Print job sending device and computer-readable non-temporary recording medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a print job sending device and a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium, wherein the print job sending device comprises a print job sending unit for sending a print job to an image forming device, and an information acquisition unit for acquiring information from the image forming device, wherein when an event occurring in the image forming device is notified from the image forming device to the information acquisition unit, the information acquisition unit acquires ink information from the image forming device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a print job sending device for sending a print job and a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a print job sending program. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an image forming system including an image forming apparatus for executing printing and a print job sending apparatus for sending a print job to the image forming apparatus is known. When an error occurs, the image forming apparatus notifies the print job sending apparatus of the error.

[0003] However, in the conventional image forming system, there is a possibility that information which is not necessary for the print job sending device may be notified from the image forming device to the print job sending device, resulting in a problem that an extra load is imposed on the image forming system. Summary of the invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a print job sending device capable of reducing the load on an image forming system when acquiring information from an image forming device, and a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a print job sending program.

[0005] The printing job sending device of the present invention includes: a printing job sending unit, which sends a printing job to an image forming device; and an information acquisition unit, which acquires information from the image forming device. When an event occurring in the image forming device is notified to the information acquisition unit from the image forming device, the information acquisition unit acquires specific information from the image forming device.

[0006] The computer-readable non-temporary recording medium of the present invention stores a print job sending program, which enables a computer to implement the functions of the following units: a print job sending unit that sends a print job to an image forming device; and an information acquisition unit that acquires information from the image forming device, and when an event occurring in the image forming device is notified to the information acquisition unit from the image forming device, the information acquisition unit acquires specific information from the image forming device.

[0007] The print job sending device and the computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a print job sending program according to the present invention can reduce the load on the image forming system in acquiring information from the image forming device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A block diagram of an image forming apparatus is shown.

[0010] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 The block diagram of the print job sending device is shown.

[0011] Figure 4 When the print job sending device is connected to the image forming device Figure 1 The image forming system shown is a sequence diagram of operations.

[0012] Figure 5 When an event occurs in the image forming device Figure 1 The image forming system shown is a sequence diagram of operations.

[0013] Figure 6 It means notification Figure 3 A diagram of an example of a device information notification screen showing at least a portion of the device information shown.

[0014] Figure 7 The operation and control of the image forming system when an event occurs in the image forming device Figure 5 The examples shown are sequence diagrams of different examples.

[0015] Figure 8 The operation and control of the image forming system when an event occurs in the image forming device Figure 5 as well as Figure 7 The examples shown are sequence diagrams of different examples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] First, the configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a block diagram of the image forming system 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0019] like Figure 1 As shown, the image forming system 10 includes an image forming device 20 for executing printing. The image forming system 10 may include at least one image forming device having the same configuration as the image forming device 20 in addition to the image forming device 20. The image forming device is constituted by, for example, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) or a production printer.

[0020] The image forming system 10 includes a print job sending device 30 as a computer that sends print jobs to the image forming device. The image forming system 10 may include at least one print job sending device having the same structure as the print job sending device 30 in addition to the print job sending device 30. The print job sending device 30 is composed of, for example, a PC (Personal Computer).

[0021] The image forming apparatus in the image forming system 10 and the print job transmitting apparatus in the image forming system 10 can communicate with each other via a network 11 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

[0022] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus 20 .

[0023] like Figure 2 As shown, the image forming apparatus 20 comprises: an operation unit 21, which is an operation device such as buttons for inputting various operations; a display unit 22, which is a display device such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying various information; a printer 23, which is a printing device for printing images on a recording medium such as paper; a communication unit 24, which is a communication device for communicating directly with an external device via a network such as a LAN, the Internet, or by wired or wireless means without going through a network; a storage unit 25, which is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) for storing various information; and a control unit 26, which controls the image forming apparatus 20 as a whole.

[0024] The control unit 26 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) storing programs and various data, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a memory area for the CPU of the control unit 26. The CPU of the control unit 26 executes the program stored in the storage unit 25 or the ROM of the control unit 26.

[0025] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of the print job sending device 30 .

[0026] like Figure 3As shown, the printing job sending device 30 includes: an operating unit 31, which is an operating device such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc. for providing various operation inputs; a display unit 32, which is a display device such as an LCD, etc. for displaying various information; a communication unit 33, which is a communication device that communicates with an external device via a network such as a LAN, the Internet, or directly through a wired or wireless connection without going through a network; a storage unit 34, which is a non-volatile storage device such as a semiconductor memory, a HDD, etc. for storing various information; and a control unit 35, which performs overall control over the printing job sending device 30.

[0027] The storage unit 34 stores a print job sending program 34a for sending print jobs. The print job sending program 34a can be installed in the print job sending device 30 during the manufacturing stage of the print job sending device 30, or can be additionally installed in the print job sending device 30 from an external storage medium such as a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or can be additionally installed in the print job sending device 30 from a network.

[0028] The storage unit 34 can store device information 34b indicating various information in the image forming apparatus 20. The device information 34b includes, for example, information on ink in the image forming apparatus 20 and information on recording media in the image forming apparatus 20. The information on ink in the image forming apparatus 20 includes, for example, the remaining amount of ink in the image forming apparatus 20 and information on whether the ink in the image forming apparatus 20 is available for each ink such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The information on whether the ink in the image forming apparatus 20 is available is, for example, information indicating that the ink cannot be used when the ink cartridge is not placed in the image forming apparatus 20. The information on the recording media in the image forming apparatus 20 includes, for example, the remaining amount of recording media in the supply tray for supplying recording media to the printer 23 for each supply tray, and the amount of recording media in the discharge destination for discharging the recording media from the printer 23 for each discharge destination.

[0029] The storage unit 34 stores an event ID list 34c, which is a list of event IDs for identifying the types of events occurring in the image forming apparatus 20. Examples of the types of events include: Cyan Empty, which indicates that the remaining amount of cyan ink is less than a specific amount; Magenta Empty, which indicates that the remaining amount of magenta ink is less than a specific amount; Yellow Empty, which indicates that the remaining amount of yellow ink is less than a specific amount; Black Empty, which indicates that the remaining amount of black ink is less than a specific amount; Cyan Missing, which indicates that the ink cartridge of cyan ink is not provided in the image forming apparatus 20; Magenta Missing, which indicates that the ink cartridge of magenta ink is not provided in the image forming apparatus 20; Yellow Missing, which indicates that the ink cartridge of yellow ink is not provided in the image forming apparatus 20; Black Missing, which indicates that the ink cartridge of black ink is not provided in the image forming apparatus 20; and Waste Ink Box Full, which indicates that the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank in the image forming apparatus 20 is more than a specific amount. In the event ID list 34c, information indicating events related to ink is associated with event IDs of events related to ink. For example, Cyan Empty, Magenta Empty, Yellow Empty, Black Empty, Cyan Missing, Magenta Missing, Yellow Missing, Black Missing, and Waste Ink Box Full are events related to ink.

[0030] The control unit 35 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM storing programs and various data, and a RAM used as a memory as a work area of ​​the CPU of the control unit 35. The CPU of the control unit 35 executes the program stored in the storage unit 34 or the ROM of the control unit 35.

[0031] The control unit 35 executes the print job transmission program 34 a to realize a print job transmission unit 35 a that transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 20 , an information acquisition unit 35 b that acquires information from the image forming apparatus 20 , and an information display unit 35 c that displays information.

[0032] Next, the operation of the image forming system 10 will be described.

[0033] First, the operation of the image forming system 10 when the print job transmission device 30 is connected to the image forming device 20 will be described.

[0034] Figure 4This is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image forming system 10 when the print job transmission device 30 is connected to the image forming device 20 .

[0035] The user of the print job sending device 30 can instruct the print job sending device 30 to start connecting to the image forming device 20 through the operation unit 31 while the print job sending program 34a is activated. When the print job sending unit 35a of the print job sending device 30 receives the instruction to start connecting to the image forming device 20, it executes Figure 4 Action shown.

[0036] like Figure 4 As shown, the print job transmission unit 35a starts connection with the image forming apparatus 20 (S101). Therefore, the print job transmission unit 35a can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 20 until the connection with the image forming apparatus 20 is completed.

[0037] After the process of S101, the information acquisition unit 35b of the print job transmission device 30 acquires the information of the ink in the image forming device 20 from the image forming device 20 (S102). In S102, the information acquisition unit 35b acquires the value of the item of information of the ink included in the device information 34b as the information of the ink in the image forming device 20. For example, the information acquisition unit 35b acquires the remaining amount of the ink in the image forming device 20 and the information on whether the ink in the image forming device 20 is available for each ink.

[0038] After the process of S102, the information acquisition unit 35b stores the information acquired in S102 in the device information 34b (S103).

[0039] Next, the operation of the image forming system 10 when an event occurs in the image forming apparatus 20 will be described.

[0040] Figure 5 This is a sequence diagram of the operation of the image forming system 10 when an event occurs in the image forming apparatus 20 .

[0041] When an event occurs in the image forming device 20, the control unit 26 of the image forming device 20 executes Figure 5 Action shown.

[0042] like Figure 5As shown, the control unit 26 of the image forming device 20 notifies the print job sending program 34a of the print job sending device 30 of an event occurring in the image forming device 20 (S121). The notification in S121 includes an event ID for identifying the type of event and an event importance indicating the importance of the event. The event importance includes, for example, an error indicating that the image forming device 20 cannot execute printing and information indicating the progress of printing execution in the image forming device 20.

[0043] Upon receiving the notification in S121 , the information acquisition unit 35 b of the print job transmission device 30 acquires the information of the ink in the image forming device 20 from the image forming device 20 ( S122 ).

[0044] After the process of S122, the information display unit 35c of the print job sending device 30 notifies the difference through the display of the display unit 32 if there is a difference between the information obtained in S122 and the information included in the device information 34b for any value of the information obtained in S122 (S123). For example, regarding the item of whether the cyan ink in the image forming device 20 can be used, if the information included in the device information 34b is "usable", and the information obtained in S122 is "unusable", the information display unit 35c notifies through the display of the display unit 32 that the cyan ink in the image forming device 20 cannot be used.

[0045] Regarding the values ​​of all items of the information obtained in S122, if there is no difference between the information obtained in S122 and the information included in the device information 34b, or the processing of S123 is completed, the information acquisition unit 35b of the printing job sending device 30 will, for each item of the information obtained in S122, overwrite and save the information obtained in S122 in the device information 34b (S124).

[0046] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing an example of a device information notification screen 40 for notifying at least a part of the device information 34b.

[0047] The information display unit 35c of the print job transmission device 30 displays, for example, Figure 6 The device information notification screen 40 is shown. Figure 6 The device information notification screen 40 shown includes: an ink remaining amount display area 41, which displays the remaining amount of ink for each ink cartridge; a recording medium remaining amount display area 42, which displays the remaining amount of recording medium in the supply tray for supplying recording medium to the printer 23 for each supply tray; and a recording medium reserve amount display area 43, which displays the amount of recording medium in the discharge destination for the recording medium discharged from the printer 23 for each discharge destination. Figure 6 In the device information notification screen 40 shown, the remaining ink amount display area 41 includes a display 41a indicating that the ink cartridge of cyan ink is not installed in the image forming apparatus 20. The display 41a is generated in S123.

[0048] As described above, in S121, when an event occurring in the image forming device 20 is notified from the image forming device 20 to the print job sending device 30, the print job sending device 30 obtains the ink information from the image forming device 20 (S122), so that the possibility of obtaining less necessary information from the image forming device 20 can be reduced for the print job sending device 30 side, and as a result, the load borne by the image forming system 10 in obtaining information from the image forming device 20 can be reduced. Here, the load borne by the image forming system 10 includes, for example, the load borne by the network 11, the load borne by the image forming device 20, and the load borne by the print job sending device 30.

[0049] In S121, Figure 5 In the operation shown, if an event occurring in the image forming device 20 is notified from the image forming device 20 to the information acquisition unit 35b of the print job sending device 30, the information of the ink in the image forming device 20 is acquired from the image forming device 20 regardless of the type of the event (S122). Figure 7 or Figure 8 As shown, the information on the ink in the image forming device 20 can be acquired from the image forming device 20 only when a specific event occurs in the image forming device 20 .

[0050] Figure 7 The operation of the image forming system 10 when an event occurs in the image forming device 20 Figure 5 The examples shown are sequence diagrams of different examples.

[0051] Figure 7 The actions shown are similar to Figure 5 Different from the operation shown, the control unit 35 of the print job sending device 30 executes the processes of S122 to S124 only when an event whose event importance is wrong is notified from the image forming device 20 to the print job sending device 30 in S121 .

[0052] Figure 8 The operation of the image forming system 10 when an event occurs in the image forming device 20 Figure 5 as well as Figure 7 The examples shown are sequence diagrams of different examples.

[0053] Figure 8 The actions shown are similar to Figure 5Different from the action shown, the control unit 35 of the print job sending device 30 executes the processing of S122 to S124 only when an event related to ink is notified from the image forming device 20 to the print job sending device 30 in S121, wherein the event related to ink is: an event identified by an event ID associated with information representing an event related to ink in the event ID list 34c.

[0054] like Figure 7 or Figure 8 As shown, when a specific event is notified from the image forming device 20 to the print job sending device 30 in S121, when the print job sending device 30 obtains specific information from the image forming device 20 (S122), for the print job sending device 30 side, the possibility of obtaining less necessary information from the image forming device 20 can be further reduced. As a result, in terms of obtaining information from the image forming device 20, the load borne by the image forming system 10 can be further reduced.

[0055] When an event indicating that the remaining amount of a specific ink is less than a specific amount is notified from the image forming device 20 to the print job sending device 30 in S121, when the print job sending device 30 obtains the remaining amount of ink in the image forming device 20 from the image forming device 20 in S122, the user can recognize that the event notified in S121 is correct based on the information obtained in S122. Similarly, when an event indicating that an ink cartridge of a specific ink is not provided in the image forming device 20 is notified from the image forming device 20 to the print job sending device 30 in S121, when the print job sending device 30 obtains information on whether the ink in the image forming device 20 is available from the image forming device 20 in S122, the user can recognize that the event notified in S121 is correct based on the information obtained in S122.

[0056] In the present embodiment, the print job sending device 30 has been described as acquiring information about the ink in the image forming device 20 from the image forming device 20. However, the print job sending device 30 may acquire information other than the information about the ink in the image forming device 20 from the image forming device 20 in the same manner. For example, the print job sending device 30 may acquire information about the recording medium in the image forming device 20 from the image forming device 20 in the same manner.

Claims

1. A printing job sending device, characterized in that: include: A print job sending unit sends the print job to the image forming device; as well as an information acquisition unit, which acquires information from the image forming device and stores it, The information is device information indicating various information in the image forming apparatus, When the print job sending unit starts communicating with the image forming device, the information acquisition unit acquires specific information in the device information from the image forming device and stores it. Then, if an event occurring in the image forming device is received from the image forming device, the information acquisition unit acquires the specific information in the device information for the image forming device, and overwrites and saves the specific information in the device information acquired by the acquisition of the specific information in the device information with the specific information in the stored device information. The event contains an event ID or importance. When the event received from the image forming device is an event with an event ID associated with the specific information or an event with an incorrect importance, the information acquisition unit executes the acquisition of the specific information in the device information for the image forming device; when the received event is not an event with an event ID associated with the specific information or is not an event with an incorrect importance, the information acquisition unit does not execute the acquisition of the specific information in the device information.

2. A computer-readable non-temporary recording medium storing a print job sending program, characterized in that: The printing job sending program enables the computer to implement the following functions: a print job sending unit that sends the print job to the image forming apparatus; and an information acquisition unit, which acquires information from the image forming device and stores it, The information is device information indicating various information in the image forming apparatus, When the print job sending unit starts communicating with the image forming device, the information acquisition unit acquires specific information in the device information from the image forming device and stores it. Then, if an event occurring in the image forming device is received from the image forming device, the information acquisition unit acquires the specific information in the device information for the image forming device, and overwrites and saves the specific information in the device information acquired by the acquisition of the specific information in the device information with the specific information in the stored device information. The event contains an event ID or importance. When the event received from the image forming device is an event with an event ID associated with the specific information or an event with an incorrect importance, the information acquisition unit executes the acquisition of the specific information in the device information for the image forming device; when the received event is not an event with an event ID associated with the specific information or is not an event with an incorrect importance, the information acquisition unit does not execute the acquisition of the specific information in the device information.

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