Information processing systems and programs

Abstract

This invention provides an information processing system and program that can execute a single merge operation after all files to be merged have been stored in a folder. [Solution] When the processor processes multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, it refers to detection information to detect that all files to be merged have been stored in the folder, and executes the merge operation when it detects that all files to be merged have been stored in the folder.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for expanding the processing of print target files stored in a folder compared to the prior art.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes a job processing system that facilitates the operation of a user's file into a hot folder.

[0004] Patent Document 3 describes an information processing apparatus that can selectively combine a plurality of files in a hot folder for processing.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In an information processing system such as an image forming apparatus, it has been proposed to execute the processing of a plurality of files stored in the same folder as one combining process.

[0007] However, since the number of files to be combined as one process in the information processing system cannot be grasped, there is a risk that a plurality of files in the folder will be executed as one combining process before all the files to be combined as one process are stored in the folder.

[0008] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide an information processing system and program that can be executed as a single merge operation after all files to be merged have been stored in a folder. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The information processing system in the first embodiment includes a processor, which, when processing multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, refers to detection information for detecting that all files to be merged are stored in the folder, and executes the merge operation when it detects that all files to be merged are stored in the folder.

[0010] The second aspect of the information processing system is the first aspect of the information processing system, wherein the detection information is at least one of a specific font type and a string in the character information contained in the file.

[0011] In the third embodiment of the information processing system, the type of font used for detection information is a font for printing code images, as described in the second embodiment of the information processing system.

[0012] The information processing system of the fourth embodiment is an information processing system of the first embodiment in which the detection information is a file list in which the identification information of all files to be combined is registered.

[0013] In the fifth embodiment of the information processing system, the file list is set for each merging process, in the information processing system of the fourth embodiment.

[0014] The sixth aspect of the information processing system is the first aspect of the information processing system, wherein the detection information is information about the time when the combination process is executed.

[0015] The seventh aspect of the information processing system is the first aspect of the information processing system, wherein the detection information is a specific string included in the file name.

[0016] In the information processing system of the eighth embodiment, the specific string is placed in a location that conforms to a specific rule in the file name, as in the information processing system of the seventh embodiment.

[0017] In the ninth aspect of the information processing system, the processor in the first aspect of the information processing system detects the type of merging process by referring to the file property information.

[0018] The information processing system of the tenth embodiment is an information processing system of the ninth embodiment in which the property information is file owner information.

[0019] The program of the 11th embodiment, when processing multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, refers to detection information for detecting that all files to be merged have been stored in the said folder, and when it detects that all files to be merged have been stored in the said folder, causes the computer to execute the step of executing the merge operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the information processing system of the first embodiment, all files to be combined into a single merge process can be stored in a folder and then executed as a single merge process.

[0021] According to the information processing system of the second embodiment, it is possible to detect that all files to be combined have been stored in a folder by using the character information contained in the files.

[0022] According to the information processing system of the third embodiment, it is possible to detect that all files to be combined have been stored in a folder by using the font of the string contained in the barcode that is expected to be included at the end of the printed page.

[0023] According to the information processing system of the fourth aspect, it is possible to detect that all the files to be combined are stored in a folder using the file list.

[0024] According to the information processing system of the fifth aspect, it is possible to detect that all the files to be combined for each combination process are stored in a folder.

[0025] According to the information processing system of the sixth aspect, it is possible to detect that all the files to be combined are stored in a folder using the time information.

[0026] According to the information processing system of the seventh aspect, it is possible to detect that all the files to be combined are stored in a folder using the file name.

[0027] According to the information processing system of the eighth aspect, it is possible to prevent false detection by a specific character string without the intention of detection information.

[0028] According to the information processing system of the ninth aspect, even if files for different combination processes are stored in a folder, it is possible to detect the type of combination process.

[0029] According to the information processing system of the tenth aspect, it is possible to detect the type of combination process using the owner information of the file.

[0030] According to the program of the eleventh aspect, after all the files to be combined into one combination process are stored in a folder, it can be executed as one combination process.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0031] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing the system configuration of the image forming system of the first embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus in the image forming system of the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure illustrates the coupling process in the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the merging process in the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a file list in an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a file list in an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure illustrates the coupling process in the image forming apparatus of the fifth embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure illustrates the coupling process in the image forming apparatus of the fifth embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0032] [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, examples of embodiments for carrying out the technology of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of an image forming system according to the first embodiment.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, the image forming system of this embodiment comprises an image forming apparatus 10 and a terminal device 20.

[0034] The image forming apparatus 10 receives print data transmitted from the terminal device 20 and outputs an image on paper corresponding to the print data. The image forming apparatus 10 is an example of an information processing system in the technology of this disclosure.

[0035] The terminal device 20 is connected to the image forming apparatus 10 via the network 30. The terminal device 20 is a terminal for operating the image forming apparatus 10. The terminal device 20 generates print data and transmits it to the image forming apparatus 10. The terminal device 20 can be implemented, for example, by a computer or a smartphone.

[0036] Next, the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0037] As shown in Figure 2, the image forming apparatus 10 comprises a control unit 11, a communication interface (abbreviated as communication IF) device 12, a user interface (abbreviated as UI device) 13, and a print engine 14. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 15.

[0038] The control unit 11 comprises a processor 11a, a memory 11b, and a storage unit 11c. The processor 11a executes predetermined processing based on a program read from the storage unit 11c and expanded into the memory 11b. The storage unit 11c is composed of, for example, a ROM, HDD, or SSD. Various programs and data are stored in the storage unit 11c.

[0039] In this embodiment, the processor 11a is described as reading and executing a program stored in the memory unit 11c, but it is not limited to this. This program may be provided in the form of a computer-readable recording medium as described above. Alternatively, this program may be obtained from an external device via a communication line.

[0040] The communication interface device 12 transmits and receives data to and from external devices. The user interface device 13 is, for example, a touch panel and / or buttons, a device for the user to receive and input information. The print engine 14 prints images onto a recording medium such as printing paper.

[0041] The image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment has a function that performs processing on multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation. In the following description, this function will be referred to as the hot folder function. The folder in which files are stored for a single merge operation will also be referred to as the hot folder.

[0042] With the hot folder function, if you don't store all the files you want to merge into a single operation in the hot folder before executing the merge operation, the process will be incomplete.

[0043] As an example of the merging process, it is possible to combine multiple print data files, each generated for each page and stored in a hot folder, into a single book for printing.

[0044] The merge process is triggered when a set period has elapsed since the last print data file was stored in the hot folder. In the following explanation, the set period from the last time a print data file was stored in the hot folder until the merge process is executed will be referred to as the timeout period.

[0045] The user sequentially stores the print data files for each page into a hot folder, starting from the first page, in order to combine them into a single book for printing. However, if the user exceeds the timeout period before storing all the print data files in the hot folder, only the print data files stored in the hot folder will be combined, resulting in a single book being printed with missing pages.

[0046] To resolve this problem, when processing multiple files stored in a hot folder as a single merge operation, the control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 refers to detection information to detect that all files to be merged have been stored in the hot folder, and executes the merge operation when it detects that all files to be merged have been stored in the hot folder.

[0047] Here, the detection information may be at least one of a specific font type and string in the character information contained in the file.

[0048] In this case, the font type used for detection information may be the same as the font used to print the code image. Note that the code image includes both one-dimensional and two-dimensional code images. There are no particular restrictions on the font used to print this code image; any font can be pre-configured for printing the code image.

[0049] In this embodiment, as an example, the detection information is a font for printing a barcode, which is a one-dimensional code image. In the following description, a font for printing barcodes will be referred to as a barcode font.

[0050] In this embodiment, fonts A and B are used throughout the entire book except for the barcode, and font C is used as the barcode font.

[0051] As shown in Figure 3, the user, via the terminal device 20, sequentially stores the print data files for each page, which will be combined into a single book for printing, into a hot folder, starting from the first page.

[0052] Typically, barcodes and other code images are printed on the back cover, which is the last page of the book. Therefore, the control unit 11 sequentially analyzes the print data files stored in the hot folder, and when it detects that a barcode font (in this case, font C) is used in a file, it determines that all the print data files for all pages have been stored in the hot folder and executes the merging process.

[0053] Even in this configuration, a timeout period may be set so that the merging process is executed only after the timeout period has elapsed since the last print data file was stored in the hot folder.

[0054] Next, the flow of the merging process in the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 4.

[0055] First, in step S01, the control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 detects that the first print data file has been stored in the hot folder.

[0056] Next, in step S02, the control unit 11 analyzes the stored file, and in step S03, it determines whether or not a barcode font is used in the file.

[0057] If it is determined in step S03 that a barcode font is used in the file, the control unit 11 executes a print operation as a merge process for the files in the hot folder in step S05 and then terminates the process.

[0058] If it is determined in step S03 that a barcode font is not used in the file, the control unit 11 determines in step S04 whether or not it has been detected that a new file has been stored in the hot folder within the timeout period.

[0059] In step S04, if it is detected that a new file has been stored in the hot folder within the timeout period, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S02.

[0060] In step S05, if no new file is detected in the hot folder within the timeout period, the control unit 11 executes a merge operation to print the files in the hot folder and terminates the process.

[0061] [Second Embodiment] Next, the image forming system of the second embodiment will be described. The system configuration of the image forming system of the second embodiment is the same as that of the image forming system of the first embodiment described above, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. The same applies to the following embodiments.

[0062] In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, a file list containing the identification information of all files to be combined is used as detection information.

[0063] The file list can be in any data format, but as an example, it is generated in text file format. The file list contains the filenames of each page in page order, so that they can be combined and printed as a single book.

[0064] For example, as shown in Figure 5, a file list for a book named "Book1" would be a file list data file named "FileListBook1.txt". The file list data file can be stored in the hot folder or in another location.

[0065] Furthermore, multiple users may simultaneously store data for different books in the hot folder. For example, consider a scenario where user A stores data for a book named "Book1," and user B stores data for a book named "Book2."

[0066] In this case, as shown in Figure 5, a separate file list may be prepared for each merging process that results in a single book. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 6, a single file list may contain file lists for multiple merging processes.

[0067] The control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 refers to the file list and executes the merging process when all print data files registered in the file list have been stored in the hot folder.

[0068] [Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the image forming system will be described. In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, information about the time when the merging process is performed is used as detection information.

[0069] Specifically, a time is set in advance for the merging process to be executed, and when the set time arrives, the control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 determines that all print data files have been stored in the hot folder and executes the merging process.

[0070] [Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment of the image forming system will be described. In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, a specific string included in the file name is used as detection information. The specific string may be placed in a location in the file name that conforms to a specific rule.

[0071] Specifically, for example, if the string "END" is set as a specific string, the control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 will determine that all print data files have been stored in the hot folder when a print data file with a filename containing the string "END," such as "Book1@END.pdf," is stored in the hot folder, and will execute the merging process.

[0072] In this case, a specific string may be considered valid only if it appears immediately after the "@" symbol, as an example of a rule.

[0073] [Fifth Embodiment] Next, a fifth embodiment of the image forming system will be described. In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the control unit 11 detects the type of merging process by referring to the file property information. The property information may be, for example, the file owner information.

[0074] In the image forming apparatus 10, multiple users may simultaneously store data for different books in the hot folder. For example, as shown in Figure 7, consider a case where user A stores data for a book named "Book1" and user B stores data for a book named "Book2". In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between the print data file for "Book1" and the print data file for "Book2".

[0075] The control unit 11 refers to the file owner information as file property information and, as shown in Figure 8, combines files belonging to the same user into a single file for a book and performs a merge process.

[0076] Furthermore, for detecting that all files in each book have been stored in the hot folder, any of the detection information from the first to fourth embodiments described above may be used.

[0077] [Differentiation] Although an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate.

[0078] In the above embodiment, the term "processor" refers to a processor in a broad sense, and includes general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0079] Furthermore, the operation of the processor in the above embodiments may not be performed by a single processor, but may be performed by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Also, the order of the processor operations is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, but may be changed as appropriate.

[0080] Furthermore, in the technology of this disclosure, a system includes both systems composed of multiple devices and systems composed of a single device.

[0081] Furthermore, the technology disclosed herein can also be applied to programs and program products.

[0082] [Note] With regard to the embodiments described above, the following additional information is disclosed.

[0083] (((1))) Equipped with a processor, The aforementioned processor, When processing multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, the system refers to detection information to determine if all files to be merged are stored in the said folder, and executes the merge operation when it detects that all files to be merged are stored in the said folder. Information processing system.

[0084] (((2))) The detection information is at least one of a specific font type and string in the character information contained in the file. The information processing system described in (((1))).

[0085] (((3))) The font type used for the detection information is a font used for printing code images. The information processing system described in (((2))).

[0086] (((4))) The aforementioned detection information is a file list in which the identification information of all files to be combined is registered. The information processing system described in (((1))).

[0087] (((5))) The aforementioned file list is set for each merging process. The information processing system described in (((4))).

[0088] (((6))) The aforementioned detection information is information about the time when the merging process is executed. The information processing system described in (((1))).

[0089] (((7))) The detection information is a specific string included in the file name. The information processing system described in (((1))).

[0090] (((8))) The aforementioned specific string is placed in a location in the file name that conforms to a specific rule. The information processing system described in (((7))).

[0091] (((9))) The aforementioned processor, The type of merge operation is detected by referring to the file's property information. An information processing system as described in any one of items (((1))) through (((8))).

[0092] (((10))) The aforementioned property information is the file owner information. The information processing system described in (((9))).

[0093] (((11))) When processing multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, the procedure involves referring to detection information to detect that all files to be merged are stored in the said folder, and executing the merge operation when it is detected that all files to be merged are stored in the said folder. A program that causes a computer to execute something.

[0094] The effects of the configuration described below are explained below.

[0095] According to the information processing system (((1))), all files to be combined into a single merge operation can be stored in a folder and then executed as a single merge operation.

[0096] According to the information processing system (((2))), it is possible to detect that all files to be merged have been stored in a folder by using the character information contained in the files.

[0097] According to the information processing system (((3))), it is possible to detect that all files to be combined have been stored in a folder by using the font of the string contained in the barcode that is expected to be included at the end of the printed page.

[0098] According to the information processing system (((4))), it is possible to detect, using the file list, that all files to be merged have been stored in a folder.

[0099] According to the information processing system (((5))), it is possible to detect that all files to be merged have been stored in a folder for each merge operation.

[0100] According to the information processing system (((6))), it is possible to use time information to detect when all files to be combined have been stored in the folder.

[0101] According to the information processing system (((7))), it is possible to detect, using the file names, that all files to be merged have been stored in a folder.

[0102] According to the information processing system (((8))), it is possible to prevent false detections caused by specific strings that were not intended to be used as detection information.

[0103] According to the information processing system (((9))), even if files for different merging operations are stored in a folder, the type of merging operation can be detected.

[0104] According to the information processing system (((10))), the type of merge operation can be detected using the file owner information.

[0105] According to the program (((11))), all files to be merged into a single operation can be stored in a folder and then executed as a single merge operation. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0106] 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Control Unit 11a processor 11b memory 11c storage section 12 Communication Interfaces 13. User Interface Device 14 Print Engines 15 Control bus 20 Terminal devices 30 Networks

Claims

1. Equipped with a processor, The aforementioned processor, When processing multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, the system refers to detection information to determine if all files to be merged are stored in the said folder, and executes the merge operation when it detects that all files to be merged are stored in the said folder. Information processing system.

2. The detection information is at least one of a specific font type and string in the character information contained in the file. The information processing system according to claim 1.

3. The font type used for the detection information is a font used for printing code images. The information processing system according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned detection information is a file list in which the identification information of all files to be combined is registered. The information processing system according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned file list is set for each merging process. The information processing system according to claim 4.

6. The aforementioned detection information is information about the time when the merging process is executed. The information processing system according to claim 1.

7. The detection information is a specific string included in the file name. The information processing system according to claim 1.

8. The aforementioned specific string is placed in a location in the file name that conforms to a specific rule. The information processing system according to claim 7.

9. The aforementioned processor, The type of merge operation is detected by referring to the file's property information. The information processing system according to claim 1.

10. The aforementioned property information is the file owner information. The information processing system according to claim 9.

11. When processing multiple files stored in the same folder as a single merge operation, the procedure involves referring to detection information to detect that all files to be merged are stored in the said folder, and executing the merge operation when it is detected that all files to be merged are stored in the said folder. A program that causes a computer to execute something.

Images