JP2022114227A - Information processing device, method of controlling the same, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To allow an operator to work efficiently.SOLUTION: An information processing device is provided, comprising acquisition means configured to acquire the status of an image forming device available for executing a print job, and notification control means configured to provide control to generate notification if the status acquired by the acquisition means matches a predetermined status, where the notification control means is configured to generate notification in different modes between when the predetermined status relates to a print job being executed and when the predetermined status relates to a print job on standby.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method for an information processing device, and a program.

Unlike printers for office use, digital printers used for production printing are installed in a dedicated area, and are used separately for black-and-white and color printing, and for distributed printing of large volumes of printed matter. Digital printers do not require time and effort such as changing plates, and it is not uncommon for one operator to manage a plurality of printers. Also, a print job can be submitted remotely from the operator's client computer. The operator is often not near the printer except when collecting printed matter after printing is completed, or when working to restore the printer from a state in which it cannot operate for some reason. Therefore, in order for the operator to know the status of the printer from a distance, the operator is notified of the occurrence of an error, paper jam, out of paper, etc. during printing by means of the indicator lamp unit. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 describes predicting a supply shortage during job execution and displaying a warning by estimating the required supply amount from the content of a print job and comparing it with the current supply amount. ing.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-333695

As described above, in production printing, a single operator often manages a plurality of digital printers. Therefore, in order to increase the operation rate of digital printers, there is a demand for further efficiency improvement in operator's work. The conventional technology only provides notification of print jobs that are being executed, and cannot provide notification of print jobs that are waiting. Therefore, the operator may not be able to anticipate the future.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to enable an operator to work efficiently.

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires a state of an image forming apparatus capable of executing a print job, and a notification that controls to make a notification when the state acquired by the acquisition unit is a predetermined state. and a control means, wherein the notification control means controls notification depending on whether the predetermined state is related to a print job being executed or when the predetermined state is related to a print job waiting to be executed. It is characterized by different modes.

According to the present invention, the operator can work efficiently.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an image forming system; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming system; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of an operation screen. 6 is a flowchart showing notification control processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a print job management table; It is a figure which shows an example of a setting screen. 9 is a flowchart showing communication control processing according to the second embodiment;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the image processing apparatus is a multi-function printer (hereinafter referred to as printer 100) capable of scanning document paper, printing documents, and transmitting images. The image forming system comprises a plurality of printer units 106, 107, 108 and a plurality of client computers 103, 104, which are interconnected via a local network 105. FIG. Although there are a plurality of printer units 106, 107, and 108 in FIG. Also, although there are a plurality of client computers 103 and 104, there may be only one.

In the production print market, such as high-mix low-volume printing at print shops and in-house printing at large companies, as shown in FIG. By using a plurality of printer units 106, 107, and 108, it is possible to selectively use color printing and black-and-white printing, and to shorten the print production time by distributed printing of a large number of print jobs. Since the printer units 106, 107, 108 and the client computers 103, 104 have the same configuration, the printer unit 106 and the client computer 103 will be described below.

The printer unit 106 is composed of a printer 100 , a display lamp unit 101 corresponding to this printer 100 , and a print server 102 corresponding to this printer 100 . The printer 100 is capable of executing print jobs. A print job is a process of printing specified image data in a specified manner. The print server 102 is a controller that manages print jobs of the printer 100 . The client computer 103 is a computer used by an operator who manages the image forming system, and instructs the printer 100 to execute a print job via the print server 102 based on an input operation from the operator. In the production print market as described above, there are many cases where a single operator manages a plurality of printers 100 .

The indicator unit 101 is a device for notifying the status of the printer 100, and has an indicator LED 231 (FIG. 2) that lights and blinks light and a warning sound so that an operator at a distance from the printer 100 can also be notified. and a warning sound buzzer 232 (FIG. 2) that emits the The display LED 231 has a plurality of colors, and is controlled by the printer 100 to light or blink in different colors according to the state of the printer 100 . Specifically, the display LED 231 has three color LEDs, a red LED 111, a yellow LED 112, and a green LED 113, and the red LED 111, the yellow LED 112, and the green LED 113 are arranged in this order from top to bottom. . Note that the color scheme and arrangement of the display LEDs 231 are an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

The client computer 103 generates print job data and transmits it to the print server 102 . The print server 102 performs processing (for example, RIP (RIP: Raster Image Processing) processing) for converting image data of the received print job data so that the printer 100 can output the data. After that, the print server 102 adds attributes related to imposition and finishing processing to the print job data and transmits the data to the printer 100 . Further, the print server 102 has a function of saving and reusing a print job printed by the printer 100 and an image processing function such as color conversion.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming system according to this embodiment. First, the printer 100 will be described.
The printer 100 includes a printer controller 200 that controls the printer 100 as a whole, a printing device 212 , a scanning device 213 , and an operation unit 214 . The printer controller 200 has a CPU 201 , ROM 202 , RAM 203 , HDD (hard disk) 204 , control system I/F 205 , printer I/F 207 , scanner I/F 208 , operation unit I/F 209 , and image data I/F 211 . These various devices are interconnected by a system bus 206 . The CPU 201 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 206 based on control programs stored in the ROM 202 or HDD 204 .

The ROM 202 stores control programs and the like executable by the CPU 201 . The RAM 203 mainly functions as a main memory, a work area, etc. for the CPU 201, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The HDD 204 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, and various other data. Although the HDD 204 is used in this embodiment, an SD card or an external storage device such as a flash memory may be used instead of the HDD 204 .

The control system I/F 205 performs communication processing with the control system I/F 225 of the print server 102 under the control of the CPU 201 and receives information necessary for image formation from the print server 102 . Furthermore, the control system I/F 205 performs communication processing with the network I/F 234 of the indicator light unit 101 under the control of the CPU 201 and transmits control commands for controlling the indicator light unit 101 to the indicator light unit 101 . A printer I/F 207 connects the printing device 212 to the printer controller 200 and outputs image data to the printing device 212 under the control of the CPU 201 . The printing device 212 prints image data, that is, forms an image. A scanner I/F 208 connects the scanning device 213 to the printer controller 200 and provides image data from the scanning device 213 to the CPU 201 .

An operation unit I/F 209 connects the operation unit 214 to the printer controller 200 and controls input/output with the operation unit 214 under the control of the CPU 201 . The operation unit 214 includes an input unit 215 and a display unit 216 , and the CPU 201 performs input control of the input unit 215 and display control of the display unit 216 . The image data I/F 211 performs communication processing with the image data system I/F 227 of the print server 102 under the control of the CPU 201 and receives image data from the print server 102 for printing by the printing device 212 .
When the printer 100 communicates with devices on the local network 105 , the printer 100 relays the communication through the print server 102 . In this case, the printer 100 uses the control system I/F 205 to transmit and receive data.

Next, the indicator lamp unit 101 will be described.
The indicator light unit 101 includes a display LED 231, a warning sound buzzer 232, an indicator light unit controller 233 that controls the entire indicator light unit 101, and a network I/F 23.
4. The network I/F 234 performs communication processing with the control system I/F 205 of the printer 100 under the control of the indicator unit controller 233, and receives control commands for controlling the display LED 231 and the warning sound buzzer 232 from the printer 100. do. The indicator light unit controller 233 controls the operation of the indicator LED 231 and the warning sound buzzer 232 according to control commands received from the printer 100 . Specifically, the indicator light unit controller 233 controls the lighting/blinking color and the blinking interval of the display LED 231 according to the control command. The indicator light unit controller 233 also controls transmission of a warning sound from the warning sound buzzer 232 according to the control command. This allows the operator to identify the state of the printer 100 based on the state of the indicator lamp unit 101. FIG.

Next, the print server 102 will be explained.
The print server 102 includes a print server controller 220 that controls execution of print jobs on the printer 100 . The print server controller 220 performs processing necessary for executing a print job in the printer 100, such as analysis of input print job data and development into image data. The print server controller 220 has a CPU 221 , ROM 222 , RAM 223 , HDD 224 , control system I/F 225 , image data system I/F 227 and network I/F 228 . These various devices are interconnected by system bus 226 . The CPU 221 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 226 based on control programs stored in the ROM 222 or HDD 224 .

The ROM 222 stores a print job management software program (to be described later), a control program executable by the CPU 221, and the like. The RAM 223 mainly functions as a main memory, work area, etc. for the CPU 221, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The HDD 224 stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edit files, and various other data. Although the HDD 224 is used in this embodiment, an SD card or an external storage device such as a flash memory may be used instead of the HDD 224 .

The control system I/F 225 performs communication processing with the control system I/F 205 of the printer 100 under the control of the CPU 221 and transmits information necessary for image formation to the printer 100 . The control system I/F 225 is also used when sending/receiving print job data to/from the printer 100 . The image data system I/F 227 performs communication processing with the image data I/F 211 of the printer 100 under the control of the CPU 221 and transmits image data for printing by the printing device 212 to the printer 100 . A network I/F 228 performs data communication with devices on the local network 105 via a network cable.
As described above, print server 102 relays communication between printer 100 and local network 105 . In this case, the print server 102 uses the control system I/F 225 to transmit and receive data. That is, print server 102 functions like a network bridge.

Finally, the client computer 103 will be explained.
The client computer 103 has a CPU 241 , a ROM 242 , a RAM 243 , an HDD 244 , a network I/F 246 , a keyboard/mouse I/F 247 , a display I/F 248 and an image input I/F 249 . These various devices are interconnected by a system bus 245 . The CPU 241 comprehensively controls access to various devices connected to the system bus 245 based on control programs stored in the ROM 242 or HDD 244 .

The ROM 242 stores a program for print job management software, which will be described later, as well as control programs that can be executed by the CPU 241 . The RAM 243 mainly functions as a main memory, work area, etc. for the CPU 241, and is configured such that the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The HDD 244 stores various data in addition to the boot program. Although the HDD 244 is used in this embodiment, an SD card or an external storage device such as a flash memory may be used instead of the HDD 244 .

A network I/F 246 performs data communication with devices on the local network 105 via a network cable. The keyboard/mouse I/F 247 connects the keyboard/mouse 251 to the client computer 103 . The CPU 241 controls key input and coordinate/click input from the mouse via the keyboard/mouse I/F 247 . A display I/F 248 connects the display 252 to the client computer 103 . The CPU 241 performs display control of the display 252 . An image input I/F 249 connects an image input device 253 such as a camera to the client computer 103 . The CPU 241 controls input of image data from the image input device 253 .

FIG. 3 shows an example of an operation screen 301 displayed on the display 252 when the client computer 103 operates the print job management software. In this embodiment, all the client computers 103 and 104 and the print server 102 connected to the local network 105 can also operate the print job management software. An operator of the image forming system can use the operation screen 301 to check the status of print jobs managed by the print server 102 and the status of the printer 100 .

Various information is displayed in each display area of the operation screen 301 in FIG. A print server list display area 302 and a consumables display area 304 are provided on the left side of the screen. A printing job list 303, a RIP processing job list 305, and a printed job list 306 are displayed in the center of the screen. It is also possible to select a print job displayed in these job lists and edit setting information such as changing the number of copies to be printed and finishing processing. A job output destination confirmation button 307 is provided at the bottom right of the screen. When an arbitrary job in the job list is selected and the job output destination confirmation button 307 is pressed, it is possible to confirm the print output destination printer of the selected job by the indicator lamp unit 101 .

In this embodiment, the client computer 103 operates print job management software to generate print job data based on an operation from the operation screen 301 in FIG. The print job data includes a job ID of the print job, image data, and setting information used when printing the image data. The setting information includes, for example, settings for monochrome/color printing, settings for finishing processes such as stapling and trimming (cutting), settings for paper size and paper type, and settings for the number of copies to be printed. The client computer 103 accepts input of generated print job data based on an operation from the operation screen 301 in FIG. The input print job data is transmitted to the print server 102 .

Next, the flow of processing executed by the image forming system will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of notification control processing in which the printer 100 according to this embodiment performs notification control based on the status of the printer 100 using the indicator unit 101 . The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 4 is realized by the CPU 201 of the printer 100 reading out a control program stored in the HDD 204 or the like into the RAM 203 and executing the control program. In the following description, notation of each process (step) is omitted by adding S to the beginning of each process (step).

First, as a prerequisite for executing the processing of the flowchart of FIG. The status of the printing device 212 includes, for example, the remaining amount of consumables such as toner, the amount of paper loaded on a tray, and the progress of a print job. The CPU 201 receives a status change notification from the printing device 212 when there is a change in the status of the printing device 212 . The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 4 is executed each time the CPU 201 receives a status change notification from the printing device 212 . Note that the CPU 201 may periodically inquire of the printing device 212 about the status of the printing device 212 and receive a response to the inquiry from the printing device 212 as a status change notification.

First, in S401, the CPU 201 determines whether the state of the printer 100, that is, the state of the printing device 212 has changed. Specifically, the CPU 201 acquires information about the state of the printing device 212 and determines whether or not the state has changed from the previous state held in the previous S402.
The CPU 201 repeats the determination in step S401 until it determines that the state of the printer 100 has changed, and if it determines that the state has changed, the CPU 201 stores the state of the printer 100 in the RAM 203 or the like in step S402. The held state is used to confirm the state change when a state change notification is received from the printing device 212 next time. The CPU 201 stores, as the state of the printer 100, for example, the remaining amount of consumables such as toner and staples, the empty capacity of the collection box for collected toner, staple waste, and cutting waste, and the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed stage. memorize to The CPU 201 also updates the job status of the print job management table stored in the ROM 202 or the like based on the information about the status of the printing apparatus 212 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print job management table. Upon receiving the print job data from the print server 102, the printer 100 stores the received print job data in the HDD 204 or the like and registers it in the management table. This management table records the job ID of the print job and the job status (executing, waiting for execution). By using the job ID of this management table, the CPU 201 can acquire the setting information of the print job being executed or the print job waiting to be executed.

Next, in S403, the CPU 201 transmits a control command to the indicator lamp unit 101 to turn off the indicator LED 231 and turn off the warning sound buzzer 232. FIG. As a result, the state of the indicator lamp unit 101 is once reset.
Next, in S404, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the operator's support is immediately required (operator call) based on the information acquired in S401. For example, an operator call refers to a faulty condition such as a paper jam or an improperly closed cover. If the CPU 201 determines that an operator call is in progress (Yes in S404), the process proceeds to S405.
In S405 and S406, the CPU 201 transmits a control command to the indicator lamp unit 101 to cause the red LED 111 to flash and to cause the warning buzzer 232 to emit a buzzer sound. That is, the printer 100 notifies that an error has occurred during an operator call. After that, the processing of this flowchart ends.

If the CPU 201 determines in the process of S404 that the operator is not calling (No in S404), the process proceeds to S407.
In step S<b>407 , the CPU 201 determines whether or not an unfinished print job (print job in execution, print job waiting for execution) exists in the management table of FIG. 5 . If the CPU 201 determines that there is an unfinished print job (Yes in S407), the process advances to S408.
In S408, the CPU 201 transmits a control command to the indicating lamp unit 101 to cause the green LED 113 to blink. That is, the printer 100 notifies that it is in a printing state when a print job exists.

Next, in step S409, the CPU 201 determines that the state of the printer 100 is a state (warning state) in which the execution of the print job is not immediately interrupted but operator assistance is required (warning state), and that the warning state indicates that the print job is being executed. Determine whether or not they are related. The warning state is, for example, a state in which the remaining amount of consumables such as toner or staples is less than a predetermined standard amount, or a state in which the free space in the collection box for collected toner, staple waste, cutting waste, etc. is less than a predetermined standard amount ( near-full state), a state in which the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed stage is equal to or less than a predetermined reference amount. For example, if the remaining amount of black toner is low and the print job being executed is set to black-and-white printing, continuing printing will cause the remaining amount of black toner to become low. determined to be associated with a print job in progress.

Details of S409 will be described below using Table 1 above. Table 1 is a correspondence table showing correspondence relationships between warning types representing types of warning states and print job settings related to the warning types, and is stored in the HDD 244 or the like. First, when the printer 100 is in a warning state, the CPU 201 reads out the correspondence table of Table 1 and identifies print job settings related to the corresponding warning type. Next, the CPU 201 acquires the setting information of the print job being executed, and determines whether or not the acquired setting information of the print job is the setting of the identified print job.

In the process of S409, if the CPU 201 determines that the printer 100 is in the warning state and that the warning state is related to the print job being executed (Yes in S409), it is determined that the warning state is related to the print job being executed. , the process proceeds to S410.
In S410, the CPU 201 transmits a control command to the indicating lamp unit 101 to cause the yellow LED 112 to flash rapidly. After that, the processing of this flowchart ends.
If the CPU 201 determines in the process of S407 that there is no unfinished print job (No in S407), the process proceeds to S411.
In S411, the CPU 201 transmits a control command to the indicating lamp unit 101 to turn on the green LED 113. That is, when the printer 100 is in a printable standby state, the printer 100 notifies that it is in a print standby state. After that, the processing of this flowchart ends.

Also, in the process of S409, if the CPU 201 determines that the printer 100 is not in the warning state or the warning state is not related to the print job being executed (No in S409), the process proceeds to S412.
At S412, the CPU 201 determines whether the printer 100 is in a warning state and the warning state is associated with a print job waiting to be executed. Specifically, when the printer 100 is in a warning state, the CPU 201 reads out the correspondence table of Table 1 and identifies print job settings related to the corresponding warning type. Next, the CPU 201 acquires the setting information of the print job waiting to be executed, and determines whether or not the acquired setting information of the print job is the setting of the specified print job. Note that if there are a plurality of print jobs waiting to be executed, the setting information of the plurality of print jobs is acquired, and it is determined whether or not there is a print job having the settings of the specified print job.

In the process of S412, if it is determined that the printer 100 is in a warning state and the warning state is related to a print job waiting to be executed (Yes in S412), it is determined that the warning state is related to the print job waiting to be executed. , the process proceeds to S413. On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of S412 that the printer 100 is not in a warning state or that the warning state is not related to the print job waiting for execution, the processing of this flowchart ends without lighting or blinking the indicator lamp unit 101. do.

In S413, the CPU 201 transmits a control command to the indicating lamp unit 101 to cause the yellow LED 112 to blink slowly. As a result, the operator can determine whether the warning state is related to the print job currently being executed or the warning state related to the print job waiting to be executed, depending on whether the yellow LED 112 of the indicator light unit 101 is blinking quickly or slowly. can be distinguished and recognized.
As shown in the above flowchart, in the first embodiment, when the printer 100 notifies a warning state (warning notification), the printer 100 may notify the print job in progress and the waiting print job. Control is performed so that the mode of notification is different depending on whether it is related or not.

According to the first embodiment as described above, it is possible to notify not only the warning of the print job currently being executed but also the warning of the print job waiting to be executed. Therefore, the operator can also grasp the work related to the print job waiting to be executed, and can work efficiently.

As a first modification of the first embodiment, instead of the blinking interval of the yellow LED 112, another method may be used to vary the manner of notification. Examples of methods for changing the manner of notification include changing the lighting/blinking color and changing the blinking pattern (blinking time interval, etc.).

Further, as a second modification of the first embodiment, the notification may be performed by other means instead of the display LED 231 of the indicator light unit 101 and the warning sound buzzer 232 . For example, it may be notified by voice transmission using a speaker (not shown) or by character display using a display panel (not shown). Alternatively, a method of notifying the terminal device carried by the operator via the local network 105 may be used. In this case, information that can identify which printer 100 the notification is from is also notified.

Further, in the third modification of the first embodiment, the subject of the notification control processing is the printer 100, but the subject of the notification control processing may be another device connected to the printer 100, such as the print server 102. . In this case, the other device is notified of the status of the printer 100, and the indicator lamp unit 101 is controlled by the other device that has received the notification. Further, although the print job management software is operated on the client computer 103, it may be operated on the print server 102 by connecting a display and a keyboard.

As a fourth modification of the first embodiment, the printer 100 and the print server 102 are separated, but the functions of the print server 102 may be incorporated into the printer 100 to form a single housing.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, if there is even one print job waiting for execution related to the warning state, the indicator unit 101 is used to notify the user. However, some operators may receive premature notification if there is time to spare before the pending print job associated with the warning condition is executed. Therefore, in the second embodiment, among the print jobs waiting to be executed, a warning notification related to a print job whose execution is started within a predetermined period of time is issued, but a warning notification of a print job whose execution is not started within the predetermined period of time is not issued. . In the following, the same configuration as in the first embodiment will not be described again.

FIG. 6 shows a setting screen 601 for the operator to set the waiting time until the start of execution for starting the warning notification. The CPU 201 of the printer 100 displays the setting screen 601 on the display unit 216 of the printer 100. FIG. In a text box 602 of the setting screen 601, the waiting time until the start of the warning notification can be entered in minutes. When the OK button 603 on the setting screen 601 is pressed, the CPU 201 of the printer 100 stores the entered value in the HDD 244 as the waiting time. Note that the setting screen 601 may be displayed on the display 252 of the client computer 103 . In that case, the entered values are provided to printer 100 via local network 105 . In the present embodiment, the operator sets the waiting time until the start of the warning notification, but a default value may be used instead.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of notification control processing in which the printer 100 according to this embodiment performs notification control based on the status of the printer 100 using the indicator unit 101 . 7, S701 to S711 are the same as S401 to S411 in FIG. 4, and S412 to S413 in FIG. 4 are replaced with S712 to S716. Therefore, S712 to S716 will be explained, and the explanation of other processes (steps) will be omitted.

In the process of S709, if the CPU 201 determines that the printer 100 is not in the warning state or the warning state is not related to the print job being executed (No in S709), the process advances to S712.
In S712, the CPU 201 determines whether the print job being executed is the final job. If the CPU 201 determines that the print job is the final job (Yes in S712), the processing of this flowchart ends assuming that there is no print job waiting for execution. When the CPU 201 determines that the job is not the final job (No in S712), it is determined that there is a print job waiting for execution, and the process advances to S713.

In step S<b>713 , the CPU 201 calculates the waiting time until the start of execution of the print job waiting for execution. For example, in the case of a print job scheduled to be executed next (the first print job), the time required for printing the print job currently being executed is estimated and set as the waiting time. The CPU 201 makes a prediction based on the setting of the paper size/paper type of the print job, the setting of the number of copies to be printed, and the like. In the case of the second print job, the waiting time is determined by estimating the sum of the time required for printing the print job being executed and the time required for printing the first print job. As described above, the CPU 201 calculates the waiting time until the start of execution of each print job waiting for execution by adding the time required for the preceding print job.

Next, in S714, the CPU 201 compares the waiting time calculated in S713 with the setting value of the waiting time stored in the HDD 244, and determines whether the calculated waiting time is within the setting value (within the predetermined time). do. A print job for which the CPU 201 determines that the waiting time is within the set value is processed after S715, and a print job for which the waiting time is determined to be outside the set value is not processed after S715. . If there is no print job to be processed after S715, the processing of this flowchart ends.
The processing of S715 and S716 is the same as the processing of S412 and S413 of FIG.
As shown in the above-described flowchart, in the second embodiment, the printer 100 issues a warning notification related to print jobs that satisfy predetermined conditions among print jobs waiting to be executed, but does not notify print jobs that do not satisfy the predetermined conditions. is controlled so that the warning notification is not performed.

According to the second embodiment as described above, even if the printer 100 is in the warning state and there is a print job waiting to be executed related to the warning state, the print job is not executed until the execution of the print job is started. If there is time to spare, no notification will be made. This allows the operator to recognize the notification at a convenient time. Therefore, the operator can work more efficiently.

In the second embodiment described above, the condition (predetermined condition) for whether to blink or extinguish the yellow LED 112 is that the waiting time until the corresponding print job is started is within a predetermined time. Not limited. For example, the number of pages to be printed before the print job is started may be within a predetermined value. Further, for example, the same effect can be obtained even if the number of other print jobs to be executed before the start of execution of the relevant print job is within a predetermined value.

As described above, the present invention has been described together with the embodiments, but the above-described embodiments merely show specific examples for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not construed in a limited manner. It should not be. That is, the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from its technical concept or main features.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by processing to It can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

100: Printer, 101: Indicator Unit, 102: Print Server, 103: Client Computer, 231: Indicator LED

Claims (12)

acquisition means for acquiring a state of an image forming apparatus capable of executing a print job;
notification control means for controlling to perform notification when the state acquired by the acquisition means is a predetermined state;
The notification control means is characterized in that the notification mode differs depending on whether the predetermined state relates to a print job being executed or when the predetermined state relates to a print job waiting to be executed. information processing equipment. further comprising storage means for storing print job settings related to the predetermined state for each type of the predetermined state;
The notification control means specifies print job settings according to the type of the predetermined state based on the information stored in the storage means, 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the specified print job is set. the information processing device is connected to an indicator lamp corresponding to the image forming device;
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said notification control means performs control so that notification is made using said indicator lamp. The notification control means controls, depending on whether the predetermined state is related to a print job being executed or the predetermined state is related to a print job waiting to be executed, a color in which the indicator lights up or blinks; 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein at least one of blinking patterns of said indicator lamp is different. The predetermined state includes a state in which the amount of consumables in the image forming apparatus is equal to or less than a predetermined reference amount, a state in which the amount of free space in a recovery box for consumables in the image forming apparatus is equal to or less than a predetermined reference amount, and a state in which the amount of paper in a paper feed tray is equal to or less than a predetermined reference amount. 5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the remaining amount of battery is in at least one of states below a predetermined reference amount. The notification control means controls to perform notification of a print job that satisfies a predetermined condition among the print jobs waiting to be executed, and not to perform notification of a print job that does not satisfy the predetermined condition. 6. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information processing apparatus controls. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined condition is that a waiting time until execution is started is within a predetermined time. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined condition is that the number of pages to be printed before the execution is started is within a predetermined value. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined condition is that the number of other print jobs to be executed before the start of execution is within a predetermined value. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is the image forming apparatus. A control method for an information processing device,
an obtaining step of obtaining a state of an image forming apparatus capable of executing a print job;
A notification control step for controlling to perform notification when the state obtained by the obtaining step is a predetermined state,
The notification control step is characterized in that the notification mode differs depending on whether the predetermined state is related to a print job being executed or when the predetermined state is related to a print job waiting to be executed. A control method for an information processing device. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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