JP7358912B2 - Job management program, job management method and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a job management device, a job management method, and a job management program, and particularly to a job management device communicably connected to at least one image forming device, a job management method in the job management device, and a job management device. Concerning a job management program that operates on.

Printing factories are required to execute jobs as efficiently as possible and reduce wasted time. Therefore, a schedule screen is displayed on the job management device that manages jobs executed by the image forming device, showing jobs currently being output, jobs scheduled to be output, jobs that have been output, trays to be used, etc., and the schedule screen can be used as a reference. Jobs are managed using the following methods.

For example, Patent Document 1 below describes a plurality of paper feed units that feed out stored paper, an image forming unit that forms an image on the paper fed out from the paper feed units based on a print job, and at least paper information to be used. A storage unit that stores the included print job and at least one paper feed unit to be used based on paper information included in the stored print job, and a usage schedule of the determined paper feed unit and the paper feed to be used. An image forming apparatus is disclosed that includes a control unit that causes a display unit to display an event that occurs with switching of parts or an event that occurs at a predetermined period on a display unit with one of a vertical axis or a horizontal axis as a time axis. There is.

Further, Patent Document 2 listed below includes at least a plurality of paper feed trays that accommodate paper, and an image forming unit that forms an image on the paper fed from the plurality of paper feed trays, At least one of the paper feed trays in the image forming apparatus is a paper feed tray that blocks the conveyance path of paper conveyed from other paper feed trays when the paper feed tray is pulled out from the paper feed position. The system includes a job reception section that receives a plurality of jobs to be executed in an image forming system, and a paper feed tray that blocks the conveyance path based on information about the plurality of jobs accepted by the job reception section. For a plurality of paper feed trays, a configuration is disclosed that includes a display section that displays a time period during which paper can be pulled out from a paper feed position.

Publication No. 2011-022377 Publication No. 2012-001296

The schedule screen mentioned above displays jobs that are being output, jobs that are scheduled to be output, jobs that have already been output, trays to be used, etc., but what kind of operations and adjustments can be made by the operator when outputting these jobs? and how much time the operation or adjustment took (i.e., downtime due to the operator) is not displayed. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is not known what needs to be improved in order to increase job processing efficiency and reduce wasted time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its main purpose is to provide a job management device and a job management device capable of presenting improvements for increasing job processing efficiency and reducing wasted time. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a job management program.

One aspect of the present invention is a job management program that includes an acquisition step of acquiring job information and operation information of at least one of a door opening/closing operation and a paper feed tray opening/closing operation in an image forming apparatus. Based on the acquired job information and operation information, the job execution status and at least one of the door opening/closing operation and the paper feed tray opening/closing operation are determined in accordance with at least one of the time and the number of sheets. The computer causes the computer to execute the operation status and a display step of displaying the operation status on the screen .

One aspect of the present invention is a job management method, which includes an acquisition step of acquiring job information and operation information for at least one of a door opening/closing operation and a paper feed tray opening/closing operation from an image forming apparatus. , Based on the acquired job information and the operation information, the execution status of the job and at least one operation among the opening/closing operation of the door and the opening/closing operation of the paper feed tray in correspondence with at least one of the time and the number of sheets. and a display step of displaying the situation on the screen .

One aspect of the present invention is an image forming system that includes an image forming apparatus that executes a job, job information, and operation information for at least one of a door opening/closing operation and a paper feed tray opening/closing operation. Based on the acquisition means acquired from the image forming apparatus, the acquired job information, and the operation information, job execution status, door opening/closing operation, and sheet feeding are determined in correspondence with at least one of time and number of sheets. and a display means for displaying on a screen the status of at least one of the tray opening/closing operations .

According to the job management device, job management method, and job management program of the present invention, it is possible to present improvements for increasing job processing efficiency and reducing wasted time.

The reason for this is that the job management device, which is communicably connected to at least one image forming device and manages jobs executed by the image forming device, receives job information indicating the execution status of the job, and information about the job execution status of the image forming device by the operator. an information acquisition unit that acquires operation information indicating the operation status; and a schedule screen that displays the execution status of the job with one of the vertical or horizontal axes as time or number of sheets based on the job information on the display unit. This is because the display control unit displays the operation status of the image forming apparatus in association with the job execution status on the schedule screen based on the operation information.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a job management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a table showing an example of operation information according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a table showing an example of operation information (when time is far apart) according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a table showing an example of job information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a table showing an example of past job information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a table showing an example of operation information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a top screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schedule screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schedule screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schedule screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schedule screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schedule screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing (panel operation information storage processing) of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing (saving processing of door opening/closing information) of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing (storage processing of tray opening/closing information) of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing (information communication processing) of the image forming apparatus and the job management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing (schedule screen display processing) of the image forming apparatus and the job management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described in the background art, in a printing system, a schedule screen is displayed on the job management device that shows jobs being output, jobs scheduled to be output, jobs that have been output, trays to be used, etc., and the schedule screen is used as a reference. Jobs are managed using the following methods. However, the conventional schedule screen does not display what operations and adjustments were made by the operator when outputting those jobs, and how much time it took for those operations and adjustments. The problem was not knowing what to improve to increase efficiency and reduce wasted time.

Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, a job management device that is communicably connected to at least one image forming device and manages jobs executed by the image forming device includes job information indicating job execution status; an information acquisition unit that acquires operation information indicating the operation status of the image forming apparatus by an operator, and displays the job execution status with one of the vertical axis or the horizontal axis as time or number of sheets based on the job information. a display control unit for displaying a schedule screen on a display unit, the display control unit displaying the operation status of the image forming apparatus in association with the execution status of the job on the schedule screen based on the operation information. .

In this way, by displaying not only the job execution status but also the operation status corresponding to the job in relation to the job execution status on the schedule screen, it is possible to present points for improvement and improve job performance. You can increase processing efficiency and reduce wasted time.

In order to describe the embodiment of the present invention described above in more detail, a job management device, a job management method, and a job management program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 20. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printing system of this embodiment, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are block diagrams showing the configurations of a job management device, a controller, and an image forming device, respectively. Further, FIGS. 5 to 9 are tables showing examples of information stored in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, FIG. 10 is an example of the top screen of this embodiment, and FIGS. It is an example of the schedule screen of an Example. 16 to 18 are flowcharts showing the processing of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, and FIGS. 19 and 20 are flowcharts showing the processing of the image forming apparatus and job management apparatus of this embodiment. be.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 10 of this embodiment includes, on an intranet, a job management device 20 connectable via a communication network, a controller 30, and at least one image forming device 40 (in FIG. 1, the image forming device A and image forming apparatus B) are arranged. Note that although Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like can be used as the communication network standard, it is also possible to use IEEE1394, Parallel, etc. in addition to Ethernet (registered trademark) for data transfer from the controller 30 to the image forming apparatus 40. be. Each device will be explained below.

[Job management device]
The job management device 20 is a computer device such as a personal computer, and as shown in FIG. be done.

The control unit 21 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 22 and memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24. The CPU 22 stores control programs stored in the ROM 23 and the storage unit 25. The overall operation of the job management device 20 is controlled by expanding it into the RAM 24 and executing it. Further, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the control unit 21 functions as a job management unit 21a, an information acquisition unit 21b, a display control unit 21c, and the like.

The job management unit 21a manages jobs executed by the image forming apparatus 40. Specifically, the job is distributed to the image forming apparatuses 40 in the printing system, and the print job is transmitted to the controller 30 connected to each image forming apparatus 40.

The information acquisition unit 21b acquires information indicating the execution status of a job executed by the image forming apparatus 40 (referred to as job information) and information indicating the operation status of the image forming apparatus 40 by an operator (referred to as operation information). .) and get . This job information includes a job ID, job start time, job end time, tray used in the job, and the like. Further, the operation information includes operation panel operation information, door opening/closing operation information, paper feed tray opening/closing operation information, and the like. Note that the image forming apparatus 40 may transmit this information to the job management apparatus 20, or the information acquisition unit 21b may acquire this information from MIB (Management Information Base) information.

The display control unit 21c displays, on the display unit 27, a schedule screen that displays job execution status with time (or number of sheets) as one of the vertical and horizontal axes (first axis) based on the acquired job information. let At this time, based on the acquired operation information, the operation status of the image forming apparatus 40 is displayed on the schedule screen in association with the execution status of the job. The display control unit 21c also displays, for each job, the execution status of the job in association with the operation status corresponding to the job, and when a plurality of image forming apparatuses 40 are connected, the image forming apparatus The execution status of the job and the operation status corresponding to the job may be displayed in association with each other. In addition, the display control unit 21c changes the display mode of the operation status according to the contents of the operation status, and changes the display mode of the operation status according to the content of the operation status, and changes the display mode of the operation status according to the loading status of the paper in the tray used for the job (near empty, empty, etc.). The display format of the execution status may be changed. In addition, the display control unit 21c further displays on the schedule screen the execution status of the executed job in association with the operation status corresponding to the executed job, or displays the execution status of the job scheduled to be executed and the corresponding execution status. A scheduled job may be displayed in association with a predicted operation status, or information on an operator who performs an operation corresponding to the job may be displayed in association with a job execution status. In addition, the display control unit 21c sets the other axis (second axis) as a job or a tray, causes the display unit 27 to display a top screen (dashboard) showing information about the image forming apparatus 40, and displays a predetermined number on the top screen. A schedule screen can be displayed when an operation is performed.

Note that the job management section 21a, information acquisition section 21b, and display control section 21c may be configured as hardware, or the control section 21 may be configured as a job management section 21a, information acquisition section 21b, and display control section 21c (especially , the information acquisition section 21b, and the display control section 21c), and the job management program may be executed by the CPU 22.

The storage unit 25 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), etc., and stores programs for the CPU 22 to control each unit, information regarding the processing functions of its own device, print jobs, and information acquired from the image forming device 40. Stores job information, operation information, etc.

The network I/F section 26 is configured with a NIC (Network Interface Card), a modem, etc., and connects the job management device 20 to a communication network, and sends print jobs to the controller 30 and receives job information from the image forming device 40. Receive operation information, etc.

The display unit 27 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, and the like, and displays various screens such as a top screen and a schedule screen, which will be described later.

The operation unit 28 is composed of a mouse, a keyboard, etc., and enables various operations such as an instruction to change the schedule screen from the top screen and an instruction to change the time on the schedule screen.

[controller]
The controller 30 is a computer device or the like that controls each image forming apparatus 40, and as shown in FIG. It is composed of a display section 38, an operation section 39, and the like.

The control unit 31 is composed of a CPU 32 and a memory such as a ROM 33 or a RAM 34, and the CPU 32 controls the overall operation of the controller 30 by expanding a control program stored in the ROM 33 or the storage unit 35 into the RAM 34 and executing it. .

The storage unit 35 is configured with an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores programs for the CPU 32 to control each unit, print jobs received from the job management device 20, image data generated by the image processing unit 37, and the like.

The network I/F unit 36 is configured with a NIC, a modem, etc., connects the controller 30 to a communication network, receives print jobs from the job management device 20, and transmits image data to the image forming device 40.

The image processing unit 37 functions as a RIP (Raster Image Processor), generates intermediate data (a display list (DL) that is an intermediate language) from the print job, rasterizes each page of the manuscript, and converts it into bitmap format. generate image data. Further, the image processing unit 37 performs screen processing, gradation correction, density balance adjustment, line thinning, halftone dot processing, etc. on the image data as necessary.

The display unit 38 is composed of a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, etc., and displays various screens. The operation unit 39 includes a mouse, a keyboard, etc., and enables various operations.

[Image forming device]
The image forming apparatus 40 is an MFP (Multi-Functional Peripherals) or the like, and executes printing processing based on image data received from the controller 30. Note that the plurality of image forming apparatuses 40 included in the printing system 10 do not necessarily have to have the same configuration. As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 40 includes a control section 41, a storage section 45, a network I/F section 46, a display operation section 47, an image reading section 48, a paper feeding section 49, a printing section 50, and a post-processing section 49. It is composed of a section 51 and the like.

The control unit 41 is composed of a CPU 42 and memories such as a ROM 43 and a RAM 44. The CPU 42 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 40 by expanding a control program stored in the ROM 43 and the storage unit 45 into the RAM 44 and executing it. Control.

The storage unit 45 is composed of an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores programs for the CPU 42 to control each unit, information regarding the processing functions of the own device, job information, operation information, and the like.

The network I/F section 46 is composed of a NIC, a modem, etc., and connects the image forming apparatus 40 to a communication network, receives image data from the controller 30, and transmits job information, operation information, etc. to the job management apparatus 20. I do things.

The display/operation unit (operation panel) 47 is a touch panel or the like equipped with a pressure-sensitive operation unit (touch sensor) in which transparent electrodes are arranged in a grid pattern on the display unit, and displays various screens related to printing processing. Allows various operations related to.

The image reading unit 48 is a part that optically reads image data from a document placed on a document table. It is composed of an image sensor (such as a device), an A/D converter that converts an electrical signal from analog to digital, and the like.

The paper feed unit 49 is configured with one or more paper feed trays (such as the main body paper feed stage or the large capacity paper feed stage in FIG. 1), and feeds the paper stored in the paper feed tray to the printing unit 50. These paper feed trays are provided with sensors that detect the amount of paper loaded, and based on the output signal of the sensor, the control unit 41 determines the amount of paper loaded in each tray (near empty, empty, etc.). The job management device 20 is notified of the amount of paper loaded.

The printing unit 50 forms an image on a sheet of paper based on the image data received from the controller 30 or the image data read by the image reading unit 48 and according to the content instructed by the display operation unit 47. The printing unit 50 includes elements necessary for image formation using an image forming process such as an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method, such as a charging device, a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a transfer roller, a transfer belt, and a fixing device. It consists of devices and the like, and forms an image on paper based on image data. Specifically, a photosensitive drum charged by a charging device is irradiated with light according to image data from an exposure device to form an electrostatic latent image, and a developing device attaches charged toner to develop the image. A process is performed in which a toner image is transferred onto paper via a primary transfer roller and a secondary transfer belt, and then fixed by a fixing device.

A post-processing unit (finisher) 51 is provided as needed, and performs post-processing such as punching, stapling, and booklet processing on the paper printed by the printing unit 50.

Note that FIGS. 1 to 4 are examples of the printing system 10 of this embodiment, and the configuration and control of each device can be changed as appropriate as long as the job management of this embodiment can be implemented. For example, although FIG. 1 shows a case where two image forming apparatuses 40 are connected to the printing system 10, it is sufficient that at least one image forming apparatus 40 is connected. Further, although FIG. 1 shows a case where the controller 30 is connected to the printing system 10, the controller 30 may be omitted if the image forming apparatus 40 includes an image processing section (RIP section).

In the printing system 10 configured as described above, each time the display operation section 47 is operated, the image forming apparatus 40 (control section 41) obtains the pressed location (function) and the pressed time, and stores the information in the storage section 45. Save it to etc. Furthermore, the time when the door was opened and the time when the door was closed is recorded in a log based on the output signal of the opening/closing sensor provided on the door (front door, etc.). Further, the time when the paper feed tray is opened and the time when the paper feed tray is closed is recorded in a log based on the output signal of the opening/closing sensor provided on the paper feed tray. FIG. 5 shows an example of operation information stored in the image forming apparatus 40.

The operation time related to the paper feed tray and front door displayed on the schedule screen to be described later can be determined based on the opening/closing time. In addition, the time related to panel operation shall be the time during which panel operation continues within a predetermined time (for example, 60 seconds) from pressing the start button of a given job to pressing the start button of the next job. I can do it. Then, the opening/closing operations of the paper feed tray or the front door, and the panel operations are displayed on the same line as the job on the schedule screen as operations related to the predetermined job or the next job.

Note that if there is no panel operation consecutively within a predetermined period of time, it may be excluded from the time related to panel operations. For example, even if there is a log of a panel operation 10 minutes after the time when a certain panel operation was performed, there is no need to consider that period as the time during which the panel operation continued. FIG. 6 is an example of operation information when the time is far apart. No. 12 panel operations. It took 25 minutes to operate panel 13. During this time, the distance is longer than the predetermined time, so No. 13~No. The time up to 16 can be taken as the time related to panel operation.

Then, the job management device 20 receives, for example, job information such as that shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 from the image forming device 40 via the network I/F unit 26 (FIG. information (FIG. 8 shows information on executed jobs) and operation information as shown in FIG. 9, calculates schedule information, and displays it on the display unit 27.

For example, the control unit 21 (display control unit 21c) of the job management device 20 displays a top screen 60 as shown in FIG. 10 on the display unit 27 to display information about the image forming device 40. When the schedule button at the lower right of the top screen 60 is pressed (or clicked) to instruct transition to the schedule screen, a schedule screen 61 as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. Between pressing the schedule button and displaying the schedule screen 61, the control unit 21 (information acquisition unit 21b) of the job management device 20 communicates with the image forming device 40 to update the job information and operation information. For example, to receive updated information.

Note that the job management device 20 may inquire and receive job information and operation information from the image forming device 40 at predetermined time intervals. The above information may also be sent.

Based on the job information shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the job management device 20 displays the job ID on the vertical axis and the job execution status on the horizontal axis (using colored bars, etc.) on the schedule screen 61 shown in FIG. indicate. In FIG. 11, a rectangle hatched with fine dots indicates a job that is being output, and a rectangle hatched with coarse dots indicates a reserved job, and the difference in color is expressed by changing the type of hatching. Note that in FIG. 11, the vertical axis represents jobs, but it may also represent trays.

This schedule screen 61 has left arrow and right arrow buttons ("←" and "→" buttons) at the bottom, and by pressing these buttons, past information and future information are displayed respectively. Ru. FIG. 12 is an example where the left arrow button is pressed twice. Assuming that information up to 30 minutes ago is displayed by pressing the left arrow button once, the operation information is searched to see if there is any operation within that time. If there is an operation within that time, the operation time is displayed as a colored bar. In FIG. 12, the operation status is displayed in association with the job execution status, based on the job information shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and the operation information shown in FIG. 9 from 10:26 to 13:26.

Note that a black rectangle indicates a job that has already been output. In addition, the rectangle hatched with a line going upward to the right is the operation time related to the front door (time from opening to closing the front door), the rectangle hatched horizontally is the panel operation time, and the rectangle hatched downward to the right is the paper feed tray. The operation time (time from opening to closing of the paper feed tray) related to each operation is shown, and the display mode (color, etc.) of the operation status is changed depending on the content of the operation status (operation content). Note that, as described above, in this embodiment, the difference in color is expressed by changing the type of hatching.

FIG. 13 is another example of the schedule screen 61. As shown in FIG. 13, when the operation time (panel operation time) for job 11 is long, it would be efficient if the settings for job 11 were completed by the time job 10 is finished, but Panel operation continues until 11 is started (see arrow in the figure). From this, it can be inferred that the screen was moved back and forth due to factors such as poor operability of the display operation section 47 or lack of knowledge on the part of the operator. ) can be provided.

Additionally, operations that are expected to occur in the future (for example, opening/closing the paper tray to replace paper, subsequent adjustment operations, etc.) are displayed in association with the job, allowing you to know when to perform the operations efficiently. It can be shown that Also, if the job is stopped due to near-empty or empty paper occurring during job output, you can change the display format of the schedule screen 61 (for example, by changing the color of the bar for that job). good. Further, in order to provide feedback to the operator as to whether the operation is good or bad, identification information (ID, name, etc.) of the operator may be displayed in association with the job (for example, displayed along with the job name column). Furthermore, although the case where job information of one image forming apparatus 40 is displayed has been described above, the display area of the schedule screen 61 is divided for each image forming apparatus 40 and job information of a plurality of image forming apparatuses 40 is displayed. They may be displayed all at once.

FIG. 14 is another example of the schedule screen 61. As shown in FIG. 14, if the front door is frequently opened and closed during output of job 9, there is a possibility that operations such as jam removal or parts confirmation have been performed. Additionally, the front door was open for a while in front of job 10, suggesting that maintenance was being performed. From these facts, it is possible that the inspection was performed because many jams occurred in job 9. In Figure 14, job 11 is started after job 10 is finished, but there is a possibility that jams will occur in the future, so check the paper you are using and call a service person to request maintenance. can provide hints (points) for improvement.

FIG. 15 is another example of the schedule screen 61. As shown in FIG. 15, job 9 and job 11 frequently open and close the paper feed tray. In this case, the paper was set, a special chart was output, and the front and back sides were adjusted, but it is possible that the front and back sides did not match and the guide plate adjustment was performed. If the situation is the same for Job 11, which uses the same tray, give hints for improvement, such as replacing parts, calling a service person for maintenance, or changing the method for front-back adjustment if the operator is the same. can be provided.

The processing of the printing system 10 of this embodiment will be described in detail below. First, information storage processing in the image forming apparatus 40 will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 16 to 18.

[Saving process of panel operation information]
As shown in FIG. 16, the control section 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 monitors the operation of the display operation section 47 (S101), and when a panel operation is detected (Yes at S101), the control section 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 stores the panel operation information in the storage section 45, etc. (S102).

[Save processing of door opening/closing information]
As shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 monitors the output signal of a sensor provided on the front door etc. (S111), and when it detects that the front door is opened (Yes in S111), the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 The open information is stored in the storage unit 45 or the like (S112). Subsequently, the output signal of the sensor is monitored (S113), and if closing of the front door is detected (Yes in S113), the front door closing information is stored in the storage unit 45 or the like (S114).

[Save process of tray opening/closing information]
As shown in FIG. 18, the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 monitors the output signal of the sensor provided in the paper feed tray (S121), and when it detects that the paper feed tray is open (Yes in S121), the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 The open information is stored in the storage unit 45 or the like (S122). Subsequently, the output signal of the sensor is monitored (S123), and if closing of the paper feed tray is detected (Yes in S123), tray close information is stored in the storage unit 45 or the like (S124).

Next, the processing of the job management device 20 and the image forming device 40 will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 19 and 20. The CPU 22 executes each step shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 19 and 20 by loading the job management program stored in the ROM 23 or the storage unit 25 into the RAM 24 and executing it.

[Information communication processing]
As shown in FIG. 19, the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 counts the passage of time (S131), and when a predetermined time has passed (Yes in S131), transmits job information and operation information to the job management apparatus 20. (S132). When the information acquisition unit 21b of the job management device 20 receives job information and operation information from the image forming device 40 (S133), the information acquisition unit 21b stores the information in the storage unit 25 or the like (S134).

[Schedule screen display processing]
As shown in FIG. 20, the display control unit 21c of the job management device 20 displays the top screen 60 on the display unit 27, and when the schedule button on the top screen 60 is pressed (S141), the information acquisition unit 21b displays the An inquiry is made to the forming apparatus 40 regarding update information (S142). When the control unit 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 receives an inquiry for update information from the job management apparatus 20, it transmits the update information (updated job information and operation information) to the job management apparatus 20 (S143).

When the information acquisition unit 21b of the job management device 20 receives update information (updated job information and operation information) from the image forming device 40 (S144), the display control unit 21c displays information on the display unit 27 from the current time. The schedule screen 61 for N hours later is displayed (S145). If the "←" button is pressed on this schedule screen 61 (Yes in S146), the display control unit 21c displays the schedule screen 61 from 30 minutes before the time being displayed to N hours later (S147). Further, when the "→" button is pressed on the schedule screen 61 (No in S146, Yes in S148), the display control unit 21c displays the schedule screen 61 from 30 minutes to N hours after the time being displayed. (S149).

After displaying the schedule screen 61 in S147 or S149, or if neither the "←" button nor the "→" button is pressed (No in S146, No in S148), the display control unit 21c instructs to end the display. If the display end is not instructed (No in S150), the process returns to S146 and the same process is repeated.

As explained above, on the schedule screen 61, points for improvement can be presented by displaying not only the job execution status but also the operation status corresponding to the job in association with the job execution status. This can increase job processing efficiency and reduce wasted time.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the configuration and control thereof can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in this embodiment, the schedule screen 61 is displayed on the display unit 27 of the job management device 20, but the schedule screen 61 is displayed on the display operation unit 47 of the image forming device 40 or the display unit 38 of the controller 30. You may. In that case, the control section 41 of the image forming apparatus 40 and the control section 31 of the controller 30 may function as an information acquisition section and a display control section.

The present invention relates to a job management device that is communicably connected to at least one image forming device, a job management method in the job management device, a job management program that operates on the job management device, and a record recording the job management program. Available for media.

10 Printing System 20 Job Management Device 21 Control Unit 21a Job Management Unit 21b Information Acquisition Unit 21c Display Control Unit 22 CPU
23 ROM
24 RAM
25 Storage section 26 Network I/F section 27 Display section 28 Operation section 30 Controller 31 Control section 32 CPU
33 ROM
34 RAM
35 Storage unit 36 Network I/F unit 37 Image processing unit 38 Display unit 39 Operation unit 40 Image forming device 41 Control unit 42 CPU
43 ROM
44 RAM
45 Storage section 46 Network I/F section 47 Display operation section 48 Image reading section 49 Paper feeding section 50 Printing section 51 Post-processing section 60 Top screen 61 Schedule screen

Claims (12)

an acquisition step of acquiring job information and operation information of at least one of a door opening/closing operation and a paper feed tray opening/closing operation in the image forming apparatus;
Based on the acquired job information and the operation information, the job execution status and the operation status of at least one of the door opening/closing operation and the paper feed tray opening/closing operation are determined in correspondence with at least one of the time and the number of sheets. a display step of displaying and on the screen;
A job management program that allows a computer to execute 2. The job management program according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring step acquires operation information of an operation panel, and the displaying step displays an operation status of the operation panel. 3. The job management program according to claim 1 , wherein the displaying step displays the execution status and the operation status of the job on a screen for each job. The acquiring step acquires the job information and the operation information from the plurality of image forming apparatuses;
4. The job management program according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step displays the job execution status and the operation status on a screen for each image forming apparatus. 5. The job management program according to claim 1 , wherein the display step changes the display mode depending on the content of the operation status. 6. The job management program according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step changes a display mode of the execution status of the job depending on the loading status of the paper in the paper feed tray. 7. The job management program according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step displays the execution status of the job and the operation status for the executed job on a screen . 8. The job management program according to claim 1, wherein the displaying step displays the job execution status and the operation status for a job scheduled to be executed on a screen . 9. The job management program according to claim 1 , wherein the displaying step displays information on the operator who operates the job on the screen . A display that displays on the screen the job execution status and the operation status of at least one of the door opening/closing operation and the paper feed tray opening/closing operation in the image forming apparatus in correspondence with at least one of the time and the number of sheets. A job management program that allows a computer to execute steps. an acquisition step of acquiring job information and operation information for at least one of door opening/closing operations and paper feed tray opening/closing operations from the image forming apparatus;
Based on the acquired job information and the operation information, the job execution status and the operation status of at least one of the door opening/closing operation and the paper feed tray opening/closing operation are determined in correspondence with at least one of the time and the number of sheets. a display step of displaying and on the screen;
A job management method having an image forming device that executes a job;
an acquisition unit that acquires job information and operation information for at least one of a door opening/closing operation and a paper feed tray opening/closing operation from the image forming apparatus;
Based on the acquired job information and the operation information, the job execution status and the operation status of at least one of the door opening/closing operation and the paper feed tray opening/closing operation are determined in correspondence with at least one of the time and the number of sheets. and display means for displaying on a screen,
An image forming system having :

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