Information processing device, information processing system, and program

Abstract

To provide a device, a system, and a program which, when destination information in an external address book is updated before a standby job is executed, are capable of updating the destination information set to the job in standby.SOLUTION: An information processing device which manages a job comprises: acquisition means which acquires job information of a job in standby having destination information in an external address book set thereto; first management means which on the basis of attribute information included with the destination information in the acquired job information, requests retrieval of the destination information in the external address book corresponding to the destination information included in the job information: and second management means which in accordance with the retrieved destination information, updates the destination information included in the job information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and system for managing jobs, and a program for causing a computer to execute job management. [Background technology]

[0002] In a job for transmitting data, a destination stored in the transmission history can be retrieved and set as the destination, or a destination in the address book can be set as the destination, and data can be sent to the set destination. If the destination in the address book is updated after sending data corresponding to the transmission history, a problem occurs in that the data is not sent to the desired destination when sending data using the destination in the transmission history.

[0003] In view of this problem, a technology has been proposed that displays destinations in the sending history and updated destinations in the address book, allows the user to select one of the displayed destinations, sets the selected destination as the destination, and sends data to the set destination (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Even if the destination in the address book is updated, if the destination in the transmission history is linked to the destination in the address book, data can be sent to the desired destination without requiring the user to make a selection.

[0005] Therefore, there is known a technique for updating user information managed by an information management server in a manner linked to the user information, based on the link (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In an apparatus that can use destination information in an external address book provided in an external device and set the destination information in the external address book for a job to execute the job, it is difficult to make the job information conform to the specifications of the external address book. Therefore, even if the destination information in the external address book is updated before the execution of the waiting job, the destination information set for the waiting job cannot be updated.

[0007] The present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an apparatus, system, and program that can update the destination information set for a waiting job when the destination information in an external address book is updated before the waiting job is executed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for managing jobs, comprising: an acquiring means for acquiring job information of a waiting job for which destination information of an external address book has been set; a first management means for requesting a search for destination information in an external address book corresponding to the destination information included in the acquired job information based on attribute information included together with the destination information in the acquired job information; a second management means for updating the destination information included in the job information in accordance with the searched destination information; An information processing device is provided, including: [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, if the destination information in the external address book is updated before the queued job is executed, the destination information set for the queued job can be updated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing device and a server. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for managing a main body address book. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for managing an external address book. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a process up to notifying a user to operate whether or not an update is required when a waiting job is automatically executed. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of job information. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an email. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for resuming a waiting job when the waiting job is executed in response to a user instruction. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when confirming destination update of job information. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed after updating a destination of job information. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0012] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system. The information processing system includes an information processing device 10 and a server 11. The information processing device 10 and the server 11 are connected to a network 12 and are configured to communicate with each other via the network 12. Note that the network 12 may be connected to devices other than the information processing device 10 and the server 11, and the number of devices connected to the network 12 may be two or more.

[0013] The network 12 may be any of a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, etc., and may be either a wired network or a wireless network.

[0014] The information processing device 10 can be provided with a registration function that registers destination information as part of registered information, and calls up the registered information when a job is executed to set the destination information, as a function that eliminates the need for settings when a job is executed. The registration function can obtain destination information from a main body address book and store it as registered information. A job can be an individual process such as sending data or sending a fax, or a series of processes such as scanning a document and sending the scanned data. Jobs are stored in a buffer or the like and executed one by one in order. Therefore, while they are stored in a buffer or the like, they are in a waiting state.

[0015] The information processing device 10 may be any device that can communicate with the server 11, has the above-mentioned registration function, and can execute one or more jobs. The information processing device 10 may be an image forming device such as an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral), a PJ (Projector), an IWB (Interactive White Board: a whiteboard with an electronic whiteboard that allows mutual communication), a notebook PC, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a game console, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a wearable PC, a desktop PC, or the like.

[0016] If the information processing device 10 is, for example, an MFP, the MFP is composed of an operation unit and a main body unit. The operation unit has the above-mentioned registration function, and the main body unit has a main body address book. The main body address book contains destination information such as email addresses, and can add or delete destination information and update its contents in response to input from the operation unit or a request from another device via the network 12.

[0017] In the case of a transmission job that transmits data, the destination information included in the registration information is set as the transmission destination by the registration function. Then, when execution of the transmission job is requested, the transmission job is put into a buffer or the like and becomes a waiting job. Each time execution of one job is completed, the operation unit picks one job from the waiting jobs and executes the picked job by sending the data to the set destination.

[0018] If destination information in the device's address book is set for a waiting job, even if the destination information in the device's address book from which it was registered is updated, the waiting job can be updated when it is executed because it is linked to the registration ID.

[0019] The server 11 includes an external address book. The server 11 communicates with the information processing device 10 via the network 12, and transmits information about the external address book in response to a request from the information processing device 10. The server 11 may be, for example, an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server that centrally manages information about registered users.

[0020] In addition to information in the main body address book, information in an external address book provided in the server 11 can be registered as registration information. Therefore, destination information in the external address book can be set for a waiting job. The external address book has specifications different from those of the main body address book and is also used by devices other than the information processing device 10, so destination information cannot be linked with a registration ID that is used only within the information processing device 10. Therefore, the destination information in the external address book itself is registered. In this case, if the destination information in the external address book from which it was registered is updated, the destination information set for a waiting job cannot be made to follow the destination information in the updated external address book.

[0021] Therefore, the information processing device 10 is configured to use attribute information registered together with the destination information instead of the registration ID to acquire destination information from the external address book corresponding to the destination information set for the waiting job. Specifically, the information processing device 10 is configured to send a search request to the server 11 so as to perform a search using the attribute information as a key, and to acquire the corresponding destination information from the external address book from the server 11 as a search result.

[0022] Upon receiving the search request from the information processing device 10, the server 11 searches the external address book for destination information corresponding to the destination information included in the job information, and transmits the search results to the information processing device 10.

[0023] The information processing device 10 receives and acquires the search results from the server 11, and checks whether the destination information has been updated from the received search results, and if it has been updated, it can update the job information with the contents of the received destination information after confirming with the user.

[0024] 2 illustrates the hardware configuration of an MFP as an example of the information processing device 10. The MFP includes a controller 20, a short-range communication circuit 21, an engine control unit 22, an operation panel 23, and a network I / F 24.

[0025] The controller 20 includes a CPU 30, which is the main part of the computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 31, a north bridge (NB) 32, a south bridge (SB) 33, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 34, a local memory (MEM-C) 35, an HDD controller 36, and an HD 37. The NB 32 and the ASIC 34 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 38.

[0026] The CPU 30 is a control unit that performs overall control of the MFP. The NB 32 is a bridge that connects the CPU 30 with the MEM-P 31, the SB 33, and the AGP bus 38, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to and from the MEM-P 31, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

[0027] The MEM-P31 includes a ROM 31a, which is a memory for storing programs and data for realizing the functions of the controller 20, and a RAM 31b, which is used for expanding the programs and data and as a drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in the RAM 31b may be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable file format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD.

[0028] The SB33 is a bridge connecting the NB32 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The ASIC34 is an IC for image processing applications that has hardware elements for image processing and functions as a bridge connecting the AGP bus 38, PCI bus 39, HDD controller 36, and MEM-C 35. The ASIC34 includes a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC34, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 35, and multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic, etc. The ASIC34 also includes a PCI unit that transfers data between the scanner unit 40 and the printer unit 41 via the PCI bus 39. The ASIC34 may be configured to connect to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface.

[0029] MEM-C35 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and code buffer. HD37 is a storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, forms, and the main unit address book. HD37 controls the reading and writing of data from and to HD37 under the control of CPU30. AGP bus 38 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphics processing. By directly accessing MEM-P31 at high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

[0030] The short-distance communication circuit 21 is a communication circuit that uses NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like.

[0031] The engine control unit 22 is made up of a scanner unit 40 and a printer unit 41. The operation panel 23 is equipped with a panel display unit 23a such as a touch panel that displays current setting values, selection screens, etc. and accepts input from the user, and an operation panel unit 23b that includes a numeric keypad, a start key, etc.

[0032] The controller 20 controls, for example, drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 23. The scanner unit 40 or the printer unit 41 includes an image processing unit for error diffusion, gamma conversion, and the like.

[0033] The MFP can be switched between document box function, copy function, printer function, and facsimile function in sequence using the application switching key on the operation panel 23. When each function is selected, the corresponding mode is entered.

[0034] The network I / F 24 is an interface that connects to the network 12 and performs data communication with devices (e.g., the information processing device 10) on the network 12. The short-range communication circuit 21 and the network I / F 24 are electrically connected to the ASIC 34 via a PCI bus 39.

[0035] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server 11. The server 11 is constructed by a computer and includes a CPU 50, a ROM 51, a RAM 52, a HD 53, an HDD controller 54, a display 55, an external device connection I / F 56, a network I / F 57, a bus line 58, a keyboard 59, a pointing device 60, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 61, and a media I / F 62.

[0036] The CPU 50 controls the overall operation of the server 11. The ROM 51 stores programs used to drive the CPU 50, such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader). The RAM 52 provides a working area for the CPU 50. The HD 53 stores various data such as programs, including an external address book. The HDD controller 54 controls the reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 53 under the control of the CPU 50.

[0037] The display 55 displays various types of information such as a cursor, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I / F 56 is an interface for connecting various types of external devices. In this case, the external devices are, for example, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memories, printers, etc. The network I / F 57 is an interface for performing data communication using the network 12. The bus line 58 is an address bus or data bus for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 50.

[0038] The keyboard 59 is a type of input means equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 60 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc. The DVD-RW drive 61 controls reading and writing of various data from a DVD-RW 63, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that this is not limited to DVD-RW, and may be DVD-R, etc. The media I / F 62 controls reading and writing of data from a recording medium 64, such as a flash memory.

[0039] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 10 and the server 11. Each function of the information processing device 10 can be realized by a processing circuit such as a CPU 30. The processing circuit includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as an ASIC, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and a conventional circuit module designed to execute each function described above. Like the information processing device 10, each function of the server 11 can also be realized by a processing circuit such as a CPU 50, and the processing circuit includes an ASIC, etc.

[0040] The information processing device 10 includes a communication means 70, a main body address book management means 71, a total address book management means 72, a storage means 73, a job management means 74, a job control means 75, and an operation means 76. The communication means 70 transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as the server 11 via the network 12. The main body address book management means 71 manages the main body address book held by the information processing device 10. The total address book management means 72 manages information on the main body address book and the external address book held by the server 11, and controls access to each address book.

[0041] The main body address book and the external address book contain destination information such as email addresses and fax numbers, as well as attribute information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and company names. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for managing the main body address book, and Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a management table for managing the external address book.

[0042] The management tables shown in Figures 5 and 6 include management numbers, which are identification numbers for uniquely identifying items registered in the address book (each row in each table). The management tables hold email addresses and fax numbers as destination information, but it is not necessary to hold both; either one will do. Furthermore, the attribute information does not need to hold name, address, telephone number, or company name; it is sufficient to include at least one of these. Note that the attribute information may include information other than name, address, telephone number, and company name.

[0043] In the case of a job to read an original and send it to a destination, the job setting information includes black and white / color information when reading the original, resolution information, density information, etc. Density information is specified within the range of -7 to 7, for example.

[0044] Both the main address book and the external address book contain control numbers, but the destination information corresponding to the control numbers does not necessarily have to match between the main address book and the external address book. The main address book may contain fax numbers, but the external address book may not.

[0045] The following description will be given with reference to Fig. 4 again. The storage means 73 stores device information, job information, data for job execution, etc. Device information includes the manufacturer name, model number, IP (Internet Protocol) address, MAC (Media Access Control) address, etc. Job information includes user information such as destination information and attribute information set for the job, and job setting information such as resolution and density. Data may be of any type and content, such as documents, emails, photos, videos, etc.

[0046] The job management means 74 manages jobs executed by users and the status of those jobs. Job statuses include waiting, running, suspended, and completed. The job control means 75 controls the execution of jobs such as sending data or faxes. The operation means 76 accepts input from users to the information processing device 10 and controls the display of the processing status of the information processing device 10.

[0047] The server 11 includes a communication means 80, an external address book management means 81, and a storage means 82. The communication means 80 transmits and receives data to and from the information processing device 10 and the like via the network 12. The external address book management means 81 manages the external address book held by the server 11, and upon receiving a search request from the information processing device 10, searches for corresponding destination information in the external address book. The storage means 82 stores information in the external address book.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process up to notifying the user to operate whether or not an update is required when a waiting job is automatically executed. After logging in to the system by inputting login information, the user specifies data and requests registration information. The login information may be a user ID, password, etc., or may be biometric information such as a fingerprint. By calling up the registration information requested by the registration function, the operation means 76 sets destination information, etc. included in the registration information for the job in order to execute a job such as sending the specified data, and places the job in a buffer, etc.

[0049] In this process, the process starts from step 100 without receiving a job execution instruction from the user. This process may be performed at regular time intervals, or may be started in response to communication with the server 11 and detection of an update to the external address book. In step 101, the job management means 74 acquires job information held by the waiting job from the storage means 73 used as a buffer or the like. Here, the job management means 74 acquires the job information, but the system may also be provided with an acquisition means that acquires the job information. If there is one waiting job, the job information for one job is acquired, and if there are multiple waiting jobs, the job information for multiple jobs is acquired.

[0050] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of job information. The job information is assigned identification information (job ID) for identifying a job submitted to the information processing device 10. The job information includes job status, sender information, user information, and job setting information. The job status indicates the current state of the job, such as failed, waiting, or completed. The sender information is information for identifying the user who submitted the job, and in the example shown in Fig. 8, is an email address.

[0051] The user information and job setting information are the same as the user information and job setting information managed in the management tables shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0052] Referring again to FIG. 7, the rest of the processing will be explained. In step 102, the job management means 74 checks the destination information included in the acquired job information and determines whether the destination information in the external address book is included in the acquired job information. Job information is not limited to one piece of destination information, and may include multiple pieces of destination information. Therefore, in step 102, it is determined whether the destination information in the external address book is included in one or more pieces of destination information. In the job information shown in FIG. 8, only one destination is set for one job, and for job ID2, the storage location is "external," indicating that the destination information in the external address book is set. Incidentally, the storage location is "main unit," indicating that the destination information in the main unit address book is set.

[0053] If it is determined in step 102 that destination information from the external address book is included, the process proceeds to step 103, but if it is determined that the destination information is not included, the job management means 74 requests the job control means 75 to execute the job. The job control means 75 executes the job using the destination information included in the job information.

[0054] If destination information from an external address book is not included, the destination information set in the job information is the destination information from the main address book. As shown in Fig. 8, the destination information in the job information is linked to the destination information in the main address book by a registration ID, so updated destination information can be reflected in the destination information in the job information. Therefore, there is no need to specifically update the destination information in the job information. When a job is executed, the destination information from the main address book linked to the registration ID (if the destination information in the main address book has been updated, the latest destination information after the update) can be obtained, and the obtained destination information can be used to execute a job such as sending data.

[0055] In step 103, the job management means 74 instructs the total address book management means 72 to specify, as a key, the attribute information registered together with the destination information as user information in the job information, and to search the external address book for destination information corresponding to the destination information included in the job information. In response to this, the total address book management means 72 requests the server 11 via the communication means 70 to search the external address book for destination information corresponding to the destination information included in the job information, based on the specified key.

[0056] The communication means 80 of the server 11 receives a search request from the information processing device 10, and the external address book management means 81 refers to the external address book stored in the storage means 82 and searches for the destination information requested in the search request based on the specified key. When the attribute information consists of name, address, telephone number, and company name, the external address book management means 81 searches for destination information that matches all of this information. Note that the search is not limited to this, and since the person in charge may have changed, it is also possible to specify attribute information and use the specified information (e.g., address, telephone number, company name) as a key to search for destination information that matches all of the specified information. The external address book management means 81 transmits the search results to the information processing device 10 via the communication means 80.

[0057] In step 104, the total address book management means 72 receives the search results via the communication means 70. Then, the total address book management means 72 transmits the search results to the job management means 74.

[0058] In step 105, the job management means 74 determines whether the destination information obtained as a search result matches the destination information included in the acquired job information. If it is determined that they do not match, the process proceeds to step 106. If it is determined that they match, there is no need to update the destination information included in the job information. Therefore, the job management means 74 requests the job control means 75 to execute the job, and executes the job using the destination information included in the job information.

[0059] In step 106, the job management means 74 instructs the job control means 75 to suspend execution of the waiting job and to send an email to confirm whether it is OK to update the destination information included in the job information to the destination information included in the search result. The job control means 75 receives the instruction from the job management means 74 and suspends execution of the waiting job. Then, the job control means 75 sends the email to the requested destination via the communication means 70.

[0060] 9 shows an example of the contents of the email. The email is sent from the information processing device 10 (Machine_A) and to the email address of the logged-in user (t.sasaki@mail.com), and contains the content notifying the user that job execution has been suspended. The email also states that the destination data has been updated on the server.

[0061] The destination of the email is the email address of the user who instructed the job to be executed (the email address in the sender information in the job information shown in FIG. 8). The user who instructed the job to be executed can be identified by the login information entered when using the system, and the login information is linked to the email address. Therefore, the job control means 75 can send the email using the email address linked to the login information. The email is sent to a PC, smartphone, or the like owned by the user. When the user receives the email, they go to the location where the information processing device 10 is installed and check the destination on the information processing device 10. The user also determines whether or not the destination needs to be updated and performs an operation to select either option.

[0062] The reason why the user is prompted to confirm the destination is to ensure that the destination specified by the destination information obtained as a search result is correct. This gives the user an opportunity to confirm that the destination's email address, etc. has changed, and enables the user to send data to the correct destination.

[0063] After the job control means 75 has sent the email, the process up to notifying the user is completed in step 107. The user checks the email, goes to the location of the information processing device 10 as instructed in the email, checks the updated content of the external address book on the operation panel 23, and responds whether or not to update.

[0064] Upon receiving the response indicating that the job information will be updated, the job management means 74 updates the destination information included in the job information to the destination information included in the search results. If a response indicating that the job information will not be updated is received, the job management means 74 does not update the job information. Thereafter, the job management means 74 instructs the job control means 75 to resume execution of the suspended job. As a result, the job control means 75 resumes execution of the suspended job.

[0065] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing up to resuming a waiting job when the job is executed at the user's instruction. The operations up to the point where the job is put into waiting status have already been explained, so the operations thereafter will be explained. The user selects a waiting job using the operation means 76 and requests that the job be executed. Upon receiving the request from the user, processing begins from step 200. In step 201, the job management means 74 accepts the selection of the requested waiting job and obtains the job information held for the selected job.

[0066] The job management means 74 checks the destination information included in the acquired job information to see if it contains destination information from the external address book. If destination information from the external address book is not included, the job management means 74 requests the job control means 75 to execute the job, and executes the job using the destination information included in the job information.

[0067] The job management means 74 instructs the total address book management means 72 to search the external address book using the attribute information registered in the job information together with the destination information as a key. Upon receiving the instruction from the job management means 74, the total address book management means 72 requests the server 11 via the communication means 70 to search the external address book based on the specified key.

[0068] Upon receiving a search request from the information processing device 10, the server 11 refers to the information in the external address book stored in the storage means 82 based on the specified key, and searches for destination information with matching attribute information as corresponding destination information. The server 11 transmits the search results to the information processing device 10.

[0069] The total address book management means 72 receives the search results from the server 11 via the communication means 70. The total address book management means 72 responds to the job management means 74 with the received search results.

[0070] The job management means 74 determines whether the destination information obtained as a search result matches the destination information included in the acquired job information. If it is determined that they match, the job management means 74 requests the job control means 75 to execute the job, and executes the job using the destination information included in the job information.

[0071] If it is determined that there is no match, the job management means 74 requests the operation means 76 to display a screen for confirming whether it is OK to update the destination information included in the job information to the destination information included in the search result in step 202. In response to the display request from the job management means 74, the operation means 76 displays the confirmation screen.

[0072] An example of a screen displayed on the operation panel 23 during this process is shown in Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for confirming the update of the destination included in the job information. The screen displays a message that the destination registered in the job information has been updated in the external address book, and asks whether or not to update to the latest destination. In addition to the management number that identifies the job information, the old destination, and the new destination, the screen also displays a YES button 90 to be pressed if the destination is to be updated, and a NO button 91 to be pressed if the destination is not to be updated. If the user determines that it is OK to update to the new destination, the user can press the YES button 90.

[0073] 10 will be referred to again. If the user decides not to update the destination information included in the job information, the user responds to the operation means 76 by pressing the NO button 91 to indicate that the destination information will not be updated. If the user decides to update the destination information, the user responds to the operation means 76 by pressing the YES button 90 to indicate that the destination information will be updated.

[0074] The job management means 74 determines whether or not it is OK to update the destination information included in the job information of the selected job, based on the response received by the operation means 76. If a response indicating that the destination information should be updated is received, the process proceeds to step 204;

[0075] In step 204, the job management means 74 instructs the job control means 75 to suspend execution of the selected job, update the destination information included in the job information of the selected job with the destination information included in the search result, and notify the user of the update result to the operation means 76. Upon receiving the instruction, the operation means 76 notifies the user of the update result by displaying it on the screen.

[0076] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that is displayed after updating the destination in the job information. The screen shown in Fig. 12 is a screen that is displayed after pressing the YES button 90 on the screen shown in Fig. 11. As a result of the update, the screen displays a message that the destination has been updated, the control number, the old destination, and the new destination. This allows you to confirm that the old destination corresponding to the control number has been updated to the new destination.

[0077] 10 again, in step 205, after operation means 76 displays the update result, job management means 74 instructs job control means 75 to resume execution of the suspended job. Upon receiving the instruction from job management means 74, job control means 75 resumes execution of the suspended job.

[0078] If it is determined in step 203 that the destination information should not be updated, the job management means 74 requests the job control means 75 to execute the job without updating the job information. Upon receiving the job execution request from the job management means 74, the job control means 75 executes the job using the job information and ends the process in step 206.

[0079] When execution of the job selected in step 205 is resumed, the job management means 74 updates the destination information included in the job information with the destination information included in the search result, and requests job execution from the job control means 75. Upon receiving the job execution request from the job management means 74, the job control means 75 executes the job using the updated job information. Then, the process ends in step 206.

[0080] When a job is executed by user instruction, only the job information of the selected job is updated as described above. There may be more than one waiting job. Waiting jobs other than the selected job may also have the same destination information set as the destination information set in the job information of the selected job.

[0081] Therefore, it is possible to configure the system so that not only the job information of the selected job (job information to be updated) but also the job information of other waiting jobs are updated collectively if they contain the same destination information. In this case, the destination information contained in the job information of the other waiting jobs is checked, other job information containing the same destination information as the job information to be updated is detected, and the destination information contained in the job information to be updated and the destination information contained in the other detected job information are updated collectively.

[0082] As described above, by providing the information processing device of the present invention, the information processing system including the information processing device, and the program executed by the information processing device, it is possible to update the job information of a waiting job when the destination in the external address book is updated. Since the job information of a waiting job can be updated in this way, data can be sent to the desired destination.

[0083] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified within the scope conceivable by a person skilled in the art, such as by changing or deleting components of the present embodiment, or by adding other components to the components of the present embodiment. In any aspect, as long as the effects of the present invention are achieved, it is included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 10...Information processing device 11...Server 12…Network 13...Projector 20...Controller 21...Near field communication circuit 22...Engine control unit 23...Operation panel 23a...Panel display section 23b...Operation panel section 24...Network I / F 30...CPU 31...MEM-P 31a…ROM 31b...RAM 32…NB 33…SB 34...ASIC 35...MEM-C 36...HDD controller 37…HD 38...AGP bus 39...PCI bus 40...Scanner section 41...Printer section 50...CPU 51...ROM 52...RAM 53…HD 54...HDD controller 55...Display 56...External device connection I / F 57...Network I / F 58...Bus line 59...Keyboard 60...Pointing device 61...DVD-RW drive 62...Media I / F 63...DVD-RW 64...Recording media 70...Communication means 71...Main unit address book management means 72...All address book management means 73...Memory means 74...Job management method 75...Job control means 76...Operation means 80...Means of communication 81...External address book management means 82...Memory means 90...YES button 91...NO button [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0085] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6066641 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-362550

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for managing jobs, an acquiring means for acquiring job information of a waiting job for which destination information of an external address book has been set; a first management means for requesting a search for destination information in the external address book corresponding to the destination information included in the acquired job information, based on attribute information included together with the destination information in the acquired job information; a second management means for updating the destination information included in the job information in accordance with the searched destination information; An information processing device comprising:

2. a control means for executing a job using the job information; 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second management means instructs the control means to suspend execution of the waiting job when updating destination information included in the job information.

3. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second management means instructs the control means to resume execution of the interrupted job having the job information after updating of the destination information included in the job information has been completed.

4. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means, when the searched destination information differs from the destination information included in the job information, sends an email notifying that the destination information in the corresponding external address book has been updated.

5. 4. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation means for displaying a screen for confirming update of the job information when the searched destination information differs from the destination information included in the job information.

6. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second management unit updates the destination information included in the job information upon receiving a response indicating that the destination information is to be updated.

7. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second management means, when destination information in the external address book is included in the job information, instructs the first management means to search for corresponding destination information in the external address book.

8. the job information includes information indicating a storage location of the destination information, 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said second management means determines that destination information in said external address book is included in said job information when said storage location indicates said external address book.

9. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second management means, when the same destination information is included in the job information of another waiting job other than the job information, updates the destination information included in the job information of the other job as well as the destination information included in the job information of the other job.

10. 10. An information processing system comprising: the information processing device according to claim 1; and a server that stores an external address book.

11. A program for causing a computer to execute job management, the computer acquiring job information of a waiting job for which destination information of the external address book has been set; a step of requesting to search the external address book for destination information corresponding to the destination information included in the acquired job information based on attribute information included together with the destination information in the acquired job information; updating the destination information included in the job information in accordance with the searched destination information; A program that executes.

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