JP5803271B2 - Printing system, printing apparatus specifying method, and printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing process via a network.

  With the improvement of portability of clients that can access the Internet, such as notebook personal computers and mobile phones, there is a demand for printing from clients in various places. In order to meet this demand, a system has been proposed in which a printing device as an output destination is designated at the client, printing data is sent from the client to the designated printing device via the mediation server, and printing is executed. (Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-251179 A

  In the technique of designating a printing device as an output destination in a client, the user needs to know information for specifying the printing device, such as the name of the printing device to be designated and an IP (Internet Protocol) address, in advance. . Therefore, there is a problem in that when the information for specifying the printing apparatus is not known, the printing apparatus cannot be specified and printing cannot be performed. In addition, when printing on the go, the user must start from a search for a nearby printing device, which takes a long time to complete printing, and is cumbersome for the user. There was a problem of being forced.

  It is an object of the present invention to easily execute search and selection of a printing device in a state where a printing device that can be an output destination is unknown in a client.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

Application Example 1 A printing system including a client, a plurality of printing apparatuses, and a management apparatus,
The client has a presence notification signal output unit that outputs a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client;
The plurality of printing apparatuses are respectively
A presence notification signal receiver for receiving the presence notification signal;
Based on the received presence notification signal, at least a distance estimation information acquisition unit that acquires distance estimation information capable of estimating a distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
A distance estimation information transmitting unit that transmits the acquired distance estimation information to the management device;
The management device
A distance estimation information receiving unit that receives the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the received distance estimation information, a candidate printing device specifying unit that specifies, as a candidate printing device, a printing device that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the distance between the client and the printing device among the plurality of printing devices. When,
A candidate specifying information transmitting unit that transmits candidate specifying information capable of specifying the candidate printing device to the client.

  In the printing system of Application Example 1, since a printing device that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the distance between the client and the printing device among a plurality of printing devices is identified as a candidate printing device, candidate identification information is transmitted to the client. Based on the received candidate specifying information, the client can easily select a printing apparatus as an output destination when printing from the client. In addition, as the predetermined condition regarding the distance, for example, a condition that the client is closer to other printing apparatuses or a condition that the distance between the client and the printing apparatus is estimated to be equal to or less than the predetermined distance is adopted. can do. Therefore, the user can easily select a printing device closest to the client among a plurality of printing devices or a printing device having a predetermined distance or less.

[Application Example 2] In the printing system according to Application Example 1,
The predetermined condition is a printing system in which a distance between the client and the printing apparatus is estimated to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress printing from being performed by a printing apparatus located at a position away from the client by a predetermined distance. Therefore, the user can easily collect the print results.

[Application Example 3] In the printing system according to Application Example 1 or Application Example 2,
The client further includes:
A candidate specifying information receiving unit for receiving the candidate specifying information;
A list display unit that displays a list of the candidate printing devices including at least a part of the candidate specifying information based on the received candidate specifying information;
Having a printing system.

  With this configuration, the user can easily identify the candidate printing device by viewing the list displayed on the list display unit, and easily select the printing device that is the output destination from the candidate printing devices. can do.

Application Example 4 In the printing system according to Application Example 3,
The candidate printing device comprises a plurality of the printing devices,
The candidate specifying information transmitting unit transmits, in addition to the candidate specifying information, distance comparison information capable of comparing distances between the client and the candidate printing device in each candidate printing device to the client,
The candidate specifying information receiving unit receives the distance comparison information in addition to the candidate specifying information,
The list display unit displays, based on the received distance comparison information, at least a part of the candidate specifying information in the list in a predetermined order regarding the distance between the client and each candidate printing device. , Printing system.

  With such a configuration, at least a part of the candidate specifying information is displayed side by side in a predetermined order related to the distance between the client and each candidate printing device in the list, so the user can display the information displayed in the list. By looking, it is possible to easily compare the relative sizes (long and short) of the distance to the client between the candidate printing apparatuses.

Application Example 5 In the printing system according to Application Example 3 or Application Example 4,
The client further includes:
A user interface unit for selecting a printing device to be used for printing out of the candidate printing devices identified by at least a part of the candidate identification information displayed in the list;
A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job to the printing apparatus selected by the user interface unit;
Having a printing system.

  With such a configuration, the user can easily transmit a print job to a desired printing apparatus.

Application Example 6 In the printing system according to any one of Application Example 3 to Application Example 5,
The plurality of printing apparatuses are respectively
An information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the configuration information of the printing apparatus and the information indicating the state of the printing apparatus;
A configuration state information transmitting unit that transmits at least one of the acquired configuration information and information indicating the state to the management device;
Have
The candidate specifying information transmitting unit transmits at least one of the configuration information and information indicating the state of each candidate printing apparatus together with the candidate specifying information to the client,
The candidate specifying information receiving unit receives at least one of the configuration information and information indicating the state of each candidate printing apparatus together with the candidate specifying information,
The list display unit displays at least one of the configuration information and the information indicating the state of each received candidate printing apparatus on the list.

  With such a configuration, the user can easily select a printing apparatus as an output destination based on configuration information or information indicating a state displayed in the list. Therefore, for example, a printing device capable of color printing and a printing device capable of double-sided printing can be easily selected based on configuration information, or a printing device in which a failure has occurred based on information indicating the state Can be suppressed.

Application Example 7 A printing system including a client, a plurality of printing apparatuses, and a management apparatus,
The client
A presence notification signal output unit for outputting a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client;
A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job to the management device;
The plurality of printing apparatuses are respectively
A presence notification signal receiver for receiving the presence notification signal;
Based on the received presence notification signal, at least a distance estimation information acquisition unit that acquires distance estimation information capable of estimating a distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
A distance estimation information transmitting unit that transmits the acquired distance estimation information to the management device;
The management device
A distance estimation information receiving unit that receives the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the received distance estimation information, among the plurality of printing apparatuses, a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding a distance between the client and the printing apparatus, and is a printing apparatus that is used for printing A printing device selection section for selecting
And a print job transfer unit that receives the print job and transfers the print job to the selected use printing apparatus.

  According to the printing system of the application example 7, in the management apparatus, among the plurality of printing apparatuses, the printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the distance between the client and the printing apparatus and is a printing apparatus used for printing is used printing Since the apparatus is selected and the print job is transferred to the selected used printing apparatus, the printing apparatus as the output destination can be easily selected when printing from the client. In addition, as the predetermined condition regarding the distance, for example, a condition that the client is closer to other printing apparatuses or a condition that the distance between the client and the printing apparatus is estimated to be equal to or less than the predetermined distance is adopted. can do. Therefore, it is possible to easily realize printing by selecting a printing device closest to the client among a plurality of printing devices or a printing device having a predetermined distance or less. In addition, since the management apparatus can omit data exchange between the management apparatus and the client after the used printing apparatus is selected, the processing load on the client can be reduced.

[Application Example 8] In the printing system according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 7,
The printing apparatus further includes:
A printing system comprising: a notification unit that notifies at least one of reception of the print job, execution of the print job, and completion of execution of the print job after receiving the print job.

  With such a configuration, the user can easily know which printing apparatus has performed printing or is scheduled to perform printing by notification from the reception notification unit.

Application Example 9 In the printing system according to any one of Application Example 1 to Application Example 8,
The presence notification signal output unit wirelessly outputs the presence notification signal;
The printing system, wherein the distance estimation information includes information indicating a received signal strength of the presence notification signal.

  With such a configuration, even when the user does not know where the printing apparatus is arranged, the presence notification signal can be notified to the printing apparatus arranged near the client. In addition, since the distance estimation information includes information indicating the received signal strength, when the received signal strength is higher, it can be easily estimated that the distance indicated by the distance estimation information is shorter (closer to the client). .

[Application Example 10] In the printing system according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 9,
A printing system in which at least one of the plurality of printing devices incorporates the management device.

  With such a configuration, the construction cost of the entire printing system can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the management device is formed as a device separate from the printing device.

Application Example 11 In the printing system according to any one of Application Example 1 to Application Example 10,
The printing system, wherein the candidate specifying information includes at least one of an IP address, a MAC address, and a model name.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an erroneous printing device from being specified as a candidate printing device.

Application Example 12 In a printing system including a client, a management device, and a plurality of printing devices, a method for specifying a printing device that causes the client to perform printing,
(A) outputting a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client from the client;
(B) in each printing apparatus, receiving the presence notification signal;
(C) In each printing apparatus, based on the received presence notification signal, obtaining distance estimation information capable of estimating at least a distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
(D) in each printing apparatus, a step of transmitting the acquired distance estimation information to the management apparatus;
(E) In the management device, receiving the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
(F) In the management apparatus, based on the received distance estimation information, a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition relating to a distance between the client and the printing apparatus among the plurality of printing apparatuses is selected as a candidate printing apparatus. A process identified as
(G) transmitting candidate specifying information capable of specifying the candidate printing device to the client;
A method comprising:

  In the method of the application example 12, a printing device that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the distance between the client and the printing device is specified as a candidate printing device among a plurality of printing devices, and the candidate specifying information is transmitted to the client. Then, based on the received candidate specifying information, when printing from the client, it is possible to easily select a printing apparatus as an output destination. In addition, as the predetermined condition regarding the distance, for example, a condition that the client is closer to other printing apparatuses or a condition that the distance between the client and the printing apparatus is estimated to be equal to or less than the predetermined distance is adopted. can do. Therefore, the user can easily select a printing device closest to the client among a plurality of printing devices or a printing device having a predetermined distance or less.

Application Example 13 In a printing system including a client, a management device, and a plurality of printing devices, a printing method for causing any of the plurality of printing devices to perform printing from the client,
(A) outputting a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client at the client;
(B) sending a print job to the management device at the client;
(C) in each printing apparatus, receiving the presence notification signal;
(D) In each printing apparatus, based on the received presence notification signal, obtaining distance estimation information capable of estimating at least the distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
(E) In each printing apparatus, a step of transmitting the acquired distance estimation information to the management apparatus;
(F) In the management device, receiving the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
(G) In the management apparatus, a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding a distance between the client and the printing apparatus among the plurality of printing apparatuses based on the received distance estimation information, Selecting a printing device to be used that is a printing device to be used;
(H) the management device receiving the print job and transferring it to the selected used printing device;
A printing method comprising:

  According to the method of the application example 13, in the management apparatus, the use printing apparatus that is a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the distance between the client and the printing apparatus among the plurality of printing apparatuses and that is used for printing Is selected, and the print job is transferred to the selected used printing apparatus. Therefore, when printing from the client, the printing apparatus as the output destination can be easily selected. In addition, as the predetermined condition regarding the distance, for example, a condition that the client is closer to other printing apparatuses or a condition that the distance between the client and the printing apparatus is estimated to be equal to or less than the predetermined distance is adopted. can do. Therefore, it is possible to easily realize printing by selecting a printing device closest to the client among a plurality of printing devices or a printing device having a predetermined distance or less. In addition, since the management apparatus can omit data exchange between the management apparatus and the client after the used printing apparatus is selected, the processing load on the client can be reduced.

  The present invention can be realized in various modes. For example, a client, a printing apparatus, a management apparatus, a used printing apparatus determination system, a control method of these apparatuses or systems, and these methods, apparatuses, or systems The present invention can be realized in the form of a computer program for realizing the above functions, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and the like.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the client shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the 1st management apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the content of the printing apparatus list | wrist memorize | stored in the hard disk drive of a 1st management apparatus and a 2nd management apparatus. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the first printing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the printing process in 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the candidate printing apparatus list displayed on a display part in step S115. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the 1st management apparatus of 2nd Example. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the printing process in 2nd Example. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the client of 3rd Example. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the 1st management apparatus of 3rd Example. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the printing process of 3rd Example. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the 1st management apparatus of 4th Example. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the 1st printing apparatus of 4th Example. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the printing process of 4th Example.

A. First embodiment:
A1. System configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system as an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 10 includes a client 100, a first management device PM1, a second management device PM2, a first printing device PR1, a second printing device PR2, a third printing device PR3, and a fourth printing device PR4. And a fifth printing device PR5. When the printing system 10 performs printing from the client 100, the printing apparatus candidate that is the output destination is displayed on the client 100, so that the user can easily select the printing apparatus that is the output destination.

  In this embodiment, the client 100 can communicate with a device connected to the Internet INT via a mobile communication network (base station BS). The first management apparatus PM1 is connected to the Internet INT and a first LAN (Local Area Network) 601. The second management device PM2 is connected to the Internet INT and the second LAN 602. Of the five printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5, three printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 are connected to the first LAN 601 and the other three printing apparatuses PR4 and PR5 are connected to the second LAN 602. ing. In the present embodiment, the first LAN 601 and the second LAN 602 are formed at locations that are far apart from each other (for example, far enough that communication between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless LAN client is not possible). For example, the first LAN 601 and the second LAN 602 are formed at locations separated from each other by several hundred km. When the printing system 10 performs printing from the client 100, the printing apparatus candidate that is the output destination is displayed on the client 100, so that the user can easily select the printing apparatus that is the output destination.

  An IP (Internet Protocol) address and a MAC (Media Access Control) address are set in advance in each device constituting the printing system 10. FIG. 1 shows the IP address and MAC address set for each of the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5 among the apparatuses. An IP address “IP1” and a MAC address “MA1” are set in the first printing apparatus PR1. Further, the IP address “IP2” and the MAC address “MA2” are assigned to the second printing apparatus PR2, the IP address “IP3” and the MAC address “MA3” are assigned to the third printing apparatus PR3, and the IP address is assigned to the fourth printing apparatus PR4. An address “IP4” and a MAC address “MA4” are set, and an IP address “IP5” and a MAC address “MA5” are set in the fifth printing apparatus PR5, respectively. For convenience of description, each IP address and MAC address are shown as schematic values in FIG. 1, but actually, a 32-bit (IPv4) or 128-bit (IPv6) value is set as the IP address. Yes. A 48-bit value is set as the MAC address.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the client shown in FIG. The client 100 is a device that can communicate with the base station BS shown in FIG. 1, and a mobile phone terminal is employed in this embodiment. The client 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 130, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 140, a wireless LAN communication control circuit 151, a mobile communication control circuit 152, and a display unit 161. And an operation unit 162 and an input / output (I / O) interface unit 163.

  The ROM 130 stores an application program in advance, and the CPU 110 executes the application program under a predetermined operating system, whereby the print request unit 111, the presence notification signal output control unit 112, and the user interface control unit 113 are executed. Function as.

  The print request unit 111 generates a print job specifying the number of copies to be printed, an image to be printed, and the like, and outputs it as a print request. The presence notification signal output control unit 112 controls the wireless LAN communication control circuit 151 to wirelessly output a presence notification signal. The presence notification signal is a signal for notifying (advertisement) the presence of the client 100 and includes information that can identify the client 100. As a method for outputting the presence notification signal, for example, a frame including information that can identify the client 100 is broadcast in the same manner as the beacon and probe request transmission method exchanged between the wireless LAN client and the wireless LAN access point. The method can be adopted. In this embodiment, the MAC address of the client 100 is adopted as information that can identify the client 100. The user interface control unit 113 controls the display screen on the display unit 161, interprets user instructions input from the operation unit 162, and notifies each function unit.

  The ROM 130 includes a management server address storage unit 131. The management server address storage unit 131 stores the IP addresses of the two management devices PM1 and PM2. These IP addresses are stored in advance in the management server address storage unit 131 by the user.

  The wireless LAN communication control circuit 151 includes a modulator, an amplifier, and an antenna, and controls communication via the wireless LAN. As the wireless LAN, for example, a wireless LAN compliant with IEEE802.11a / b / g can be employed.

  The mobile communication control circuit 152 includes a modulator, an amplifier, and an antenna, and performs wireless communication with the base station BS of the mobile communication network as a mobile communication terminal compliant with, for example, 3G / HSPA.

  The display unit 161 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display. The operation unit 162 includes operation buttons (not shown) for user operations. The input / output interface unit 163 exchanges data between the display unit 161 and the operation unit 162 and other functional units. The display unit 161 and the operation unit 162 can also be realized as a touch panel type liquid crystal display.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the first management apparatus shown in FIG. The first management device PM1 includes a CPU 210, a ROM 220, a RAM 230, a hard disk drive 250, a WAN communication control circuit 241 and a LAN communication control circuit 242. Note that the second management device PM2 also has the same configuration as the first management device PM1, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The ROM 220 stores in advance an application program for executing a printing process, which will be described later. The CPU 210 executes the application program under a predetermined operating system, thereby receiving a preparation instruction unit 211 and a signal reception result. Functions as a unit 212 and a candidate printing device determination unit 213.

  The preparation instruction unit 211 transmits a preparation instruction to a printing apparatus that is to be managed by the preparation instruction unit 211 in a printing process described later. This preparation instruction is an instruction for instructing reception preparation of the presence notification signal, and the preparation instruction unit 211 transmits a signal indicating the instruction to the printing apparatus to be managed by itself through the LAN 601 or the LAN 602. . In the present embodiment, the “printing device that is managed by itself” is a printing device that belongs to the same LAN as the LAN to which the management devices PM1 and PM2 belong. Specifically, the first management apparatus PM1 manages three printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 connected to the first LAN 601 and the second management apparatus PM2 is connected to the second LAN 602. Two printing apparatuses PR4 and PR5 are managed. The candidate printing device determination unit 213 determines a printing device that is an output destination candidate in a printing process described later.

  The hard disk drive 250 stores a printing device list 251. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the printing device list stored in the hard disk drives of the first management device and the second management device. In FIG. 4, the upper row shows the contents of the printing device list 251 stored in the hard disk drive 250 of the first management device PM1, and the lower row shows the contents of the printing device list 251 stored in the hard disk drive 250 of the second management device PM2. Are shown respectively.

  The printing device list 251 is a list of information for specifying a printing device to be managed in each management device PM1, PM2. The printing device list 251 stores a MAC address, an IP address, and a model name for each managed printing device. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, the printing device list 251 of the first management device PM1 includes the MAC address, IP address, and model name of the three printing devices PR1 to PR3 that are managed by the first management device PM1. It is recorded. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 4, the printing device list 251 of the second management device PM2 includes the MAC address, IP address, and model of the two printing devices PR4 and PR5 that are managed by the second management device PM2. The name is recorded.

  The WAN communication control circuit 241 shown in FIG. 3 has an interface for connecting the first management apparatus PM1 to an access line for connecting to the Internet INT, and controls communication via the access line. In this embodiment, a wired connection line using an optical fiber, a metallic cable, or the like is adopted as the access line.

  The LAN communication control circuit 242 has an interface for connecting to the first LAN 601 and controls communication via the first LAN 601. In the present embodiment, the first LAN 601 and the second LAN 602 are both wired LANs.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the first printing apparatus shown in FIG. The first printing apparatus PR1 includes a CPU 310, a ROM 320, a RAM 330, a wireless LAN communication control circuit 341, a wired LAN communication control circuit 342, a printer engine 350, a display unit 361, an operation unit 362, and input / output ( I / O) interface unit 363. The other printing apparatuses PR2 to PR5 have the same configuration and will not be described.

  An application program is stored in the ROM 320 in advance, and the CPU 310 executes the application program under a predetermined operating system, thereby causing a presence notification signal receiving unit 311, a signal reception notification unit 312, and a print control unit. 313 and function as a user interface control unit 314.

  The presence notification signal reception unit 311 receives the presence notification signal output from the client 100 by controlling the wireless LAN communication control circuit 341 and notifies the signal reception notification unit 312 that it has been received. The signal reception notifying unit 312 notifies the management device (first management device PM1) belonging to the LAN (first LAN 601) to which the signal reception notification unit 312 has received the presence signal. The print control unit 313 controls the printer engine 350. The user interface control unit 314 has the same function as the user interface control unit 113 of the client 100 shown in FIG.

  The ROM 320 includes a management server address storage unit 321. The management server address storage unit 321 stores the IP address of the first management device PM1 in advance by the user.

  The wireless LAN communication control circuit 341 has the same function as the wireless LAN communication control circuit 151 of the client 100 shown in FIG. The wired LAN communication control circuit 342 has the same function as the LAN communication control circuit 242 of the first management apparatus PM1 shown in FIG. The printer engine 350 is a mechanism that executes printing under the control of the print control unit 313. The display unit 361 has the same function as the display unit 161 of the client 100 illustrated in FIG. The operation unit 362 has the same function as the operation unit 162 of the client 100 shown in FIG. 2, and the input / output interface unit 363 has the same function as the input / output interface unit 163 of the client 100 shown in FIG.

  The presence notification signal output control unit 112 and the wireless LAN communication control circuit 151 described above correspond to the presence notification signal output unit in the claims. The presence notification signal receiver 311 and the wireless LAN communication control circuit 341 are included in the presence notification signal receiver in the claims, the presence notification signal receiver 311 is included in the distance estimation information acquisition unit in the claims, and the signal reception notification unit 312 is charged in the claims. In the section, the distance estimation information transmitting unit, the signal reception result receiving unit 212 and the LAN communication control circuit 242 are in the distance estimation information receiving unit in the claims, and the candidate printing apparatus determining unit 213 is the candidate printing apparatus specifying unit and specifying information in the claims. The user interface control unit 113 and the mobile communication control circuit 152 are in the candidate identification information receiving unit in the claims, the user interface control unit 113 and the display unit 161 are in the list display unit in the claims, and the operation unit 162 is in charge. In the user interface section in the section, the print request section 111 is The printing job transmitting unit, corresponding respectively.

A2. Printing process:
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure of the printing process in the first embodiment. In FIG. 6, the leftmost is a flowchart showing the procedure in the client 100, the center is the flowchart showing the procedure in the two management apparatuses PM1 and PM2, and the rightmost shows the procedure in the five printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5. It is a flowchart. In the client 100, a print menu screen (not shown) is displayed on the display unit 161. When the user operates the operation unit 162 to specify the number of copies to be printed, an image to be printed, and the like to start printing, the printing system 10 Then, the printing process is started.

  The print request unit 111 of the client 100 controls the mobile communication control circuit 152 to start print processing for all management devices included in the printing system 10 (in this embodiment, two management devices PM1, PM2). ) Is notified of the start of the printing process (step S105). At this time, the print request unit 111 notifies information that can identify the client 100 together. In this embodiment, the MAC address of the client 100 is adopted as information that can identify the client 100. In addition, the address stored in the management server address storage unit 131 is used as the IP address of each management device PM1, PM2.

  When the preparation instruction unit 211 of the first management device PM1 and the preparation instruction unit 211 of the second management device PM2 receive the start of the printing process, the client 100 can be identified for the printing device to be managed. A preparation instruction including information is notified (step S205). The information that can identify the client 100 in step S205 is the same information (MAC address) as the information used in step S105.

  Each of the presence notification signal reception units 311 of the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 prepares to receive the presence notification signal when receiving a preparation instruction from the first management apparatus PM1 (step S305). Similarly, the presence notification signal receiving units 311 of the printing apparatuses PR4 and PR5 each prepare for receiving the presence notification signal when receiving a preparation instruction from the second management apparatus PM2 (step S305). Specifically, the presence notification signal receiving unit 311 of each of the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5 waits until the presence notification signal including the MAC address notified in step S205 is received via the wireless LAN communication control circuit 341.

  In the client 100, the presence notification signal output control unit 112 controls the wireless LAN communication control circuit 151 after the above-described step S105 is executed, and outputs a presence notification signal including information that can identify the client 100 ( Step S110). The information that can identify the client 100 in step S110 is the same information as the information (MAC address) used in step S105. If the wireless LAN is a wireless LAN such as IEEE802.11a / b / g, for example, the presence of a client requesting print processing may be advertised within a circular area having a radius of about several meters to several hundreds of meters. it can. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the three printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 are arranged at positions where the presence notification signals output from the client 100 can be received, and the two printing apparatuses PR4 and PR5 are provided. Are arranged at positions where such presence notification signals cannot be received.

  Among the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5, in the printing apparatus that has received the presence notification signal including the MAC address specified in the preparation instruction received in step S305 described above, the presence notification signal reception unit 311 has received the presence notification signal. And the MAC address of the client 100 included in the received presence notification signal is extracted and transmitted to the signal reception notification unit 312. The signal reception notification unit 312 receives the received signal strength and the MAC of the client 100. The address is transmitted to the corresponding management device (managing itself) (step S310). As described above, when the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 receive the presence notification signal output from the client 100, the signal reception notification unit 312 in the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 respectively receives the received signal strength and the MAC address of the client 100. Are transmitted to the first management apparatus PM1. Note that the received signal strength of the presence notification signal corresponds to the distance estimation information in the claims.

  Here, if an obstacle or the like is not taken into consideration, the received signal strength becomes stronger in the printing apparatus closer to the client 100. For example, in the case where the third printing device PR3 is the closest, the second printing device PR2 is the second closest, and the third printing device PR3 is the farthest from the position of the client 100 shown in FIG. 1, the printing devices PR1 to PR3 are used. From the received signal strength notified to the first management device PM1, the received signal strength notified from the third printing device PR3 is the strongest, the received signal strength notified from the second printing device PR2 is the second strongest, The received signal strength notified from the third printing apparatus PR3 is the weakest.

  In each management apparatus, the candidate printing apparatus determination unit 213 determines a candidate printing apparatus that is a candidate to execute printing and a priority order in the candidate printing apparatus based on the received signal strength notified from each printing apparatus (step S210). . In this embodiment, all the printing apparatuses that have notified the received signal strength are determined as candidate printing apparatuses. In addition, a printing apparatus with stronger received signal strength is set to a higher priority. Therefore, in the first management apparatus PM1 notified of the received signal strength as described above from the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3, the candidate printing apparatus determination unit 213 determines the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 as candidate printing apparatuses and prints them. As the priority order of the apparatuses, the third printing apparatus PR3 is determined as the first position, the second printing apparatus PR2 is determined as the second position, and the first printing apparatus PR1 is determined as the third position. Note that, as described above, the “printing apparatus that has notified the reception signal strength”, that is, the printing apparatus that is disposed in the area where the presence notification signal can be received is related to “the distance between the client and the printing apparatus”. This corresponds to a “printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition”.

  In each management apparatus, the candidate printing apparatus determination unit 213 notifies the client 100 of the information related to the candidate printing apparatus determined in step S210 and the priority order of the candidate printing apparatuses (step S215). In the present embodiment, “information regarding candidate printing apparatuses” in step S215 means all information described in the printing apparatus list 251. Therefore, for example, the MAC address, IP address, and model name are notified to the client 100 for each of the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR3 determined as the candidate printing apparatuses. The priority order corresponds to the distance comparison information in the claims. Further, the MAC address, IP address, and model name for each candidate printing device correspond to the candidate specifying information in the claims.

  In the client 100, the user interface control unit 113 generates a candidate printing device list based on the information related to the candidate printing device notified in step S215 and the priority order, and causes the display unit 161 to display the candidate printing device list (step S115).

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a candidate printing device list displayed on the display unit in step S115. In FIG. 7, a candidate printing device list L1, a decision button B1, and a close button B2 are displayed in a window W1 displayed on the display unit 161. The decision button B1 is a button for deciding a printing device that is actually used for printing (hereinafter referred to as “used printing device”) among the printing devices displayed in the candidate printing device list L1. The close button B2 is a button for closing the window W1.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the candidate printing device list L1 displays a list of MAC addresses, IP addresses, and model names of the candidate printing devices (printing devices PR1 to PR3). Here, “No.” at the left end indicates the priority order notified from the management apparatus in step S215. That is, in the candidate printing device list L1, candidate printing devices with higher priorities are displayed at higher positions. Accordingly, by viewing the candidate printing device list L1, the user can see what type of printing device of the MAC address, IP address, and model is the candidate printing, and the distance to the client 100 between the candidate printing devices. The relative magnitude (long and short) can be compared. Based on the candidate printing device list L1, for example, the user can select a printing device estimated to be a closer position when there is a request from the client 100 to “print on a printing device closer to the position”. it can. In addition, for example, when there is a request for “color printing”, the user can select a printing apparatus of a model that supports color printing. In addition, for example, when there is a request for “double-sided printing”, it is possible to select a printing apparatus of a model that supports double-sided printing.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the uppermost printing device (third printing device PR3) is selected in the candidate printing device list L1. When the user operates the operation unit 162 shown in FIG. 2 to select a printing device to be used from the candidate printing devices displayed in the candidate printing device list L1 and clicks the decision button B1, the print request unit in the client 100 is selected. 111 controls the mobile communication control circuit 152 to output a print request to the printing apparatus selected by the user (step S120). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the determination button B1 is clicked with the third printing device PR3 selected, a print request is transmitted to the third printing device PR3. Note that since the MAC address and IP address of the candidate printing device are notified in step S215 described above, the print request unit 111 can output a print job to the selected printing device.

  In each printing apparatus, when receiving a print request from the client 100, the print control unit 313 controls the printer engine 350 based on the received print request to execute printing (step S315). As described above, when the third printing device PR3 is selected, printing is executed in the third printing device PR3.

  In the printing system 10 according to the first embodiment described above, in the client 100, printing devices arranged at positions close to the client 100 are displayed as a list of candidate printing device lists L1, so that the user can print as an output destination. The device can be easily selected. In addition, since the client 100 outputs the presence notification signal and the printing apparatus that has received the presence notification signal is listed as a candidate printing apparatus, the presence notification signal is arranged near the client 100 (the presence notification signal can be received). It is possible to accurately list printing devices (located within the range). Further, even when the user does not know where the printing apparatus is arranged, the presence notification signal can be notified to the printing apparatus arranged near the client.

  Further, since the priority order is displayed in the candidate printing device list L1, the user can easily compare the relative sizes (long and short) of the distance to the client 100 between the candidate printing devices. Therefore, the user can easily select a printing device that is estimated to be located closer to the client 100 among the candidate printing devices. Further, since the model name of each candidate printing device is also displayed in the candidate printing device list L1, the user can select a printing device having a desired function (for example, a color printing function or a double-sided printing function) using the model name as a clue. Easy to choose. Further, since the MAC address and IP address of each candidate printing device are displayed in the candidate printing device list L1, the user can specify the printing device that has performed printing based on these addresses.

  Further, since the client 100 transmits the start of the printing process including the MAC address set to itself to all the management devices, each management device PM1, PM2 Thus, the preparation of receiving the presence notification signal can be notified by designating the MAC address of the client 100. Accordingly, since each printing apparatus can specify in advance a client that transmits the presence notification signal, whether or not the received signal strength should be transmitted to the management apparatus PM1 or the second management apparatus PM2 when the presence notification signal is received. Can be easily determined.

B. Second embodiment:
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the first management apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a printing process procedure according to the second embodiment. In the printing system of the second embodiment, the first management apparatus PM1a shown in FIG. 8 includes a used printing apparatus determining unit 214 instead of the candidate printing apparatus determining unit 213, and the used printing apparatus is replaced with a user. Unlike the printing system 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the other configuration is the same as that of the printing system 10 of the first embodiment in that the management apparatus determines.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the CPU 210 of the first management apparatus PM1a functions as a used printing apparatus determination unit 214 instead of the candidate printing apparatus determination unit 213. The used printing device determination unit 214 determines a used printing device. In this embodiment, the used printing device determination unit 214 determines the printing device having the highest received signal strength as the used printing device. In addition, the 2nd management apparatus which is not illustrated in 2nd Example has the structure similar to 1st management apparatus PM1a of 2nd Example.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the printing process of the second embodiment, step S115 is omitted in the client 100, and step S120a is executed instead of step S120. In each management apparatus, step S215a is executed instead of step S215. In addition, unlike the printing process of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the other processes are the same as those of the first embodiment in that step S210a is executed instead of step S210.

  In each management apparatus, when receiving the received signal strength and the MAC address from the management target printing apparatus, the used printing apparatus determining unit 214 determines the received printing apparatus having the highest received signal intensity as the used printing apparatus (Step S1). S210a). The reason why the printing device with the highest received signal strength is determined as the printing device to be used is based on a request to print with a printing device closer to the client 100 in order to shorten the period required to collect the print result. In addition, when printing is desired at a place where the user is out, the user first looks for the printing device and is likely to be near the found printing device. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the printing device closest to the client 100 is a print searched and found by the user (that is, the user wants to perform printing). Therefore, in this embodiment, the printing apparatus that has the highest received signal strength and is estimated to be closest to the client 100 is determined as the use printing apparatus. Therefore, for example, as in the first embodiment, when the received signal strength notified from the third printing apparatus PR3 is the highest, the third printing apparatus PR3 is determined as the use printing apparatus.

  In each management apparatus, the used printing apparatus determination unit 214 notifies the client 100 of the IP address of the used printing apparatus determined in step S210a (step S215a).

  In the client 100, the print request unit 111 controls the mobile communication control circuit 152 to output a print request with the IP address notified from the management apparatus in step S215a as the destination (step S120a). As described above, in step S215a, the IP address of the used printing apparatus is notified to the client 100. Therefore, in step S120a, a print request is output to the used printing apparatus. Therefore, printing is executed in the printing apparatus in use, that is, the printing apparatus estimated to be closest to the client 100 (step S315).

  The printing system of the second embodiment having the above configuration has the same effects as the printing system 10 of the first embodiment. In addition, since the printing server with the highest received signal strength is determined as the used printing device in the management server, and the print job is automatically transmitted to the used printing device, the user's operation of selecting the used printing device is omitted. Can do. Therefore, the user can easily execute printing on the printing apparatus closest to the client 100.

C. Third embodiment:
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the client according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the first management apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating a printing process procedure according to the third embodiment. In the printing system of the third embodiment, the client 100a of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 10 includes a candidate printing device determination unit 114 and a printing device list 132, and the first embodiment of the third embodiment shown in FIG. The management device PM1b does not include the printing device list 251, and includes the signal reception result transfer unit 215 instead of the candidate printing device determination unit 213, and the candidate printing device and priority are replaced with the management device. The configuration of the client 100a is different from that of the printing system 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and other configurations are the same as those of the printing system 10 of the first embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the CPU 110 of the client 100 a functions as a candidate printing device determination unit 114. The candidate printing device determination unit 114 realizes the same function as the candidate printing device determination unit 213 of the first management device PM1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, a printing apparatus list 132 is stored in the ROM 130 of the client 100a. The printing device list 132 has the same contents as the printing device list 251 shown in FIG. The printing device list 132 can be stored in the ROM 130 manually by a user in advance. Other configurations are the same as those of the client 100 shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the printing device list 251 is not stored in the hard disk drive 250 of the first management device PM1b. The CPU 210 of the first management apparatus PM1b functions as a signal reception result transfer unit 215 instead of the candidate printing apparatus determination unit 213. The signal reception result transfer unit 215 transfers the reception result (reception signal strength and MAC address) of the presence notification signal transmitted from each printing apparatus to the client 100a.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in the printing process of the third embodiment, step S114 is executed in the client 100a, step S115a is executed instead of step S115, and steps S210 and S215 are executed in each management device. Step S220 is different from the printing process of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6 in that step S220 is executed, and other processes are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In each management apparatus, when receiving the received signal strength and the MAC address of the client 100a from the management target printing apparatus, the signal reception result transfer unit 215 can identify the received signal intensity and the printing apparatus that is the transmission source of the received signal intensity. The information is associated and transmitted to the client 100a (step S220). In this embodiment, a MAC address is adopted as “information that can identify the printing apparatus”.

  In the client 100a, when receiving the received signal strength and the information (MAC address) that can identify the printing device from each management device, the candidate printing device determination unit 114 determines the priority order in the candidate printing device and the candidate printing device (step). S114). In this embodiment, the printing device indicated by the MAC address transmitted from each management device is determined as a candidate printing device. The correspondence between the MAC address and the printing device can be specified by referring to the printing device list 132 stored in the ROM 130. Also, the priority order in this embodiment is set to be higher for a printing apparatus having a higher received signal strength, as in the first embodiment.

  In the client 100a, the user interface control unit 113 generates a candidate printing device list based on the candidate printing devices and the priority order determined in step S114, and displays the candidate printing device list on the display unit 161 (step S115a). Similar to the first embodiment, when the received signal strength is notified from the printing devices PR1 to PR3 to the first management device PM1b, in addition to the received strength of these printing devices PR1 to PR3, the MAC address, IP address, and model The name is notified to the client 100a. Therefore, in the client 100a, the same list as the candidate printing device list L1 shown in FIG.

  The printing system of the third embodiment having the above configuration has the same effect as the printing system 10 of the first embodiment. In addition, in each management apparatus, determination of candidate printing apparatuses and priorities can be omitted, so that the processing load on the management apparatus can be reduced. Further, since each management device does not need to store the printing device list 251, the capacity of the hard disk drive 250 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of each management device can be suppressed.

D. Fourth embodiment:
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the first management apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the first printing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating a printing process procedure according to the fourth embodiment. In the printing system of the fourth embodiment, the first management device PM1c of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 13 includes a print request transfer unit 216, and the first printing device PR1a of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. Are provided with a notification lamp 365, a printing device that performs printing is determined by the management device instead of the user, and a notification that the printing device that has performed printing has performed printing is provided. Unlike the printing system 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, other configurations are the same as those of the printing system 10 of the first embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, the CPU 210 of the first management device PM1c functions as a used printing device determination unit 214 and a print request transfer unit 216 instead of the candidate printing device determination unit 213. The used printing apparatus determination unit 214 has the same function as the used printing apparatus determination unit 214 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. The print request transfer unit 216 receives the print request transmitted from the client 100 and transfers it to the printing apparatus in use. The second management device (not shown) in the fourth embodiment has the same configuration as the first management device PM1c in the fourth embodiment. The used printing device determination unit 214 corresponds to the used printing device selection unit in the claims, and the print request transfer unit 216 corresponds to the print job transfer unit in the claims.

  As illustrated in FIG. 14, the first printing apparatus PR1a includes a notification lamp 365 in the operation unit 362. The notification lamp 365 is a lamp for notifying the completion of printing, and can be configured by, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The notification lamp 365 can be turned on or off under the control of the user interface control unit 314. The user interface control unit 314 and the notification lamp 365 correspond to the notification unit in the claims. The other four printing apparatuses (not shown) in the fourth embodiment have the same configuration as that of the first printing apparatus PR1a.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the printing process of the fourth embodiment executes step S105a instead of step S105 in the client 100, omits steps S115 and S120, and replaces step S210 in each management device. Step S210a is executed, and Step S225 is executed in place of Step S215, and Step S320 is executed in each printing apparatus, unlike the printing process of the first embodiment shown in FIG. This process is the same as in the first embodiment.

  In the fourth embodiment, the print request unit 111 of the client 100 transmits a print request instead of notifying the start of the printing process (step S105a). The print request includes the MAC address of the client 100. Upon receiving this print request, the preparation instruction unit 211 of each management apparatus stores the received print request data (print job data) in the hard disk drive 250 and executes step S205 described above.

  In each management apparatus, when receiving the received signal strength and the MAC address from the management target printing apparatus, the used printing apparatus determining unit 214 determines the received printing apparatus having the highest received signal intensity as the used printing apparatus (step S210a). ). This process is the same as step S210a of the second embodiment shown in FIG. In each management apparatus, the print request transfer unit 216 outputs a print request to the printing apparatus determined in step S210a (step S225).

  Among the printing apparatuses, printing is performed in the printing apparatus that has received the print request output from each management apparatus (step S315). In the printing apparatus that has performed printing in step S315, the user interface control unit 314 turns on the notification lamp 365 (S320).

  The printing system of the fourth embodiment having the above configuration has the same effects as the printing system 10 of the first embodiment. In addition, since the printing server with the highest received signal strength is determined as the used printing device in the management server, and the print job is automatically transmitted to the used printing device, the user's operation of selecting the used printing device is omitted. Can do. Therefore, the user can easily execute printing on the printing apparatus closest to the client 100. In addition, since each management apparatus transmits a print request received in advance to the use printing apparatus after the use printing apparatus is determined, the exchange of information between the client 100 and each management apparatus is omitted. Can do. Therefore, in the client 100, the load on resources (CPU, memory, etc.) can be reduced.

  In the fourth embodiment, since information (such as an IP address) regarding the printing apparatus to be used is not notified to the client 100, it is difficult for the user to know which printing apparatus has performed printing. However, since the notification lamp 365 is lit in the printing apparatus that has performed printing, the user can easily identify the printing apparatus that has performed printing by viewing the lighting state of the notification lamp 365.

E. Variation:
In addition, elements other than the elements claimed in the independent claims among the constituent elements in each of the above embodiments are additional elements and can be omitted as appropriate. The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

E1. Modification 1:
In each embodiment, the information recorded in the printing device lists 251 and 132 is a MAC address, an IP address, and a model name, but the present invention is not limited to these information. At least one of the MAC address, IP address, and model name can be omitted. In addition to the MAC address, IP address, and model name, or in addition to the MAC address, IP address, and model name, other information can be recorded in the printing apparatus list. For example, information capable of specifying the position and configuration information of each printing apparatus can be recorded in the printing apparatus list. As information that can specify the position, for example, latitude and longitude, or information that specifies the position on the electronic map can be adopted. By adding the position information to the printing apparatus list, the position information can be displayed in the candidate printing apparatus list. Therefore, the user can specify the position of each printing apparatus based on the position information displayed in the candidate printing apparatus list.

  When the position information is added to the printing apparatus list, the position on the electronic map can be displayed on the display unit 161 in addition to the candidate printing apparatus list. With such a configuration, the user can more easily specify the position of the printing apparatus.

  As the configuration information of the printing apparatus, for example, information such as whether color printing is possible, whether double-sided printing is possible, and printable paper size can be employed. By recording the configuration information in the printing device list, the configuration information can be displayed in the candidate printing device list. Therefore, the user can easily specify a printing device that satisfies a desired printing mode (color printing, double-sided printing, printing on A3 size printing paper, etc.) based on the configuration information displayed in the candidate printing device list. Can do. In this configuration, it is preferable that each printing apparatus notifies each management apparatus of its own configuration information in addition to the received signal strength and the MAC addresses of the clients 100 and 100a. In this configuration, in each printing apparatus, the function unit that acquires the configuration information corresponds to the information acquisition unit in the claims, and the function unit that transmits the acquired configuration information to the corresponding management device is in the claims. It corresponds to a configuration state information transmission unit.

E2. Modification 2:
In each embodiment, the first LAN 601 and the second LAN 602 are greatly separated from each other, and the presence notification signals output from the clients 100 and 100a cannot be received by the printing apparatuses PR4 and PR5. Is not limited to this. A configuration in which the first LAN 601 and the second LAN 602 are arranged close to each other and the presence notification signal output from the clients 100 and 100a can be received by all the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5 may be adopted. In this configuration, for example, in the first embodiment, one of the management devices PM1 and PM2 is set as a master device and the other is set as a slave device in advance, and the slave device receives the received signal strength received from the printing device to be managed, and The MAC address can be transferred to the master device, where the candidate printing device and priority can be determined. Similarly, in the second and fourth embodiments, a master device and a slave device can be determined in advance, and the printing device to be used can be determined in the master device. In the third embodiment, since the received signal strength and information (MAC address) that can identify each printing apparatus are gathered in the client 100a, the first LAN 601 and the second LAN 602 are arranged close to each other. However, it can be applied as it is.

E3. Modification 3:
In the first and third embodiments, the information displayed in the candidate printing device list L1 is information (MAC address, IP address, model name) described in the printing device lists 251 and 132 for each candidate printing device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Other information can be displayed instead of the information described in the printing device lists 251 and 132 or in addition to the information described in the printing device lists 251 and 132. For example, information indicating the status of each candidate printing apparatus can be displayed. As the information indicating the status, for example, information indicating that printing is being performed, information indicating that a failure has occurred due to a paper jam, the remaining amount of ink, the cumulative number of prints, and the like can be employed. In order to display such information indicating the status in the candidate printing device list L1, in addition to the received signal strength and the MAC addresses of the clients 100 and 100a, each printing device uses information indicating its own status to each management device. Is preferably notified. With such a configuration, the user can select a printing apparatus to be used in consideration of the status of each printing apparatus. In this configuration, in each printing apparatus, the function unit that acquires information indicating the status corresponds to the information acquisition unit in the claims, and the function unit that transmits the information indicating the acquired status to the corresponding management apparatus is This corresponds to the configuration state information transmission unit in the claims.

  Further, instead of the information described in the printing device lists 251 and 132, or in addition to the information described in the printing device lists 251 and 132, the estimated distance from the client 100 or 100a to each printing device is calculated. It can also be displayed. For example, an experiment is performed in which the received signal strength is measured by changing the distance from the client 100, 100a to the printing device, and the received signal strength is associated with the distance from the client 100, 100a to the printing device in advance. Each management device can estimate the distance from the client 100 or 100a to each printing device based on the received signal strength notified from each printing device. Therefore, the estimated distance can be displayed in the candidate printing device list L1.

  In the first and third embodiments, the order of the printing apparatuses displayed in the candidate printing apparatus list L1 is the order in which the upper level is a higher priority printing apparatus according to the priority order. Can be in any order. Also in this configuration, by displaying the priority order in the list, the user can easily specify the relative size (long and short) of the distance from the clients 100 and 100a in the listed printing apparatuses.

E4. Modification 4:
In the first and third embodiments, the candidate printing devices are all the printing devices that have notified the management device of the received signal strength, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, among the printing apparatuses that have notified the management apparatus of the received signal strength, the printing apparatus that has notified the received signal intensity that is higher than a predetermined received signal intensity can be determined as the candidate printing apparatus. As the predetermined received signal strength, for example, the received signal strength obtained when a presence notification signal is received in a circular region within a radius of 20 m in a state where there is no obstacle can be employed. Further, in the case where information indicating the status is acquired from each printing apparatus as in Modification 3 described above, for example, other printing apparatuses other than the printing apparatus in failure can be determined as candidate printing apparatuses. . With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the user from selecting a printing apparatus in a position where the printing result cannot be easily obtained because it is far away (for example, 200 m). In addition, for example, it is possible to suppress the user from selecting a printing apparatus that cannot be printed due to a failure.

E5. Modification 5:
In the fourth embodiment, the notification lamp 365 is lit to notify the user of the printing apparatus that has performed printing. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the execution of printing can be notified by blinking the entire display unit 361 of each printing apparatus. In addition, for example, a message indicating that printing has been performed is displayed on the display unit 361, or a sheet (front page) on which printing has been performed by the printing process of the present invention is output to notify the user that printing has been performed. You can also.

  In addition, the timing at which notification is started by lighting the notification lamp 365 or the like is after printing is performed (after step S315). However, instead of or in addition to this timing, a print request is issued. Arbitrary timing after receiving a print request, such as the timing of receiving from the management apparatus, can also be adopted.

E6. Modification 6:
In each embodiment, the management devices PM1 and PM2 are each configured as a device different from each of the printing devices PR1 to PR5. However, instead of this, any of the printing devices may be built in. it can. For example, in the first LAN 601, the first printing device PR1 incorporates the first management device PM1, and in the second LAN 602, the fourth printing device PR4 incorporates the second management device PM2. Can do. With such a configuration, the construction cost of the entire printing system can be reduced as compared with the case where the management device is configured as a device separate from the printing device.

E7. Modification 7:
In each embodiment, the presence notification signal is output by the wireless LAN (IEEE802.11a / b / g), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the presence notification signal can be output using a short-range wireless communication interface such as Bluetooth (IEEE802.15.1), Zigbee, or IrDA. In addition, a presence notification signal can be output using ultrasonic waves.

E8. Modification 8:
In each embodiment, the printing apparatus that has received the presence notification signal notifies the management apparatus of the received signal strength and the MAC addresses of the clients 100 and 100a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the received signal strength or in addition to the received signal strength, the time when the presence notification signal is received can be notified. When the time is set in advance in each printing apparatus, the printing apparatus located farther from the clients 100 and 100a receives the presence notification signal at a later time. As described in the above-described modification example 7, in the configuration in which the clients 100 and 100a output the presence signal using ultrasonic waves, the difference in reception time is likely to appear as a significant difference. In this configuration, it is possible to determine a printing device closer to the client 100 or 100a as a printing device to be used, or to give higher priority by increasing the priority of the printing device with the earlier signal reception time. It can be displayed in the candidate printing device list L1 as a printing device having a higher rank. Further, in each of the printing apparatuses PR1 to PR5, if the clients 100 and 100a are specified in advance, the MAC addresses of the clients 100 and 100a can be omitted from the notified information. That is, in general, a configuration in which the printing apparatus that has received the presence notification signal notifies the management apparatus of any information that can be obtained based on the presence notification signal and that can estimate the distance between the client and the printing apparatus. Can be employed in the printing system of the present invention.

E9. Modification 9:
In the second and fourth embodiments, the use printing apparatus is determined by the management apparatus, but can also be executed by the clients 100 and 100a. In this configuration, each management device, when notified of the received signal strength from each printing device, associates information (for example, MAC address) that can identify each printing device with the received signal strength, 100a can be transmitted. Further, for example, a configuration in which each printing apparatus directly transmits the received signal strength and its own MAC address to the clients 100 and 100a without using the management apparatus may be employed.

E10. Modification 10:
In each embodiment, the process for determining the printing apparatus to be used and the process for transmitting a print request to the printing apparatus are both executed continuously in the printing process. Instead, these processes are performed. Can also be executed as different processes. In this case, for example, in the process of determining the used printing apparatus, the IP address of the determined used printing apparatus is displayed on the display unit 161 of the clients 100 and 100a, and in the process of transmitting the print request to the printing apparatus, the display is performed. It is also possible to adopt a processing flow in which the user inputs the IP address displayed on the unit 161 to the print request menu screen and transmits the print request.

E11. Modification 11:
The configuration of the printing system in each embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications can be made. For example, the number of management devices, printing devices, and clients can be any number. Further, although the management apparatus and the printing apparatus to be managed are connected by a LAN, a configuration in which the management apparatus is connected by a WAN instead of the LAN can be adopted. The access line for connecting the management devices PM1 and PM2 to the Internet INT is a wired connection line, but a wireless connection line (for example, a mobile communication network line) is used in the same manner as the clients 100 and 100a. You can also. In addition, in the clients 100 and 100a, the address of each management apparatus is stored in advance in the management server address storage unit 131 by the user. Instead, each management apparatus broadcasts its own address in the LAN. By receiving this, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the client 100, 100a stores it in the management server address storage unit 131. In each of the embodiments, the clients 100 and 100a are mobile phones. However, instead of this, it is possible to adopt an arbitrary device with high formability, such as a notebook personal computer or PDA (Personal Digital Assistants). it can.

  In the above embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware. Good. In addition, when part or all of the functions of the present invention are realized by software, the software (computer program) can be provided in a form stored in a computer-readable recording medium. In the present invention, the “computer-readable recording medium” is not limited to a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, but an internal storage device in a computer such as various RAMs and ROMs, a hard disk, and the like. An external storage device fixed to the computer is also included. That is, the “computer-readable recording medium” has a broad meaning including an arbitrary recording medium capable of fixing data instead of temporarily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing system 100, 100a ... Client 110 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 ... Print request part 112 ... Existence notification signal output control part 113 ... User interface control part 114 ... Candidate printing apparatus determination part 130 ... ROM
131 ... Management server address storage unit 132 ... Printer list 140 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 151 ... Wireless LAN communication control circuit 152 ... Mobile body communication control circuit 161 ... Display part 162 ... Operation part 163 ... Input / output interface part 210 ... CPU
211: Preparation instruction unit 212 ... Signal reception result reception unit 213 ... Candidate printing device determination unit 214 ... Used printing device determination unit 215 ... Signal reception result transfer unit 216 ... Print request transfer unit 220 ... ROM
230 ... RAM
241: WAN communication control circuit 242 ... LAN communication control circuit 250 ... Hard disk drive 251 ... Printing device list 310 ... CPU
311 ... Presence notification signal reception unit 312 ... Signal reception notification unit 313 ... Print control unit 314 ... User interface control unit 320 ... ROM
321 ... Management server address storage unit 330 ... RAM
341 ... Wireless LAN communication control circuit 342 ... Wired LAN communication control circuit 350 ... Printer engine 361 ... Display unit 362 ... Operation unit 363 ... Input / output interface unit 365 ... Notification lamp 601 ... First LAN
602 ... Second LAN
PM1, PM1a, PM1b, PM1c ... first management device PM2 ... second management device W1 ... window L1 ... candidate printing device list B1 ... decision button B2 ... close button BS ... base station PR1 ... first printing device PR2 ... second printing Device PR3 ... Third printing device PR4 ... Fourth printing device PR5 ... Fifth printing device INT ... Internet

Claims (13)

A printing system comprising a client, a plurality of printing devices, and a management device,
The client has a presence notification signal output unit that outputs a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client;
The plurality of printing apparatuses are respectively
A presence notification signal receiver for receiving the presence notification signal;
Based on the received presence notification signal, at least a distance estimation information acquisition unit that acquires distance estimation information capable of estimating a distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
A distance estimation information transmitting unit that transmits the acquired distance estimation information to the management device;
The management device
A distance estimation information receiving unit that receives the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the received distance estimation information, a candidate printing device specifying unit that specifies, as a candidate printing device, a printing device that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the distance between the client and the printing device among the plurality of printing devices. When,
A candidate specifying information transmitting unit that transmits candidate specifying information capable of specifying the candidate printing device to the client. The printing system according to claim 1,
The predetermined condition is a printing system in which a distance between the client and the printing apparatus is estimated to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The printing system according to claim 1 or 2,
The client further includes:
A candidate specifying information receiving unit for receiving the candidate specifying information;
A list display unit that displays a list of the candidate printing devices including at least a part of the candidate specifying information based on the received candidate specifying information;
Having a printing system. The printing system according to claim 3.
The candidate printing device comprises a plurality of the printing devices,
The candidate specifying information transmitting unit transmits, in addition to the candidate specifying information, distance comparison information capable of comparing distances between the client and the candidate printing device in each candidate printing device to the client,
The candidate specifying information receiving unit receives the distance comparison information in addition to the candidate specifying information,
The list display unit displays, based on the received distance comparison information, at least a part of the candidate specifying information in the list in a predetermined order regarding the distance between the client and each candidate printing device. , Printing system. In the printing system according to claim 3 or 4,
The client further includes:
A user interface unit for selecting a printing device to be used for printing out of the candidate printing devices identified by at least a part of the candidate identification information displayed in the list;
A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job to the printing apparatus selected by the user interface unit;
Having a printing system. The printing system according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
The plurality of printing apparatuses are respectively
An information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the configuration information of the printing apparatus and the information indicating the state of the printing apparatus;
A configuration state information transmitting unit that transmits at least one of the acquired configuration information and information indicating the state to the management device;
Have
The candidate specifying information transmitting unit transmits at least one of the configuration information and information indicating the state of each candidate printing apparatus together with the candidate specifying information to the client,
The candidate specifying information receiving unit receives at least one of the configuration information and information indicating the state of each candidate printing apparatus together with the candidate specifying information,
The list display unit displays at least one of the configuration information and the information indicating the state of each received candidate printing apparatus on the list. A printing system comprising a client, a plurality of printing devices, and a management device,
The client
A presence notification signal output unit for outputting a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client;
A print job transmission unit that transmits a print job to the management device;
The plurality of printing apparatuses are respectively
A presence notification signal receiver for receiving the presence notification signal;
Based on the received presence notification signal, at least a distance estimation information acquisition unit that acquires distance estimation information capable of estimating a distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
A distance estimation information transmitting unit that transmits the acquired distance estimation information to the management device;
The management device
A distance estimation information receiving unit that receives the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
Based on the received distance estimation information, among the plurality of printing apparatuses, a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding a distance between the client and the printing apparatus, and is a printing apparatus that is used for printing A printing device selection section for selecting
And a print job transfer unit that receives the print job and transfers the print job to the selected use printing apparatus. The printing system according to claim 5 or 7 ,
The printing apparatus further includes:
A printing system comprising: a notification unit that notifies at least one of reception of the print job, execution of the print job, and completion of execution of the print job after receiving the print job. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The presence notification signal output unit wirelessly outputs the presence notification signal;
The printing system, wherein the distance estimation information includes information indicating a received signal strength of the presence notification signal. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A printing system in which at least one of the plurality of printing devices incorporates the management device. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
The printing system, wherein the candidate specifying information includes at least one of an IP address, a MAC address, and a model name. In a printing system comprising a client, a management device, and a plurality of printing devices, a method for specifying a printing device that causes the client to perform printing,
(A) outputting a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client from the client;
(B) in each printing apparatus, receiving the presence notification signal;
(C) In each printing apparatus, based on the received presence notification signal, obtaining distance estimation information capable of estimating at least a distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
(D) in each printing apparatus, a step of transmitting the acquired distance estimation information to the management apparatus;
(E) In the management device, receiving the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
(F) In the management apparatus, based on the received distance estimation information, a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition relating to a distance between the client and the printing apparatus among the plurality of printing apparatuses is selected as a candidate printing apparatus. A process identified as
(G) transmitting candidate specifying information capable of specifying the candidate printing device to the client;
A method comprising: In a printing system including a client, a management device, and a plurality of printing devices, a printing method for causing any of the plurality of printing devices to perform printing from the client,
(A) outputting a presence notification signal for notifying the presence of the client at the client;
(B) sending a print job to the management device at the client;
(C) in each printing apparatus, receiving the presence notification signal;
(D) In each printing apparatus, based on the received presence notification signal, obtaining distance estimation information capable of estimating at least the distance between the printing apparatus and the client;
(E) In each printing apparatus, a step of transmitting the acquired distance estimation information to the management apparatus;
(F) In the management device, receiving the distance estimation information output from the plurality of printing devices;
(G) In the management apparatus, a printing apparatus that satisfies a predetermined condition regarding a distance between the client and the printing apparatus among the plurality of printing apparatuses based on the received distance estimation information, Selecting a printing device to be used that is a printing device to be used;
(H) the management device receiving the print job and transferring it to the selected used printing device;
A printing method comprising:

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