JP6454985B2 - Program and information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a program and an information processing apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an error notification technique for notifying error information such as error contents and countermeasures.

  In an image processing apparatus that performs image processing operations such as printing and scanning, various errors that cannot continue the image processing operation occur, such as paper jam, no recording paper, and insufficient colorant. As a coping method when an error occurs, for example, a technique for informing error information to an information processing apparatus using an image processing apparatus is known.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming system in which at least one host PC is connected to one digital multi-function peripheral as a technique for notifying error information, and an error occurs in the digital multi-function peripheral. , A technique for transmitting information for recovering the error from a digital multifunction peripheral to a host PC is disclosed. The digital multi-function peripheral disclosed in Patent Document 1 specifies an interface with a transmission destination host PC and transmits an appropriate manual according to the interface.

JP 2010-157929 A

  However, the conventional technique described above has the following problems. That is, the error information may not be necessary for the information processing apparatus that has received the error information. For example, for users who have not submitted a print job, error information relating to print functions such as lack of colorant and paper jam is of low utility value. In such a case, there is a possibility of improvement because the error notification may be warped and cause confusion to the user.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art. That is, the problem is to provide an error notification technique that can be expected to perform appropriate error notification for each information processing apparatus communicating with the image processing apparatus.

  A program designed to solve this problem includes an information processing apparatus that performs the following processing, that is, acquisition processing for acquiring state information indicating the state of the image processing apparatus from the image processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus. A determination process for determining whether or not the image processing apparatus is requested to execute an image process; and a period until a predetermined time elapses from a specific timing after it is determined that the execution of the image process is requested An error based on the status information acquired from the image processing apparatus is executed within the notification period, and an error based on the status information acquired from the image processing apparatus is acquired in another period different from the notification period. The image processing is interrupted in the image processing device based on the notification processing that does not execute the notification and the status information acquired from the image processing device within the notification period. If the interruption error is an error that is determined to have occurred, it is characterized by executing an extension process of extending the notification period.

  That is, if it is within the notification period described above, an error occurring in the image processing apparatus has a great influence on the image processing requested by the information processing apparatus to the image processing apparatus. Therefore, in the program disclosed in this specification, error notification with high utility value is expected by performing error notification within the notification period and not performing error notification within another period different from the notification period. it can.

  Further, if an interruption error that interrupts the image processing in the image processing apparatus has occurred, the notification period ends without the job being completed, and the possibility that the image processing is executed outside the notification period increases. Therefore, in the program disclosed in this specification, when it is determined that an interruption error has occurred in the image processing apparatus within the notification period, the notification period is extended. This increases the possibility of reporting an error related to the execution instruction received from the user.

  According to the present invention, an error notification technique that can be expected to perform appropriate error notification for each information processing apparatus communicating with an image processing apparatus is realized.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the printing procedure of the image processing system which concerns on embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the error alerting | reporting of the image processing system which concerns on embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of the error alerting | reporting at the time of error occurrence. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the management process of the status monitor which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the alerting | reporting period setting process of the status monitor which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the status monitoring process of the status monitor which concerns on embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying an apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to an image processing system having a multi function peripheral (MFP) and a personal computer (PC) in which a device driver for the MFP is incorporated.

[Configuration of image processing system]
As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment includes MFPs 20 and 21 and a PC 10 that controls these MFPs. In the image processing system 100, the PC 10 and MFPs 20 and 21 are communicably connected via a wired LAN cable. The MFPs 20 and 21 are examples of image processing apparatuses. The PC 10 is an example of an information processing apparatus.

  Note that the image processing apparatus and the information processing apparatus that constitute the image processing system 100 are not limited to those illustrated. Further, the connection between the PC 10 and the MFP 20 or the like is not limited to a wired LAN cable, and may be a serial communication cable, a parallel communication cable, or wireless communication such as a wireless LAN.

  The PC 10 is used as a temporary storage area when the CPU 11 that executes various processes, a ROM 12 that stores a startup process program (BIOS) executed by the CPU 11 when the PC 10 is started, and the CPU 11 performs various processes. A controller 30 having a RAM 13 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 14 storing various programs and data is provided. The CPU 11 or the controller 30 is an example of a control unit.

  The PC 10 includes an operation unit 15 including a keyboard and a mouse, a display unit 16 including a liquid crystal display, a USB interface 17, and a network interface 18, which are electrically connected to the controller 30. These are controlled by the controller 30. The USB interface 17 and the network interface 18 are examples of a communication unit.

  The PC 10 monitors an operating system (OS), application programs (document creation software, drawing software, spreadsheet software, photo data editing software, etc.), device drivers that control the MFPs 20 and 21, and the status of each MFP 20. Built-in status monitor. Various programs stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM may be installed, or programs stored in a server on the network may be downloaded and installed.

  The MFP 20 only needs to have a function of forming an image on a recording sheet, and the image forming method may be an electrophotographic method, an ink jet method, or another general image forming method. Further, even if a color image and a monochrome image can be formed, only a monochrome image may be formed. In addition, the MFP 20 has an image reading function, a FAX transmission function, and a FAX reception function. The MFP 21 is the same as the MFP 20.

[PC operation]
Next, the operation of the PC 10 when the MFP 20 performs printing in the image processing system 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In FIG. 2, the graphic engine 51 and the spooler 52 are provided as a part of the OS.

  In FIG. 2, a device driver 40 is a printer driver for the MFP 20, and performs processing for processing image data to be printed and generation processing for print data based on image data reflecting the processing. Examples of the processing include synthesis of watermarks, headers, footers, and the like, magnification change such as enlargement and reduction, image rotation, and aggregation of 2in1, 4in1, and the like.

  Further, the status monitor 41 periodically acquires status information of all MFPs (MFPs 20 and 21 in this embodiment) that are communicably connected to the PC 10 and displays the acquired status information so that the user can view the status information. Specifically, the status monitor 41 acquires the operation status (running, standby state, sleep state, etc.) and, if an error has occurred in the MFP, the type of error as status information. In this embodiment, the status monitor 41 is provided by the device manufacturer, but may be provided as part of the OS. The status monitor 41 is an example of a program. The operation procedure of the status monitor 41 will be described later.

  The graphic engine 51 is a module that controls the device driver 40. The graphic engine 51 receives a command from the application program 61 and passes the command to the device driver 40.

  The spooler 52 is a module having a function of temporarily storing print data generated by the device driver 40 and sequentially outputting the print data to designated MFPs. In this specification, when “the device driver 40 transmits print data to the MFP 20” is described, this means “the device driver 40 stores the print data in the spooler 52”, and the spooler 52 actually prints to the MFP 20. It doesn't mean that data has been sent.

  When printing is performed from the PC 10 to the MFP 20, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the application program 61 incorporated in the PC 10 receives a print instruction from the user and outputs a print start notification. Then, the graphic engine 51 which is a part of the OS receives the print start notification and starts acquiring image data to be printed from the application program 61.

  When the graphic engine 51 starts acquiring image data, the graphic engine 51 issues a drawing command to the device driver 40. Upon receiving the drawing command, the device driver 40 generates a bitmap image based on the drawing command, and further generates PDL format print data based on the bitmap image.

  The device driver 40 stores the print data in the spooler 52 after the print data is generated. When the print data is stored in the spooler 52, the spooler 52 transmits the stored print data to the MFP 20. The MFP 20 that has received the print data performs printing based on the print data.

  Next, the operation of the PC 10 when the error information of the MFP 20 is notified by the status monitor 41 in the image processing system 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. In FIG. 3, the status monitor 41 will be described separately for a management unit 41A that monitors the state of the MFP 20 and a notification unit 41B that reports error information of the MFP 20. The management unit 41A and the notification unit 41B may be separate modules or the same module.

  When the error information of the MFP 20 is notified by the image processing system 100 according to the present embodiment, when the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 is activated, the management unit 41A provides driver information, which is information about the device driver to be monitored, in advance to the OS 50. Get from. The driver information is stored in a setting storage area owned by the OS 50 such as a registry. The driver information includes, for example, a driver type, a connection interface type, and a device address. For example, the driver information is stored in the setting storage area by an installer at the time of installation or by the device driver itself at the time of initial setting of the device driver.

  After the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 obtains the driver information, a periodic status inquiry is started for all devices to be monitored by the status monitor 41. That is, the management unit 41A starts monitoring the state of the MFP 20. The arrows between the MFP 20 and the management unit 41A in the figure indicate the status inquiry from the management unit 41A to the MFP 20 and the response from the MFP 20 to the management unit 41A. Although the status monitor 41 starts monitoring the state of the MFP 20 by the management unit 41A, the notification of the error information by the notification unit 41B is not performed until the notification is permitted by the management unit 41A. Notification of error information is not permitted in the initial state.

  Thereafter, when the PC 10 receives a job execution instruction (print instruction in this embodiment) using the device driver 40 to be monitored, a job execution notification is output from the device driver 40 to the status monitor 41. When receiving the job execution notification, the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 permits the notification unit 41B to notify the error information of the MFP 20 during a period from when the notification is received until a predetermined time elapses. A period during which the notification of the error information is permitted is referred to as a “notification period”. This notification period may be a time set in advance by the administrator of the PC 10 or may be a time specified by the device manufacturer.

  When the notification is permitted by the management unit 41A, the notification unit 41B of the status monitor 41 notifies error information based on the latest state information of the MFP 20 acquired by the management unit 41A. The notification unit 41B notifies the latest error information based on the status information acquired from the MFP 20 by the management unit 41A. In addition, as a notification mode of the error information by the notification unit 41B, for example, a pop-up display on the display unit 16 is applicable. In addition, voice output or the like may be performed. Further, for example, the dialog box may be displayed blinking. When the notification period elapses and the notification is prohibited again, the notification unit 41B does not notify the error information of the MFP 20.

  In other words, if an error has occurred in the image processing apparatus to be monitored after the PC 10 receives a job, the error has a great influence on the above-described job. Therefore, the error information has high utility value for the user who uses the PC 10. On the other hand, information on errors that occur while the PC 10 does not register a job does not necessarily have a high utility value for a user who uses the PC 10. Therefore, the notification unit 41B of the status monitor 41 notifies the error information obtained from the MFP 20 during the notification period corresponding to the period during which the MFP 20 executes the job after the job is registered, and during other periods. Even if an error occurs in the MFP 20, the error information is not notified.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 detects that an interruption error, which is an error that causes the MFP 20 to interrupt printing, during the notification period, it extends the notification period. In other words, it may take time to resolve the interruption error that occurred during the notification period. If it takes a long time to eliminate the error, there is a high possibility that a job resumed after the error is resolved will not be completed within the initial notification period, or that the error will be resolved after the initial notification period has elapsed. That is, the possibility that the job is executed after the notification time has elapsed is increased. The notification unit 41B of the status monitor 41 cannot notify an error that has occurred after the notification time has elapsed. Accordingly, when the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 detects an interruption error within the notification period, the management unit 41A extends the notification period in order to reduce the possibility that the error information cannot be notified.

  Note that the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 periodically acquires the status of the monitoring target image processing apparatus regardless of the job execution notification. Thereby, apart from the notification of the error information by the notification unit 41B, the latest state of the image processing apparatus can be displayed at any time in response to a request from the user. Moreover, the error to be extended is not limited to an interruption error. That is, it suffices if an interruption error is included in the error to be extended, and an error different from the interruption error may be included in the extension object.

[Status monitor operation]
[Management processing]
Next, a management process executed by the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41, that is, executed by the PC 10 in order to realize the error notification procedure described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The management process is executed by the CPU 11 when the status monitor 41 is activated.

  In the management process, the status monitor 41 (PC 10) first acquires driver information of each device driver incorporated in the PC 10 from the setting storage area of the OS 50 (S101).

  After S101, the status monitor 41 initializes and starts a monitoring timer for periodically inquiring about the status of the device to be monitored (S102). A monitoring timer is provided for each device driver. The monitoring interval of the monitoring timer may be a fixed value or may vary depending on the type of device driver and the connection mode with the device to be monitored. In this embodiment, for example, in the case of a one-to-one connection by the USB interface 17 or the like, the interval is set every 100 milliseconds. On the other hand, if the connection is a one-to-many connection using the network interface 18 or the like, the interval of every 30 seconds is set longer than the one-to-one connection in consideration of the load on the network and the monitoring target device.

  After S102, the status monitor 41 determines whether a job execution notification has been received (S104). As described above, the job execution notification is output by the device driver 40 when the PC 10 receives an execution command for printing by the monitored device from the user via the application program 61. That is, in S104, the status monitor 41 determines whether or not the PC 10 has requested execution of printing to the device to be monitored. S104 is an example of determination processing. When the job execution notification is received (S104: YES), the status monitor 41 executes notification period setting processing for setting a notification period (S111).

  FIG. 6 shows the procedure of the notification period setting process in S111. In the notification period setting process, the status monitor 41 first determines whether or not it is already in the notification period (S201). The PC 10 stores a notification flag for storing the notification period in the RAM 33 or the NVRAM 34. The status monitor 41 determines that the notification period is on if the notification flag is on, and determines that it is not the notification period if it is off.

  If it is not the notification period (S201: NO), the status monitor 41 sets the notification period (S202). Specifically, in S202, the notification flag is changed from off to on. In the PC 10, notification of an error state is permitted during a period when the notification flag is on. Further, in S202, a pop-up message indicating that the error notification is permitted may be displayed.

  After S202, the status monitor 41 activates a notification timer for determining whether the notification period has elapsed (S203). In this embodiment, a notification period of 3 minutes is assigned to one job. Therefore, the status monitor 41 initializes the notification timer, and the notification timer starts counting a number corresponding to 3 minutes.

  On the other hand, if it is the notification period (S201: YES), the status monitor 41 determines whether or not the notification timer is counting (S211). The notification timer stops counting while an interruption error occurs in the monitored device. That is, although it is the notification period, the notification timer is not counting. The operation when it is determined that an interruption error has occurred in the device to be monitored will be described later.

  If the notification timer is counting (S211: YES), that is, if no interruption error has occurred in the monitored device, the status monitor 41 adds 3 minutes to the notification period (S212). That is, in S212, the notification period for the newly accepted job is extended.

  As long as the interruption error has not been resolved, even if a new job is submitted, the job is not executed. On the other hand, a new job may be canceled before the interruption error is resolved. For this reason, when the notification timer is not counted (S211: NO), that is, when an interruption error has occurred in the monitoring target device, the status monitor 41 does not extend the notification period.

  If the notification timer is not counted (S211: NO), or after S212, or after S203, the status monitor 41 inquires about the status of the device to be monitored and acquires the status information of the device ( S221). S221 is an example of an acquisition process. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, the status monitor 41 periodically acquires device status information after acquiring driver information. In S221, the status monitor 41 updates the latest status separately from the periodic timing. Get device status information. That is, as indicated by an arrow X in FIGS. 3 to 4, immediately after the notification is permitted, the management unit 41 </ b> A makes an inquiry about the state to the MFP 20, and the management unit 41 </ b> A acquires the state information from the MFP 20.

  After S221, the status monitor 41 determines whether an interruption error has occurred in the monitored device based on the acquired status information (S222). When an interruption error has occurred in the device to be monitored (S222: YES), the status monitor 41 determines whether the interruption error that has occurred is a consumable error that is resolved by exchanging the consumable. (S231). Examples of consumable errors include no recording paper and insufficient coloring material. As an error other than a consumable error, for example, a paper jam is applicable.

  If it is not a consumable error (S231: NO), the status monitor 41 stops the operating notification timer (S241). As a result, the count value of the notification timer does not exceed the value assigned as the notification period, and as a result, the notification period is extended by the time until the notification timer is restarted. If there is an error such as a paper jam, there is a high possibility that the error can be resolved without replacement parts. Therefore, by continuing to notify the error during the occurrence of the error, the user who issued the print instruction can be expected to eliminate the error. Note that the notification timer is restarted when the error is resolved.

  On the other hand, if the notification period is extended until the notification timer is restarted as described above, the notification period is extended indefinitely unless the error is resolved. In the case of a consumable error, since the error cannot be resolved if there is no consumable to replace, there is a high possibility that the notification period will be extended indefinitely. Therefore, if it is a consumable error (S231: YES), the status monitor 41 sets the notification timer count period to 60 minutes and restarts it (S232). Note that the count period set in the notification timer is not limited to 60 minutes, and may be a time sufficient for replacement of consumables. The notification period is also extended by S232.

  After S232 or S241, the status monitor 41 notifies an error occurring in the monitored device based on the status information acquired in S221 (S233). Specifically, in S233, the type of error and the coping method are displayed in a pop-up. S201 and S233 are examples of notification processing. After S233, the status monitor 41 temporarily stores the state information acquired in S221 (S223), and ends the notification period setting process. During the notification period setting process, S232 and S241 are an example of an extension process.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 5, after the notification period setting process of S111 or when the job execution notification is not received (S104: NO), the status monitor 41 refers to each monitoring timer to monitor the device to be monitored. It is determined whether or not there is a device that has passed the monitoring interval for acquiring the status (S105). When there is a device whose monitoring interval has elapsed (S105: YES), the status monitor 41 executes a state monitoring process for monitoring the state of the device (S121).

  FIG. 7 shows the procedure of the state monitoring process in S121. In the status monitoring process, first, the status monitor 41 inquires the status of the device whose monitoring interval has passed, and acquires the status information of the device whose monitoring interval has passed (S301). S301 is an example of an acquisition process.

  After S301, the status monitor 41 determines whether the error occurrence state is the same as the previous state based on the state information acquired in S301 and the state information stored in S223 or S303 described later ( S302). Specifically, in S302, it is determined whether or not there is an error, and if there is an error, whether it is the same as the previous time including the content of the error. For example, if an error has occurred in both the previous state and the current state, it is determined whether or not the state is the same depending on the content of the error.

  If it is not the same state as the previous time (S302: NO), the status monitor 41 determines whether or not it is a notification period (S311). Specifically, in S311, as in S201, if the notification flag is on, it is determined that it is the notification period, and if it is off, it is determined that it is not the notification period.

  If it is not the notification period (S311: NO), the status monitor 41 does not notify the error state of the device to be monitored. Therefore, the status monitor 41 temporarily stores the status information acquired in S301 (S303), restarts the monitoring timer (S304), and ends the status monitoring process.

  On the other hand, if it is a notification period (S311: YES), it is determined whether an interruption error has occurred based on the status information acquired in S301 (S312). If an interruption error has occurred in the device to be monitored (S312: YES), the status monitor 41 determines whether the interruption error that has occurred is a consumable error (S321).

  If it is not a consumable error (S321: NO), the status monitor 41 stops the operating notification timer (S331). On the other hand, if it is a consumable error (S321: YES), the status monitor 41 sets the count period of the notification timer to 60 minutes and restarts (S322).

  After S322 or S331, the status monitor 41 notifies an error occurring in the device to be monitored based on the status information acquired in S301 (S323). S323 and S311 are examples of notification processing. After S323, the status monitor 41 temporarily stores the state information acquired in S301 (S303), restarts the monitoring timer (S304), and ends the state monitoring process.

  On the other hand, when no interruption error has occurred in the monitoring target device (S312: NO), the necessity of reporting the status of the monitoring target device is low. Therefore, the status monitor 41 determines whether or not the notification timer is in operation (S313).

  That is, the status monitor 41 may stop the notification timer in S331 due to the occurrence of an error. Therefore, if the notification timer is not running (S313: NO), the status monitor 41 sets the count period of the notification timer to a time corresponding to the number of currently uncompleted jobs and restarts (S314). More specifically, in S314, a time obtained by adding 3 minutes for each job in the error stop state and adding a time α obtained by adding 3 minutes for each waiting job is set as the count period of the notification timer. For example, if a print instruction is issued while a paper jam has occurred, jobs that have not been printed will be printed as two jobs: a job that has been suspended due to a paper jam and a newly added job. Wait. After that, when the error is canceled, two jobs are printed. Therefore, the count period of the notification timer is set to 6 minutes instead of 3 minutes. After S314, the status monitor 41 temporarily stores the state information acquired in S301 (S303), restarts the monitoring timer (S304), and ends the state monitoring process.

  On the other hand, if the notification timer is operating (S313: YES), the status monitor 41 continuously operates the notification timer, temporarily stores the state information acquired in S301 (S303), and restarts the monitoring timer. In step S304, the state monitoring process is terminated. During the state monitoring process, S314, S322, and S331 are an example of the extension process.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 5, after the state monitoring process of S121 or when there is no device for which the monitoring interval has elapsed (S105: NO), the status monitor 41 determines whether or not it is a notification period (S106). Specifically, in S106, as in S201, if the notification flag is on, it is determined that it is the notification period, and if it is off, it is determined that it is not the notification period.

  If it is the notification period (S106: YES), the status monitor 41 refers to the notification timer and determines whether or not the notification period has elapsed (S131). Specifically, in S131, when the notification timer has finished counting for the set time, it is determined that the notification period has elapsed.

  If the notification period has elapsed (S131: YES), the status monitor 41 stops the notification timer (S132). Then, the notification period is canceled by changing the notification flag from on to off (S133). As a result, the spontaneous error notification by the status monitor 41 is not executed.

  After S133, when the notification period has not elapsed (S131: NO), or when it is not the notification period (S106: NO), the status monitor 41 determines whether or not there has been an end notification for ending the status monitor 41. (S107). When there is no end notification (S106: NO), the process proceeds to S104, and the status monitor 41 repeats the processes after S104. On the other hand, when there is an end notification (S106: YES), the status monitor 41 ends the management process.

  As described above in detail, in the device monitor 41 of the present embodiment, after the PC 10 receives a job execution command for requesting the MFP 20 as a monitoring target device to execute a printing process from the user via the application program 61, The notification period is a period until a predetermined time elapses. If the device monitor 41 is within the notification period, the device monitor 41 notifies the error information based on the status information acquired from the MFP 20. If it is within the notification period, the error occurring in the MFP 20 has a great influence on the print processing requested by the PC 10 from the MFP 20. On the other hand, in another period different from the notification period, the error information generated in the MFP 20 does not necessarily have a high utility value for the user of the PC 10, so the error information based on the status information acquired from the MFP 20 is not notified. Therefore, the device monitor 41 can expect an error notification with a high utility value by executing an error notification within the notification period. Note that other periods different from the notification period do not mean all periods other than the notification period.

  Further, if an interruption error that causes the MFP 20 to interrupt the printing process has occurred, the notification period ends without the job being completed, and the possibility that the printing process is executed after the notification period has elapsed is increased. Therefore, when the status monitor 41 determines that an interruption error has occurred in the MFP 20 within the notification period, the notification period is extended. This increases the possibility that an error relating to the execution of the job can be notified while the rest of the job resumed after the cancellation of the interruption error is executed.

  In addition, the device monitor 41 according to the present embodiment can notify the MFP 20 by resetting the count period of the notification timer to 60 minutes when it is determined that a consumable error that has been eliminated by exchanging the consumables has occurred in the MFP 20. The period has been extended. This further increases the possibility of notifying an error related to the execution of the job during the remaining execution of the job resumed after replacement of the consumables while avoiding an unlimited extension of the notification period.

  Further, the device monitor 41 according to the present embodiment stops the notification timer when the job is interrupted due to an interruption error other than the consumables error in the MFP 20, and further determines that the interruption error has been resolved. The notification period is extended by restarting the notification timer. As a result, it is possible to expect a notification period setting suitable for the remaining amount of the job after error elimination.

  Moreover, as described above, the device monitor 41 of this embodiment has different notification time extension amounts for consumables errors and errors other than consumables errors. That is, if there is a consumable error that can be resolved by replacing a spare consumable, such as a lack of colorant or no recording paper, the error cannot be resolved immediately unless a new consumable to be replaced is prepared. For this reason, in the case of a consumable error, the device monitor 41 extends the notification period so that the notification period can be surely ended although the notification period is changed to a long time when the error is determined. On the other hand, since errors other than consumables errors can be handled by the user, the notification timer is only stopped when the error is determined. Then, the notification timer count period is set according to the amount of remaining jobs as the notification time required for job completion when the error is resolved. In other words, the device monitor 41 extends the error other than the consumable error so that the error can be reliably notified by the job executed after the error is resolved. As a result, a suitable notification period can be set according to the type of error.

  Note that this embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the MFP has only to have an image processing function, and can be applied to a printer, a scanner, a copier, and a FAX apparatus. The PC may be a device that inputs an image processing job to the image processing device, and may be a smartphone or a PDA.

  In the embodiment, the device driver 40 is a printer driver for the MFP 20, and the image processing requested by the PC 10 to the MFP 20 is printing based on print data transmitted from the PC 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, the device driver 40 may be a scanner driver for the MFP 20, and the image processing that the PC 10 requests the MFP 20 may be reading of a document set in the MFP 20.

  In the embodiment, the management unit 41A of the status monitor 41 periodically acquires the status information of the MFP 20 regardless of whether or not it is the notification period, but acquires the status information only during the notification period. You may do it.

  In the embodiment, the notification of the error is performed by the notification unit 41B of the status monitor 41, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an e-mail may be transmitted. Further, for example, it may be displayed on another application having a display function (such as a browser or a status monitor managed by the OS).

  In the embodiment, the notification period is determined based on the job execution notification output from the printer driver 40. However, the notification period need not be based on the job execution notification. That is, it is only necessary to be able to determine that the PC 10 has requested image processing for the device to be monitored. For example, when a job is registered in the spooler 52, the spooler 52 notifies the registration of the job, or the spooler 52 detects the job. If the spooler 52 notifies the start of job transmission when transmission is started, the notification period may be determined based on the notification.

  In other words, in the embodiment, when the status monitor 41 receives a job execution notification from the device driver 40, that is, when the PC 10 receives an execution command of image processing by the MFP 20 from the user and requests the MFP 20 to perform image processing. Although the notification period has started, the specific timing that is the starting point of the notification period is not limited to the point in time when the execution instruction is received. That is, it may be after the PC 10 receives an image processing execution command by the MFP 20 from the user, and may be when the job is registered in the spooler or when the transmission of the job to the MFP 20 is completed. , The job processing may be completed (printing completed or canceled).

  In the embodiment, a fixed notification period of 3 minutes is assigned to one job, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be shorter than 3 minutes or longer than 3 minutes. Further, the length of the notification period may be determined according to the type of job and the set content of the job. For example, the notification period may be set longer as the number of printed sheets or the number of read sheets increases, or the color setting may be set to a notification period longer than the monochrome setting.

  In the embodiment, when it is determined that the interruption error in the MFP 20 has been resolved and the notification timer is restarted, at least 3 minutes is set in the notification timer, that is, the count value of the notification timer is reset. There is no need to reset. However, it may take time for the MFP 20 to complete the image processing after the error is resolved, such as accepting a new job to the MFP 20 that has stopped the error, and correcting the MFP 20 when the error is resolved. For this reason, the device monitor 41 ensures a sufficient notification period after the error is resolved by resetting the count value of the notification timer and restarting the count from the beginning. As a result, the state of the MFP 20 after error elimination can be notified more reliably.

  In the embodiment, in the case of a consumable error, the notification period is extended by changing the notification period. In the case of an error other than the consumable error, the notification period is extended by pausing the notification timer. This is not a limitation. For example, the same notification period may be extended regardless of the type of error. Further, for example, whether or not the extension can be extended depending on an error that can be solved by the user and an error that cannot be eliminated, or the extension amount of the extension time may be made different. Examples of errors that can be resolved by the user include replacement of paper jams and consumables. Examples of errors that cannot be resolved by the user include failure of electronic components. For example, in the case of a consumable error, the notification period may not be extended. That is, in the case of a consumable error, there is a possibility that the error cannot be resolved immediately, so that the notification period need not be extended. In this case, the process of S322 may be omitted.

  In the embodiment, the amount of extension of the notification time is different between the case of the consumable error and the case of the other error, but it may be the same. In this case, the extension method may be extension of the notification period, temporary stop of the notification timer, or any other method. For example, if an error has occurred in the device to be monitored (S312: YES), S321 may be omitted and one of S322 and S331 may be executed. If S331 is not performed, S313 and S314 may be omitted.

  In the embodiment, the number of occurrences of interruption errors and the occurrence time of interruption errors may be considered. For example, when the same interruption error occurs more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, when the same error occurs continuously more than a predetermined number of times, or when the interruption error is not resolved for more than a predetermined time, the notification period is further increased. The notification period may be changed, such as extending the period indefinitely, or troubleshooting may be performed.

  The processing disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, a plurality of CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Further, the processing disclosed in the embodiment can be realized in various modes such as a recording medium or a method recording a program for executing the processing.

10 PC
20, 21 MFP
40 Device Driver 41 Status Monitor 100 Image Processing System

Claims (8)

In the information processing apparatus, the following processing is performed:
Acquisition processing for acquiring status information indicating the status of the image processing device from the image processing device;
Determination processing for determining whether or not the information processing apparatus has requested the image processing apparatus to execute image processing;
An error notification based on the status information acquired from the image processing apparatus is executed within a notification period that is a period from a specific timing after it is determined that the execution of the image processing is requested to a predetermined time. A notification process that does not execute a notification of an error based on the state information acquired from the image processing device within another period different from the notification period;
If it is determined that an interruption error, which is an error for interrupting the image processing in the image processing device, has occurred within the notification period based on the status information acquired from the image processing device, the notification period is set. Extension processing to extend,
A program characterized by having executed. In the program according to claim 1,
In the notification process, a timer is started at the specific timing, and the notification period is a period until the timer finishes counting the number corresponding to the predetermined time,
In the extension process, the timer is stopped when it is determined that the interruption error has occurred based on the state information, and the interruption error has been resolved based on the state information acquired from the image processing apparatus after the stop. A program which restarts the timer when it is determined. In the program according to claim 2,
In the extension process, the count value of the timer is reset when it is determined that the interruption error has been resolved based on the status information acquired from the image processing apparatus after the stop and the timer is restarted. program. In the program according to claim 1,
In the extension process, the predetermined time is changed to a longer time. In the program according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
In the extension process, when it is determined that the interruption error has occurred based on the state information, if the interruption error is an error other than a consumable error, which is an error that is resolved by exchanging the consumable, A program characterized in that the notification period is extended and the notification period is not extended if the interruption error is a consumable error. In the program according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
In the extension process, when it is determined that the interruption error has occurred based on the status information, a consumable error that is an error that is resolved by replacing the consumable error and an error other than the consumable error. And the amount of extension of the notification period is different. In the program according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The specific timing is a time point when it is determined that execution of the image processing is requested. An acquisition processing unit for acquiring state information indicating the state of the image processing device from the image processing device;
A determination processing unit for determining whether or not the image processing apparatus is requested to execute image processing;
An error notification based on the status information acquired from the image processing apparatus is executed within a notification period that is a period from a specific timing after it is determined that the execution of the image processing is requested to a predetermined time. A notification processing unit that does not perform error notification based on the state information acquired from the image processing device within another period different from the notification period;
If it is determined that an interruption error, which is an error for interrupting the image processing in the image processing device, has occurred within the notification period based on the status information acquired from the image processing device, the notification period is set. An extension processing section to be extended;
An information processing apparatus comprising:

Images