A device having a function for reserving a paper feed unit, and an information processing device connected to the device

Abstract

To solve the problem that when a special sheet which a user does not want to be used by other persons is installed, there is no mechanism to restrict sheet feeding other than a sheet installation person, and saving of the use cannot be notified to other users which remotely use an image formation device in notifying the other users of saving of the use for a fixed period of time.SOLUTION: An image formation device provides information on reservation of a sheet feeding part to other devices.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device having a function for reserving a paper feed unit, and an information processing device connected to the device. [Background technology]

[0002] Image forming devices often have multiple paper feed cassettes, each capable of holding different sizes and types of paper. Therefore, a user can load a specific paper feed cassette and submit a print job specifying that paper feed cassette, allowing the user to print using the paper they want. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2020-181220 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, there have been cases where, after a user places the special paper they want to use in a paper feed cassette, another user's print job is submitted first, using the special paper, before the user can execute their print job. Therefore, measures have been taken, such as posting a notice on the image forming device while the special paper is being placed, asking other users to refrain from using the device for a certain period of time. Even so, there have been cases where it has not been possible to inform other users who use the image forming device remotely that they should refrain from using it. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention server The device is A server device that provides a schedule management function that allows a user to share schedule information of each user with other users, a display means for displaying a schedule managed by the schedule management function; a reservation means for reserving a paper feed unit of an image forming apparatus; The schedule management functionThe paper feeder is reserved The period is managed, and the display means displays the period. To other devices By displaying and providing means for providing the information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] With the configuration according to the present invention, when using special paper in an image forming apparatus, it is possible to prevent other users from using the special paper. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1A is a front view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a printer engine. [Figure 2] 1 is a configuration diagram and a functional block diagram of an apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 3] An example of a user information grouping information screen display in a schedule management app. [Figure 4] An example of the reservation information disclosure screen in a schedule management app. [Figure 5] An example of the reservation sending screen in a schedule management app. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for adding reservation information in the server device. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of storing reservation information in the image forming apparatus. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a print job in the image forming apparatus. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of printing processing in an image forming apparatus; [Figure 10] 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of a paper feed determination process in a printing process in an image forming apparatus. [Figure 11] 10 shows an example of a paper-out error screen displayed on an image forming apparatus. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing a reservation flow taking into consideration reservation authority in an image forming apparatus and a server apparatus. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for adding reservation information in the image forming apparatus. [Figure 14] 10 is a display example of a login screen in an image forming apparatus. [Figure 15] 10 is a display example of a home screen of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 16] 10 is a display example of a paper setting screen in an image forming apparatus. [Figure 17] 10 is a display example of a paper type setting screen in an image forming apparatus. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of a paper feed determination process for acquiring reservation information of a server device when a print job is input to an image forming apparatus. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of acquiring reservation information in the image forming apparatus and the server apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The image forming apparatus includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and a multifunction device that combines the functions of these, and has a function of forming an image on a recording medium, namely, paper (printing function).

[0010] The image forming apparatus 100 shown in Figure 1(a) is a multifunction peripheral that forms an image on a sheet. The term "sheet" includes paper such as paper sheets and envelopes, plastic films such as sheets for overhead projectors (OHPs), and cloth. In the drawings, the terms "paper" and "feed" are used, but unless otherwise specified, they are used to refer to sheets in general, including sheets other than paper.

[0011] The image forming apparatus 100 includes devices such as a printer unit 101, a scanner unit 108, multiple paper feed cassettes 102, 103, 104, and 105, a manual feed tray 106, and paper discharge trays 107 and 108. The scanner unit 109, which serves as an image reading device, optically scans an original document and converts the scanned image into electronic image information using a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD. The printer unit 101 forms an image on a sheet using a printer engine 110, which is an example of an image forming section, based on image information input from the scanner unit 109 or an external host computer or data server. Each of the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 stores sheets, and the manual feed tray 106 supports sheets placed on the tray. The sheets held in the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 are fed to the printer engine 110 while being separated one by one by a paper feed unit (not shown). The paper feed cassettes 102 to 105 and the manual feed tray 106 are all examples of paper feed stages that hold sheets to be supplied to the image forming unit. Sheets on which an image is formed by the printer engine 110 are discharged to a paper discharge tray 107 or a paper discharge tray 108, which are discharge units. These paper feed cassettes and the manual feed tray are collectively referred to as a paper feed unit.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1B, the printer engine 110 has an electrophotographic image forming unit PU. The image forming unit PU includes a photosensitive drum 1, which is a drum-shaped photosensitive member, a charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4, and a cleaning device 6. When the printer engine 110 is requested to start an image forming operation, the charging device 2 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and the exposure device 3 scans the photosensitive drum 1 with a laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the drum surface. The developing device 4 supplies charged toner to the photosensitive drum 1 to develop the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to a sheet by a transfer device 5. The toner image transferred to the sheet is fixed to the sheet by a fixing device 7, which uses a thermal fixing method, for example.

[0013] 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing resource reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. An image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a wired or wireless network and communicates with information processing apparatuses such as a personal computer (PC) 200 and a scheduler server 205.

[0014] It is assumed that printer driver 202 is installed in PC 200 as driver software that generates a job (hereinafter, a print job) that commands image formation to image forming apparatus 100. Printer driver 202 generates a print job written in PDL based on, for example, document data received from a document creation application on PC 200. PDL is an abbreviation for Page Description Language, examples of which include PS, PCL, and LIPS (registered trademark). It is also assumed that PC 200 includes a control unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and storage units such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Rewritable Memory), and HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Printer driver 202 transmits the generated print job to image forming apparatus 100 via a network.

[0015] It is also assumed that a schedule management application 204 is installed in the PC 200. The schedule management application 204 receives information held by a scheduler server 205 (described later) via the network and displays the information to the user via the PC 200. The user can access the scheduler server 205 via the schedule management application 204.

[0016] The scheduler server 205 stores user information registered in an authentication system (not shown) and each user's schedule information, and is equipped with a program for managing each user's schedule information. Examples of schedule information management include allowing users to add or change new schedules, and search for and view other users' schedule information.

[0017] The term "user" in scheduler server 205 is not limited to a person with a personal or shared PC, but can also include equipment that is not directly connected to the network, such as a conference room or a whiteboard. In this case, by setting a person with a personal or shared PC as the manager of the conference room or equipment, the schedule for the equipment can be managed, and it is also possible to register an image forming apparatus as a user of the equipment.

[0018] (Detailed description of image forming device) Here, a detailed description of the image forming apparatus 100 will be given with reference to FIG. 2. The image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with control circuits (213, 214, 216) that each realize a specific function, a control unit 219 that controls these control circuits, and storage devices (220, 217) that can temporarily or permanently store data. Image data sent from the PC 200 is converted into raster-format image data by the control circuit and saved. Image information read from an original by the scanner unit 109 is also saved as image data. This image data is sent to the printer engine 110 as a video signal and used in the image formation operation by the printer engine 110.

[0019] Control unit 219, an example of a control means, is a central processing unit that performs overall control of image forming apparatus 100, and reads and executes a control program stored in storage unit 220. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, each step of the control process of image forming apparatus 100 is assumed to be executed by control unit 219. Storage unit 220, an example of a storage means, includes a ROM, RAM, HDD, etc., and in addition to temporarily or permanently storing the control program and setting information of image forming apparatus 100, is also used as a working memory when control unit 219 executes the control program.

[0020] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a user interface (UI) screen 218 as a display means capable of displaying information. The UI screen 218 includes a display unit including a display such as a touch panel equipped with soft key functions, and an operation unit including hard keys such as a numeric keypad and a print start button.

[0021] (Detailed explanation of the server device) Next, details of the scheduler server 205 and the schedule management application 204 that displays the information thereof in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. A communication device such as a PC or smartphone can operate the scheduler server via this schedule management application and check the information held by the scheduler server 205.

[0022] In this case, the image forming device 100 can be registered as one user, but it is also possible to register each printing resource of the image forming device 100 as one user. Here, the printing resources refer to the paper feed cassettes 102 to 105, manual feed tray 106, paper output trays 107 and 108, scanner unit 109, printer engine 110, etc. in the image forming device.

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a screen of the schedule management application 204 when the image forming apparatus 100 is registered for each printing resource.

[0024] First, each print resource is registered as a user, and a group "Multifunction Printer 01" is created by setting a group name 302, an alias name 303 that functions as an email address, and an administrator name 304 that manages the registered group on a user information setting screen 301 in FIG. 3 . The user information setting screen 301 is a screen displayed on the PC 200 by the schedule management application 204. Paper feed cassettes 1 to 4, the manual feed tray, and output trays A and B are registered as members (nodes) of the created group as print resource users. Here, Multifunction Printer 01 represents the image forming apparatus 100, paper feed cassettes 1 to 4 represent paper feed cassettes 102 to 105, the manual feed tray represents manual feed tray 106, and output trays A and B represent output trays 107 and 108, respectively. When members are registered in the created group, the user name of each print resource and the email address corresponding to the user name are displayed in a member list 305, and each print resource can be operated as a member constituting the image forming apparatus 100. This makes it possible to manage schedules for each printing resource of an image forming device, rather than for each individual image forming device.

[0025] Next, the schedule confirmation screen 401 displayed by the schedule management application 204 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The calendar screen 402 displays the current date and a calendar. The user display screen 403 displays a list of users selected by search, favorite registration, etc., and allows the user to check the schedule information of the user selected by the user's operation. The schedule display screen 404 displays schedule information 405 of the user logged in to the PC 200 and schedule information 406 of the user selected on the user display screen. Here, it is assumed that the user name of the user logged in to the PC 200 is "user01" and that paper feed cassette 1 has been selected. Note that the schedule information displayed on the schedule display screen 404 can be changed by the user's operation on the calendar screen 401 and the user display screen 403, and it is also possible to simultaneously display schedule information of multiple users. [Example]

[0026] (Reservation by server device) In this embodiment, a case where the server device has a reservation means will be described.

[0027] The process of reserving printing resources of image forming apparatus 100 using scheduler server 205 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. Note that each of the processes in FIG. 6 described below is achieved by a control unit such as a CPU installed in PC 200 executing a program constituting schedule management application 204 and exchanging information with scheduler server 205 via schedule management application 204. Here, it is assumed that paper feed cassette 1 is reserved as a printing resource, and the user who performs the reservation operation will be referred to as the "reserving user" hereinafter, and the reserving user in this embodiment is user01. Also, the start stage in FIG. 6 is a state in which schedule management application 204 is launched on PC 200, and only schedule information 405 for user01 is displayed on schedule display screen 404.

[0028] The scheduler server 205 accepts the operation of the reservation user to the schedule management application 204, and displays the schedule for the specified date and time for the paper feed cassette 1 of the multifunction device 01 that is the reservation target (S601), resulting in the state shown in Fig. 4. This allows user 01 to compare his or her own schedule for the specified date and time with the schedule of the multifunction device 01.

[0029] Next, in accordance with user01's operation, the scheduler server 205 displays a new reservation transmission screen 501 with paper feed cassette 1 as the transmission destination, as shown in Fig. 5 (S602). Here, user01's operation may be, for example, selecting the desired reservation time in the schedule information 406 for paper feed cassette 1 (the dotted square portion in 406 in Fig. 4). The reservation transmission screen displays the reservation target name 502, reservation user name 503, reservation start date and time 504, 505, and reservation end date and time 506, 507. User01 can use the reservation transmission screen to change the reservation target and reservation date and time.

[0030] Next, the scheduler server 205 receives new reservation information from the PC 200 via the schedule management application 204 (S603). This occurs when user01 presses the reservation transmission button 508 on the reservation transmission screen.

[0031] The reservation information is composed of the user name information of user01 held by the scheduler server 205 as the "reserved user name" (reserved user name 502 in Figure 5), the user name information of paper feed cassette 1 as the "reserved printing resource name" (reserved target name 503 in Figure 5), and the reservation time information entered by user01 as the "reservation time" (date and time calculated from the reservation start dates and times 504 and 505 and the reservation end dates and times 506 and 507 in Figure 5).

[0032] Next, the scheduler server 205 compares the reservation time information of the reservation information received in S603 with the schedule for paper feed cassette 1 that corresponds to that time information, and determines whether the schedule for the reservation time information for paper feed cassette 1 is available (S604). Specifically, if user01 transmits a reservation for a reservation time from 9:00 to 11:00, it checks whether the schedule for paper feed cassette 1 is available from 9:00 to 11:00. If it is determined that the schedule is available, the process proceeds to S605, and if it is determined that the schedule is full, the process proceeds to S606.

[0033] If it is determined in step S604 that the schedule is available (step S605), the scheduler server 205 registers reservation information in the schedule for the paper feed cassette 1.

[0034] If it is determined in S604 that the schedule is not available (S606), the scheduler server 205 notifies the reserving user that the received new reservation information is not an available time for paper feed cassette 1 and therefore cannot be reserved, and terminates the reservation operation. This notification can be made by displaying a pop-up screen on the screen of PC 200 or by sending an email from the scheduler server 205 to user01. Furthermore, upon receiving the notification that registration is not possible, user01 can search for another available time for paper feed cassette 1 on the schedule management application screen and perform the reservation operation again.

[0035] In S607, the scheduler server 205 displays the schedule for the paper feed cassette 102 with the reservation information for user01 added to the PC 200 via the schedule management application 204, and ends the reservation operation. This allows the reserving user to recognize that the reservation they sent has been accepted, and also allows them to make their reservation information public to users who are not near the image forming apparatus 100.

[0036] (Information storage in image forming device) As shown in FIG. 2, the scheduler server 205 and the image forming apparatus 100 are connected to a network via interfaces 203 and 212, so that reservation information can be exchanged via the network.

[0037] Here, the process by which image forming apparatus 100 receives reservation information from scheduler server 205 and stores it in storage unit 220 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Note that each of the following processes is achieved by the control unit of image forming apparatus 100 executing a program stored in the storage unit.

[0038] First, the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether a preset time has passed since the last time it checked (S701). If it determines that a certain time has passed, the process proceeds to S702. If it does not determine that a certain time has passed, the storage operation ends. In this case, the image forming apparatus 100 starts this process again using an internal clock or the like.

[0039] If it is determined in S701 that a certain period of time has elapsed, a connection to the scheduler server 205 is initiated via the network (S702). This enables the image forming apparatus 100 to communicate with the scheduler server 205.

[0040] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 receives reservation information for reservations made after the time when the image forming apparatus 100 last connected to the scheduler server 205 (S703). The reservation information received by the image forming apparatus 100 also includes the "reserved user name," "reserved print resource name," and "reserved time."

[0041] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 converts the information constituting the reservation information received in S703 into reservation information recognizable by the control unit using a server information management table (S704). Here, the server information management table is a table that converts the information received from the scheduler server 205 into content recognizable by the control unit, and is stored in the storage unit 220.

[0042] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 stores the reservation information converted in S704 in a resource information management table that manages information on the printing resource to be reserved (S705). The resource information management table will be described below using the resource information management table for a paper feed cassette shown in Table 1 as an example. Settings for each paper feed cassette are stored in the table. Sheet size 2002 in the table indicates the size automatically detected by each paper feed tray when the sheet is installed or set by the user. Sheet type 2003 indicates the type of sheet set by the user, and remaining sheet amount 2004 indicates the remaining amount detected by each paper feed tray in four levels. Furthermore, reservation user 2005 in the table indicates the name of the user who reserved the paper feed tray, and reservation time 2006 indicates the time when the user registered as reservation user 2005 reserved the target paper feed cassette. Note that sheet size refers to information that can identify the long and short side lengths of the sheet and the orientation of the sheet relative to the sheet transport direction inside the image forming apparatus 100. Sheet type refers to classification based on any characteristics other than sheet size, such as paper material (basis weight, surface treatment, material, etc.), shape (index paper, loose-leaf paper, etc.), and special use (envelope, etc.). Sheet characteristics including sheet size and sheet type are collectively referred to as sheet attributes.

[0043] In S705, based on the reservation information, the information of "reserved user name" and "reserved time" is stored in the reservation user 2005 and reservation time 2006. In Table 1 below, the blank spaces for reservation user 2005 and reservation time 2006 indicate that anyone can use the space.

[0044] As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 has been able to store the received reservation information for the resource reserved by the scheduler server 205 in the storage unit corresponding to the resource, and therefore ends this process.

[0045] [Table 1]

[0046] As described above, the scheduler server 205 can be used to reserve resources of the image forming apparatus 100 , and further, information required for the reservation can be stored in the storage unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 100 .

[0047] (Restrict printing to other users by reservation) In this embodiment, the reservation information of the schedule server 205 is stored in the storage unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 100, so that the reservation information can be referenced in the image forming apparatus 100. Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 100 executes image forming means, it can perform exclusive processing of reserved printing resources from other users by referencing the information management table of reserved printing resources in the storage unit 220. The exclusive processing will be described in detail later.

[0048] (Image formation flow) In the following, in explaining the exclusion process for reserved printing resources in this embodiment, the flow when image formation is executed will be explained using Figures 8 and 9. It is assumed that the reservation process for the printing resources described above has already been completed before the execution of Figure 8.

[0049] First, the PC 200 generates a print job through printer driver processing (S801) and outputs it to the image forming apparatus 100. When the print job is input to the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus executes page generation processing (S802) to generate image data corresponding to the print job, and processes the print job through print processing (S803).

[0050] (Printer driver processing) Here, printer driver processing will be explained. Printer driver processing is initiated when the user of PC 200 performs an operation to instruct a document creation application to execute printing, for example. It is assumed that document data indicating the content to be printed (documents, drawings, etc.) has been generated in advance using the document creation application, etc.

[0051] The printer driver 202 performs a setting process to set attribute information for a print job based on a user's operation signal to the PC 200. Here, attribute information includes the size and type of sheets used for printing, paper feed cassette setting information, etc. Furthermore, for each of the sheet size and type and paper feed cassette setting, an option such as "automatic selection" that leaves the selection to the image forming apparatus may be provided. The driver software sets information specifying the sheet size and type and paper feed cassette setting based on the user's operation signal via the print setting screen.

[0052] Next, the printer driver 202 sets the owner name and document name of the print job. The owner name is information for identifying the user who created the print job, and in this embodiment, the owner name is the ID of the user currently logged in to the PC 200. The document name is information for identifying a data file such as a document or drawing to be printed, and is obtained, for example, from the application that generated the document data.

[0053] Then, printer driver 202 generates PDL data conforming to the PDL format based on the document data and various setting information. The PDL data includes page data representing the drawing content of each page and print job setting information (sheet size, sheet type, paper feed tray, owner name, document name, etc.). Note that page data is image information generated by printer driver 202 from the document data in accordance with the PDL format. The generated PDL data is transmitted to image forming apparatus 100 via a network.

[0054] (page processing) Next, the details of the page generation process will be explained. The print job sent from the PC 200 is received and temporarily stored by the data receiving unit 213, and includes page data as image information conforming to the PDL format. This page data is analyzed by the interpreter 214 and converted into intermediate data 215. In addition, print job setting information such as sheet size included in the PDL data is extracted by the analysis by the interpreter 214 and stored in the storage unit 220 by the control unit 219. Thereafter, the renderer 216 performs RIP processing on the intermediate data 215 and stores it in the image data storage unit 217.

[0055] (printing process) Next, the contents of the printing process will be described with reference to Fig. 9. When the printing process starts, the control unit 219 initializes a parameter P indicating the page being processed (current sheet) (S901). The parameter P is an integer value that satisfies P≧1. The control unit 219 determines whether the parameter P exceeds a variable Pmax indicating the total number of pages (the number of sheets specified by the print job) (S902), and as long as P≦Pmax, repeatedly executes the following processes (S903 to S908). It is assumed that the variable Pmax is extracted by analyzing the PDL data and stored in the storage unit 220.

[0056] First, the control unit 219 refers to the storage unit 220 to acquire information about the paper feed tray setting set in the printer driver processing, and performs a paper feed determination process to determine whether a sheet can be fed from the specified paper feed tray (S903). The contents of the paper feed determination process will be described in detail later. If the paper feed determination process determines that paper can be fed, one sheet is fed (S904). The control unit 219 also reads image data of the sheet being processed from the image data storage unit 217 (S905), converts this into video data, and transfers it to the printer engine 110 (S906). Then, when the printer engine 110 executes a print process (image forming process) for the sheet based on the video data (S907), the control unit 219 increments the parameter P (S908).

[0057] When image formation for the total number of pages (Pmax) of sheets is completed (No in S902), the printing process ends.

[0058] (Restrict printing by other users through reservations) Next, to explain the exclusive control of printing resources against other users during the reserved time, in this embodiment, the paper feed cassette 102 is the reservation target, so the paper feed determination process (S903) in Figure 9 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 10.

[0059] In the paper feed determination process, the control unit 219 first acquires the print job setting information stored in the storage unit 220 by the page generation process (S1001). The print job setting information includes the job owner name, the sheet size and type required for printing, and paper feed stage setting information. Next, the control unit 219 acquires the paper feed stage information stored in the storage unit 220 (S1002). The paper feed stage information is a compilation of the information stored in the paper feed cassette management table shown in Table 1 above. This acquired paper feed stage information is copied as a paper feed stage candidate list and used to determine the paper feed stages that will be paper feed candidates in subsequent processes (S1003). Next, the control unit 219 compares the reserving users recorded for each paper feed stage in the paper feed stage candidate list with the job owner acquired in the previous S1001. If there is a paper feed stage reserved by someone other than the job owner, that paper feed stage is deleted from the paper feed stage candidate list (S1004). For example, if the job owner is user01 and the paper feed tray reservation status is as shown in Table 1, no paper feed tray will be deleted from the paper feed tray candidate list, and if the job owner is other than user01, paper feed cassette 102 will be deleted from the paper feed tray candidate list.

[0060] Next, the control unit 219 references the paper feed stage setting information from the setting information of the print job acquired in S1001, and deletes all paper feed stages other than the specified one from the paper feed stage candidate list (S1005). The paper feed stage setting information is information specified in the printer driver processing. If a specific paper feed stage is specified in the printer driver processing, all paper feed stages other than the specified one are deleted from the paper feed stage candidate list, and if automatic selection is set, no paper feed stages are deleted from the paper feed stage candidate list.

[0061] Next, the control unit 219 selects the most suitable paper feed tray from those remaining in the paper feed tray candidate list (S1006). Specifically, the paper feed tray candidate list is searched to see if there is a paper feed tray holding sheets that match the sheet size and sheet type required for printing described in the setting information of the print job. In S1007, the next process is switched depending on the paper feed tray search results. If a paper feed tray is found, that paper feed tray is notified to the subsequent flow (S1008), and the paper feed determination process ends.

[0062] On the other hand, if it is determined in S1007 that the paper feed tray cannot be found, the control unit 219 displays an out-of-paper error screen 1101 shown in Fig. 11 on the UI screen 218 of the image forming apparatus 100. The out-of-paper error screen 1101 displays information (size and type) of the sheet required to continue the print job (1109). At this time, the user can perform one of the following operations:

[0063] Place the sheet described in 1109 in one of the paper feed trays to resolve the out-of-paper error.

[0064] By pressing one of the paper feed tray selection buttons 1102 to 1106, the process is forced to continue with a sheet different from that of 1109.

[0065] Pressing the stop button 1107 stops the print job.

[0066] The control unit 219 waits for one of the above operations to be performed by the user. If there is any change in the state of the paper feed tray (S1010), it is determined that the user may have installed paper, and the process proceeds to S1002, where the process for searching for the optimal paper feed tray is performed again. Furthermore, if an instruction from the user via the UI screen 218 is detected (S1011), the process proceeds to S1012, where the next process to be performed is switched depending on the instruction. If any of the paper feed tray selection buttons 1102 to 1106 is selected, the selected paper feed tray is notified to the subsequent flow (S1008), and the paper feed determination process ends. On the other hand, if it is detected that the stop button 1107 has been pressed, the printing process itself ends.

[0067] As described above, the paper feed tray reservation process can restrict use by anyone other than the person who made the reservation. Therefore, when using expensive paper such as coated paper, by reserving the paper feed tray in which the paper is placed in advance, it is possible to prevent the paper from being used by anyone other than the person who made the reservation. [Example]

[0068] (Reservations with reservation authorization) As explained above, by storing reservation information from the scheduler server 205 in the storage unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 100, it is possible to perform exclusive control of the print resources from other users during the reserved time.

[0069] However, if all users of the image forming device 100 can make reservations, there is a possibility that many users will make reservations for printing resources, which may result in a situation where users who want to make a reservation cannot make a reservation, or a situation where users who have not made a reservation can use the image forming device for a reduced amount of time.

[0070] Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to grant reservation authority to selected users, thereby allowing only specific users to reserve printing resources. Also, in this embodiment, the scheduler server 205 must provide reservation information to the image forming apparatus 100 each time it accepts a reservation and check whether the user has reservation authority. Therefore, this embodiment also describes a means for providing reservation information to the image forming apparatus 100 when the scheduler server 205 accepts a reservation.

[0071] An embodiment in which a determination is made as to whether a user has been granted reservation authority, and only users determined to have reservation authority can reserve printing resources of image forming apparatus 100 will be described using Fig. 12. Here, too, it is assumed that the paper feed cassette 102 is reserved. Note that steps S1201 to S1204 in the figure are the same as steps S601 to S604 in Fig. 6, and therefore only steps S1205 to S1213 will be described below.

[0072] If it is determined in S1204 that the schedule is available (S1205), in this embodiment, the scheduler server 205 sends a reservation addition notification to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network, indicating that the reservation information for the paper feed cassette 102 has been accepted.

[0073] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 receives the reservation addition notification sent from the scheduler server 205 in S1205 via the network (S1206). Next, the image forming apparatus 100 starts a connection to the scheduler server 205 via the network (S1207). This enables the image forming apparatus 100 to communicate with the scheduler server 205.

[0074] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 receives the reservation information corresponding to the reservation addition notification received in S1205 (S1208). At this time, the received reservation information becomes one set.

[0075] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 converts the information constituting the reservation information received in S1203 into reservation information that can be recognized by the control unit, using the server information management table described above (S1209).

[0076] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 refers to the user information management table stored in the storage unit 220 (Table 2) and determines whether the user having the user name that made the reservation has been granted reservation authority (2102) (S1210). Here, the user information management table stores information about users registered in the image forming apparatus 100. If it is determined that reservation authority has been granted, the process proceeds to S1211, and if it is determined that reservation authority has not been granted, the process proceeds to S1212. Note that authority can only be granted to users who have administrative authority for the image forming apparatus 100, for which YES is set in the administrator authority 2102.

[0077] [Table 2]

[0078] If it is determined in S1210 that the reservation authority has been granted (S1211), the image forming apparatus 100 stores the information converted by the server information conversion table in a resource information management table that manages information on reserved print resources. Specifically, this is the same operation as that performed in S705 of FIG.

[0079] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a reservation completion notification to the scheduler server 205 (S1213).

[0080] If it is determined in S1210 that the reservation authority has not been granted (S1212), the image forming apparatus 100 transmits a reservation denial notice to the scheduler server 205. At this time, the reservation information is not stored in the storage unit. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 transmits some kind of notice to the scheduler server 205 regardless of whether the reservation information has been stored in the storage unit.

[0081] Next, the scheduler server 205 receives the reservation result from the image forming apparatus 100 (S1214) and determines whether the result is complete or not (S1215). If the received result is determined to be complete, the process proceeds to S1216, and if the result is determined to be not complete, the process proceeds to S1217.

[0082] If it is determined in S1215 that the notification received is a reservation completion notification (S1216), the scheduler server 205 registers the reservation information in the schedule of the paper feed cassette 102. Thereafter, the schedule of the paper feed cassette 102 with the reservation information of the reserving user added is displayed on the PC 200 via the schedule management application (S1218), and this operation ends.

[0083] If the schedule is full in S1204 or if a reservation completion notification has not been received in S1215 (S1217), the schedule server 205 notifies the reserving user that the received reservation information cannot be reserved, and ends the reservation operation. This notification can be done by displaying a pop-up screen on the PC screen or by sending an email from the scheduler server 205 to the reserving user. Also, the reserving user who has been notified that registration is not possible can search for another available time slot for the reservation target from the schedule management application screen and perform the reservation operation again.

[0084] As described above, according to this embodiment, in an environment where only users who have been granted reservation authority in advance can make reservations, a reservation user can reserve printing resources of the image forming device 100 using the scheduler server 205.

[0085] In this embodiment, too, reservation information is stored in the storage unit 220 in the image forming apparatus 100, so that exclusive control can be exercised over the printing resources for other users during the reserved time. [Example]

[0086] (Reservation on the image forming device) In the previous embodiment, the scheduler server 205 has the reservation means, but in the present invention, the image forming apparatus 100 may have the reservation means. The reservation operation in this case will be explained using Figure 13. Note that in this embodiment, the other apparatus is the scheduler server 205, and the explanation will be given assuming that a user (user name: user01) places the following special sheet in the paper feed cassette 102 and makes a reservation.

[0087] Sheet size: A4 Sheet type: Coated paper First, user 01 places the special sheet in the paper feed cassette 102. Next, user 01 operates the UI screen 218 of the image forming apparatus 100 to set the size and type of the placed sheet.

[0088] The control unit 219 of the image forming apparatus 100 displays a screen 1401 for performing user authentication shown in Fig. 14 on the UI screen 218 and waits for an operation from the user (S1301). The screen 1401 for performing user authentication includes input fields 1402 and 1403 for accepting a user name and a password, a selection field 1404 for selecting a login destination, and a login button 1405 for confirming the input and starting the authentication process. When the control unit 219 detects that the login button 1405 has been pressed, it performs authentication processing based on the input information, and when the authentication is completed (S1302), it displays a home screen 1501 shown in Fig. 15 on the UI screen 218 (S1303).

[0089] The home screen 1501 includes a button 1502 to be selected when using the copy function, a button 1503 to be selected when using the send function, and a button 1504 to be selected when using the box function. A button 1505 is also provided for configuring various settings for the image forming apparatus 100. The setting button 1505 is pressed when the user sets the size and type of sheets installed by the user01 and reserves a paper feed tray. When the control unit 219 of the image forming apparatus 100 detects that the various setting button 1505 has been pressed, it displays a screen (not shown) for selecting various setting items. When the control unit 219 detects that a button for setting the sheet among the various setting items has been pressed, it displays a screen 1601 for setting the sheet, as shown in FIG. 16 (S1304). Paper feed tray selection buttons 1602 to 1606 are displayed on the paper setting screen 1601, and the setting status of each paper feed tray is displayed on each button. Screens 1602 to 1606 display the sheet size 2002, sheet type 2003, and remaining sheet quantity 2004 in Table 1 for each paper feed cassette. Also located on this screen are a button 1607 for changing the sheet type, buttons 1608 and 1609 for setting the sheet size to special sizes such as envelopes or postcards, and a reservation button 1610, which is the most distinctive setting in this embodiment. Each of the setting buttons 1607 to 1610 is operated after selecting one of the paper feed stage selection buttons 1602 to 1606 described above.

[0090] Next, an operation when the sheet type setting button 1607 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is selected and the sheet type setting button 1607 is pressed will be described. When the control unit 219 of the image forming apparatus 100 detects that the sheet type setting button 1607 has been pressed, it displays a paper type setting screen 1701 shown in FIG. 17 on the UI screen 218. Then, the control unit 219 obtains and displays the sheet type set for the selected paper feed tray (here, the paper feed cassette 102) from the paper feed tray information stored in the storage unit 220. FIG. 17 shows that plain paper 1 (1702) has been set. In addition to plain paper 1 (1702), the paper type setting screen 1701 also displays thick paper 1 (1704) and coated paper (1706). The user selects a sheet type here and presses the OK button 1708. The control unit 219 then detects the pressing of the OK button 1708, updates the paper feed tray information described above, and completes the sheet type setting.

[0091] Next, the operation for reserving a paper feed tray will be described. When the control unit 219 of the image forming apparatus 100 detects that the reserve button 1610 has been pressed while the button 1602 corresponding to the paper feed cassette 102 is selected, the control unit 219 records the name of the currently logged-in user in the reserver field of the paper feed tray information stored in the storage unit 220 (S1305). As a result, the paper feed cassette 102 is reserved by user01. To cancel the reservation, the reserve button 1110 is pressed again, and in this case, the reserver field of the paper feed tray information stored in the storage unit 220 is cleared.

[0092] Also in the third embodiment, since the reservation information is stored in the storage unit 220, the exclusion process for other users as shown in FIG. 10 can be performed in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments. [Example]

[0093] (Acquire reservation information when receiving a print job) Regarding the means for providing reservation information to other devices, in the first embodiment, the reservation information is shared by connecting with other devices every time a certain time period has elapsed, while in the second embodiment, the reservation information is shared by connecting with other devices every time a reservation is accepted. These two different means may be used in either case where the device having the reservation means is the image forming device 100 or the scheduler server 205. Therefore, either means can be applied to the third embodiment.

[0094] Furthermore, if the device having the reservation means is the scheduler server 205, when the image forming device 100 receives a print job, it may connect to the scheduler server 205 and acquire reservation information.

[0095] 18 and 19 will be used to describe an embodiment in which, when the image forming apparatus 100 receives a print job, it queries the scheduler server 205, obtains reservation information, and determines whether the print job can be executed. As in the previous embodiment, it is assumed that the paper feed cassette 102 has been reserved, and that the reservation operation has already been performed by the scheduler server 205, as shown in FIG. 6. In addition, in FIG. 18, the only difference is that the process of obtaining paper feed tray reservation information (S1804) is added after the process of creating a paper feed tray candidate list (S1003) in FIG. 10.

[0096] 18, the image forming apparatus 100 creates a paper feed tray candidate list during print processing and then acquires paper feed tray reservation information (S1804). Next, in Fig. 19, the image forming apparatus 100 connects to the scheduler server via an interface (S1901).

[0097] Next, the connected scheduler server 205 transmits to the image forming apparatus 100 reservation information for the paper feed cassettes and paper output trays that are grouped as printing resources of the image forming apparatus 100 (S1902).

[0098] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 receives reservation information from the scheduler server 205 via the interface (S1903), and converts it into reservation information that can be recognized by the control unit using the server information management table (S1904).

[0099] Next, the image forming apparatus 100 stores the converted information in the resource information management table of the storage unit 220 (S1905), and ends the process of obtaining paper feed tray reservation information.

[0100] Returning to S1804 in FIG. 18, in S1805, the paper feed trays reserved by users other than the job owner are deleted from the list by referring to the information in the storage unit 220, and thereafter the same operations as in FIG. 10 are performed.

[0101] This allows the image forming apparatus 100 to obtain reservation information from the scheduler server 205 when it receives a print job, and store the reservation information in the storage unit 220 .

[0102] In this embodiment, too, since reservation information is stored in a memory unit in the image forming device, it is possible to restrict print jobs of other users that use reserved printing resources during the reserved time.

[0103] In the previous embodiment, a print job input from the printer driver 202 was described, but in this embodiment, a supplementary explanation will be given of the processing in the case of a copy job.

[0104] The difference between a print job and a copy job is mainly whether the page data read from the image data storage unit 217 in print processing S905 is generated based on data input from the printer driver 202 or generated by the scanner unit 109. As for the printing resource reservation processing and paper feed determination processing S903, which are the most distinctive features of this patent, there is almost no difference between a print job and a copy job, so a description of the copy job will be omitted.

[0105] In addition, although the embodiments of the present invention have been described using a situation in which the paper feed cassette 102 is reserved, the same operations as those in the previous embodiments are performed when reserving printing resources other than the paper feed cassette, such as a paper output tray, scanner, or printer. Therefore, even when reserving printing resources other than the paper feed cassette, exclusion processing for other users is possible.

[0106] In addition, the detailed configurations and operations of the image forming apparatus and scheduler server can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0107] (Other Examples) The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program.The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Claims

1. A server device that provides a schedule management function that allows a user to share schedule information of each user with other users, a display means for displaying a schedule managed by the schedule management function; a reservation means for reserving a paper feed unit of an image forming apparatus; The server device is characterized in that the schedule management function manages the period for which the paper feed unit is reserved, and the display means provides the period by displaying it on another device.

2. The server device described in Claim 1, characterized in that the display means displays the period on the other device while the user's schedule is displayed on the other device.

3. The server device described in Claim 1, characterized in that the display means displays on the other device the period during which multiple paper feed units of the image forming device are reserved.

4. When a print job that uses the paper feed unit reserved by the reservation unit is accepted, 3. The server device according to claim 2, further comprising control means for not printing the print job while the paper feed unit is reserved by the reservation means.

5. The providing means comprises:

5. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the server device provides the other device with information that has been reserved later than the time when the information was previously provided.

6. 6. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed unit reserved by the reservation unit does not execute print jobs from users other than the user who made the reservation during the reservation period.

7. A server device described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the display means also displays the period on a device of a user who does not have authority to reserve the paper feed unit.

8. A server device as described in Claim 7, characterized in that it further has a notification means for, when receiving an instruction to reserve the paper feed unit from a user who does not have the reservation authority, notifying the user of information indicating that the reservation is not possible.

9. The server device described in Claim 8, characterized in that the notification means notifies the user of the information by sending the information by email.

10. A method for controlling a server device that provides a schedule management function that allows a user to share schedule information of each user with other users, comprising: a display step of displaying a schedule managed by the schedule management function; a reservation step of reserving a paper feed unit of an image forming apparatus; a providing step of managing a period during which the paper feed unit is reserved by the schedule management function, and providing the period by displaying it on another device.

Images