list of execution statuses of a plurality of job processes by associating an identifier for identifying the job process for each job process with the progress status of the job process.
A job processing apparatus. The job processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The screen forming unit forms a detailed screen of the execution status including the progress rate of the job processing for each job processing,
A job processing apparatus. A program for causing a computer to function as a job processing device in a linkage system that executes linkage processing,
Computer
Job processing means for executing job processing in accordance with the instructions for linkage processing;
Processing status confirmation means for confirming the processing status of job processing,
Function as
In response to a request from the job requesting device that is the requester of the linked processing, the job requesting device is provided with job processing execution status information.
A program characterized by that. The program according to claim 6,
Causing the computer to function as screen forming means for forming an execution status screen showing the execution status of the job processing based on the confirmation content by the processing status confirmation means;
Providing the job request apparatus with an execution status screen as the execution status information;
A program characterized by that. The program according to claim 7,
The processing status confirmation unit is configured to execute a job by another job processing device that is responsible for the cooperative processing in addition to the execution status of the job processing by the computer functioning as the job processing device for the cooperative processing requested to be confirmed by the job requesting device. Check the execution status of the process,
The screen forming means forms an execution status screen relating to an execution status of a plurality of job processes by a plurality of job processing devices responsible for the linkage processing.
A program characterized by that. The program according to claim 8, wherein
The screen forming means forms a list screen displaying a list of execution statuses of a plurality of job processes by associating an identifier for specifying the job process for each job process with the progress status of the job process.
A program characterized by that. The program according to claim 8, wherein
The screen forming unit forms a detailed screen of the execution status including the progress rate of the job processing for each job processing.
A program characterized by that.

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