Image forming system, image forming apparatus, and image forming method

Abstract

In an image forming apparatus, the system control unit identifies the user who logged into the extended application and executed the job. [Solution] The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives a token from the server device and supplies the token to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit receives a list from the server device and supplies the list to the extended application unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit and, using the token, sends a data request to the server device requesting printable data for the target document identified by the target document ID. The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus capable of pulling prints from a server apparatus, an image forming system having the image forming apparatus and the server apparatus, and an image forming method.

Background Art

[0002] Print systems for printing documents recorded in a server apparatus are known (Patent Documents 1-2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a user logs in to a server apparatus from an extension application on an image forming apparatus (MFP, Multifunction Peripheral), the system control unit of the image forming apparatus cannot identify the user who logged in and executed a job.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to identify, in an image forming apparatus, a user who has logged in to an extension application and executed a job by the system control unit.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An image forming system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: an image forming apparatus having a system control unit and an extension application unit; a server apparatus communicable with the image forming apparatus; and The aforementioned extended application unit includes a login authentication unit and a document selection unit. The system control unit includes a list request unit, a printable data request unit, and a print execution unit. The server device includes a token issuing unit, a list supply unit, and a printable data supply unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit transmits an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit to the server device. The token issuing unit of the server device receives the authentication request from the extended application unit and transmits the token to the extended application unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives the token from the server device and supplies the token to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit obtains the token from the extended application unit and uses the token to send a list request to the server device requesting a list of printable documents. The list supply unit of the server device receives the list request using the token from the system control unit, and transmits the list to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit receives the list from the server device and supplies the list to the extended application unit. The document selection unit of the extended application unit receives the list from the system control unit, prompts the user to select a target document from the list that is to be pulled and print, and supplies a target document ID that identifies the target document to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit and, using the token, sends a data request to the server device requesting printable data of the target document identified by the target document ID. The printable data supply unit of the server device receives the data request and transmits the printable data associated with the target document ID to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data, The print execution unit of the system control unit executes a print job to print the printable data.

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is: An image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a server device, having a system control unit and an extended application unit, The aforementioned extended application unit includes a login authentication unit and a document selection unit. The system control unit includes a list request unit, a printable data request unit, and a print execution unit. The server device includes a token issuing unit, a list supply unit, and a printable data supply unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit transmits an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit to the server device. The token issuing unit of the server device receives the authentication request from the extended application unit and transmits the token to the extended application unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives the token from the server device and supplies the token to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit obtains the token from the extended application unit and uses the token to send a list request to the server device requesting a list of printable documents. The list supply unit of the server device receives the list request using the token from the system control unit, and transmits the list to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit receives the list from the server device and supplies the list to the extended application unit. The document selection unit of the extended application unit receives the list from the system control unit, prompts the user to select a target document from the list that is to be pulled and print, and supplies a target document ID that identifies the target document to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit and, using the token, sends a data request to the server device requesting printable data of the target document identified by the target document ID. The printable data supply unit of the server device receives the data request and transmits the printable data associated with the target document ID to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data, The print execution unit of the system control unit executes a print job to print the printable data.

[0008] An image forming method relating to one embodiment of this disclosure is: An image forming apparatus having a system control unit and an extended application unit, The image forming apparatus and a server device capable of communicating with each other An image forming method performed by The aforementioned extended application unit includes a login authentication unit and a document selection unit. The system control unit includes a list request unit, a printable data request unit, and a print execution unit. The server device includes a token issuing unit, a list supply unit, and a printable data supply unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit transmits an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit to the server device. The token issuing unit of the server device receives the authentication request from the extended application unit and transmits the token to the extended application unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives the token from the server device, supplies the token to the system control unit, The list request unit of the system control unit acquires the token from the extended application unit, and transmits a list request for requesting a list of printable documents to the server device using the token, The list supply unit of the server device receives the list request using the token from the system control unit, and transmits the list to the system control unit, The list request unit of the system control unit receives the list from the server device, and supplies the list to the extended application unit, The document selection unit of the extended application unit receives the list from the system control unit, causes the user to select a target document which is a document to be pull printed from the list, and supplies a target document ID for identifying the target document to the system control unit, The printable data request unit of the system control unit acquires the target document ID from the extended application unit, and transmits a data request for requesting printable data of the target document identified by the target document ID to the server device using the token, The printable data supply unit of the server device receives the data request, and transmits the printable data associated with the target document ID to the system control unit, The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data, The print execution unit of the system control unit executes a print job for printing the printable data.

Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to identify a user who has logged in to an extended application and executed a job in an image forming apparatus.

[0010] The effects described herein are not necessarily limited to those described herein and may include any of the effects described herein. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating the background of this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a workflow to explain the background. [Figure 3] This is a diagram to explain the key points of the background. [Figure 4] This is a diagram illustrating the outline of this embodiment. [Figure 5] The configuration of the image forming system of this embodiment is shown. [Figure 6] This shows the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 7] This shows the functional configuration of the image forming system. [Figure 8] This shows the operation flow of the image forming system. [Figure 9] This shows the operation flow of the server device. [Figure 10] This is a diagram illustrating the essential points of this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0013] 1. Background of this embodiment

[0014] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the background of this embodiment. Figure 2 is an operation flow illustrating the background. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the key points of the background.

[0015] The user logs in to the server device 20A via the extended application unit 12A on the MFP 10A (step S1) and obtains a username (step S2). The extended application unit 12A generates a temporary user token and logs in to the system control unit 11A of the MFP 10A using the obtained username and temporary user token. The extended application unit 12A obtains a document list from the server device 20A (step S3). The user selects a print job from the document list in the extended application unit 12A (step S4), and the extended application unit 12A requests the print job from the server device 20A (step S5). The server device 20A pushes the printable data of the selected print job to the system control unit 11A of the MFP 10A (step S6). The system control unit 11A of the MFP 10A receives the printable data from the server device 20A and executes the print job (step S7).

[0016] Here, the job pushed from the server device 20A to the system control unit 11A (step S6) may not belong to the logged-in user (step S2). In other words, when the system control unit 11A executes the print job (step S7), the print job is not started by the system control unit 11A, but rather by being pushed from the server device 20A. Since user information is not associated with the print job, the system control unit 11A cannot identify the user executing the job.

[0017] In this case, the following scenarios may occur. First, user A logs into the extended application unit 12A and prints a print job spooled on the server device 20A using the system control unit 11A. During printing, the print job is interrupted (e.g., jam or out of paper). User A leaves the MFP 10A to replenish paper, etc. User A logs out of the extended application unit 12A due to a timeout or another user using it. When the system control unit 11A wants to resume the interrupted print job, it cannot identify the logged-in user A, and therefore cannot check the job from the job history or job status, and thus cannot resume the print job.

[0018] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the outline of this embodiment.

[0019] Even in this case, it is desirable to be able to identify the user who executed the print job. For example, instead of the extended application unit 12A requesting a print job from the server device 20A (step S5 in Figure 1) and the server device 20A pushing the printable data to the system control unit 11A (step S6 in Figure 1), the extended application unit 12A could simply have the server device 20A send the printable data to the system control unit 11A (step S5A).

[0020] 3. Configuration of the image forming system

[0021] Figure 5 shows the configuration of the image forming system according to this embodiment.

[0022] The image forming system 1 comprises an image forming apparatus 10 and a server device 20. The image forming apparatus 10 and the server device 20 can communicate with each other via a network N such as the Internet.

[0023] The image forming apparatus 10 is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), etc. The image forming apparatus 10 has a system control unit 110 and an extended application unit 120. The system control unit 110 executes firmware, etc., that operates the image forming apparatus 10. The extended application unit 120 executes extended applications on the firmware.

[0024] The server device 20 receives and stores document data from terminal devices (personal computers, tablet computers, smartphones, image forming machines, facsimile transceivers, etc., not shown) and supplies the document data to the image forming machine 10.

[0025] 3. Hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus

[0026] Figure 6 shows the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus.

[0027] The image forming apparatus 10 is equipped with a control circuit 100 that constitutes a computer. The control circuit 100 consists of a processor, a CPU 11a (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 11b (Random Access Memory), a memory, a ROM 11c (Read Only Memory), and dedicated hardware circuits, and is responsible for the overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 10. The CPU 11a loads the information processing program stored in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b and executes it, thereby performing the operations described in the operation flow below and controlling the display and operation input of the touch panel 17. The ROM 11c permanently stores programs and data executed by the CPU 11a. The ROM 11c is an example of a non-transient computer-readable recording medium.

[0028] The control circuit 100 is connected to an image reading unit 12 (image scanner), an image processing unit 14 (including a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)), an image memory 15, an image forming unit 16 (printer), a touch panel (front panel) 17 which is an operation unit equipped with a display unit 17a, a large-capacity non-volatile storage device 18 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), a facsimile communication unit 19, and a network communication interface 13 (communication unit), etc. The control circuit 100 controls the operation of each of the connected units and transmits and receives signals or data between each unit. The operation unit of the touch panel 17 is a form of input device, and an audio input device including a microphone may be provided as an input device.

[0029] 4. Functional configuration of the image forming system

[0030] Figure 7 shows the functional configuration of the image forming system.

[0031] In the control circuit 100 that constitutes the computer of the image forming apparatus 10, the CPU 11a operates as a system control unit 110 by loading the firmware recorded in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b and executing it. The system control unit 110 includes a list request unit 111, a printable data request unit 112, and a print execution unit 113.

[0032] In the control circuit 100 that constitutes the computer of the image forming apparatus 10, the CPU 11a operates as an extended application unit 120 by loading an extended application program recorded in the ROM 11c into the RAM 11b and executing it. The extended application unit 120 includes a login authentication unit 121 and a document selection unit 122.

[0033] In the control circuit 200 that constitutes the computer of the server device 20, the CPU operates as a token issuing unit 201, a list supply unit 202, and a printable data supply unit 203 by loading a program recorded in ROM into RAM and executing it.

[0034] 5. Operational flow of the image forming system

[0035] Figure 8 shows the operation flow of the image forming apparatus. Figure 9 shows the operation flow of the server device. Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the key points of this embodiment.

[0036] The extended application unit 120 is activated on the system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 (step S11).

[0037] The login authentication unit 121 of the extended application unit 120 of the image forming apparatus 10 sends an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit 120 to the server device 20 (step S12).

[0038] The token issuing unit 201 of the server device 20 receives an authentication request from the extended application unit 120 and sends token T to the extended application unit 120 (step S21). Token T may be a token unique to the user or a one-time token that can identify the user.

[0039] The login authentication unit 121 of the extended application unit 120 of the image forming apparatus 10 receives token T from the server device 20 and supplies token T to the system control unit 110.

[0040] The list request unit 111 of the system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 obtains token T from the extended application unit 120 (step S13), and uses token T to send a list request to the server device 20 requesting a list of printable documents.

[0041] The list supply unit 202 of the server device 20 receives a list request using token T from the system control unit 110 and transmits the list to the system control unit 110 (step S22).

[0042] The list request unit 111 of the system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 receives the list from the server device 20 and supplies the list to the extended application unit 120.

[0043] The document selection unit 122 of the extended application unit 120 of the image forming apparatus 10 receives a list from the system control unit 110 (step S14), prompts the user to select a target document from the list that is to be pulled and prints, and supplies a target document ID that identifies the target document to the system control unit 110 (step S15).

[0044] The printable data request unit 112 of the system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit 120 and sends a data request to the server device 20 requesting the printable data D of the target document identified by the target document ID, using the token T.

[0045] The printable data supply unit 203 of the server device 20 receives a data request and transmits the printable data D associated with the target document ID to the system control unit 110 (step S23).

[0046] The printable data request unit 112 of the system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 receives the printable data D (step S16).

[0047] The print execution unit 113 of the system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 executes a print job to print the printable data D (step S17).

[0048] The system control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 10 can identify the user executing the print job by linking the token T acquired by the list request unit 111 with the printable data D received by the printable data request unit 112.

[0049] 6. Conclusion

[0050] When using authentication for extended applications, users may log in to the extended application as temporary users, making it impossible for the system control unit to identify the user who executed the job. In other words, the extended application obtains the document list from the server device. When the system control unit of the image forming apparatus executes a print job, the server device sends the job to the system control unit. In this case, the system control unit simply executes the job received from the server device, and therefore cannot determine which user's job it is.

[0051] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the extended application unit 120 obtains token T as the user's login name through authentication with the server device 20. The system control unit 110 executes a job using this token T as the login name, and the system control unit 110 can attach information about the user executing the job (i.e., token T) to the data request for the print job.

[0052] In other words, the system control unit 110 utilizes the token obtained by the extended application unit 120 through authentication with the server device 20, and the system control unit 110 executes pull-print jobs from the server device 20. The reason why the system control unit 110 can also use the token as authentication information used by the extended application unit 120 is that the system control unit 110 is responsible for obtaining the document list and the printable data. As a result, according to this embodiment, the system control unit 110 obtains the printable data by pull-printing, and therefore the system control unit 110 can determine which user's job it is.

[0053] Although various embodiments and modifications of this technology have been described above, this technology is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of this technology. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0054] 1. Image forming system 10 Image forming apparatus 100 control circuits 10A MFP 110 System Control Unit 111 List Request Section 112 Printable Data Request Section 113 Printing Execution Unit 11A System Control Unit 11a CPU 11b RAM 11c ROM 120 Extended Application Section 121 Login Authentication Section 122 Document Selection Section 12A Extended Application Section 13 Network Communication Interface 14 Image Processing Unit 15 Image Memory 16 Image forming unit 17 Touch panel 17a Display section 18 Storage device 19. Facsimile Communications Department 20 Server Devices 200 Control circuits 201 Token Issuance Department 202 List Supply Department 203 Printable Data Supply Unit 20A Server Equipment

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus having a system control unit and an extended application unit, The image forming apparatus and a server device capable of communicating with each other It is equipped with, The aforementioned extended application unit includes a login authentication unit and a document selection unit. The system control unit includes a list request unit, a printable data request unit, and a print execution unit. The server device includes a token issuing unit, a list supply unit, and a printable data supply unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit transmits an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit to the server device. The token issuing unit of the server device receives the authentication request from the extended application unit and transmits the token to the extended application unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives the token from the server device and supplies the token to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit obtains the token from the extended application unit and uses the token to send a list request to the server device requesting a list of printable documents. The list supply unit of the server device receives the list request using the token from the system control unit, and transmits the list to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit receives the list from the server device and supplies the list to the extended application unit. The document selection unit of the extended application unit receives the list from the system control unit, prompts the user to select a target document from the list that is to be pulled and print, and supplies a target document ID that identifies the target document to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit and, using the token, sends a data request to the server device requesting printable data of the target document identified by the target document ID. The printable data supply unit of the server device receives the data request and transmits the printable data associated with the target document ID to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data, The print execution unit of the system control unit executes a print job to print the printable data. Image forming system.

2. The image forming system according to claim 1, The system control unit identifies the user who will execute the print job by linking the token obtained by the list request unit with the printable data received by the printable data request unit. Image forming system.

3. The image forming system according to claim 1, The token is a token unique to the user or a one-time token that can identify the user. Image forming system.

4. An image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a server device, having a system control unit and an extended application unit, The aforementioned extended application unit includes a login authentication unit and a document selection unit. The system control unit includes a list request unit, a printable data request unit, and a print execution unit. The server device includes a token issuing unit, a list supply unit, and a printable data supply unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit transmits an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit to the server device. The token issuing unit of the server device receives the authentication request from the extended application unit and transmits the token to the extended application unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives the token from the server device and supplies the token to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit obtains the token from the extended application unit and uses the token to send a list request to the server device requesting a list of printable documents. The list supply unit of the server device receives the list request using the token from the system control unit, and transmits the list to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit receives the list from the server device and supplies the list to the extended application unit. The document selection unit of the extended application unit receives the list from the system control unit, prompts the user to select a target document from the list that is to be pulled and print, and supplies a target document ID that identifies the target document to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit and, using the token, sends a data request to the server device requesting printable data of the target document identified by the target document ID. The printable data supply unit of the server device receives the data request and transmits the printable data associated with the target document ID to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data, The print execution unit of the system control unit executes a print job to print the printable data. Image forming apparatus.

5. An image forming apparatus having a system control unit and an extended application unit, The image forming apparatus and a server device capable of communicating with each other An image forming method performed by The aforementioned extended application unit includes a login authentication unit and a document selection unit. The system control unit includes a list request unit, a printable data request unit, and a print execution unit. The server device includes a token issuing unit, a list supply unit, and a printable data supply unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit transmits an authentication request from a user logging into the extended application unit to the server device. The token issuing unit of the server device receives the authentication request from the extended application unit and transmits the token to the extended application unit. The login authentication unit of the extended application unit receives the token from the server device and supplies the token to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit obtains the token from the extended application unit and uses the token to send a list request to the server device requesting a list of printable documents. The list supply unit of the server device receives the list request using the token from the system control unit, and transmits the list to the system control unit. The list request unit of the system control unit receives the list from the server device and supplies the list to the extended application unit. The document selection unit of the extended application unit receives the list from the system control unit, prompts the user to select a target document from the list that is to be pulled and print, and supplies a target document ID that identifies the target document to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit obtains the target document ID from the extended application unit and, using the token, sends a data request to the server device requesting printable data of the target document identified by the target document ID. The printable data supply unit of the server device receives the data request and transmits the printable data associated with the target document ID to the system control unit. The printable data request unit of the system control unit receives the printable data, The print execution unit of the system control unit executes a print job to print the printable data. Image forming method.

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