Client device

Abstract

If the first server is inaccessible, the print job will be sent to the second server. [Solution] The client device includes a first determination means for determining whether or not it is in a state where it can access the first server when a print job is detected, a first print processing means for performing print processing on the first printer based on the print job if it is not in a state where it can access the first server, and a first transmission means for sending the print job to the second server if it is not in a state where it can access the first server.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a client device, a print management system, a processing method of the client device, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the demand for working from home has been increasing as a work style reform, and the way of working at home has also been increasing. In such cases, in many cases, a PC and a printer are provided by a company to perform work, but there are also cases where a personal device is used for work like BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). In order for a company manager to manage what kind of printing has been done during work, the individual print history has come to be grasped and managed by using a mechanism of printing via a server during work.

[0003] In this case, a system has been disclosed that determines whether a print job is for personal use or business use and calculates the printing cost only for business use printing (see Patent Document 1).

[0004] There is also a system that stores a print queue associated with business server printing and sends the information to the business server when a specific job designates the print queue.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] [[ID=4

[0007] However, the printers provided often do not have network settings configured beforehand, and if they are not ready to use immediately, setup may be required using home-use setup software. In such cases, a printer driver for local printing is also installed, and if an individual prints using that printer driver, the print data will not be sent to the print management server, creating a problem where the company administrator cannot manage the print history.

[0008] The purpose of this disclosure is to enable sending print jobs to a second server if the first server is inaccessible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The client device includes a first determination means for determining whether or not it is in a state where it can access the first server when a print job is detected, a first print processing means for performing print processing on the first printer based on the print job if it is not in a state where it can access the first server, and a first transmission means for sending the print job to the second server if it is not in a state where it can access the first server. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this disclosure, if the first server is inaccessible, the print job can be sent to the second server. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the configuration of a print management system. [Figure 2] An example of a client device hardware configuration (Block). [Figure 3] This diagram shows an example of the configuration of a print management server. [Figure 4]This block shows an example of the configuration of a client device. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart of the print control process. [Figure 6] This diagram shows an example of a management database. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates an example of what the print history storage unit stores. [Figure 8] This block shows an example of the configuration of a client device. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen. [Figure 10] This is a flowchart of the print control process. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Preferred embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claims, and not all combinations of features described in these embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution.

[0013] (First embodiment) <Configuration of the print management system> Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a print management system 100 according to the first embodiment. The print management system 100 in Figure 1 includes a client device 101, a print management server 102, a printer 103, a network 104, and an in-house server 105.

[0014] The client device 101, printer 103, print management server 102, and internal server 105 are connected via network 104.

[0015] The network 104 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), telephone line, or dedicated digital line. The network 104 can also be an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), frame relay line, cable TV line, wireless line for data broadcasting, etc. Alternatively, the network 104 can be a so-called communication network such as the Internet realized by a combination of these.

[0016] The client device 101 and the printer 103 are connected to the Internet via an access point. Also, the printer 103 can communicate with the print management server 102 using the Mqtt protocol.

[0017] The in-house server 105 can log in using the user ID and password from the client device 101. When a printing process is performed during business from the client device 101, it is printed on the printer 103 via the print management server 102.

[0018] <Hardware Configuration of Client Device> Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the client device 101 in the present embodiment. The client device 101 is an information processing device having a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a graphic controller 204, a display unit 205, and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 206. The client device 101 further has an external connection interface (hereinafter the interface is referred to as "I / F") 207 and a network I / F 208. Each of the constituent parts listed here is communicably connected to each other via a bus 2l0.

[0019] The CPU 201 consists of an arithmetic circuit and controls the client device 101 overall. The CPU 201 reads out the programs stored in the ROM 203 or HDD 206 into the RAM 202 and executes various processes. [[ID=I9]]

[0020] ROM203 stores system programs and other data used to control the client device 101.

[0021] The graphics controller 204 creates a screen for display on the display unit 205.

[0022] HDD206 functions as a storage area and stores application programs and other data that perform various processes. Note that HDD206 is just one example of a storage device; the client device 101 can also be configured using SSDs (Solid State Drives) or other devices besides HDDs.

[0023] External connection I / F 207 is an interface for connecting various peripheral devices to the client device 101. For example, a display, keyboard, mouse, etc., can be connected via External connection I / F 207.

[0024] The network interface 208 communicates with external servers such as the print management server 102 and the internal server 105 via the network 104, based on the control of the CPU 201.

[0025] The hardware configuration of the client device 101 shown in Figure 2 is a typical configuration for an information processing device. Therefore, the print management server 102 and the in-house server 105 can also be implemented using information processing devices with the hardware configuration shown in Figure 2.

[0026] <Print Management Server Configuration> Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the print management server 102. The functional configuration shown in Figure 3 is realized when the CPU executes a program on the print management server 102.

[0027] The print management server 102 includes a printer registration unit 301, a job acceptance unit 302, a print history storage unit 303, a printer communication unit 304, and a management database (management DB) 305.

[0028] The printer communication unit 304 is a communication unit that communicates with the printer 103 using the MQTT protocol. If there is a printer 103 that can communicate with it, the print management server 102 can execute a print job on the printer 103.

[0029] The printer registration unit 301 accepts registration of an identification ID to identify the person who printed, the serial number of the printer 103, and the MAC address, and stores them in the management DB 305.

[0030] Registration with the print management server 102 is done by first providing the printer 103 to an employee. This involves registering the printer 103's serial number, MAC address, and employee identification ID. The resident agent 401 (Figure 4), installed on the client device 101, stores each employee's identification ID and sends it to the print management server 102 along with the print job when printing, allowing the server to determine which employee is printing.

[0031] The job reception unit 302 receives information about the print job and its identification ID. If the identification ID matches in the management database 305, the job reception unit 302 retrieves the serial number and MAC address information registered in the management database 305 and checks with the printer communication unit 304 to see if there is a matching printer 103 that can communicate with the system. If a printer 103 exists, the job reception unit 302 executes the print job on the printer 103.

[0032] The print history storage unit 303 stores the identification ID, time, and printer information when the job reception unit 302 receives a print job and the printer communication unit 304 executes the print job.

[0033] <Client device configuration> Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the client device 101. The client device 101 includes a resident agent 401, a printer driver 402 dedicated to print management, a printer driver 403, and a spool folder 404.

[0034] The resident agent 401 is an application that causes a client device 101 accessing the internal server 105 to print to the printer 103 via the print management server 102. It is a monitoring application that companies install when employees use client devices from home, in order to monitor their printing history.

[0035] The dedicated printer driver 402 for print management is a dedicated printer driver that works in conjunction with the resident agent 401. It is a printer driver that passes print jobs to the resident agent 401. Like the resident agent 401, it is a dedicated printer driver that companies install when employees use the client device 101 from home in order to monitor their print history.

[0036] The resident agent 401 has a unique identification ID for each employee, which is stored in a pre-configured file. When printing, the resident agent 401 sends this information to the print management server 102, allowing the server to manage whose print job it is and when it was printed.

[0037] Furthermore, the resident agent 401 has pre-stored the URLs of the internal server 105's resources in its configuration file, and if it can access those URLs from the resident agent 401, it can determine that the server is in operation. This setting can also be configured by the company administrator when distributing the resident agent 401.

[0038] Printer driver 403 is a driver for printing to printer 103. It is a home-use printer driver that is installed along with the company-issued printer 103 when network settings are configured using home-use setup software. It is a driver for printing via the network or USB without coordinating with the print management server 102.

[0039] Therefore, when printing from the client device 101, if the dedicated print management printer driver 402 is selected, the print job data is sent via the print management server 102, allowing the print management server 102 to manage the print history. In contrast, if the printer driver 403 is selected, the print job is sent directly to the printer 103 without going through the print management server 102.

[0040] Therefore, the resident agent 401 monitors the spool folder 404 from which print jobs from the client device 101 flow. When the printer driver 403 is selected and printing is executed, the print job is sent to the printer 103 via the spool folder 404.

[0041] The resident agent 401 detects print jobs flowing into the spool folder 404, and if it determines that the job is not from the dedicated printer driver 402, it checks whether the client device 101 can access the resources of the company server 105. If it can access the resources, it determines that it is in business operation and sends the print job to the job receiving unit 302 of the print management server 102 along with the identification ID held by the resident agent 401. It cancels jobs that are sent directly from the printer driver 403 to the printer 103. In this way, even for prints from a home printer driver 403, if it is in business operation, the print data is sent to the job receiving unit 302 of the print management server 102, and the print management server 102 executes the print job, thereby managing the history of print jobs.

[0042] However, outside of business operations, the resident agent 401 does not send jobs to the print management server 102, nor does it cancel jobs. Therefore, print jobs created by the printer driver 403 are directly printed to the printer 103 via the print processor associated with the printer driver 403.

[0043] <Flowchart of print control process> Figure 5 shows an example of a print control flowchart when printing using the printer driver 403 from the client device 101 in this embodiment. The processing method of the print management system 100 will be described below.

[0044] In step S501, the client device 101 starts the resident agent 401 that was installed when the OS started up.

[0045] In step S502, the resident agent 401 monitors the print jobs being entered into the spool folder 404 of the client device 101.

[0046] In step S503, if no print jobs are entered into the spool folder 404, the resident agent 401 does not detect any print jobs for the printer driver 403 to process the print job, so it returns to step S502 and continues monitoring the spool folder 404. Also, if the printer driver 403 executes a print job and a print job is entered into the spool folder 404, the resident agent 401 detects a print job for the printer driver 403 to process the print job, so it proceeds to step S504.

[0047] In step S504, the resident agent 401 determines whether the client device 101 is in operation. The determination is made by whether the resident agent 401 can access the resources on the internal server 105; if it cannot access them, it determines that the device is in operation. If the device is not in operation, the process proceeds to step S505; if it is in operation, the process proceeds to step S506.

[0048] In step S505, the home printer driver 403 that initiated the print job starts the printing process for printer 103 based on the print job described above.

[0049] In step S506, the resident agent 401 adds an identification ID to the print job detected in step S503 and sends the print job with the added identification ID to the job reception unit 302 of the print management server 102. The identification ID indicates the user corresponding to the above print job.

[0050] In step S507, the resident agent 401 sends a print job cancellation command to the print processor associated with the printer driver 403, thereby canceling the print job for printing by the printer driver 403.

[0051] In step S508, the print management server 102 receives the information sent in step S506 at the job reception unit 302 and determines whether the received identification ID and the identification ID of the print job are registered in the management DB 305. If they are not registered, the process proceeds to step S509 because the print job was not approved in the first place. If they are registered, the process proceeds to step S510.

[0052] In step S510, the print management server 102 retrieves the serial number and MAC address registered in the management DB 305, if the corresponding identification ID is registered there. The printer communication unit 304 determines whether the printer 103 corresponding to that serial number and MAC address is connected to the print management server 102. If they are not connected, printing cannot be performed, so the process proceeds to step S509. If they are connected, the process proceeds to step S511.

[0053] In step S509, the print management server 102 does not perform printing, treating it as a print error.

[0054] In step S511, the job reception unit 302 performs printing on the printer 103 via the network 104 based on the print job received from the client device 101. The printer 103 is the printer with the serial number and MAC address corresponding to the above identification ID.

[0055] In step S512, the print history storage unit 303 stores the print history, including the identification ID, date and time, and print job name at the time of printing.

[0056] Although it was stated in step S504 that the resource could be accessed, it would also be acceptable to monitor the process that starts when logging into the internal server 105 and consider it as work time if that process is running.

[0057] <Management DB> Figure 6 shows a list of databases (DBs) 600 registered in the management DB 305 of the print management server 102 in this embodiment. In DB 600, a different identification ID is assigned to each employee, and the serial number and MAC address of the printer used for work are registered for each employee. For employees working from home, the company administrator registers the serial number and MAC address of the printer provided to them in advance in the management DB 305. The company administrator also inputs the identification ID, prepares the same ID as a configuration file for the resident agent 401, and installs it on the PC (personal computer) used for work, thereby managing which employee printed what.

[0058] <Diagram showing an example of print history> Figure 7 shows an example of the information 700 stored by the print history storage unit 303 of the print management server 102 in this embodiment.

[0059] When the print history is saved in step S512, the print history storage unit 303 saves the identification ID, the date at that time, and the job name. This allows the company administrator to later check who printed which file and when, thus enabling them to manage the print history.

[0060] (Second embodiment) The first embodiment showed an example of printing using a company-issued printer that was previously registered with the print management server 102. The second embodiment describes an embodiment of printing using another home printer when the company-issued printer is out of order and unavailable, with reference to the drawings.

[0061] <Client device configuration> Figure 8 shows an example of the configuration of the print management system 100 according to the second embodiment. Figure 8 is the same as Figure 4, but with the addition of a printer 801 and a printer driver 802. The client device 101 further includes the printer driver 802.

[0062] In the first embodiment, printing was always performed from printer 103. However, if printer 103 malfunctions and cannot print, a printing error occurs and printing cannot be performed. In the second embodiment, an example is described in which printing is performed using a second home printer 801 in such a case.

[0063] Printer driver 802 is the driver used to print to printer 801. This printer driver 802 is not provided by the company, but is a home-use printer driver. This printer driver 802 is installed along with the home-use setup software to configure the network settings of printer 801. This printer driver 802 does not interact with the print management server 102, and is a printer driver for printing via the network or USB.

[0064] By configuring the network settings, printer 801 can communicate with print management server 102 using the MQTT protocol.

[0065] The resident agent 401 monitors the spool folder 404 from which print jobs from the client device 101 are sent.

[0066] When printer driver 802 is selected and printing is initiated, the print job is sent to printer 801 via spool folder 404, and the resident agent 401 detects the print job coming to spool folder 404. If it determines that the print job is not from the dedicated print management printer driver 402, the resident agent 401 checks whether the client device 101 can access the resources of the company server 105. If access is possible, it determines that it is in the middle of a business operation and sends the print job to the job reception unit 302 of the print management server 102 along with the identification ID held by the resident agent 401.

[0067] If the printer 103 registered with the identification ID is not in a state where it can communicate via the printer communication unit 304, the print management server 102 returns the serial number and MAC address of the printer registered in the management DB 305 to the resident agent 401 along with an error notification.

[0068] If the returned serial number and MAC address do not belong to a printer connected to client device 101 via the network, resident agent 401 searches for another printer connected via the network and, if found, requests that the serial number and MAC address of that printer be registered with the printer registration unit 301 of print management server 102. Here, we assume that printer 801 is the printer connected to the network.

[0069] <Registration Screen> Figure 9 shows the registration screen 901 when the resident agent 401 requests registration from the printer registration unit 301 of the print management server 102.

[0070] The resident agent 401 displays the serial number and MAC address of the second printer 801 connected to the client device 101 via the network on the screen and asks the user to confirm whether to print using that printer 801. If the user presses Cancel, the process ends without printing. If the user presses OK, the resident agent 401 sends the identification ID, serial number, and MAC address information it possesses to the printer registration unit 301 of the print management server 102. The print management server 102 registers the identification ID, serial number, and MAC address information received by the printer registration unit 301 in the management DB 305.

[0071] Next, the resident agent 401 sends its identification ID and the print job again to the job reception unit 302 of the print management server 102.

[0072] <Flowchart of print control process> Figure 10 shows an example of a print control flowchart when printing using the printer driver 802 from the client device 101 in the second embodiment.

[0073] Figure 10 shows Figure 5 with steps S1001 to S1005 added. Steps S501 to S509 in Figure 10 perform the same operations as in Figure 5.

[0074] In step S510, if the printer 103 registered in the management DB 305 cannot connect to the print management server 102, the process proceeds to step S509. In step S509, the print management server 102 does not perform printing, citing a print error, and proceeds to step S1001.

[0075] In step S1001, the print management server 102 returns to the resident agent 401 the serial number and MAC address of the printer 103 associated with the identification ID on the management DB 305, along with the print error. The serial number and MAC address of printer 103 are examples of information about printer 103.

[0076] In step S1002, the resident agent 401 determines whether printer 801, which has a different serial number and MAC address combination than the received printer 103, is connected to the client device 101 via the network 104. If it is not connected, the process ends without printing. If printer 801 is connected, the process proceeds to step S1003.

[0077] In step S1003, the resident agent 401 displays the serial number and MAC address of printer 801 on the registration screen 901 shown in Figure 9, and confirms whether to print using printer 801. If Cancel is pressed on registration screen 901, the process ends without printing. If OK is pressed on registration screen 901, the process proceeds to step S1005.

[0078] In step S1005, the resident agent 401 sends its identification ID, the serial number, and the MAC address of the printer 801 to the printer registration unit 301 of the print management server 102. The print management server 102 registers the identification ID, serial number, and MAC address information received by the printer registration unit 301 in the management DB 305. Then, in step S1005, the resident agent 401 again sends its identification ID and the print job to the job reception unit 302 of the print management server 102. The process then proceeds to step S508, at which point the print management server 102 can execute the print process on the printer 801.

[0079] In this way, even if the printer 103 provided by the company is malfunctioning or otherwise unable to print, the client device 101 can print via the print management server 102 by re-registering another printer 801.

[0080] As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, users can send print jobs to the print management server 102 during business hours without having to use the dedicated print management printer driver 402, and corporate administrators can manage the print history.

[0081] (Other embodiments) This disclosure can also be implemented by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the embodiments described above to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be implemented by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0082] Furthermore, the embodiments described above are merely examples illustrating how to implement this disclosure, and they should not be interpreted as limiting the technical scope of this disclosure. In other words, this disclosure can be implemented in various ways without departing from its technical concept or its main features.

[0083] This embodiment includes the following configuration. (Item 1) When a print job is detected, a first determination means determines whether or not the first server is accessible, If the first server is not accessible, a first printing means performs printing on the first printer based on the print job, If the first server is accessible, the first transmission means sends the print job to the second server. A client device characterized by having the following features. (Item 2) The first printing means performs printing using the first printer driver. The client device according to item 1, characterized in that the first transmission means cancels the print job for printing processing by the first printer driver after the transmission of the print job. (Item 3) The client device according to item 2, characterized in that the first determination means determines whether or not it is possible to access the first server when a print job for printing processing by the first printer driver is detected. (Item 4) A client device described in any one of items 1 to 3, The preceding second server has A print management system characterized in that the second server has a second printing means that performs printing on the first printer via a network based on a print job received from the client device. (Item 5) The print management system according to item 4, characterized in that the second server further has storage means for storing the print history after the print process. (Item 6) The first transmission means transmits the print job and an identification ID indicating the user corresponding to the print job to the second server. The print management system according to item 4 or 5, characterized in that the second printing means performs printing on the first printer via the network based on a print job received from the client device when an identification ID received from the client device is registered. (Item 7) The print management system according to item 6, characterized in that the second printing means performs printing on the first printer via the network based on a print job received from the client device when the second server and the first printer are connected. (Item 8) The print management system according to item 7, characterized in that the first printer is a printer corresponding to the identification ID. (Item 9) The second printing means, when the second server and the first printer are not connected, returns information about the first printer to the client device. The client device further includes a second transmission means that, based on the returned information of the first printer, transmits to the second server information of a second printer, different from the first printer, that is connected to the client device via the network, and the print job. The print management system according to item 8, characterized in that the second printing processing means performs printing on the second printer via a network based on the information of the second printer and the print job received from the client device. (Item 10) If a print job is detected, a first determination step is taken to determine whether or not the first server is accessible, If the first server is not accessible, a first printing step is performed to print to the first printer based on the print job, If the first server is accessible, the first transmission step involves sending the print job to the second server. A processing method for a client device, characterized by having the following features. (Item 11) A program to cause a computer to function as a client device as described in any one of items 1-3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 101 Client device 102 Print Management Server 103 Printer 104 Network 105 Internal Server

Claims

1. When a print job is detected, a first determination means determines whether or not the first server is accessible, If the first server is not accessible, a first printing means performs printing on the first printer based on the print job, If the first server is accessible, the first transmission means sends the print job to the second server. A client device characterized by having the following features.

2. The first printing means performs printing processing using the first printer driver. The client device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first transmission means cancels the print job for printing processing by the first printer driver after the transmission of the print job.

3. The client device according to claim 2, characterized in that the first determination means determines whether or not the first server is accessible when a print job for printing processing by the first printer driver is detected.

4. A client device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The system has the aforementioned second server, A print management system characterized in that the second server has a second printing processing means that performs printing on the first printer via a network based on a print job received from the client device.

5. The print management system according to claim 4, wherein the second server further has storage means for storing the print history after the print process.

6. The first transmission means transmits the print job and an identification ID indicating the user corresponding to the print job to the second server. The print management system according to claim 4, characterized in that the second printing means performs printing on the first printer via the network based on the print job received from the client device when the identification ID received from the client device is registered.

7. The print management system according to claim 6, characterized in that the second printing means performs printing on the first printer via the network based on a print job received from the client device when the second server and the first printer are connected.

8. The print management system according to claim 7, characterized in that the first printer is a printer corresponding to the identification ID.

9. The second printing means returns information about the first printer to the client device when the second server and the first printer are not connected. The client device further includes a second transmission means that, based on the returned information of the first printer, transmits to the second server information of a second printer, different from the first printer, that is connected to the client device via the network, and the print job. The print management system according to claim 8, characterized in that the second printing processing means performs printing on the second printer via a network based on the information of the second printer and the print job received from the client device.

10. If a print job is detected, a first determination step is taken to determine whether or not the first server is accessible, If the first server is not accessible, a first printing step is performed to print to the first printer based on the print job, If the first server is accessible, the first transmission step involves sending the print job to the second server. A processing method for a client device, characterized by having the following features.

11. A program for causing a computer to function as a client device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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