JP2009266139A - Image processing system, image processor and management device for managing image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly reflect a setting change on an image processor even though a standby job waiting for execution exists in the image processor when performing the setting change of the image processor from a management device connected to the image processor through a network. <P>SOLUTION: The management device 2 temporarily saves the standby job from a job storage area 34 to a job save area 35, subsequently shifts the image processor 1 to a locked state and performs the setting change when the standby job waiting for execution exists in the job storage area 34 in performing the setting change of the image processor 1. The management device 2 finishes the setting change of the image processor 1, subsequently releases the locked state of the image processor 1 and also makes the standby job executable by returning the standby job saved in the job save area 35 to the original job storage area 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system including an image processing apparatus that executes a job related to image processing, and a management apparatus connected to the image processing apparatus via a network. The present invention relates to a technique for changing the setting of an image processing apparatus by rewriting the setting state.

  In recent years, image processing apparatuses that execute jobs relating to image processing, such as multifunction peripherals and MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals), are connected to a management apparatus (such as a PC) operated by an administrator via a network. The setting state of the image processing apparatus can be changed by remote operation by operating the management apparatus.

  Conventionally, when setting of an image processing apparatus is changed by remote operation, if the setting can be changed, for example, the image processing apparatus is not executing a job, the setting information is prohibited after accepting the job. There is known a technique for rewriting (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, when a job is being executed in the image processing apparatus, the setting change cannot be immediately executed in response to the setting change request. Therefore, the image processing apparatus accepts the setting change request as a reservation, and the job is not executed. It has also been proposed to execute a reserved setting change after completion of the setting change (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-10-294844 JP 2007-214853 A

  However, in the conventional technology described above, when a large number of standby jobs waiting to be executed remain in the image processing apparatus, the setting of the image processing apparatus is not changed until execution of all the standby jobs is completed. Therefore, even if the administrator wants to immediately change the setting of the image processing apparatus, there is a problem that it takes time until the setting change is reflected on the image processing apparatus.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-described conventional problems, and even if there is a standby job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus, the management apparatus performs the operation on the image processing apparatus. The present invention provides an image processing system that can quickly reflect a setting change to the image processing apparatus, and also provides an image processing apparatus and a management apparatus for realizing the system.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an image processing apparatus that executes a job related to image processing, and is connected to the image processing apparatus via a network, and is set by rewriting a setting state of the image processing apparatus. A management device that performs a change, and the image processing device locks the image processing device after the management device locks the image processing device so that a job-related process is not performed in the image processing device during a setting change of the image processing device. The image processing apparatus includes a standby job storage unit that stores a standby job waiting to be executed, and the management apparatus changes the setting of the image processing apparatus. If there is a standby job in the standby job storage means, the image processing is performed after the standby job is temporarily saved from the standby job storage means. The apparatus is changed to a locked state, the setting is changed, and after the setting change of the image processing apparatus is completed, the locked state of the image processing apparatus is released, and the saved standby job is returned to the standby job storage unit. It is said.

  According to such a configuration, a job that has been input before the setting change of the image processing apparatus can be executed after the setting change. Therefore, even when there are a large number of standby jobs waiting to be executed in the image processing apparatus. The setting change made from the management apparatus to the image processing apparatus can be immediately reflected in the image processing apparatus.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first aspect, the management device causes the image processing device to transfer a standby job saved from the standby job storage unit to the image processing device. A job editing command to be edited into a job that can be executed after changing the setting is sent, and the image processing apparatus edits the standby job saved from the standby job storage unit based on the job editing command, Based on the instruction, the edited standby job is returned to the standby job storage means.

  According to such a configuration, even when the setting change of the image processing apparatus affects the execution of the standby job, the image processing apparatus can edit the standby job to make the job executable after the setting change. Therefore, it is possible to preferentially change the setting of the image processing apparatus.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the second aspect, the management device includes an operation input unit that receives an operation input, and when the job input is instructed by the operation input unit. A job editing command for editing the standby job saved from the standby job storage means is sent to the image processing apparatus.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to instruct whether or not the standby job is edited by the image processing apparatus via the operation input unit of the management apparatus. For this reason, for example, it is possible to appropriately select another file format compatible with the file format specified in the standby job and instruct editing of the job.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the first aspect, the management device includes a save job storage unit that stores the standby job stored in the standby job storage unit of the image processing device. If there is a standby job in the standby job storage means, the standby job is moved from the image processing apparatus and stored in the save job storage means, and then the setting is changed by moving the image processing apparatus to the locked state. After the setting change of the image processing apparatus is completed, the locked state of the image processing apparatus is released, the standby job saved in the save job storage means is read out and transmitted to the image processing apparatus, and the standby job storage It is characterized by returning to the means.

  According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide a storage area for saving the standby job in the image processing apparatus, so that the storage area of the image processing apparatus can be used effectively.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the fourth aspect, the management device converts the standby job saved in the saved job storage means into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing device is changed. It is characterized by comprising job editing means for editing.

  According to such a configuration, the management apparatus can perform processing for editing a standby job into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus is changed. For example, the job editing can be performed in parallel with the setting change of the image processing apparatus. It becomes possible to do.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system according to the fifth aspect, the management device includes an operation input unit that receives an operation input, and when the job input is instructed by the operation input unit. The job editing means edits the standby job saved in the saved job storage means.

  According to such a configuration, it becomes possible to instruct whether or not to edit the standby job in the management apparatus via the operation input unit. For this reason, for example, it is possible to appropriately select another file format compatible with the file format specified in the standby job and instruct editing of the job.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus for executing a job relating to image processing, wherein standby job storage means for storing standby jobs waiting to be executed, and standby jobs stored in the standby job storage means are managed. A job management unit that controls job execution, and a control unit that rewrites a setting state of the image processing apparatus based on an instruction from a management apparatus connected via a network, and changes the setting. When there is a standby job in the standby job storage unit, the control unit temporarily saves the standby job from the standby job storage unit based on an instruction from the management device and shifts the image processing apparatus to the locked state. , Change the setting based on the setting rewrite data input from the management device, release the lock state after the setting change, and save The waiting job is and returning to the waiting job storing means.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to execute a job submitted before the setting change in the image processing apparatus after the setting change.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the image processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect further comprises job editing means for editing the standby job saved from the standby job storage means into a job that can be executed after the setting is changed. It is a feature.

  According to this configuration, the image processing apparatus can edit the standby job submitted before the setting change into a job that can be executed after the setting change of the image processing apparatus.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, when the control unit temporarily saves the standby job from the standby job storage unit, the control unit reads the standby job from the standby job storage unit, and It transmits to the said management apparatus via a network, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to such a configuration, the image processing apparatus saves the standby job stored in the standby job storage unit to the management apparatus, so that it is not necessary to provide a storage area for saving the standby job in the image processing apparatus.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management apparatus that is connected to an image processing apparatus that executes a job related to image processing via a network and rewrites a setting state of the image processing apparatus to change a setting. A setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information from the image processing apparatus via the setting information receiving unit, a setting change reception unit that receives a change operation on the setting information acquired by the setting information acquisition unit, and the change operation based on the setting information. Setting information rewriting means for changing the setting of the image processing apparatus by rewriting the setting information of the image processing apparatus, and the setting information rewriting means, when changing the setting of the image processing apparatus, If there is a waiting job waiting for execution in the device, the waiting job is temporarily saved and then the image processing device is loaded. The image processing apparatus is changed in setting after the transition to the image processing state, and after the setting change of the image processing apparatus is completed, the locked state of the image processing apparatus is released, and the saved standby job is returned to the original waiting state. It is said.

  According to such a configuration, the management apparatus can cause the image processing apparatus to execute a job that has been input to the image processing apparatus before changing the setting of the image processing apparatus after the setting change. Even when there are a large number of images, it is possible to promptly change the setting of the image processing apparatus.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the management apparatus according to the tenth aspect, when there is a standby job waiting to be executed in the image processing apparatus, the backup job is acquired from the image processing apparatus and temporarily stored. The setting information rewriting unit further includes a storage unit, and after the setting change of the image processing apparatus is completed, the setting information rewriting unit transmits the standby job stored in the save job storage unit to the image processing apparatus, thereby executing the standby job as an original execution. It is characterized by returning to the waiting state.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the management device according to the eleventh aspect, the job editing means for editing the standby job saved in the saved job storage means into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus is changed. Furthermore, it is characterized by providing.

  According to such a configuration, the standby job can be edited into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus is changed in the management apparatus. For example, the job can be edited in parallel with the setting change of the image processing apparatus. become.

  According to the present invention, when a management apparatus changes settings of an image processing apparatus connected via a network, if there is a standby job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus, the standby job is temporarily saved. The image processing apparatus is set to the locked state and the setting is changed, and after the setting change is completed, the image processing apparatus is released from the locked state and the waiting job that has been evacuated is restored. The Therefore, even when there is a standby job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus, the setting change of the image processing apparatus is prioritized, and the setting change can be immediately reflected in the image processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the member which is mutually common in some embodiment demonstrated below, and the description which repeats about them is abbreviate | omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system according to the present embodiment. In this image processing system, an image processing apparatus 1 called a multifunction peripheral or MFP and a management apparatus 2 constituted by a personal computer (PC) operated by an administrator 9 are connected via a network 3 such as a wired or wireless LAN. Thus, they are connected so that they can communicate with each other. Although not shown, the network 3 may be connected to another computer in addition to the image processing apparatus 1 and the management apparatus 2.

  The image processing apparatus 1 has a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a FAX function, for example, and is configured to execute a job related to image processing of each function. The image processing apparatus 1 includes a scanner unit 15 that reads an image such as a document at the top thereof, and a print unit 16 that forms an image on an image forming medium such as paper and outputs the image at the bottom thereof. The scanner unit 15 operates when a job such as a copy function, a scanner function, or a FAX transmission function is executed in the image processing apparatus 1. The print unit 16 operates when a job such as a copy function, a printer function, or a FAX reception function is executed in the image processing apparatus 1. Further, an operation panel 14 that can be operated by the user is provided on the front side of the image processing apparatus 1. The user operates the operation panel 14 to directly input or execute a job to the image processing apparatus 1. It is possible to instruct. The image processing apparatus 1 can receive and execute a job received from the management apparatus 2 or another computer via the network 3.

  The management apparatus 2 includes an apparatus main body 2a that is a main body of the computer, a display unit 24 such as a liquid crystal display, and an operation input unit 25 including a keyboard and a mouse. The management apparatus 2 is operated by a specific administrator 9 who manages the image processing apparatus 1. The management apparatus 2 reads the current setting information from the image processing apparatus 1 via the network 3 and displays the setting information on the display unit 24. Therefore, the administrator 9 can input setting changes of necessary items for the image processing apparatus 1 by operating the operation input unit 25 while referring to the setting information displayed on the display unit 24. When the input operation to the management apparatus 2 is completed, the management apparatus 2 is configured to transmit a setting rewrite command to the image processing apparatus 1 via the network 3 and change the setting of the image processing apparatus 1.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional internal configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 and the management apparatus 2. First, the image processing apparatus 1 will be described. The image processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 10, a memory 11, a communication interface 12, a storage unit 13, an operation panel 14, a scanner unit 15, and a printing unit 16. Yes.

  The CPU 10 functions as the control unit 31 and the job management unit 32 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 31 is a control unit that controls the entire image processing apparatus 1. In the case of the present embodiment, the control unit 31 controls each part based on various commands input from the management apparatus 2, and changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1. Do. The control unit 31 also functions as a job editing unit 31a. When executing a job received before the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 after the setting change, the job is adapted to the setting state after the setting change as necessary. Configured to edit. The job management unit 32 is a functional unit that manages a job received by the image processing apparatus 1 via the operation panel 14 or the network 3, and gives a standby job waiting for execution to the scanner unit 15 or the printing unit 16 to execute the job. is there. The memory 11 temporarily stores various data when the CPU 10 performs the above-described operation.

  The communication interface 12 is a communication unit that transmits and receives data via the network 3. For example, a job received via the network 3 is given to the job management unit 32, and various commands input from the management device 3 are given to the control unit. 31 is provided.

  The storage unit 13 is a storage unit configured with, for example, a memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 13 stores setting information 33 of the image processing apparatus 1. The setting information 33 includes various setting information such as user information 33a in which a user who uses the image processing apparatus 1 is registered in advance and destination information 33b registered in advance in order to use a scanner function or a FAX function. included. In addition, the storage unit 13 is provided with a job storage area 34 that stores a standby job that is a job accepted by the image processing apparatus 1 and is waiting to be executed. The job storage area 34 is standby job storage means for storing jobs managed by the job management unit 32. Therefore, the job management unit 32 reads the standby jobs stored in the job storage area 34 sequentially or at an appropriate timing and gives them to the scanner unit 15 or the print unit 16, whereby the standby job is executed in the image processing apparatus 1. It has become so. The storage unit 13 further includes a job save area 35. The job save area 35 is save job storage means for temporarily saving the standby job stored in the job storage area 34 when changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1.

  When there is a standby job in the job storage area 34, the control unit 31 moves the standby job from the job storage area 34 to the job save area 35. When the control unit 31 moves the standby job from the job storage area 34 to the job save area 35, the control unit 31 deletes the standby job in the job storage area 34. No longer exists.

  Next, the management apparatus 2 will be described. The management device 2 includes a CPU 20, a memory 21, a communication interface 22, a storage unit 23, a display unit 24, and an operation input unit 25. The CPU 20 implements various functional units to be described later by executing a program, and the memory 21 temporarily stores various data when the CPU 10 executes processing based on the program. The storage unit 23 is a storage unit including a memory, a hard disk, and the like, and stores a computer-readable program 48 and administrator information 49. The program 48 is a program that is input via a predetermined recording medium or the network 3 and installed in the management apparatus 2 in advance. Further, the manager information 49 includes the ID and password of a specific manager 9. The communication interface 22 is a communication unit that transmits and receives data via the network 3. For example, the communication interface 22 transmits various commands output from the CPU 20 to the image processing apparatus 1, and returns responses to these commands from the image processing apparatus 1. Configured to receive.

  The CPU 20 functions as an administrator authentication unit 41, a setting information acquisition unit 42, a setting change reception unit 43, and a setting information rewriting unit 44 by reading and executing the program 48 stored in the storage unit 23. By functioning in order, the setting information of the image processing apparatus 1 is rewritten and the setting is changed.

  The administrator authentication unit 41 is a processing unit for authenticating that the operator who changes the setting information of the image processing apparatus 1 is the specific administrator 9. For example, the administrator authentication unit 41 displays an authentication screen on the display unit 24, and receives an input of the administrator 9 ID and password from the operation input unit 25. When the input is completed, the administrator authentication unit 41 reads the administrator information 49 from the storage unit 23 and performs an authentication process, and when the authentication of the specific administrator 9 can be performed, causes the setting information acquisition unit 42 to function. .

  The setting information acquisition unit 42 outputs a setting information transmission request command and transmits it to the image processing apparatus 1 via the communication interface 22. When the image processing apparatus 1 receives this setting information transmission request command, the control unit 31 reads the setting information 33 from the storage unit 13 and transmits the setting information 33 to the management apparatus 2. Therefore, the setting information acquisition unit 42 acquires the setting information 33 of the image processing apparatus 1 by transmitting a setting information transmission request command to the image processing apparatus 1. When the setting information acquisition unit 42 acquires the setting information 33 from the image processing apparatus 1, the setting change reception unit 43 is caused to function next.

  The setting change receiving unit 43 displays the setting information 33 acquired from the image processing apparatus 1 on the display unit 24 and receives a changing operation for the setting information 33 via the operation input unit 25. Then, when a setting change operation is performed via the operation input unit 25 and the setting change is instructed by the administrator 9, the setting information rewriting unit 44 is caused to function next.

  The setting information rewriting unit 44 generates setting rewriting data based on the contents of the setting change received by the setting change receiving unit 43. The setting information rewriting unit 44 is connected to the image processing apparatus 1 in order to prevent the acceptance of a new job or the start of job execution while the setting change is being performed in the image processing apparatus 1. After transmitting the lock command to place the image processing apparatus 1 in the locked state and confirming that the image processing apparatus 1 is in the locked state, the setting rewriting data is transmitted together with the setting rewriting command to change the setting of the image processing apparatus 1. Configured to do.

  By the way, in the image processing apparatus 1, when there is a waiting job waiting for execution in the job storage area 34, processing for waiting job management and execution by the job management unit 32 is prioritized. 2, the image processing apparatus 1 cannot be brought into the locked state even if the apparatus lock command is received from the apparatus 2, and a lock rejection notification is returned to the management apparatus 2.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the setting information rewriting unit 44 temporarily saves the standby job in the job storage area 34 in the job saving area 35 in order to change the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 at an early stage even in such a situation. Then, a standby job save command is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 1, the standby job is moved from the job storage area 34 to the job save area 35, the image processing apparatus 1 is locked, and the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed. Configured to do.

  FIG. 3 shows a concept of data communication mainly performed between the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 and the setting information rewriting unit 44 of the management apparatus 2 when changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 under such a situation. FIG. In FIG. 3, the numbers shown in parentheses exemplify the order of data communication. First, the management device 2 transmits a device lock command to the image processing device 1 when changing the setting of the image processing device 1. At this time, if there is a standby job in the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1, the image processing apparatus 1 transmits a lock rejection notification to the management apparatus 2. Upon receiving the lock rejection notification, the management device 2 transmits a standby job save command to the image processing device 1.

  When receiving the standby job save command, the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 moves the standby job stored in the job storage area 34 to the job save area 35 and waits for execution managed by the job management unit 32. The job is temporarily absent. When the backup of the standby job is completed, the control unit 31 transmits a job save completion notification to the management apparatus 2. As a result, the image processing apparatus 1 becomes lockable, and the setting information rewriting unit 44 transmits the apparatus lock command to the image processing apparatus 1 again and tries to lock the image processing apparatus 1 again. When the control unit 31 places the image processing apparatus 1 in the locked state, a lock completion notification is transmitted to the management apparatus 2, so that the management apparatus 2 can confirm that the image processing apparatus 1 is in the locked state. Then, the management apparatus 2 transmits the setting rewrite data together with the setting rewriting command to the image processing apparatus 1 to start the setting change in the image processing apparatus 1.

  When the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 receives the setting rewrite command and the setting rewriting data from the management device 2, the control unit 31 rewrites the setting information 33 stored in the storage unit 33 and reflects the setting change in each unit. I do. When the setting change is reflected in the image processing apparatus 1, the control unit 31 transmits a setting change completion notification to the management apparatus 2. When the management apparatus 2 receives this setting change completion notification, it can recognize that the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 has been completed. Thereafter, the management apparatus 2 releases the lock state of the image processing apparatus 1 and the job save area 35. A save job return command for returning the standby job saved in step 1 to the original job storage area 34 is transmitted. As a result, the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 moves the standby job in the job save area 35 to the job storage area 34 so that the job management unit 32 can manage the standby job. Thereafter, the standby job returned to the job storage area 34 by the job management unit 32 is read at an appropriate timing, and the job is executed by controlling the scanner unit 15 or the printing unit 16.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed after the image processing apparatus 1 is locked so that the job processing is not performed in the image processing apparatus 1 while the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed. Configured to do. In particular, when the management apparatus 2 changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 and there is a standby job in the job storage area 34, the management apparatus 2 temporarily saves the standby job from the job storage area 34 and locks the image processing apparatus 1. Transition to the state. Then, by instructing the setting change, the image processing apparatus 1 changes the setting. After the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is completed, the locked state of the image processing apparatus 1 is released, and the saved standby job is saved in the job storage area 34. It is configured to return to Therefore, even when there is a standby job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus 1, it is possible to quickly reflect the setting change made from the management apparatus 2 to the image processing apparatus 1 in the image processing apparatus 1. become.

  By the way, when there is a waiting job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus 1 as described above, it is possible to return all the waiting jobs to the job storage area 34 after the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is completed. There is a possibility that the waiting job cannot be executed accurately.

  For example, when information related to a specific user is deleted from the user information 33a due to a setting change of the image processing apparatus 1, a job received as an appropriate user job before the setting change is inappropriate after the setting change. Since it becomes a user's job, the job cannot be executed after the setting is changed. In addition, when a transmission destination such as the scanner function or the FAX function is designated by an abbreviated address included in the destination information 33b, when the abbreviated address is changed or deleted, a job to be transmitted to an appropriate destination after the setting change Will not be able to run. In this case, a job that is properly accepted before the setting is changed becomes a job that cannot be completely executed after the setting is changed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the standby jobs stored in the job storage area 34 correspond to these, before the management device 2 changes the settings of the image processing device 1, these are previously stored in the image processing device 1. Control so that waiting jobs are executed.

  Further, for example, in a standby job, when, for example, a compact PDF is specified as a file format when outputting image data read by the image processing apparatus 1, data output in the compact PDF is prohibited by changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1. If the setting is rewritten, the specified job cannot be executed after the setting is changed. However, in this case, the data cannot be output in the compact PDF, but the job can be changed even after the setting is changed by specifying another data format (for example, normal PDF data, bitmap data, TIFF data, JPEG data, etc.). Execution is possible. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the standby job stored in the job storage area 34 can be executed even after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed by changing the designation of the data format, for example, the management apparatus 2 is configured to transmit the job editing command such as saving the standby job from the job storage area 34 and changing the data format designated for the saved job. When the image processing apparatus 1 receives this job editing command, the job editing unit 31a of the control unit 31 functions to change the data format specified for the standby job saved in the job saving area 35, etc. The job is edited into an executable job after the setting of the processing apparatus 1 is changed.

  Further, when the image processing apparatus 1 starts processing for changing the setting, it takes a certain processing time until the setting change is finally reflected in the image processing apparatus 1. Therefore, for example, when the execution time of the standby job is specified, such as when FAX transmission is specified after 10 minutes, when the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is started, the job is executed during the setting change. There is a possibility that the job will not be executed at the specified time due to the arrival of time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the standby jobs stored in the job storage area 34 correspond to these, after the management apparatus 2 instructs the image processing apparatus 1 to start setting change, When the execution time comes, the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is temporarily interrupted, and control is performed so that the standby job is executed at the designated time.

  Hereinafter, a procedure for changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 by the management apparatus 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by the management device 2. This process is realized by the CPU 20 executing the program 48. When the program 48 is activated, the administrator authentication unit 41 first functions in the CPU 20 of the management device 2, and the management device 2 performs administrator authentication processing (step S10). If the authentication is normally performed, the determination is YES in step S11 and the process proceeds to step S12. If the authentication is not successful, the determination is NO in step S11 and the process is terminated.

  When the authentication of the administrator 9 is normally performed, the setting information acquisition unit 42 functions in the CPU 20, and the management apparatus 2 transmits a setting information transmission request command to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S12). Then, it waits until it receives the setting information 33 corresponding to the setting information transmission request command from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S13). When the setting information 33 is received (YES in step S13), the display unit 24 of the management apparatus 2 displays the setting information 33. Details of the received setting information 33 are displayed (step S14). In the CPU 20, the setting change accepting unit 43 functions, and an operation for changing the setting information of the image processing apparatus 1 by the administrator 9 is received (step S15).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting information display screen G1 displayed on the display unit 24 in step S14. As shown in FIG. 5, the setting information display screen G1 includes, for example, a user information display field R1, a destination information display field R2, and other display fields not shown. The user information display column R1 displays a list of information registered in the user information 33a of the setting information 33, and the user information display column R1 displays a list of information registered in the destination information 33b of the setting information 33. . Thereby, the administrator 9 can grasp the current setting contents of the image processing apparatus 1. In addition, edit buttons B1 and B2 are displayed above the display columns R1 and R2. The administrator 9 operates the operation input unit 25 to operate the edit buttons B1 and B2, thereby editing each information. Is possible. For example, when the edit button B1 is operated, a new user can be registered with respect to the user information 33a, information on registered users can be corrected, or deleted.

  The administrator 9 repeatedly performs the operation of changing the setting content of the image processing apparatus 1 as necessary based on the setting information display screen G1, and then operates the setting change button B3 displayed in the lower corner of the screen, for example. Thereby, the setting change reception part 43 receives a setting change instruction | indication, becomes YES at step S16, and progresses to step S17.

  In step S17, the setting information rewriting unit 44 of the CPU 20 functions to perform setting information rewriting processing for rewriting the setting information 33 of the image processing apparatus 1 based on the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 input by the administrator 9. . 6 to 12 are flowcharts showing an example of a detailed processing procedure of the setting information rewriting process. When proceeding to the setting information rewriting process (step S17), the management device 2 first generates setting rewriting data based on the contents of the setting change input by the administrator 9 (step S20 in FIG. 6). Then, the management apparatus 2 estimates the time required until the setting change is completed in the image processing apparatus 1 (step S21). For example, for each setting item of the image processing apparatus 1, the processing time required to reflect the setting change is defined in advance in the program 48, and the management apparatus 2 cumulatively calculates the processing time based on the contents of the setting change. Thus, the processing time required to reflect all the setting changes input by the administrator 9 is estimated. The estimated time is referred to when determining whether or not there is a job to be executed in the middle of a setting change described later.

  Subsequently, the management device 2 transmits a device lock command to the image processing device 1 (step S22), and waits until a response to the device lock command is received from the image processing device 1 (step S23). When receiving a response from the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 determines whether or not the image processing apparatus 1 has been normally locked (step S24). For example, if the response from the image processing apparatus 1 is a lock rejection notification, the apparatus lock has not been normally performed, and the determination is NO. If the response from the image processing apparatus 1 is a lock completion notification, it means that the apparatus has been normally locked, and the determination is YES.

  When the image processing apparatus 1 is normally locked, the management apparatus 2 transmits a setting rewrite command and the setting rewriting data generated in step S20 to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S25). Thereby, in the image processing apparatus 1, the setting information 33 is rewritten based on the setting rewriting data, and a process of reflecting the rewritten setting information 33 on the entire apparatus is performed. When the image processing apparatus 1 completes the setting change, the image processing apparatus 1 transmits a setting change completion notification to the management apparatus 2.

  The management apparatus 2 waits until a setting change completion notification is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S26). When the management apparatus 2 receives the notification, the management apparatus 2 recognizes that the setting change is reflected in the image processing apparatus 1, and then performs image processing. An unlock command for releasing the locked state of the apparatus 1 is transmitted (step S27), and if the unlocking notification is obtained from the image processing apparatus 1, it is determined that the unlocking of the image processing apparatus 1 has been completed (step S28). ), The setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the apparatus lock command is transmitted in step S22 and the apparatus is not normally locked in the determination in step S24, the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. A standby job confirmation command is sent to The standby job confirmation command is a command for inquiring of the image processing apparatus 1 whether or not there is a standby job waiting to be executed in the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1. When the image processing apparatus 1 receives this command, the control is performed. The unit 31 searches the job storage area 34 and returns to the management apparatus 2 whether there is a standby job.

  The management apparatus 2 stands by until a response corresponding to the standby job confirmation command is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S31). When the response is received from the image processing apparatus 1, whether there is a standby job in the image processing apparatus 1 It is determined whether or not (step S32). If “no standby job” is set here, the image processing apparatus 1 is in a state where it cannot lock the apparatus even though there is no standby job waiting to be executed in the job storage area 34. In this case, since there is a possibility that some trouble has occurred in the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 displays a warning for the administrator 9 without starting the setting change, and ends the process (step S <b> 33). ). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that “there is a standby job”, there is a standby job in the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1 as the reason why the apparatus cannot be locked. Therefore, the management apparatus 2 proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 8 to remove the cause.

  Then, the management apparatus 2 transmits a standby job save command to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S40). When the image processing apparatus 1 receives this command, the control unit 31 moves the standby job stored in the job storage area 34 to the job saving area 35, so that the job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus 1 is executed. It is assumed that it does not exist. The control unit 31 transmits a job save completion notification to the management apparatus 2 when the waiting job save is completed.

  The management apparatus 2 waits until a response corresponding to the standby job save command is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S41). When the management apparatus 2 receives a job save completion notification from the image processing apparatus 1, the image processing apparatus 1 generates a standby job. It is determined that the evacuation process has been completed (YES in step S41), and the apparatus lock command is transmitted again to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S42). The management apparatus 2 waits until a response corresponding to the apparatus lock command is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S43). When a response is received from the image processing apparatus 1, the image processing apparatus 1 is normally locked. It is determined again whether or not (step S44). If the device is locked normally, the process proceeds to step S45. On the other hand, if the device cannot be locked, the process proceeds to step S61 in FIG.

  If the apparatus lock is normally performed in step S44, the management apparatus 2 transmits a job attribute information request command for requesting job attribute information of the standby job saved in the job save area 35 to the image processing apparatus 1. (Step S45). When receiving this command, the image processing apparatus 1 extracts job attribute information of the standby job saved by the control unit 31 in the job saving area 35. The job attribute information includes information on the user who submitted the job, information on the transmission destination when the job is a job that involves data transmission, and file format of image data when the job is a job that involves output of image data. In addition to the information to be specified, various setting information applied when executing the job is included. When the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 extracts job attribute information from the standby job, the control unit 31 transmits the job attribute information to the management apparatus 2.

  The management apparatus 2 waits until a response corresponding to the job attribute information request command is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S46). When the job attribute information of the standby job is received from the image processing apparatus 1, the received job attribute The information is analyzed, and it is confirmed whether the saved standby job is affected by the setting change (step S47). Here, for example, when the user information of the user who submitted the standby job is deleted by a setting change, when the shortened destination specified by the standby job is changed or deleted by a setting change, it is specified by the standby job. When output of image data in the file format is prohibited by setting change, or when the execution time of the job designated in the standby job comes within the time required for setting change estimated in step S21 (FIG. 6), Such a standby job is determined to be affected by the setting change. Here, if there are a plurality of waiting jobs saved in the job saving area 35, it is determined whether or not all the waiting jobs are affected by the setting change. If at least one job among the waiting jobs saved in the job saving area 35 is affected by the setting change, NO is determined in the step S48, and the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. On the other hand, if all the standby jobs saved in the job saving area 35 are not affected by the setting change, YES is determined in the step S48, and the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG.

  If all the standby jobs saved in the job save area 35 are not affected by the setting change, the management apparatus 2 transmits the setting rewrite data generated in step S20 together with the setting rewrite command to the image processing apparatus 1. (Step S50). Thereby, in the image processing apparatus 1, the setting information 33 is rewritten based on the setting rewriting data, and a process of reflecting the rewritten setting information 33 on the entire apparatus is performed. When the image processing apparatus 1 completes the setting change, the image processing apparatus 1 transmits a setting change completion notification to the management apparatus 2.

  The management device 2 waits until a setting change completion notification is received from the image processing device 1 (step S51). When the notification is received, the management device 2 recognizes that the setting change is reflected in the image processing device 1, and then performs image processing. An unlock command for releasing the locked state of the apparatus 1 is transmitted (step S52), and if the unlocking notification is obtained from the image processing apparatus 1, it is determined that the unlocking of the image processing apparatus 1 has been completed (step S53). ). Then, a save job return command for restoring the standby job saved in the job save area 35 of the image processing apparatus 1 is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S54). When the image processing apparatus 1 receives this command, the control unit 31 moves the standby job stored in the job save area 35 to the job storage area 34 to return the standby job to the execution waiting state. When the return is completed, a job return completion notification is transmitted to the management apparatus 2. The management apparatus 2 waits until a job return completion notification is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S55), and when the notification is received, the image processing apparatus 1 confirms that the return of the standby job is completed, and performs image processing. The setting change of the device 1 is finished.

  When the process proceeds from step S44 described above to step S61 in FIG. 10, the image processing apparatus 1 locks the apparatus even though there is no standby job waiting to be executed in the job storage area 34 by saving the standby job. You can't do it. In this case, since there is a possibility that some trouble has occurred in the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 issues a save job return command to the image processing apparatus 1 without changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1. After transmitting (step S61) and returning the standby job saved in the job saving area 35 to the job storage area 34 (YES in step S62), the warning is displayed to the administrator 9 and the process is terminated (step S61). S63).

  Further, when the process proceeds from step S48 to step S70 in FIG. 11, the standby job saved in the job saving area 35 is affected by the setting change, so that the management apparatus 2 appropriately executes the job subjected to the setting change. The following processing is performed. First, the management apparatus 2 specifies a job that is affected by the setting change among the standby jobs saved in the job saving area 35 of the image processing apparatus 1 (step S70). Then, the management apparatus 2 analyzes the job based on the job attribute information of the identified job (step S71), and identifies a job to be executed before changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 (step S72). For example, when the user information of the user who submitted the standby job is deleted by a setting change, or when the shortened destination specified in the standby job is changed or deleted by the setting change, those standby jobs are changed after the setting change. Since it cannot be executed, the management apparatus 2 identifies those standby jobs as jobs to be executed before the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed.

  In addition, the management apparatus 2 specifies a job to be executed during the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 (step S73). For example, when the execution time of the job specified in the standby job comes within the time required for the setting change estimated in step S21 (FIG. 6), the management apparatus 2 changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 to such a standby job. Specified as a job to be executed.

  Further, the management apparatus 2 specifies a job to be edited so that the job can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed (step S74). For example, if output of image data in the file format specified in the standby job is prohibited due to a setting change, data output in the specified file format cannot be performed after the setting change, but is permitted after the setting change. By specifying another data format, a data that can be executed even after the setting is changed is specified. Then, the management apparatus 2 transmits a job editing command to be edited to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S75). For example, when the file format specified in the standby job is a compact PDF and data output by the compact PDF is prohibited after the setting is changed, the management apparatus 2 designates the file format to another format (for example, a normal format) A job edit command for instructing to change to PDF data, bitmap data, TIFF data, JPEG data, or the like. When the image processing apparatus 1 receives the job editing command, the job editing unit 31a of the control unit 31 functions, and editing processing of the designated standby job is performed. That is, in the case of the above-described example, the file format specified in the standby job is replaced with another file format. Therefore, the standby job saved in the job saving area 35 is edited into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed. When the job editing process is completed, the control unit 31 transmits a job editing completion notification to the management apparatus 2.

  The management apparatus 2 waits until a job editing completion notification is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S76). When the management apparatus 2 receives the notification, the management apparatus 2 recognizes that the job editing process has ended in the image processing apparatus 1. Next, it is determined whether there is a job to be executed before the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed (step S77). Here, if a job to be executed before the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is specified in step S72, the answer is YES, and if not specified, the answer is NO.

  If there is a job to be executed before the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed, the management apparatus 2 transmits a lock release command to the image processing apparatus 1 in order to temporarily release the locked state of the image processing apparatus 1 (step S78). . If the unlocking of the image processing apparatus 1 can be confirmed (YES in step S79), the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 12, and the management apparatus 2 returns the standby job to be executed before changing the setting from the job save area 35 to the job storage area 34. Accordingly, a save job return command is transmitted (step S80). When the image processing apparatus 1 receives this command, the control unit 31 returns only the standby job to be executed before the setting is changed from the job saving area 35 to the job storage area 34, and is in a state of waiting for execution. Then, the standby job is executed in the image processing apparatus 1. Thereby, a standby job that cannot be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed is executed before the setting is changed. The control unit 31 transmits a job execution end notification to the management apparatus 2 when all the standby jobs to be executed before the setting change are completed.

  The management apparatus 2 waits until a job execution end notification is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S81), and when the notification is received, the image processing apparatus 1 grasps that the execution of the job before the setting change has ended. Then, the management device 2 transmits a device lock command to the image processing device 1 again (step S82). When the device lock is normally performed (YES in step S83), the management device 2 proceeds to step S84. If it is determined in step S77 that there is no job to be executed before the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed, the processing is skipped from step S77 to step S84.

  Next, the management apparatus 2 determines whether there is a job to be executed in the middle of changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 (step S84). Here, if a job is specified in step S73, the determination is YES, and the process proceeds to step S85. On the other hand, if no job is specified in step S73, the determination is NO, and the process proceeds to step S50 in FIG. 9 to perform the above-described processing.

  When there is a job to be executed in the middle of the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 transmits the setting rewriting data generated in step S20 together with the setting rewriting command to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S85). Thereby, in the image processing apparatus 1, the setting information 33 is rewritten based on the setting rewriting data, and processing for reflecting the rewritten setting information 33 on the entire apparatus is started. During the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 determines whether or not the execution time of the job to be executed in the middle of the setting change has come (step S86), and when the job execution time comes (step S86). YES), a setting rewrite interruption command, a lock release command, and a save job return command are transmitted to the image processing apparatus 1 (step S87). When the image processing apparatus 1 receives these commands, the control unit 31 first suspends the setting change process of the image processing apparatus 1, releases the locked state, and saves the standby job saved in the job saving area 35 as the original job. Return to the storage area 34. Then, the job is executed in the image processing apparatus 1. Thereby, even if the image processing apparatus 1 is changing the setting, the standby job whose execution time has been specified is executed correctly at the specified time. The control unit 31 transmits a job execution end notification to the management device 2 when the execution of the standby job to be executed in the middle of the setting change is completed.

  The management apparatus 2 waits until a job execution end notification is received from the image processing apparatus 1 (step S88), and when the notification is received, the image processing apparatus 1 grasps that the job execution in the middle of the setting change has ended. To do. Then, the management device 2 transmits the device lock command and the setting rewrite continuation command again to the image processing device 1 (step S89), and continues the setting change processing in the image processing device 1. If there are a plurality of standby jobs to be executed during the setting change, the above-described steps S86 to S89 are repeatedly executed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S51 in FIG. 9, and the management apparatus 2 cancels the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 and then releases the locked state of the image processing apparatus 1 and then waits for the job to be saved in the job save area 35. The job is returned, and the standby job is executed in the image processing apparatus 1 in which the setting change is reflected. At this time, the edited job included in the standby job can be executed without any problem in the image processing apparatus 1 after the setting change.

  As described above, in the image processing system according to the present embodiment, the administrator 9 can remotely change the setting state of the image processing apparatus 1 by performing remote control of the image processing apparatus 1 via the management apparatus 2. The setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 can be performed in a state where the management apparatus 2 locks the image processing apparatus 1 in order to prevent processing related to the job from being performed in the image processing apparatus 1 while the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed. Is configured to do. When the management apparatus 2 changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1, if there is a waiting job waiting for execution in the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 temporarily stores the waiting job from the job storage area 34. After the saving, the image processing apparatus 1 is shifted to the locked state to change the setting of the image processing apparatus 1, and after the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 is finished, the locked state of the image processing apparatus 1 is released and saved. By returning the waiting job that has been put back to the original job storage area 34, the job that was submitted before the setting change is executed after the setting change. Therefore, the image processing system according to the present embodiment promptly changes the setting performed from the management apparatus 2 to the image processing apparatus 1 even when there are a large number of standby jobs waiting to be executed in the image processing apparatus 1. It can be reflected in the image processing apparatus 1.

  Further, the management apparatus 2 transmits to the image processing apparatus 1 a job editing command for editing the standby job saved from the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1 into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed. The processing device 1 edits the standby job saved from the job storage area 34 based on the job edit command, and changes the setting of the edited standby job based on an instruction from the management device 2 and then changes to the original job storage area 34. It is configured to return to Therefore, even when the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 affects the execution of the standby job, the job can be executed after the setting change by editing the standby job. 1 can be preferentially changed.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 affects the execution of the standby job, the job editing command that causes the management apparatus 2 to automatically edit the standby job so that it can be executed after the setting is changed. The case where it transmits with respect to the image processing apparatus 1 was illustrated. However, in the example described above, data is output in a file format different from the file format specified by the user, so the user receives unexpected data.

  Therefore, for example, when data output in the file format specified in the standby job is prohibited due to the setting change, the management device 2 once notifies the administrator 9 to that effect, and the administrator 9 May be configured to transmit a job editing command for editing a standby job based on the instruction when editing of the job is instructed via the operation input unit 25. In this case, the administrator 9 can reduce an uncomfortable feeling given to the user by appropriately selecting and instructing a file format compatible with the file format designated by the user. On the other hand, if the administrator 9 does not instruct job editing, the job is executed in the image processing apparatus 1 even if the standby job is returned to the job storage area 34 after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed. There is nothing. Therefore, in this case, the user who submitted the job after completing the setting change operates the operation panel 14 of the image processing apparatus 1 to specify one of the file formats that can be processed after the setting change, and execute it. I will let you.

  In this embodiment, the case where the job storage area 34 and the job save area 35 are provided in the same storage unit 13 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the job save area 35 is connected to the storage unit 13. May be another storage means.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, when the management apparatus 2 changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1, if there is a standby job waiting for execution in the job storage area 34, the standby job is provided in the image processing apparatus 1. The configuration example in which the job is saved in the saved job saving area 35 has been described. On the other hand, in this embodiment, when the management apparatus 2 changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1, if there is a standby job waiting for execution in the job storage area 34, the management apparatus 2 sucks up the standby job. Thus, a configuration example in which the standby job is saved from the image processing apparatus 1 to the management apparatus 2 will be described. In this embodiment, the schematic configuration of the image processing system is the same as that shown in FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a functional internal configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 and the management apparatus 2 in the image processing system of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the image processing system of this embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that the image processing apparatus 1 is provided with a job saving area for saving a waiting job in the job storage area 34. In addition, the job saving area 47 is provided in the storage unit 23 of the management apparatus 2, and the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 does not function as a job editing unit. 2 points that function as Other configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, when the management apparatus 2 changes the setting of the image processing apparatus 1, if there is a standby job waiting for execution in the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1, the standby job is changed to the job of the image processing apparatus 1. After moving from the storage area 34 to the job saving area 47 of the management apparatus 2, the image processing apparatus 1 is locked and the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed.

  In addition, after saving the standby job in the job saving area 47, the management apparatus 2, for example, when output of image data in the file format specified by the standby job is prohibited due to the setting change, The job editing unit 45 is operated to change to another file format permitted after the setting is changed, and the standby job is edited so that the job can be executed even after the setting is changed.

  FIG. 14 shows the settings of the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 and the management apparatus 2 mainly when a standby job exists in the image processing apparatus 1 when the management apparatus 2 changes the settings of the image processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the concept of the data communication performed between the information rewriting parts. Note that the numbers shown in parentheses in FIG. 14 illustrate the order of data communication. First, the management device 2 transmits a device lock command to the image processing device 1 when changing the setting of the image processing device 1. At this time, if there is a standby job in the job storage area 34 of the image processing apparatus 1, the image processing apparatus 1 transmits a lock rejection notification to the management apparatus 2. Upon receiving the lock rejection notification, the management apparatus 2 transmits a standby job transmission request command to the image processing apparatus 1.

  When receiving the standby job transmission request command, the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 reads the standby job stored in the job storage area 34 and transmits the standby job to the management apparatus 2. At this time, since the control unit 31 deletes the standby job stored in the job storage area 34, there is no standby job waiting for execution managed by the job management unit 32 in the image processing apparatus 1, and the image processing apparatus 1. Becomes lockable. When the management apparatus 2 receives the standby job from the image processing apparatus 1, the management apparatus 2 stores it in the job saving area 47, thereby completing the saving of the standby job. Then, the management device 2 transmits the device lock command to the image processing device 1 again and tries to lock the image processing device 1 again. When the control unit 31 locks the image processing apparatus 1 by this command, a lock completion notification is transmitted from the image processing apparatus 1 to the management apparatus 2, so that the management apparatus 2 indicates that the image processing apparatus 1 has been locked. Can be confirmed. Then, the management apparatus 2 transmits the setting rewrite data together with the setting rewriting command to the image processing apparatus 1 to start setting change in the image processing apparatus 1.

  When the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 receives the setting rewrite command and the setting rewriting data from the management device 2, the control unit 31 rewrites the setting information 33 stored in the storage unit 33 and reflects the setting change in each unit. I do. In the meantime, the job editing unit 45 functions as necessary in the management apparatus 2, and the standby job stored in the job save area 47 is edited. As described above, in this embodiment, while the image processing apparatus 1 is changing the setting, the management apparatus 2 can edit the standby job so that it can be executed after the setting is changed.

  When the setting change is completed in the image processing apparatus 1, the control unit 31 transmits a setting change completion notification to the management apparatus 2. When the management apparatus 2 receives this setting change completion notification, it can grasp that the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 has been completed. Thereafter, the management apparatus 2 releases the lock state of the image processing apparatus 1 and the job save area 47. The standby job that has been saved to is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 1. The standby job transmitted at this time is a job that can be executed in the image processing apparatus 1 after the setting change. When the control unit 31 of the image processing apparatus 1 receives a standby job from the management apparatus 2, the control unit 31 returns the job to the original job storage area 34 and returns to a state of waiting for execution. As a result, in the image processing apparatus 1, the job management unit 32 is in a state of managing the standby job, and the standby job returned to the job storage area 34 is executed at an appropriate timing.

  Also in the present embodiment, for example, when user information of a user who has input a standby job is deleted due to a setting change of the image processing apparatus 1, or when a shortened destination specified as a transmission destination of the standby job is changed or deleted When the standby job cannot be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed as described above, the management apparatus 2 pre-changes them in the image processing apparatus 1 before changing the setting of the image processing apparatus 1. Control so that waiting jobs are executed. Specifically, when the management apparatus 2 receives a standby job from the image processing apparatus 1, the job attribute information of the standby job is analyzed to determine whether the job cannot be executed after the setting is changed. If the job cannot be executed after the setting is changed, the locked state of the image processing apparatus 1 is once released, the standby job is returned to the image processing apparatus 1, and the job is executed before the setting is changed.

  When it is necessary to execute a standby job while the image processing apparatus 1 is changing the setting, the management apparatus 2 temporarily suspends the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1 as in the first embodiment. In both cases, the locked state of the image processing apparatus 1 is released, and the standby job saved in the job saving area 47 is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 1 to cause the image processing apparatus 1 to execute the job. When the execution of the job is completed, the management apparatus 2 completes the setting change in the image processing apparatus 1 by continuing the setting change with the image processing apparatus 1 in the locked state again.

  As the processing procedure of the management apparatus 2, a procedure substantially similar to the processing procedure described in the first embodiment can be applied except for the above-described differences from the first embodiment. it can.

  As is apparent from the above description, the image processing system according to the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment even when the image processing apparatus 1 has a large number of standby jobs waiting to be executed. The setting change made to the image processing apparatus 1 from 2 can be quickly reflected in the image processing apparatus 1.

  In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, since the job saving area 47 for saving the waiting job is provided in the management apparatus 2, it is not necessary to provide a job saving area in the image processing apparatus 1, and storage in the image processing apparatus 1 is performed. There is an advantage that the storage area of the unit 13 can be used effectively. Since the management apparatus 2 includes the job editing unit 45 that edits the standby job saved in the job saving area 47 into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus 1 is changed, the management apparatus 2 is parallel to the setting change of the image processing apparatus 1. Thus, the job can be edited by the management apparatus 2, and efficient processing can be performed as a whole system.

  In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, for example, when data output in the file format specified in the standby job is prohibited due to a setting change, the management apparatus 2 manages The job editing unit 45 functions in the management apparatus 2 when the administrator 9 instructs the job editing via the operation input unit 25 and the job editing unit 45 The standby job may be edited based on the above.

(Modification)
As mentioned above, although several embodiment regarding this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the content mentioned above. In other words, in addition to the above-described contents, various modifications can be applied to the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a multifunction peripheral, an MFP, or the like is illustrated as the image processing apparatus 1, but the image processing apparatus in the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, in the present invention, the image processing apparatus may be a printer dedicated apparatus having only a printer function, or may be a copy dedicated apparatus having only a copy function. Further, a FAX dedicated device having only a FAX function or a scanner dedicated device having only a scanner function may be used.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional internal structure of the image processing apparatus and management apparatus in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a concept of data communication performed between an image processing apparatus and a management apparatus when a standby job exists in the image processing apparatus when changing the setting of the image processing apparatus in the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence performed by the management apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting information display screen displayed on the display part of a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed process sequence of the setting information rewriting process in a management apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the functional internal structure of the image processing apparatus in 2nd Embodiment, and a management apparatus. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a concept of data communication performed between an image processing apparatus and a management apparatus when a standby job exists in the image processing apparatus when changing the setting of the image processing apparatus in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 Management apparatus 3 Network 25 Operation input part (operation input means)
31 Control part (control means)
31a Job editing section (job editing means)
32 Job management section (job management means)
34 Job storage area (standby job storage means)
35 Job save area 42 Setting information acquisition unit (setting information acquisition means)
43 Setting change accepting unit (setting change accepting means)
44 Setting information rewriting section (setting change rewriting means)
45 Job editing section (Job editing means)
47 Job saving area (evacuation job storage means)

Claims (12)

An image processing apparatus that executes a job related to image processing; and a management apparatus that is connected to the image processing apparatus via a network and rewrites a setting state of the image processing apparatus to change a setting. An image processing system that changes settings of the image processing apparatus after the management apparatus locks the image processing apparatus so that processing related to a job is not performed in the image processing apparatus during the change,
The image processing apparatus includes a standby job storage unit that stores a standby job waiting to be executed.
When the management device changes the setting of the image processing device, if there is a standby job in the standby job storage unit, the management device temporarily saves the standby job from the standby job storage unit, and then changes the image processing device. The setting is changed to the locked state, the setting of the image processing apparatus is changed, the lock of the image processing apparatus is released, and the saved waiting job is returned to the waiting job storage unit. Image processing system. The management device sends a job editing command for editing the standby job saved from the standby job storage means to a job that can be executed after changing the setting of the image processing device, to the image processing device,
The image processing device edits the standby job saved from the standby job storage unit based on the job editing command, and returns the edited standby job to the standby job storage unit based on an instruction from the management device. The image processing system according to claim 1.   The management apparatus includes an operation input unit that receives an operation input, and when the job input is instructed by the operation input unit, the standby job saved from the standby job storage unit to the image processing apparatus The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein a job editing command for editing is sent. The management apparatus includes a save job storage unit that stores a standby job stored in the standby job storage unit of the image processing apparatus,
If there is a standby job in the standby job storage unit, the standby job is moved from the image processing apparatus and stored in the save job storage unit, and then the image processing apparatus is shifted to a locked state to change the setting. After the setting change of the image processing apparatus is completed, the locked state of the image processing apparatus is released, and the standby job saved in the save job storage unit is read out and transmitted to the image processing apparatus, and the standby job storage unit The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing system is returned.   5. The image processing according to claim 4, wherein the management apparatus includes job editing means for editing the standby job saved in the saved job storage means into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus is changed. system.   The management apparatus includes an operation input unit that receives an operation input. When a job edit is instructed by the operation input unit, the job editing unit edits the standby job saved in the saved job storage unit. The image processing system according to claim 5, wherein: An image processing apparatus that executes a job related to image processing,
Standby job storage means for storing standby jobs waiting to be executed;
Job management means for managing standby jobs stored in the standby job storage means and controlling execution of the jobs;
Control means for rewriting the setting state of the image processing apparatus based on an instruction from a management apparatus connected via a network and changing the setting;
With
When there is a standby job in the standby job storage unit, the control unit temporarily saves the standby job from the standby job storage unit based on an instruction from the management device and shifts the image processing apparatus to the locked state. And changing the setting based on the setting rewrite data input from the management apparatus, releasing the locked state after the setting change, and returning the saved standby job to the standby job storage unit. apparatus.   8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising job editing means for editing the standby job saved from the standby job storage means into a job executable after setting change.   8. The control unit according to claim 7, wherein when the standby job is temporarily saved from the standby job storage unit, the control unit reads the standby job from the standby job storage unit and transmits the standby job to the management apparatus via the network. Image processing apparatus. A management device that is connected to an image processing device that executes a job related to image processing via a network and rewrites a setting state of the image processing device to change a setting;
Setting information acquisition means for acquiring setting information from the image processing apparatus via the network;
Setting change accepting means for accepting a change operation for the setting information acquired by the setting information acquiring means;
Setting information rewriting means for changing the setting of the image processing apparatus by rewriting the setting information of the image processing apparatus based on a change operation on the setting information;
With
The setting information rewriting means, when changing the setting of the image processing apparatus, if there is a waiting job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus, temporarily saves the waiting job and then locks the image processing apparatus The setting change is performed after the transition to, and after the setting change of the image processing apparatus is finished, the locked state of the image processing apparatus is released, and the saved standby job is returned to the original waiting state. Management device. When there is a standby job waiting for execution in the image processing apparatus, the image processing apparatus further includes a save job storage unit that acquires the standby job from the image processing apparatus and temporarily stores the job.
The setting information rewriting means returns the waiting job to the original execution waiting state by transmitting the waiting job stored in the save job storage means to the image processing apparatus after the setting change of the image processing apparatus is completed. The management device according to claim 10.   12. The management apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising job editing means for editing the standby job saved in the saved job storage means into a job that can be executed after the setting of the image processing apparatus is changed.

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