JP2014059756A - Output system, information processor, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an output system, an information processor and a program, capable of reducing a user's work burden when other output device takes over an output of output data from one output device.SOLUTION: An output system including a plurality of output devices, and a program executable by an information processor, solves problems by including: the program able to execute an acquisition process for acquiring state information of output processing of output data in the first output device, and an execution request process for performing, to the second output device, execution request requesting that the second output device takes over the output processing of the output data in the first output device from the first output device; the first output device including a first output means and a transmission means for transmitting the state information of the output processing of the output data to the information processor; and the second output device including a second output means for performing the output processing of the output data by taking over the output processing of the output data based on the execution request from the information processor.

Description

  The present invention relates to an output system, an information processing apparatus, and a program.

  A print instruction receiving unit that receives a print instruction from the client terminal device; a print data acquiring unit that acquires print data from the server device based on information about the print data included in the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit; A printing unit that prints the print data acquired by the data acquisition unit, and an image forming apparatus included in the print instruction received by the print instruction receiving unit when an error occurs when the printing unit executes printing. Image forming comprising: proxy destination list information that creates proxy destination list information indicating an image forming device that is a candidate for proxy printing based on the identification information to be identified, and transmits the proxy destination list information to the client terminal device The apparatus is conventionally known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In a so-called pull-print format printing system in which an image forming apparatus acquires print data from a print server and performs printing, there is some error after the image forming apparatus acquires the print data and before the paper discharge is actually completed. The following problems occur when printing has occurred and it has become difficult to continue printing.

  For example, the user selects another image forming apparatus that prints the print data instead of the image forming apparatus that is in a situation where it is difficult to continue printing, and considers the printing performed until the error occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to make a print request for print data to the other selected image forming apparatus, resulting in a heavy work load. Such a problem also exists in common in an output system in which an output device acquires output data from an output server and performs output.

  An embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an output system capable of reducing a user's work burden when passing output of output data from one output device to another output device, An object is to provide an information processing apparatus and a program.

  In order to achieve the above object, claim 1 of the present application is an output system having a plurality of output devices and a program executable by the information processing device, and the output data in the first output device by the information processing device. Output data in the first output device based on the status information to a second output device that takes over the output processing of the output data in the first output device A program capable of executing an execution request process for making an execution request so as to take over the output process, a first output means for performing the output data output process, and status information of the output data output process in the output means On the basis of an execution request from the information processing device, a first output device having state information transmitting means for transmitting the information to the information processing device It takes over the output process of the output data in the force device, and having a second output device having a second output means for performing output processing of the output data.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user when the output of output data is transferred from one output device to another output device.

It is a lineblock diagram of an example of a printing system concerning this embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of an example of the computer system which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a process block diagram of an example of a client terminal concerning this embodiment. It is a process block diagram of an example of the portable terminal concerning this embodiment. 1 is a processing block diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of a data management service concerning this embodiment. It is a process block diagram of an example of the data storage service which concerns on this embodiment. It is a process block diagram of an example of the authentication service concerning this embodiment. It is a process block diagram of an example of the access control service concerning this embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of the data processing service concerning this embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of management data. It is a block diagram of an example of job information. It is a block diagram of an example of status information. It is a flowchart of an example showing the login processing procedure from a terminal device. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of job input processing. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a login processing procedure from an image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of job execution processing. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram (1/2) showing an example of proxy printing processing; FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram (2/2) illustrating an example of proxy printing processing. It is a sequence diagram (1/2) of the other example showing proxy printing processing. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram (2/2) of another example showing proxy printing processing. It is a block diagram of the other example of the printing system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of the other example of the portable terminal which concerns on this embodiment. It is a processing block diagram of an example of an authentication server concerning this embodiment. It is a block diagram of an example of the data for login. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram (1/2) showing an example of proxy printing processing; FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram (2/2) illustrating an example of proxy printing processing.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing system 1 in FIG. 1 includes a private network N1 such as an intra-office network, a network N2 that provides a service represented by a cloud service, and a network N3 such as the Internet.

  The network N1 and the network N3 are connected by a firewall FW on the network N1 side. The firewall FW is installed at the contact point between the network N1 and the network N3, and relays access from the network N1 to the network N3.

  The network N2 and the network N3 are connected by an access control service 24 on the network N2 side. The network N2 is secured by the access control service 24.

  The network N1 is a private network inside the firewall FW. A client terminal 11, a portable terminal 12, and image forming apparatuses 13A and 13B are connected to the network N1. In the case where either of the image forming apparatuses 13A and 13B may be used, it is simply referred to as the image forming apparatus 13.

  In addition, although the example in which the client terminal 11 and the portable terminal 12 are each one was shown in FIG. 1, what is necessary is just one or more. Further, FIG. 1 shows an example in which there are two image forming apparatuses 13, but a plurality of image forming apparatuses 13 may be used.

  The client terminal 11 is an example of a terminal device. The client terminal 11 can be realized by an information processing apparatus (computer system) equipped with a general OS or the like. The client terminal 11 has a wireless communication means or a wired communication means. The client terminal 11 is a terminal that can be operated by the user, such as a tablet PC or a notebook PC. After logging in to the service, the client terminal 11 submits a job, edits a job managed on the service, and the like.

  The mobile terminal 12 is an example of a terminal device. The portable terminal 12 has a wireless communication means or a wired communication means. The mobile terminal 12 is a terminal that can be carried by the user, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet PC, or a notebook PC. After logging in to the service, the mobile terminal 12 submits a job or edits a job managed on the service.

  The image forming apparatus 13 is an example of an output device. The image forming apparatus 13 includes a wireless communication unit or a wired communication unit. The image forming apparatus 13 is an apparatus that performs processing relating to image formation, such as a multifunction peripheral, a copier, a scanner, a printer, and a laser printer. The image forming apparatus 13 executes jobs such as reading image data and printing print data.

  The network N2 includes one or more computer systems that provide functions by a Web application or a server-side application. By such one or more computer systems, a data management service 21, a data storage service 22, an authentication service 23, an access control service 24, a data processing service 25, and the like are realized on the network N2 side.

  A part of the service on the network N2 side may be in the network N1. The terminal devices such as the client terminal 11 and the mobile terminal 12 may be other than a private network N1 such as an intra-office network.

  The data management service 21 performs data management (job management, data conversion request, etc.) and processing (job list transmission, job transmission, job deletion, etc.) in response to a login user request. The data storage service 22 stores electronic data such as photo data, image data, document data, and print data. The authentication service 23 stores management data such as user information and company / device information, and performs authentication determination processing and provision of management information based on the management data.

  The access control service 24 controls login to various services such as the data management service 21, the data storage service 22, the authentication service 23, and the data processing service 25. The data processing service 25 executes processing on data input by the user, such as data conversion processing and data transfer / storage processing.

  The cloud service side stores print data input from a terminal device such as the client terminal 11 or the mobile terminal 11. For example, the image forming apparatus 13A acquires a list of print data input by the logged-in user from the cloud service side, displays the list on the operation panel, and causes the user to select print data to be printed.

  The image forming apparatus 13A acquires the selected print data from the cloud service side and executes printing. The image forming apparatus 13A can provide the output status of print data as status (state) information, for example, when an error occurs before printing of the acquired print data is completed and it is difficult to continue printing.

  For example, by using the status information provided by the image forming apparatus 13A, the image forming apparatus 13B can take over printing of print data in consideration of printing performed until an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 13A. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user when printing of print data is transferred from the image forming apparatus 13A to the image forming apparatus 13B.

<Hardware configuration>
The client terminal 11, the mobile terminal 12, the data management service 21, the data storage service 22, the authentication service 23, the access control service 24, and the data processing service 25 are realized by a computer system having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer system according to the present embodiment.

  A computer system 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, an external I / F 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106, a communication I / O. F107, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 108, etc. are provided, and each is connected to each other via a bus B.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used by a user to input each operation signal. The display device 102 includes a display and the like, and displays a processing result by the computer system 100.

  The communication I / F 107 is an interface that connects the computer system 100 to the networks N1 and N2. Thereby, the computer system 100 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 107. Note that the communication by the communication I / F 107 may be wired communication or wireless communication.

  The HDD 108 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include, for example, an OS (Operating System) that is basic software for controlling the entire computer system 100, and application software that provides various functions on the OS. The HDD 108 manages stored programs and data by a predetermined file system and / or DB (database).

  The external I / F 103 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 103a. Thereby, the computer system 100 can read and / or write the recording medium 103a via the external I / F 103. The recording medium 103a includes a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD memory card (SD Memory card), a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory), and the like.

  The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores programs and data such as BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), OS settings, and network settings that are executed when the computer system 100 is started. The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data.

  The CPU 106 is an arithmetic device that realizes control and functions of the entire computer system 100 by reading a program and data from a storage device such as the ROM 105 and the HDD 108 onto the RAM 104 and executing processing.

  The client terminal 11, the mobile terminal 12, the data management service 21, the data storage service 22, the authentication service 23, the access control service 24, and the data processing service 25 according to the present embodiment will be described later depending on the hardware configuration of the computer system 100 described above. Various kinds of processing can be realized.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 13 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a controller 201, an operation panel 202, an external I / F 203, a communication I / F 204, a printer 205, a scanner 206, and the like.

  The controller 201 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, an NVRAM 214, an HDD 215, and the like. The ROM 213 stores various programs and data. The RAM 212 temporarily stores programs and data. The NVRAM 214 stores setting information, for example. The HDD 215 stores various programs and data.

  The CPU 211 implements control and functions of the entire image forming apparatus 13 by reading programs, data, setting information, and the like from the ROM 213, NVRAM 214, HDD 215, and the like onto the RAM 212 and executing processing.

  The operation panel 202 includes an input unit that receives input from the user and a display unit that performs display. The external I / F 203 is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium 203a. As a result, the image processing apparatus 13 can read and / or write to the recording medium 203 a via the external I / F 203. Examples of the recording medium 203a include an IC card, a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, and a USB memory.

  The communication I / F 204 is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus 13 to the network N1. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 13 can perform data communication via the communication I / F 204. Note that communication by the communication I / F 204 may be wired communication or wireless communication.

  The printer 205 is a printing device for printing print data on paper. A scanner 206 is a reading device for reading image data from a document. The image forming apparatus 13 according to the present embodiment can realize various processes as described later with the above hardware configuration.

<Software configuration>
<< Client terminal 11 >>
The client terminal 11 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a processing block diagram of an example of a client terminal according to the present embodiment.

  The client apparatus 11 of FIG. 4 implements an input information receiving unit 31, a login request unit 32, a job setting unit 33, and a data holding unit 34 by executing a program.

  The input information receiving unit 31 receives information input by operations such as keyboard input, biometric information input, and screen touch by the user. The login request unit 32 requests an external service to log in together with the input authentication information. The job setting unit 33 sets a job to be submitted to an external service according to a user operation. The job setting unit 33 sets execution condition information for the job. The data holding unit 34 holds electronic data that can be set as a job such as application data and Web data.

<Mobile terminal 12>
The mobile terminal 12 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a processing block diagram of an example of a mobile terminal according to the present embodiment.

  The mobile terminal 12 of FIG. 5 implements an input information reception unit 41, a login request unit 42, a job setting unit 43, a device search unit 44, a job status acquisition unit 45, and a data holding unit 46 by executing a program. . The input information receiving unit 41, the login request unit 42, the job setting unit 43, and the data holding unit 46 are the same as the input information receiving unit 31, the login request unit 32, the job setting unit 33, and the data holding unit 34 of the client terminal 11. Therefore, the description is omitted.

  The device search unit 44 searches for peripheral devices using near field communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared, NFC (Near Field Communication). The job status acquisition unit 45 acquires status information of the execution job from the image forming apparatus 13.

<< Image forming apparatus 13 >>
The image forming apparatus 13 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as illustrated in FIG. FIG. 6 is a processing block diagram of an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 13 in FIG. 6 executes a program to realize an information reading unit 51, a login request unit 52, a job acquisition request unit 53, an output unit 54, a job status management unit 55, and a setting information holding unit 56. Yes.

  The information reading unit 51 reads information from an external device or a storage medium that has established communication using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth, infrared, or NFC. The login request unit 52 transmits authentication information obtained by a user operation to an external service and requests login. The job acquisition request unit 53 transmits a job acquisition request to the data management service 21.

  The output unit 54 executes the received job. The job status management unit 55 manages the status information of the execution job and provides the status information in response to the request. The setting information holding unit 56 holds the set company code and device information.

<< Data Management Service 21 >>
The data management service 21 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a processing block diagram of an example of the data management service according to the present embodiment.

  The data management service 51 of FIG. 7 implements a data recording unit 61, a data acquisition unit 62, and a data processing request unit 63 by executing a program in a computer system.

  The data recording unit 61 causes the data storage service 22 to store data. The data acquisition unit 62 acquires data from the data storage service 22. The data processing request unit 63 requests the data processing service 25 to perform data conversion processing on the electronic data.

<< Data Storage Service 22 >>
The data storage service 22 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 8, for example. FIG. 8 is a processing block diagram of an example of the data storage service according to the present embodiment.

  The data storage service 22 in FIG. 8 implements a data holding unit 66 by executing a program in a computer system. The data holding unit 66 holds electronic data. In addition to output data such as application data and print data, the electronic data includes job information (information that associates job identification information such as job ID and print data, job identification information, user identification information, and company code). Attached information). The data holding unit 66 also holds information on the state of the electronic data held (during data processing, waiting for output, completion of output, etc.).

<< Authentication Service 23 >>
The authentication service 23 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 9, for example. FIG. 9 is a processing block diagram of an example of the authentication service according to the present embodiment.

  The authentication service 23 of FIG. 9 implements a user authentication unit 71, a company authentication unit 72, a device authentication unit 73, a management data acquisition unit 74, and a management data holding unit 75 by executing a program in a computer system.

  The user authentication unit 71 performs authentication determination based on user information (user identification information such as a user name and a user ID, password) included in the received authentication information, user identification information of management data held by the management data holding unit 75, Run based on password.

  The company authentication unit 72 makes an authentication judgment based on company information (for example, a company code, a business office code, an organization code, etc.) included in the received authentication information based on the company code of the management data held by the management data holding unit 75. Run. The device authentication unit 73 performs authentication determination based on device information (for example, device ID, application ID, etc.) included in the received authentication information based on the device information of the management data held by the management data holding unit 75.

  The management data acquisition unit 74 acquires authenticated management data among the management data held by the management data holding unit 75. The management data holding unit 75 holds management data such as user information and company / device information.

<< Access Control Service 24 >>
The access control service 24 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a processing block diagram of an example of the access control service according to the present embodiment.

  The access control service 24 of FIG. 10 implements an authentication control unit 81, an access control unit 82, an authentication information management unit 83, and an authentication information cache unit 84 by executing a program in a computer system.

  The authentication control unit 81 controls authentication determination processing. The authentication determination process is executed using the authentication information cache held by the authentication information cache unit 84 or is requested to the authentication service 23 and executed.

  The access control unit 82 controls whether to access other services according to the authentication result of the authentication determination process. The authentication information management unit 83 receives authentication information (including company information, device information, etc.) related to the user authenticated by the authentication service 23 and stores it in the authentication information cache unit 84.

  Further, the authentication information management unit 83 periodically acquires authentication information from the authentication service 23 and stores it in the authentication information cache unit 84 or deletes it from the authentication information cache unit 84. The authentication information cache unit 84 caches (holds) authentication information (Cookie) related to the authenticated user.

<< Data Processing Service 25 >>
The data processing service 25 according to the present embodiment is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 11, for example. FIG. 11 is a processing block diagram of an example of the data processing service according to the present embodiment.

  The data processing service 25 in FIG. 11 implements a data processing request receiving unit 91, a data processing unit 92, a data recording unit 93, and a data acquisition unit 94 by executing a program in a computer system.

  The data processing request receiving unit 91 receives a data processing request. Further, the data processing unit 92 executes data processing. The data processing includes one or more processes for data such as a process for converting application data to PDF data, a process for converting PDF data to PDL data, and a process for storing data in a desired storage. The data recording unit 93 causes the data storage service 22 to store data. The data acquisition unit 94 acquires data from the data storage service 22.

<Management data>
FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of an example of management data. FIG. 12A shows user information as an example of management data. The user information includes items such as company information, company code, user identification information, password, address information, and output setting. The user information is associated with a company code and user identification information. FIG. 12B shows company / device information as an example of management data. The company / device information includes a company code and device information as items. The company / device information is associated with a company code and device information.

<Job information>
FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of an example of job information. The job information of FIG. 13 includes bibliographic information such as a job ID, a company code, user identification information, and a title as items. The job information in FIG. 13 associates a job ID with a company code and user identification information.

<Status information>
FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of an example of status information. The status information in FIG. 14 includes items such as a printer name, job name, total number of pages, number of printed pages, print start time, print end time, and print status. FIG. 14A is an example of status information of printing completion (success). FIG. 14B is an example of status information of a printing error (cancellation).

<Details of processing>
《Login process from terminal device》
The terminal device performs a login process as shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a login process procedure from the terminal device.

  In step S1, the terminal device accepts input of authentication information (company code, user name, password) from the user. The terminal device transmits a login request to the data management service 21 to the access control service 24 based on the received authentication information.

  In step S2, the access control service 24 receives a login request to the data management service 21 from the terminal device. In step S <b> 3, the access control service 24 that has received the login request transmits authentication information included in the login request to the authentication service 23 and makes an authentication request to the authentication service 23.

  In step S4, the authentication service 23 performs a company authentication determination process based on the company code included in the received authentication information and the company code of the company / device information included in the management data.

  If the company authentication is OK, the process proceeds to step S5, where the authentication service 23 includes the user name and password included in the received authentication information, and the user name and password of the user information associated with the authenticated company code in the management data. Based on the above, user authentication judgment processing is performed.

  If the user authentication is OK, the process proceeds to step S 7, and the authentication service 23 returns an authentication result of successful authentication (authentication result OK) to the access control service 24. If the company authentication is NG in step S4 or the user authentication is NG in step S5, the authentication service 23 proceeds to step S6 and returns an authentication failure authentication result (authentication result NG) to the access control service 24. .

  In step S <b> 8, the access control service 24 receives the authentication result from the authentication service 23. In step S9, the access control service 24 determines the received authentication result.

  If the authentication result is an authentication failure, the process proceeds to step S10, and the access control service 24 transmits an error notification indicating that the login request is not permitted to the login request source terminal device. If the authentication result is authentication success, the process proceeds to step S11, and the access control service 24 transmits a login response indicating that the login request is permitted to the terminal device that is the login request source. It should be noted that the terminal device and the access control service 24 communicate with each other by a cookie (token) between the time when the login request is permitted and the time when logout is performed.

<< Job submission process >>
FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of job input processing. When the terminal device accepts a login request from the user, the terminal device proceeds to step S21 and makes a login request to the access control service 24. In step S22, the access control service 24 makes an authentication request to the authentication service 23. In step S23, the authentication service 23 performs authentication as described above. In step S <b> 24, the authentication service 23 returns an authentication result to the access control service 24. In step S25, the access control service 24 transmits an authentication result as a login response to the terminal device. When the authentication result is successful (authentication OK), the access control service 24 also transmits a token (cookie) to the terminal device. The access control service 24 stores the token in association with the authenticated user.

  The processing after step S26 represents an example in which the authentication result is successful (authentication OK). In step S26, the terminal device makes a job submission request by transmitting the job set by the job setting unit 33 to the access control service 24 together with the token.

  At this time, the terminal device can submit, for example, print data in a PDL (page description language) format or application data created by an application such as word processing software or spreadsheet software as a job. The data input request can include execution condition information. The job may be URL data that specifies Web data.

  The access control service 24 checks whether or not the token received as a job submission request exists in the stored token. If there is a token received as a job submission request among the stored tokens, the access control service 24 transmits the job to the data management service 21 in step S27. If the token received as the job submission request does not exist in the stored token, the access control service 24 sends the authentication information included in the received token to the authentication service 23 and makes an authentication request. .

  In step S28, the data recording unit 61 of the data management service 21 assigns a job ID to the job received as the job submission request, and causes the data storage service 22 to store the job. Further, the data recording unit 61 causes the data storage service 22 to store job information in which a job ID and authentication information (company code, user identification information) are associated.

  In step S29, if the received job is not print data, the data processing request unit 63 of the data management service 21 requests the data processing service 25 to process the data (request for data conversion processing for converting the received job into print data). Send. In steps S30 and S31, the data acquisition unit 94 of the data processing service 25 acquires a job corresponding to the job ID from the data storage service 22. In step S <b> 32, the data processing service 25 causes the data processing unit 92 to execute data processing based on the received data processing request.

  In step S33, the data recording unit 93 of the data processing service 25 causes the data storage service 22 to store the data processing result (print data converted from the job) based on the received data processing request.

<< Login Process from Image Forming Apparatus 13 >>
The image forming apparatus 13 performs a login process as shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a login processing procedure from the image forming apparatus.

  In step S41, the image forming apparatus 13 receives an input of authentication information (user name, password) from the user. The user may input authentication information from the operation panel 202 or may read the authentication information from an IC card, for example. Further, the user may use biometric information such as a fingerprint, a voiceprint, and a vein as authentication information.

  In step S42, the image forming apparatus 13 identifies the user name and password received from the user, the company code held by the image forming apparatus 13, and device information (information identifying the device or application installed in the device). The login request to the data management service 21 is transmitted to the access control service 24 based on the authentication information including the information to be received.

  In step S43, the access control service 24 that has received the login request transmits the authentication information included in the login request to the authentication service 23 and makes an authentication request to the authentication service 23.

  In step S44, the authentication service 23 performs a company authentication determination process based on the company code included in the received authentication information and the company code of the company / device information included in the management data. If the company authentication is OK, the process proceeds to step S45, where the authentication service 23 performs a device authentication determination process based on the device information included in the received authentication information and the device information of the company / device information included in the management data.

  If the device authentication is OK, the process proceeds to step S46, where the authentication service 23 includes the user name and password included in the received authentication information, and the user name and password of the user information associated with the authenticated company code in the management data. Based on the above, user authentication judgment processing is performed.

  If the user authentication is OK, the process proceeds to step S48, and the authentication service 23 returns an authentication result of successful authentication (authentication result OK) to the access control service 24. If the company authentication is NG in step S44, the device authentication is NG in step S45, or if the user authentication is NG in step S46, the authentication service 23 proceeds to step S47, and the authentication failure authentication result (authentication) The result NG) is returned to the access control service 24.

  In step S49, the access control service 24 receives the authentication result from the authentication service 23. In step S50, the access control service 24 determines the received authentication result. If the authentication result indicates an authentication failure, the process advances to step S51, and the access control service 24 transmits an error notification not permitting the login request to the image forming apparatus 13 that is the login request source. If the authentication result indicates successful authentication, the process proceeds to step S52, and the access control service 24 transmits a login response indicating that the login request is permitted to the image forming apparatus 13 that is the login request source.

<Job execution processing>
FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of job execution processing. Upon receiving a login request from the user, the image forming apparatus 13 proceeds to step S61 and makes a login request to the access control service 24. In step S62, the access control service 24 sends an authentication request to the authentication service 23. In step S63, the authentication service 23 performs authentication as described above.

  In step S <b> 64, the authentication service 23 returns an authentication result to the access control service 24. In step S65, the access control service 24 transmits an authentication result to the image forming apparatus 13 as a login response. If the authentication result is successful (authentication OK), the access control service 24 also transmits a token to the image forming apparatus 13. The access control service 24 stores the token in association with the authenticated user.

  The processing after step S66 represents an example in which the authentication result is successful (authentication OK). In step S66, the image forming apparatus 13 sends a list acquisition request by transmitting the company code and the user specifying information together with the token to the access control service 24. The access control service 24 checks the token before the process of step S67 as in FIG. 16, but the description is omitted because it is the same as in FIG.

  In step S <b> 67, the access control service 24 issues a list acquisition request to the data management service 21. In steps S68 and S69, the data acquisition unit 62 of the data management service 21 acquires a job list associated with the received company code and user identification information from among the jobs held by the data holding unit 66 of the data storage service 22. In steps S <b> 70 and S <b> 71, the data management service 21 transmits the acquired job list to the image forming apparatus 13 via the access control service 24.

  In step S72, the image forming apparatus 13 accepts a job execution request operation in the job list. In steps S 73 and S 74, the job acquisition request unit 53 of the image forming apparatus 13 requests the data management service 21 to acquire job data via the access control service 24. In steps S75 and S76, the data acquisition unit 62 of the data management service 21 acquires a job to be executed from the data holding unit 66 of the data storage service 22.

  In steps S 77 and S 78, the data management service 21 transmits the acquired job to the image forming apparatus 13 via the access control service 24. In step S79, the output unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 13 executes the received job.

《Representative printing process》
19 and 20 are sequence diagrams illustrating an example of proxy printing processing.

  In step S101, the user holds the portable terminal 12 over the information reading unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 13A. In step S102, the information reading unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 13A acquires user information (company code, user identification information, password) held by the data holding unit 46 of the mobile terminal 12. The user information may be information input by the user from the screen of the mobile terminal 12.

  The processing in steps S103 to S121 is the same as the processing in steps S61 to S79 in FIG. In step S122, the image forming apparatus 13A has an error (printing error) before the job execution is completed.

  When a printing error occurs, the user operates the portable terminal 12 to request a device search in step S125. The device search unit 44 of the mobile terminal 12 searches for peripheral devices using short-range wireless communication. Here, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 13B has been searched. The device search unit 44 establishes communication with the image forming apparatus 13B.

  In step S126, the job status acquisition unit 45 of the portable terminal 12 requests acquisition of status information of the execution job managed by the job status management unit 55 of the image forming apparatus 13A. In step S127, the job status acquisition unit 45 of the portable terminal 12 acquires the status information of the execution job managed by the job status management unit 55 of the image forming apparatus 13A.

  In step S128, the portable terminal 12 that has acquired the status information of the execution job generates job execution request (substitute print request) information for the image forming apparatus 13B. The job execution request includes user information for login (company code, user identification information, password) and execution job information (job ID, information about how many pages are to be printed). Based on the status information, the portable terminal 11 identifies a page that has not been printed in the image forming apparatus 13A.

  In step S129, the portable terminal 12 sends a job execution request to the image forming apparatus 13B using the generated job execution request information. In step S130, the image forming apparatus 13B that has received the job execution request issues a login request to the access control service 24 using the login user information included in the job execution request information.

  The processing in steps S130 to S134 is the same as the processing in steps S61 to S65 in FIG. Moreover, since the process of step S135-S140 is the same as the process of step S73-S78 of FIG. 18, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In step S141, the output unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 13B analyzes the page of the job to be printed based on the execution job information included in the job execution request information. In step S142, the output unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 13B prints the page of the job analyzed in step S141 among the received jobs.

  FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are sequence diagrams of other examples showing proxy printing processing.

  In step S151, the user holds the portable terminal 12 over the information reading unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 13A to establish wireless communication between the portable terminal 12 and the image forming apparatus 13A.

  In step S152, the input information reception unit 41 of the mobile terminal 12 receives a user input operation and acquires user information (company code, user identification information, password). The login request unit 42 of the mobile terminal 12 makes a login request to the access control service 24. Since the processing of steps S153 to S155 has been described above, the description thereof will be omitted.

  In step S156, the access control service 24 transmits an authentication result as a login response to the mobile terminal 12. If the authentication result is successful (authentication OK), the access control service 24 also transmits a token to the mobile terminal 12. The access control service 24 stores the token in association with the authenticated user.

  The processing after step S157 represents an example in which the authentication result is successful (authentication OK). In step S157, the portable terminal 12 makes a list acquisition request by transmitting the company code and the user identification information together with the token to the access control service 24. The processing in steps S158 to S161 is the same as that in steps S67 to S70 in FIG.

  In step S <b> 162, the access control service 24 transmits the acquired job list to the mobile terminal 12. In step S <b> 163, the mobile terminal 12 accepts a job execution request operation in the job list. In step S164, the mobile terminal 12 requests the access control service 24 to acquire job data. The processing in steps S165 to S168 is the same as that in steps S74 to S77 in FIG.

  In step S169, the access control service 24 transmits the acquired job to the mobile terminal 12. In step S170, the mobile terminal 12 that has acquired the job transmits the job to the image forming apparatus 13A and requests execution of the job.

  In step S171, the portable terminal 12 monitors the job execution status (printing completion, printing error, etc.) in the image forming apparatus 13A, and periodically acquires status information until printing completion or a printing error occurs.

  In step S172, the output unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 13A executes the received job. In step S173, the image forming apparatus 13A has an error (printing error) before the job execution is completed.

  Since the job execution status in the image forming apparatus 13A is monitored, the job status acquisition unit 45 of the portable terminal 12 acquires the status information of the execution job managed by the job status management unit 55 of the image forming apparatus 13A in step S175. Request. In step S176, the job status acquisition unit 45 of the portable terminal 12 acquires the status information of the execution job managed by the job status management unit 55 of the image forming apparatus 13A.

  When a printing error occurs, in step S177, the device search unit 44 of the mobile terminal 12 searches for peripheral devices using short-range wireless communication. Here, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 13B has been searched. The device search unit 44 establishes communication with the image forming apparatus 13B.

  In step S178, the portable terminal 12 that has acquired the execution job status information generates job execution request (substitute print request) information for the image forming apparatus 13B. The job execution request includes execution job information (information about how many pages are to be printed) and print data corresponding to the job ID. Based on the status information, the mobile terminal 12 identifies a page that has not been printed in the image forming apparatus 13A.

  In step S179, the mobile terminal 12 makes a job execution request to the image forming apparatus 13B using the generated job execution request information. In step S180, the output unit 54 of the image forming apparatus 13B prints a page of a job that has not been printed by the image forming apparatus 13A.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment, by using the status information provided by the image forming apparatus 13A, printing performed until an error occurs in the image forming apparatus 13A is considered. Thus, printing of the print data can be taken over by the image forming apparatus 13B. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the user when printing of print data is transferred from the image forming apparatus 13A to the image forming apparatus 13B.

In addition, according to the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment, pseudo substitute printing can be realized by using the mobile terminal 12 for the image forming apparatus 13 that does not have the substitute printing function.
[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, an authentication server 14 is added to the printing system 1 of the first embodiment, and the authentication server 14 authenticates the image forming apparatus 13. Since the printing system 2 of the second embodiment is the same as the printing system 1 of the first embodiment except for a part thereof, the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

<System configuration>
FIG. 23 is a configuration diagram of another example of the printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing system 2 in FIG. 23 has a configuration in which an authentication server 14 is added to the printing system 1 in FIG. The authentication server 14 is connected to a private network N1 such as an intra-office network and authenticates the image forming apparatuses 13A and 13B. The authentication server 14 is realized by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG.

<Software configuration>
The mobile terminal 12 of the printing system 2 in FIG. 23 is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 24, for example. Further, the authentication server 14 of the printing system 2 in FIG. 23 is realized by a processing block as shown in FIG. 25, for example.

<Mobile terminal 12>
FIG. 24 is a processing block diagram of another example of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. The portable terminal 12 in FIG. 24 executes a program, thereby allowing an input information reception unit 301, an MFP login control unit 302, a service login request unit 303, a job setting unit 304, a device search unit 305, a job status acquisition unit 306, data holding The unit 307 is realized.

  The input information reception unit 301, job setting unit 304, device search unit 305, job status acquisition unit 306, and data holding unit 307 are the input information reception unit 41, job setting unit 43, device search unit 44, and job status acquisition shown in FIG. The same as the unit 45 and the data holding unit 46.

  The MFP login control unit 302 controls login processing performed by the image forming apparatuses 13A and 13B. The service login request unit 303 makes a login request to the access control service 24 in the same manner as the login request unit 42 of FIG.

<< Authentication Server 14 >>
FIG. 25 is a processing block diagram of an example of an authentication server according to the present embodiment. The authentication server 14 implements an authentication request receiving unit 311, an authentication processing unit 312, and a user information holding unit 313 by executing a program.

  The authentication request receiving unit 311 receives an authentication request from the image forming apparatus 13. The authentication processing unit 312 executes authentication determination based on user information included in the received authentication information based on the user information held by the user information holding unit 313. The user information holding unit 313 holds user information.

《Login data》
FIG. 26 is a configuration diagram of an example of login data. The login data shown in FIG. 26 includes service login information and MFP login information as items. The service login information is information for the mobile terminal 12 to make a login request to the access control service 24, for example. The MFP login information is information for the image forming apparatus 13 to make an authentication request to the authentication server 14.

  FIG. 26A shows log-in data at the time of card authentication. FIG. 26B shows login data at the time of user ID and password authentication. Note that the login data in FIG. 26 is an example.

<Details of processing>
《Representative printing process》
27 and 28 are sequence diagrams illustrating an example of the proxy printing process.

  In step S201, the user holds the portable terminal 12 over the information reading unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 13A. In step S202, the information reading unit 51 of the image forming apparatus 13A acquires MFP login information from the user information as shown in FIG. 26 held by the data holding unit 307 of the portable terminal 12. The data holding unit 307 can be realized by, for example, an IC card or an IC chip included in the mobile terminal 12.

  In step S203, the image forming apparatus 13A makes an authentication request to the authentication server 14 using the acquired MFP login information. In step S <b> 204, the authentication server 14 receives an authentication request from the image forming apparatus 13 </ b> A, and executes authentication determination based on MFP login information included in the authentication request based on user information in the user information holding unit 313.

  In step S205, the authentication server 14 returns an authentication result of authentication success or authentication failure to the image forming apparatus 13A. The processing after step S206 represents an example in which the authentication result is successful (authentication OK). Note that the authentication function by the authentication server 14 may be provided in the image forming apparatus 13A.

  Based on the authentication result of the authentication success, the mobile terminal 12 and the image forming apparatus 13A establish wireless communication in step S206. In steps S207 to S211, the mobile terminal 12 makes a login request to the access control service 24 using the service login information held by the data holding unit 307. The processing in steps S208 to S232 is the same as that in steps S153 to S176 in FIGS.

  When a printing error occurs, in step S233, the device search unit 44 of the mobile terminal 12 searches for a peripheral device using short-range wireless communication. Here, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 13B has been searched.

  In step S234, the MFP login control unit 302 of the portable terminal 12 transmits MFP login information as shown in FIG. 26 to the image forming apparatus 13B, and requests to execute the login process. In steps S235 to S237, the image forming apparatus 13B performs processing as performed by the image forming apparatus 13A in steps S203 to S205.

  In steps S239 and S240, the terminal device 12 obtains an authentication result indicating success or failure of authentication from the image forming apparatus 13B.

  In step S240, the mobile terminal 12 determines whether the job can be executed in the image forming apparatus 13B from the acquired authentication result. For example, if the authentication result is unsuccessful (authentication NG), the mobile terminal 12 determines that the image forming apparatus 13B cannot accept job execution, and ends the processing for the image forming apparatus 13B.

  On the other hand, if the authentication result is successful (authentication OK), the mobile terminal 12 determines that the execution of the job is accepted in the image forming apparatus 13B, and performs the process of step S241. The processing in steps S241 to S243 is the same as that in steps S178 to S180 in FIG.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the printing system 2 according to the second embodiment, even if the authentication server 14 of the private network N1 such as an intra-office network is used, it is the same as the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment. The effect can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Printing system 11 Client terminal 12 Portable terminal 13, 13A, 13B Image forming apparatus 14 Authentication server 21 Data management service 22 Data storage service 23 Authentication service 24 Access control service 25 Data processing service 31 Input information reception part 32 Login request part 33 Job Setting Unit 34 Data Holding Unit 41 Input Information Accepting Unit 42 Login Requesting Unit 43 Job Setting Unit 44 Device Searching Unit 45 Job Status Acquisition Unit 46 Data Holding Unit 51 Information Reading Unit 52 Login Requesting Unit 53 Job Acquisition Requesting Unit 54 Output Unit 55 Job Status Management Unit 56 Setting Information Holding Unit 61 Data Recording Unit 62 Data Acquisition Unit 63 Data Processing Request Unit 64 Management Data Acquisition Unit 66 Data Holding Unit 71 User Authentication Unit 72 Company Authentication Unit 73 Device Authentication Unit DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Management data acquisition part 75 Management data holding part 81 Authentication control part 82 Access control part 83 Authentication information management part 84 Authentication information cache part 91 Data processing request reception part 92 Data processing part 93 Data recording part 94 Data acquisition part 100 Computer system 101 Input device 102 Display device 103 External I / F
103a, 203a Recording medium 104 RAM
105 ROM
106 CPU
107 Communication I / F
108 HDD
201 Controller 202 Operation panel 203 External I / F
204 Communication I / F
205 Printer 206 Scanner 211 CPU
212 RAM
213 ROM
214 NVRAM
215 HDD
B bus FW firewall N1-N3 network

JP 2010-191631 A

Claims (10)

An output system having a plurality of output devices and a program executable by the information processing device,
By the information processing apparatus,
Status acquisition processing for acquiring status information of output processing of output data in the first output device;
An execution request process for making an execution request so as to take over the output data output process in the first output device based on the state information to the second output device taking over the output data output process in the first output device. And an executable program,
First output means for performing output processing of the output data;
A first output device having status information transmission means for transmitting status information of output processing of the output data in the output means to the information processing device;
A second output device having second output means for taking over the output data output process in the first output device based on an execution request from the information processing device and performing the output data output process; Output system. 2. The output system according to claim 1, wherein the status information of the output process includes information representing a part of the output data on which the output process has been performed in the first output device. The status acquisition process acquires status information of output data output processing in the first output device when an abnormality occurs in output data output processing in the first output device. Or the output system of 2. The execution request process requests the second output means to acquire the output data from an output data storage location and to take over the output data output process in the first output device. The output system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The execution request process sends the output data to the second output means, and makes an execution request so as to take over the output data output process in the first output device. The output system as described in any one of thru | or 3. The output system according to claim 1, wherein the program is further capable of executing search processing for searching for the second output device by the information processing device. An information processing apparatus for handing over output processing of output data in a first output device to a second output device,
Status acquisition means for acquiring status information of output processing of output data in the first output device from the first output device;
Based on the status information, the output data is acquired from the output data storage location to the second output device that takes over the output data output processing in the first output device, and the output data is output in the first output device. An information processing apparatus comprising: an execution request unit that issues an execution request so as to take over processing. An information processing apparatus for handing over output processing of output data in a first output device to a second output device,
Status acquisition means for acquiring status information of output processing of output data in the first output device from the first output device;
The output data is transmitted to a second output device that takes over the output data output process in the first output device, and the output data output process in the first output device is taken over based on the state information. An information processing apparatus comprising execution request means for performing an execution request. An information processing device that takes over the output processing of output data in the first output device to the second output device,
Status acquisition means for acquiring status information of output processing of output data in the first output device from the first output device;
Based on the status information, the output data is acquired from the output data storage location to the second output device that takes over the output data output processing in the first output device, and the output data is output in the first output device. A program for functioning as an execution request means for making an execution request so as to take over processing. An information processing device that takes over the output processing of output data in the first output device to the second output device,
Status acquisition means for acquiring status information of output processing of output data in the first output device from the first output device;
The output data is transmitted to a second output device that takes over the output data output process in the first output device, and the output data output process in the first output device is taken over based on the state information. A program for functioning as an execution request means for making an execution request.

Images