JP2014056542A - Image processing device and image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select an image formation device which is optimal for a user from a plurality of image formation devices.SOLUTION: The image processing device comprises: an image formation device information acquisition part for acquiring specification information and state information on a plurality of image formation devices connected to a communication line; a weight storage part for retaining weight information for every item for evaluating the specification information and the state information; image formation device evaluation means for, on the basis of the specification information, the state information, and the weight information, evaluating each of the image formation devices according to the plurality of items and ordering the image formation devices; and image formation device selection part for selecting an optimal image formation device from the image formation devices that are ordered by the image formation device evaluation means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing system connected to an image forming apparatus via a network.

  The conventional image processing apparatus ranks the power consumption and the waiting time until the image forming operation is started for a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the network, and gives each user the rank information and the evaluation values. In some cases, the user is allowed to select an optimal image forming apparatus in consideration of the balance of each evaluation item (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-287132 A

However, in the conventional technology, it is necessary for the user to consider the balance of each evaluation item by visually confirming each evaluation value, and it is optimal for the user when there are many image forming apparatuses that are candidates for selection. There is a problem that the operation of selecting an image forming apparatus becomes complicated.
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to select an optimum image forming apparatus for a user from a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  Therefore, the present invention holds an image forming apparatus information acquisition unit that acquires specification information and status information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a communication line, and weight information for each item for evaluating the specification information and status information. An image forming apparatus evaluation that evaluates each of the image forming apparatuses based on the plurality of items and ranks the image forming apparatuses based on the weight storage unit, the specification information, the state information, and the weight information. And an image forming apparatus selecting section for selecting an optimum image forming apparatus from among the image forming apparatuses ranked by the image forming apparatus evaluating means.

  According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to select an optimum image forming apparatus for the user from among a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. Block diagram showing the network configuration in the first embodiment The flowchart which shows the flow of the printing process in a 1st Example. The flowchart which shows the flow of the printer selection process in a 1st Example. The flowchart which shows the flow of the printer information acquisition process in a 1st Example. Flowchart showing the flow of printable printer determination processing in the first embodiment Flowchart showing the flow of print printer evaluation processing in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the printer selection condition input screen in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the print confirmation screen in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the specification list in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of printer information in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the correspondence table of priority levels and weights in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of print setting in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the evaluation value calculation result in 1st Example The block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing system in 2nd Example. Flowchart showing the flow of printing processing in the second embodiment

  Embodiments of an image processing apparatus and an image processing system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus in the first embodiment.
A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 110 serving as an image processing apparatus includes print software based on application software (hereinafter referred to as “application”) 120 such as text creation software and print information such as image data and print settings. A communication that communicates with a printer driver (software) 130 configured by a print data generation unit 131 that generates a print request and a print request unit 132 that outputs a print data print request, and an external device connected to the network 100 as a communication line The control unit 140 includes printer selection software (hereinafter referred to as “printer selection SW”) 150 that selects a printer connected to the network 100.

  The PC 110 is connected to the printers 201 to 205 (printer names: printer A, printer B, printer C, printer D, printer E) as a plurality of image forming apparatuses via the network 100 as shown in FIG. ing. The network 100 is a LAN (Local Area Network) using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP.

  The printer selection SW 150 includes a print printer selection control unit 151, a print information setting unit 152, a print information storage unit 155, a selection condition input unit 160, a print printer list 161, a weight storage unit 162, and a print printer selection unit. 154, a printer specification list 157, a printer information acquisition unit 156, a printer information storage unit 158, a printing condition determination unit 159, a printing printer evaluation unit 170, and a driver selection unit 153.

The print printer selection control unit 151 performs main control of the printer selection SW 150.
The print information setting unit 152 performs print settings for setting print conditions such as color / monochrome settings, single-sided / double-sided print settings, and the like according to user operations.
The print information storage unit 155 stores the print settings set by the print information setting unit 152.
The printer specification list 157 as an image forming apparatus specification list is a database of printer specification information (spec information) required for printer setting evaluation such as printing speed and power consumption for each model.

  A printer information acquisition unit 156 as an image forming apparatus information acquisition unit acquires specification information of a plurality of printers connected to the network 100 and status information indicating the status of the printer, and is connected to the network via the communication control unit 140. Obtains status information as status information such as printer operation mode (for example, power saving mode or standby mode) and presence / absence of device abnormality and model code as model information indicating the model of the printer from the printer connected to 100; Based on the model code, the specification information as the specification information of the printer is acquired from the printer specification list 157.

Here, the status information is a value that fluctuates according to the usage status of the printer, and the specification information is a fixed value set for each printer.
A printer information storage unit 158 as an image forming apparatus information storage unit stores and holds status information and spec information acquired by the printer information acquisition unit 156 as printer information.
The print condition determination unit 159 is a printer that can print from the print printer list 161 based on the print settings stored in the print information storage unit 155 and the printer information (status information) stored in the printer information storage unit 158. Determine.

The selection condition input unit 160 specifies weighting information (hereinafter referred to as a weighting coefficient) for evaluation items such as designation of a printer that permits printing and cost of consumables, printing completion time, and increased power consumption due to printing. , Also referred to as “weight”). This evaluation item is an item that is calculated based on the spec information and status information and digitized.
The print printer list 161 as an image forming apparatus list stores information such as a printer name (image forming apparatus name) and an IP address of a printer that is permitted to print.
The weight storage unit 162 holds weight information for each evaluation item such as consumable cost, print completion time, and increased power consumption by printing, and weights the evaluation item input by the selection condition input unit 160. The weight information to be stored is stored as a numerical value.

A print printer selection unit 154 as an image forming apparatus selection unit performs print printer selection control for selecting an optimal printer from among the printers ranked by the print printer evaluation unit 170.
A print printer evaluation unit 170 as an image forming apparatus evaluation unit evaluates each printer based on a plurality of evaluation items (as one evaluation) based on the specification information, status information, and weight information, and ranks the printers. The print condition determination unit 159 is based on the print settings stored in the print information storage unit 155, the printer information stored in the printer information storage unit 158, and the weight stored in the weight storage unit 162. Evaluate the printers that are determined to be printable in (1) and rank them.

The driver selection unit 153 selects a printer driver to be used from the model code of the selected printer, and sends print information (image data and print settings) and information of the selected printer (IP address) to the selected printer driver.
The print printer evaluation unit 170 includes an evaluation item calculation unit 171 and a print printer evaluation unit 172.
The evaluation item calculation unit 171 as a calculation unit includes printer information and status information (specification information and status information) stored in the printer information storage unit 158, and print settings as print conditions stored in the print information storage unit 155. The evaluation results for each evaluation item such as the cost of consumables, the print completion time, and the increased power consumption due to printing are quantified.

The print printer evaluation unit 172 serving as an evaluation unit has one evaluation for each printer based on the numerical evaluation result that is the calculation result of the evaluation item calculation unit 171 and the weight information of each evaluation item stored in the weight storage unit 162. A value is calculated to evaluate each printer and rank the printers.
The PC 110 includes a display unit such as a display and an operation unit that receives an input operation by an operator, and includes a control unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit such as a memory, and the control unit stores the storage unit in the storage unit. The operation of the entire PC 110 is controlled based on the control program (software).

The effect | action of the structure mentioned above is demonstrated using FIGS.
First, the printing process performed by the PC will be described with reference to FIG. 1 in accordance with the step indicated by S in the flowchart showing the flow of the printing process in the first embodiment of FIG.
S301: When printing of a document created by the application 120 of the PC 110 is executed, the application 120 activates the printer selection SW 150.
S302: Upon receiving a request from the print printer selection control unit 151 of the activated printer selection SW 150, the print information setting unit 152 displays a print setting input screen on the display unit, and print range, number of copies, paper size, single side / double side. Accepts user input for print settings such as printing and color / monochrome printing.

S303: The print information setting unit 152 accepts user input until the print setting is completed. When the print setting is completed, the print setting is stored in the print information storage unit 155, and the process proceeds to S304.
S304: When the print information setting unit 152 completes the print setting, the selection condition input unit 160 displays a printer selection condition input screen on the display unit, and selects a printer that permits printing and priority in selecting a printer. The user's input operation for setting the degree is accepted.

  The printer selection condition input screen is, for example, a printer selection condition input screen 10 as shown in FIG. 8. If a check box 12 near the printer name in the print permission printer 11 is checked, a print permission printer that permits printing. Set to When the priority selection 13 for selecting the priority selects consumables cost priority 14, print completion time priority 15, or increased power consumption priority 16 by printing, the weight other than the selected evaluation item is set to “0”. In addition, when the priority level of each evaluation item is designated by the user setting 17, a weight corresponding to the selected priority level is set. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that priority levels and weights are used in association with each other. It is assumed that the weight of each evaluation item is set to be an equivalent value at the same priority level. Here, a method in which the user directly designates the weight of the evaluation item may be used.

S305: The selection condition input unit 160 accepts user input until the setting of the selection condition is completed, and when the setting of the selection condition is completed, the selected printer is input to the print printer list 161 as print printer candidate information. The priority is stored in the weight storage unit 162 as the weight of each evaluation item, and the process proceeds to S306.
S306: When the selection condition input unit 160 completes the setting of the selection condition, the print printer selection unit 154 performs a printer selection process for setting a printer that performs printing from among the printers connected to the network 100. Details of this printer selection processing will be described later.
S307: The print printer selection control unit 151 determines the presence or absence of the selected printer. If it is determined that the printer is present, the process proceeds to S308. If it is determined that there is no printer, the process proceeds to S314.

S308: The print printer selection control unit 151 that has determined that there is a selected printer displays a print confirmation screen on the display unit and confirms with the user whether or not printing can be performed by the selected printer.
The print confirmation screen is, for example, the print confirmation screen illustrated in FIG. 9, and the user selects “OK” when printing is permitted with the selected printer, and selects “Cancel” when not permitted. To do.
S309: If the print printer selection control unit 151 determines that printing is permitted, the process proceeds to S310. If it is determined that printing is not permitted, the process ends.

S310: In response to a request from the print printer selection control unit 151 that determines that printing is permitted, the driver selection unit 153 causes the printer driver 130 corresponding to the selected printer to print information such as image data and print settings, and the selected printer. Send the IP address.
S311: The print data generation unit 131 of the printer driver 130 generates print data based on the received print information.
S312: When the print data generation unit 131 generates print data, the print request unit 132 of the printer driver 130 transmits the generated print data to the selected printer indicated by the IP address.

S313: The printer that has received the print data prints the print data and ends the process.
S314: On the other hand, the print printer selection control unit 151 that has determined that there is no selected printer in S307 displays on the display unit that there is no printable printer, notifies the user, and ends this process. If it is determined in S307 that there is no selected printer, the print printer selection control unit 151 may shift the process to S302 and accept the input of print settings by the user again.

Next, the printer selection process performed by the printer selection SW 150 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 according to the step indicated by S in the flowchart showing the flow of the printer selection process in the first embodiment of FIG. . This printer selection process is a process executed in S306 of FIG.
S401: Upon receiving a request from the printer selection unit 154 of the printer selection SW 150, the printer information acquisition unit 156 performs printer information acquisition processing for acquiring printer information from all printers connected to the network 100. Details of the printer information acquisition process will be described later.

S402: Upon receiving a request from the print printer selection unit 154, the print condition determination unit 159 performs a printable printer determination process for determining a printable printer from the print settings and printer information. Details of the printable printer determination process will be described later.
S403: Upon receiving a request from the print printer selection unit 154, the print printer evaluation unit 172 evaluates printable printers based on the printer information and the weight of each evaluation item, and performs a printer evaluation process for ranking. Do. Details of the printer evaluation process will be described later.
S404: The print printer selection unit 154 selects the printer with the highest evaluation rank from the printers ranked by the print printer evaluation unit 172, and ends this process.

Next, the printer information acquisition process performed by the printer information acquisition unit 156 of the printer selection SW 150 shown in FIG. 1 is performed according to the step indicated by S in the flowchart of the printer information acquisition process in the first embodiment of FIG. This will be described with reference to FIG. The printer information acquisition process is a process executed in S401 of FIG. In this embodiment, it is assumed that numbers are assigned to all printers connected to the network, and printer information is sequentially acquired from the printer 1 (for example, printer A).
S501: The printer information acquisition unit 156 sets the first printer to acquire printer information as the printer 1, that is, the variable i = 1.

S502: The printer information acquisition unit 156 acquires printer status information and a model code used for determination and evaluation of a printer that can be printed from the printer i via the communication control unit 140. Status information includes operation mode information (standby mode or power saving (power saving) mode, etc.), transition time to power saving mode, presence / absence of duplex printing unit, paper size of each cassette, presence of paper, presence of remaining toner, Other information such as the presence or absence of errors is included.
S503: The printer information acquisition unit 156 acquires specification information of the printer i necessary for evaluation from the printer specification list 157 based on the acquired model code.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the printer specification list 157 includes each specification represented by the specification for each model (for example, model X1, model X2, model X3, model X4) represented by the model code of the printer. Is a database in which is described.
In this embodiment, the printer specification information is acquired from the printer specification list 157. However, if the specification information is stored in each printer, it may be acquired directly from the printer.
S504: The printer information acquisition unit 156 stores, in the printer information storage unit 158, printer information obtained by combining the status information and specification information of the printer i acquired in S502 and S503.

S505: The printer information acquisition unit 156 sets the printer from which the printer information is acquired as the printer (i + 1), that is, the variable i = i + 1.
S506: The printer information acquisition unit 156 determines whether or not the printer information of all the printers connected to the network 100 has been acquired. If it is determined that the printer information has been acquired for all the printers, the process ends and the printer information is acquired. If it is determined that there remains a printer to be used, the process proceeds to S502, and the processes of S502 to S506 are repeated.
The printer information stored in the printer information acquisition unit 156 is information in which status and specifications are described for each printer model, for example, as shown in FIG.

Next, the printable printer determination process performed by the print condition determination unit 159 of the printer selection SW 150 shown in FIG. 1 is represented by S in the flowchart of the flowchart showing the flow of the printable printer determination process in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the printable printer determination process is a process executed in S402 of FIG.
S601: The print condition determination unit 159 acquires, from the print printer list 161, print-permitted printers that the user has permitted to print as print printer candidates.
S602: Also, the print condition determination unit 159 acquires print settings from the print information storage unit 155.

S603: Further, the printing condition determination unit 159 acquires printer information from the printer information storage unit 158.
S604: The printing condition determination unit 159 assigns numbers to all the printers that are print printer candidates, and determines whether or not the printer i is a printer capable of printing sequentially from the printer 1 (for example, printer A). Set to 1.
S605: The printing condition determination unit 159 determines whether or not the print data is double-sided printing. If it is determined that the printing data is double-sided printing, the process proceeds to S606, and if it is determined that the printing data is not double-sided printing, that is, single-sided printing. The process proceeds to S607.

S606: The print condition determination unit 159 that has determined that the print data is double-sided printing refers to the printer information to check whether the printer i has a double-sided printing unit, and has a double-sided printing unit. If it is determined, the process proceeds to S607, and if it is determined that the duplex printing unit is not provided, the process proceeds to S612.
S607: Next, the print condition determination unit 159 determines whether or not the print data is color printing. If it is determined that the print data is color printing, the process proceeds to S608, and is not color printing, that is, monochrome printing. If determined, the process proceeds to S609.

S608: The print condition determination unit 159 that has determined that the print data is color printing refers to the printer information to check whether the printer i is a color printer. If it is determined that the printer i is a color printer, the process proceeds to S609. If it is determined that the printer is not a color printer, that is, a monochrome printer, the process proceeds to S612.
S609: The print condition determination unit 159 determines whether or not the print data can be printed with the paper size setting of the print setting based on the paper size information of each cassette of the printer information. If it is determined that printing is not possible, the process proceeds to S612.

S610: The printing condition determination unit 159 refers to the printer information to check whether the printer i has paper, whether there is residual toner, whether there is an error, etc., and determines whether printing is possible with the printer i. If it is determined, the process proceeds to S611. If it is determined that printing is not possible, the process proceeds to S612.
S611: The printing condition determination unit 159 that has determined that printing is possible sets the printer i to be printable, and the process proceeds to S613.
S612: The printing condition determination unit 159 that has determined that printing is not possible sets the printer i to be unprintable, and the process proceeds to S613.

S613: The printing condition determination unit 159 sets the determination printer to printer (i + 1), that is, variable i = i + 1.
S614: The print condition determination unit 159 determines whether or not the print conditions have been determined for all print printer candidates. If it is determined that all print printer candidates have been determined, the process proceeds to S615, and the process has not been performed. If it is determined that there remains a print printer candidate to be determined, the process proceeds to S605, and the processes of S605 to S614 are repeated.
S615: The printing condition determination unit 159 extracts the printer set to be printable as a printable printer, and ends this processing.

Next, the print printer evaluation process performed by the print printer evaluation unit 172 of the print printer evaluation means 170 of the printer selection SW 150 shown in FIG. 1 is shown in the flowchart showing the flow of the print printer evaluation process in the first embodiment of FIG. A description will be given with reference to FIG. The print printer evaluation process is a process executed in S403 of FIG.
S701: The print printer evaluation unit 172 acquires the weight of each evaluation item (for example, the cost of consumables, the print completion time, and the increased power consumption due to printing) specified by the user from the weight storage unit 162.

S <b> 702: The print printer evaluation unit 172 acquires the number of printed sheets from the print information storage unit 155.
S703: Furthermore, the print printer evaluation unit 172 acquires printer information from the printer information storage unit 158.
S704: The print printer evaluation unit 172 assigns numbers to all the printers that can be printed, and evaluates each evaluation item of the printable printer sequentially from the printer 1 (for example, printer A). And
S705: At the request of the print printer evaluation unit 172, the evaluation item calculation unit 171 calculates the consumption amount of the image drum of the printer i, and further calculates the consumable cost.

The image drum consumables cost is calculated by calculating the cost of the consumables as C _i [yen], the amount of consumption of the image drum in the initial operation (total of four colors) as C _i d _i [drum count], and the image drum per one sheet of printing. The consumption amount of ink is Cpd _i [drum count], the image drum price is Yd _i [yen], the number of printable image drums is Ld _i [drum count], the number of prints is N [sheets], and the operation mode is m _i (0: Standby mode, 1: power saving mode)
For color printing: C _i = Yd _i × (C _i d _i × m _i + N × 4 × Cpd _i ) / Ld _i
For monochrome printing: Ci = Ydi × (Cidi × mi + N × Cpdi) / Ld _i
The calculation formula is used.

One drum count is the number of rotations of the image drum necessary for printing on one sheet.
Here, as an example of the consumable item cost, only the one based on the consumption amount of the image drum has been described. However, it may be calculated by adding the consumable item cost based on the toner consumption amount and the belt consumption amount.

S706: In response to a request from the print printer evaluation unit 172, the evaluation item calculation unit 171 calculates the print completion time of the printer i.
The calculation of the print completion time is as follows: print completion time T _i [second], warm-up time Ten _i [second], first print time (color) T1pc _i [second], and first print time (monochrome) T1pm _i [second] ], When the printing speed (color) is Vc _i [sheets / minute], the printing speed (monochrome) is Vm _i [sheets / minute], and the operation mode is m _i (0: standby mode, 1: power saving mode) ,
For color printing: T _i = Ten _i × m _i + T1pc _i + (N−1) × 60 / Vc _i
For monochrome printing: T _i = Ten _i × m _i + T1pm _i + (N−1) × 60 / Vm _i
The calculation formula is used.

S707: In response to a request from the print printer evaluation unit 172, the evaluation item calculation unit 171 calculates an increase in power consumption due to printing by the printer i.
The calculation of the increased power consumption by printing is as follows: the increased power consumption by printing is P _i [kW · sec], the average power consumption (operation) is Pap _i [W], and the average power consumption (standby) is Pan _i [W]. , the average power consumption (power saving mode) Pae _i [W], and the transition time to the power saving mode Tne _i [sec], the operation mode m _i (0: standby mode 1: the power saving mode) was When
_{P i = ((Pap i -Pan} i × (1-m i) -Pae i × mi) × T i + (Pan i -Pae i) × Tne i × m i) / 1000
The calculation formula is used.

S708: The print printer evaluation unit 1721 obtains a value of an evaluation function that combines each evaluation item and weight of the printer i.
The evaluation function value is S _i , the weight of the consumables cost is Wc, the weight of the print completion time is Wt, and the weight of the increased power consumption by printing is Wp. _i , print completion time T _i , and increased power consumption P _i by printing,
S _i = Wc × C _i + Wt × T _i + Wp × P _i
The calculation formula is used.

S709: The print printer evaluation unit 172 sets the printer to be evaluated as the printer (i + 1), that is, the variable i = i + 1.
S710: The print printer evaluation unit 172 determines whether all printable printers have been evaluated. If it is determined that all printable printers have been evaluated, the process proceeds to S711. If it is determined that a printable printer remains, the process proceeds to S705, and the processes of S705 to S710 are repeated.

S711: The print printer evaluation unit 172 ranks the evaluated printers in ascending order of evaluation function values.
S712: The print printer evaluation unit 172 determines whether there is a printer with the same rank. If it is determined that there is a printer, the process proceeds to S713. If it is determined that there is no printer, the process ends.

S713: The print printer evaluation unit 172 that has determined that there is a printer with the same rank compares only the value of the evaluation item with the highest weight, and the printer with the same rank in S711 has the value of the evaluation item with the highest weight. The ranking is performed again in ascending order.
S714: The print printer evaluation unit 172 further determines whether there is a printer with the same rank. If it is determined that there is a printer, the process proceeds to S715. If it is determined that there is no printer, the process ends.
S715: Furthermore, the print printer evaluation unit 172 that has determined that there is a printer with the same rank ranks the printers with the same rank in the order of evaluation, and ends this processing.

Note that the printers may be prioritized when they are in the same order, according to the priorities given in advance by the user.
As described above, the print printer evaluation unit 170 performs printing based on the print settings stored in the print information storage unit 155, the printer information stored in the printer information storage unit 158, and the weights stored in the weight storage unit 162. By evaluating and ranking the printers that are determined to be printable by the condition determination unit 159, the balance of the entire evaluation items is evaluated using the weights in each evaluation item, and the printer desired by the user is automatically selected. Can be selected.

A specific printer selection example will be described below with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 13, the print data size of the print data is A4, the number of pages is 100, the print setting is “all”, the number of copies is “1”, and single-sided / double-sided printing is “double-sided printing”. , Color / monochrome printing is “color printing”, and as shown in FIG. 8, the printers A to D are allowed to print as shown in FIG. When the priority level 0, the print completion time are set to "priority level 3", and the increased power consumption due to printing is set to "priority level 1", the printer information in the printers 201 to 205 connected to the network 100 shown in FIG. Suppose that the printer information shown in FIG.
The print condition determination unit 159 performs the printable printer determination process shown in FIG. 6, and the printer A (201), the printer B (202), the printer C (203), and the printer D (204) permitted to print by the user. Printer A (201), printer B (202), and printer C (203) excluding printer D (204) having an error from the inside are determined as printable printers.

Next, the printing printer evaluation unit 170 prints the consumables cost and the printing completion based on the printer information shown in FIG. The increase in power consumption due to time and printing is evaluated, and the evaluation items as a whole are evaluated using an evaluation function based on the weights of the respective evaluation items stored in the weight storage unit 162.
Here, the priority level of each evaluation item set by the user is priority level 0 for consumables, priority level 3 for print completion time, and priority level 1 for increased power consumption due to printing. 12 based on the priority level weight correspondence table shown in FIG. 12, the weight of each evaluation item stored in the weight storage unit 162 is the consumables cost weight Wc = 0, the print completion time weight Wt = 3, The weight of increased power consumption due to printing is Wp = 2.

When the calculation formulas and weighted evaluation functions of the evaluation items are the above-described calculation formulas and evaluation functions, the evaluation function values are printer A (201) = 734.5 and printer B (202, as shown in FIG. ) = 741.7 and printer C (203) = 551.1, and the printer C (203) having the smallest evaluation function value is selected.
As described above, in the first embodiment, the print printer evaluation unit print settings stored in the print information storage unit, the printer information stored in the printer information storage unit, and the weight stored in the weight storage unit. Based on the above, printers determined to be printable by the printing condition determination unit are evaluated and ranked so that the user can evaluate the balance of the evaluation items as a whole by using weights in each evaluation item. It is possible to automatically select the printer to be selected.

In the configuration of the second embodiment, information management of print settings and printer setting conditions input by the user is performed by the client PC, and main control of printer selection processing is performed by the server PC. Note that parts similar to those of the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing system in the second embodiment.

15, an image processing system includes a client PC 1511 serving as a client terminal, a server PC 1510, and printers 201 to 205 serving as image forming apparatuses illustrated in FIG. C, printer D, and printer E) are communicably connected.
A client PC (hereinafter referred to as “client”) 1511 includes an application 120 such as text creation software, information management of print settings and printer selection conditions input by the user, and a server PC (hereinafter referred to as “server”). A client printer selection SW 1590 that requests the printer to be selected from the printer 1510 and a communication control unit 1580 that communicates with an external device connected to the network 100 are configured.

The client printer selection SW 1590 includes a client printer selection SW control unit 1591, a print information setting unit 1592, a client print information storage unit 1593, a selection condition input unit 1594, a client print printer list 1595, and a client printer selection SW 1590. And a weight storage unit 1596.
A client printer selection SW control unit 1591 performs information management of print settings and printer selection conditions, and controls a printer selection request to the server 1510.
The print information setting unit 1592 corresponds to the print information setting unit 152 shown in FIG. 1, and performs print settings for setting print conditions such as color / monochrome setting, single-sided / double-sided printing setting, and the like by user operation.

The client print information storage unit 1593 stores the print settings set by the print information setting unit 1592 in the client 1511.
The selection condition input unit 1594 corresponds to the selection condition input unit 160 shown in FIG. 1 and designates a printer that permits printing, the cost of consumables, the print completion time, and the increased consumption due to printing by user operation. Input selection conditions such as weighting for evaluation items such as power.

The client print printer list 1595 stores information such as a printer name and an IP address of a printer permitted to print in the client 1511.
The client weight storage unit 1596 stores the weight of the evaluation item input by the selection condition input unit 1594 as a numerical value in the client 1511.
The server 1510 selects a printer connected to the network 100 based on print settings and selection conditions received from the printer driver 130, a communication control unit 1540 that communicates with an external device connected to the network 100, and the client 1511. And a server printer selection SW 1550 to be performed.

The server printer selection SW 1550 removes the print information setting unit 152 and the selection condition input unit 160 from the configuration of the printer selection SW 150 shown in FIG. 1, and uses the print information storage unit 155 as a server print information storage unit 1555. The list 161 is a server print printer list 1561, and the weight storage unit 162 is a server weight storage unit 1562.
In this embodiment, the print printer selection control unit 151 uses the print settings and print data, the print printer candidate information, and the weight of each evaluation item received from the client 1511 via the communication control unit 1540. The print information storage unit 1555, the server print printer list 1561, and the server weight storage unit 1562 are stored.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The printing process performed by the client and the server will be described with reference to FIG. 15 according to the step represented by S in the flowchart showing the flow of the printing process in the second embodiment of FIG.
The printer selection process, the printer information acquisition process, the printable printer determination process, and the print printer evaluation process are the same as the processes shown in FIGS.

S801: When printing of a document created by the application 120 of the client 1511 is executed, the application 120 activates the client printer selection SW 1590.
S802: Upon receiving a request from the client printer selection SW control unit 1591 of the activated client printer selection SW 1590, the print information setting unit 1592 displays a print setting input screen on the display unit, and print range, number of copies, paper Accepts user input for print settings such as size, single-sided / double-sided printing, and color / monochrome printing.

S803, S804: The print information setting unit 1592 receives user input until the print setting is completed, and stores the input print setting in the client print information storage unit 1593 when the print setting is completed, and the process proceeds to S805. To do.
S805: When the print information setting unit 1592 completes the print settings, the selection condition input unit 1594 displays a printer selection condition input screen on the display unit, and selects a printer that permits printing and priority in selecting the printer. The user's input operation for setting the degree is accepted. The printer selection condition input screen is, for example, a printer selection condition input screen 10 as shown in FIG. 8, and is the same as in the first embodiment.

S806: The selection condition input unit 1594 accepts user input until the setting of the selection condition is completed, and when the setting of the selection condition is completed, the process proceeds to S807.
S807: The selection condition input unit 1594 stores the selected printer as print printer candidate information in the client printer list 1595.
S808: Also, the selection condition input unit 1594 stores the input priority in the client weight storage unit 1596 as the weight of each evaluation item.

S809: The client printer selection SW 1590 activates the server printer selection SW 1550 of the server 1510 so that information can be transmitted to the server 1510.
S810: The client printer selection SW 1590 transmits a print setting storage request to the server 1510, and the server printer selection SW 1550 of the server 1510 that has received the print setting storage request sends the received print setting to the server print information storage unit 1555. Store.
S811: The client printer selection SW 1590 transmits a print printer candidate storage request to the server 1510, and the server printer selection SW 1550 of the server 1510 that has received the print printer candidate storage request sends the received print printer candidate to the server printer list 1561. To store.

S812: The client printer selection SW 1590 transmits a weight storage request to the server 1510, and the server printer selection SW 1550 of the server 1510 that has received the weight storage request stores the received weight in the server weight storage unit 1562.
S813: The print printer selection unit 154 of the server printer selection SW 1550 performs printer selection processing for setting a printer to perform printing from printers connected to the network 100. This printer selection process is the same as in the first embodiment.

S814: The print printer selection control unit 151 determines the presence or absence of the selected printer. If it is determined that the printer is present, the process proceeds to S815. If it is determined that there is no printer, the process proceeds to S821.
S815: The print printer selection control unit 151 that has determined that there is a selected printer displays a print confirmation screen on the display unit, and confirms with the user whether or not printing can be performed by the selected printer. The print confirmation screen is, for example, the print confirmation screen shown in FIG. 9, and is the same as in the first embodiment.
S816: If the print printer selection control unit 151 determines that printing is permitted, the process proceeds to S817. If it is determined that printing is not permitted, the process ends.

S817: Upon request of the print printer selection control unit 151 that determines that printing is permitted, the driver selection unit 153 causes the printer driver 130 corresponding to the selected printer to print information such as image data and print settings, and the selected printer. Send the IP address.
S818: The print data generation unit 131 of the printer driver 130 generates print data based on the received print information.
S819: When the print data generation unit 131 generates print data, the print request unit 132 of the printer driver 130 transmits the generated print data to the selected printer indicated by the IP address.
S820: The printer that has received the print data prints the print data and ends the process.

S821: On the other hand, the print printer selection control unit 151 that has determined that there is no selected printer in S814 displays on the display unit that there is no printer that can be printed, notifies the user, and ends this process. If it is determined in S814 that there is no selected printer, the print printer selection control unit 151 may move the process to S802 and accept the input of print settings by the user again.
In this embodiment, the weight information set by the user in the client 1511 is stored as it is in the server weight storage unit 1562. However, the administrator may set the weight information in the server 1510. In this case, each evaluation item can be evaluated with a common weight among users.

As described above, in the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the server is provided with a printer driver and a printer specification list, so that the administrator can increase the number of printers. In this case, it is sufficient to install the printer driver and update the printer specification list only on the server, and the maintenance work of the administrator can be facilitated.
In the first and second embodiments, the image forming apparatus has been described as a printer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a multifunction machine or the like may be used as long as it can print received print data. .

100 network 110 PC (personal computer)
120 applications (application software)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 Printer driver 131 Print data generation part 132 Print request part 140,1540,1580 Communication control part 150 Printer selection software 151 Print printer selection control part 152,1592 Print information setting part 153 Driver selection part 154 Print printer selection part 155 Print information storage Unit 156 printer information acquisition unit 157 printer specification list 158 printer information storage unit 159 print condition determination unit 160, 1594 selection condition input unit 161 print printer list 162 weight storage unit 170 print printer evaluation unit 171 evaluation item calculation unit 172 print printer evaluation unit 1510 server (PC)
1511 Client (PC)
1550 Server printer selection SW
1555 Server Print Information Storage Unit 1561 Server Print Printer List 1562 Server Weight Storage Unit 1590 Client Printer Selection SW
1591 Client Printer Selection SW Control Unit 1593 Client Print Information Storage Unit 1595 Client Print Printer List 1596 Client Weight Storage Unit

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus information acquisition unit that acquires specification information and status information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a communication line;
A weight storage unit that holds weight information for each item for which the specification information and state information are evaluated;
An image forming apparatus evaluation unit that evaluates each of the image forming apparatuses based on the plurality of items based on the specification information, the state information, and the weight information, and ranks the image forming apparatuses;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image forming apparatus selecting unit that selects an optimum image forming apparatus from among the image forming apparatuses ranked by the image forming apparatus evaluation unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The image forming apparatus evaluation unit includes:
Based on the specification information and status information acquired by the print information acquisition unit, a calculation unit that quantifies the evaluation result for each item;
An evaluation unit that calculates one evaluation value for each of the image forming apparatuses and ranks the image forming apparatuses based on the weight information stored in the weight storage unit and the evaluation results digitized by the arithmetic unit. An image processing apparatus comprising: The image processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The items include the price of consumables consumed by printing, the time required for printing, and the amount of power consumed by printing,
The weight information includes a coefficient for weighting the evaluation based on the price, the time, and the power consumption amount,
The calculation unit quantifies the evaluation result of each item of the price, time, and power consumption by printing based on the specification information and state information and printing conditions,
The image processing apparatus, wherein the evaluation unit calculates an evaluation value for each image forming apparatus from the numerical value and the coefficient. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The image processing apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus information acquisition unit acquires specification information of the image forming apparatus from an image forming apparatus specification list based on model information acquired from the image forming apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
An image processing apparatus, comprising: an image forming apparatus information storage unit that holds specification information acquired by the image forming apparatus information acquisition unit. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a printing condition determination unit that determines the printable image forming apparatus based on the state information. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a selection condition input unit that receives an input of the weight information and designation of the image forming apparatus that permits printing by a user operation. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7.
An image processing apparatus having an image forming apparatus list for storing an image forming apparatus name and an address of the image forming apparatus selected by the selection condition input unit. In an image processing system in which an image forming apparatus, a client terminal, and a server are connected to a communication line,
The server
An image forming apparatus information acquisition unit that acquires specification information and status information of the plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to the communication line;
A weight storage unit that receives and holds weight information from the client terminal for each item for which the specification information and state information are evaluated;
An image forming apparatus evaluation unit that evaluates each of the image forming apparatuses based on the plurality of items based on the specification information, the state information, and the weight information, and ranks the image forming apparatuses;
An image processing system comprising: an image forming apparatus selecting unit that selects an optimal image forming apparatus from among the image forming apparatuses ranked by the image forming apparatus evaluation unit.

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