JP2019185088A - Information communication control program, information communication control method and printer controller - Google Patents

Abstract

To appropriately notify a transmission destination of a message of a status notification from a printer even when a network trouble occurs.SOLUTION: In a system for collecting a work performance at a printing management system based on a periodic status notification message from a printer, when transmitting the status notification message to the printing management system at a predetermined timing, the printer or a printer controller for controlling the printer determines whether a specific status notification message used for collecting a work performance by the printing management system has been received. When it is determined that the printing management system has not received the specific status notification message, the specific status notification message is saved, and then the saved specific status notification message is re-transmitted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication control program, an information communication control method, and a printer controller, and in particular, an information communication control program and an information communication control method for controlling retransmission of the record information when the record information cannot be transmitted due to a network trouble. And a printer controller.

  In cooperation between a printer and a print management system typified by MIS (Management Information System), the print management system monitors a current status notification message that is periodically transmitted from the printer. For these exchanges, a message called Signal Status of a message standard called JMF (Job Messaging Format) is used. In the print management system, among the status notification messages, for the message when printing is completed, the actual work costs are tabulated using the actual information such as the number of sheets passed, the number of printed pages, and the processing time. Is going.

  With regard to such print management, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, when a print request is received from a client terminal to a printer, the client terminal executes the print job and the print job to the print server. Generating a program for instructing the printer to execute notification regarding the processing status of the printer, generating means for transmitting the program to the client terminal, receiving means for receiving the notification from the printer, and receiving by the receiving means Monitoring means for monitoring a print job instructed to be executed by the printer using the notified notification, and the monitoring means continues even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous notification was received from the printer. If no notification is received, the monitoring of the print job instructing the printer to finish processing is terminated. Formation has been disclosed.

JP 2006-095878 A

  In the printer, since the status notification message has a property of notifying the current status in real time, it does not matter whether the destination print management system has received the message. For this reason, in the environment where the printer and the print management system are connected via a network, if a network trouble such as a network failure occurs, the print management system cannot acquire the actual information, and the actual work cost is not counted. A case that cannot be performed occurs.

  Usually, in such a case, the print management system side must input the results by analogy, which causes a problem that the user's work becomes complicated and the accuracy of the results calculation is lacking.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its main purpose is to appropriately notify the destination of a status notification message from the printer even when a network trouble occurs. An information communication control program, an information communication control method, and a printer controller are provided.

  One aspect of the present invention includes a print management system and a printer, and a printer that controls the printer in the system that collects work results in the print management system based on a periodic status notification message from the printer An information communication control program that operates on a controller, wherein a transmission step of transmitting the status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing to the printer or the printer controller; the print management system specifying a specific status notification message A determination step of determining whether the print management system has not received the specific status notification message, a storage step of storing the specific status notification message in a storage unit, and the stored Before a specific status notification message Retransmission step of retransmitting the print management system, characterized in that to the execution.

  One aspect of the present invention is an information communication control method in a system that includes a print management system and a printer and collects work results in the print management system based on a periodic status notification message from the printer, A printer or a printer controller that controls the printer transmits a status step of transmitting the status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing, and a determination of whether the print management system has received a specific status notification message A step of storing the specific status notification message in a storage unit when the print management system determines that the specific status notification message has not been received; and the stored specific status notification message Re-sending to re-send to the print management system And wherein the Rukoto.

  One aspect of the present invention is a printer controller that includes a print management system and a printer, and controls the printer in a system that collects work results in the print management system based on periodic status notification messages from the printer. A transmission / reception unit that transmits the status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing and determines whether the print management system has received the specific status notification message; and A storage unit that stores the specific status notification message in a storage unit when it is determined that a notification message has not been received, and the transmission / reception unit transmits the stored specific status notification message to the print management system. It is characterized by retransmitting.

  According to the information communication control program, the information communication control method, and the printer controller of the present invention, even when a network trouble occurs, a status notification message from the printer can be appropriately notified to the transmission destination.

  The reason is that in a system that collects work results in a print management system based on periodic status notification messages from the printer, the printer or the printer controller that controls the printer sends a status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing. When sending, it is determined whether the print management system has received a specific status notification message used for collecting results, and if it is determined that the print management system has not received a specific status notification message, This is because the status notification message is saved, and then the saved specific status notification message is retransmitted.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the system which concerns on one Example of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration and a schematic operation of a print management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration and schematic operation of a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the printing process of the system which concerns on one Example of this invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (printing process) of a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (Signal Status transmission process) of the printer controller according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation (a process when receiving a retransmission instruction) of the printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a Signal Status message in the middle of printing according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a Signal Status message when printing is completed according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the work performance screen displayed on the print management system concerning one example of the present invention. 6 is an example of a retransmission instruction screen displayed on a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the background art, a print management system represented by MIS monitors a status notification message (JMF Signal Status message) periodically transmitted from a printer, and a message in the message at the time of printing completion. The actual work costs are tabulated using actual information such as the number of sheets, number of printed pages, and processing time.

  Here, since the printer does not know whether or not the destination print management system has received the message, if a network trouble such as a network down occurs, the print management system cannot obtain the actual information, Occasionally, actual work costs cannot be aggregated. In such a case, the print management system must input the results by analogy, which causes problems that the user's work becomes complicated and the accuracy of the results calculation is lacking.

  Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, in a system that collects work results in a print management system based on a periodic status notification message from a printer, the printer or the printer controller that controls the printer has a status at a predetermined timing. When sending a notification message to the print management system, check if the destination print management system has received the specific status notification message that is used to collect results such as a message when printing is completed. If it is determined that it is not, the specific status notification message is saved, a list of the saved messages is displayed, and the specific status notification message selected from the list is retransmitted to the transmission destination. Accordingly, even if a network trouble such as a network failure occurs without changing the existing print management system, a status notification message transmitted from the printer can be appropriately notified to the transmission destination.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, an information communication control program, an information communication control method, and a printer controller according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the system of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration and schematic operation of the print management system of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration and schematic operation of the printer controller of this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the printing process of the system of this embodiment, and FIGS. 6 to 8 are flowcharts showing the operation of the printer controller of this embodiment. 9 and 10 are examples of the JMF Signal Status message, FIG. 11 is an example of a screen displayed on the print management system of the present embodiment, and FIG. 12 is displayed on the printer controller of the present embodiment. It is an example of a screen.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the system of this embodiment includes a computer device 10 that performs print management and a printer 20 that executes print processing. These include Ethernet (registered trademark), token ring, and FDDI (Fiber-Distributed). They are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) defined by a standard such as Data Interface. Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the computer apparatus 10 and the printer 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

[Computer device]
The computer device 10 is a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like, and functions as a print management system 11 represented by MIS or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the computer apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14, a storage unit 15, a display unit 16, It comprises an operation unit 17 and a communication I / F unit 18.

  The CPU 12 controls each part. The ROM 13 stores a program and the like. The RAM 14 stores data necessary for control by the CPU 12 and data that needs to be temporarily stored during the control operation. Then, the CPU 12 controls the overall operation of the computer device 10 by developing the control program stored in the ROM 13 or the storage unit 15 in the RAM 14 and executing it.

  The storage unit 15 is configured by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like, and results information (such as status notification messages acquired from the program or the printer 20 and actual results information used for actual calculations such as totaling work actual costs). The number of sheets to be passed, the number of damaged sheets, the number of printing surfaces, the color setting, the worker, and the working time) are stored.

  The display unit 16 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and the like, and displays a print setting screen, a status display screen, a work performance screen, and the like created by a UI unit (User Interface) described later. To do.

  The operation unit 17 includes a mouse, a keyboard, a touch sensor formed on the display unit 16, and the like, and enables operation of actual calculation such as print setting on the print setting screen and totaling of actual work costs on the actual work screen. .

  The communication I / F unit 18 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, and the like, connects the computer apparatus 10 to the network, receives a JMF message from the printer 20, print jobs to the printer 20, and JMF signal status. It is possible to send an acceptance response of a message (hereinafter abbreviated as JMF message or Signal Status message).

[Printer]
The printer 20 is a printing apparatus such as an MFP (Multi-Functional Peripherals), and includes a printer controller 21 and a print engine 28 as shown in FIG. The printer controller 21 includes a CPU 22, a ROM 23, a RAM 24, a storage unit 25, a display operation unit 26, a communication I / F unit 27, and the like.

  The CPU 22 controls each part. The ROM 23 stores programs and the like. The RAM 24 stores data necessary for control by the CPU 22 and data that needs to be temporarily stored during the control operation. The CPU 22 controls the overall operation of the printer 20 by developing a control program (including an information communication control program described later) stored in the ROM 23 or the storage unit 25 in the RAM 24 and executing it.

  The storage unit 25 is configured by an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores a program for the CPU 22 to control each unit, information on processing functions of the own device, a print job, image data for printing, a status notification message, and the like.

  The display operation unit 26 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 (a state display screen and a history display described later). Screen, a retransmission instruction screen, and the like, and enables various operations related to printing (particularly, a JMF message retransmission instruction on the retransmission instruction screen). Here, the display operation unit 26 is a touch panel in which the display unit and the operation unit are integrated, but the display unit and the operation unit may be provided separately.

  The communication I / F unit 27 includes a NIC, a modem, and the like, connects the printer 20 to a network, receives a print job and a JMF message acceptance response from the computer apparatus 10, and transmits a JMF message to the computer apparatus 10. Enable.

  The print engine 28 executes print processing in accordance with instructions from the printer controller 21. The print engine 28 includes, for example, an exposure unit that performs exposure by irradiating a laser beam based on image data, a photosensitive drum, a developing unit, a charging unit, a photosensitive unit cleaning unit, and a primary transfer roller. An image forming unit that forms a toner image of each color, an intermediate belt that functions as an intermediate transfer member that transfers the toner image formed by the image forming unit, and a secondary that transfers the toner image formed on the intermediate belt to a sheet The image forming apparatus includes a transfer roller and a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper.

  Next, JMF communication between the computer apparatus 10 having the above-described configuration and the printer 20 will be described. Conventionally, the printer 20 monitors the job processing state. When the job processing state changes, the printer 20 transmits a JMF message to the print management system 11 so that the job can be managed by the print management system 11. However, the printer 20 only transmits a JMF message to the print management system 11, and does not check whether the print management system 11 has received the JMF message. For this reason, when the print management system 11 cannot receive the JMF message, there arises a problem that the job record cannot be managed.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the printer 20 side determines whether the print management system 11 has received a JMF message regarding a JMF message important in job performance management (a JMF message transmitted when printing is completed or when printing is interrupted). Judgment is made, and if not received, control is performed so that the JMF message is retransmitted. For example, when transmitting a JMF message to the print management system 11, the printer 20 analyzes a communication protocol (HTTP: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), or receives a JMF message as an acceptance response from the print management system 11. Thus, it is determined whether the print management system 11 has received the JMF message. When the print management system 11 does not receive the JMF message, the print management system 11 stores the JMF message, and then retransmits the stored JMF message. When the print management system 11 receives the retransmitted JMF message, the stored JMF message is deleted. This will be specifically described below.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration and schematic operation of the print management system 11. The print management system 11 includes a UI unit 30, a job management unit 31, a JMF communication control unit 32, and the like, and performs print settings, print job generation, print instructions, and collection / display of work results.

  The UI unit 30 provides a UI for print settings and job management. The UI unit 30 includes a UI processing unit 30a, a status display processing unit 30b, a print setting processing unit 30c, and the like. The UI processing unit 30a controls the status display processing unit 30b and the print setting processing unit 30c. The status display processing unit 30 b displays a status display screen and a work performance screen on the display operation unit 26 based on the status information and performance information of the printer 20 received from the status management unit 31 a of the job management unit 31. The print setting processing unit 30c displays a print setting screen on the display operation unit 26, and notifies the print generation information set on the print setting screen to the job generation unit 31b of the job management unit 31.

  The job management unit 31 manages print jobs. The job management unit 31 includes a state management unit 31a, a job generation unit 31b, a performance management unit 31c, and the like. The state management unit 31a analyzes the JMF message received from the JMF transmission / reception unit 32a of the JMF communication control unit 32, acquires the state information of the printer 20, and notifies the state display processing unit 30b of the UI unit 30 of the state information. At the same time, the result management unit 31c is notified. The job generation unit 31 b generates a print job based on the print setting information received from the print setting processing unit 30 c of the UI unit 30 and notifies the JMF generation unit 32 b of the JMF communication control unit 32. The result management unit 31 c manages the results of print jobs generated by the job generation unit 31 b and transmitted to the printer 20 based on the status information of the printer 20 acquired from the state management unit 31 a. The information managed by the result management unit 31c includes the work time of the print job, the work cost (real cost), the worker (person in charge), and the like.

  The JMF communication control unit 32 communicates with the printer controller 21 via a network. The JMF communication control unit 32 includes a JMF transmission / reception unit 32a, a JMF creation unit 32b, and the like. In communication with the printer controller 21, the JMF transmission / reception unit 32 a is responsible for communication such as transmission of a print job or JMF message acceptance response, reception of a JMF message, and the like. The JMF creation unit 32b adds JMF information to the print job received from the job generation unit 31b of the job management unit 31, and notifies the JMF transmission / reception unit 32a.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration and schematic operation of the printer controller 21. The printer controller 21 includes a UI unit 40, a job management unit 41, a JMF communication control unit 42, a drawing processing unit 43, a print engine control unit 44, and the like, and processes a print job.

  The UI unit 40 provides a UI for job processing. The UI unit 40 includes a UI processing unit 40a, a status display processing unit 40b, a history display processing unit 40c, and the like. The UI processing unit 40a controls the state display processing unit 40b and the history display processing unit 40c. The status display processing unit 40 b displays a status display screen on the display operation unit 26 based on the status information of the printer 20 received from the status management unit 41 a of the job management unit 41. The history display processing unit 40 c displays a history display screen and a retransmission instruction screen on the display operation unit 26.

  The job management unit 41 manages print jobs. The job management unit 41 includes a state management unit 41a and the like. When the status management unit 41a receives a print job from the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42, the status management unit 41a transfers the print job to the drawing processing unit 43, manages the status of the printer 20, and stores the status information of the printer 20 in the UI. The status display processing unit 40b of the unit 40 is notified. In addition, when the status management unit 41 a receives a JMF message acceptance response from the JMF transmission / reception unit 42 a, the status management unit 41 a updates the status of the printer 20 and notifies the status display processing unit 40 b of the UI unit 40 of the status information of the printer 20. Further, when receiving the instruction information for resending the JMF message from the history display processing section 40 c of the UI section 40, the instruction information is notified to the JMF creating section 42 b of the JMF communication control section 42.

  The JMF communication control unit 42 communicates with the print management system 11 via a network. The JMF communication control unit 42 includes a JMF transmission / reception unit 42a, a JMF creation unit 42b, a JMF storage unit 42c, and the like. In communication with the print management system 11, the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a is responsible for communication such as reception of a print job or JMF message acceptance response, transmission / retransmission of a JMF message, and the like. When this JMF message is transmitted, a transmission trigger is set. The JMF creation unit 42b creates a JMF message according to an instruction from the state management unit 41a of the job management unit 41, notifies the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a, and notifies the JMF storage unit 42c. The JMF storage unit 42c stores the JMF message received from the JMF creation unit 42b in the storage unit 25 or the like when the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a instructs the storage of the JMF message. Further, the JMF storage unit 42c deletes the JMF message from the storage unit 25 or the like when the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a is instructed to delete the JMF message.

  The drawing processing unit 43 converts the print job received from the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 into rasterized data. Specifically, intermediate data (display list (DL: Display List), which is an intermediate language) is generated from a print job, and each page of the document is rasterized to generate bitmap format image data. The drawing processing unit 43 performs screen processing, gradation correction, density balance adjustment, thinning, halftone processing, and the like on the image data as necessary. Then, the drawing processing unit 43 transfers the generated image data to the print engine control unit 44.

  The print engine control unit 44 transfers the image data received from the drawing processing unit 43 to the print engine 28 to execute the printing process.

  1 to 4 show an example of the system according to the present embodiment. As long as the information communication control according to the present embodiment can be realized, the configuration and control of each device can be changed as appropriate. For example, in FIG. 4, the printer controller 21 is included in the printer 20, but the printer controller 21 may be a separate device from the printer 20.

  Next, the printing process of the system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  The print management system 11 transmits a print job to the printer controller 21 by a JMF SubmitQueueEntry message. This print job includes, for example, JDF (Job Definition Format) print setting information and PDF (Portable Document Format) document data.

  When a print job is registered in the printer controller 21, the printer controller 21 transmits a JMF Signal Status message as shown in FIG. 9 to the print management system 11. This Signal Status message is transmitted when the work status changes, when a certain amount of work has progressed, or when a certain time has passed, and so on. Here, Signal Status when setup is completed (Status = Setup), printing is started (Status = InProgress, PercentCompleted = 0%, Amount0), and printing is in progress (Status = InProgress, PercentCompleted = 10% to 90%, Amount100 to 900) Indicates a message.

  When the printing is completed, the printer controller 21 transmits a JMF Signal Status message as shown in FIG. 10 to the print management system 11. For the Signal Status message when this printing is completed (Status = Completed) (if necessary, Status = Aborted Signal Status message when printing is interrupted), check whether there is an acceptance response from the print management system 11, and the network down When there is no acceptance response due to the above, the Signal Status message is stored in the printer controller 21.

  When the print management system 11 cannot collect the JMF Signal Status message at the time of printing completion (when printing is interrupted if necessary) due to a network down or the like (when there is no acceptance response from the print management system 11), The printer controller 21 displays a re-send instruction screen as shown in FIG. 12, and when the re-send instruction is given by the user on the re-send instruction screen, the printer controller 21 displays the saved print completion (necessary If necessary, resend the Signal Status message (when printing is interrupted). For other signal status messages (when setup is complete, when printing starts, and during printing), there is no confirmation of acceptance response.

  Then, the print management system 11 records the performance information (at least one of the number of sheets passed, the number of damaged sheets, the number of printed pages, the color setting, the operator, and the working time) set in the Signal Status message when printing is completed. Based on the results, the actual value is calculated and recorded as a cost, and a work result screen as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the printer controller 21 of this embodiment will be described. The CPU 22 reads out the information communication control program stored in the ROM 23 or the storage unit 25, develops it in the RAM 24, and executes it, thereby executing the processing of each step shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 6 shows the operation during the printing process. First, when receiving a print job from the print management system 11 (S101), the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 sets a JMF Signal Status transmission trigger (S102). The JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 transfers the received print job to the drawing processing unit 43. The drawing processing unit 43 converts the received print job into rasterized data, which is sent to the print engine 28 via the print engine control unit 44. Forward. When the print engine 28 starts printing (S103), the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 monitors the generation of the transmission trigger (S104), and when the transmission trigger occurs (Yes in S104), Signal Status message transmission processing is executed (S105). This Signal Status message transmission process will be described later. Thereafter, the state management unit 41a of the job management unit 41 determines whether printing by the print engine 28 has been completed (S106). If printing has not been completed (No in S106), the process returns to S104 and the same processing is performed. repeat.

  FIG. 7 shows the details of the signal status message transmission processing in S105 of FIG. First, the status management unit 41a of the job management unit 41 acquires the job processing status from the print engine 28 (S201), and the JMF creation unit 42b of the JMF communication control unit 42 determines the JMF signal based on the job processing status. A Status message is created (S202). Next, the state management unit 41a of the job management unit 41 determines whether the job is completed (S203). If the job is not completed (No in S203), the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 Transmits a Signal Status message of Status = InProgress to the print management system 11 (S204). On the other hand, when the job is completed (No in S203), the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 transmits a Signal Status message of Status = Completed to the print management system 11 (S205). Then, the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 determines whether an acceptance response has been received from the print management system 11 (or whether it has been confirmed that the Signal Status message has reached the print management system 11 by the communication protocol). (S206) If the acceptance response has not been received (or if it cannot be confirmed that the Signal Status message has arrived at the print management system 11) (No in S206), the JMF storage unit 42c of the JMF communication control unit 42 determines that the Status = Signal Status message of Completed is stored in the storage unit 25 or the like (S207). Note that in the above flow, the acceptance response was confirmed and saved for the Status = Completed Signal Status message sent when the job was completed, but the Status = Aborted Signal sent when the job was interrupted. The acceptance response may be confirmed and saved for the Status message.

  FIG. 8 shows an operation when a stored Signal Status message of Status = Completed is retransmitted. When retransmission of the Signal Status message is instructed on the retransmission instruction screen displayed by the history display processing unit 40c of the UI unit 40, the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 stores the saved Status = Completed. The Signal Status message is read from the storage unit 25 or the like (S301), and the Signal Status message is transmitted to the print management system 11 (S302). Then, the JMF transmission / reception unit 42a of the JMF communication control unit 42 determines whether an acceptance response has been received from the print management system 11 (or whether it has been confirmed that the Signal Status message has reached the print management system 11 by the communication protocol). (S303) If no acceptance response has been received (or if it cannot be confirmed that the Signal Status message has arrived at the print management system 11) (No in S303), such as “could not be sent” to the display operation unit 26. A message is displayed to notify the user of retransmission failure (S304). On the other hand, if an acceptance response has been received (or if it has been confirmed that the Signal Status message has arrived at the print management system 11) (Yes in S303), the JMF storage unit 42c of the JMF communication control unit 42 has been stored. The Signal Status message of Status = Completed is deleted from the storage unit 25 or the like (S305).

  The JMF Signal Status message and the screen displayed on the print management system 11 or the printer controller 21 will be specifically described below.

  FIG. 9 is an example of a JMF Signal Status message during printing. The worker ID (PersonID) is set in the Employee element “Employee” shown in bold. The progress status of the job is set in the xml element “JobPhase” shown in bold. “Status” indicated by an underline indicates the current state, and states such as Setup, InProgress, Completed, and Aborted are set. “Amount” indicates the number of sheets used. “JobID” and “JobPartID” indicate job numbers set by the print management system 11. “PercentCompleted” indicates the progress rate. “StartTime” indicates a printing start time. “ColorCounter” indicates the number of color print pages. “MonochromeCounter” indicates the number of monochrome print pages.

  FIG. 10 is an example of a JMF Signal Status message when printing is completed. Compared with the Signal Status message in the middle of printing in Fig. 9, the "Status" in the "JobPhase" xml element is Completed, and values such as "Amount", "ColorCounter", and "MonochromeCounter" are actual work values. It becomes.

FIG. 11 is a screen displayed on the print management system 11, FIG. 11A is an example of a work result screen 50 that displays a work result when printing is not completed, and FIG. It is an example of the work performance screen 51 which displays the work performance of. The actual value is set based on the actual information in the Signal Status message when printing is completed. In this example, the actual cost is calculated as follows based on the cost table of labor cost: \ 3,000 / h, paper: \ 1 / sheet, color click: \ 4 / side, mono click: \ 1 / side. Yes.
(3000 × 10/60 + 1 × 1000 + 4 × 2000 + 1 × 0 = 9500)

  FIG. 12 is an example of a retransmission instruction screen 52 that is displayed when the printer controller 21 instructs the retransmission of the Signal Status message when printing is completed. On this re-transmission instruction screen 52, a list of Signal Status messages at the completion of printing stored in S207 of the flowchart of FIG. 7 is displayed. Association with a job of the print management system 11 is performed by “JobID” and “JobPartID”, and a re-transmission is instructed by checking the corresponding message and pressing a re-send button.

  As described above, the printer 20 analyzes the communication protocol and receives an acceptance response from the print management system 11 when transmitting the Signal Status message when printing is completed to the print management system 11. It is determined whether the print management system 11 has received the signal status message at the time of completion of printing. If the print management system 11 has not received the signal status message at the time of completion of printing, the signal status message is saved, and then saved. By re-sending the signal status message, the signal status message at the completion of printing is displayed even if a network trouble such as a network failure occurs without changing the existing print management system 11. 11 can appropriately notify the print management system 11 that the Signal Status at the completion of printing The work results can be accurately managed based on the result information included in the message.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the configuration of the system and the control method thereof can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the printer controller 21 controls retransmission of the JMF Signal Status message has been described. However, in the configuration in which the printer controller 21 is included in the printer 20, the control unit of the printer 20 has the JMF Signal. The information communication control method of the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where the retransmission of the Status message is controlled.

  The present invention is used for an information communication control program for controlling retransmission of performance information when the performance information cannot be transmitted due to a network trouble, a recording medium recording the information communication control program, an information communication control method, and a printer controller. Is possible.

10 Computer Device 11 Print Management System 12 CPU
13 ROM
14 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Memory | storage part 16 Display part 17 Operation part 18 Communication I / F part 20 Printer 21 Printer controller 22 CPU
23 ROM
24 RAM
25 storage unit 26 display operation unit 27 communication I / F unit 28 print engine 30 UI unit 30a UI processing unit 30b status display processing unit 30c print setting processing unit 31 job management unit 31a status management unit 31b job generation unit 31c results management unit 32 JMF communication control unit 32a JMF transmission / reception unit 32b JMF creation unit 40 UI unit 40a UI processing unit 40b Status display processing unit 40c History display processing unit 41 Job management unit 41a Status management unit 42 JMF communication control unit 42a JMF transmission / reception unit 42b JMF creation unit 42c JMF storage unit 43 Drawing processing unit 44 Print engine control unit 50 Work result screen (incomplete)
51 Work results screen (completed)
52 Re-send instruction screen

Claims (30)

Information communication control that includes a print management system and a printer, and that operates in the printer or a printer controller that controls the printer in a system that collects work results in the print management system based on periodic status notification messages from the printer A program,
In the printer or the printer controller,
A transmission step of transmitting the status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing;
A determination step of determining whether the print management system has received a specific status notification message;
A storage step of storing the specific status notification message in a storage unit when it is determined that the print management system has not received the specific status notification message;
Retransmitting the saved specific status notification message to the print management system;
An information communication control program characterized by that. In the determination step, when the acceptance response from the print management system is received, or when it is confirmed that the specific status notification message has arrived at the print management system by a communication protocol, the print management system Determining that the specific status notification message has been received;
The information communication control program according to claim 1. In the retransmission step, a list of the specific status notification messages stored is displayed on a display unit, and the specific status notification message selected from the list is retransmitted to the print management system.
The information communication control program according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above. In addition to the printer or the printer controller,
A second determination step of determining whether the print management system has received the retransmitted specific status notification message;
A deletion step of deleting the specific status notification message from the storage unit when the print management system determines that the retransmitted specific status notification message has been received;
The information communication control program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein In the determination step, the print management system does not determine whether a status notification message other than the specific status notification message has been received.
The information communication control program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The specific status notification message is a status notification message transmitted when printing is completed.
The information communication control program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The specific status notification message is a Signal Status message whose status is Completed or Aborted in a JMF (Job Messaging Format) Signal Status message.
The information communication control program according to claim 6. The other status notification message is a status notification message transmitted during printing.
The information communication control program according to claim 5. The other status notification message is a Signal Status message with a Status of Setup or InProgress in a JMF (Job Messaging Format) Signal Status message.
The information communication control program according to claim 8. An information communication control method in a system including a print management system and a printer, and collecting work results in the print management system based on a periodic status notification message from the printer,
The printer or the printer controller that controls the printer is
A transmission step of transmitting the status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing;
A determination step of determining whether the print management system has received a specific status notification message;
A storage step of storing the specific status notification message in a storage unit when the print management system determines that the specific status notification message has not been received;
Retransmitting the stored specific status notification message to the print management system; and
An information communication control method characterized by the above. In the determination step, when the acceptance response from the print management system is received or when it is confirmed that the specific status notification message has arrived at the print management system by a communication protocol, the print management system Determining that the specific status notification message has been received;
The information communication control method according to claim 10. In the retransmission step, a list of the specific status notification messages stored is displayed on a display unit, and the specific status notification message selected from the list is retransmitted to the print management system.
12. The information communication control method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The printer or the printer controller further includes:
A second determination step of determining whether the print management system has received the retransmitted specific status notification message;
Deleting the specific status notification message from the storage unit when the print management system determines that the retransmitted specific status notification message has been received;
The information communication control method according to claim 10, wherein the information communication control method is a control method. In the determination step, the print management system does not determine whether a status notification message other than the specific status notification message has been received.
14. The information communication control method according to claim 10, wherein the information communication control method is any one of claims 10 to 13. The specific status notification message is a status notification message transmitted when printing is completed.
15. The information communication control method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein The specific status notification message is a Signal Status message whose Signal Status is Completed or Aborted in a JMF (Job Messaging Format) Signal Status message.
The information communication control method according to claim 15. The print management system uses one or more pieces of information of the number of sheets passed, the number of damaged sheets, the number of printed pages, the color setting, the worker, and the working time in the status notification message transmitted when the printing is completed. Record actual results related to printing,
The information communication control method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The other status notification message is a status notification message transmitted during printing.
The information communication control method according to claim 14. The other status notification message is a Signal Status message with a Signal Status of Setup or InProgress in a JMF (Job Messaging Format) Signal Status message.
The information communication control method according to claim 18. The print management system monitors the progress of print processing using a status notification message transmitted during printing.
20. The information communication control method according to claim 18 or 19, The print management system is a MIS (Managed Information System).
The information communication control method according to any one of claims 10 to 20, wherein A printer controller that controls the printer in a system that includes a print management system and a printer and collects work results in the print management system based on a periodic status notification message from the printer;
A transmission / reception unit that transmits the status notification message to the print management system at a predetermined timing, and determines whether the print management system has received a specific status notification message;
A storage unit that stores the specific status notification message in a storage unit when it is determined that the print management system has not received the specific status notification message;
The transmission / reception unit retransmits the stored specific status notification message to the print management system;
A printer controller characterized by that. When the transmission / reception unit receives an acceptance response from the print management system, or when it is confirmed that the specific status notification message has arrived at the print management system by a communication protocol, the print management system Determining that the specific status notification message has been received;
The printer controller according to claim 22. A UI (User Interface) unit that displays a list of the stored specific status notification messages on a display unit;
The transmission / reception unit retransmits the specific status notification message selected from the list to the print management system;
24. The printer controller according to claim 22 or 23. The transmission / reception unit determines whether the print management system has received the retransmitted specific status notification message;
The storage unit deletes the specific status notification message from the storage unit when it is determined that the print management system has received the retransmitted specific status notification message.
The printer controller according to claim 22, wherein the printer controller is a printer controller. The transmission / reception unit does not determine whether the print management system has received a status notification message other than the specific status notification message;
The printer controller according to any one of claims 22 to 25. The specific status notification message is a status notification message transmitted when printing is completed.
The printer controller according to claim 22, wherein the printer controller is a printer controller. The specific status notification message is a Signal Status message whose status is Completed or Aborted in a JMF (Job Messaging Format) Signal Status message.
28. The printer controller according to claim 27. The other status notification message is a status notification message transmitted during printing.
27. The printer controller according to claim 26. The other status notification message is a Signal Status message with a Status of Setup or InProgress in a JMF (Job Messaging Format) Signal Status message.
30. The printer controller according to claim 29.

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