Printing system and control method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a printing system and a control method. The printing system includes a first printing device and a second printing device in an intranet, and a catalog server on the Internet. The catalog server is configured to manage catalog information of print data. The first printing device includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire a list of print data from the catalog server, a first sending unit configured to send identification information for identifying the print data to the second printing device when an instruction to print out the print data included in the list is received from a user using an operation unit of the first printing device, and a printing unit configured to print out the print data included in the received print request when a print request is received. The second printing device includes a second sending unit configured to send the catalog information of the print data received from an external device to the catalog server, and send a print request containing the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a printing system and a control method. Background Art

[0002] When an existing multifunction peripheral receives a print job from a terminal device such as a PC, the multifunction peripheral immediately prints according to the print job. In this case, information leakage may occur as a result of a third person seeing the print material that was forgotten to be taken away or the print material that was left behind. In recent years, reserve printing has been proposed for the purpose of confidentiality. In reserve printing, when a print job is received, the print job is once reserved in a non-volatile storage area of ​​the multifunction peripheral without immediately printing according to the print job, and then printing is performed when a user provides a print instruction on an operation unit of the multifunction peripheral.

[0003] In addition, in recent years, remote printing has been proposed. In remote printing, not only the multifunction peripheral that has received the print job can print, but also other multifunction peripherals can print by acquiring the print job reserved in the multifunction peripheral that has received the print job.

[0004] Furthermore, the server device stores the image output data received from the client device 1 via the LAN in the output data storage unit, and transmits the image output data to the printer that performs printing via the same LAN (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-170234). The output data management unit in the server device generates a list of a plurality of pieces of image output data associated with the user authentication information from among the plurality of pieces of image output data in the output data storage unit.

[0005] In the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-170234, a server device in a LAN manages print data to be printed and its bibliographic information. Although not estimated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-170234, it is conceivable that as a configuration of remote printing, a cloud server on the Internet manages print data and bibliographic information. However, when the cloud server manages print data, it may take time to acquire the print data compared to when a server device in a general intranet manages print data. Therefore, it may take time from when a user provides a print instruction on an operation panel of a printing device to when the print data is actually printed out. Summary of the invention

[0006] An embodiment provides a printing system, comprising: a first printing device and a second printing device in an intranet; and a catalog server on the Internet, the catalog server being configured to manage catalog information of print data, the first printing device comprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a list of print data from the catalog server; a first sending unit configured to send identification information for identifying the print data to the second printing device when an instruction to print out the print data included in the list is received from a user using an operation unit of the first printing device; and a printing unit configured to print out the print data included in the received print request when a print request is received, and the second printing device comprising: a second sending unit configured to send the catalog server the bibliographic information of the print data received from an external device; and sending a print request containing the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device. Another embodiment provides a control method for a printing system, the printing system comprising a first printing device and a second printing device in an intranet and a catalog server on the Internet, the catalog server being configured to manage catalog information of print data, the control method comprising: the second printing device sending the catalog information of the print data received from an external device to the catalog server; the first printing device acquiring a list of print data from the catalog server; when an instruction to print out the print data included in the list is received from a user using an operating unit of the first printing device, the first printing device sending identification information for identifying the print data to the second printing device; the second printing device sending a print request containing the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device; and when the first printing device receives the print request, the first printing device prints out the print data contained in the received print request.

[0007] Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration of a remote printing system.

[0009] Figure 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a multifunction peripheral.

[0010] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a software configuration of a multifunction peripheral.

[0011] Figure 4 is a diagram showing the software configuration of a cloud server.

[0012] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5CThis is an example of a screen displayed on the operation unit by a print application of the multifunction peripheral.

[0013] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B This is an example of the screen that the cloud server settings app displays on a browser.

[0014] Figure 7 is a diagram showing the entity of bibliographic information stored in a cloud server.

[0015] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of setting a cloud server and a process of setting a multi-function peripheral.

[0016] Fig. 9 : is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which a multifunction peripheral (input machine) inputs a print job.

[0017] Fig.10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process in which a cloud server manages bibliographic information.

[0018] Fig.11A is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which a multifunction peripheral (output machine) displays a print queue.

[0019] Fig. 11B is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which a multifunction peripheral (output machine) prints out print data.

[0020] Fig. 11C is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which a multifunction peripheral (output machine) deletes print data.

[0021] Fig.11D is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process in which a multifunction peripheral (output machine) changes print settings of print data. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] Network Configuration of Remote Printing System

[0024] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration applicable to a multifunction peripheral as an image forming apparatus and a cloud server as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a network supporting TCP / IP, for example. A personal computer 102, a cloud server 104, and multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 serving as information processing apparatuses are connected to the network 101. In the present embodiment, description will be made on the assumption that the personal computer 102 and the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 are in an intranet and the cloud server is on the Internet.

[0025] The multifunction peripheral 103 is an input machine that, upon receiving a print job from the personal computer 102 , stores the print job when the remote print function is being used. The multifunction peripheral 103 creates bibliographic information from the received print job and transmits the bibliographic information to the cloud server 104 .

[0026] The cloud server 104 uniformly manages a plurality of pieces of bibliographic information of print jobs stored in all multifunction peripherals registered on the same network 101. It is also conceivable that the multifunction peripheral 103 or the multifunction peripheral 105 manages the bibliographic information as an information processing device that manages the bibliographic information; however, when the cloud server manages the bibliographic information, there are the following three advantages.

[0027] - Maintain responsive performance as processing load increases.

[0028] – Extension of the upper limit of manageable bibliographic information is easy.

[0029] - Reduced downtime of the bibliographic management server.

[0030] When a multifunction peripheral manages bibliographic information, since the multifunction peripheral itself has a copy function and / or a scanning function, when the multifunction peripheral operates simultaneously with the function of managing bibliographic information or when requests for the bibliographic information management function are concentrated on the server, the responsiveness of the management of the bibliographic information may be reduced.

[0031] In addition, when the multifunction peripheral is used as a bibliographic management server, resources such as permanent storage capacity of a hard disk drive are also limited, and thus the scalability of the upper limit of manageable bibliographic information is poor.

[0032] Furthermore, when the multifunction peripheral is used as a bibliographic management server, a shutdown of the bibliographic management server may occur because the multifunction peripheral may be turned off.

[0033] These problems are eliminated when bibliographic information is managed by a cloud server.

[0034] The multifunction peripheral 105 receives authentication information from the user and authenticates the user. The multifunction peripheral 105 is an output machine that, after user authentication, acquires bibliographic information from the cloud server 104 based on the authentication information, receives a print job from the input machine 103 based on the acquired bibliographic information, and performs printing.

[0035] For ease of explanation, the above configuration is a general configuration. A plurality of personal computers 102, a plurality of multifunction peripherals 103, or a plurality of multifunction peripherals 105 may be provided.

[0036] Each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 operates not only as an input machine but also as an output machine. In other words, each of the multifunction peripherals registered in this system operates not only as an input machine but also as an output machine. Each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 does not need to have a scanning function or a copying function, and may be a printer 103 or a printer 105 having only a printing function.

[0037] Schematic Configuration of Each of the Multifunction Peripherals 103 and 105

[0038] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 , for simplicity of explanation, the multifunction peripheral 103 will be described.

[0039] exist Figure 2 In FIG. 1 , the multifunction peripheral 103 includes a controller unit 200 , an operation unit 206 , a scanner unit 208 , and a printer unit 209 .

[0040] The controller unit 200 is a device that controls a multifunction peripheral or a printer. The controller unit 200 includes a CPU 201 , a RAM 202 , a ROM 203 , a HDD 204 , an operation unit I / F 205 , a device I / F 207 , and a network I / F 210 connected via a system bus 211 .

[0041] The CPU 201 generally controls the devices connected to the system bus 211, and controls the entire image forming apparatus 103. Programs such as an operating system, system software, and application software, and data are stored in the RAM 202. The boot program, system program, and application program of the system are stored in the ROM 203. In addition, information such as fonts used in the image forming apparatus 103 can also be stored in the ROM 203. The HDD 204 is a hard disk drive. The operating system, system software, application software, image data, setting data, print data, etc. are stored in the HDD 204. The program stored in the RAM 202 is executed by the CPU 201 to process image data or data other than images stored in the RAM 202, ROM 203, or HDD 204. The compact multifunction peripheral does not include the HDD 204, and stores the system software, application software, etc. in the ROM 203. Alternatively, instead of the HDD 204, a storage device other than the hard disk drive, such as a flash memory, such as a solid state disk (SSD) can be used.

[0042] The operation unit I / F 205 is an interface unit with the operation unit 206 having a touch panel. The operation unit I / F 205 outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 206 to the operation unit 206. The operation unit I / F 205 sends information input from the operation unit 206 by the user to the CPU 201.

[0043] The device I / F 207 connects a scanner unit 208 and a printer unit 209 as image input / output devices to the controller unit 200, and inputs or outputs image data. The image data input from the scanner unit 208 via the device I / F 207 is stored in the RAM 202 or the HDD 204. When necessary, image processing and the like are performed on the stored image data using an application program stored in the RAM 202. The image data is output to the printer unit 209 via the device I / F 207. The network I / F 210 is connected to a network, and inputs or outputs image data in an external device on the network or information for controlling a multifunction peripheral.

[0044] Figure 2 Configurations not shown in the figure may also be applied as long as the advantageous effects of the present disclosure are obtained, and the configuration is not limited to Figure 2 For example, in the case of a multifunction peripheral having a fax function, the controller unit 200 may include an I / F ( Figure 2 ), and can send faxes by connecting to a public line using a modem. Alternatively, in order to enable reading out data stored in, for example, a flash memory card and printing out the data, the controller unit 200 may include a USB I / F (not shown).

[0045] Software Configuration of Each of the Multifunction Peripherals 103 and 105

[0046] Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing a software configuration of each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is implemented in the controller unit 200. Software incorporated in the multifunction peripheral or printer and processed by the controller unit 200 is implemented as so-called firmware and executed by the CPU 201.

[0047] The operating system 301 provides services and frameworks optimized for controlling various resource management of the embedded system to the software running on the operating system 301. The services and frameworks for resource management provided by the operating system 301 include multitasking management for operating multiple processes substantially in parallel by managing multiple execution contexts to be processed by the CPU 201, and inter-task communication for achieving synchronization between tasks and data exchange. In addition, the operating system 301 provides memory management, interrupt management, various device drivers, a protocol stack for achieving processing of various protocols for local interfaces, networks, communications, etc., and other functions.

[0048] The controller platform 302 is composed of a file system 303, a job and device control 304, and a counter 305. The file system 303 is a mechanism for storing data constructed on a storage device such as the HDD 204 and the RAM 202. The file system 303 is used to spool a job processed by the controller unit 200 or save various data. The job and device control 304 controls the hardware of a multi-function peripheral or a printer, and mainly controls jobs using basic functions (printing, scanning, communication, image conversion, etc.) provided by the hardware. The counter 305 manages the expiration date of each application and the counter value based on the use of printing and scanning.

[0049] The system service 306 is a module for monitoring the operation status of a multifunction peripheral or a printer or downloading software or a license from a software distribution server via a network.

[0050] The application platform 307 is middleware for enabling the mechanisms of the operating system 301 and the controller platform 302 to be used from a system library 308 (described later) or an application 309 (described later).

[0051] The system library 308 is a software module that provides functions of services available from the application 309. The system library 308 is composed of account management 311, database management 312, and network communication 313.

[0052] The application 309 is a software module capable of displaying a menu on the operation unit 206 and receiving an input from the user, and providing the user with various functions realized by the multifunction peripheral or the printer.

[0053] The authentication application 321 is one of the applications 309. The authentication application 321 manages users who are allowed to use the multifunction peripheral 103 or the multifunction peripheral 105 by using the account management 311 in the system library 308. The account management 311 performs user authentication by communicating with an authentication application 410 (described later) of the cloud server 104 by using the network communication 313. The account management 311 authenticates the user by communicating with the authentication application 410 for verifying the user name and password input via the operation unit 206.

[0054] The copy application 322 is one of the applications 309 . The copy application 322 provides a paper document copy function by accessing the job and device control 304 via the application platform 307 .

[0055] The scanning application 323 is one of the applications 309. The scanning application 323 provides a function of scanning a paper document and creating electronic data by accessing the job and device control 304 via the application platform 307.

[0056] The print application 324 is one of the applications 309. When the remote print function is enabled, the print application 324 retains a received print job, creates bibliographic information from the print job, and sends a registration request to the cloud server 104.

[0057] The print application 324 communicates with the cloud server 104 by using the network communication 313 , and displays a print queue from the acquired bibliographic information or changes settings for a print job or deletes a print job.

[0058] The print application 324 connects with another multifunction peripheral 103 or another multifunction peripheral 105 by using the network communication 313 , and provides a remote print function of holding an acquired print job in the HDD 204 and executing the print job.

[0059] The print application 324 provides a function of executing output according to a print job held in the HDD 204 by accessing the job and device control 304 via the application platform 307 .

[0060] Software configuration of cloud server 104

[0061] Figure 4 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the cloud server 104 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the software configuration being implemented in the cloud server 104 .

[0062] Infrastructure 401 is the basis for cloud servers to provide services, and is composed of servers, virtual machines, storage devices, networks, and operating systems.

[0063] The cloud platform 402 is a framework that provides common basic functions to applications 407 by using an infrastructure 401 , and is composed of a file system 403 , an account and job control 404 , and a database 405 .

[0064] The application 407 can communicate with a web browser operating on the information processing apparatus 102, and display a menu on a web browser page on the information processing apparatus 102 or receive an input from a user. The application 407 is a software module that manages a user account that is allowed to use a multifunction peripheral or printer, visualizes usage statistics of the multifunction peripheral or printer, and provides the user with various functions of using the multifunction peripheral or printer.

[0065] The authentication application 410 is one of the applications 407. The authentication application 410 manages users who are allowed to use the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 by using the account and job control 404 in the cloud platform 402. The authentication application 410 receives user information for which an authentication request is sent from the authentication application 321 of any one of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 via a network, and verifies a user name and a password. The authentication application 410 can use an external authentication server (such as Active Directory and LDAP) for user authentication instead of using the account and job control 404 in the cloud platform 402.

[0066] The device management application 411 is one of the applications 407. The device management application 411 performs device management such as registration, editing, and deletion of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 as targets to be connected.

[0067] The setting application 412 is one of the applications 407. The setting application 412 sets functions on the cloud server 104 to be provided to the user.

[0068] The bibliographic management application 413 is one of the applications 407. The bibliographic management application 413 manages bibliographic information printable by the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 registered in the device management application 411 for each of the users registered in the authentication application 410. The bibliographic information is management information of a print job input to the multifunction peripheral, such as a job ID of the print job, a received date and time, an IP address and a directory path of the multifunction peripheral storing the print job, a job name, and print settings.

[0069] The usage statistics application 414 is one of the applications 407. The usage statistics application 414 displays statistics of usage of functions such as printing and scanning. The method of displaying the statistics is to display the statistics on a web browser page of the information processing apparatus 102 for each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 registered in the device management application 411 or for each of the users registered in the authentication application 410.

[0070] Top menu screen of multi-function peripherals

[0071] Figure 5A 2 is an example of a top menu screen in the multifunction peripheral 105 as an output machine according to the embodiment. This screen is displayed on the operation unit 206 of the multifunction peripheral 105.

[0072] When the user logs in to the multifunction peripheral 105 using an IC card or the like, a top menu 500 is displayed after the login, and the user can select an application to be used in the multifunction peripheral 105 from the top menu 500. Since the user is logged in to the multifunction peripheral 105, a login user name 504 is displayed on the screen. An example of a screen displaying a user name "Sato" during login is shown.

[0073] Icons of the applications 309 installed in the multifunction peripheral 105 are displayed on the top menu 500. The print icon 501 is an icon of the print application 324. When the print icon 501 is pressed, the print application 324 is started.

[0074] The copy icon 502 is an icon of the copy application 322. When the copy icon 502 is pressed, the copy application 322 is started.

[0075] The setting icon 503 is an icon for setting an application of the multi-function peripheral 105 as one of the applications 309 .

[0076] Description of the Print Queue Display

[0077] Figure 5B 2 is an example of a print queue display screen in the multifunction peripheral 105 as an output machine according to the embodiment. This screen is displayed on the operation unit 206 by the print application 324 executed by the CPU 201 of the multifunction peripheral 105. On the print queue display screen, a list of print jobs held by the authenticated user is displayed.

[0078] Figure 5B5 is a print queue display screen 510 of the print application 324, which is displayed by pressing the print icon 501. An example of a screen showing the user name "Sato" during login is shown. For each print job, a job name 511, a color / monochrome setting 512, a paper size 513, and a number of copies 514 are shown. Two print jobs 515, 516 are operable on this screen. The print application 324 acquires the bibliographic information of "Sato" as a logged-in user from the cloud server 104 that manages bibliographic information, and displays the bibliographic information on the print queue display screen 510. For these print jobs, reference numeral 518 indicates a print button, reference numeral 519 indicates a delete button, and reference numeral 520 indicates a print setting button, and the user selects a desired print job from the displayed print jobs and presses any of these buttons. Thus, the user operates the intended print job. Reference numeral 518 indicates the logged-in user. Reference numeral 521 indicates an update button. When the update button is pressed, the print application 324 of the multifunction peripheral 105 acquires the bibliographic information of “Sato” who is the log-in user from the cloud server 104 again, and updates the list of print jobs based on the acquired bibliographic information.

[0079] Set the description of the change screen

[0080] Figure 5C It is a print setting screen to be displayed when the print setting button 520 is pressed. For the print job selected on the print queue display screen 510, operations of changing the print setting, updating the print setting, and printing according to the print job are possible. The current setting values ​​are displayed for the double-sided printing setting 550, the color mode setting 551, the binding setting 552, the punching setting 553, the number of copies setting 554, and the paper size setting 555. The user can select the setting of the print setting that the user desires to change from these settings and change the setting value. Reference number 556 represents a return button. When the print setting is changed and the return button is pressed, the changed print setting is canceled. Reference number 558 represents a setting update button. When the user changes the setting value and then presses this button, the print application 324 updates the bibliographic information with the changed print setting, and issues a request to update the bibliographic information to the cloud server 104. Reference number 559 represents a print button. When the user changes the setting value and then presses this button, the print application 324 runs the expected print job according to the changed print setting. Thereafter, the print application 324 updates the bibliographic information using the changed print settings, and issues a request to update the bibliographic information to the cloud server 104 .

[0081] Description of the cloud server device management screen

[0082] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B407 of the cloud server 104 according to the embodiment. These screens are generated by the application 407 of the cloud server 104, and the functions are provided. The web browser operating on the information processing device (personal computer) 102 communicates with the cloud server 104, and these screens are displayed on the web browser of the information processing device (personal computer) 102.

[0083] Fig. 6A It is a device management display screen of the device management application 411, which is displayed by clicking the device tab 620. A list of multi-function peripherals and printers that provide functions of the cloud server 104 is displayed in 624. Reference numeral 621 represents a device add button, reference numeral 622 represents a device edit button, and reference numeral 623 represents a device delete button. When adding or deleting a multi-function peripheral or printer that provides functions on the cloud server 104, the user presses the device add button 621 or the device delete button 623. When the user edits information (IP address or location) about a registered device, the user presses the device edit button 622. The cloud server 104 provides functions to registered devices, such as authentication of allowable users, statistics and visualization of usage of printing and scanning at each device, and remote printing.

[0084] Description of the cloud server extension screen

[0085] Figure 6B It is an extension setting screen displayed by clicking the extension tab 600. Selection and setting of remote printing as one of the extensions is possible. The setting application 412 operating on the cloud server 104 creates a screen for remote printing setting 601. The user selects one from the following three as a setting value to be applied.

[0086] When "Execute all print jobs immediately" 602 is selected, all devices 624 registered in the device management application 411 immediately execute printing without reservation upon receiving a print job. Therefore, this setting disables the use of remote printing.

[0087] When "Reserve print job in PC application" 606 is selected, the print application pre-installed in the information processing apparatus 102 reserves the print job in the HDD in the information processing apparatus upon receiving the print job. The print application creates bibliographic information of the reserved print job, and issues a request to add the bibliographic information to the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104. All devices on the same network are set so that remote printing is possible by acquiring a list of bibliographic information from the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104. In the case of such a configuration, as listed as a problem, when performing remote printing, the information processing apparatus that has the print job reserved needs to be in operation.

[0088] When "hold print job in device" 603 is selected, all devices 624 registered in the device management application 411 each hold the print job in the HDD 204 in the host machine when receiving the print job. Each device 624 creates bibliographic information of the held print job and issues a request to add the bibliographic information to the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104. Devices other than the device that has received the print job are each also set so that remote printing is possible by acquiring a bibliographic information list from the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104.

[0089] When "Retain print job in PC application" 606 or "Retain print job in device" 603 is selected, a print job retention period 604 can be set. This means that each of the print application on the information processing apparatus 102 that retains the print job or the print applications 324 on all registered devices 624 saves the print job for the period set in the print job retention period 604 from the time when the print job is received. When the print job retention period 604 elapses, the print job is deleted.

[0090] When the save button 605 is clicked, the setting value for remote printing is saved and the setting change is applied.

[0091] Bibliographic Information Entity

[0092] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the entity of bibliographic information managed for each user by the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104 .

[0093] Figure 7 4 is an example of bibliographic information managed by the bibliographic management application 413, and shows bibliographic information 700 of two print jobs. The bibliographic information 700 is generated by the input machine 103 that has received the print job, and is sent to and managed by the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104. In other words, a plurality of pieces of bibliographic information 700 about all print jobs retained in the devices registered by the device management application 411 of the cloud server 104 are managed by the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104.

[0094] The bibliographic information 700 consists of a user name 701, a job ID 702, a date and time of receipt 703, a storage location (IP address and directory path) 704, and print settings (job name, paper size, number of copies, duplex, binding, punching) 705. Here, the figure shows the bibliographic information 700 of a user whose user name 701 is "Sato". Reference numeral 703 represents information indicating the date and time when the multifunction peripheral receives the print job. Reference numeral 704 indicates the IP address of the multifunction peripheral in which the print job is stored, and also indicates the path of the directory in the HDD 204 in the multifunction peripheral in which the print job is stored. In other words, reference numeral 704 represents information for identifying the storage location of the print job. The print settings 705 are set from an application on the information processing device (personal computer) 102 via a printer driver. Alternatively, the print settings are changed from the print application 324 of the multifunction peripheral. Of course, settings other than the print settings shown here can also be maintained as the bibliographic information 700. Although in Figure 7 Although not shown in the figure, the bibliographic information 700 may include a print completion flag indicating whether the print job has been printed out.

[0095] Procedure for setting up remote printing

[0096] Fig. 8A : is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of setting remote printing at the cloud server 104 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8B : is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of setting remote printing at the multifunction peripheral 103 or the multifunction peripheral 105 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0097] The setting application 412 operating on the cloud server 104 initially displays settings for remote printing on the web browser of the information processing apparatus (personal computer) 102 in S801 .

[0098] In S802 , the setting application 412 receives an event notifying that the save button 605 is pressed from the web browser of the information processing apparatus (personal computer) 102 .

[0099] In S803, the setting application 412 acquires the setting values ​​for remote printing set by the user from the web browser of the information processing apparatus (personal computer) 102, and determines whether these setting values ​​are updated relative to the setting values ​​when the save button 605 was previously pressed. When not updated, then a series of steps ends.

[0100] It is checked whether "hold print job in device" 603 is enabled or disabled as a setting value for remote printing. When "hold print job in device" 603 is enabled, a print job retention period 604 is also included.

[0101] When the setting values ​​for remote printing are updated in S803 or at the time of initial setting, the process proceeds to S804 , and the setting application 412 updates the setting values ​​open to the registered device, and ends a series of steps.

[0102] The print application 324 operating on each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 initially checks in S821 whether the host machine is registered in the cloud server 104. When registered, the process proceeds to S822; whereas, when not registered, the process proceeds to S825.

[0103] In S822, the print application 324 enters a standby state for a set time period. After the set time period (such as 15 minutes have passed), the process proceeds to S823.

[0104] In S823 , the print application 324 connects to the cloud server 104 via the network communication 313 .

[0105] In S824 , the print application 324 acquires the setting values ​​opened in S804 by the setting application 412 of the cloud server 104 .

[0106] In S825, the print application 324 checks whether the setting value acquired from the setting application 412 of the cloud server 104 is updated compared to the setting value acquired last time. When the setting value is not updated relative to the setting value acquired last time, a series of steps ends. When the setting value is updated relative to the setting value acquired last time, the process proceeds to S826, and each of the multifunction peripherals 103 and 105 updates and applies the setting value held in the HDD 204, after which a series of steps ends.

[0107] Print job sending process

[0108] An example of a process in which a user sends a print job from the personal computer 102 to the multifunction peripheral 103 as an input machine will be described. In the following, it is assumed that the multifunction peripheral 103 is managed by the authentication application 321 for authentication.

[0109] In the present embodiment, the print setting value and the page description language (PDL) data will be described as an example in which the print job is sent to the multifunction peripheral 103. PDL includes LIPS, PostScript, etc. The multifunction peripheral 103 performs printing by interpreting the PDL and performing RIP processing. In addition to the PDL data, the print job may be a format that the multifunction peripheral 103 can interpret and perform printing, for example, image data (such as TIFF) and a document format of an application.

[0110] The user starts the printer driver from an application operating on the personal computer 102. The user performs print setting from a printer driver screen (not shown), then selects the multifunction peripheral 103, and provides a print instruction. Here, the user can explicitly provide an instruction for reserve printing.

[0111] When the printer driver receives the print instruction, the printer driver displays an authentication screen (not shown). The user enters authentication information and then provides a print instruction. The printer driver sends an authentication request together with the user name and password to the multifunction peripheral 103. The authentication application 321 of the multifunction peripheral 103 performs authentication by checking the received user name and password and communicating with the authentication application 410 on the cloud, and sends the authentication result to the personal computer 102. The printer driver receives the authentication result and ends the printing process due to an error when the authentication fails.

[0112] When the authentication succeeds, the printer driver converts the application data into PDL and generates a print job. In addition, the printer driver merges the user information and the designated print settings into the print job. The printer driver sends the generated print job to the multifunction peripheral 103.

[0113] When the personal computer 102 and the multifunction peripheral 103 exist in the same authentication domain and the authentication result of the personal computer 102 is guaranteed, an authentication request may not be issued to the multifunction peripheral 103. In addition, user information of the personal computer 102 may be used. Alternatively, the authentication process from the printer driver may be omitted, and user information registered in advance in the printer driver may be used.

[0114] Process of receiving print jobs

[0115] Fig. 9 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process in which the multifunction peripheral 103 as an input machine receives a print job according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the process being executed on the CPU 201 of the multifunction peripheral 103 .

[0116] Initially, in S901, the job and device control 304 waits for reception of a print job. When the job and device control 304 receives the print job via the network I / F 210 in S902, the job and device control 304 provides notification to the print application 324.

[0117] In S903 , the print application 324 checks whether the setting of “hold print job in device” 603 is enabled in the main settings.

[0118] When “hold print job in device” 603 is not enabled, the print application 324 issues a print request to the job and device control 304 and proceeds to S911 .

[0119] In S911 , the job and device control 304 executes RIP processing on the print job according to the print setting, and in S912 , supplies a print instruction to the printer unit 209 via the device I / F 207 to execute printing.

[0120] In S903 , when “hold print job in device” 603 is enabled, the print application 324 proceeds to S904 and saves the print job in the HDD 204 of the multifunction peripheral 103 .

[0121] In S905, the print application 324 analyzes the saved print job and acquires the user name included in the print job. In S906, the print application 324 analyzes the print settings of the saved print job.

[0122] In S907 , the print application 324 creates the bibliographic information 700 from the print settings of the saved print job analyzed in S906 . In S909 , the print application 324 issues a request to the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104 to add and register the bibliographic information 700 created in S908 .

[0123] In S910, the print application 324 determines whether the registration of the bibliographic information 700 to the bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104 is successful. When the registration of the bibliographic information 700 is successful, the print application 324 proceeds to S914 and shifts to a state of waiting for receiving a print job again. When the registration of the bibliographic information 700 fails, the print application 324 proceeds to S913 and deletes the print job saved in S904 from the HDD 204. Thereafter, the print application 324 shifts to a state of waiting for receiving a print job again.

[0124] Thus, a series of processing at the time of input is completed.

[0125] The process of processing bibliographic information in the bibliographic server machine

[0126] Fig.10 100 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of managing bibliographic information in the cloud server 104 according to the embodiment. S1001 to S1015 are steps.

[0127] Initially, in S1001 , the bibliographic management application 413 in the cloud server 104 waits in a state of waiting for a request for the bibliographic information 700 issued from the print application 324 operating on the multifunction peripheral 103 or the multifunction peripheral 105 .

[0128] In S1002 , the bibliographic management application 413 receives a request for the bibliographic information 700 issued from the multifunction peripheral 103 or the multifunction peripheral 105 .

[0129] In S1004 , the bibliographic management application 413 branches the process according to the type of request for the bibliographic information 700 .

[0130] In the determination of S1004 , when the request is to register new bibliographic information 700 , the process proceeds to S1005 , and the bibliographic management application 413 executes bibliographic information registration processing.

[0131] In S1005, the bibliographic management application 413 determines whether the request is to register new bibliographic information 700 on an already registered user. When the request is to register new bibliographic information 700 on an unregistered user, the bibliographic management application 413 creates a new user name 701 in S1006.

[0132] In S1007 , the bibliographic management application 413 adds the expected new bibliographic information 700 to the record of the user name 701 for which the bibliographic information is saved.

[0133] In the determination of S1004 , when the request is to update the bibliographic information 700 , the process proceeds to S1008 , and the bibliographic management application 413 performs a process of updating the intended bibliographic information 700 .

[0134] In S1008, the bibliographic management application 413 determines whether there is bibliographic information 700 to be updated. When there is no bibliographic information 700 to be updated, the bibliographic management application 413 sends an error message in S1015 and ends a series of processes. When there is bibliographic information 700 to be updated, the bibliographic management application 413 updates the desired bibliographic information 700 in S1009.

[0135] In the determination of S1004 , when the request is to acquire the bibliographic information 700 , the process proceeds to S1010 , and the bibliographic management application 413 executes a process of acquiring the desired bibliographic information.

[0136] In S1010, the bibliographic management application 413 determines whether there is an expected user whose bibliographic information 700 is to be acquired. When there is no expected user, the bibliographic management application 413 sends an error in S1015 and ends a series of processes. When there is a user whose bibliographic information 700 is to be acquired, the bibliographic management application 413 acquires a list of bibliographic information of the expected user in S1011.

[0137] In the determination of S1004 , when the request is to delete the bibliographic information, the process proceeds to S1012 , and the bibliographic management application 413 performs a process of deleting the intended bibliographic information.

[0138] In S1012, the bibliographic management application 413 determines whether there is bibliographic information to be deleted. When there is no bibliographic information to be deleted, the bibliographic management application 413 sends the result of deletion in S1014 and ends a series of processing. When there is bibliographic information to be deleted, the bibliographic management application 413 deletes the desired bibliographic information in S1013.

[0139] In S1014 , the bibliographic management application 413 transmits the result of the processing in response to the request from the print application 324 operating on the multifunction peripheral 103 or the multifunction peripheral 105 and ends a series of processing.

[0140] Display the process of the print queue

[0141] Fig.11A 1101 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which the multifunction peripheral 105 as an output machine according to the embodiment displays a list of print queues, the process being executed on the CPU 201 of the multifunction peripheral 105. S1101 to S1151 are steps.

[0142] Initially, in S1101, the authentication application 321 displays an authentication screen (not shown) and waits for input of authentication information from the user. The operation unit 206, which has received the input of authentication information from the user, sends the authentication information to the authentication application 321 via the operation unit I / F 205.

[0143] The authentication application 321 performs user authentication in S1102. The authentication application 321 determines whether the user authentication is successful in S1103. When the authentication application 321 determines that the authentication is successful, the authentication application 321 provides the authentication result to each of the applications 309, and the process proceeds to S1104. When the authentication application 321 determines that the authentication fails in S1103, the process returns to S1101.

[0144] In S1104 , when the user presses the print icon 501 of the print application 324 as a trigger, the print application 324 is activated.

[0145] In S1105 , the activated print application 324 connects to the cloud server 104 via the network communication 313 .

[0146] In S1106, the print application 324 issues a request to the cloud server 104 to acquire the bibliographic information 700. The acquisition request includes the user name authenticated in S1102.

[0147] In S1107, the print application 324 determines whether the acquisition of the bibliographic information 700 associated with the authenticated user from the cloud server 104 is successful. When the acquisition is successful, the process proceeds to S1108, and the print application 324 displays the print queue display screen 510 on the operation unit 206 based on the acquired bibliographic information. When the acquisition of the bibliographic information 700 fails, the process proceeds to S1109, and the print application 324 displays an error screen on the operation unit 206.

[0148] Printing process

[0149] Fig. 11B 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a printing process according to the present embodiment which is activated when a user presses the print button 518 or the print button 559 for a selected print job at the multifunction peripheral 105 as an output machine, and which is executed on the CPU 201 of the multifunction peripheral 105. S1121 to S1132 are steps.

[0150] Initially, in S1121 , the print application 324 displays the print queue display screen 510 by controlling the operation unit 206 of the multifunction peripheral 105 .

[0151] In S1122 , the print application 324 receives a job list showing the print jobs selected by the user as targets to be printed from among the print jobs on the print queue display screen 510 , from the application platform 307 .

[0152] In S1123 , the print application 324 reads from the ROM 203 the bibliographic information of the top print job from the received list of jobs to be printed.

[0153] In S1124 , the print application 324 extracts the storage location (IP address and directory path) 704 of the print job from the bibliographic information 700 .

[0154] In S1125, the print application 324 determines whether the print job is in the HDD 204 of the host device or in another device based on the storage location (IP address, etc.) of the extracted print job. When the print job is in another device, the process proceeds to S1126.

[0155] In S1126, the print application 324 issues a print job transmission request to the input machine 103 storing the print job through the network I / F 210. The print application 324 operating on the input machine 103 returns a print request containing the print data specified by the received transmission request. When the reception of the print job is successful, the process proceeds to S1129. When the reception of the print job fails, the print application 324 displays a print error screen in S1128.

[0156] In S1129, the print application 324 receives the print job as a response from the input machine 103. The print application 324 executes print processing on the received print job through the application platform 307.

[0157] In S1130 , the print application 324 checks whether all the print jobs selected for printing have been executed.

[0158] When there is any unexecuted print job, bibliographic information of the next print job is read in S1131, and the processing in S1124 and subsequent steps is repeated.

[0159] In S1130, when there is no unexecuted print job, the process proceeds to S1132, and the print application 324 again displays the list of print queues on the operation unit 206. Thus, a series of print processing ends.

[0160] Deletion Process

[0161] Fig. 11C is a flowchart showing an example of a deletion process activated when a user presses the delete button 519 for a selected print job at the multifunction peripheral 105 as an output machine according to the present embodiment, the deletion process being executed on the CPU 201 of the multifunction peripheral 105. S1141 to S1151 are steps.

[0162] Initially, in S1141 , the print application 324 displays the print queue display screen 510 by controlling the operation unit 206 of the multifunction peripheral 105 .

[0163] In S1142 , the print application 324 receives a job list showing the print job selected by the user as a target to be deleted from among the print jobs on the print queue display screen 510 , from the application platform 307 .

[0164] In S1143 , the print application 324 reads from the ROM 203 the bibliographic information 700 of the top print job from the received list of jobs to be deleted.

[0165] In S1144 , the print application 324 extracts the storage location (IP address and directory path) 704 of the print job to be deleted from the bibliographic information 700 .

[0166] In S1145, the print application 324 determines whether the print job to be deleted is in the HDD 204 of the host device or in another device based on the storage location 704 (IP address, etc.) of the extracted print job. When the print job is in another device, the process proceeds to S1146. When the print job is in the HDD 204 of the host device, the process proceeds to S1147, and the print job in the HDD 204 of the host device is deleted by the file system 303.

[0167] In S1146, the print application 324 issues a request to delete the print job to the input machine 103 storing the print job via the network I / F 210. The print application 324 operating on the input machine 103 receives the delete request, deletes the print job in the HDD 204 of the input machine 103, and sends back a response.

[0168] In S1149 , the print application 324 checks whether all the print jobs selected for deletion are deleted.

[0169] When there is any undeleted print job, bibliographic information of the next print job to be deleted is read in S1450, and the processing in S1144 and subsequent steps is repeated.

[0170] In S1149, when there is no undeleted print job, the process proceeds to S1151, and the print application 324 again displays the list of print queues on the operation unit 206. Thus, a series of deletion processing ends.

[0171] Process for updating settings

[0172] Fig.11D 116 is a flowchart showing an example of a setting change process activated when a user selects the print setting button 520 for a selected print job at the multifunction peripheral 105 as an output machine according to the embodiment, the setting change process being executed on the CPU 201 of the multifunction peripheral 105. S1161 to S1164 are steps.

[0173] Initially, in S1161, the print application 324 displays a setting change screen ( Figure 5C ).

[0174] In S1162, the print application 324 receives from the application platform 307 the information displayed by the user using the setting change screen ( Figure 5C ) to set the print settings.

[0175] In S1163, the print application 324 creates the bibliographic information 700 from the received print settings.

[0176] In S1164, the print application 324 sends the created bibliographic information 700 to the cloud server 104 and issues a request to update the bibliographic information. The bibliographic management application 413 of the cloud server 104 having received the update request updates the bibliographic information to be updated. Thus, a series of update processing ends.

[0177] As described above, in this embodiment, although the bibliographic information of the print data is managed in the cloud server, the print data is managed in the printing device in the intranet. Therefore, the printing device obtains the print data from the server device in the usual intranet, thereby shortening the time from when the user provides a print instruction on the operation panel of the printing device to when the print data is actually printed out.

[0178] Other embodiments

[0179] Embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by reading out and executing computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more completely referred to as a 'non-transitory computer-readable storage medium') to perform one or more of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments and / or a computer of a system or device including one or more circuits (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing one or more of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments, and by a computer of the system or device, for example, reading out and executing computer executable instructions from a storage medium to perform one or more of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments and / or controlling one or more circuits to perform one or more of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU)), and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute computer executable instructions. Computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or a storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a storage device of a distributed computing system, an optical disk (such as a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), or a Blu-ray disk (BD)) TM ), one or more of flash memory devices, memory cards, etc.

[0180] The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by providing software (program) for performing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer or a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0181] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A printing system, comprising: A first printing device and a second printing device having a printing function and located in the intranet; information processing devices; as well as a bibliographic server on the Internet, the bibliographic server being configured to manage bibliographic information of the print data, The first printing device comprises: an acquisition unit configured to acquire, from the bibliographic server, a list of print data associated with user authentication based on authentication information; an operation unit configured to receive a user input of authentication information of a user, and to display a list of acquired print data; a first sending unit configured to send identification information for identifying the print data to the second printing device when an instruction to print out the print data included in the list is received from a user via an operation unit of the first printing device if the setting of the remote printing is set to retain the print data in the second printing device; wherein, if the setting of the remote printing is set to retain the print data in the information processing device, when an instruction to print out the print data included in the list is received from the user via the operation unit of the first printing device, the first sending unit sends identification information for identifying the print data to the information processing device, and a printing unit configured to print out the print data included in the received print request when receiving the print request from the second printing device or the information processing device, wherein the second printing device comprises: a storage unit configured to store the received print data if the setting of the remote printing is set to retain the print data in the second printing device; a second sending unit configured to send bibliographic information of the print data to the bibliographic server when the print data is stored in the second printing device; and If the second printing device receives the identification information from the first printing device, the second printing device sends a print request including the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device, and The information processing device comprises: a third sending unit configured to send bibliographic information of the print data to the bibliographic server if the print data is retained in the information processing apparatus, and If the information processing device receives the identification information from the first printing device, the information processing device sends a print request including the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device.

2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The first printing device further includes an authentication unit configured to authenticate a user based on the authentication information, and wherein The acquisition unit acquires a list of print data associated with an authenticated user from the bibliographic server.

3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein the first printing device further comprises: a receiving unit configured to receive a selection of print data to be printed from a list of print data associated with an authenticated user; as well as The identification unit is configured to identify the second printing device storing the selected print data based on the acquired bibliographic information.

4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein The bibliographic server comprises: a registering unit configured to register the bibliographic information sent from the second printing device; as well as The response unit is configured to send the requested bibliographic information back to the first printing device when a request for obtaining bibliographic information is issued from the first printing device.

5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein When receiving an instruction to delete the print data from a user, the first sending unit sends a deletion request to the second printing device, the deletion request including identification information for identifying the print data associated with the deletion instruction, and The second sending unit sends a result of the deletion performed in response to the deletion request back to the first printing device.

6. A control method for a printing system, the printing system comprising a first printing device and a second printing device having a printing function and located in an intranet, a bibliographic server on the Internet, and an information processing device, the bibliographic server being configured to manage bibliographic information of print data, the control method comprising: If the setting of the remote printing is set to retain the print data in the second printing device, the second printing device receives the print data from the information processing device, and the second printing device stores the received print data; The second printing device sends the bibliographic information of the print data to the bibliographic server; The first printing device receives a user input of authentication information of a user via an operation unit of the first printing device; acquiring, by the first printing device, from the bibliographic server, a list of print data associated with user authentication based on authentication information; Display a list of acquired print data; When an instruction to print out the print data included in the list is received from a user via an operation unit of the first printing device, the first printing device sends identification information for identifying the print data to the second printing device; If the second printing device receives the identification information from the first printing device, the second printing device sends a print request including the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device; When the print data is stored in the information processing device, the information processing device sends bibliographic information of the print data to the bibliographic server; When receiving an instruction to print out the print data included in the list from a user via an operation unit of the first printing device, the first sending unit sends identification information for identifying the print data to the information processing device; If the information processing device receives the identification information from the first printing device, the information processing device sends a print request including the print data identified by the identification information to the first printing device; as well as When the first printing device receives a print request from the second printing device or the information processing device, the first printing device prints out the print data included in the received print request.

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