JP2013107243A - Image forming device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly operate a job without losing usability when an error occurs in a print job, in print job control in which security is secured.SOLUTION: When a confirmation means determines that an apparatus cannot communicate with a device via a network, a practice means processes the print job according to an operation request even if a determination means determines as disagreement.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there are image forming apparatuses (digital multifunction peripherals) capable of realizing a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copy, a FAX, and a scanner in one apparatus. In such an image forming apparatus, when a function such as a printer, a copy, a FAX, or a scanner is executed in the image forming apparatus, the user is specified and the function in the image processing apparatus is used according to the authority of the user. There are things that allow you to. For example, authentication is performed using a user ID and password input from an operation unit (such as a touch panel) included in the image processing apparatus, and verification is performed with authentication information added to a print job instructed to be executed by the host computer. When it is determined that they are the same user, there is one that gives an access right to the job to an operation user who operates the image forming apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the prior art, when an error occurs in a print job being executed, it is assumed that another person can stop the print job being executed.
On the other hand, in recent years, with the widespread use of personal information terminal devices such as portable terminals, there is an increasing need for printing by transmitting image data from these information terminal devices to an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral. In the case of a personal information terminal device, since it is generally for personal use and authentication processing is not performed, there is no information such as a user ID.

JP 2005-262864 A

When an error occurs in a print job that is being executed, depending on the content of the error that has occurred, there are cases in which it is necessary to appropriately notify the user who executed the print job. However, in the prior art, if an error occurs, any user can cancel the print job, so there is a possibility that information cannot be notified to the user who has executed the print job appropriately. .
In addition, when printing is performed from a personal information terminal device such as a portable terminal, it is assumed that the user cannot be specified by a user ID or the like, and therefore it is assumed that a determination is made based on identification information such as a manufacturing number of the information terminal device. In this case, the operation source for the print job is specified not by the user ID but by the identification number of the information terminal device. For this reason, for example, if the information terminal device cannot be used due to a power failure or the like, the same information terminal device cannot be connected, so that the print job cannot be operated. In the conventional technology, there is a technology that can be canceled by other users when an error occurs, but since it is determined only by whether or not an error has occurred, the error information may not be properly notified to the user as above. There is. Furthermore, since it can be canceled from the information terminal device, there is a possibility that the user who has executed the print job cannot operate because it may be operated in a place that cannot be seen by the user who has executed the print job.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately perform a job operation without reducing usability when a print job has an error in print job control with security. To do.

  Accordingly, the image forming apparatus of the present invention acquires identification information for identifying identification information for identifying the device when a print job is received from a device capable of communicating via a network and when an operation request for a print job is received. Means, management means for associating and managing the identification information acquired at the time of reception of the print job by the identification information acquisition means and the print job, and acquisition when a print job operation request is received by the identification information acquisition means A determination unit that determines whether or not the identification information associated with the print job managed by the management unit matches the determination information and the determination unit Executing means for executing processing for the print job in response to the operation request; A detection unit for detecting an error, a specifying unit for specifying identification information related to the print job in which an error is detected during processing by the detection unit, and a identification unit specified by the specifying unit. Confirmation means for confirming whether or not communication with the device to be performed via the network is possible, and when the execution means determines that communication with the device via the network is not possible by the confirmation means, the determination Even when it is determined by the means that they do not match, the process for the print job corresponding to the operation request is executed.

  According to the present invention, in a print job control that ensures security, when a print job has an error, it is possible to appropriately perform the job operation without reducing usability.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure which shows the whole system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration such as an application of a digital multifunction peripheral. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of the digital multifunction peripheral and the portable terminal regarding processing for connecting the digital multifunction peripheral and the portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the portable terminal at the time of a connection. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the document operation application of a portable terminal. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of a print job management application when a digital multifunction peripheral receives a print request for document data of document 1 from a portable terminal. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of print job information data. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of a print job operation application according to the first embodiment when a digital multifunction peripheral receives a print list acquisition request for performing print list display from a mobile terminal. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status on a portable terminal (part 1); FIG. 10 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status in the mobile terminal. FIG. 13 is a third diagram illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status in the portable terminal. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status in the portable terminal (part 4); 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of error detection processing according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status in the portable terminal (part 5); FIG. 10 is a sixth diagram illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status in the portable terminal. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of a print job operation application when a cancel request is issued for a print job of document 0 from a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the data of cancellation log information. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of error detection processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a print job information table. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of a print job operation application according to the second embodiment when a digital multifunction peripheral receives a print list acquisition request for displaying a print list from a mobile terminal. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen indicating a print job status on a portable terminal (part 7); 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of a print job operation application when a request for overtaking of document 1 is requested from the portable terminal to the digital multifunction peripheral. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of error detection processing according to the third embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the information processing at the time of session invalidation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration showing the entire system. A digital multi-function peripheral 110 and a wireless LAN router 130 are connected by a network 100. The mobile terminal 120 communicates with the wireless LAN router 130 and is connected to the network 100 so that it can communicate with the digital multifunction peripheral 110. The digital multi-function peripheral 110 and the portable terminal 120 can be connected and communicated by NFC (Near Field Communication).
The digital multi-function peripheral 110 is an example of an image forming apparatus. The mobile terminal 120 is an example of a device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the digital multifunction peripheral 110. The digital multi-function peripheral 110 includes a controller unit 200, an operation unit 220, a scanner 230, and a printer 240. The controller unit 200 is connected to an operation unit 220 and is also connected to a scanner 230 that is an image input device and a printer 240 that is an image output device.
The controller unit 200 has a CPU 202, and the CPU 202 starts up an operation system (OS) by a boot program stored in the ROM 206. The CPU 202 executes application programs stored in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 on the OS, thereby executing various processes. A RAM 203 is used as a work area for the CPU 202. The RAM 203 provides a work area and an image memory area for temporarily storing image data. The HDD 205 stores the application program and image data.

An operation unit I / F 201, a device I / F 204, a network 207, and an image processing 208 are connected to the CPU 202 via the system bus 210 together with the ROM 206 and the RAM 203.
The operation unit I / F 201 is an interface with the operation unit 220 having a touch panel, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 220 to the operation unit 220. Further, the operation unit I / F 201 sends information input by the user in the operation unit 220 to the CPU 202. A scanner 230 and a printer 240 are connected to the device I / F 204, and the device I / F 213 performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. The network 207 is connected to the LAN and inputs / outputs information to / from each device on the LAN via the LAN. In the image processing 208, processing such as input image processing from a scanner, output image processing to a printer, image rotation, image compression, resolution conversion, color space conversion, and gradation conversion are performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration such as an application of the digital multifunction peripheral 110. The print job operation application 310 operates upon receiving an operation request for a print job received by the digital multifunction peripheral 110 via the network 100. The operation request is, for example, canceling the print job, interrupting the print job, or restarting the print job. When the print job operation reception unit 311 receives the operation request, the print job operation reception unit 311 analyzes the operation request content and transmits the operation request to the print job operation processing unit 312. For example, if the operation request is acquisition of print job list information, the print job operation processing unit 312 requests the operation authority determination unit 313 to acquire print job information. The operation authority determining unit 313 requests the print job management application 320 to acquire information on all print jobs. When the operation authority determination unit 313 acquires information about all print jobs from the print job management application 320, the list information request source determines whether the print information has an operation authority for each print job. Then, the operation authority determination unit 313 adds the determination result and returns the result to the print job operation processing unit 312. The print job operation processing unit 312 converts the received print job information into a response data format and returns the result.

The print job management application 320 processes a print job received by the digital multi-function peripheral 110 via the network 100 and prints it with the digital multi-function peripheral 110. When the print job reception unit 321 receives the print job, the print job reception unit 321 requests the print job control unit 322 to process the print job while storing the received print job data in the HDD 205. The print job control unit 322 registers the print job information in the print job information management unit 323 and instructs the print job processing unit 324 to process the print job. The print job processing unit 324 reads print job data from the HDD 205 and executes print processing.
The print job operation application 310 and the print job management application 320 exchange data, requests, and results with the mobile terminal 120 on the network 100 through the communication processing unit 300.
The CPU 202 executes processing based on a program stored in any of the RAM 203, the ROM 206, and the HDD 205, thereby realizing the communication processing unit 300, the print job operation application 310, and the print job management application 320.

An example of information processing of the digital multifunction peripheral 110 and the portable terminal 120 regarding processing for connecting the digital multifunction peripheral 110 and the portable terminal 120 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. The processing shown in the flowchart of the digital multi-function peripheral processing is executed by the communication processing unit 300. The process shown in the flowchart of the mobile terminal side process is executed by an application operating on the mobile terminal 120. A description of the application and configuration of the mobile terminal 120 is omitted. The CPU of the mobile terminal 120 executes processing based on a program stored in the memory of the mobile terminal 120, thereby realizing an application of the mobile terminal 120.
In step S <b> 401, the mobile terminal 120 requests the digital multifunction peripheral 110 to connect using NFC. In step S <b> 402, the application of the mobile terminal 120 (hereinafter simply referred to as an application in this flowchart) waits for a response from the digital multifunction peripheral 110. In step S411, the communication processing unit 300 waits for reception of an NFC connection request. If it is determined that the NFC connection request has been received, the communication processing unit 300 proceeds to step S412 and requests the connection request source to send a MAC address. Then, the communication processing unit 300 proceeds to step S413 and waits for reception of a MAC address. The application determines that a response from the digital multifunction peripheral 110 has been received in step S402, and proceeds to step S403. In step S403, the application determines that the request is a MAC address transmission request, transmits the MAC address information of the portable terminal 120 to the digital multifunction peripheral 110, and proceeds to step S404. If the communication processing unit 300 determines in step S413 that a MAC address has been received, the process proceeds to step S414. In step S414, the communication processing unit 300 stores the received MAC address in the primary storage area, transmits the IP address of the digital multi-function peripheral 110 to the portable terminal 120, and the NFC connection process ends. The primary storage area of the communication processing unit 300 exists in any storage unit of the RAM 203, ROM 206, or HDD 205.

  If it is determined in step S404 that the application has received an IP address from the digital multifunction peripheral 110, the application proceeds to step S405. In step S405, the application makes a connection request to the digital multifunction peripheral 110 through the network 100 for the received IP address. When the connection request is made, the application waits for a response in step S406. In step S421, the communication processing unit 300 waits for a connection request via the network. If the communication processing unit 300 determines that the network connection request from the mobile terminal 120 has been received, the communication processing unit 300 proceeds to step S422, and specifies the MAC address of the connection request source. In step S423, the communication processing unit 300 determines whether the MAC address identified in step S422 exists in the MAC address stored in the primary storage area of the communication processing unit 300 in step S414 of the NFC connection process. If it does not exist here, the communication processing unit 300 determines that the request is not a valid connection request, returns an error to the request source, and ends the process. If the communication processing unit 300 determines in step S423 that it matches the MAC address stored in the primary storage area, the process proceeds to step S424. In step S424, the communication processing unit 300 permits a network connection request from the mobile terminal 120, generates a session, returns a response to the mobile terminal 120, and the network connection process ends.

When the application of the portable terminal 120 receives the response in step S406, the application proceeds to step S407, holds the session information generated by the digital multifunction peripheral 110, and thereafter performs processing using this session. Although not described in the flowchart, when an error is returned from the digital multifunction peripheral 110, the processing in the portable terminal 120 also ends in error. When the connection between the portable terminal 120 and the digital multifunction peripheral 110 is completed, a connection completion notification as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the screen of the portable terminal 120, for example.
A user who operates the portable terminal 120 operates a file browsing application as shown in FIG. 6, for example, and selects document data to be printed by the digital multifunction peripheral 110. In the present embodiment, a case where the user A prints document data called document 1 on the digital multi-function peripheral 110 from the portable terminal 120a will be described as an example.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of the print job management application 320 when the digital multifunction peripheral 110 receives a print request for document data of document 1 from the portable terminal 120a. A print request is sent from the portable terminal 120a to the digital multifunction peripheral 110 using the session between the portable terminal 120a and the digital multifunction peripheral 110 through the network 100 generated by the processing described with reference to FIG. The communication processing unit 300 of the digital multifunction peripheral 110 first confirms whether the request source is valid. Here, the communication processing unit 300 is a valid request source depending on whether it is performed through the session generated in the network connection process of FIG. 4 and whether the request source MAC address matches the information in the primary storage area. Judge whether. In step S 701, this determination is made. If it is determined to be valid, the communication processing unit 300 passes the print job to the print job reception unit 321 of the print job management application 320.
In step S702, the print job reception unit 321 inquires of the print job control unit 322 whether the print job can be received. If the print job control unit 322 determines that the job can be received, the print job reception unit 321 proceeds to step S703. However, for example, if it is determined that the job cannot be accepted due to lack of resources or the like, the print job receiving unit 321 returns an error in response to the request, and the process ends.

In step S <b> 703, the print job reception unit 321 requests and acquires the MAC address of the requesting mobile terminal from the communication processing unit 300, specifies the MAC address, and transmits the MAC address to the print job control unit 322. The processing in step S703 is an example of identification information acquisition processing.
In step S704, the print job control unit 322 generates the received print job, associates the MAC address with the print job, and registers the print job information in the print job information management unit 323 as print job information. The print job information includes the job name of the print job, the size of the print job, the reception date / time, the print job status, the MAC address, and the like. An example of print job information data managed by the print job information management unit 323 is shown in FIG. The print job information is stored in any storage unit of the RAM 203, the ROM 206, and the HDD 205.
In step S705, the print job processing unit 324 processes the generated print job. Then, the printer 240 performs print processing and the processing is completed. The processing status in the print job processing unit 324 is sequentially notified to the print job information management unit 323 through the print job control unit 322, and the print job status information is updated.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing of the print job operation application 310 when the digital multifunction peripheral 110 receives a print list acquisition request for displaying a print list from the mobile terminal 120a. A print list acquisition request is sent from the portable terminal 120a to the digital multifunction peripheral 110 using the session between the portable terminal 120a and the digital multifunction peripheral 110 through the network 100 generated by the processing described with reference to FIG. The communication processing unit 300 first confirms whether the request source is valid. Here, the communication processing unit 300 determines whether or not the request is valid through the session generated by the network connection process of FIG. 4 and whether or not the request source MAC address matches the information in the primary storage area. Determine whether or not. In step S <b> 901, this determination is made. If it is determined to be valid, the communication processing unit 300 passes a print list acquisition request to the print job operation reception unit 311 of the print job operation application 310.
In step S902, the print job operation reception unit 311 requests and acquires the MAC address of the requesting mobile terminal from the communication processing unit 300, specifies the MAC address, and print job operation processing together with the print list request. Tell part 312.

In step S903, the print job operation processing unit 312 sends a print list acquisition request to the operation authority determination unit 313 with the MAC address received in step S902. The operation authority determination unit 313 requests the print job information management unit 323 of the print job management application 320 to acquire information regarding all print jobs currently being processed. The print job information management unit 323 passes the held print information to the operation authority determination unit 313.
In step S904, the operation authority determination unit 313 specifies a MAC address for each print job using the print job information acquired from the print job information management unit 323 in step S903.

In step S905, the operation authority determining unit 313 checks whether the MAC address specified in step S904 matches the MAC address of the request source that has made the print list request. Here, the information of the print job whose MAC address does not match is converted into “***” as the job name, and print job operation disabling information is added. Note that the MAC address match determination is performed when the MAC address of the print job information can be acquired effectively, and is not executed for print job information without a MAC address. When confirmation for all print jobs is completed, the MAC address information of all print job information is deleted, and the operation authority determining unit 313 passes the result to the print job operation processing unit 312 as a result.
In step S906, the print job operation processing unit 312 generates print list information to be returned to the request source based on the information received from the operation authority determining unit 313 in step S905. The generated print list information is transferred to the print job operation accepting unit 311 and transmitted to the requesting portable terminal 120a through the communication processing unit 300.

User A can check the status and print status of the digital multifunction peripheral 110 from the portable terminal 120a. For example, the status and print status of the digital multifunction peripheral 110 are confirmed on a screen as shown in FIG. Of these, the information displayed in the print job status is an example in which the mobile terminal 120a receives and displays information generated by the print list processing described with reference to FIG.
Here, in the present embodiment, a case where another user B is printing from the mobile terminal 120b is taken as an example. The screen of FIG. 10 shows that the printing of the document 1 requested by the user A is on standby, and the document 0 requested by the user B is being printed. At this time, on the screen of the portable terminal 120a operated by the user A, the job name of the document 0 is displayed as being converted into “***” and displayed in a state where the operation cannot be performed. This is print list information returned by the print job operation application 310 of the digital multi-function peripheral 110 in the print list processing described with reference to FIG. 9, and a print job associated with a MAC address different from the portable terminal 120a is a job. This is because the name is converted and the operation impossible information is added. Therefore, for example, when the user B displays a similar screen on the mobile terminal 120b, as shown in FIG. 11, only the print job input from the mobile terminal 120b is displayed in an operable state. In this embodiment, the job name that cannot be operated is described as being converted to “***”, but all information may be converted or deleted so that it is not displayed in the print list. Moreover, it is good not to display so that it cannot be operated but to make an error when selected.

  Here, a case where the print job submitted by the user B from the portable terminal 120b is interrupted due to an error will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error notification screen displayed on the mobile terminal 120b. If an error occurs in the print job of document 0 due to, for example, insufficient internal memory of the digital multi-function peripheral 110, the user B is asked whether to skip the error and continue processing or to cancel the print job. Let them choose. This is because there are cases where it is difficult for the digital multifunction peripheral 110 to automatically determine whether the user wants to redo or ignores depending on the content of the error. When such an error occurs, the digital multi-function peripheral 110 generally suspends internal print processing and waits for a user response. For this reason, as described in the present embodiment, when the document 0 is interrupted due to an error, the print job of the document 1 input from the portable terminal 120a by the user A is also in a waiting state and is not printed out. FIG. 13 shows an operation screen example of the print job status displayed on the portable terminal 120a at this time. As shown in the example of FIG. 13, even if notification is made that an error has occurred, the mobile terminal 120a cannot be operated. This is because if the error can be canceled or skipped from the mobile terminal 120a, the process intended by the user B cannot be performed.

Next, it is assumed that the portable terminal 120b is disconnected from the network 100 due to a battery exhaustion or the like and the communication with the digital multifunction peripheral 110 cannot be performed in a state where the document 0 is interrupted due to an error. A description will be given of how the processing of the print job operation application 310 and the print job management application 320 in the digital multi-function peripheral 110 and the display on the portable terminal 120a change accordingly.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of error detection processing of the print job management application 320.
In step S1401, the print job processing unit 324 determines whether an error has occurred in the print processing. When the print job processing unit 324 detects an error, the print job processing unit 324 notifies the print job control unit 322 that an error has occurred.
When the print job control unit 322 receives a notification that an error has occurred, the print job control unit 322 determines that an error has occurred, proceeds to step S1402, and identifies the content of the error that has occurred.

In step S1403, the print job control unit 322 determines whether to interrupt or automatically cancel the print job from the error content specified in step S1402.
If it is determined to cancel automatically, the process advances to step S1408, and the print job control unit 322 cancels the print job in which the error has occurred.
In step S <b> 1409, the print job control unit 322 notifies the content of the error and the content of the processing to the mobile terminal 120 that is the input source of the print job.
In the case of the document 0 exemplified in the present embodiment, a memory buffer over error has occurred, and in step S1403, the print job control unit 322 determines that the interruption has occurred, and proceeds to step S1404. In step S <b> 1404, the print job control unit 322 makes a MAC address acquisition request to the print job information management unit 323. The print job information management unit 323 specifies the MAC address from the print job information and returns it to the print job control unit 322.

In step S1405, the print job control unit 322 checks with the communication processing unit 300 whether the session specified by the MAC address is valid using the MAC address information acquired in step S1404. The communication processing unit 300 identifies the session generated by the network connection process from the held MAC address information. Then, the communication processing unit 300 confirms whether or not the connection source mobile terminal 120b is in a communicable state for the specified session, and returns a confirmation result to the print job control unit 322.
In step S1406, the print job control unit 322 determines whether the session is valid from the confirmation result acquired in step S1405. If it is determined to be valid, the process advances to step S1409, and the print job control unit 322 notifies the mobile terminal 120b of the error content of the print job from the communication processing unit 300, and the process ends. If it is determined to be invalid, the process advances to step S1407, and the print job control unit 322 requests the print job information management unit 323 to invalidate the MAC address information of the print job. When receiving the MAC address invalidation request, the print job information management unit 323 deletes the MAC address information of the print information to be managed and ends the process. Here, the print job information management unit 323 may set an invalidation flag without deleting the information.

The processing of the print job operation application 310 when a print list acquisition request is again made from the portable terminal 120a to the digital multifunction peripheral 110 after the error detection processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Steps S901 to S903 are the same as described above, and will not be described.
In step S904, the operation authority determination unit 313 specifies a MAC address for each print job using the print job information acquired from the print job information management unit 323 in step S903.
In step S905, the operation authority determining unit 313 checks whether the MAC address specified in step S904 matches the MAC address of the request source that has made the print list request. At this time, since the MAC address information of the document 0 is deleted by the error detection process described above, this is different from the above description. Since the document 0 does not have the MAC address information, it is not determined that the MAC address is different, and the job name is not changed and the print job operation disabled information is not added. When the confirmation for all print jobs is completed, the operation authority determining unit 313 deletes the MAC address information of all the print job information, and passes the result to the print job operation processing unit 312 as a result.

  In step S906, the print job operation processing unit 312 generates print list information to be returned to the request source based on the information received from the operation authority determining unit 313 in step S905. The print job operation processing unit 312 passes the generated print list information to the print job operation receiving unit 311. The print list information is transmitted to the requesting mobile terminal 120a through the communication processing unit 300. That is, since the MAC address information has been deleted (or invalidated), the change process is not performed on the document 0 information in step S905, and thus the document 0 information is transmitted as print list information to the portable terminal 120a. The FIG. 15 shows an example of a print job status screen displayed on the portable terminal 120a that has acquired this print list information. When the example is shown in FIG. 13, it can be seen from the display that the print job of the document 0 that cannot be operated and whose job name is not visible is interrupted by an error and can be operated. If document 0 is suspended due to an error and user B cannot cancel the suspended state of the print job of document 0 for some reason, user A knows that the operation has become possible. it can. In addition, the user A can cancel the suspended state of the print job. Therefore, the user A can execute a print job for his / her document 1. In the present embodiment, print job list acquisition has been described by taking all print job lists as an example. However, acquisition for the number of display items that can be accommodated in the screen may be performed.

The process of the print job operation application 310 when a cancel request is issued for the print job of document 0 from the portable terminal 120a will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
In step S1601, the communication processing unit 300 confirms whether the request source of the received print job cancel request is valid. Whether the communication processing unit 300 is a legitimate request source, whether it is performed through the session generated in the network connection process of FIG. 4 and whether the request source MAC address matches the information in the primary storage area. to decide. If the communication processing unit 300 determines that it is valid, the communication processing unit 300 passes a print job cancel request to the print job operation reception unit 311 of the print job operation application 310.
In step S1602, the print job operation reception unit 311 requests and acquires the MAC address of the requesting mobile terminal from the communication processing unit 300, specifies the MAC address, and print job operation processing together with the print job cancel request. Tell part 312.
In step S1603, the print job operation processing unit 312 makes a print job cancelability determination request to the operation authority determination unit 313 with the MAC address received in step S1602. The operation authority determination unit 313 requests the print job information management unit 323 of the print job management application 320 to acquire print job information for determining cancelability. The print job information management unit 323 passes the held print information to the operation authority determination unit 313.

In step S1604, the operation authority determining unit 313 identifies the MAC address from the print job information acquired from the print job information management unit 323 in step S1603.
In step S1605, the operation authority determination unit 313 confirms whether the MAC address specified in step S1604 matches the MAC address of the request source that issued the print job cancel request. The MAC address match determination is performed when the MAC address of the print job information is valid and can be acquired, and is not executed for print job information without a MAC address, and is handled in the same manner as the match. The operation authority determining unit 313 determines that cancellation is possible when the MAC addresses match, and determines that it is impossible when the MAC addresses do not match, and returns the determination result to the print job operation processing unit 312.
If it is determined that cancellation is not possible, in step S1607, the print job operation processing unit 312 notifies the request source that cancellation cannot be performed, and the process ends. If it is determined that cancellation is possible, the print job operation processing unit 312 makes a print job cancel request to the print job management application 320 in step S1606. When the print job management application 320 receives a cancel request from the print job operation processing unit 312, the print job control unit 322 requests the print job processing unit 324 to cancel the print job and executes the cancel processing. To do.

  In the case of a print job cancel request from the portable terminal 120a when the print job of the document 0 is interrupted due to an error, the operation authority determining unit 313 cannot acquire a MAC address in step S1604. For this reason, it is determined by the operation authority determining unit 313 that they match, and even for a print job from the portable terminal 120b, the print job can be canceled from the portable terminal 120a. After executing the cancel of the print job, in step S1608, the print job control unit 322 records the cancel request source MAC address information received together with the cancel request source from the print job operation processing unit 312 in the print job cancel log information. Then, the process shown in FIG. 16 ends.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of cancel log information data. As the cancel log information, in addition to the print job information, the cancellation date and time when the cancellation was executed and the MAC address information of the request source that executed the cancellation are recorded. The cancel log information is stored in any storage unit of the RAM 203, the ROM 206, and the HDD 205. In addition, you may leave the log at the time of performing normally not only at the time of cancellation. In the present embodiment, the MAC address is described as an example of identification information for identifying (or identifying) the mobile terminal. However, information such as a manufacturing number may be used as long as it is identifiable information. In the present embodiment, the operation authority determination unit 313 that determines whether or not the operation is possible has been described as processing in the print job operation application 310. However, this processing may be performed in the communication processing unit 300 or may be performed in the print job management application 320. In addition, the communication processing unit 300, the print job operation application 310, and the print job management application 320 may be configured by one or may be configured by being divided into a plurality. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a portable terminal has been described as an example. However, any information terminal device that can communicate over a network and inputs a print job may be used. Further, the print job input from the information terminal device may be input by NFC.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when user authentication is not performed and a device such as a mobile terminal is paired with a digital multi-function peripheral and printing is performed, the print operation can be performed securely. It is feasible. Further, when an error occurs in the printing process, information is appropriately notified to the user, and when a user judgment is necessary, it can be controlled not to be processed by another user. Furthermore, even if a user judgment is necessary, if it is judged that the judgment of the user cannot be executed, a printing operation can be appropriately executed so that the processing of the digital multi-function peripheral can be continued without stopping. Further, by leaving the request source information at the time of cancellation in the log, it is also possible to know which user or terminal is instructed to cancel later.

[Embodiment 2]
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in that there are changes in print job processing error detection processing, print job information table items, and print list request processing, and print job overtaking request processing is added. Therefore, only that point will be described.
FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of the error detection process in this embodiment. The description of the first embodiment and the processing without change are the same step numbers, and the description is omitted.
If the print job control unit 322 determines in step S1406 that the session with the print job input source terminal is invalid, the process advances to step S1801.
In step S1801, the print job control unit 322 determines whether the error that has occurred in the print job is a recoverable error. An error that can be recovered is an error that can be resumed due to an instruction from the user, a change in the apparatus state, or the like. For example, recoverable error information may be hard-coded in advance, or may be described in a file or the like stored in any storage means of the RAM 203, ROM 206, or HDD 205.
The process in step S1801 is an example of a return determination process.
If the print job control unit 322 determines that return is not possible, the process advances to step S1407, and the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed. If the print job control unit 322 determines that it can be restored, the process advances to step S1802.

In step S1802, the print job control unit 322 determines whether the error that has occurred in the print job is an error that the subsequent print job can pass. An error that can be overtaken is an error in which a print job in error can be interrupted and the next print job can be processed. Similar to recoverable error information, overtakeable error information may be hard-coded in advance or may be described in a file or the like. If the print job control unit 322 determines that overtaking is not possible, the process advances to step S1407, and the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed. If the print job control unit 322 determines that overtaking is possible, the process advances to step S1803.
The process of S1802 is an example of an overtaking determination process.
In step S1803, the print job control unit 322 requests the print job information management unit 323 to set a passable flag for the print job in which an error has occurred. When receiving the request, the print job information management unit 323 changes the passable flag of the print job information of the print job from NG to OK and ends the processing. An example of the print job information table at this time is shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of processing of the print job operation application 310 in this embodiment when the digital multifunction peripheral 110 receives a print list acquisition request for displaying a print list from the portable terminal 120a. The description of the first embodiment and the processing without change are the same step numbers, and the description is omitted. The only difference is that step S2001 is added between step S905 and step S906.
In step S2001, the operation authority determining unit 313 also adds the overtaking flag information acquired from the print job information for the print job to which the operation disabling information is added in step S905. By doing so, the portable terminal 120a can receive that the overtaking possible flag is set to ON for the print job of the document 0 to which the operation impossibility information is added. An example of the operation screen of the mobile terminal 120a when this information is received is shown in FIG. As shown in this example, since the overtaking possible flag is ON, the overtaking instruction button is activated and displayed. Therefore, the user A cannot know or cancel the job name of the document 0, but can know that it is possible to instruct the document 1 to pass the previous print job for processing. .

Next, the process of the print job operation application 310 when the user A requests the digital multifunction device 110 to pass the document 1 from the portable terminal 120a will be described. A processing flowchart is shown in FIG.
In step S2201, the communication processing unit 300 confirms whether the request source of the received print job overtaking request is valid. Whether the communication processing unit 300 is a legitimate request source, whether it is performed through the session generated in the network connection process of FIG. 4 and whether the request source MAC address matches the information in the primary storage area. to decide. If the communication processing unit 300 determines that the print job is valid, the communication processing unit 300 passes the print job overtaking request to the print job operation reception unit 311 of the print job operation application 310.
In step S2202, the print job operation reception unit 311 requests and acquires the MAC address of the requesting mobile terminal from the communication processing unit 300, specifies the MAC address, and print job operation processing together with the print job overtaking request. Tell part 312.

In step S2203, the print job operation processing unit 312 issues a print job overtaking list change request to the operation authority determining unit 313 with the MAC address received in step S2202. When receiving the overtaking list change request, the operation authority determining unit 313 requests the print job information management unit 323 of the print job management application 320 to acquire all print job information. The print job information management unit 323 transmits the managed print job information to the operation authority determination unit 313.
In step S2204, the operation authority determining unit 313 identifies a print job for which an overtaking request has been made from all the print jobs acquired in step S2203. Then, the operation authority determining unit 313 determines whether there is a print job to be printed immediately before the specified print job. If it is determined that there is no print job, the process ends.

If it is determined that the previous print job exists, in step S2205, the operation authority determination unit 313 acquires the overtakeable flag information from the print job information of the previous print job, and the overtakeable flag is OK. Judge whether or not. If it is NG here, the process ends.
If it is determined that the overtaking possible flag is OK, the operation authority determining unit 313 proceeds to step S2206. In step S2206, the operation authority determination unit 313 requests the print job management application 320 to interrupt the previous print job. In addition, the operation authority determination unit 313 makes a processing order change request for switching the order of the print job that has been requested to be overtaken with the print job that is processed immediately before.

When the print job control unit 322 of the print job management application 320 receives the request described above from the operation authority determination unit 313, the print job control unit 322 instructs the print job processing unit 324 to interrupt the print job processing. When receiving an instruction, the print job processing unit 324 interrupts the processing. Further, the print job control unit 322 makes a print job processing order change request to the print job information management unit 323. The print job information management unit 323 changes the list order of the internal print job information to the requested order. Then, the print job control unit 322 instructs the print job processing unit 324 to process the head print job of the changed print job, and the processing ends.
In the case of the overtaking instruction for the document 1 from the portable terminal 120a, since the document 0 exists before the document 1, the determination in step S2204 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S2205. In step S2205, it is determined that the overtaking flag of document 0 is OK, and the process proceeds to step S2206. In step S2206, processing interruption processing for the print job of document 0 and processing order change processing of document 1 and document 0 are performed. Since document 0 was originally suspended, there is no change, but the print job processing order is changed from the print job of document 1 to the beginning, and the processing of the print job of document 1 is started.

  As described above, when an error is interrupted due to a recoverable error, if the subsequent job can be overtaken, cancellation from other terminals is accepted even if the connection with the mobile terminal that submitted the print job is disconnected Do not. This makes it possible to return to the process later. Furthermore, a user who has been waiting for an error interruption can overtake the interrupted print job by requesting an overtaking instruction and execute his or her own print job, so that it can be used without any problem.

[Embodiment 3]
The third embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments only in that there is a change in the processing after it is determined that the session with the print job input source is invalid, and only this point will be described.
After step S1406 of the error detection process described with reference to FIG. 14 of the first embodiment, a process at the time of session invalidation in S2300 is added. A flowchart is shown in FIG.
If it is determined that the session is invalid, in step S2301, the print job control unit 322 requests the communication processing unit 300 to acquire information on a device connected by NFC. When the communication processing unit 300 receives the request, the communication processing unit 300 identifies a device that is NFC-connected.
If the communication processing unit 300 determines in step S2302 that there is no device connected by NFC, the communication processing unit 300 notifies the print job control unit 322 that there is no device connected by NFC, and the process advances to step S2305.
In step S2305, the print job control unit 322 determines that not only the session but also the NFC connection is disconnected, executes the same processing as the processing in step S1407 in FIG.

If it is determined in step S2302 that there is an NFC-connected device, in step S2303, the communication processing unit 300 issues a MAC address acquisition request to all NFC-connected devices, and acquires MAC addresses.
In step S2304, the communication processing unit 300 determines whether any of the MAC addresses acquired in step S2303 matches the MAC address of the connection for which it is determined that the network session is invalid. If it is determined that there is no matching device, the process proceeds to step S2305 and the same as described above. If it is determined that there is a matching device, the communication processing unit 300 determines again that there is a network connection request from a terminal having the same MAC address, and ends the process without performing the MAC address invalidation process. It becomes.

Note that similar processing can be added to the error detection processing described in FIG. In the present embodiment, the session invalidation process is described as being executed during the error detection process. However, only the session invalidation process is performed, for example, it is invalid by confirming the validity / invalidity of the session at regular intervals. It may be processed at the timing when is known.
In this embodiment, the MAC address is acquired by searching for an NFC-connected device. However, a device having a specified MAC address from the print job control unit 322 is managed by managing the NFC-connected device. An inquiry may be made as to whether NFC connection is established.

  As described above, even when the network is disconnected, if it is found that there is a terminal that has submitted a print job at a distance where NFC communication is possible, the possibility of reprocessing is high. It is possible to prevent cancellations from other terminals. Therefore, even when the network is momentarily disconnected, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination that other devices can cancel.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  As described above, according to each of the above-described embodiments, when a print job has an error in print job control that ensures security, it is possible to appropriately perform a job operation without reducing usability.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

Claims (8)

Identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information for identifying the device when a print job is received from a device communicable via a network and when a print job operation request is received;
Management means for associating and managing the identification information acquired at the time of reception of the print job by the identification information acquisition means and the print job;
Whether the identification information acquired when the identification information acquisition unit receives a print job operation request matches the identification information associated with the print job managed by the management unit. A judging means for judging;
An execution unit that executes processing for the print job in response to the operation request when the determination unit determines that they match;
Detecting means for detecting an error during processing of the print job;
Specifying means for specifying identification information related to the print job in which an error is detected during processing by the detecting means from the managing means;
Confirmation means for confirming whether or not communication with the device identified by the identification information identified by the identification means is possible via a network;
Have
The execution means performs processing for the print job in response to the operation request even when the confirmation means determines that communication with the device via the network is not possible, or when the determination means determines that they do not match. An image forming apparatus that executes   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a notification unit that notifies the device of the content of the error detected by the detection unit when the confirmation unit determines that communication with the device via the network is possible. . A return determination means for determining whether the error detected by the detection means is a recoverable error;
The execution unit determines that the determination unit does not agree when the confirmation unit determines that communication with the device via the network is not possible and the return determination unit determines that the error is not recoverable. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a process for the print job corresponding to the operation request is executed even when the operation request is received. When it is determined that the error can be recovered by the return determination unit, the error detection unit further includes an overtaking determination unit that determines whether the error detected by the detection unit is an error that a subsequent print job can pass,
The execution unit determines that the confirmation unit determines that communication with the device via the network is not possible, and the determination unit determines that the subsequent print job is not an overtaking error. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the process for the print job corresponding to the operation request is executed even when it is determined that the two do not match.   When the session with the device identified by the identification information identified by the identifying unit is valid, the confirmation unit determines that communication with the device via the network is possible, and the session with the device is determined. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if it is not valid, it is determined that communication with the device via a network is not possible.   When the session with the device is not valid, the confirmation unit further determines whether or not the device is connected with the short-range wireless communication, and when the device is connected with the device with the short-range wireless communication. 6. The image according to claim 5, wherein it is determined that communication with the device is possible via a network, and if the device is not connected via short-range wireless communication, it is determined that communication with the device via the network is not possible. Forming equipment. An information processing method executed by an image forming apparatus,
An identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information for identifying the device when a print job is received from a device communicable via a network and when an operation request for the print job is received;
A management step for associating and managing the identification information acquired at the time of receiving the print job in the identification information acquisition step and the print job;
Whether the identification information acquired when the operation request for the print job is received in the identification information acquisition step matches the identification information associated with the print job managed in the management step. A judgment step to judge;
An execution step of executing a process for the print job in response to the operation request when it is determined that they match in the determination step;
A detection step of detecting an error during processing for the print job;
A specifying step for specifying, from the management step, identification information related to the print job in which an error is detected during the processing in the detecting step;
A confirmation step for confirming whether communication with the device identified by the identification information identified in the identification step is possible via a network;
Including
In the execution step, if it is determined in the confirmation step that communication with the device via the network is not possible, and if it is determined in the determination step that they do not match, processing for the print job corresponding to the operation request is performed. Information processing method to execute. On the computer,
An identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information for identifying the device when a print job is received from a device communicable via a network and when an operation request for the print job is received;
A management step for associating and managing the identification information acquired at the time of receiving the print job in the identification information acquisition step and the print job;
Whether the identification information acquired when the operation request for the print job is received in the identification information acquisition step matches the identification information associated with the print job managed in the management step. A judgment step to judge;
An execution step of executing a process for the print job in response to the operation request when it is determined that they match in the determination step;
A detection step of detecting an error during processing for the print job;
A specifying step for specifying, from the management step, identification information related to the print job in which an error is detected during the processing in the detecting step;
A confirmation step for confirming whether communication with the device identified by the identification information identified in the identification step is possible via a network;
And execute
In the execution step, if it is determined in the confirmation step that communication with the device via the network is not possible, and if it is determined in the determination step that they do not match, processing for the print job corresponding to the operation request is performed. A program that executes.

Images