JP5636757B2 - Image processing apparatus, image processing system, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing system that realizes efficient output processing is already known in an environment in which a plurality of image processing apparatuses such as a FAX apparatus, a printer apparatus, and an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) are connected to a network.

  For example, for the purpose of improving the efficiency of output processing, when the device for which output is specified by the user is executing another job or in failure, and printing is not executed even after a predetermined time has elapsed A method of delegating processing to another device on the network is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  However, although the method described in Patent Document 1 can improve the efficiency of output processing itself using a device by an image processing system, it improves the efficiency of management work of a device connected to the image processing system. It is not possible. Here, the device management work refers to work for managing what processing is performed by which device when a large number of devices are connected to the image processing system. When equipment is connected, work efficiency becomes important.

  That is, when a large number of devices are connected to the image processing system, the management work of an administrator who manages the devices becomes complicated, and labor and time increase. For example, the administrator monitors the output of each device for high-security document output, huge output, website printing, etc., but the processing executed for all the functions of each device If monitoring is performed, management work will be enormous. In addition, since there are a large number of devices connected to the image processing system, there is a high possibility that a management failure will occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and a program capable of efficiently and reliably managing devices connected to the image processing system. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an input control unit that receives operation input of image data and an output method of the image data, and the output method from the input control unit. an acquisition unit that acquires, acquires predetermined output condition that associates a predetermined output device from the particular device, to said output method acquired by the acquisition unit, determines whether the output condition is satisfied , if the previous SL output method determines that the output condition is satisfied, the determination unit that determines the device to the output device for outputting the image data and the transfer portion to be transferred to the output device determined the image data And.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing system including a first image processing apparatus and a second image processing apparatus connected to the first image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus associates an input control unit that receives image data and an operation input of an output method of the image data, an acquisition unit that acquires the output method from the input control unit, and the second image processing apparatus . When the predetermined output condition is acquired from a specific device, it is determined whether the output method acquired by the acquisition unit satisfies the output condition, and the output method is determined to satisfy the output condition A determination unit that determines the device that outputs the image data as the second image processing device, and a transfer unit that transfers the image data to the determined second image processing device . 2 images When receiving the receiving unit that receives the image data and the output method of the image data, the image data, and the output method of the image data from the first image processing device, And an output unit that outputs the image data by the output method.

The image processing method according to the present invention includes an input step for receiving image data and an operation input of the image data output method, an acquisition step for acquiring the received output method , and a predetermined output device associated with a predetermined output device. to get the output condition from a specific device, the output method acquired, and determining whether the output condition is satisfied, if the previous SL output method determines that the output condition is satisfied, the image data A determining step of determining an output device as the output device; and a transfer step of transferring the image data to the determined output device.

Further, the program according to the present invention associates a computer with an input step for receiving image data and an operation input of the image data output method , an acquisition step for acquiring the received output method , and a predetermined output device. acquires predetermined output condition from a specific device, when the output method acquired, and determining whether the output condition is satisfied, the previous SL output method determines that the output condition is satisfied, the image data And a transfer step of transferring the image data to the determined output device.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that devices connected to the image processing system can be managed efficiently and reliably.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration and functions of the image processing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of system operation information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of system operation information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of system operation information. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of system operation information. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of system operation information. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of reference destination information of the system operation information. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of job execution information. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of operating conditions included in the job execution information. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an example of operation conditions included in the job execution information. FIG. 10C is a diagram illustrating an example of operation conditions included in the job execution information. FIG. 10-4 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation conditions included in the job execution information. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of output processing by the image processing system. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the application selection screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of transfer determination processing by the determination unit 103. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of confirmation items. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the proxy output necessity determination process. FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, an image processing method, and a program according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration and functions of the image processing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the first embodiment, an image processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as this machine) 100 that has received a job to be output and an image processing apparatus that is an output destination (hereinafter referred to as an output destination device). ) 200a and 200b (hereinafter collectively referred to as output destination device 200 unless otherwise specified) are connected by communication device 150. Although FIG. 1 shows two output destination devices 200, the number of output destination devices is not limited to this.

  First, details of the machine 100 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 includes an input control unit 101, an acquisition management unit 102, a determination unit 103, a transfer unit 104, a determination unit 105, an output unit 106, a communication unit 109, and a storage The unit 110 is mainly provided.

  The input control unit 101 is a selection screen or the like that displays on the display unit (not shown) input of image data to be output by a user operation and input of a processing output method (hereinafter referred to as job information) for the image data. Accept from. Here, the output method mainly has job functions, and further has operation conditions indicating specific settings for operating each function. For example, job functions include copying and FAX transmission. The copy operating conditions include a reading size and an output paper size. The operation conditions for FAX transmission include a transmission destination FAX number and the number of transmissions.

  The storage unit 110 stores device information and system operation information. Here, the device information includes a device name of the own device, a function that can be provided by the own device, a device state indicating an execution state and a failure state, and the like. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information. In FIG. 2, the device name “department representative FAX” in the device information indicates that the function name “relay” has capability.

  The system operation information is information indicating an output condition in which output of a predetermined job is restricted to a specific device. Specifically, a target output job indicating a job whose output destination is restricted, and the target job Contains the name of the output destination device that is permitted to output the output job.

  3 to 7 are diagrams illustrating examples of system operation information. The system operation information 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 is a basic configuration of the system operation information, and includes at least a target output job and a delegation condition 301. The delegation condition 301 defines a device name of an output destination device, a substitute destination device candidate indicating a candidate of a substitute destination device, and a situation in which output substitution is performed. Here, the substitution destination device is a device that substitutes the output in the output destination device when the output destination device cannot output. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, priorities are assigned in order from 1 to the candidates for the substitute device.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the system operation information 300 includes a target output job “FAX transmission to another company”, an output destination device “device C”, an output proxy candidate “device D”, Is defined as “connection failure”. The system operation information 300 defines that the target output job “FAX transmission to other companies” is output by the device C. In addition, it is determined that FAX transmission is performed by apparatus D when FAX transmission is impossible due to failure in connection with apparatus C.

  The system operation information 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a delegation condition 401 in which information is added to the delegation condition 301 of the system operation information 300. The delegation condition 401 includes the device status of this apparatus in addition to the delegation condition 301 included in the system operation information 300. Here, the device status includes an operation state of the device and a power mode. The power mode includes full power and power saving.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the system operation information 400 sets the target output job as “received printing by printer”, the device status in the delegation condition 401 as “night mode”, the output destination device as “device C”, and the substitution destination device. The candidate is “device F” and the status is “printing failure”. This system operation information 400 stipulates that the target output job “received printing by printer” is printed by the device C when the apparatus 100 is in the night mode. Further, when printing by the device C fails, it is defined that printing is performed by the device F. For example, when a device in the power saving mode and a device in the full power mode are connected, if the device in the power saving mode is operated and output, the amount of power consumption becomes higher than when output by the device in the full power mode. In such a case, it is possible to limit the output that causes the power consumption amount to exceed the predetermined amount by restricting the output by the device that exceeds the predetermined power consumption amount at the time of activation in the system operation information 400.

  The system operation information 500 shown in FIG. 5 defines the target output job 501 as a job that outputs a certain amount. As shown in FIG. 5, the system operation information 500 stipulates that the output is performed by the device C when the target output job is printing exceeding 100 copies. In this way, printing exceeding the predetermined number of prints can be monitored by setting the output to be the target output job and the output destination device as the device C.

  The system operation information 600 shown in FIG. 6 defines the target output job 601 as URL printing. Here, URL printing means printing of image data specified by the URL. As shown in FIG. 6, the system operation information 600 defines that the device C outputs when the target output job is URL printing. In this way, by setting the URL printing as the target job and the output destination device as the device C, it is possible to monitor the printing of all URLs in the image processing system only by monitoring the device C.

  In addition to these system operation information, the storage unit 110 can also store system operation information in which image data exceeding a predetermined level of security is defined as a target output job. Thereby, it is possible to monitor the output of a confidential document having a security level of a certain level or higher.

  The system operation information 700 shown in FIG. 7 presents a plurality of target output jobs and delegation conditions, and associates an application item 701 indicating the presence / absence of application with each target output job and delegation condition. In the system operation information 700, when the application item 701 is set as ◯, it indicates that the associated target output job and delegation conditions are applied, and when X is set, it is associated. Indicates that the target output job and delegation conditions are not applied. The application item 701 can reduce the setting work by the user.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of reference destination information of the system operation information. The system operation information reference destination information 800 shown in FIG. 8 presents the system operation information reference destination 801. The system operation information reference destination 801 indicates that the device storing the system operation information is the device α and the IP address of the device α. Here, the system operation information is stored only by the device α indicated by the reference destination 801 of the system operation information, and other devices receive and reference the system operation information from the device α. As described above, since the system operation information is stored only by a specific device, it is not necessary to store it by all the devices on the system, and the storage capacity can be reduced.

  The acquisition management unit 102 acquires job information received by the input control unit 101, assigns a job ID to the acquired job information, and requests the determination unit 103 to determine a job output destination device. The acquisition management unit 102 receives information on a job output destination device from the determination unit 103 and generates job execution information including job information, a job ID, and information on the output destination device. The acquisition management unit 102 passes the job execution information to the output unit 106 when the output destination device of the generated job execution information is the own device 100, and passes it to the transfer unit 104 when the output destination device is the other device 200. .

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of job execution information. The job execution information 1000 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes job reception date and time, execution information indicating an execution state and an output destination device, executor information indicating a device that has received a job and its owner, a job ID, and a reading condition. , Including operating conditions indicating transmission conditions.

  FIG. 10A to FIG. 10D are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation condition included in the job execution information. A reading condition 1101 shown in FIG. 10A defines item names including size, resolution, document surface, color mode, and their setting values. Also, the print condition 1102 shown in FIG. 10-2 defines item names including priority, used tray, transfer surface, color mode, magnification, and their set values. Here, the priority indicates a priority order when the same device receives a plurality of jobs. Here, since the setting value of the priority is normal, it indicates that printing is performed in the order received by the device.

  10-3 defines transmission destination information 1104, item names including priority, resolution, time designation, file name, file format, and setting values thereof. Here, in the transmission destination information 1104, as a further detailed matter, for the transmission type “FAX”, a destination number, presence / absence of a communication target, transmission date / time, transmission time, and the like are defined.

  Further, the document reading condition 1105 shown in FIG. 10-4 defines the storage location of the document to be read and the bibliographic information 1106. Here, the bibliographic information 1106 indicates the document name, the document owner, the document opening password, the number of pages, and security information as further detailed items.

  When receiving the job information to which the job ID is assigned from the acquisition management unit 102, the determination unit 103 refers to the system operation information in the storage unit 110 to determine the output destination device, and acquires and manages information on the determined output destination device. Return to part 102. Here, the output destination device information may be a device name or a device ID. For example, the determination unit 103 determines whether the received job information corresponds to system operation information. When determining that the received job information corresponds to the system operation information, the determination unit 103 determines the output destination device indicated by the delegation condition included in the system operation information as the output destination device 200. On the other hand, if the determination unit 103 determines that the received job information does not correspond to the system operation information, the determination unit 103 determines the output destination device of the received job information as the apparatus 100 that is the own apparatus.

  Further, when determining the output destination device 200 from the system operation information in the storage unit 110, the determination unit 103 acquires the device information of the output destination device 200 from the determined output destination device 200, and job information is included in the device information. It may be confirmed whether or not a function capable of executing the indicated operating condition is included. Accordingly, the apparatus 100 can transmit the job execution information to the output destination device 200 after confirming that the output destination device 200 includes a function capable of executing the operation condition indicated by the job information.

  As another example, when the storage unit 110 does not store the system operation information but stores the reference destination information of the system operation information, the determination unit 103 first obtains the system operation information from the reference destination device. get. For example, the determination unit 103 acquires the IP address of the reference destination device α from the reference destination information 800 of the system operation information illustrated in FIG. 8 and acquires the system operation information from the device α via the communication unit 109. The system operation information thus saved is stored in the storage unit 110. Then, the determination unit 103 determines an output destination device with reference to the acquired system operation information.

  Upon receiving the job execution information generated from the acquisition management unit 102, the transfer unit 104 transfers the job execution information to the output destination device 200a via the communication unit 109. In addition, the transfer unit 104 transfers job execution information to the substitution destination device 200b.

  When the output unit 106 receives the job execution information from the acquisition management unit 102, the output unit 106 executes the job according to the operation condition included in the job execution information. As shown in FIG. 1, the output unit 106 mainly includes a printing unit 107 and a FAX transmission / reception unit 108. The printing unit 107 prints image data when the operation condition included in the job execution information is a copy. The FAX transmission / reception unit 108 transmits the image data by FAX when the operation condition included in the job execution information is FAX.

  The communication unit 109 transmits job execution information to the output destination device 200 according to an instruction from the transfer unit 104 or the FAX transmission / reception unit 108. The communication unit 109 also has a function as a receiving unit that receives job progress information from the output destination device 200 that has received the job execution information transferred by the transfer unit 104. Here, the job progress information includes an output result indicating success or failure of the job output and a reason for the failure.

The communication unit 109 also receives a request for transmitting system operation information from another device 200 when the machine 100 is designated as a reference destination of system operation information, also it functions as a signal unit transmission to be transmitted to the device 200.

  The determination unit 105 receives job progress information from the output destination device 200a via the communication unit 109, and determines whether or not proxy output by the proxy destination device 200b is necessary from the result indicated by the received progress information and the system operation information. For example, when the output result of the received progress information indicates failure and the reason indicates connection failure, the determination unit 105 refers to the system operation information 300 in FIG. Here, the delegation condition 301 of the system operation information 300 stipulates that, when the reason is connection failure, the device D that is the substitute destination device substitutes the output, and this case corresponds to this, so the determination unit 105 Determines that output from the device D is necessary.

  If the determination unit 105 determines that proxy output is necessary, the determination unit 105 transmits an output stop instruction to the output destination device 200a via the communication unit 109, and transmits job execution information to be transmitted to the proxy destination device 200b to the transfer unit 104. To do.

  Next, details of the output destination device 200 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the output destination device 200 includes an input control unit 101, an acquisition management unit 202, a determination unit 103, a transfer unit 104, a notification unit 201, an output unit 106, a communication unit 209, The storage unit 110 is mainly provided. Here, functions and configurations other than the notification unit 201 are the same as the configurations and functions of the respective units having the same reference numerals provided in the machine 100. Note that the output destination device 200 and the machine 100 are distinguished for convenience of explanation, and the configuration of each device is basically the same.

  The communication unit 209 has a function as a receiving unit that receives job execution information from the apparatus 100. The acquisition management unit 202 acquires job execution information from the apparatus 100 via the communication unit 209 and passes the acquired job execution information to the output unit 106. In addition, the communication unit 209 receives an instruction to stop output from the apparatus 100.

Further, the communication unit 209, when the unit 100 is specified as the reference destination of the system operation information, and also has a function as a signal unit transmission for transmitting a request to transmit the system operation information to the unit 100.

  The notification unit 201 notifies the apparatus 100 of job progress information from the output unit 106 via the communication unit 209. Here, the notification unit 201 may notify at the end of the job, or may be notified in multiple times such as the start, execution, and end of the job.

  Next, the flow of output processing by the image processing system configured as described above will be described. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of output processing by the image processing system.

  The input control unit 101 receives input of job information (step S1). For example, the input control unit 101 receives input of job information from the application selection screen. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the application selection screen. As shown in FIG. 12, on the application selection screen, job functions such as copying, FAX transmission, and document storage are displayed so as to be selectable. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen. FIG. 13 shows an example of a FAX transmission setting screen. In this example, a FAX destination, reading size, document type, and the like are displayed in a selectable manner. The input control unit 101 accepts input of job information from these screens. Note that the input control unit 101 can not accept subsequent setting inputs when the user presses a start key (not shown) on the setting screen. As a result, it is possible to prevent the job information of a job that has already been executed from being inadvertently changed.

  The input control unit 101 transmits the received job information to the acquisition management unit 102 (step S2). When receiving the job information from the input control unit 101, the acquisition management unit 102 assigns a job ID to the received job information and transmits the job information to the determination unit 103 (step S3).

Determination unit 103 receives the job information from the acquisition management unit 102, determines that the destination device 200 to the destination device indicated by the system operation information (step S4). For example, when the system operation information is stored in the storage unit 110, the determination unit 103 acquires the system operation information from the storage unit 110, and determines the output destination device indicated by the acquired system operation information as the output destination device 200. To do. At this time, the determination unit 103 acquires device information of the output destination device 200 from the further determined output destination device 200, and confirms that the device information includes a function capable of executing the operation condition indicated by the job information. be able to. Furthermore, as another example, when the system operation information is not stored in the storage unit 110 and the reference destination information of the system operation information is stored, the determination unit 103 determines the system from the reference destination information of the system operation information. The output destination device 200 may be determined after obtaining the operation information.

  When determining the output destination device, the determination unit 103 transmits information of the determined output destination device to the acquisition management unit 102 (step S5). For example, the determination unit 103 transmits the device name of the output destination device. The acquisition management unit 102 includes the acquired output destination device information in the job information to generate job execution information (step S6).

  If the output destination device determined by the determination unit 103 is not the own device, the acquisition management unit 102 transmits the generated job execution information to the transfer unit 104 (step S7). The transfer unit 104 transmits the job execution information received from the acquisition management unit 102 to the output destination device 200 via the communication unit 109 (step S8).

  Next, on the output destination device 200 side, the acquisition management unit 202 transmits the job execution information received from the apparatus 100 via the communication unit 209 to the output unit 106 (step S9). The output unit 106 outputs the job indicated by the received job execution information according to the operation condition (step S10).

  Steps S7 to S10 show processing when the determining unit 103 determines another device as the output destination device in step S4. However, when the determining unit 103 determines the own device as the output destination device in step S4. Are not performed from step S7 to step S10. In this case, the acquisition management unit 102 transmits job execution information to the output unit 106, and the job is output from the output unit 106 of the apparatus 100.

  Next, as another example, details of a process for determining whether or not to transfer job execution information (hereinafter referred to as a transfer determination process) will be described as a stage before the process of determining an output destination device by the determination unit 103. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of transfer determination processing by the determination unit 103.

  The determination unit 103 acquires system operation information from the storage unit 110 (step S21). The determination unit 103 creates a confirmation item (step S22). Here, the confirmation item includes at least the target output job in the acquired system operation information. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of confirmation items. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the confirmation items include reference destination information in the system operation information, items indicating setting values, and check boxes indicating whether or not confirmation has been performed. The determination unit 103 determines whether there is an unconfirmed item among the created confirmation items (step S23). For example, when the determination unit 103 determines that there is a confirmation item that is not checked in the check box (step S23: Yes), the determination unit 103 extracts one unconfirmed item (step S24). The determination unit 103 identifies reference destination information included in the confirmation item (step S25). Here, the determination unit 103 identifies “transmission destination information” from the reference destination information illustrated in FIG. 15.

  Next, the determination unit 103 determines whether there is an item that has not been verified with the confirmation item in the job execution information (step S26). Here, the job execution information similarly includes at least the target output job as a collation item. The determination unit 103 extracts unchecked items corresponding to the unconfirmed items extracted in step S24 from the job execution information (step S27). The determination unit 103 collates the value extracted in step S27 with the value specified in step S25, and determines whether or not they match (step S28).

  When the determination unit 103 determines that the value extracted in step S27 matches the value specified in step S25 (step S28: Yes), the determination unit 103 determines that the transfer is to be performed, and the determination result “transfer” to the acquisition management unit 102. Is returned (step S29). In this case, the determination unit 103 continues to determine an output destination device to which job execution information is transferred. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S26 that there is no corresponding unmatched item (step S26: No), and if it is determined in step S28 that the unconfirmed item does not match the unmatched item (step S28: No), The determination unit 103 returns to step S23 to determine whether there are other unconfirmed items.

  In step S23, when the determination unit 103 determines that there are no unconfirmed items in the confirmation items (step S23: No), it determines not to transfer, and returns a determination result “do not transfer” to the acquisition management unit 102 (step S23). S30). In this case, the acquisition management unit 102 transmits the job execution information to the execution unit 106 of the apparatus 100 without transferring the job execution information.

  Next, a description will be given of the procedure of processing for determining whether or not to perform proxy output in the proxy device when the output in the output destination device 200 fails (hereinafter referred to as proxy output necessity determination processing). FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the proxy output necessity determination process.

  First, in the apparatus 100, the transfer unit 104 transmits job execution information to the output destination device 200a (step S41). Next, in the output destination device 200a, the acquisition management unit 202 transmits the job execution information received from the apparatus 100 to the output unit 106 (step S42). The output unit 106 outputs a job according to the operation condition of the received job execution information (step S43). The output unit 106 transmits job progress information including the output result and the reason for failure to the notification unit 201 (step S44).

  When the notification unit 201 receives the progress information of the job from the output unit 106, the notification unit 201 notifies the apparatus 100 of the received progress information (step S45). In the apparatus 100, when the acquisition management unit 102 receives the progress information of the job via the communication unit 109, the acquisition management unit 102 determines whether the output result of the received progress information of the job indicates failure, and determines that it indicates failure. Job progress information is transmitted to the case determination unit 105 (step S46).

  When receiving the job progress information via the communication unit 109, the determining unit 105 determines whether or not proxy output is necessary in the proxy destination device 200b (step S47). If the determination unit 105 determines to execute the proxy output for the reason of failure included in the system operation information and the job progress information, the determination unit 105 transmits an output stop instruction to the output destination device 200a (step S48). In the output destination device 200a, the acquisition management unit 202 transmits the output stop instruction received from the machine 100 via the communication unit 209 to the output unit 106 (step S49).

  In the apparatus 100, the determination unit 105 transmits job execution information to the transfer unit 104 (step S50). The transfer unit 104 transmits job execution information to the substitute device 200b (step S51). In the substitute device 200b, the acquisition management unit 202 transmits the job execution information received from the machine 100 via the communication unit 209 to the output unit 106 (step S52). The output unit 106 outputs a job according to the operation condition of the received job execution information (step S53).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the output of the target output job registered in the system operation information and the job corresponding to the delegation condition restricts the output by a device other than the output destination device permitted to output. Therefore, the devices connected to the image processing system can be managed efficiently and reliably.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the output of the job by the output destination device 200a fails, the job execution information is further transferred to the substitute destination device 200b. Even if a failure occurs, job output can be continued.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatuses 100 and 200 (hereinafter collectively referred to as the multi function device 100) according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the MFP 100 as an image processing apparatus has a configuration in which a controller 10 and an engine unit (Engine) 60 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus. The controller 10 is a controller that controls the entire MFP 100 and controls drawing, communication, and input from an operation unit (not shown). The engine unit 60 is a printer engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, a four-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a fax unit. The engine unit 60 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

  The controller 10 includes a CPU 11, a north bridge (NB) 13, a system memory (MEM-P) 12, a south bridge (SB) 14, a local memory (MEM-C) 17, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 16 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 110, and the north bridge (NB) 13 and the ASIC 16 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 15. The MEM-P 12 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12b.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the multifunction peripheral 100, has a chip set including the NB 13, the MEM-P 12, and the SB 14, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 13 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 11 to the MEM-P 12, SB 14, and AGP 15, and includes a memory controller that controls reading / writing with respect to the MEM-P 12, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 12 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 12a and a RAM 12b. The ROM 12a is a read-only memory used as a program / data storage memory, and the RAM 12b is a writable / readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, or the like.

  The SB 14 is a bridge for connecting the NB 13 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The SB 14 is connected to the NB 13 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 16 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 15, PCI bus, HDD 110, and MEM-C 17. The ASIC 16 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 16, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 17, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that rotate image data using hardware logic. (Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 60 via the PCI bus. The ASIC 16 is connected with an FCU (Facile Control Unit) 30, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 40, and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical Engineers 50) interface via an PCI bus. The operation display unit 20 is directly connected to the ASIC 16.

  The MEM-C 17 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer. An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 110 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms. It is.

  The AGP 15 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed for speeding up graphics processing. The AGP 15 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the MEM-P 12 with high throughput. .

100, 200a, 200b Image processing apparatus 101 Input control unit 102, 202 Acquisition management unit 103 Determination unit 104 Transfer unit 105 Judgment unit 106 Output unit 107 Printing unit 108 FAX transmission / reception unit 109, 209 Communication unit 110 Storage unit 201 Notification unit

JP 2009-274242 A

Claims (11)

An input control unit for receiving operation input of image data and an output method of the image data;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the output method from the input control unit ;
Acquires predetermined output condition that associates a predetermined output device from the particular device, to said output method acquired by the acquisition unit, determines whether the output condition is satisfied, before SL output method is the When determining that the output condition is satisfied, a determination unit that determines the output device as a device that outputs the image data;
A transfer unit that transfers the image data to the determined output device;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The output condition is when the output of the image data by the output devices associated with the output condition fails, further associates the proxy device on behalf of output by the output device,
A receiving unit for receiving the output result of the image data from the output device;
Further comprising
The transfer unit, when the received output result indicates a failure in outputting the image data, transferring the image data to the substitute device;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. A plurality of the output conditions are determined by assigning a priority to the substitute device,
The transfer unit transfers the acquired image data to the substitute device according to priority;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2. The output condition is a condition indicating that an output amount of the image data exceeds a predetermined output amount;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The output condition is a condition indicating that a security level set for the image data exceeds a predetermined level;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The output condition is a condition indicating that the type of the image data is a predetermined type;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The predetermined type is a condition representing image data having a URL as a source;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 6 . The output condition is a condition indicating that an output by the output method exceeds a predetermined power consumption;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. An image processing system comprising a first image processing device and a second image processing device connected to the first image processing device,
The first image processing apparatus includes:
An input control unit for receiving operation input of image data and an output method of the image data;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the output method from the input control unit;
Acquiring a predetermined output condition associated with the second image processing apparatus from a specific device, determining whether the output method acquired by the acquisition unit satisfies the output condition; Determining that the second image processing device is a device that outputs the image data when it is determined that the output condition is satisfied,
A transfer unit that transfers the image data to the determined second image processing apparatus ;
With
The second image processing apparatus includes:
A receiving unit that receives the image data and the output method of the image data from the first image processing apparatus;
An output unit that outputs the image data by the output method when the image data and the output method of the image data are received;
An image processing system comprising: An input step for receiving operation input of image data and an output method of the image data;
An acquisition step of acquiring the output method accepted,
Acquires predetermined output condition that associates a predetermined output device from the particular device, the output method acquired, and determining whether the output condition is satisfied, the previous SL output method and the output condition is satisfied A determination step for determining, as the output device, a device that outputs the image data, if determined;
A transfer step of transferring the image data to the determined output device;
An image processing method comprising: Computer
An input step for receiving operation input of image data and an output method of the image data;
An acquisition step of acquiring the output method accepted,
Acquires predetermined output condition that associates a predetermined output device from the particular device, the output method acquired, and determining whether the output condition is satisfied, the previous SL output method and the output condition is satisfied A determination step for determining, as the output device, a device that outputs the image data, if determined;
A transfer step of transferring the image data to the determined output device;
A program characterized by functioning as

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