JP2017136691A - Job management program and image formation device, and job management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to easily select a disposed document and to execute re-printing.SOLUTION: An image formation device adds an image of a code, in which at least identification information concerning a job is described, to an image of a document and instructs to print when printing the document based on the job, stores data of the job in a storage part, and correlates at least identification information concerning the job, identification information concerning a user who instructs to print and a storage destination of data of the job, thereby preparing a job management table. When disposing the document, the image formation device adds disposal information including identification information of the user who disposed the document to the job management table while correlating said disposal information to identification information concerning the job which is read from the code added to the document. When re-printing the disposed document, the image formation device displays a list of jobs, which correspond to the document disposed by the user who instructs to print again, on a display part while referring to the job management table, and obtains data of a job selected from the list from the storage destination which is correlated to identification information concerning said job and instructs to print again.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  The present invention relates to a job management program, an image forming apparatus, and a job management method, and more particularly, to a job management program, an image forming apparatus, and a job management method that make it possible to reprint a discarded document.

  Documents printed on paper using an image forming device such as MFP (Multi-Functional Peripherals) are often used for temporary confirmation purposes, and space is required for document storage. It is getting discarded in a relatively short period of time. At that time, the document on which the confidential information is printed is finely cut using a cutting device (shredder) and discarded from the viewpoint of ensuring security.

  Regarding the disposal of such a document, the following Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming system including a fee receiver that receives a fee, an image forming apparatus, and an image discarding device, and the fee receiver receives a predetermined fee. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus forms an image, and the image discarding apparatus can determine whether or not the image formed by the image forming apparatus has been discarded, and the image discarding apparatus can detect the image forming apparatus. A configuration is disclosed in which the image forming apparatus re-forms the same image as the discarded image when it is confirmed that the formed image is discarded.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 below, a discard unit that makes an input document unreadable and discarded, a scanner that scans the input document and generates image data of the document, and a scanner generated by the scanner A recording unit for recording image data, and a data management unit for extracting identification information recording the creator of the document and the expiration date of the document from the image data recorded in the recording unit, and recording and managing the identification information together with the image data And a document discarding device that deletes the image data when the expiration date of the image data recorded in the recording unit is detected.

  In addition, as a technique for enabling confirmation of whether or not the recording paper has been properly disposed when a printing failure occurs, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-259542 discloses that the printing failure occurs in the printing processing apparatus and the printing processing apparatus. A discarding unit that discards the recording paper so that printed information is in an invisible state; and the identifier and the identifier based on the identification data printed on the recording sheet disposed in the discarding unit and discarded A print management system comprising: input means for inputting a count value; and update means for updating processing information of the print result stored in the storage means specified by the identifier and the count value input from the input means Is disclosed.

JP 2010-004398 A JP 2011-097157 A JP 2008-080494 A

  Documents that are deemed unnecessary (or mistakenly) discarded at some point may be in a situation where you want to see them again. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, print information for specifying an image is added at the time of image formation, the print information is read when the image is discarded, and the discarded image is specified based on the read print information. The same image as the image is reproduced. In Patent Document 2, a document is scanned to generate image data at the time of disposal, a document creator is extracted from the image data, and is recorded and managed together with the image data.

  A document that has been accidentally discarded may be reprinted when it is discarded. However, there is a case where the document is required after a while after being discarded. Cannot reprint. In addition, the document to be reprinted is not limited to a document created and discarded by itself, but may be a document created by another person and discarded by itself. The document creator information extracted from the data cannot reprint the document desired by the user who has discarded the document. Further, the document to be restored may be not only a single document but also a series of related documents, and the related series of documents cannot be reprinted by the method of the above-mentioned patent document.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a job management program, an image forming apparatus, and job management that can easily select a discarded document and execute reprinting. It is to provide a method.

  One aspect of the present invention is a job management program that includes a display unit and operates in a device that instructs a print engine to print, and when the controller of the device instructs to print a document based on a job, At least an image of a code describing job identification information is added to a document image to instruct the print engine to print, the job data is stored in a predetermined storage unit, and at least the job identification Print processing for creating a job management table by associating information with the identification information of the user instructing printing and the storage location of the job data, and when the document is discarded, Disposal processing for adding discard information including identification information of the user who performs the discard in association with the identification information of the job read from the added code, discard When instructing reprinting of the document, the job management table is referred to, a list of jobs corresponding to the document discarded by the user instructing reprinting is displayed on the display unit, and the job list is displayed. The data of the job selected from the above is acquired from the storage destination associated with the identification information of the job, and the reprinting process for instructing the reprinting to the print engine is executed.

  One aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that includes a display unit and a print engine that prints a document, and includes a job management unit, a code generation unit, and a display control unit, and instructs printing of a document based on a job. At this time, the code generation unit generates at least a code describing the identification information of the job, and the job management unit adds the image of the code to the document image and instructs the print engine to perform printing. And storing the job data in a predetermined storage unit, and further creating a job management table in which at least the identification information of the job, the identification information of the user instructing printing, and the storage destination of the job are associated with each other, When the document is discarded, the job management unit associates the job management table with the job identification information read from the code added to the document. The display control unit refers to the job management table to instruct reprinting when adding revocation information including identification information of a user who is to be discarded and instructing reprinting of the discarded document. A list of jobs corresponding to the documents discarded by the user is displayed on the display unit, and the user is allowed to select a job from the list of jobs, and the job management unit is selected from the list of jobs Job data is acquired from a storage destination associated with the job identification information, and reprinting is instructed to the print engine.

  One aspect of the present invention is a job management method in a printing system including an image forming apparatus including a display unit and a print engine that prints a document. When printing a document based on a job, the image of the document is at least The document is printed by adding an image of a code describing the job identification information, the job data is stored in a predetermined storage unit, and at least the job identification information and a user instructing printing are printed. Print processing for creating a job management table by associating identification information with the storage destination of the job, and when the document is discarded, the job management table is read from the code added to the document. Corresponding to the job identification information, discard processing for adding the discard information including the identification information of the user to be discarded, and reprinting the discarded document At this time, referring to the job management table, a list of jobs corresponding to a document discarded by a user instructing reprinting is displayed on the display unit, and data of a job selected from the list of jobs is displayed. And a reprinting process for reprinting the document obtained from the storage destination associated with the identification information of the job.

  According to the job management program, the image forming apparatus, and the job management method of the present invention, it is possible to easily select a discarded document and execute reprinting.

  The reason is that, when printing a document based on a job, the image forming apparatus (job management program) instructs printing by adding at least an image of a code describing job identification information to the document image and printing the job data. Is stored in a predetermined storage unit, and a job management table is created by associating at least job identification information, user identification information for instructing printing, and job data storage destination, and when a document is discarded, In the management table, add the discard information including the identification information of the discarded user in association with the job identification information read from the code added to the document, and refer to the job management table when reprinting the discarded document. A list of jobs corresponding to the documents discarded by the user instructing reprinting is displayed on the display unit, and the data of the job selected from the list is displayed on the display unit. This is because to indicate reprinting acquired from the storage location associated with the job identification information.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a structure of the printing system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a structure of the printing system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a structure of the printing system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a structure of the printing system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the client apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic operation when a copy / print / FAX instruction is received by the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; It is an example of the job management table which concerns on one Example of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic operation of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when a document is discarded. It is an example of the job management table (state which added discard information) concerning one Example of this invention. It is an example of the discard job list which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the job history screen which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is an example of a job management table (state in which discard information is deleted) according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a discard job list display (state in which discard information is deleted) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (printing process) of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (discarding process) of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (job management table update process) of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (reprinting process) of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the background art, documents printed on paper are often used for temporary confirmation purposes and are discarded in a relatively short period of time. You may need the document again. From such a background, conventionally, when a document is discarded, the document is scanned and stored as image data, and the discarded document is used by using print information added at the time of image formation or information on the creator of the document extracted from the image data. It can be identified and reprinted.

  However, in the conventional method, the document cannot be reprinted at an arbitrary stage, for example, when the document becomes necessary after a while after being discarded. Further, as in the past, with the print information added at the time of image formation and the information of the creator of the document extracted from the image data, the document desired by the user who discarded the document cannot be reprinted. A series of documents cannot be reprinted.

  In other words, the conventional method defines a series of controls at the time of printing, and in the situation where time has passed for each of printing, discarding, and reprinting, it is possible to recycle from a large number of discarded printed materials. There is a problem that it is very difficult to specify a desired document to be printed.

  Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, discard information is added to a job management table for managing jobs for the image forming apparatus, and the job management table is referred to correspond to a document discarded by a user who instructs reprinting. Displays a list of jobs that can be selected.

  Specifically, at the time of printing a document based on a job, at least a code describing job identification information is added to the document image to instruct printing, and job data is stored in a predetermined storage unit. A job management table is created by associating at least job identification information, document creation date and time, identification information of the user who created the document, and job data storage destination. Further, when the document is discarded, discard information including the identification information of the user who discarded the document is added to the job management table in association with the identification information of the job read from the code added to the document. Then, when reprinting the discarded document, the job management table is referred to and the document discarded by the user instructing reprinting (the document discarded by the user instructing printing and other users instructing printing) Then, a list of jobs corresponding to the document discarded by the user is displayed on the display unit, and the data of the job selected from the list is acquired from the storage destination associated with the identification information of the job and re-executed. Instruct to print.

  By using such a job management table, even if the printing date and time are different, the reprint target can be specified in a unit (filed unit) by sorting in order of discarding date and time. This document can be easily selected and reprinted.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, a job management program, an image forming apparatus, and a job management method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration example of a printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment, FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a client apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. is there. 8 and 10 are diagrams for explaining the schematic operation of the image forming apparatus. FIGS. 9, 11, 12, 14, and 15 are examples of information referred to by the image forming apparatus. These are examples of screens displayed on the image forming apparatus. 16 to 19 are flowcharts showing the operation of the image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system according to the present embodiment includes one or more client apparatuses 10 that create and send a job, and one or more image forming apparatuses 20 that receive and process the job (document 60). When the printing process and the code reading process at the time of discarding the document 60 are performed by different apparatuses, a plurality of image forming apparatuses 20) and a cutting apparatus such as a shredder that cuts the document 60 printed by the image forming apparatus 20 so as to be discarded. 40. The client apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 (and the cutting apparatus 40 as necessary) are connected to be communicable via a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network).

  In FIG. 1, the printing system includes the client device 10, the image forming device 20, and the cutting device 40. However, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a controller 50 is connected to a communication network, and the controller 50 is connected to the image forming device 20. It is good also as a structure which controls. When the image forming apparatus 20 has the function of the cutting device 40, the cutting device 40 can be omitted as shown in FIG. When a job such as copying is processed by directly operating the image forming apparatus 20, the client apparatus 10 can be omitted as shown in FIG. 4, and the function of the cutting apparatus 40 can be omitted. 5, the printing system can be configured with only the image forming apparatus 20 as shown in FIG. Further, an external storage (not shown) may be connected to the communication network, and job data may be stored in the external storage. Although Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like can be used as the standard of the communication network, IEEE1394, Parallel, or the like can be used for data transfer from the controller 50 to the image forming apparatus 20 in addition to Ethernet (registered trademark). . Hereinafter, each device will be described in detail on the assumption of the configuration of FIG.

[Client device]
The client apparatus 10 is a computer apparatus such as a personal computer, and creates a job and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 20 (the controller 50 in the case of the configuration in FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 6A, the client device 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a network I / F unit 13, a display unit 14, an operation unit 15, and the like.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a and a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11b and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11c. The CPU 11a stores a control program stored in the ROM 11b or the storage unit 12. The operation of the entire client apparatus 10 is controlled by expanding and executing in the RAM 11c. As shown in FIG. 6B, the control unit 11 (CPU 11a) executes an OS (Operating System) 16, a document creation application 17, a printer driver 18, and the like.

  The OS 16 is Windows (registered trademark), Macintosh (registered trademark), Android, or the like, and enables the document creation application 17 and the printer driver 18 to operate on the client device 10.

  The document creation application 17 is software that performs text creation, spreadsheet, image processing, and the like. The document creation application 17 reads the printer driver 18 when a print instruction is given, and transfers the document data created by the document creation application 17 to the printer driver 18.

  The printer driver 18 converts page data such as a job (PJL (Printer Job Language), PS (PostScript), PCL (Printer Control Language), etc., in a language that the image forming apparatus 20 can interpret the document data created by the document creation application 17. PDL (Page Description Language) data described in a language or PDF (Portable Document Format) data). To this job, the print conditions set on the print setting screen of the printer driver 18 are described in a print ticket and added.

  The storage unit 12 includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the like. The program for the CPU 11a to control each unit, information on the processing function of its own device, and document data created by the document creation application 17 The job data created by the printer driver 18 is stored.

  The network I / F unit 13 is configured by a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, or the like, and connects the client apparatus 10 to a communication network so that a job can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20.

  The display unit 14 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, and the like, and displays a document creation screen of the document creation application 17, a print setting screen of the printer driver 18, and the like.

  The operation unit 15 includes a mouse and a keyboard, and enables operations such as document creation by the document creation application 17 and setting of printing conditions by the printer driver 18.

[Image forming apparatus]
As shown in FIG. 7A, the image forming apparatus 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a network I / F unit 23, a display operation unit 24, a code reading unit 25, an image reading unit 26, and an image processing unit 27. The image forming unit 28 and the like.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU 21a and a memory such as a ROM 21b and a RAM 21c. The CPU 21a expands and executes a control program stored in the ROM 21b and the storage unit 22 on the RAM 21c, thereby performing the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 20. Control.

  The storage unit 22 is configured by an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and includes a program for the CPU 21a to control each unit, information on the processing function of the own device, authentication information for each user to log in (sign in) to the own device, and a job Data, a job management table to be described later, and the like are stored.

  The network I / F unit 23 is configured by a NIC, a modem, and the like, connects the image forming apparatus 20 to a communication network, receives a job from the client apparatus 10, and will be described later from another image forming apparatus 20 and the cutting apparatus 40. Receive discard information.

  The display operation unit 24 is a touch panel provided with a pressure-sensitive operation unit (touch sensor) in which transparent electrodes are arranged in a grid pattern on the display unit, and various screens related to print processing (particularly, a job history screen described later) ) To enable various operations related to printing and reprinting (particularly, job search and job selection on the job history screen).

  The code reading unit 25 reads a code (for example, a two-dimensional bar code or a QR code (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted)) printed on the document, and records document management information (for example, an image on which the document is printed) recorded on the code. Identification information of the forming apparatus 20 (referred to as an apparatus ID), identification information of a job instructing printing of a document (referred to as a job ID), information specifying a copy or a page, and the like are acquired.

  An image reading unit (scanner) 26 is a part that optically reads image data from a document placed on a platen. A light source that scans the document and a CCD that converts light reflected from the document into an electrical signal. (Charge Coupled Devices) and the like, and an A / D converter that A / D converts an electric signal. When the image reading unit 26 can read the above code, the code reading unit 25 can be omitted.

  The image processing unit 27 functions as a RIP unit (Raster Image Processor), translates a job to generate intermediate data, and performs rendering to generate a document image (this series of processing is referred to as RIP processing). . At that time, in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 21, a code image generated by a code generation unit 32, which will be described later, is added to a predetermined position of the document image (for example, a margin at the lower end of the document) to generate print data. . The image processing unit 27 performs screen processing, gradation correction, density balance adjustment, thinning, halftone processing, and the like on the print data as necessary. Then, the image processing unit 27 outputs the generated print data to the image forming unit 28.

  The image forming unit (print engine) 28 executes print processing based on the print data. Specifically, the photosensitive drum charged by the charging device is irradiated with light corresponding to the image from the exposure device to form an electrostatic latent image, and the toner charged by the developing device is attached and developed. The image is primarily transferred to the transfer belt, secondarily transferred from the transfer belt to the paper, and a fixing device fixes the toner image on the paper.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the control unit 21 functions as a user management unit 29, a job management unit 30, a display control unit 31, a code generation unit 32, and the like.

  The user management unit 29 acquires authentication information for allowing each user to use the image forming apparatus 20 (login to the image forming apparatus 20), and stores and manages the authentication information in the storage unit 22 or the like. . This authentication information includes account information (user account), password information, fingerprint information, voiceprint information, biometric information such as iris information, and the like. Then, the user management unit 29 stores the account information and password information input by the user by operating the display operation unit 24, biometric information detected by a detector provided in advance in the image forming apparatus 20, the storage unit 22, and the like. The user who is going to log in to the image forming apparatus 20 is authenticated by comparing the stored authentication information.

  When the job management unit 30 receives a job from the client device 10 and is instructed to print, the job management unit 30 analyzes the job, and identifies the device ID, job ID, and user identification information (user ID) that instructs printing of the document. ), Job management information such as job type (print / copy / fax, etc.), document name, printing date, job data storage deadline, number of copies, etc. are acquired. The code generation unit 32 generates a code for the job, instructs the image processing unit 27 to perform image processing, and instructs the image forming unit 28 to print. Further, the job data is stored in the storage unit 22 or an external storage, and a job management table described later is created by including the job data storage destination in the job management information, and the storage unit 22 or the external storage. Save to.

  Further, when the document is discarded, document management information such as a device ID, a job ID, information for specifying a copy or a page is acquired from the code reading unit 25 (or the image reading unit 26), and specified by the device ID. If the device is its own device, it obtains the discard information such as the date and time when the document was discarded, the identification information of the user who discarded the document, the information specifying the copy or page, and the discard information is associated with the job ID in the job management table. Append. When the apparatus identified by the apparatus ID is another image forming apparatus 20, the job ID and the discard information are transmitted to the other image forming apparatus 20, and the other image forming apparatus 20 stores the job management table in the job management table. The discard information is added in association with the job ID.

  When a job is selected from a list of jobs displayed on the job history screen, which will be described later, and reprinting is instructed, job data is acquired from the storage destination associated with the job ID of the job, and the image The processing unit 27 is instructed to perform image processing, and the image forming unit 28 is instructed to perform reprinting. At that time, based on the storage period of the job data described in the job management table, reprinting of the document whose storage period has expired is prohibited. In addition, the discard information added in association with the identification information of the job selected from the job list is deleted from the job management table.

  The display control unit 31 refers to the job management table in accordance with an instruction from the login user, and discards the document (the login user instructs printing, the discarded user or another user instructs printing, and logs in A job history screen that displays a list of jobs corresponding to documents discarded by the user is displayed on the display operation unit 24. Further, when a narrowing condition is specified on the job history screen, a job that matches the narrowing condition is extracted and displayed on the job history screen.

  The code generation unit 32 generates and generates a code (QR code or two-dimensional barcode) describing document management information such as an apparatus ID, a job ID, and information for specifying a unit or page in accordance with an instruction from the job management unit 30. The image of the code is notified to the image processing unit 27 and added to the document image.

  The user management unit 29, the job management unit 30, the display control unit 31, and the code generation unit 32 may be configured as hardware, or the control unit 21 may be configured as a user management unit 29, a job management unit 30, a display control unit. 31 may be configured as a job management program that causes the code generation unit 32 to function (the image forming apparatus 20 executes print processing, discard processing, and reprint processing described later), and the CPU 21a executes the job management program. .

  FIG. 7 is an example of the image forming apparatus 20 of the present embodiment, and the configuration thereof can be changed as appropriate. For example, in FIG. 7, the image reading unit 26 is provided in the image forming apparatus 20 of the present embodiment. However, for example, a single function printer without the image reading unit 26 may be used, or a communication function with a telephone line may be provided. It may be a facsimile machine. When the cutting device 40 includes a code reading unit, the code reading unit 25 of the image forming apparatus 20 can be omitted.

  In the configuration of FIG. 2, the controller 50 includes an image processing unit, and the image processing unit generates print data based on the job, and transmits the generated print data to the image forming apparatus 20 to the print engine. When printing is performed (that is, when the controller 50 functions as an image processing apparatus), the image processing apparatus is provided with the function of the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 20 (the control unit of the image processing apparatus is set as a user management unit). 29, function as the job management unit 30, the display control unit 31, and the code generation unit 32).

  Next, a schematic operation of the printing system (particularly, the image forming apparatus 20) of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the image forming apparatus 20 receives a job instructing copying, printing, FAX, etc., the image forming apparatus 20 analyzes the job to generate print data, and prints and outputs a document 60 based on the print data. To do. At this time, a code 61 (QR code, barcode, etc.) describing the document management information is generated, and an image of the generated code 61 is added to an image such as each page or cover page of the document 60. As described above, the code 61 includes a device ID, a job ID, information for specifying a copy or a page (information about the number of copies or information about the number of pages), and the like.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 20 stores job data (or print data) in the storage unit 22 or an external storage, generates a job management table in which job management information is described, and stores the generated job management table in the storage unit 22 or an external storage. FIG. 9 is an example of a job management table. As described above, the job management table includes a device ID (denoted as MFP ID), a job ID (denoted as JOB ID), a user ID (denoted as User), and a job. Type (noted as Type), document name, storage destination, printing date / time, storage deadline, number of copies, and the like.

  The storage period of job data (or print data) can be the same as a paper document disposal period set in advance, or a predetermined period (for example, a maximum of one year). When the paper document has the same disposal deadline as the paper document, the structure of the document 60 can be analyzed and set based on the keywords extracted from the document 60. For example, the format of purchase orders, quotations, etc. is determined in advance, so the document type and document creation date and time are extracted from the specific position of the document, and the extracted date and time are determined according to the document type. The storage period can be set by adding the period (for example, 30 days of the estimated effective period).

  When discarding the document 60 created based on the job, as shown in FIG. 10, the user logs in the image forming apparatus 20 and then uses the code reading unit 25 (or the image reading unit 26) to store the document 60. The added code 61 is read. When the cutting device 40 includes a code reading unit, the code 61 may be read using the code reading unit after logging into the cutting device 40.

  Note that when reprinting a discarded document, there are a case where only a discarded page is a target for reprinting, and a case where all pages are a target for reprinting assuming a loss. In the case of a confidential document, the former is used, and only discarded pages are to be reprinted. Therefore, when reading, all pages of the document 60 are checked, and the code 61 embedded in each page is read and compared. Thus, it is preferable to detect which page is insufficient.

  Next, the image forming apparatus 20 identifies a job from the read information of the code 61 and adds discard information to the job management table in association with the job. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when a document of a job having a job ID “111” is discarded, the document disposal date and time and the user (discarder) who disposed the document in association with the job ID in the job management table Are added (see the thick frame in FIG. 11). In addition, the person who created the document may be added differently from the person who created the document and the person who discarded the document, so that even if the document was created by another user, the document discarded by the user can be reprinted. It is to make it. In addition, since the present invention aims at reprinting after discarding, even when only some pages are discarded, the disposal date and time is recorded as discarded, and when the remaining pages are discarded, the disposal date and time is recorded. Try to update.

  When reprinting a discarded document, the image forming apparatus 20 refers to the job management table and relates to the user who has logged into the image forming apparatus 20 from among the jobs (discarded jobs) in which the discard information is added. Extract jobs. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, when a user with a user ID “KM2” logs in, a job corresponding to a document that has been previously printed and discarded by the login user from among the discard jobs (job ID is “123”). In addition to the job (here, the user whose user ID is “KM1”), and the job corresponding to the document discarded by the login user (the job whose job ID is “111”) is also extracted. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, a job history screen 70 for displaying a list of discarded jobs is displayed on the display operation unit 24, and a desired job is selected from the job history screen 70 so that reprinting can be instructed. The job history screen 70 displays buttons for designating a discard period, a printing period, an image forming apparatus, a page, and the like, and narrows down and displays jobs under the conditions designated by the buttons, or displays them in a rearranged manner. For example, a desired job can be easily selected.

  When the original document is divided and discarded on different dates, it is possible to select whether to reprint all pages or only reprint only pages according to the disposal date. For example, if a thumbnail image or a preview image is displayed in units of pages with different discard dates after selecting a job so that it can be understood when and which page is discarded, the convenience of the user at the time of reprinting can be improved. . Further, a screen for setting finishing such as double-sided or stapling may be displayed during reprinting, and the finishing setting may be changed on the screen. By displaying such a screen, if printing is performed with an incorrect finish setting, it can be discarded by the cutting apparatus 40 and then reprinted by the image forming apparatus 20 without returning to the seat. Become. In a confidential document, only discarded pages are subject to reprinting. Therefore, when reprinting only for discarded pages is instructed, an administrator's approval may be requested at the time of reprinting. The confidential document may be set to be prohibited from being reprinted at the time of printing, and a job for which reprinting is prohibited may not be displayed on the job history screen 70.

  When a job is selected on the job history screen 70, the image forming apparatus 20 refers to the job management table, specifies a storage destination corresponding to the selected job, and acquires job data from the specified storage destination. Read and execute reprinting. At this time, as shown in FIG. 14, the discard information (see the thick frame in the figure) corresponding to the job for which reprinting has been executed is deleted from the job management table. Also, as shown in FIG. 15, the discard job (see the thick frame in the figure) for which reprinting has been executed is also deleted from the list of discard jobs for the user who has instructed reprinting.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 20 of this embodiment will be described in detail. The CPU 21a executes the process of each step shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 16 to 19 by developing and executing the job management program stored in the ROM 21b or the storage unit 22 on the RAM 21c. In the following flow, when the document is discarded, the image forming apparatus 20 (referred to as the second image forming apparatus) that is different from the image forming apparatus 20 (referred to as the first image forming apparatus) that printed the document is used. Read the code embedded in the document.

[Print processing]
As shown in FIG. 16, when the control unit 21 (job management unit 30) of the image forming apparatus 20 (first image forming apparatus) receives a job from the client apparatus 10 (S101), it analyzes the job, Job management information such as ID, job ID, user ID, job type, document name, storage destination, printing date, job data storage period, number of copies, etc. is acquired (S102), and the job data is stored in its own device. The data is stored in the storage unit 22 or an external device (such as the controller 50 or an external storage) (S103).

  Next, the control unit 21 (code generation unit 32) generates a different code for each copy or page of the document to be printed (S104), and the image processing unit 27 adds the above-described document image to the document image generated by rasterizing the job. The code image is embedded to generate print data (S105), and the image forming unit 28 executes printing based on the print data to create a document (S106).

  Thereafter, the control unit 21 (job management unit 30) generates a job management table (updates if the job management table has already been generated) based on the acquired job management information, and stores the storage unit 22 of its own device. The data is stored in an external device (S107, see FIGS. 8 and 9).

[Disposal]
As shown in FIG. 17, the code reading unit 25 of the image forming apparatus 20 (second image forming apparatus) reads the code 61 from the document to be discarded (S201), and specifies the apparatus ID, job ID, part, and page. Information is specified (see S202, FIG. 10). When the cutting apparatus 40 performs cutting or instructs the cutting apparatus 40 to cut (S203), the image forming apparatus 20 discards the job ID and the image ID to the image forming apparatus 20 (first image forming apparatus) specified by the apparatus ID. Information is notified (S204). If the cutting device 40 includes a code reading unit, the discarding process can be executed by the cutting device 40.

[Job management table update processing]
As shown in FIG. 18, when the image forming apparatus 20 (first image forming apparatus) that printed the document receives the job ID and the discard information from the image forming apparatus 20 (second image forming apparatus) that has read the code. (S301), discard information is added to the job management table in association with the job ID (S302, see FIG. 11). In the above description, the job management table is updated when the document is discarded. However, the job management table may be updated periodically or at a predetermined timing such as when a user logs in.

[Reprint processing]
As shown in FIG. 19, the control unit 21 (user management unit 29) of the image forming apparatus 20 (first image forming apparatus) detects account information and password information (or a detector) input from the display operation unit 24. The biometric information) and the authentication information stored in advance in the storage unit 22 are compared to perform user login authentication (S401). Next, when a job history display instruction is received from the login user (Yes in S402), the control unit 21 (display control unit 31) displays the job history screen 70 on the display operation unit 24 (see S403, FIG. 13). .

  When an instruction for a narrowing condition is received on this job history screen 70 (depression of buttons such as discard period selection, print period selection, MFP selection, page selection, etc. is detected) (Yes in S404), the control unit 21 (display control unit 31). ) Executes narrowing and sorting (S405), and updates the display of the job history screen 70.

  When the reprint instruction is received on the job history screen 70 (when the reprint button is pressed) (Yes in S406), the control unit 21 (job management unit 30) refers to the job management table. The storage destination associated with the job ID of the job instructed to reprint is specified, the job data of the original document is acquired from the storage destination, the image processing unit 27 is instructed to perform image processing, and the image forming unit 28 Is instructed to perform reprinting (S407). Thereafter, the control unit 21 (job management unit 30) deletes the discard information of the reprinted document from the job management table (S408, see FIG. 14).

  Further, when an end instruction is received on the job history screen 70 (depression of the “Close” button is detected) (Yes in S409), the control unit 21 (job management unit 30) ends the reprinting process.

  As described above, when the document 60 is printed based on the job, the printing is instructed by adding the code 61 describing the device ID, the job ID, and the like to the document 60, and the job data is stored in the job management table. When the document 60 is discarded, the code 61 is read to add the discard information to the job management table, and when the document 60 is reprinted, the job management table is referred to and the discard related to the login user is performed. By displaying the list of jobs, the logged-in user can easily reprint not only the document that he / she has printed / discarded but also the document 60 which has been printed and discarded by another user.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, The structure and control can be changed suitably, unless it deviates from the meaning of this invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the case where a code 61 such as a QR code or a barcode is added to the document 60 is exemplified. The document management information can also be read using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology when the document 60 is discarded. Further, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag or the like in which document management information is recorded can be added to the document 60, and the document management information can be read using an RFID reader or the like when the document 60 is discarded.

  The present invention is applicable to a job management program that enables reprinting of a discarded document, a recording medium that records the job management program, an image forming apparatus, and a job management method.

10 Client device 11 Control unit 11a CPU
11b ROM
11c RAM
12 storage unit 13 network I / F unit 14 display unit 15 operation unit 16 OS
17 Document creation application 18 Printer driver 20 Image forming apparatus 21 Control unit 21a CPU
21b ROM
21c RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 Memory | storage part 23 Network I / F part 24 Display operation part 25 Code reading part 26 Image reading part 27 Image processing part 28 Image formation part 29 User management part 30 Job management part 31 Display control part 32 Code generation part 40 Cutting apparatus 50 Controller 60 Document 61 Code 70 Job history screen

Claims (24)

A job management program comprising a display unit and operating on a device that instructs a print engine to print,
In the control unit of the device,
When instructing printing of a document based on a job, an image of a code describing at least the job identification information is added to the image of the document to instruct the print engine to print, and the job data is set to a predetermined value. A print process that stores the job management table in association with at least the job identification information, the user identification information that instructs printing, and the job data storage destination;
When the document is discarded, the discard information including the identification information of the user who discards the job management table is added to the job management table in association with the identification information of the job read from the code added to the document. Disposal,
When instructing reprinting of the discarded document, the job management table is referred to, and a list of jobs corresponding to the document discarded by the user instructing reprinting is displayed on the display unit. Acquiring the data of the job selected from the list from the storage destination associated with the identification information of the job, and causing the print engine to execute a reprinting process.
A job management program. In the reprint process, the discard information added in association with the identification information of the job selected from the job list is deleted from the job management table.
The job management program according to claim 1. In the reprinting process, a job corresponding to a document discarded by the user instructing the reprinting to print and a document discarded by the user instructing the printing by another user and instructing the reprinting Is displayed on the display unit,
The job management program according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that In the printing process, the date and time when the document was printed is described in the job management table,
In the reprinting process, designation of a printing period is accepted, and a job corresponding to a document printed in a designated printing period is extracted from the job list and displayed on the display unit.
The job management program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the discarding process, the date and time when the document is discarded is added to the job management table,
In the reprinting process, designation of a discard period is accepted, and a job corresponding to a document discarded in the specified discard period is extracted from the list of jobs and displayed on the display unit.
The job management program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the printing process, the identification information of the device that printed the document is described in the job management table,
In the reprinting process, designation of a device is accepted, and a job corresponding to a document printed on the designated device is extracted from the job list and displayed on the display unit.
The job management program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the printing process, the job is analyzed, a predetermined keyword is extracted from the document, a storage deadline set based on the keyword is described in the job management table,
In the reprinting process, reprinting the document whose storage deadline has passed is prohibited.
The job management program according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An image forming apparatus comprising a display unit and a print engine for printing a document,
A job management unit, a code generation unit, and a display control unit;
When instructing to print a document based on a job,
The code generation unit generates a code describing at least identification information of the job,
The job management unit adds the image of the code to the image of the document and instructs the print engine to perform printing, stores the job data in a predetermined storage unit, and further includes at least identification information of the job A job management table in which the identification information of the user who instructs printing and the storage destination of the job are associated with each other,
When the document is discarded,
The job management unit adds, to the job management table, discard information including identification information of a user who performs discard in association with identification information of the job read from the code added to the document,
When instructing reprinting of the discarded document,
The display control unit refers to the job management table, causes the display unit to display a list of jobs corresponding to documents discarded by the user instructing reprinting, and allows the user to select a job from the job list. Let me select
The job management unit acquires job data selected from the job list from a storage destination associated with the job identification information, and instructs the print engine to perform reprinting;
An image forming apparatus. The job management unit deletes the discard information added in association with the identification information of the job selected from the job list from the job management table;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8. The display control unit includes a job corresponding to a document discarded by the user instructing the reprinting to be printed and a document discarded by the user instructing the printing by another user and instructing the reprinting. Is displayed on the display unit,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The job management unit describes the date and time when the document was printed in the job management table,
The display control unit accepts designation of a printing period, extracts a job corresponding to a document printed in a designated printing period from the list of jobs, and displays the job on the display unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The job management unit adds a date and time when the document is discarded to the job management table,
The display control unit accepts designation of a discard period, extracts a job corresponding to a document discarded in a designated discard period from the list of jobs, and displays the job on the display unit.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The job management unit describes identification information of a device that printed the document in the job management table,
The display control unit accepts device designation, extracts a job corresponding to a document printed on the designated device from the list of jobs, and displays the job on the display unit.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The job management unit analyzes the job, extracts a predetermined keyword from the document, describes a storage deadline set based on the keyword in the job management table, and the document whose storage deadline has passed Prohibit reprinting of
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a reading unit that reads the code added to the document.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a cutting unit that cuts the document.
The cutting unit cuts and discards the document after the reading unit reads the code added to the document.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 15. A job management method in a printing system including an image forming apparatus including a display unit and a print engine for printing a document,
When printing a document based on a job, the document image is printed with at least a code image describing the job identification information added to the document image, and the job data is stored in a predetermined storage unit. Furthermore, a print process for creating a job management table by associating at least the identification information of the job, the identification information of the user instructing printing, and the storage destination of the job;
When the document is discarded, the discard information including the identification information of the user who discards the job management table is added to the job management table in association with the identification information of the job read from the code added to the document. Disposal processing,
When reprinting the discarded document, the job management table is referred to, and a list of jobs corresponding to the discarded document is displayed on the display unit by the user who instructs reprinting. Re-print processing for acquiring data of a job selected from the storage destination associated with the identification information of the job and re-printing the document;
A job management method characterized by the above. In the reprint process, the discard information added in association with the identification information of the job selected from the job list is deleted from the job management table.
The job management method according to claim 17. In the reprinting process, a job corresponding to a document discarded by the user instructing the reprinting to print and a document discarded by the user instructing the printing by another user and instructing the reprinting Is displayed on the display unit,
The job management method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: In the printing process, the date and time when the document was printed is described in the job management table,
In the reprinting process, designation of a printing period is accepted, and a job corresponding to a document printed in a designated printing period is extracted from the job list and displayed on the display unit.
20. The job management method according to claim 17, wherein the job management method is any one of the above. In the discarding process, the date and time when the document is discarded is added to the job management table,
In the reprinting process, designation of a discard period is accepted, and a job corresponding to a document discarded in the specified discard period is extracted from the list of jobs and displayed on the display unit.
20. The job management method according to claim 17, wherein the job management method is any one of the above. In the printing process, the identification information of the device that printed the document is described in the job management table,
In the reprinting process, designation of a device is accepted, and a job corresponding to a document printed on the designated device is extracted from the job list and displayed on the display unit.
20. The job management method according to claim 17, wherein the job management method is any one of the above. In the printing process, the job is analyzed, a predetermined keyword is extracted from the document, a storage deadline set based on the keyword is described in the job management table,
In the reprinting process, reprinting the document whose storage deadline has passed is prohibited.
The job management method according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein the job management method is any of the above. The printing system includes a first image forming apparatus that prints the document, and a second image forming apparatus that reads the code added to the document,
In the printing process,
The first image forming apparatus adds an image of a code describing the identification information of the job and the identification information of the first image forming apparatus to the image of the document,
In the disposal process,
The second image forming apparatus transmits the first image forming apparatus to the first image forming apparatus based on the identification information of the job and the identification information of the first image forming apparatus read from the code added to the document. , Sending the job identification information and the discard information,
The first image forming apparatus receives the job identification information and the discard information from the second image forming apparatus, and stores the discard information in the job management table in association with the job identification information. to add,
The job management method according to any one of claims 17 to 23.

Images