JP2007109060A - Apparatus, method and program for managing resource - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to easily cope with an error or the like while keeping high visibility due to a change in a display format of an icon such as a change in the color of an icon (index) of a printer according to a cause of an error in the download of a resource. <P>SOLUTION: In downloading a resource to one or more printers 2 by a managing PC 2, the state of the printer 2 to which the resource is downloaded is displayed. Then the downloading state of the resource to the printer 2 is determined. Then the display format of the printer 2 is changed in accordance with the determination result in downloading the resource. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a resource management apparatus, a resource management method, and a program for managing a state in a system when downloading resources such as font data, form overlay data, and color matching data used in a printing apparatus.

  Conventionally, when resources such as font data, form overlay data, and color matching data are used in a printing apparatus such as a printer, they are downloaded and used in the printing apparatus unless they are stored in the printing apparatus in advance. Software for performing this processing includes Canon NetSpot Resource Downloader and Hewlett Packard Resource Manager. In these softwares, when resource download fails, an error message is displayed to inform the user that an error has occurred.

On the other hand, software that displays the status of a printing apparatus with an icon has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to this, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the printing apparatus is usable by displaying the icon.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-229508

  Considering the download of resources used for printing, there are three main causes of errors. The first is an error of the printing apparatus, which is a case where the printing apparatus cannot be used, for example, a state where processing cannot be accepted due to a paper jam or memory full. The second is a network error, for example, when a timeout occurs due to network congestion. The third is a resource error, for example, when the resource to be downloaded is broken or the data format is different.

  When downloading to several printing devices, it is considered that there will be no problem even if the message is displayed as before. However, considering the case where font data is downloaded to thousands of printers connected to the mainframe computer, if there is a resource error, thousands of error messages will occur, making it very difficult to deal with.

  Also, when the status of the printing device is displayed with an icon etc., it can be easily determined which printing device can be used, but it is not known how to handle the error, and I had to rely on error messages.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a resource management device, a resource management method, and a program that can achieve the following objects. In other words, it is possible for the user to easily deal with errors while maintaining high visibility by changing the icon display form, such as changing the color of the icon (index) of the printing device depending on the cause of the error during resource download. And

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a resource management apparatus that downloads resources to one or a plurality of printing apparatuses,
Display means for displaying the status of the printing device of the download destination;
Determination means for determining a state at the time of downloading the resource to the printing apparatus;
And changing means for changing a display form of the printing device by the display means according to a determination result at the time of downloading the resource by the determining means.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is a resource management method for downloading resources to one or a plurality of printing apparatuses,
A display process for displaying the status of the printing device of the download destination on the display screen of the computer;
A determination step of determining a state when the resource is downloaded to the printing apparatus;
And a changing step of changing a display form of the printing apparatus displayed on the display screen according to a determination result at the time of downloading the resource by the determining step.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problem, a program according to the present invention provides:
A computer that causes one or more printing devices to download resources;
A display procedure for displaying the status of the printing device of the download destination on the display screen;
A determination procedure for determining a state when the resource is downloaded to the printing apparatus;
And a change procedure for changing a display form of the printing apparatus displayed on the display screen in accordance with a determination result when the resource is downloaded by the determination procedure.

  According to the present invention, the user can easily cope with an error while maintaining high visibility by changing the icon display form, such as changing the color of the icon (index) of the printing device depending on the cause of the error at the time of resource download. Make it possible to do.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a network such as a LAN. The network 1 is a concept in which a physical cable and a communication protocol are combined. Here, it is assumed that communication by TCP / IP is performed. A management PC 2 downloads resources such as fonts, forms, and color profiles to the printer 3. All of the resources to be downloaded and the downloader that is the software that performs the download process are held on the PC 2. Reference numeral 3 denotes a printer to be downloaded, which may be one, but usually a plurality of printers are connected to the network 1.

  Since the TCP / IP protocol is used, a printer with a different subnet may be connected. In this case, a router connects between networks with different subnets, and a printer is connected to each subnet. When the subnets are different, the router is set so that the protocol used for downloading (conceptual protocol higher than TCP / IP) can pass through the router.

  In addition to those shown in FIG. 1, it is common for various network compatible devices such as personal computers, terminals, and servers to be connected on the same network, but this does not affect the description of the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the downloader implemented in one embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a downloader operation screen displayed on the PC 2.

  When the resource downloader is activated in the PC 2, the printer on the network 1 is searched. The search is performed using an upper protocol of TCP / IP such as SNMP. When the search is completed, printers that can be downloaded are displayed in an area 21 on the screen. For the display, for example, the printer can be represented by an icon and displayed in a tree shape to improve the visibility. For example, in FIG. 2, the character string displayed on the right side of the printer icon represents the printer name. The type of color written next to the printer name is the color of the printer icon. In fact, the icon is displayed in that color on the screen, and the name of this color is not displayed.

  Next, the operator selects a printer to be downloaded from the printer list displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. The selection / cancellation operation becomes a target when the icon of the printer is clicked once using a pointing device such as a mouse, for example, and is canceled when clicked again. When a plurality of printers are selected at a time, the printer in the enclosed range is selected by moving the cursor so as to surround the printer icon while holding down the pointing device button. If all printers are to be processed, click on the square that is the root of the tree display. In the selected printer, the character portion is highlighted in reverse color or displayed in a frame. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the following description will be made assuming that all printers have been selected.

  The operator sets the resource to be downloaded next. When the operator clicks the resource addition button 22, a file selection dialog box is displayed. The operator instructs the resource to be downloaded on the dialog box. Here, as shown in the area 23, five types of fonts and three types of color profiles are selected. If the resource is not to be downloaded, the resource is no longer a download target resource by instructing the resource with a pointing device and then clicking the resource delete button 24. In this way, after the download destination printer and the download target resource are determined, when the download button 25 is clicked, the download is performed.

  The printer icon represents the difference in operating state at that time depending on the type of color. For example, a blue color indicates a normal operation and a resource can be downloaded. Also, yellow is a printer that could not be accessed due to a network error, and printers that cannot be accessed in the initial state are not listed, so they are not listed when the screen is in the stage of FIG. Further, the orange color indicates that the printer is in use or is undergoing initialization processing, and resource download is possible when the status of the printer changes after the processing is completed. Furthermore, the red color indicates that the printer printing unit is defective, indicating that the printer cannot be printed but the printer settings can be changed and the resources can be downloaded, such as a paper jam, a shortage of toner / ink, or a paper feed mechanism failure. Furthermore, purple indicates that the resource is illegal and that printing cannot be performed due to an illegal print resource because a Japanese font has been downloaded to a Western printer or the data is corrupted. Note that blinking red indicates that the printer is defective and indicates printer states other than those indicated by blue, orange, red, and purple.

  In FIG. 2, Printer-A, B, C, E, and F are in a normal state, D and G are in an abnormal state, of which D is a defective printing unit of the printer, and G is in use or initialization processing. is there.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the downloader screen after the download is executed. In the screen shown in FIG. 3, the color of the icon of the printer in which a problem has occurred when downloading is changed compared to the screen shown in FIG. For example, a timeout due to the network occurs during downloading to the Printer-B and C, and the download has failed, so the icons of those printers are yellow. Also, Printer-D remains red, and Printer-F is purple because the downloaded resource is incompatible with the printer. Further, Printer-G does not change the state of using the printer or initialization process, and remains an orange icon.

  Of these color-coded icons, the yellow and orange colors can change over time, so that it can be downloaded by re-downloading. If the color is red, the resource can be downloaded to the printer, and it can be seen that the download is successful if the printer printing unit is defective even after the download is completed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, colors are classified from the viewpoint of whether or not an operation of downloading a resource is possible, not from the viewpoint of whether or not the state of the printing apparatus can be printed. By doing so, it becomes obvious at a glance which printer can be reprocessed and which printer needs recovery processing other than reprocessing.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the downloader at the time of downloading in the resource according to the embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the operation of the downloader when the download button is clicked in the screen state shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

  First, the number of target printers is substituted into a variable N (step S401). Here, the target printer is a printer selected on the screen. Next, it is determined whether N is 0 (step S402). If N = 0 (Yes), the process proceeds to step S411. On the other hand, if N ≠ 0 (NO), the process proceeds to step S403.

  In step S403, the resource is downloaded to the printer N. Here, it is assumed that the printers are numbered internally from No. 1 to No. N in order. Next, the printer status is acquired (step S404). Then, it is determined whether or not the acquisition is successful by the state acquisition process performed in step S404 (step S405). As a result, if acquisition is possible (Yes), the process proceeds to step S406. If acquisition is not possible (No), the process proceeds to step S407.

  In step S406, the icon color is set according to the acquired state, and the process proceeds to step S410. On the other hand, in step S407, it is determined whether or not the reason for the acquisition is a timeout related to network processing. As a result, when it is determined that the timeout is related to the network processing (Yes), the process proceeds to step S408. On the other hand, if it is determined that the timeout has not occurred (No), the process proceeds to step S409.

  Note that whether or not the timeout is related to network processing is determined based on whether or not the communication can be performed partially. That is, if communication cannot be performed at all, it is determined that there is a problem with the printer. Otherwise, it is determined that there is a network problem. Although not employed in the present embodiment, if communication with another printer on the same subnet is possible and communication with only a specific printer cannot be performed, it is determined that the problem is a printer. If communication with all printers on the same subnet cannot be performed, it can be determined that there is a network problem.

  In step S408, the color attribute of the printer icon is set to yellow, and the process proceeds to step S410. In step S409, the color attribute of the printer icon is set to blink red, and the process proceeds to step S410.

  In step S410, the counter N is decremented by 1 (decrement), and the process returns to step S402. In step S411, the screen is updated according to the color attribute set for each icon.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the operation of step S406 of FIG. In step S406, an icon color is set based on the acquired printer state.

  First, it is determined from the acquired state whether there is an error (step S501). As a result, when it is determined that there is no error (Yes), the process proceeds to step S506. On the other hand, if it is not determined that there is no error (No), the process proceeds to step S502. In step S502, it is determined from the acquired state whether there is a printing section error. If it is determined that there is a printing unit error (Yes), the process proceeds to step S507. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S503.

  In step S503, it is determined from the acquired state whether the printer is being used. If it is determined that the printer is in use (Yes), the process proceeds to step S508. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S504. In step S504, it is determined whether the printer is being initialized from the acquired state. If it is determined that the printer is being initialized (Yes), the process proceeds to step S508. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S505.

  In step S505, it is determined from the acquired state whether the resource is illegal. If it is determined that the resource is illegal (Yes), the process proceeds to step S509. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S510.

  In step S506, since it is determined that all are normal, the color attribute of the icon is set to blue. In step S507, the color attribute of the icon is set to red because of an error in the printing unit. In step S508, the color attribute of the icon is set to orange because the printer is in use or being initialized. Furthermore, in step S509, the color attribute of the icon is set to purple because the downloaded resource is invalid. Furthermore, in step S510, the printer state is regarded as an error state that cannot be determined, and the icon color is set to flashing red.

  Here, an example of operation from when the download button is clicked in the screen state shown in FIG. 2 until the screen state shown in FIG. 3 is reached will be specifically described. First, the number of printers N is 7. Internally, printer A is associated with number 1, printer B is associated with number 2, and so on.

  Here, when downloading to the No. 7 printer G, downloading to the printer cannot be performed, and when the status is acquired, information indicating that the printer is in use is returned, so the icon is set to orange. Next, when a resource was downloaded to the sixth printer G, the resource was not processed by the printer. Therefore, since the resource fraud is returned when the status is acquired, the icon is set in purple.

  Next, all the printers No. 5 finish without a problem and there is no error, so the icon is set to blue. Furthermore, the download of the printer No. 4 is completed, but when the status is acquired, the printing unit failure is returned, so the icon is set to red. In addition, both the third printer C and the second printer B set the icon in yellow because a timeout occurred during downloading or status acquisition. Since the first printer A ends without any problem and there is no error, the icon is set to blue.

  After the processing of all the printers is completed in this way, the icons on the screen are rewritten according to the set icon color, and the processing ends.

  As described above, regarding the download process, if the icon is blue or red, it can be determined that the process is normally completed. If it is yellow or orange, it can be determined that there is a possibility of downloading by retry. Further, if purple indicates resource correction, and red blinking, it can be determined that the printer needs to be confirmed or repaired.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, only yellow and orange icons can be kept in a selected state so that retry can be easily performed. That is, if the icon is blinking purple or red, the retry is meaningless, and the blue and red icons are successful downloads. Therefore, it makes sense to try re-downloading only for yellow and orange icons.

  As described above, by classifying errors from the viewpoint of executing download, not by whether or not the printer can be printed, and by color-coding them with icons, it is possible to easily know what to do when download fails. In this embodiment, color coding is performed. However, other methods such as changing the shape of the icon, overlaying another icon on the printer icon, and displaying supplemental information in addition to the icon may be used.

  In addition to downloading, specific settings such as paper size setting, print area setting, and panel display language setting may be set as follows. That is, by performing classification according to the processing, the difference in paper size is displayed as an error, but even if there is a problem in the resource setting HDD, it is not distinguished as an error. Thus, by providing a user interface suitable for the processing to be performed, the operator can appropriately perform the processing. As a similar example, with respect to the use of a network setting program, there may be a user interface such as ignoring printing, an operation panel, paper status, and the like.

  Furthermore, when the process can be selected, the determination of the icon state can be switched depending on the selected process. For example, when a download process is being performed, a state determination suitable for the download process is performed to determine the icon shape and color. Further, when the network setting process is being performed, the state determination suitable for the network setting process is performed to determine the icon shape and color. In this way, by switching the determination means according to the process, it is possible to provide a user interface that matches the process.

  The present invention may be implemented as a downloader that is pre-installed in the apparatus, or may be implemented as a software program that is loaded and executed on a general-purpose computer or the like. Alternatively, the program may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when downloading is performed on a network to which a plurality of printing apparatuses are connected, the downloaded printer is reprocessed by changing download success / retry / failure / setting. Classified. As described above, by classifying according to the state related to the download process and changing the icon according to the state, the operator can easily perform a response that matches the purpose.

  Furthermore, the present process is not limited to the download process. By changing the display means according to the classification corresponding to the process performed at that time, the specific work efficiency can be improved and the operator's mistakes can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the network system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the operation screen of the downloader displayed on PC2. It is a figure which shows an example of the downloader screen after download effective. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the downloader at the time of download in the system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the operation of step S406 in FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

1 Network 2 Management PC
3 Printer

Claims (10)

A resource management device that downloads resources to one or more printing devices,
Display means for displaying the status of the printing device of the download destination;
Determination means for determining a state at the time of downloading the resource to the printing apparatus;
A resource management apparatus comprising: a changing unit configured to change a display form of the printing apparatus by the display unit according to a determination result when the resource is downloaded by the determination unit.   An instruction means for instructing a download destination printing apparatus, wherein a printing apparatus in which an error that does not depend on a failure of the printing apparatus itself has occurred among the printing apparatuses determined to have failed to download the resource from the determination result of the determination section. The resource management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising instruction means for collectively instructing the apparatuses as download destination printing apparatuses. The display means is capable of displaying the state of the printing apparatus using indices according to a plurality of types of forms;
The resource management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing unit changes the form of the index displayed by the display unit to a form corresponding to the state of the printing apparatus.   The resource management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display unit is capable of displaying the state of the printing apparatus by color coding of an index.   The resource management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display unit is capable of displaying the state of the printing apparatus based on a difference in the shape of an index.   The resource management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display unit can display the state of the printing apparatus by adding additional information together with the index.   7. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a download state of the resource regardless of whether the printing apparatus is in a printable state. Resource management device. The determination unit determines that there is no error when the resource is downloaded, an error in the printing apparatus, an error in the network, or an error in the resource,
The change means changes an indicator form to a display form corresponding to each of no error, an error in a printing apparatus, an error in a network, or an error in a resource. The resource management device according to any one of the above. A resource management method for downloading resources to one or more printing devices,
A display process for displaying the status of the printing device of the download destination on the display screen of the computer;
A determination step of determining a state when the resource is downloaded to the printing apparatus;
A resource management method comprising: a changing step of changing a display form of the printing apparatus displayed on the display screen according to a determination result at the time of downloading the resource in the determination step. A computer that causes one or more printing devices to download resources;
A display procedure for displaying the status of the printing device of the download destination on the display screen;
A determination procedure for determining a state when the resource is downloaded to the printing apparatus;
A program for executing a change procedure for changing a display form of the printing apparatus displayed on the display screen according to a determination result when the resource is downloaded by the determination procedure.

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