JP5029426B2 - Job execution system, job providing apparatus, job execution apparatus, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique in which a job execution device executes a job based on job data provided from a job providing device.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-228561 discloses a system in which a printer executes a print job based on print job data provided from a host computer. The user inputs a user ID and a print instruction at the host computer. As a result, the host computer creates print job data to which the user ID is added. The host computer transmits print job data to a printer designated in advance by the user (hereinafter referred to as a first printer). The first printer stores print job data. The user can input a user ID in another printer (hereinafter referred to as a second printer). In this case, the second printer transmits a search packet including the input user ID to the network. As a result, the first printer receives the search packet. If the first printer has print job data to which the user ID included in the search packet is added, the first printer transmits the print job data to the second printer. When the second printer receives the print job data transmitted from the first printer, the second printer executes the print job based on the print job data.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-191043

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the user needs to input the user ID first to the host computer and then input the user ID to the printer later. The order in which the user inputs the user ID to each device is restricted. The present specification provides a technique that can provide job data from a job providing apparatus to a job execution apparatus without restricting the order in which the user inputs identification information to each device.

  One technique disclosed in this specification is a job execution system including a job providing apparatus and a job execution apparatus connected to the job providing apparatus so as to be communicable. The job providing apparatus provides data (job data) for executing a job to the job executing apparatus. The job execution device executes a job based on job data provided from the job providing device. The content of the job executed in the job execution system is not particularly limited. For example, when the job execution device is a printer, the job execution device may execute a job for printing based on the job data. For example, when the job execution device is a storage device such as a file server, the job execution device may execute a job for storing job data.

The job providing apparatus according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores specific job data, a first identification information input unit that inputs specific identification information, and the specific identification information that is input to the first identification information input unit. A first communication processing means for executing the first thread and the second thread in parallel, wherein the first thread includes the specific identification information input to the first identification information input means. A process for transmitting one search packet to the job execution apparatus, a process for monitoring reception of a first reply packet as a response to the first search packet from the job execution apparatus, and the first reply packet from the job execution apparatus Is received, as a response to the first reply packet, the specific job data is transmitted to the job execution device. A process of monitoring the reception of the second search packet including the specific identification information input to the job execution device, and when the second search packet is received from the job execution device, As a response, a process for transmitting the second reply packet to the job execution apparatus, a process for receiving a job transmission request from the job execution apparatus as a response to the second reply packet, and the job transmission request from the job execution apparatus are received. And a process of transmitting the specific job data to a job execution apparatus as a response to the job transmission request.
One form of the job providing apparatus disclosed in the present specification includes a storage unit, a first identification information input unit, a first identification information transmission unit, a first identification information reception unit, a request reception unit, a job Data transmission means. The storage unit stores job data. The first identification information input means inputs identification information. For example, the identification information may be input by the user operating the first identification information input unit. Further, for example, the user may execute an input operation of identification information in another device connected to the job providing apparatus, and the identification information may be output from the device to the job providing apparatus. In this case, the first identification information input means inputs the identification information output from the device. The identification information may be any information as long as the information can identify the job data. For example, the identification information may be an ID that is individually given to a user who uses the system. Alternatively, a disposable job ID may be generated (for example, it may be generated based on an input of an arbitrary four-digit number or character string by the user).

  The first identification information transmission unit transmits the identification information to the job execution apparatus when the identification information is input to the first identification information input unit. The first identification information receiving unit receives the identification information transmitted from the job execution apparatus. The request receiving unit receives a job transmission request transmitted from the job execution apparatus. The job data transmitting means executes the job data stored in the storage means when the identification information is received by the first identification information receiving means after the identification information is transmitted by the first identification information transmitting means. Send to device. The job data transmission unit transmits the job data stored in the storage unit to the job execution apparatus when the job transmission request is received by the request reception unit.

The job execution apparatus according to the present invention includes: a second identification information input unit that inputs specific identification information; and the third thread and the fourth thread when the specific identification information is input to the second identification information input unit. Are executed in parallel to receive the specific job data from the job providing apparatus, and the job execution means to execute the job based on the specific job data received by the second communication processing means And a third thread that monitors the reception of the first search packet including the specific identification information input to the job providing apparatus from the job providing apparatus, and the first thread from the job providing apparatus. And a process of transmitting a first reply packet to the job providing apparatus as a response to the first search packet when a search packet is received, and the fourth thread includes the second identification information. A process of transmitting the second search packet containing the specific identification information input to the input means to the job providing device, from the job providing device, as a response of the second search packet, receiving a second reply packet a process of monitoring, when the from the job providing device second reply packet is received as a response of the second reply packet includes a process of transmitting job transmission request to the job providing apparatus, said second communication means, in the third thread, when transmitting the first reply packet to the job providing device, from the job providing device, as a response of the first reply packet, receiving the specific job data, the fourth in thread, when transmitting the job transmission request to the job providing device, from the job providing apparatus, in response to the job transmission request, the A job execution apparatus characterized by receiving a constant job data.
One form of the job execution device disclosed in this specification includes a second identification information input unit, a second identification information transmission unit, a second identification information reception unit, a request transmission unit, and a job data reception unit. And job execution means. The second identification information input means inputs identification information. Similarly to the first identification information input unit described above, the identification information may be input by the user operating the second identification information input unit. Further, for example, the user may execute an identification information input operation on another device connected to the job execution apparatus, and the identification information may be output from the device to the job execution apparatus. In this case, the second identification information input means inputs the identification information output from the device. Further, as in the above case, the identification information may be an ID.

  The second identification information transmitting unit transmits the identification information to the job providing apparatus when the identification information is input to the second identification information input unit. The second identification information receiving unit receives the identification information transmitted from the job providing apparatus. The request transmitting unit transmits a job transmission request to the job providing apparatus when the identification information is received by the second identification information receiving unit after the identification information is transmitted by the second identification information transmitting unit. The job data receiving unit receives job data transmitted from the job providing apparatus. The job execution means executes a job based on the job data received by the job data reception means. For example, when the job execution apparatus is a printer, the job execution unit may execute processing for printing job data received by the job data reception unit. Further, for example, when the job execution device is a storage device, the job execution means may execute processing for storing the job data received by the job data reception means in the storage area.

  In the above system, identification information may be input to the job providing apparatus first. When identification information is input to the first identification information input means of the job providing apparatus, the identification information is transmitted to the job execution apparatus by the first identification information transmission means and received by the second identification information reception means of the job execution apparatus. Is done. Thereafter, when the same identification information is input to the second identification information input means of the job execution apparatus, the identification information is transmitted to the job providing apparatus by the second identification information transmitting means, and the first identification information receiving means of the job providing apparatus is received. Received by. That is, in the job providing apparatus, after the identification information is transmitted by the first identification information transmitting unit, the identification information is received by the first identification information receiving unit. In this case, the job data transmission unit of the job providing apparatus transmits the job data stored in the storage unit to the job execution apparatus. Accordingly, the job data receiving unit of the job execution apparatus receives the job data, and the job execution unit executes the job based on the job data.

  In the above system, identification information may be input to the job execution apparatus first. When the identification information is input to the second identification information input unit of the job execution apparatus, the identification information is transmitted to the job providing apparatus by the second identification information transmitting unit and received by the first identification information receiving unit of the job providing apparatus. Is done. Thereafter, when the same identification information is input to the first identification information input means of the job providing apparatus, the identification information is transmitted to the job execution apparatus by the first identification information transmission means, and the second identification information receiving means of the job execution apparatus is transmitted. Received by. That is, in the job execution apparatus, after the identification information is transmitted by the second identification information transmitting unit, the identification information is received by the second identification information receiving unit. In this case, the request transmission unit of the job execution apparatus transmits a job transmission request to the job providing apparatus. The job transmission request is received by the request receiving means of the job providing apparatus. The job data transmission unit transmits the job data stored in the storage unit to the job execution apparatus. Accordingly, the job data receiving unit of the job execution apparatus receives the job data, and the job execution unit executes the job based on the job data.

According to the above system, regardless of which of the job providing apparatus and the job executing apparatus is input with the identification information first, the job providing apparatus transmits the job data, and the job executing apparatus executes the job based on the job data. Can do. According to the above system, the order in which the user inputs identification information to each device is not restricted. Convenience for the user can be improved.

  A single job providing apparatus for constructing the above system is also a new and useful technique. The storage unit of the job providing apparatus may be capable of storing a plurality of combination data. Each combination data may be a combination of identification information and job data. The request receiving means may receive a job transmission request including identification information. When the identification information is received by the first identification information receiving unit after the identification information is transmitted by the first identification information transmitting unit, the job data transmission unit displays the job data associated with the identification information. You may transmit to a job execution apparatus. Further, when the job transmission request is received by the request receiving unit, the job data transmission unit may transmit the job data associated with the identification information included in the job transmission request to the job execution device. .

  As described above, in the above-described job providing apparatus, a plurality of combination data in which identification information and job data are associated are stored in the storage unit. When the identification information is input to the job providing device first (that is, after the identification information is transmitted by the first identification information transmitting unit, the identification information is received by the first identification information receiving unit). ), The job data associated with the identification information can be transmitted to the job execution apparatus. Even when the identification information is input to the job execution apparatus first (that is, when the job transmission request is received by the request reception unit), the job data transmission unit includes the identification information included in the job transmission request. The associated job data can be transmitted to the job execution apparatus. According to the job providing apparatus described above, regardless of whether the identification information is input first to either the job providing apparatus or the job execution apparatus connected to the job providing apparatus, the job data associated with the identification information Can be transmitted to the job execution apparatus.

  The storage unit of the job providing apparatus may be capable of storing combination data in which one piece of identification information is associated with job data. On the other hand, the storage unit of the job providing apparatus may be capable of storing combination data in which a plurality of identification information is associated with job data. For example, when identification information is assigned for each user, the latter configuration may function effectively. In this example, the storage unit can store combination data in which identification information of a plurality of users is associated with job data. Each user can provide job data from the job providing apparatus to the job execution apparatus.

  When the identification information is input to the first identification information input unit, the storage unit of the job providing apparatus may store combination data in which the identification information and the job data are associated with each other. In this case, when the identification information is input to the first identification information input unit, the identification information is transmitted by the first identification information transmission unit, and the combination data in which the identification information and the job data are associated with each other Stored in the storage means. Thereafter, when the identification information is received by the first identification information receiving means, or when a job transmission request including the identification information is received by the request receiving means, the job data associated with the identification information is Sent to the job execution device.

  The job providing apparatus may be communicably connected to a plurality of job execution apparatuses. In this case, the first identification information transmitting unit of the job providing apparatus may transmit the identification information to each job execution apparatus when the identification information is input to the first identification information input unit. In addition, the job data transmission unit may store the job data stored in the storage unit when the identification information is received by the first identification information receiving unit after the identification information is transmitted by the first identification information transmitting unit. You may transmit to the job execution apparatus of the transmission origin of the said identification information. In addition, when the job transmission request is received by the request reception unit, the job data transmission unit may transmit the job data stored in the storage unit to the job execution apparatus that has transmitted the job transmission request. . According to this configuration, the user can select a job execution device that executes a job from a plurality of job execution devices, and input identification information to the job execution device. The job providing apparatus can provide job data to the job execution apparatus selected by the user.

  A single job execution apparatus for constructing the above system is also a new and useful technique. The second identification information input unit of the job execution apparatus may be capable of inputting a plurality of identification information. In this case, the second identification information transmitting unit may transmit each piece of identification information to the job providing apparatus when a plurality of pieces of identification information are input to the second identification information input unit.

  The above job execution device may be communicably connected to a plurality of job providing devices. In this case, the second identification information transmission unit of the job execution apparatus may transmit the identification information to each job providing apparatus when the identification information is input to the second identification information input unit. The request transmission means sends a job transmission request to the job of the transmission source of the identification information when the identification information is received by the second identification information receiving means after the identification information is transmitted by the second identification information transmission means. You may transmit to a provision apparatus. According to this configuration, the user can select a job providing apparatus that provides job data from a plurality of job providing apparatuses, and input identification information to the job providing apparatus. The job execution device can execute a job based on the job data provided from the job providing device selected by the user.

A computer program for realizing the job providing apparatus is also useful. This computer program causes a computer installed in the job providing apparatus to execute the following processes.
A storage process for storing job data.
First identification information input processing for inputting identification information.
First identification information transmission processing for transmitting identification information to the job execution apparatus when identification information is input in the first identification information input processing.
First identification information reception processing for receiving identification information transmitted from the job execution apparatus.
A request reception process for receiving a job transmission request transmitted from the job execution device.
When the identification information is received in the first identification information reception process after the identification information is transmitted in the first identification information transmission process, the job data stored in the storage process is transmitted to the job execution device, and Job data transmission processing for transmitting job data stored in the storage processing to the job execution apparatus when a job transmission request is received in the request reception processing.
According to this computer program, the above-described job providing apparatus can be realized.

A computer program for realizing the above job execution apparatus is also useful. This computer program causes a computer mounted on the job execution apparatus to execute the following processes.
A second identification information input process for inputting identification information.
Second identification information transmission processing for transmitting identification information to the job providing apparatus when identification information is input in the second identification information input processing.
Second identification information reception processing for receiving identification information transmitted from the job providing apparatus.
A request transmission process for transmitting a job transmission request to the job providing apparatus when the identification information is received in the second identification information reception process after the identification information is transmitted in the second identification information transmission process.
Job data reception processing for receiving job data transmitted from the job providing apparatus.
A job execution process for executing a job based on the job data received in the job data reception process.
According to this computer program, the above-described job execution device can be realized.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a printer system 2 of this embodiment. The printer system 2 includes a plurality of printers 10 and 42 and a plurality of whiteboards 50 and 82. The whiteboards 50 and 82 can create data for printing (print data), transmit the print data to the printers 10 and 42, and instruct the printing. In the following examples, the whiteboards 50 and 82 are given as an example of the job providing apparatus, but the embodiments of the technology of the present specification are not limited to this. For example, the job providing apparatus may be an information processing apparatus or a scanner. In the following embodiments, the printers 10 and 42 are cited as examples of the job execution device, but the embodiments of the technology of the present specification are not limited to this. For example, the job execution device may be a storage device such as a file server.

(Printer configuration)
The configuration of the printer 10 will be described. Since the printer 42 has the same configuration as the printer 10, the description thereof is omitted. The printer 10 includes an operation unit 12, a display unit 14, an ID card reader 16, a storage unit 18, an input / output port 32, a control unit 34, a printing unit 40, and the like. The display unit 14 can display various information. The ID card reader 16 can read an ID (identification information) stored in an ID card assigned to each user. The ID card reader 16 is not particularly limited as long as it can read an ID that can identify an individual user. The ID card reader 16 may be, for example, an IC card reader or a barcode reader. Further, instead of the ID card reader, a fingerprint recognition device for recognizing a user's fingerprint and an input device for inputting a password may be provided. The operation unit 12 includes a plurality of keys. The user can input various information and instructions to the printer 10 by operating the operation unit 12. The operation unit 12 includes an ID input completion button 12a. When the ID input completion button 12a is pressed, the ID input by the ID card reader 16 is completed. A plurality of IDs may be input by the ID card reader 16 until the input of ID is completed by operating the ID input completion button 12a.

  The storage unit 18 includes a ROM, an EEPROM, a RAM, and the like. The storage unit 18 stores a program for causing the control unit 34 to perform communication with an external device, a program for executing a print job, data received from the outside, data generated by the control unit 34, and the like. The storage unit 18 can store ID data input by the ID card reader 16. The input / output port 32 is connected to a LAN line or an Internet line. The printer 10 can communicate with the whiteboards 50 and 82 and other devices (devices constituting the printer system 2) via the input / output port 32. The input / output port 32 includes a plurality of ports. Each port is assigned a port number. Data communicated with the outside via the input / output port 32 is transmitted / received via the input / output port 32 having a predetermined port number.

  The control unit 34 is configured by a CPU or the like. The control unit 34 includes a communication processing unit 36 and a print processing unit 38. In the printer 10, the communication processing unit 36 and the print processing unit 38 execute different tasks. The contents of the tasks executed by the processing units 36 and 38 will be described in detail later. The printing unit 40 prints on a print medium in accordance with an instruction from the print processing unit 38 of the control unit 34.

(Configuration of whiteboard)
The configuration of the whiteboard 50 will be described. Since the whiteboard 82 has the same configuration as the whiteboard 50, the description thereof is omitted. The white board 50 includes a display board 52, a scanner 54, an ID card reader 56, an operation unit 58, an input / output port 60, a storage unit 62, a control unit 76, and the like. A user can draw characters, figures, and the like on the display board 52. The scanner 54 can scan characters and figures drawn on the display board 52. When the scanner 54 executes scanning, image data (print data) to be printed by the printer 10 is created. Similar to the ID card reader 16 of the printer 10, the ID card reader 56 can read the ID stored in the ID card assigned to each user. The ID card reader 56 may be, for example, an IC card reader or a barcode reader. Further, instead of the ID card reader, a fingerprint recognition device for recognizing a user's fingerprint and an input device for inputting a password may be provided.

  The operation unit 58 includes a plurality of keys. The user can input various information and instructions to the whiteboard 50 by operating the operation unit 58. The operation unit 58 includes a scan button 58a and an ID input completion button 58b. The user can cause the scanner 54 to scan the content drawn on the display board 52 by operating the scan button 58a. The user can complete the input of the ID by the ID card reader 56 by pressing the ID input completion button 58b. A plurality of IDs may be input by the ID card reader 56 before the input of ID is completed by operating the ID input completion button 58b. The input / output port 60 is connected to a LAN line or an Internet line. The whiteboard 50 can communicate with the printers 10 and 42 and other devices (such as devices on the Internet) via the input / output port 60. The input / output port 60 includes a plurality of ports. Each port is assigned a port number. Data communicated with the outside via the input / output port 60 is transmitted / received via the input / output port 60 having a predetermined port number.

  The storage unit 62 includes a ROM, an EEPROM, a RAM, and the like. The storage unit 62 has a job information storage area 64. The job information storage area 64 can store a plurality of job information data. The contents of the information stored in the job information storage area 64 will be described in detail later. In addition, the storage unit 62 includes a storage area 74 that stores a program that causes the control unit 76 to perform scanning, data received from the outside, data generated by the control unit 76, and the like. The control unit 76 is configured by a CPU or the like. The control unit 76 includes a communication processing unit 78 and a scan processing unit 80. In the whiteboard 50, each of the communication processing unit 78 and the scan processing unit 80 executes different tasks in parallel. The contents of tasks executed by the processing units 78 and 80 will be described in detail later.

(Printer processing)
Next, processes (tasks) executed by the processing units 36 and 38 of the printer 10 will be described. 2 to 5 show flowcharts of communication processing of the printer 10. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the printing process of the printer 10. Communication processing in the printer 10 is executed by the communication processing unit 36 of the control unit 34.

(Printer communication processing)
When the printer 10 is turned on, the communication processing unit 36 activates a job information reception thread (S8). The processing of the job information reception thread will be described in detail later. Further, the communication processing unit 36 monitors whether the ID input completion button 12a is pressed (S12) while the ID is input to the ID card reader 16 (S10). For example, when the user holds his / her ID card over the ID card reader 16, the ID information stored in the ID card is read by the ID card reader 16 (S10). The ID input to the printer 10 in this step is stored in the storage unit 18. Hereinafter, the ID information of this user will be described as “0123456”. Next, when the ID input completion button 12a is pressed (YES in S12), it is determined that the ID input is completed. A plurality of IDs may be input by the processing of S10 until the ID input completion button 12a is pressed. If YES is determined in S12, the communication processing unit 36 activates the thread A and the thread B for each input ID (S14). Thread A, thread B, and job information receiving thread are executed in parallel. Further, the processing of the thread A and the thread B described below is executed in parallel (simultaneously) for the input ID. For example, when two IDs are input by the ID card reader 16 in the above process, two sets of thread A and thread B are activated in parallel.

(Processing of thread A)
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the processing of the thread A. The communication processing unit 36 opens a predetermined port (S20). As described above, the input / output port 32 has a plurality of ports. In this step, a port having a predetermined port number (hereinafter referred to as “open port number”) is opened. The communication processing unit 36 communicates with other devices on the printer system 2 using the port having the open port number in the following processing.

  Next, the communication processing unit 36 multicasts the search packet A1 including the ID input in S10 and the open port number released in S20 (S22). When the multicast transmission method is used, the communication processing unit 36 designates a single address as a transmission destination, so that packets having the same contents are transmitted to a plurality of devices (for example, whiteboards 50 and 82) constituting the printer system 2. Can be sent. FIG. 10 shows packet information transmitted by the printer 10 (packet information received by the whiteboards 50 and 82). The search packet A1 includes a search instruction “M-SEARCH * HTTP / 1.1” indicating that this packet indicates a search, and a multicast transmission destination address “239.255.255.250:1900”, and a search It has a condition “urn: brother.co.jp:device:PrintClient:1:id=0123456” regarding the object. The address “239.255.255.250” is a multicast address that designates a device group (see FIG. 1) that constitutes the printer system 2. By specifying the multicast address as the destination, the search packet A1 can be transmitted to each device in the device group. “1900” is the open port number opened in S20 by the communication processing unit. The search packet A1 is transmitted to each of the devices 42, 50, and 82 constituting the printer system 2 via the port having the open port number “1900”. From FIG. 10, it is understood that the search packet A1 is an instruction to search for a whiteboard (Print Client) in which the ID 24 that matches the ID “0123456” input to the printer 10 in S10 is input.

  When the search packet A1 is transmitted by multicast, the communication processing unit 36 monitors whether a reply packet B2 for the search packet A1 is received (S24). In the device group that has received the search packet A1, a whiteboard that meets the conditions specified by the search packet A1 (that is, a whiteboard that is a device that constitutes the printer system 2 and has the ID “0123456” already input). If it exists, a reply packet B2 from the whiteboard is received. In this case, YES is determined in S24. The reply packet B2 is transmitted with the open port number included in the search packet A1 as the transmission destination. For example, in the case of the search packet A1 in FIG. 10 described above, the reply packet B2 is received by the communication processing unit 36 via the port of the open port number “1900” of the printer 10.

  FIG. 11 shows packet information (packet information transmitted by the whiteboard 50) received by the printer 10. The reply packet B2 is information “HTTP / 1.1 200 OK” indicating that it is a response to the search packet A1, and a condition “urn: brother.co.jp:device:PrintClient:1:id= 0123456 ". When the search packet A1 is transmitted from the printer 10, the IP address of the printer 10 is also added to the search packet A1. Thereby, the whiteboard 50 can specify the transmission destination of the reply packet B2. The port opening process and the return packet B2 transmission process in the whiteboard will be described in detail later.

  When the reply packet B2 is received, the communication processing unit 36 determines whether or not the ID included in the reply packet B2 matches the ID input in S10 (S26). In this step, the ID input in S10 is compared with the ID included in the search packet B1, and it is determined whether or not these IDs match. For example, if the ID (see FIG. 11) included in the reply packet B2 and the ID input in S10 are both “0123456” and they match, YES is determined in S26. In this case, an end instruction for instructing to end the process is transmitted to the thread B activated for the same ID in S14 (S32), and the process proceeds to S34. On the other hand, in the above processing, when NO is determined in S24 (that is, when the reply packet B2 is not received), or when NO is determined in S26 (that is, included in the reply packet B2). If the ID does not match the input ID), the process proceeds to S28.

  In S28, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread A was activated, or whether or not an end instruction has been received from the thread B. If a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of thread A and timed out, or if there is an end instruction from thread B started together with thread A in S14 (YES in S28), communication The processing unit 36 closes the port opened in S20 (S39), and ends the processing of the thread A. The termination instruction from the thread B is transmitted from the thread B when the search packet including the ID input to the printer 10 is received by the printer 10. This process will be described in detail later. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of the thread A and the timeout has not occurred, and if there is no termination instruction from the thread B (NO in S28), the process proceeds to S30.

  In S30, it is monitored that a predetermined time has elapsed since the search packet A1 was transmitted. If the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in S30), the process proceeds to S24, and returns to the state of monitoring that the reply packet B2 is received. If the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S30), the communication processing unit 36 proceeds to S22, and executes a process of multicasting again the search packet A1 including the input ID and the open port number. For example, after transmitting the previous search packet A1 and when any of the whiteboards 50 and 82 meets the conditions specified by the search packet A1 after the predetermined time has elapsed, A reply packet B2 from the whiteboard is received. The predetermined time until the timeout in S28 and / or the fixed time until the timeout in S30 may be set by default or may be arbitrarily set by the user. The predetermined time is set to be longer than the predetermined time.

  On the other hand, after the ID input to the printer 10 is transmitted to the device group constituting the printer system 2, when the reply packet B2 including the ID is received by the printer 10, S34 is executed. In S34, the transmission request packet A3 requesting transmission of the job information including the ID is unicast transmitted to the whiteboard 50 that is the transmission source of the reply packet B2. When the above reply packet B2 is transmitted from the whiteboard 50, the IP address of the whiteboard 50 is also added to the reply packet B2. Thereby, the printer 10 can specify the transmission destination of the transmission request packet A3. When the unicast transmission method is used, the communication processing unit 36 can specify a specific address as a destination and transmit a packet to a specific device in the device group of the printer system 2.

  For example, the transmission request packet A3 illustrated in FIG. 10 includes the address “192.168.1.105:1900” of the whiteboard 50 as the transmission destination of the transmission request packet A3. The transmission request packet A3 includes information “NOTIFY * HTTP / 1.1” indicating that it is a packet for notifying the address of the printer 10, and information “urn: brother. co.jp:device:PrintServer:1:id=0123456 ”and the address“ http://192.168.1.102/SOAP-Print/ ”of the printer 10. The transmission request packet A3 transmits job information including the ID “0123456” (that is, job information in which the ID “0123456” is associated with the print data) using the address of the printer 10 as a transmission destination. It is an instruction to request. When the transmission request packet A3 is transmitted, the communication processing unit 36 closes the port that has been opened so far (S39), and ends the processing of the thread A.

  When the transmission request packet A3 is transmitted by the process of S34, the communication processing unit 36 transmits the address (http: //192.168.168) of the printer 10 from the destination whiteboard 50 of the transmission request packet A3. 1.102 / SOAP-Print /) is received as the transmission destination, and the print instruction is received. As will be described in detail later, job information and a print instruction transmitted to the above address are received and processed by a job information receiving thread. The job information and print instruction transmission processing in the whiteboard 50 will be described in detail later.

(Processing of thread B)
FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of processing of thread B. The communication processing unit 36 monitors that the search packet B1 is received (S40). The search packet B1 is, for example, multicast transmitted from the whiteboard 50 to a group of devices constituting the printer system 2 including the printer 10. The search packet B1 shown in FIG. 11 is transmitted to each device in the device group constituting the printer system 2 using the multicast address “239.255.255.250”. The search packet B1 includes the open port number “1900” opened on the whiteboard 50 and the ID “0123456” input to the whiteboard. The search processing of the search packet B1 in the whiteboard will be described in detail later.

  When the search packet B1 is received (YES in S40), the communication processing unit 36 determines whether or not the ID input in S10 matches the ID included in the search packet B1 (S42). For example, if the ID included in the search packet B1 (see FIG. 11) and the input ID are both “0123456” and match, it is determined YES in S42. In this case, the printer 10 satisfies the conditions of the search packet B1 (that is, the device that constitutes the printer system 2 and the ID “0123456” is input). When the ID included in the search packet B1 matches the ID input to the printer 10, the communication processing unit 36 transmits an end instruction instructing the thread A activated for the same ID in S14 to end the process. (S46), the process proceeds to S48.

  In S48, the communication processing unit 36 unicasts the reply packet A2 including the ID input in S10 and the address of the job information reception thread to the transmission source of the search packet B1. When the reply packet A2 is transmitted, the communication processing unit 36 ends the processing of the thread B. When the search packet B1 is transmitted from the whiteboard 50, the IP address of the whiteboard 50 is also added to the search packet B1. Thereby, the printer 10 can specify the transmission destination of the reply packet A2. The reply packet A2 is transmitted by designating the open port number of the whiteboard 50 included in the search packet B1 as a transmission destination. The reply packet A2 in FIG. 10 includes information “HTTP / 1.1 200 OK” indicating that it is a response to the search packet B1 (see FIG. 11) from the whiteboard 50, and a condition “urn: brother” regarding the corresponding search target. .Co.jp: device: PrintServer: 1: id = 0123456 ”. Further, the reply packet A2 has the address “http://192.168.1.102/SOAP-Print” of the job information reception thread of the printer 10. When the reply packet A2 is transmitted to the whiteboard 50, job information and a print instruction are transmitted from the whiteboard 50 with the above address as a transmission destination. The job information reception thread process in the printer 10 and the job information transmission process in the whiteboard 50 will be described in detail later.

  In the above processing, when NO is determined in S40 (that is, when the search packet B1 is not received), or when NO is determined in S42 (that is, the ID input in S10 is received) If the IDs included in the search packet B1 do not match), the communication processing unit 36 proceeds to S44. In S44, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread B is activated, or whether or not an end instruction has been issued from the thread A. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of thread B and a timeout has occurred, or when there is an end instruction from thread A started together with thread B in S14 (YES in S44), The communication processing unit 36 ends the process for the thread B. The termination instruction from the thread A is transmitted from the thread A when a reply packet including the ID is received after multicasting the ID input to the printer 10 (see S32 in FIG. 3). When the predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of the thread B and the timeout has not occurred, and when there is no termination instruction from the thread A started together with the thread B in S14 (NO in S44) Advances to S40 and returns to the state of monitoring that the search packet B1 is received. The predetermined time until the timeout may be set by default or may be set arbitrarily by the user. For example, in S44, it may be monitored that “1 hour” has elapsed since the activation of the thread B.

(Job information reception thread processing)
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of processing of the job information reception thread. The communication processing unit 36 monitors whether the job information and the print instruction are received (S50). The job information and the print instruction whose reception is monitored in this step are transmitted from the whiteboard that has received the transmission request packet A3 in response to the transmission request packet A3 transmitted in S34 of the thread A in FIG. Is. Also, when the reply packet A2 is transmitted in S48 of the thread B in FIG. 4, the print data and the print instruction are transmitted from the whiteboard that has received the reply packet A2. Both the transmission request packet A3 and the reply packet A2 include an ID that matches the ID input in S10, and also includes the URL address of the job information reception thread (see FIG. 10). Therefore, the job information and the print instruction are received by the communication processing unit 36 by the communication method according to the URL (in the above case, the HTTP format). If IPP is used for the address of the job information receiving thread, the print data and the print instruction may be received by the communication processing unit 36 via a predetermined port used by the IPP protocol. Further, the job information received in this step may be stored in the storage unit 18. When receiving the job information, it may be determined whether the received ID matches the ID included in the packet transmitted from the printer 10 first (that is, the transmission request packet A3 or the reply packet A2). .

  Next, the communication processing unit 36 transmits the job information received in S50 to the print processing unit 38 together with a print instruction (S52). In this step, a print instruction and ID may be transmitted to the print processing unit 38. Alternatively, print data and a print instruction may be transmitted to the print processing unit 38. In either case, it is equivalent to “send job information and print instruction” to the print processing unit 38. Further, when job information for a predetermined byte is received in S50, the job information for the predetermined byte may be transmitted to the print processing unit 38 in S52. In this case, the processes of S50 and S52 are repeated with a predetermined byte of the job information as an execution unit. When job information and a print instruction are transmitted to the print processing unit 38, the job information reception thread returns to a state of monitoring whether the job information and the print instruction are received.

(Printing process)
The print processing shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the print processing unit 38 of the control unit 34. The print processing unit 38 monitors that the job information and the print instruction from the communication processing unit 36 are received (S60). The job information and the print instruction from the communication processing unit 36 are transmitted to the print processing unit 38 by the process of S52 of the job information receiving thread (see FIG. 5). When the job information and the print instruction are received (YES in S60), the print processing unit 38 executes a print process based on the received print instruction and job information (S62). The print processing unit 38 drives the printing unit 40 (see FIG. 1) based on the print data included in the job information in accordance with the print instruction. Note that the print processing unit 38 may execute analysis processing of print data included in the job information, layout processing, rasterization processing, and the like executed based on the analysis result. When the print processing is executed in S62, the print processing unit 38 proceeds to S60, and returns to a state of monitoring that the job information and the print instruction from the communication processing unit 36 are received.

  In the printer 10, the communication processing unit 36 activates a job information reception thread (S8). When the ID is input by the ID card reader 16 (S10) and the ID input completion button 12a is pressed (YES in S12), the communication processing unit 36 activates the thread A and the thread B. The communication processing unit 36 multicasts the search packet A1 for the input ID by the processing of the thread A, and monitors whether a reply packet is received. At the same time, the communication processing unit 36 monitors whether the search packet B1 from another device is received for the input ID by the processing of the thread B. When an ID is input to the printer 10 before the whiteboards 50 and 82, printing is executed by processing of the thread A and the job information receiving thread. When the ID is input to the whiteboards 50 and 82 before the printer 10, printing is executed by processing of the thread B and the job information receiving thread.

(Whiteboard processing)
Next, processing (tasks) executed by the processing units 78 and 80 of the whiteboard 50 will be described. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the scanning process of the whiteboard 50. 8 and 9 show flowcharts of communication processing of the whiteboard 50. FIG.

(Scan process)
The scan processing unit 80 monitors the operation of the scan button 58a of the whiteboard 50 (S70). As described above, the user can operate the scan button 58 a of the operation unit 58. In this case, the scan processing unit 80 determines YES in S70, and proceeds to S72. In S 72, the user ID is input by the ID card reader 56. For example, when the user holds his / her ID card over the ID card reader 56, the ID information stored in the ID card is read by the ID card reader 56. As a result, the user ID “0123456” is input. In this step, a plurality of IDs may be input. The scan processing unit 80 monitors that the ID input completion button 58b is pressed and the input of the ID is completed (S74). If the ID input completion button 58b is not pressed even after a predetermined time has passed while monitoring the completion of ID input in S74, a notification process is performed to prompt the user to press the ID input completion button 58b. May be.

  When the ID input is completed, the scan processing unit 80 executes a scan process (S76). The scan processing unit 80 drives the scanner 54 to scan characters and figures drawn on the display board 52 to create data (print data). The format of the print data to be created is not particularly limited. The scan processing unit 80 can drive the scanner 54 to create print data in a format such as PDF, TIFF, or JPEG, for example. Next, the scan processing unit 80 stores the print data created in S76 and the ID completed in S74 in the job information storage area 64 of the storage unit 62 as job information data 66 (S78). For example, when the ID “0123456” and the ID “0654321” are input through the processing from S72 to S74, the job information data 66 includes the first ID data 68a (ID “0123456”) and the second ID data 68b (ID "0654321") and print data 72 are included. In other words, the job information data 66 includes the combination data 73a in which the print data 72 and the first ID data 68a are associated, and the combination data 73b in which the print data 72 and the second ID data 68b are associated. (See FIG. 1).

  When the process of S78 is executed, the scan processing unit 80 causes the communication processing unit 78 to activate the thread C and the thread D for each input ID (S80). The processing of thread C and thread D described below is executed in parallel (simultaneously) by the communication processing unit 78 for the input ID. The thread C and the thread D may be executed in parallel for each ID for each input ID. When S80 ends, the scan processing unit 80 returns to the state of monitoring that the scan button 58a is operated (S70). In this embodiment, print data is created by completing the ID input (YES in S74) after the scan button 58a is pressed (YES in S70). However, the embodiments of the technology of the present specification are not limited to this. The scan process may be executed when an ID is input before the scan button 58b is operated. The print data is created by the scan process, and the data and the ID are associated with each other and stored in the job information storage area 64. Even if the scan process is executed by a process configuration other than the above, Good.

(Whiteboard communication processing)
The communication processing unit 78 activates the thread C and the thread D in response to an instruction from the scan processing unit 80. Hereinafter, the thread C and the thread D will be described in order.

(Processing of thread C)
FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of processing of thread C. The communication processing unit 78 opens a predetermined port (S90). As described above, the input / output port 60 has a plurality of ports. In this step, a port having a predetermined open port number is opened. For example, in this embodiment, the port number “1900” is released in this step. The communication processing unit 78 communicates with other devices on the printer system 2 using the port having the open port number “1900” in the following processing.

  Next, the communication processing unit 78 multicasts the search packet B1 including the ID input in S72 and the open port number released in S90 (S92). The search packet B1 is received by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 in S40 of the thread B (see FIG. 4). The search packet B1 shown in FIG. 11 designates a multicast address “239.255.255.250” that designates a device group (see FIG. 1) constituting the printer system 2 as a destination, and the communication processing unit 78 performs S90. The open port number “1900” opened at is designated. The ID 68 (0123456) included in the search packet B1 is the ID input to the whiteboard 50 in S72 (see FIG. 7). From FIG. 11, it is understood that the search packet B1 is an instruction to search for a printer (Print Server) in which an ID that matches the ID “012456” input to the whiteboard 50 in S72 is input.

  When the search packet B1 is multicast, the communication processing unit 78 monitors whether a reply packet A2 for the search packet B1 is received (S94). The reply packet A2 is transmitted by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 in S48 of the thread B (see FIG. 4). If there is a printer that satisfies the conditions specified in the search packet B1 (that is, a device that constitutes the printer system 2 and that has the ID “0123456” input), a reply packet A2 from the printer. Is received. In this case, YES is determined in S94. The reply packet A2 is transmitted with the open port number of the whiteboard 50 (in the above case, “1900”) transmitted in the search packet B1 as the transmission destination address, and is received by the communication processing unit 78.

  When the reply packet A2 is received, the communication processing unit 78 determines whether or not the ID included in the reply packet A2 matches the ID input in S72 (S96). For example, if the ID (see FIG. 10) included in the reply packet A2 and the ID input in S72 are both “0123456” and they match, YES is determined in S96. In this case, an end instruction for instructing to end the process is transmitted to the thread D activated for the same ID in S80 (S102), and the process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, in the above processing, when NO is determined in S94 (that is, when the reply packet A2 is not received until the determination processing in S94 is executed), or NO is determined in S96. In the case (that is, when the ID included in the reply packet A2 does not match the input ID), the process proceeds to S98.

  In the above-described series of processing, when the processing of S102 is executed, the ID input to the whiteboard 50 is transmitted to the device group constituting the printer system 2, and then a specific printer (in the above case, the printer 10). ) Is received by the whiteboard 50. From this, the communication processing unit 78 can search the job storage area 64 and specify job information including the ID. In S104, the job information including the ID and the print instruction are sent to the address of the job information reception thread of the printer 10 included in the reply packet A2 (“http://192.168.1.102/SOAP-Print/”). , Refer to FIG. 10) as a transmission destination and unicast to the printer 10. The transmitted job information and print instruction are received by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 in S50 of the job information reception thread (see FIG. 5). When the job information and the print instruction are transmitted, the communication processing unit 78 closes the port that has been opened so far (S106), and ends the processing of the thread C.

  In S98, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread C is activated, or whether or not an end instruction is issued from the thread D. If a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the thread C and a timeout has occurred, or if there is an end instruction from the thread D started together with the thread C in S80 (YES in S98), the communication The processing unit 78 closes the port opened in S90 (S106) and ends the processing of the thread C. The termination instruction from the thread D is transmitted from the thread D when the search packet including the ID input to the whiteboard 50 is received by the whiteboard 50. This process will be described in detail later. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the activation of the thread C and the time-out has not occurred, and if there is no termination instruction from the thread D (NO in S98), the process proceeds to S100.

  In S100, it is monitored that a predetermined time has elapsed since the search packet B1 was transmitted. If the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in S100), the process proceeds to S94 and returns to the state of monitoring that the return packet A2 is received. If the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S100), the communication processing unit 78 proceeds to 92 and executes a process of multicasting again the search packet B1 including the input ID and the open port number. For example, after transmitting the previous search packet B1, if any of the printers 10 and 42 meets the conditions specified by the search packet B1 after a certain period of time has elapsed, A reply packet A2 from the printer is received. The predetermined time until the timeout in S98 and / or the certain time until the timeout in S100 may be set by default, or may be arbitrarily set by the user. The predetermined time is set to be longer than the predetermined time.

(Processing of thread D)
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of processing of thread D. The communication processing unit 78 monitors that the search packet A1 is received (S110). The search packet A1 is multicast-transmitted from the printer 10 to the devices constituting the printer system 2 including the whiteboard 50 in S22 of the thread A (see FIG. 3). When search packet A1 is received (YES in S110), communication processing unit 78 determines whether or not the ID input in S72 matches the ID included in search packet A1 (S112). For example, if the ID included in the search packet A1 (see FIG. 10) and the input ID are both “0123456” and match, YES is determined in S112. When the ID included in the search packet A1 matches the ID input to the whiteboard 50, the communication processing unit 78 transmits an end instruction that instructs the thread C activated for the same ID in S80 to end the process. (S116), the process proceeds to S118.

  In S118, the communication processing unit 78 opens a predetermined port. In this step, a port having a predetermined open port number is opened. The communication processing unit 78 communicates with other devices on the printer system 2 using the port having the open port number in the following processing. Next, the communication processing unit 78 unicasts a reply packet B2 including the ID input in S72 and the open port number released in S118 to the transmission source of the search packet A1 (S120). For example, the reply packet B2 in FIG. 11 includes the ID “0123456”. When the whiteboard 50 transmits the reply packet B2, the address of the whiteboard 50 is added to the reply packet B2. The printer 10 can transmit various packets to the whiteboard 50 by designating the above address as a transmission destination. The reply packet B2 is transmitted by specifying the above-mentioned open port number included in the search packet A1 as a transmission destination, and is received by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 in S24 of the thread A (see FIG. 3). .

  When the reply packet B2 is transmitted to the printer 10, the communication processing unit 78 monitors whether the job information transmission request packet A3 is received (S122). The job information transmission request packet A3 is transmitted by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 in S34 of the thread A (see FIG. 3). When the job information transmission request packet A3 is received (YES in S122), the communication processing unit 78 transmits the job information including the ID included in the transmission request packet A3 and the print instruction to the transmission request packet A3. Unicast transmission is performed to the original printer 10 (S126). The job information and the print instruction are transmitted by specifying the address of the printer 10 specified in the transmission request packet A3 as the transmission destination. As a result, the job information and the print instruction transmitted from the whiteboard 50 are received by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 in S50 of the job information reception thread (see FIG. 5). When the job information and the print instruction are transmitted to the printer 10, the communication processing unit 78 closes the port that has been opened (S128) and ends the processing of the thread D.

  In the above processing, when NO is determined in S110 (that is, when the search packet A1 is not received), or when NO is determined in S112 (that is, the ID input in S80 is received) If the IDs included in the search packet A1 do not match), the communication processing unit 78 proceeds to S114. In S114, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread D is activated, or whether or not there is an end instruction from the thread C. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the thread D and a timeout has occurred, or when there is an end instruction from the thread C started together with the thread D in S80 (YES in S114), The communication processing unit 78 ends the processing of the thread D. The termination instruction from the thread C is transmitted from the thread C when a reply packet including the ID is received after multicasting the ID input to the whiteboard 50 (see S102 in FIG. 8). ). When the predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of the thread D and the time-out has not occurred, and when there is no termination instruction from the thread C started with the thread D in S80 (NO in S114) , The process proceeds to S110 and returns to the state of monitoring that the search packet A1 is received.

  In the above processing, if NO is determined in S122 (that is, if the transmission request packet A3 is not received before the determination processing in S122 is executed), the communication processing unit 78 proceeds to S124. . In S124, it is monitored that a predetermined time has elapsed since the reply packet B2 was transmitted. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the reply packet B2 was transmitted (NO in S124), the communication processing unit 78 proceeds to S120, and the reply packet B2 including the input ID and the open port number is sent in S110. A process of unicasting again to the printer that is the transmission source of the received search packet A1 is executed. If a certain time has elapsed since the reply packet B2 was transmitted (YES in S124), the communication processing unit 78 closes the port if it has been opened so far (S128), The process of thread D is terminated.

  The predetermined time until the timeout in S114 and / or the fixed time until the timeout in S124 may be set by default, or may be arbitrarily set by the user.

  In the whiteboard 50, when the ID is input by the ID card reader 56 (S72) and the ID input completion button 58b is pressed (YES in S74), the communication processing unit 78 activates the thread C and the thread D. The communication processing unit 78 multicasts the search packet B1 for the input ID by the process of the thread C, and monitors whether a reply packet is received. At the same time, the communication processing unit 78 monitors whether the search packet A1 from another device is received for the input ID by the processing of the thread D. When the ID is input to the whiteboard 50 prior to the printers 10 and 42, print data is transmitted by the process of the thread C. At the same time, when an ID is input to the printers 10 and 42 prior to the whiteboard 50, transmission of print data is executed by processing of the thread D.

According to the printer system 2 described above, regardless of which of the printer 10 (or the printer 42) and the whiteboard 50 (or the whiteboard 82) is input first,
Print data (in the above case, job information including print data) can be transmitted to the whiteboard, and the printer can execute printing based on the print data. According to the system 2 described above, the order in which the user inputs the ID to each device is not restricted. Convenience for the user can be improved.

(Second embodiment)
Other embodiments of the printer system 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The description of the configuration of the printer system 2, the printers 10 and 42, and the whiteboards 50 and 82 common to the first embodiment is omitted.

(Printer processing)
12 and 13 show communication processing executed by the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10. The thread A shown in FIG. 12 and the thread B shown in FIG. 13 are activated with respect to the input ID by executing the processing from S10 to S14 in FIG. Further, the communication processing unit 36 of the printer 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment activates the job information reception thread by the process of S8 in FIG. The job information receiving thread receives the job information and the print instruction transmitted from the whiteboard by the processing of the thread A in FIG. 12 or the thread B in FIG. 13, and executes the processing shown in FIG. Further, the print processing unit 38 of the printer 10 of the present embodiment executes the print processing shown in FIG. For this reason, descriptions of the job information reception thread and the processing of the print processing unit 38 are omitted.

(Processing of thread A)
In S130 to S136 of the thread A, processing similar to the processing from S20 to S26 in FIG. 3 is executed. In the first embodiment, when YES is obtained in S26, an end instruction is issued to the thread B (see FIG. 3). However, in this embodiment, if YES in S136, the thread B is not instructed to end. If YES in S136, S140 to S148 are executed. In S140, a process similar to the process in S34 of FIG. 3 is executed. In S144, the same process as the process of S30 in FIG. 3 is executed. In S148, a process similar to the process in S39 of FIG. 3 is executed. Further, if NO is determined in S134 or if NO is determined in S136, the process proceeds to S142.

  In S142, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread A was activated. If the predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the thread A and the timeout has occurred (YES in S142), the communication processing unit 36 closes the port opened in S130 (S148), and the thread A End the process. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the thread A was activated and the timeout has not occurred (NO in S142), the process proceeds to S144. In S144, it is monitored that a predetermined time has elapsed since the search packet A1 was transmitted. If the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in S144), the process proceeds to S134, and returns to the state of monitoring that the return packet B2 is received. If the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S144), the communication processing unit 36 proceeds to S132 and executes a process of multicasting again the search packet A1 including the input ID and the open port number. For example, after transmitting the previous search packet A1 and when any of the whiteboards 50 and 82 meets the conditions specified by the search packet A1 after the predetermined time has elapsed, A reply packet B2 from the whiteboard is received. The predetermined time until the timeout in S142 and the predetermined time until the timeout in S144 may be set by default or may be arbitrarily set by the user. The certain time is set to be shorter than the predetermined time.

(Processing of thread B)
In S150 to S152 of the thread B, processing similar to S40 and S42 of FIG. 4 is executed. In the first embodiment, if YES in S42, an end instruction is issued to the thread A (see FIG. 4). However, in this embodiment, if YES in S152, no termination instruction is issued to the thread A. If YES in S152, S156 to S164 are executed. In S156, the same process as the process of S48 of FIG. 4 is executed. Further, if NO is determined in S150, or if NO is determined in S152, the process proceeds to S164.

  In S164, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread B is activated. If the predetermined time has elapsed since the activation of the thread B and the timeout has occurred (YES in S164), the communication processing unit 36 ends the process of the thread B. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the thread B is activated and the time-out has not occurred (NO in S164), the process proceeds to S150, and returns to the state of monitoring that the search packet B1 is received. The predetermined time until the timeout in S164 may be set by default, or may be arbitrarily set by the user. For example, in S164, it may be monitored that “one day” has elapsed since the start of the thread B.

In the thread A, the timeout determination process of S142 is always executed after executing the processes of S130 to S140. In the thread A, YES is determined in S142, and a state in which a predetermined port is opened is maintained for the input ID until a timeout occurs. Further, the multicast transmission process (S132) of the search packet A1 for other devices is repeatedly executed until the above timeout.
In the thread B, the timeout determination process of S164 is always executed after executing the processes of S150 to S156. In the thread B, YES is determined in S164, and the state of monitoring the reception of the search packet B1 multicast-transmitted from another device on the printer system 2 is maintained for the input ID until the time-out.

(Whiteboard processing)
14 and 15 show communication processing executed by the communication processing unit 78 of the whiteboard 50. FIG. The thread C illustrated in FIG. 14 and the thread D illustrated in FIG. 15 are activated for the input ID by executing the processing of S80 of FIG. In addition, the scan processing unit 80 of the whiteboard 50 according to the present embodiment executes the scan processing shown in FIG. For this reason, description of the scanning process is omitted.

(Processing of thread C)
In S170 to S176 of the thread C, processing similar to S90 to S96 in FIG. 8 is executed. In the first embodiment, when YES is obtained in S96, an end instruction is issued to the thread D (see FIG. 8). However, in this embodiment, if YES in S176, no termination instruction is issued to the thread D. If YES in S176, S178 is executed. In S178, the same processing as in S104 of FIG. 7 is executed. The job information and the print instruction transmitted in this step are processed by the job information reception thread of the printer 10 (see FIG. 5).

  If NO is determined in S174, or if NO is determined in S176, the process proceeds to S180. Further, in this embodiment, the process proceeds to S180 after the job information and the print instruction are transmitted to the printer in S178.

  In S180, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread C is activated. If the predetermined time has elapsed since the start of thread C and the timeout has occurred (YES in S180), the communication processing unit 78 closes the port opened in S170 (S184), and the processing of the thread C Exit. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the thread C is activated and the time-out has not occurred (NO in S180), the process proceeds to S182. In S182, the same process as in S100 of FIG. 8 is executed. The predetermined time until the timeout in S180 and the fixed time until the timeout in S182 may be set by default, or may be arbitrarily set by the user. The certain time is set to be shorter than the predetermined time.

(Processing of thread D)
In S190 and S192 of the thread D, processing similar to S110 and S112 of FIG. 9 is executed. In the first embodiment, when YES is determined in S112, a termination instruction is issued to the thread C (see FIG. 9). However, in this embodiment, if YES in S192, no termination instruction is issued to the thread C. If YES in S192, the process of S194 is executed, a new thread is activated, and the processes of S196 to S206 are executed in parallel with the above S194. In S196 to S206 of the newly activated thread, processing similar to S118 to S128 in FIG. 9 is executed.

  As described above, in the thread D, if YES is determined in S192, the process proceeds to S194. Further, in this embodiment, the process proceeds to S194 when NO is determined in S190 or when NO is determined in S192.

  In S194, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the thread D is activated. If the predetermined time has elapsed since the activation of the thread D and the timeout has occurred (YES in S194), the communication processing unit 78 ends the process of the thread D. If the predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of the thread D and the time-out has not occurred (NO in S194), the process proceeds to S190 and returns to the state of monitoring that the search packet A1 is received. Note that the predetermined time until the timeout in S194 and the certain time until the timeout in S202 may be set by default or may be set arbitrarily by the user. The predetermined time is set to a time shorter than the predetermined time.

As described above, in the thread C, the timeout determination process in S180 is always executed after executing the processes in S170 to S178. In the thread C, YES is determined in S180, and a state in which a predetermined port is opened for the input ID is maintained until a timeout occurs. Further, the multicast transmission process (S172) of the search packet B1 for other devices is repeatedly executed until the above timeout.
In the thread D, the timeout determination process in S194 is always executed after executing the processes in S190 to S192. In the thread D, YES is determined in S194, and the state of monitoring the reception of the search packet A1 multicast-transmitted from another device on the printer system 2 is maintained for the input ID until the timeout occurs.

  For example, the printer 10 is used to print the print data created on the whiteboard 50 after the user inputs the ID on the whiteboard 50 until a predetermined time of “1 day” elapses. Then, the printer 42 may be used. In such a case, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the whiteboard 50 continues to multicast the search packet B1 including the ID by the process of the thread C, and the ID is received from the printers 10 and 42 by the process of the thread B. Continue to monitor incoming packets as they are received. For this reason, the print data created by the whiteboard 50 can be received and printed by both the printer 10 and the printer 42.

  Also, for example, the whiteboard 50 is used after the user inputs the ID to the printer 10 until the predetermined time elapses, and then the whiteboard 82 is used to create the whiteboard. In some cases, it is desired to print the printed data with the printer 10 that has previously entered the ID. In such a case, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the printer 10 continues multicast transmission of the search packet A1 including the ID by the process of the thread A, and the ID is obtained from the whiteboard 50, 82 by the process of the thread D. Continue to monitor incoming packets as they are received. Therefore, it is possible to cause the printer 10 to receive the print data created by the whiteboards 50 and 82 and print them.

  According to the configuration of the above embodiment, the order in which the user inputs the IDs to the printer and the whiteboard is not limited, and the user can input the IDs to the selected printer once and create with a plurality of whiteboards. Print data can be printed by the printer. In addition, the user can print the print data created on the whiteboard with a plurality of printers only by inputting the ID once on the selected whiteboard. In either case, the print data can be transmitted to the whiteboard by a simple operation, and the printer can execute printing based on the print data. User convenience can be further improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, by communicating the ID, a whiteboard for creating print data and a printer for printing the print data are specified from among a plurality of devices constituting the printer system. However, the technology of this specification may be realized in a system in which a printer and a whiteboard are connected in a one-to-one relationship.

  Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.

  The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology illustrated in the present specification or the drawings achieves a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical utility by achieving one of the objects.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer system. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing outline of a communication processing unit of a printer until threads A and B are activated. The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled A (1st Example). The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled B (1st Example). The flowchart showing the processing outline of a job information reception thread. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing outline of a print processing unit of a printer. The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the scanning process part of a whiteboard. The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled C (1st Example). The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled D (1st Example). The figure which illustrates the information which a printer transmits. The figure which illustrates the information which a white board transmits. The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled A (2nd Example). The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled B (2nd Example). The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled C (2nd Example). The flowchart showing the process outline | summary of the thread | sled D (2nd Example).

Explanation of symbols

2: Printer system 10, 42: Printer 12: Operation unit 12a: ID input completion button 14: Display unit 16: ID card reader 18: Storage unit 20: Job information storage area 22: Job information data 32: Input / output port 34: Control unit 36: communication processing unit 38: print processing unit 40: printing unit 50, 82: whiteboard 52: display board 54: scanner 56: ID card reader 58: operation unit 58a: scan button 58b: ID input completion button 60: Input / output port 62: storage unit 64: job information storage area 66: job information data 68a, 68b: ID data 72: print data 73a, 73b: combination data 74: other storage area 76: control unit 78: communication processing unit 80 : Scan processing section

Claims (11)

A job execution system comprising a job providing device and a job execution device connected to the job providing device so as to be communicable,
The job providing device
Storage means for storing specific job data;
First identification information input means for inputting specific identification information;
First communication processing means for executing the first thread and the second thread in parallel when the specific identification information is input to the first identification information input means,
The first thread is
A process of transmitting a first search packet including the specific identification information input to the first identification information input means to a job execution device;
A process of monitoring reception of a first reply packet as a response to the first search packet from a job execution device;
Processing to send the specific job data to the job execution device as a response to the first return packet when the first return packet is received from the job execution device;
The second thread is
A process for monitoring the reception of the second search packet including the specific identification information input to the job execution device from the job execution device;
A process of transmitting a second reply packet to the job execution device as a response to the second search packet when the second search packet is received from the job execution device;
A process of receiving a job transmission request from the job execution apparatus as a response to the second reply packet;
A process of transmitting the specific job data to the job execution apparatus as a response to the job transmission request when the job transmission request is received from a job execution apparatus,
The job execution device
Second identification information input means for inputting the specific identification information;
Second communication for receiving the specific job data from the job providing apparatus by executing the third thread and the fourth thread in parallel when the specific identification information is input to the second identification information input unit. Processing means;
Job execution means for executing a job based on the specific job data received by the second communication processing means,
The third thread is
A process of monitoring the reception of the first search packet including the specific identification information input to the job providing apparatus from the job providing apparatus;
A process of transmitting the first reply packet to the job providing apparatus as a response to the first search packet when the first search packet is received from the job providing apparatus;
The fourth thread is
Processing for transmitting the second search packet including the specific identification information input to the second identification information input means to a job providing device ;
A process of monitoring the reception of the second reply packet as a response to the second search packet from a job providing device ;
When the from the job providing device second reply packet is received, wherein in response of the second reply packet, the process of sending the job transmission request to the job providing apparatus, a,
The second communication processing means
In the third thread, when transmitting the first reply packet to the job providing device, from the job providing device, as a response of the first reply packet, receiving the specific job data,
In the fourth thread, when the job transmission request is transmitted to the job providing apparatus , the specific job data is received from the job providing apparatus as a response to the job transmission request. A job providing device that is communicably connected to the job execution device,
Storage means for storing specific job data;
First identification information input means for inputting specific identification information;
First communication processing means for executing the first thread and the second thread in parallel when the specific identification information is input to the first identification information input means,
The first thread is
A process of transmitting a first search packet including the specific identification information input to the first identification information input means to a job execution device;
A process of monitoring reception of a first reply packet as a response to the first search packet from a job execution device;
Processing to send the specific job data to the job execution device as a response to the first return packet when the first return packet is received from the job execution device;
The second thread is
A process for monitoring the reception of the second search packet including the specific identification information input to the job execution device from the job execution device;
A process of transmitting a second reply packet to the job execution device as a response to the second search packet when the second search packet is received from the job execution device;
A process of receiving a job transmission request from the job execution apparatus as a response to the second reply packet;
And a process of transmitting the specific job data to the job execution apparatus as a response to the job transmission request when the job transmission request is received from the job execution apparatus. The storage means can store a plurality of combination data,
Each combination data is a combination of identification information and job data,
The first communication processing means
In the first thread, when the first reply packet is received from a job execution device, the specific job data associated with the specific identification information is executed as a response to the first reply packet. To the device,
In the second thread, when the job transmission request is received from the job execution device, the specific job data associated with the specific identification information is sent to the job execution device as a response to the job transmission request. The job providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the job providing apparatus transmits the job. The job providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the storage unit can store combination data in which a plurality of pieces of identification information and job data are associated with each other. The storage unit stores combination data in which the specific identification information and the specific job data are associated with each other when the specific identification information is input to the first identification information input unit. The job providing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4. The job providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the job providing apparatus is communicably connected to a plurality of job execution apparatuses.
The first communication processing means
In the first thread, the first search packet including the specific identification information input to the first identification information input unit is transmitted to each job execution device,
In the first thread, when the first reply packet is received from any job execution device, the specific job data is transmitted to the job execution device as a response to the first reply packet,
In the second thread, when the job transmission request is received from any job execution device, the specific job data is transmitted to the job execution device as a response to the job transmission request. Job providing device. A job execution device that is communicably connected to a job providing device,
Second identification information input means for inputting specific identification information;
Second communication processing for receiving specific job data from the job providing apparatus by executing the third thread and the fourth thread in parallel when the specific identification information is input to the second identification information input unit Means,
Job execution means for executing a job based on the specific job data received by the second communication processing means,
The third thread is
A process of monitoring the reception of the first search packet including the specific identification information input to the job providing apparatus from the job providing apparatus;
Processing to transmit a first reply packet to the job providing apparatus as a response to the first search packet when the first search packet is received from the job providing apparatus;
The fourth thread is
A process of transmitting a second search packet including the specific identification information input to the second identification information input means to the job providing apparatus ;
A process of monitoring reception of a second reply packet as a response to the second search packet from the job providing device ;
When the from the job providing device second reply packet is received, wherein in response of the second reply packet, the process of sending a job transmission request to the job providing apparatus, a,
The second communication means includes
In the third thread, when transmitting the first reply packet to the job providing device, from the job providing device, as a response of the first reply packet, receiving the specific job data,
In the fourth thread, when the job transmission request is transmitted to the job providing apparatus , the specific job data is received from the job providing apparatus as a response to the job transmission request. The second identification information input means can input a plurality of identification information,
When a plurality of pieces of identification information are input to the second identification information input unit, the second communication processing unit performs each second search including each piece of identification information input to the second identification information input unit in the fourth thread. The job execution apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the packet is transmitted to the job providing apparatus. The job execution device according to claim 7 or 8, which is communicably connected to a plurality of job providing devices,
The second communication processing means
In the fourth thread, the second search packet including the specific identification information is transmitted to each job providing device ,
In the fourth thread, when the second reply packet is received from any of the job providing apparatuses , the job transmission request is transmitted to the job providing apparatus as a response to the second reply packet. Job execution device to be executed. A computer program for a job providing apparatus connected to a job execution apparatus so as to be communicable.
A storage process for storing specific job data;
A first identification information input process for inputting specific identification information;
A first communication process for executing the first thread and the second thread in parallel when the specific identification information is input in the first identification information input process;
The first thread is
A process of transmitting a first search packet including the specific identification information input to the first identification information input means to a job execution device;
A process of monitoring reception of a first reply packet as a response to the first search packet from a job execution device;
Processing to send the specific job data to the job execution device as a response to the first return packet when the first return packet is received from the job execution device;
The second thread is
A process for monitoring the reception of the second search packet including the specific identification information input to the job execution device from the job execution device;
A process of transmitting a second reply packet to the job execution device as a response to the second search packet when the second search packet is received from the job execution device;
A process of receiving a job transmission request from the job execution apparatus as a response to the second reply packet;
And a process of transmitting the specific job data to the job execution apparatus as a response to the job transmission request when the job transmission request is received from the job execution apparatus. A computer program for a job execution device that is communicably connected to a job providing device.
A second identification information input process for inputting specific identification information;
Second communication processing for receiving specific job data from the job providing apparatus by executing the third thread and the fourth thread in parallel when the specific identification information is input in the second identification information input processing When,
A job execution process for executing a job based on the specific job data received in the second communication process,
The third thread is
A process of monitoring the reception of the first search packet including the specific identification information input to the job providing apparatus from the job providing apparatus;
Processing to transmit a first reply packet to the job providing apparatus as a response to the first search packet when the first search packet is received from the job providing apparatus;
The fourth thread is
A process of transmitting a second search packet including the specific identification information input to the second identification information input means to the job providing apparatus ;
A process of monitoring reception of a second reply packet as a response to the second search packet from the job providing device ;
When the from the job providing device second reply packet is received, wherein in response of the second reply packet, the process of sending a job transmission request to the job providing apparatus, a,
In the second communication process,
In the third thread, when transmitting the first reply packet to the job providing device, from the job providing device, as a response of the first reply packet, receiving the specific job data,
In the fourth thread, when the job transmission request is transmitted to a job providing apparatus , the specific job data is received as a response to the job transmission request from the job providing apparatus .

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