JP4222173B2 - Image forming apparatus information management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus information management system.

  Conventionally, by operating a program called a status monitor on a computer, an image forming apparatus connected to the computer (= a printer or a multifunction device having a printer function as one function) (for example, online / offline, (Busy, errors, etc.) are monitored and managed. Also, by running a program called a maintenance tool on the computer, maintenance information (for example, the remaining amount of toner or ink, the remaining amount of recording paper, and the drum replacement time) of the image forming apparatus connected to the computer is managed. It has also been done.

  These status monitors and maintenance tools all operate locally, but in an environment where multiple computers are connected via a network, the status and maintenance information of the image forming apparatus as described above are displayed. There has been a desire to manage collectively from a specific computer (for example, an administrator terminal used by an administrator).

  In response to such a request, Patent Document 1 below acquires various types of information from a local printer in a computer connected to a local printer, and provides the acquired information to other computers connected via a network. Technology is disclosed.

More specifically, in Patent Document 1, the state of the image forming apparatus is monitored, and when the state is changed, the changed state is immediately acquired from the image forming apparatus, and the acquired information is transmitted via the network. Trap processing to be provided (notified) to other connected computers (see, for example, paragraphs [0075] to [0077] in Patent Document 1 below), and other computers connected via a network have requested information provision In this case, request response processing (for example, Patent Document 1 below) that immediately acquires the state of the image forming apparatus at that time from the image forming apparatus and provides the acquired information to another computer connected via the network. [0078] to [0081] are disclosed.
JP 2000-293324 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when providing information to another computer by trap processing, and when providing information in response to a request from another computer by request response processing, In any case, the latest information at that time is immediately acquired from the image forming apparatus. For this reason, when a response is not returned from the image forming apparatus for a long time, there is a problem that information provision to other computers is delayed.

  More specifically, as a method for acquiring information from the image forming apparatus, a command described in a printer job language (PJL) is given to the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus side There is known a method of reading back information returned from the. When information is acquired from the image forming apparatus by such a method, the PJL command given to the image forming apparatus is handled as one print job, and therefore, once entered in the queue, the image formation is performed in the same manner as other print jobs. Output to the device. Therefore, when a large number of print jobs are queued first, the PJL command is not given to the image forming apparatus until the output processing of all the queued print jobs is completed. As a result, the response to the PJL command is not returned from the image forming apparatus for a long time, which causes a problem that information provision to other computers is delayed.

  In addition, when the image forming apparatus is busy due to an error such as running out of paper, the print job is held in the queue and the PJL command handled as one print job is also queued. It will be put on hold. As a result, the response is not returned from the image forming apparatus for a long time, and the provision of information to other computers is delayed.

  That is, even if the latest information is immediately acquired from the image forming apparatus, there is a possibility that the image forming apparatus does not return a response for a long time. There has been a problem that information regarding this cannot always be provided promptly to the requester.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus information management system capable of providing information relating to an image forming apparatus to a requester more quickly than in the past. There is.

Hereinafter, a characteristic configuration employed in the present invention will be described in detail.
An image forming apparatus information management system according to the present invention includes:
Each time a print job for outputting data to the image forming apparatus is generated, the print job is queued and temporarily stored, and one or more print jobs queued are sequentially processed to each of the print jobs. A system that operates on a computer including a print job processing unit that sequentially outputs data corresponding to a print job to the image forming apparatus, manages image forming apparatus information that is information about the image forming apparatus, and requests An image forming apparatus information management system that provides the image forming apparatus information in response to a request from the source,
Information storage means capable of storing the image forming apparatus information;
Information output request means for requesting the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information when the number of print jobs queued is equal to or less than a predetermined number;
Information acquisition means for acquiring the image forming apparatus information output by the image forming apparatus in response to a request from the information output request means;
Information recording means for writing the image forming apparatus information acquired by the information acquisition means into the information storage means;
And an information providing unit that provides the request source with the image forming apparatus information read from the information storage unit when requested by the request source.

  In the image forming apparatus information management system, the information output requesting unit requests the image forming apparatus to output image forming apparatus information when the number of queued print jobs becomes a predetermined number or less. When the image forming apparatus outputs the image forming apparatus information in response to the request from the information output request unit, the information acquisition unit acquires the image forming apparatus information, and the information recording unit stores the acquired image forming apparatus information. Write to information storage means. That is, each of these units operates with an operation start condition that the number of queued print jobs is equal to or less than a predetermined number, and stores image forming apparatus information in the information storage unit.

  When there is a request from the request source, the information providing unit reads the image forming apparatus information from the information storage unit, and provides the read image forming apparatus information to the request source. That is, the information providing unit does not request the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information, but provides the image forming apparatus information read from the information storage unit to the request source.

  Therefore, according to this image forming apparatus information management system, even when the image forming apparatus information cannot be quickly acquired from the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus information can be quickly read from the information storage unit. When there is a request from the request source, it is possible to quickly provide information to the request source. Further, since the image forming apparatus information stored in the information storage means is acquired from the image forming apparatus when the number of queued print jobs is equal to or less than a predetermined number, a large number of prints exceeding the predetermined number are printed. In the situation where there are jobs, information is not acquired from the image forming apparatus, and a large amount of time is not spent for acquiring information from the image forming apparatus, and a large number of print jobs are being processed. In addition, there is no load for information acquisition.

  By the way, the timing at which the information output requesting unit requests the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information is when the number of queued print jobs is equal to or less than the predetermined number. May be set as appropriate assuming the time required to process one print job. However, as the predetermined number is increased, the time taken to acquire information from the image forming apparatus tends to increase, and even if there is only one print job, it takes a lot of time to process the print job. Therefore, if it is important to complete information acquisition more quickly, the smaller the predetermined number, the better.

  For example, the information output request unit may request the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information when the number of print jobs in the queue becomes zero. In this case, there is no case where information cannot be acquired for a long time by including one large print job which requires time for processing. If this configuration is employed in a situation where the number of queued print jobs does not readily become zero, the information output request unit cannot request the image forming apparatus to output image forming apparatus information. In order to avoid this, the predetermined number may be set to 1 or 2 or more.

  The information output request unit monitors the number of print jobs that the print job processing unit is outputting data to the image forming apparatus, and when the output is completed, the number of print jobs is less than a predetermined number. If so, it is desirable to request the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to request the image forming apparatus to output image forming apparatus information without overlooking the timing when the number of print jobs decreases as the output ends. Accordingly, even when a new print job is generated when a short time has elapsed after the number of print jobs is reduced, it is possible to reliably request the image forming apparatus to output image forming apparatus information. In particular, when output of the monitored print job is completed, if there is no next print job to be processed by the print job processing means, the output of the image forming apparatus information to the image forming apparatus is performed. In this case, since there is one large print job that takes time to process, information cannot be acquired for a long time.

  Further, the information output requesting unit is configured to notify the image forming apparatus when the number of print jobs queued becomes equal to or less than a predetermined number and when a preset time is reached. The image forming apparatus information may be requested to be output.

  In this case, when the preset time is reached, the image forming apparatus is requested to output image forming apparatus information. Therefore, even in an environment where the number of print jobs queued does not fall below a predetermined number, there is an opportunity to save image forming apparatus information in the information storage unit regardless of the number of print jobs. Can be provided.

  In addition, the request source may be client software that operates on another computer capable of data communication via a network with a computer on which the system operates, and the request source may be a computer on which the system operates. It may be client software that operates above. In either case, when there is a request from the client software side, it is possible to quickly provide information to the client software. In particular, in the former case, information can be provided to client software running on other computers, so this system can be installed on multiple computers connected to a network, and images acquired on each of these multiple computers. Forming apparatus information is provided to client software of one computer corresponding to the other computer, and information on image forming apparatuses connected to each of the plurality of computers is collectively managed by the one computer. can do.

  Further, a specific method when the information output requesting unit issues a request to the image forming apparatus is not particularly limited. As one method, for example, the information output requesting unit is based on a printer job language (PJL). The described command is given to the image forming apparatus as the request, and the information acquisition unit acquires the image forming apparatus information by repeating a data reading process until the image forming apparatus information is output. I can think of a method. In this case, in order to acquire the image forming apparatus information composed of a plurality of items, if the request by the information output request unit and the information acquisition by the information acquisition unit are repeated for a plurality of items for each item, The waiting time until information acquisition for a request can be shortened.

  Further, the information output requesting unit requests the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information at a first time set in advance, and the request source includes the first time. It is desirable that the image forming apparatus information be requested to be provided at a second time that is later than the second time.

  In this case, since the information output requesting unit requested the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information at the first time, it is considered that the image forming apparatus information is normally updated thereafter. Therefore, if the request source requests the provision of the image forming apparatus information at the second time that is later than the first time, the image forming apparatus information just updated can be provided to the request source. Increases nature.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus information management system capable of providing information relating to an image forming apparatus to a request source more quickly than in the past.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a network system in which a plurality of personal computers are connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network). The image forming apparatus information management system exemplified as an embodiment of the present invention is configured as a system that operates on the personal computers 1, 1 ′, 1 ′..., And responds to requests from the personal computer 2. The printer information of the printers 3, 3 ', 3 "... connected to 1', 1" ... is provided to the personal computer 2. The personal computer 2 includes the personal computers 1, 1 ', .. Is acquired, and printer information of the printers 3, 3 ′, 3 ″,... Connected to the personal computers 1, 1 ′, 1 ″,. In the following description, the personal computer 2 that manages printer information is referred to as a management PC 2, and the personal computers 1, 1 ′, 1 ″,... Managed by the management PC 2 are referred to as managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″,.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the managed PC 1 includes a control unit 101 mainly composed of a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, and the like, and an I / F unit 102 for connecting the control unit 101 and various devices. A main body unit 11, an input unit 12 such as a keyboard and a pointing device, a display unit 13 such as a display, and an auxiliary storage unit 14 such as a hard disk. The main body 11 is equipped with Windows (registered trademark) as an OS (Operating System), and has input / output functions such as keyboard input, screen output, communication commands to the network I / F / printer I / F, and queue control. Basic functions commonly used by applications, such as hard disk and memory management, are provided by the OS and operate on the CPU 111. The I / F unit 102 of the main unit 11 includes a LAN I / F 114 such as a LAN card, USB (Universal Serial Bus), in addition to the I / F with the input unit 12, the display unit 13, and the auxiliary storage unit 14 described above. A printer I / F 115 such as a port or a parallel port is provided. The managed PC 1 is connected to the LAN via a LAN cable connected to the LAN I / F 114, and is connected via a printer cable connected to the printer I / F 115. The management PC 1 and the printer 3 are connected. The managed PC 1 is installed with software for realizing a function of acquiring printer information from the printer 3 connected to the managed PC 1 and providing the printer information to the management PC 2. This software is installed on the CPU 111. The printer information acquisition unit 124 operates.

The managed PCs 1 ′, 1 ″,... Are configured in the same manner as the managed PC 1 and have the same functions as the managed PC 1. Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.
The management PC 2 is basically configured in the same manner as the managed PC 1 and includes a main body unit 21, an input unit 22, a display unit 23, an auxiliary storage unit 24, and the like. The main body unit 21 includes Windows as an OS. (Registered trademark) is installed. This management PC 2 requests the computers on the network such as the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... To provide information regarding the printers 3, 3 ′, 3 ″. In response to the request, software for realizing a function of collectively managing printer information provided from other computers is installed.

  The printers 3, 3 ', 3 "... are managed printers to be managed by the management PC 2. These printers 3, 3', 3" ... are all compatible with a printer job language (PJL). It is a thing. PJL is a command language that enables various functions of the printer 3 to be controlled, and is a well-known language that was developed by Hewlett-Packard and later adopted by other companies.

  Next, processing of the printer information acquisition unit 124 executed in the managed PC 1 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This process is started when the managed PC 1 is activated. This process is executed in the same way on the managed PCs 1 ′, 1 ″..., But the description will be continued here taking the process executed on the managed PC 1 as an example.

  When this process is started, the managed PC 1 first creates a list of local printers (S101). In this process, all the printers connected to the managed PC 1 (in this embodiment, the printer 3) are registered in the list. Subsequently, a printer is extracted from the list created in the process of S101 (S103), and a processing thread corresponding to the extracted printer is created (S105). The processes in S103 and S105 are repeated a number of times corresponding to the total number of printers registered in the list (S107: NO). As a result, in addition to this processing, processing in the same number of processing threads as the total number of printers is executed in parallel. In the case of this embodiment, since only one printer 3 is connected to the managed PC 1, one processing thread is newly created in the processing of S105. In the newly created processing thread, printer information (for example, the remaining amount of toner or ink, the remaining amount of recording paper, the drum replacement time, etc.) is acquired from the target printer of each processing thread, and a database (hereinafter referred to as DB) is obtained. The process of recording in the result file 133 in the auxiliary storage unit 14 is abbreviated, and the details of the process will be described later.

  When the same number of processing threads as the total number of printers are created (S107: YES), the setting time is read from the setting file 134, the time until the setting time is calculated (S109), and the time calculated in the processing of S109. Is set in the timer (S111). The setting file 134 is a file stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14, and the setting time arbitrarily set by the administrator is recorded in the setting file 134. This timer generates a timer event when the time calculated in the process of S109 elapses after the process of S111.

  Subsequently, the managed PC 1 waits for the occurrence of a related event (S113). If the generated event is a printer addition event (S115: YES), the printer is added to the list (S117), and the added printer is added. A corresponding processing thread is created (S119). The printer addition event is an event that occurs when, for example, a known plug-and-play function is used to detect whether the printer is turned on or a cable is inserted. Since the occurrence of this printer addition event indicates that a newly available printer has been added, the processing thread corresponding to the target printer is created by the process of S119, and thus equivalent to the processing thread created in the process of S105. Add a processing thread to perform the process. When the process of S119 is completed, the process returns to S113.

  On the other hand, if the event that has occurred is not a printer addition event as a result of the determination in S115 (S115: NO), if the event that has occurred is a timer event (S121: YES), read / DB processing 2 is executed. (S123). The timer event generated here is due to the processing of S109 and S111 described above. In the reading / DB conversion process 2 in S123, a process of acquiring the status from all the printers connected to the managed PC 1 and recording it in the database (DB) is performed. Details of the process will be described later. Then, the timer is set to 24 hours (S125), and after 24 hours, a timer event occurs again, and the process returns to S113.

  As a result of the determination in S121, if the event that has occurred is not a timer event (S121: NO), the process ends if the event that has occurred is an end instruction event (S127: YES). The end instruction event is an event that occurs when the user performs a predetermined end operation using the input unit 12. On the other hand, if it is not an end instruction event (S127: NO), the process returns to the process of S113 and again waits for the occurrence of a related event. That is, when the managed PC 1 is in an operating state, this process does not end unless the user performs an end operation, and this process continues to be executed as a resident process on the managed PC 1.

  Next, processing of processing threads (hereinafter referred to as thread processing) created in the processes of S105 and S119 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As described above, the same number of thread processes as the total number of printers connected to the managed PC 1 are executed in parallel, and each of the plurality of thread processes is a thread process corresponding to one printer.

  When this thread processing is started, the managed PC 1 waits for the occurrence of a printer-related event (S201). If the generated event is a printer deletion event (S203: YES), the printer is deleted from the list (S205), This thread process ends. The printer deletion event is an event that occurs when the printer power OFF or cable disconnection is detected. Since the occurrence of this printer deletion event indicates that the printer that has been available so far has been deleted, an unnecessary processing thread corresponding to the target printer is terminated by the processing of S205.

  On the other hand, if the generated event is not a printer deletion event in the process of S203 (S203: NO), if the generated event is a print end event (S207: YES), the printer corresponding to this thread process is output. Are listed (S209). Specifically, information (print job information) related to the print job put in the queue 131 at the time of processing in S209 is acquired by the printer information acquisition unit 124 from the queue control function unit 123 (see FIG. 2) of the OS. And be listed. The queue 131 is an aggregate in which print jobs requested for one printer are stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14 (or RAM 113) and are managed in order by the OS. Then, the number of jobs is counted with reference to the listed print job information (S211), and it is checked whether the number of jobs is equal to or less than a set value N (S213).

  In the present embodiment, the setting value N is set to 0, and it is checked whether or not the number of jobs is 0 in the processing of S213. The specific procedure for checking whether or not the number of jobs is 0 is most basically just to check whether or not the number of print job information listed in step S209 is zero. However, in the case of this embodiment, the print job information listed in the process of S209 includes an item called job status. When transmission of output data is completed in one print job, the job status is set to “Sent already”. Is set, and then the print job information itself is erased at a predetermined timing managed on the OS side. Therefore, even if there is only one print job information listed in the process of S209, if the information “sent” is set in the job status in the print job information, the corresponding job already exists. It can be regarded as not. Therefore, in the processing of S213 in the present embodiment, the job status in the print job information is “Send” even when the number of print job information listed is 0, as well as when the number of print job information is 1. If it is “completed”, it is determined that the number of jobs is zero.

  In the process of S213, when the number of jobs is equal to or less than the set value N (S213: YES), the read / DB conversion process 1 is executed (S215). The reading / DB conversion processing 1 in S215 is the processing shown in detail in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the reading / DB conversion processing 1 is started, the managed PC 1 first starts exclusive control for the printer targeted by this processing (S301). Here, the exclusive control is for preventing the processing for the same printer from being performed simultaneously from another thread or another process. If processing for the printer has already been performed, the exclusive control fails and an error is returned, so this processing is terminated as it is. That is, the subsequent processing is executed only when exclusive control for the target printer can be performed. If the exclusive control is successful, the target printer is opened (S303).

  Subsequently, the command is extracted from the command file 132 (S305), and the command is transmitted to the target printer (S307). The command file 132 is a file stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14, and the command file 132 includes a plurality of commands (for example, for checking the remaining amount of toner or ink) described in the printer job language (PJL). Command, a command for checking the remaining recording paper, a command for checking the drum replacement time, etc.) are recorded. In the process of S305, one command is extracted from the plurality of commands. In the process of S307, the extracted command is transmitted to the target printer. The data transmitted in this process is passed to the queue control function unit 123 of the OS by the printer information acquisition unit 124, and as one print job. After being put in the queue 131 and processed in the same manner as a normal print job, it is passed to the printer I / F function unit 121 (see FIG. 2) by the OS queue control function unit 123 and output to the printer side. . In addition, the part which performs the process of S307 in the managed PC 1 corresponds to the information output request means in the present invention.

  Subsequently, information (printer information) transmitted from the target printer is received (S309). The process of S309 is a process of reading back printer information returned from the printer side on the managed PC 1, but a more specific processing method differs depending on the target printer. For example, when the target printer is connected via a parallel I / F, the printer information acquisition unit 124 first checks whether there is information returned to the managed PC 1 side through the printer I / F function unit 121 of the OS. Thereafter, when the information exists, the information is received. If the target printer is connected via the USB I / F, the printer information acquisition unit 124 first receives information through the printer I / F function unit 121 of the OS, and the amount of information is 0. In such a case, the information reception is repeated again. However, in any case, since some data is finally received, it is checked whether or not the data is valid data (S311). If the data is not valid data (S311: NO), the process of S309 is performed again. If it is valid data (S311: YES), the printer information received from the printer is written in the DB (result file 133) (S313). As a result of the process of S313, the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14 records response information corresponding to the request for one command requested to the target printer by the process of S307. become. The portion of the managed PC 1 that executes the processing of S309 to S311 corresponds to the information acquisition means referred to in the present invention, and the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14 is the information referred to in the present invention. The portion corresponding to the storage means and executing the processing of S313 in the managed PC 1 corresponds to the information recording means referred to in the present invention.

  These processes of S305 to S313 are repeatedly executed until the end of all commands (S315: NO). In this iterative process, in the process of S305, a plurality of commands recorded in the command file 132 are extracted in order. When all of the plurality of commands are processed (sent to the printer side), all commands are finished (S315: YES). As a result, response information corresponding to requests for all commands requested to the target printer is recorded in the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14. Thereafter, the exclusive control of the target printer is ended (S317), the target printer is closed (S319), and this process is ended.

  When the processes of S301 to S319 described above are completed, the process of S215 (read / DB conversion process 1) illustrated in FIG. 4 is completed, and thereafter, the process returns to the process of S201. If the number of jobs counted in the process of S211 exceeds the set value N (S213: NO), the process of S215 is not executed and the process returns to S201 as it is.

  Therefore, in the thread processing described above, when there is a printer that can be used, the processing is started after the processing thread corresponding to the printer is created, and the processing is terminated when the printer deletion event occurs. Become. Then, every time a print end event occurs between the start and end of the process, the number of print jobs is checked. If the number of print jobs is equal to or less than the set value N, printer information is obtained from the target printer. Is written in the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14.

  If the number of print jobs is checked each time a print end event occurs in this way, it is more difficult to overlook the timing when the number of print jobs takes the set value N or less than when the number of print jobs is checked regardless of the occurrence of the print end event. This increases the chance of acquiring printer information from the target printer. In the case of the present embodiment, since the setting value N = 0, only when the number of print jobs becomes 0, the printer information is acquired from the target printer by the process of S215. For this reason, it takes no time to acquire printer information from the target printer because a print job that takes time to complete the printing process is queued first.

  By the way, the information recording to the DB (result file 133) by the thread processing is performed only when the number of print jobs becomes 0 as described above. Therefore, theoretically, print jobs are generated continuously. In such an environment, the number of print jobs does not easily become zero, and as a result, it may happen that information is not recorded in the DB (result file 133) only by the thread processing. However, in this system, in addition to this thread processing, the processing of S109 to S111 and S121 to S125 is also executed, so that when the preset installation time is reached, the DB (result file 133) Information recording is to be implemented.

  More specifically, as described above, in the present system, a timer event is generated when the set time arrives by the processes of S109 and S111. If a timer event occurs, the process of S123 ( Reading / DB conversion processing 2) is executed. More specifically, the process of S123 is as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the reading / DB conversion process 2 is started, the managed PC 1 first extracts a printer from the list (S401), counts print jobs having the extracted printer as an output destination (S403), and whether the number of jobs is 0 or not. Is checked (S405). The processes in S403 and S405 may be performed by a method equivalent to the processes in S211 and S213 described above.

  If the number of jobs is not 0 as a result of the determination in S405 (S405: NO), read / DB conversion process 1 is executed (S407), and then the process proceeds to S409, while the number of jobs is 0. If there is (S405: YES), the process proceeds to S409 without executing the read / DB conversion process 1 of S407.

  Since the reading / DB conversion processing 1 in S407 is the same processing as the processing in S215 described above (specifically, the processing in S301 to S319), detailed description thereof is omitted here, but as in the processing in S215. The printer information is acquired from the target printer, and the printer information is written in the DB (result file 133) secured in the auxiliary storage unit 14. As described above, the reading / DB conversion process 1 is executed when the number of jobs is not 0, because information is recorded in the DB (result file 133) by this process even in an environment where the number of print jobs is not 0. It is. On the other hand, when the number of jobs is 0, reading / DB conversion processing 1 is not executed because information recording by the thread processing described above should be performed when the number of jobs becomes 0. This is because it is considered that there is no change in the state of the target printer thereafter.

  Since the reading / DB conversion processing 1 is executed in a state where there is a print job, when a PJL command is transmitted, the print job generated along with the print job is the print job previously stored in the queue 131. Appended to the end of Therefore, the subsequent readback data is not returned until all the print jobs previously accumulated in the queue 131 are completed.

  If the process for all the printers on the list is not completed when the process proceeds to S409 (S409: NO), the process returns to S401. As a result, the processing of S401 to S409 is repeated the same number of times as the total number of printers connected to the managed PC 1, and then the processing for all the printers on the list is completed (S409: YES), so this processing is terminated. .

  As described above, in the managed PC 1, when the print end event occurs, if the number of print jobs is equal to or less than N (0 in this embodiment), the process of S215 is executed, and the target printer quickly On the other hand, every time the set time arrives, even if the number of print jobs does not become N or less (0 in this embodiment), the process of S407 is executed and the target printer is surely connected to the printer. Information is acquired.

Next, processing executed in the management PC 2 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This process is started when the management PC 2 is activated.
When this processing is started, the management PC 2 first executes data processing (S601). This data processing is processing for using on the management PC 2 side the printer information acquired by the managed PC 1 from the printer 3 and recorded in the DB by the processing in the managed PC 1 described above. It becomes processing as shown in.

  In this process, first, the management PC 2 extracts managed PCs (S701). In the process of S701, one managed PC to be processed is extracted from the plurality of managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... Here, it is assumed that the managed PC 1 has been extracted. Subsequently, the management PC 2 reads a file from the managed PC over the network (S703), and the file read here is received from the printer in the process of S313 by the managed PC 1 described above. This file is a DB (result file 133) in which the printer information is written, and this file has an attribute that allows reading from other PCs over the network on the managed PC 1 side. When there is a request from the management PC 2, the printer information read from the DB of the auxiliary storage unit 14 is provided to the management PC 2. Is configured to allow, this configuration is equivalent to the information providing means of the present invention.

  Subsequently, in order to convert the printer information included in the read file into a format suitable for management on the management PC 2 side, or to make a form suitable for display and printing on the management PC 2 side, Data processing is performed on the printer information (S705). More specifically, processing for adding information managed on the management PC 2 side (for example, log information such as the start time of this processing and file access time), on / off of bits in the data of read processing, and numerical codes A process of converting the information indicated by the item into visible information such as a symbol, an image, or a message is performed. Next, it is determined whether or not the above processing has been performed for all managed PCs (S707), and if there are other managed PCs (for example, managed PCs 1 ′, 1 ″...) That have not performed the above processing remaining (S707). : NO), the process returns to S701, and the same process is performed for other managed PCs.

  When the above processing is performed for all managed PCs (S707: YES), the information processed by the processing of S705 is output to a file in the auxiliary storage unit 24 or displayed on the display unit 23. (S709). By this processing, the printer information of the printer 3 can be displayed on the management PC 2 side, and the operation history of the past printer 3 can be managed by referring to the file in the auxiliary storage unit 24 later. . Note that the display on the display unit 23 can be terminated by the user performing a predetermined operation using the input unit 22, thereby terminating the present process.

  When the processing of S701 to S709 is completed in this way, the processing of S601 in FIG. 7 is finished, and the management PC 2 reads the investigation setting time from the setting file (S603), and the investigation setting time comes next. The time until is calculated and the calculated time is set in the timer (S605). The setting file is a file stored in the auxiliary storage unit 24, and the setting time of investigation set by the administrator is recorded in the setting file. The timer generates a timer event when the time calculated in the process of S605 has elapsed after the process of S605.

  Subsequently, the management PC 2 waits for the occurrence of a related event (S607). If the generated event is a timer event (S609: YES), the timer is set to 24 hours (S611), and the timer event is again 24 hours later. The data processing is executed (S613). This data processing is the same as the processing of S601 described above, and the processing is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 in detail. However, since this processing has already been described, description thereof is omitted here.

  If the event that has occurred is not a timer event as a result of the determination in S609 (S609: NO), the user performs a predetermined operation using the input unit 22 to manually start the data processing. If the instruction is issued (S615: YES), the data processing is also executed in this case (S613).

  Furthermore, when the result of determination in S615 is that the user has not manually activated (S615: NO), or when the data processing in S613 has been completed, if the event that has occurred is an end instruction event (S617: YES), this process ends. The end instruction event is an event that occurs when the user performs a predetermined end operation using the input unit 22. On the other hand, if it is not an end instruction event (S617: NO), the process returns to the process of S607 and again waits for the occurrence of a related event. That is, when the management PC 2 is in an operating state, this process will not be completed unless the user performs a termination operation, and this process will continue to be executed as a resident process on the management PC 2.

  In the present embodiment, the survey setting time set by the process of S605 is about 10 minutes later than the time set in the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... By the process of S111 described above. When such a time is set on the management PC 2 side, a timer event occurs on the management PC 2 side after about 10 minutes after a timer event occurs on the managed PC 1, 1 ′, 1 ″. It can be expected that there is a high possibility that the printer information is updated to the latest state on the managed PC 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... When the setting is made so that timer events occur almost simultaneously on the "... side and the management PC 2 side, or the managed PC 1, 1 ', 1" ... side on the management PC 2 side When the management PC 2 side reads the file on the managed PC 1, 1 ', 1 "... side, the file on the managed PC 1, 1', 1" ... side is updated. In this case, there is a high possibility that the printer information acquired on the management PC 2 side is not necessarily the latest state, but if configured as in this embodiment, the managed PCs 1, 1 ′, After the file on the 1 "... side is updated, the file on the managed PC 1, 1 ', 1" ... side is read from the management PC 2 side, so the printer information acquired on the management PC 2 side is in the latest state. The possibility is high.

  As described above, according to this image forming apparatus information management system, even if the managed PC 1 cannot quickly acquire printer information from the printer 3, it can be retrieved from the DB (result file 133) of the auxiliary storage unit 14. Since the printer information can be read quickly, the printer information can be promptly provided to the request source when a request is received from the management PC 2 as the request source. That is, the managed PC 1 asynchronously processes the process of acquiring printer information from the printer 3 and the process of providing printer information in response to a request from the management PC 2, so that the printer in response to a request from the management PC 2 The printer information can be provided more quickly than the system in which the printer information is acquired from No. 3 and the acquired printer information is provided to the management PC 2.

  In the managed PC 1, the printer information stored in the DB of the auxiliary storage unit 14 is normally acquired from the printer 3 when the number of print jobs stored in the queue 131 becomes zero. In a situation where there is even one job, information is not acquired from the printer 3, and a large amount of time is not spent in acquiring information from the printer 3, and several print jobs are processed. During this time, there is no load for acquiring printer information.

  Further, the managed PC 1 monitors the number of print jobs that are outputting data to the printer 3, and if the number of print jobs is 0 when the print end event is generated, Therefore, even if a new print job is generated when a short time has elapsed after the number of print jobs reaches zero, the printer 3 is surely output to the printer 3. You can request information output.

  Furthermore, since the number of print jobs placed in the queue 131 becomes 0 as described above, the printer 3 is requested to output printer information at a preset time. Even in an environment where the number of print jobs queued in the queue 131 does not become zero, there is an opportunity to save the printer information in the DB of the auxiliary storage unit 14 regardless of the number of print jobs. be able to.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said specific one Embodiment, In addition, it can implement with a various form.
For example, in the above embodiment, the requester of the printer information is client software that operates on the management PC 2 that can perform data communication with the managed PC 1 that operates this system via the network. The client software that operates in parallel as a separate process on the management PC 1, 1 ′, 1 ″... May be the request source. Even in this case, when there is a request from the client software side, Prompt provision of information is possible.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the hardware illustrated in the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of managed PC. It is a flowchart of the main process in a managed PC. 6 is a flowchart of thread processing in a managed PC. It is a flowchart of the reading / DB conversion processing 1 in the managed PC. It is a flowchart of the reading / DB conversion processing 2 in the managed PC. It is a flowchart of the main process in management PC. It is a flowchart of the data processing in management PC.

Explanation of symbols

  1, 1 ', 1 "... managed PC (personal computer), 2 ... management PC (personal computer), 3, 3', 3" ... printer, 11, 21 ... main body, 12, 22 ... input unit, 13, 23 ... display unit, 14, 24 ... auxiliary storage unit, 101 ... control unit, 102 ... I / F unit, 111 ... CPU, 112... ROM, 113... RAM, 121... Printer I / F function unit, 122... LAN I / F function unit, 123. , 131... Queue, 132... Command file, 133... Result file (database), 134.

Claims (10)

Each time a print job for outputting data to the image forming apparatus is generated, the print job is queued and temporarily stored, and one or more print jobs queued are sequentially processed to each of the print jobs. A system that operates on a computer including a print job processing unit that sequentially outputs data corresponding to a print job to the image forming apparatus, manages image forming apparatus information that is information about the image forming apparatus, and requests An image forming apparatus information management system that provides the image forming apparatus information in response to a request from the source,
Information storage means capable of storing the image forming apparatus information;
Information output request means for requesting the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information when the number of print jobs queued is equal to or less than a predetermined number;
Information acquisition means for acquiring the image forming apparatus information output by the image forming apparatus in response to a request from the information output request means;
Information recording means for writing the image forming apparatus information acquired by the information acquisition means into the information storage means;
An image forming apparatus information management system comprising: information providing means for providing the image forming apparatus information read from the information storage means to the request source when requested by the request source. . The information output requesting unit requests the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information when the number of print jobs queued in the queue becomes zero. The image forming apparatus information management system described in 1. The information output requesting unit monitors the number of print jobs that the print job processing unit is outputting data to the image forming apparatus, and the number of the print jobs is less than a predetermined number when the output is completed. The image forming apparatus information management system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus information is requested to be output to the image forming apparatus. When output of the monitored print job is completed, if there is no print job to be processed next by the print job processing means in the queue, the image forming apparatus is requested to output the image forming apparatus information. The image forming apparatus information management system according to claim 3. In addition to when the number of print jobs queued in the queue is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the information output requesting unit also notifies the image forming apparatus of the image. The image forming apparatus information management system according to claim 1, wherein output of the forming apparatus information is requested. The image according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the request source is client software that operates on another computer capable of data communication via a network with a computer on which the present system operates. Forming device information management system. The image forming apparatus information management system according to claim 1, wherein the request source is client software that operates on a computer on which the system operates. The information output requesting unit gives a command described in a printer job language (PJL) to the image forming apparatus as the request,
8. The information acquisition unit according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires the image forming apparatus information by repeating data reading processing until the image forming apparatus information is output. Image forming apparatus information management system. 9. The image forming apparatus information including a plurality of items is obtained by repeating the request by the information output request unit and the information acquisition by the information acquisition unit for each item for a plurality of items. Image forming apparatus information management system. The information output requesting unit requests the image forming apparatus to output the image forming apparatus information at a first time set in advance, and
The request source is configured to request provision of the image forming apparatus information at a second time that is later than the first time. The image forming apparatus information management system according to claim 9.

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