System and control method for printing

Abstract

The present invention provides a system for printing, a printing system and a control method. A first printing system capable of communicating with a client terminal and an authorization system requests the authorization system to obtain authorization information for a second printing system, receives the authorization information for the second printing system from the authorization system, and stores the received authorization information. When the first printing system requests to receive a print job from the client terminal, the first printing system sends the print job to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information. The second printing system capable of communicating with an image forming device receives the print job sent from the first printing system, and sends the received print job to the image forming device.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In recent years, cloud printing services (hereinafter referred to as CPS) that print jobs via cloud input and send print jobs to image forming devices have become popular. In such a printing system, an administrator first registers an image forming device with a tenant of the CPS to which the administrator belongs. The administrator sets which user is allowed to use the image forming device. Here, a tenant refers to a service system deployed in the cloud for each user. A tenant is allocated a storage area with restricted access for exclusive use by the user.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-187700 discloses that CPS 104 checks CPS 105 whether there is a print job addressed to a cloud printer managed by the CPS in CPS 105. When the corresponding print job exists, CPS 104 requests CPS 105 to obtain the print job by using an access token, and CPS 105 sends the print job to CPS 104.

[0004] In the technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-187700, when acquiring a print job in a first printing system (equivalent to CPS 105 ) from a second printing system (equivalent to CPS 104 ), periodic polling from the second printing system to the first printing system is required. Summary of the invention

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to exchange information securely and smoothly between different printing systems.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a system for printing includes a first printing system and a second printing system, the first printing system being capable of communicating with a client terminal and an authorization system, and the second printing system being capable of communicating with an image forming device, wherein the first printing system includes one or more first memories and one or more first processors, and the one or more first processors execute a set of first instructions to perform the following operations: transmitting a request for obtaining authorization information for the second printing system to the authorization system; receiving the authorization information for the second printing system from the authorization system; storing the received authorization information in the one or more first memories; receiving a print job from the client terminal; and sending the print job received from the client terminal to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information, and wherein the second printing system includes one or more second memories and one or more second processors, and the one or more second processors execute a set of second instructions to perform the following operations: receiving the print job sent from the first printing system; and sending the print job received from the first printing system to the image forming device.

[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 An example of the overall configuration of the system is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 An example of the hardware configuration of the cloud print service is shown.

[0010] Figure 3 An example of a software configuration of a cloud print service is shown.

[0011] Figure 4 A sequence diagram showing the licensing process.

[0012] Figure 5 A sequence diagram showing the flow of obtaining job execution results.

[0013] Figure 6 A flowchart showing details of the identification process of the user who executes the print job.

[0014] Figure 7 An example of a selection screen is shown.

[0015] Figure 8 A sequence diagram showing the flow of sending a print job.

[0016] Fig. 9 A sequence diagram showing the flow of sending a print job.

[0017] Fig.10 A sequence diagram showing the deletion process of authorization information.

[0018] Fig.11 An example of a selection screen is shown.

[0019] Fig.12 An example of a screen for selecting disconnection is shown.

[0020] Fig.13 An example of a screen for selecting job deletion is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and that not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential. The same components will be described using the same reference numerals.

[0022] [System structure]

[0023] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a system according to the present embodiment. The system 1 according to the present embodiment includes cloud printing services (hereinafter referred to as CPS) 160, 170, 180, client terminals 100, 120, 140, and image forming devices 110, 130, 150. The image forming devices 110, 130, 150 receive print jobs via the CPS 160-180 connected to each image forming device, execute the received print jobs, and print images on sheets of paper. The client terminals 100, 120, 140 are PCs (personal computers) operated by users, and send print jobs input by users to the CPS 160-180 connected to each client terminal.

[0024] The client terminal 100 and the image forming device 110 are installed in a shared office and are communicably connected to the CPS 160 via the Internet. The shared office is a shared space that can be used based on a contract with a specific company. The client terminal 120 and the image forming device 130 are installed in a specific company A and are communicably connected to the CPS 170 via the Internet. The client terminal 140 and the image forming device 150 are installed in a specific company B and are communicably connected to the CPS 180 via the Internet.

[0025] CPS 160 is managed by an administrator of a shared office, and tenants assigned to CPS 160 are defined as shared office tenants. Users who use a shared office are registered in CPS 160. CPS 170, 180 are managed by Company A and Company B, respectively. Tenants assigned to CPS 170, 180 are defined as internal tenants. In CPS 170, 180, employees working for Company A and Company B are registered as users, respectively. CPS 160 is communicatively connected to CPS 170, 180 via a network. The network includes, for example: WAN, telephone line, dedicated digital line, ATM, and LAN such as the Internet. Alternatively, the communication network is implemented by a combination of these.

[0026] The CPS 160 transmits a print job received from the client terminal 100 and a print job received from the CPSs 170 and 180 to the image forming apparatus 110. The CPS 170 transmits a print job received from the client terminal 120 and a print job received from the CPS 160 to the image forming apparatus 130.

[0027] A case where the CPS 170 transmits a print job received from the client terminal 120 to the CPS 160 using the system 1 will be described below. The client terminal 120 is an example of an information processing apparatus. The CPS 170 is an example of a first printing system. The CPS 160 is an example of a second printing system.

[0028] In this embodiment, CPS 160 is described as a shared office tenant, and CPSs 170 and 180 described as other CPSs are described as internal tenants. However, these CPSs may be composed of the same configuration so that CPSs 170 and 180 also serve as CPS 160.

[0029] In this embodiment, the CPS 160, 170 is communicatively connected to an authorization system including an authorization server via the Internet.

[0030] [Hardware structure]

[0031] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of CPS 160-180. In this embodiment, CPS 160-180 is provided as a server of actual resources, where resources are allocated to a plurality of different tenants by using containerization or virtualization technology. Since CPS 160 and CPS 170, 180 can be implemented with the same hardware configuration, Figure 2 1. The CPS 160 is described in the following, and descriptions of the CPSs 170 and 180 are omitted.

[0032] The CPS 160 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a HDD 204, and a network I / F 205, and these components are connected via a bus 206. The CPU 201 cooperates with each unit to control the overall operation of the CPS 160. The CPU 201 performs processing based on a program stored in the ROM 202 or the HDD 204. The RAM 203 is the main memory of the CPU 201, and is used as a temporary storage area or a work area for developing various programs. The HDD 204 stores print data, image data, various programs, and various other data. In the present embodiment, a case is shown in which one CPU 201 uses one memory (RAM 203) to execute a program stored in the ROM 202, etc. to execute each process shown in the sequence diagram and the flowchart described later, but other embodiments may be adopted. For example, the CPU and multiple storage devices such as RAM, ROM, and HDD may be operated in cooperation to execute each process described later.

[0033] The network I / F 205 is an interface for network communication with the outside. The CPS 160 receives processing requests from the client terminal 100, the image forming apparatus 110, and the CPSs 170 and 180 via the network I / F 205, performs various processing, and sends and receives various data. Similarly, the CPS 170 receives processing requests from the client terminal 120, the image forming apparatus 130, and the CPS 160 via the network I / F 205, performs various processing, and sends and receives various data.

[0034] [Software Construction]

[0035] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of software modules running on CPS 160-180. Each software module is stored in Figure 2 202, etc., and are loaded into the RAM 203 to be executed by the CPU 201. Since the CPS 160 and the CPSs 170 and 180 can be implemented with the same software configuration, reference will be made to the following. Figure 3 The CPS 160 is described, and descriptions of the CPSs 170 , 180 are omitted.

[0036] The setting management unit 301 stores settings related to various functions of the CPS 160 in a storage device such as the RAM 203 and the HDD 204, and reads settings from the storage device. Here, the setting refers to, for example, information indicating an external CPS that can be linked (e.g., a URL) or information of an image forming apparatus registered in the CPS 160. The job management unit 302 stores a print job received from the client terminal 100, a print job received from an external CPS, and print job related information (e.g., identification information of a print job described later) in the data storage unit 305.

[0037] The communication unit 303 communicates with the client terminal 100, the image forming device 110, and the external CPS registered in the CPS 160 via the network I / F 205, and receives each processing request and sends each processing result. The authentication control unit 304 performs user management. Specifically, the authentication control unit 304 stores the user information of the user added by the administrator of the tenant in the data storage unit 305 or a user management dedicated database (not shown). The authentication control unit 304 can cooperate with other authentication services. The data storage unit 305 stores data in response to a request from the job management unit 302 or the authentication control unit 304. The UI control unit 306 generates and sends a screen UI (user interface) in response to a request from the client terminal 100 or the image forming device 110. For example, the UI control unit 306 of the CPS 170 generates a screen UI (user interface) in response to a request from a Web browser of the client terminal 120. Figure 7 The screen shown is displayed and sent to the client terminal 120 via the communication unit 303.

[0038] [Authorization sequence]

[0039] Figure 4 A sequence diagram for authorizing access to CPS 160 from CPS 170 using an authentication and authorization mechanism such as OAuth is shown. It is assumed that the user has issued user accounts for CPS 160 and CPS 170, respectively. In the following description, each step is indicated by adding "S" at the beginning, thereby omitting the indication of the step.

[0040] First, the client terminal 120 inputs the information of the user account of the CPS 160 (e.g., login ID, login password) and the URL of the CPS 160 through the user's operation (S401). In this embodiment, since it is assumed that the user is in a shared office, the operation here and the operation described later are Figure 5 The operations in S501 and S503 are performed via the client terminal 100 during the remote connection.

[0041] Next, the client terminal 120 sends an authorization request for the CPS 160 together with the information input in S401 to the CPS 170 (S402). The CPS 170 receives the authorization request, etc. from the client terminal 120. Here, the CPS 170 assigns a tenant name to the URL of the CPS 160 included in the received information and stores it in the RAM 203, etc.

[0042] Thereafter, the CPS 170 transmits the information received from the client terminal 120 to the authorization server (S403).

[0043] Subsequently, the authorization server performs authentication and authorization processing based on the information received from CPS 170 (S404). If the authentication and authorization processing is successful, the authorization server issues an access token as authorization information and sends it to CPS 170 (S405). Next, CPS 170 stores the access token received from the authorization server in RAM 203, etc. in association with the user who issued the authorization request (the user who logged in to CPS 170) (S406), and notifies the client terminal 120 that the authorization is completed (S407). Thereafter, Figure 4 A series of processing shown in the sequence diagram is completed.

[0044] According to the above Figure 4 By using authentication and authorization mechanisms, confidential data such as print jobs can be sent from CPS 170 to CPS 160 in a secure manner. Figure 4 In the authorization sequence, user authentication is performed by the user inputting a login ID and a login password, but the user authentication method is not limited to this.

[0045] [Print job sending process]

[0046] Figure 8 1 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing until the image forming apparatus 110 executes a print job for printing data (such as a document file) stored in the client terminal 120 .

[0047] Assumptions Figure 4 The authorization sequence shown completes the authorization from CPS 170 to CPS 160 .

[0048] First, the client terminal 120 sends a login request together with information for logging into the CPS 170 input by a user's operation to the CPS 170 (S801). Thereafter, the CPS 170 allows the client terminal 120 to log in using the information received from the client terminal 120 (S802). Next, the CPS 170 generates a selection screen for selecting an execution destination of the print job in response to the print request from the client terminal 120, and provides the selection screen to the client terminal 120. The client terminal 120 displays the provided selection screen and selects a tenant on which the print job is to be executed by the user's operation (S803).

[0049] Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing an example of a print job execution destination selection screen. This selection screen is displayed on the display of the client terminal 120. Figure 7 The selection screen 700 is provided with a check box 701 for selecting an internal tenant and a check box 702 for selecting a shared office tenant. Hereinafter, description will be made assuming that the check box 702 is checked on the selection screen 700 and a shared office tenant is selected.

[0050] When the shared office tenant is selected as the execution destination of the print job, the client terminal 120 transmits the print job together with the selected tenant name to the CPS 170 ( S804 ).

[0051] Then, the CPS 170 sends the print job received from the client terminal 120 together with the print job received from the client terminal 120. Figure 4 ) sends the access token stored in S406 of CPS 170 to CPS 160 (S805). CPS 160 stores the print job received from CPS 170 in HDD 204, etc. (S806). The user in the shared office performs an operation of sending a print job from client terminal 120, which is a remote connection destination, via client terminal 100, and moves to the front of image forming device 110. Image forming device 110 sends a login request together with information for logging into CPS 160 input by the user's operation to CPS 160 (S807). CPS 160 allows login based on the information received from image forming device 110 (S808). Thereafter, image forming device 110 selects a print job to be executed by the user's operation (S809). Here, it is assumed that the print job sent from CPS 170 to CPS 160 is selected.

[0052] Subsequently, the image forming device 110 sends an acquisition request for the selected print job to the CPS 160 (S810). The CPS 160 sends the print job to the image forming device 110 in response to the acquisition request (S811). Upon receiving the print job, the image forming device 110 executes the print job to print (S812). Thereafter, Figure 8 A series of processing shown in the sequence diagram is completed.

[0053] exist Figure 8 In the sequence diagram shown, in S803, when a print job is input, a tenant for executing printing is specified. However, when a print job is input, it is not necessary to specify a tenant for executing printing. Fig. 9 1 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow until the image forming apparatus 110 executes a print job for printing data (such as a document file) stored in the client terminal 120 after a tenant selected later to execute a print job is specified.

[0054] The processing from S901 to S903 is Figure 8 The processing in S801 to S803 is the same as that in S801 to S803, so the description thereof is omitted. Fig. 9 In S903 of the embodiment, a selection screen is displayed in which a tenant who will later select a print job execution destination can be specified.

[0055] Fig.11 It is shown in Fig. 9 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a print job execution destination selection screen displayed in S903 of FIG. Fig.11 The selection screen 1100 is provided with a check box 1101 for selecting an internal tenant, a check box 1102 for selecting a shared office tenant, and a check box 1103 for selecting a tenant later. In the following description, it is assumed that the check box 1103 is checked on the selection screen 1100 and a tenant is selected later.

[0056] When the setting of the tenant for later selecting the execution destination of the print job is set, the client terminal 120 transmits the print job together with the selected setting to the CPS 170 ( S904 ).

[0057] Subsequently, the CPS 170 stores the print job received from the client terminal 120 in the HDD 204 or the like ( S905 ).

[0058] For example, a user in a company performs an operation of sending a print job through the client terminal 120, moves to a shared office, and operates the client terminal 100 installed in the shared office. The client terminal 100 sends a login request together with information for logging into the CPS 170 input by the user's operation to the CPS 170 (S906). Thereafter, the CPS 170 allows the client terminal 100 to log in using the information received from the client terminal 100 (S907).

[0059] Next, the CPS 170 generates a selection screen for selecting an execution destination of the print job in response to a print request from the client terminal 100, and provides the selection screen to the client terminal 100. The client terminal 100 displays the provided selection screen, and sets the execution destination tenant of the print job through the user's operation (S908). Fig.11 On the selection screen 1100 shown, a check box 1102 is checked and a shared office tenant is selected.

[0060] When the shared office tenant is selected as the execution destination of the print job, the CPS 170 sends the print job held in S905 together with the print job held in S906. Figure 4 The access token stored in S406 of the CPS 170 is sent to the CPS 160 (S909). The CPS 160 stores the print job received from the CPS 170 in the HDD 204 or the like (S910). Subsequently, the user in the shared office moves in front of the image forming apparatus 110. The processing in S911 to S916 is the same as that in Figure 8 The processing in S807 to S812 is the same as that in S807 to S812, so the description thereof is omitted. Fig. 9 A series of processing shown in the sequence diagram is completed.

[0061] According to the above Figure 8 and Fig. 9 According to the flowchart of FIG. 1 , the image forming apparatus 110 can execute a print job for printing data (such as a document file) stored in the client terminal 120. In this case, by using authorization information issued from an authorization server and pre-stored in the CPS 170, the print job can be quickly sent from the CPS 170 to the CPS 160 without periodic polling from the CPS 160. That is, information can be exchanged securely and smoothly between printing systems.

[0062] [Authorization information deletion process]

[0063] Fig.10 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow for deleting authorization information stored in the CPS 170.

[0064] First, the client terminal 120 sends a login request together with the information for logging into the CPS 170 input through the user's operation to the CPS 170 (S1001). Thereafter, the CPS 170 allows the client terminal 120 to log in based on the information received from the client terminal 120 (S1002). Next, the CPS 170 generates a screen for selecting to disconnect from the connected tenant in response to the request from the client terminal 120 and provides the screen to the client terminal 120. The client terminal 120 displays the provided screen and receives an instruction to disconnect from the connected tenant through the user's operation (S1003).

[0065] Fig.12 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting to disconnect from a connected tenant. This screen is displayed on the display of the client terminal 120. Fig.12 In the screen 1200 of FIG. 1200 , disconnect buttons 1201 and 1202 are provided in association with the tenant names of the connected tenants. In the description of the present embodiment, only one shared office tenant can be connected to the CPS 170, but multiple shared office tenants can be connected. By completing authorization for each of the multiple connectable shared office tenants, the multiple shared office tenants are connected. In this case, multiple connected tenants are listed, such as Fig.12 Shown are shared office tenants A and B. Hereinafter, pressing a disconnect button 1201 of the CPS 160 corresponding to the shared office tenant A on the screen 1200 will be described.

[0066] When disconnection is instructed, the client terminal 120 sends an authorization information deletion request to the CPS 170 (S1004).

[0067] The CPS 170 then sends a request for a list of unexecuted print jobs along with the Figure 4 The CPS 160 sends the access token stored in S406 of the CPS 170 to the CPS 160 (S1005). The CPS 160 sends a list of unexecuted print jobs among the print jobs received from the CPS 170 to the CPS 170 (S1006).

[0068] Subsequently, when there is an unexecuted print job, the CPS 170 generates a screen for selecting job deletion and provides it to the client terminal 120 (S1007). The client terminal 120 displays the provided screen and receives an instruction for job deletion through the user's operation (S1008). On the other hand, if there is no unexecuted print job, the processing from S1007 is skipped and the processing proceeds to S1013. In the following, it is assumed that there is an unexecuted print job.

[0069] Fig.131 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting job deletion. This screen is displayed on the display of the client terminal 120. Fig.13 The screen 1300 is provided with a display area for a message indicating that an unexecuted print job remains in the shared office tenant, a "yes" button 1301 for allowing deletion of the print job, and a "no" button 1302 for canceling the deletion. Hereinafter, pressing the "yes" button 1301 on the screen 1300 will be described.

[0070] When the deletion of the job is instructed, the client terminal 120 transmits a deletion request of the job to the CPS 170 ( S1009 ).

[0071] CPS 170 then sends a request to delete the unexecuted job along with the Figure 4 The CPS 160 sends the access token stored in S406 to the CPS 160 (S1010). The CPS 160 deletes the unexecuted job in response to the deletion request received from the CPS 170 (S1011), and then sends the deletion result of the job to the CPS 170 (S1012).

[0072] Since then, CPS 170 has been deleted. Figure 4 The access token stored in S406 (S1013) and the deletion result is sent to the client terminal 120 (S1014).

[0073] According to the above Fig.10 The stored authorization information can be deleted and the connection between tenants can be canceled. In addition, by deleting unexecuted jobs when deleting authorization information, jobs can be prevented from remaining in the tenant even when disconnected.

[0074] Here, when the image forming apparatus 110 in the shared office executes a print job sent from the CPS 170 to the CPS 160, there is a request for an execution result of the print job managed by the CPS 170. For this purpose, it is necessary to send the job execution result from the CPS 160 to the CPS 170 after the image forming apparatus 110 executes the print job sent from the CPS 170 to the CPS 160. However, in order to send the job execution result in a secure manner, the user needs to perform an authorization process that allows access to the CPS 170 from the CPS 160. That is, the user must perform two authorization processes to send two pieces of data (i.e., the print job and the job execution result), which is relatively troublesome.

[0075] For example, as a method of sending a job execution result from CPS 160 to CPS 170, there is a method of sending a print job from CPS 170 to CPS 160 and continuing the session until printing is performed by the image forming device 110 in the shared office. For example, CPS 170 may periodically poll CPS 160 until printing is performed. However, these methods are not practical because it is not known when printing is performed. Figure 5 Describe the methods used to address these issues.

[0076] [Process for obtaining the result of executing a print job]

[0077] Figure 5 1 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow in which the image forming apparatus 110 executes a print job for printing data (such as a document file) stored in the client terminal 120 and the CPS 170 acquires a print job execution result. Figure 4 The illustrated authorization sequence completes the authorization, and CPS 170 may send the print job to CPS 160 .

[0078] First, the client terminal 120 sends a login request together with the information for logging into the CPS 170 input through the user's operation to the CPS 170 (S501). Thereafter, the CPS 170 allows the client terminal 120 to log in based on the information received from the client terminal 120 (S502). Next, the CPS 170 generates a selection screen for selecting the execution destination of the print job in response to the print request from the client terminal 120, and provides the selection screen to the client terminal 120. The client terminal 120 displays the provided selection screen and selects the tenant on which the print job is to be executed through the user's operation (S503). In the following, it will be described assuming that the check box 702 is selected on the selection screen 700 and the shared office tenant is selected. The client terminal 120 also accepts the user's selection of the print job, and sends the selected print job and tenant information to the CPS 170 (S504).

[0079] Next, CPS 170 identifies the user information of the user who input the print job (the user who was allowed to log in in S502), and issues a serial number for uniquely identifying the print job (S505). Subsequently, CPS 170 generates history information in which the serial number, the identified user information, and the URL of the tenant selected as the execution destination of the print job (in the present embodiment, the URL of CPS 160) are associated to store the history information in RAM 203 or the like (S506). In the present embodiment, each time CPS 160 receives a print job, CPS 160 generates the history information as described above and adds the history information to the job management list stored in RAM 203 or the like. Figure 4 In S402, the URL of the CPS 160 is stored.

[0080] Table 1 is an example of a job management list. In the first row of Table 1, it can be understood that a user with a user name (user information) "User01" has sent a print job with a print job number (serial number) "000001" to the destination URL (URL of the selected tenant) "https: / / tenantA.com". By using a job management list to store the sending history of print jobs, it is possible to identify which user of CPS 170 has sent which print job to which tenant. In the description of this embodiment, although CPS 170 can send a print job to only one shared office tenant, there may be multiple shared office tenants to which print jobs can be sent. In this case, as shown in Table 1, there are multiple destination URLs. The print job number is an example of identification information of a print job.

[0081] [Table 1]

[0082] username Print job number Print job destination URL User01 000001 https: / / tenantA.com User01 000002 https: / / tenantB.com User02 000003 https: / / tenantA.com

[0083] Then, the CPS 170 sends the serial number, the URL of the CPS 170, and the print job received from the client terminal 120 to the client terminal 120. Figure 4170, the serial number and the URL of the CPS 170 are stored in the HDD 204 or the like in association with each other. When the user in the shared office performs an operation of sending a print job from the client terminal 120 as a remote connection destination via the client terminal 100, the user moves in front of the image forming device 110. The image forming device 110 sends a login request together with the information for logging into the CPS 160 input by the user's operation to the CPS 160 (S508). The CPS 160 allows the login based on the information received from the image forming device 110 (S509). Thereafter, the image forming device 110 selects a print job to be executed by the user's operation (S510). Here, it is assumed that the print job sent from the CPS 170 to the CPS 160 is selected.

[0084] Subsequently, the image forming device 110 sends an acquisition request for the selected print job to the CPS 160 (S511), and the CPS 160 sends the print job to the image forming device 110 in response to the acquisition request (S512). Upon receiving the print job, the image forming device 110 executes the print job to print (S513). When the execution of the print job is completed, the image forming device 110 notifies the CPS 160 of the completion of the execution of the print job (S514).

[0085] Upon receiving the notification of the print job execution completion, the CPS 160 identifies the serial number and the URL of the CPS 170 stored in association with the executed print job to transmit the serial number and the URL of the CPS 160 to the URL of the CPS 170 (S515).

[0086] The CPS 170 receives the serial number and the URL of the CPS 160. Therefore, the CPS 170 can identify which print job is executed by which tenant. The CPS 170 identifies the user who executed the print job based on the received serial number and the URL of the CPS 160 (S516). Figure 6 Describe the user identification method. If the CPS 170 cannot identify the user in S516, then Figure 5 The processing shown in the sequence diagram is completed.

[0087] Next, CPS 170 sends a print job execution result request including the received serial number together with the access token stored in association with the user identified in S516 to CPS 160 (S517). CPS 160 receives the print job execution result request from CPS 170. CPS 160 sends the print job execution result corresponding to the serial number included in the print job execution result request to CPS 170 (S518). Upon receiving the print job execution result from CPS 160, CPS 170 stores the received print job execution result in association with the serial number of the print job and the tenant name of the execution destination of the print job in HDD 204 or the like. In addition to this, the user information of the users identified in S516 may be stored in association with each other. Thereafter, Figure 5 A series of processing shown in the sequence diagram is completed.

[0088] An example of a print job execution result is shown in Table 2. As shown in Table 2, the print job execution result includes information such as the number of prints, the printing method, and charging information.

[0089] [Table 2]

[0090] Print quantity Printing Method Fee 3 color 30

[0091] According to the above Figure 5 The print job and the print job execution result can be sent and received from the CPS 170 in a sequence. Therefore, the print job and the print job execution result can be sent and received in a secure manner without performing authorization processing from the CPS 160 to the CPS 170. In addition, the print job execution results of the print job executed by the image forming device 110 in the shared office can be centrally managed by the CPS 170 (internal tenant) together with the print job execution results of the print job executed by the image forming device 130 in the company. This makes it possible to charge the printing cost and check the log of the document printed by the user. In addition, since there is no need to store the authorization information in the CPS 160 (shared office tenant) which is a public environment, security can be enhanced.

[0092] [Identification Processing of the User Who Executes the Print Job]

[0093] Next, refer to Figure 6 , which will be described in detail in Figure 5 In S516, the process of identifying the user who executes the print job.

[0094] First, in S601, CPS 170 is based on Figure 5The information received in S515 acquires the URL of the external CPS and the serial number of the executed print job. For example, assuming that the URL is "https: / / tenantA.com" and the serial number is "000001".

[0095] Next, in S602, the CPS 170 determines whether there is history information having the serial number acquired in S601 in the job management list shown in Table 1. When the CPS 170 determines that there is history information, the CPU identifies the history information and proceeds to S603. When the CPS 170 determines that there is no history information, Figure 6 The shown flowchart ends.

[0096] In S603, the CPS 170 determines whether the destination URL of the history information identified in S602 matches the URL acquired in S601. If the CPS 170 determines that the destination URL matches the acquired URL, the process proceeds to S604. If the CPS 170 determines that the destination URL does not match the acquired URL, then Figure 6 The flowchart shown ends. That is, the CPS 170 confirms whether the print job with the serial number received in S515 has been sent to the external CPS with the URL received in S515. In this example, since it can be confirmed based on the first row of Table 1 that the print job "000001" has been sent to "https: / / tenantA.com", the process proceeds to S604.

[0097] In S604, the CPS 170 identifies the user information included in the history information identified in S602 as the user who executed the print job. In the example, the user name "User01" can be identified based on Table 1.

[0098] According to the above Figure 6 According to the flowchart of FIG. 1 , it is possible to identify which user of the CPS 170 has executed a print job in the image forming apparatus 110 connected to the CPS 160.

[0099] According to the system of this embodiment, when a print job is executed by an image forming device connected to a CPS (second service) different from the CPS (first service) to which the client terminal is connected, the print job execution result can be acquired by the first service side in one authorization process. Therefore, the labor of users involved in the authorization process can be reduced.

[0100] According to the present invention, information can be exchanged securely and smoothly between different printing systems.

[0101] [Other embodiments]

[0102] The embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by reading 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 functions in 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 functions in the above-mentioned embodiments, and the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by, for example, reading and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium by the computer of the system or device to perform one or more functions in the above-mentioned embodiments, and / or controlling the one or more circuits to perform one or more functions in 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 and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a memory of a distributed computing system, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), or a Blu-ray disc (BD) TM ), flash memory devices, memory cards, etc.

[0103] 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.

[0104] 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 system for printing, comprising a first printing system and a second printing system, wherein the first printing system is capable of communicating with a client terminal and an authorization system, and the second printing system is capable of communicating with an image forming device, in, The first printing system comprises: a transmitting unit, transmitting a request for obtaining authorization information for the second printing system to the authorization system; a first receiving unit, receiving authorization information for the second printing system from the authorization system; A storage unit, storing the received authorization information; A second receiving unit receives a print job from the client terminal; and a first sending unit, sending the print job received from the client terminal to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information; Wherein, the second printing system comprises: A third receiving unit receives the print job sent from the first printing system; and a second sending unit, sending the print job received from the first printing system to the image forming device, Wherein, the first printing system further includes: a third sending unit that sends a deletion request for an unexecuted print job stored in the second printing system to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information when the first printing system is disconnected from the second printing system; and a first deleting unit that deletes the stored authorization information when a result of deleting the unexecuted print job is notified from the second printing system, and Wherein, the second printing system further includes: A second deleting unit deletes the unexecuted print job in response to the deletion request.

2. The system for printing according to claim 1, wherein: The first printing system also includes: a first storage unit for storing the print job received from the client terminal; Here, when the second printing system is selected as an execution destination of the stored print job, the first sending unit sends the stored print job to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information.

3. The system for printing according to claim 1, wherein: The first sending unit further sends identification information of the print job received from the client terminal to the second printing system, and Wherein, the first printing system further includes: a fourth sending unit that, when receiving the identification information of the print job received from the client terminal from the second printing system, sends an acquisition request for the execution result of the print job received from the first printing system to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information; and a fourth receiving unit, receiving from the second printing system the execution result of the print job received from the first printing system, and Wherein, the second printing system further includes: a second storage unit for storing the identification information of the print job received from the client terminal; a fifth sending unit that sends the identification information of the print job received from the client terminal to the first printing system when the image forming apparatus executes the print job received from the first printing system; and A sixth sending unit sends the execution result of the print job received from the first printing system to the first printing system in response to a request for obtaining the execution result of the print job received from the first printing system.

4. The system for printing according to claim 1, wherein: The first printing system also includes: a third storage unit that stores identification information of the print job and user information of a user who inputs the print job in one or more first memories in association with each other when the first printing system sends the print job received from the client terminal to the second printing system; and The identification unit identifies the user information associated with the received identification information when the first printing system receives the identification information of the print job from the second printing system.

5. The system for printing according to claim 1, wherein: The authorization information is an access token issued by the authorization system based on authorization of access to the second printing system in response to user authentication.

6. A control method for a printing system, the printing system comprising a first printing system and a second printing system, the first printing system being capable of communicating with a client terminal and an authorization system, the second printing system being capable of communicating with an image forming device, the control method comprising: a transmitting step, wherein the first printing system transmits a request for obtaining authorization information for the second printing system to the authorization system; A first receiving step, in which the first printing system receives authorization information for the second printing system from the authorization system; a storing step, wherein the first printing system stores the received authorization information; A second receiving step, wherein the first printing system receives a print job from the client terminal; A first sending step, in which the first printing system sends the print job received from the client terminal to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information; A third receiving step, wherein the second printing system receives the print job sent from the first printing system; a second sending step, wherein the second printing system sends the print job received from the first printing system to the image forming device; a third sending step, in which the first printing system sends a deletion request for the unexecuted print job stored in the second printing system to the second printing system by using the stored authorization information when the first printing system is disconnected from the second printing system; a first deleting step, in which the first printing system deletes the stored authorization information when the second printing system notifies the result of deleting the unexecuted print job, and In a second deleting step, the second printing system deletes the unexecuted print job in response to the deletion request.

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