Information processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, image forming system, information processing program, and image forming program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of forming an image without selecting a transmission destination of image data for a server or an image forming device per image formation, an image forming device, an image forming system, an information processing program, and an image forming program.SOLUTION: An information processing device 16 transmits print data and processing information to a cloud server 14 when receiving a print instruction for image forming device 12, stores the print data in a local cache folder 56 of an own device, establishes communication with the cloud server 17 by a Web socket, and transmits the print data to the image forming device 12 when the cloud server 14 requests transmission of the print data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, an information processing program, and an image forming program.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, during the execution of forming an image based on image formation data acquired from an information processing apparatus, when the state of an image formation related unit involved in image formation becomes an error, and there is image formation data acquired from a server in which image formation is performed after the image formation data acquired from the information processing apparatus, a method of notifying the server of state information regarding the state of the image formation related unit has been proposed.

[0003] In Patent Document 2, after logging in to a user account of a cloud service system, image data is associated with an ID and uploaded to a storage service. Immediately after the communication of uploading the image data is completed, the image data is searched in the storage service using that ID as a key, and it is verified that the image data has been registered in the storage service. If the registration of the image data fails, an image forming apparatus that causes the image data to be uploaded again has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Image formation via a server is often slower than forming images by directly connecting to the image forming machine because files are downloaded from the server. However, in cases where a direct connection to the image forming machine is not possible, it is necessary to form images via a server. In this situation, it is cumbersome for the user to choose each time whether to store the image data on the server for image formation or to send the image data directly to the image forming machine for image formation.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an information processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, an information processing program, and an image forming program that enable image forming without selecting a destination for sending image data to either a server or an image forming apparatus for each image forming process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the information processing device according to the first embodiment includes a processor, which, upon receiving an instruction to an image forming apparatus to form an image, transmits image data and processing information including information for forming the image represented by the image data to a server, stores the image data in its own device, and performs control to transmit the image data to the image forming apparatus when the server requests the transmission of the image data.

[0008] The information processing device according to the second embodiment is an information processing device according to the first embodiment in which the processor establishes communication with the server via a WebSocket and receives a request for the image data from the server.

[0009] In the third aspect of the information processing apparatus, the processor establishes a WebSocket session when transmitting the image data and the processing information to the server, as is the case with the information processing apparatus according to the second aspect.

[0010] The information processing device according to the fourth embodiment is an information processing device according to any one of the first to third embodiments, wherein the processor receives a request from the server to transmit the image data with an identifier that identifies the image data, and transmits the identifier and the image data to the image forming apparatus.

[0011] The information processing device according to the fifth embodiment is an information processing device according to any one of the first to fourth embodiments, wherein the processor, when transmitting the image data to the image forming apparatus, checks the connection with the image forming apparatus and transmits the image data to the image forming apparatus if a connection is possible.

[0012] In the information processing device according to the sixth aspect, the processor notifies the server that connection to the image forming apparatus is impossible if connection to the image forming apparatus is not possible.

[0013] The image forming apparatus according to the seventh embodiment includes a processor, which obtains processing information from a server that includes information for forming an image represented by image data, selects whether to obtain the image data from the server or from an information processing apparatus, and in the case of obtaining the image data from the information processing apparatus, sends a request to the server to transmit the image data, receives the image data from the information processing apparatus, and controls the apparatus to perform image formation using the received image data and processing information.

[0014] The image forming apparatus according to the eighth embodiment, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh embodiment, the processor sends a request to the server to send the image data with an identifier that identifies the image data, receives the image data with the identifier from the information processing device, and controls the system to perform image forming when the identifier sent to the server matches the identifier received from the information processing device.

[0015] In the image forming apparatus according to the ninth embodiment, the processor in the image forming apparatus according to the eighth embodiment holds other users' image forming requests until verification of whether the identifier matches is completed.

[0016] The image forming apparatus according to the tenth embodiment is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the seventh to ninth embodiments, wherein the processor receives the image data from the server if it cannot receive the image data from the information processing device.

[0017] The image forming system according to the 11th embodiment comprises an information processing device, an image forming apparatus, and a server that can be connected to each of the information processing device and the image forming apparatus. The information processing device comprises a first processor, and when the first processor receives an instruction to an image forming apparatus to form an image, it transmits image data and processing information including information for forming the image represented by the image data to a server, stores the image data in its own device, and performs control to transmit the image data to the image forming apparatus when the server requests the transmission of the image data. The image forming apparatus includes a second processor, which acquires the processing information from the server, selects whether to acquire the image data from the server or from the information processing apparatus, and in the case of acquiring the image data from the information processing apparatus, sends a request to the server to transmit the image data, receives the image data from the information processing apparatus, and controls the apparatus to perform image forming using the received image data and the processing information.

[0018] The information processing program according to the 12th embodiment causes the computer to, upon receiving an instruction to an image forming apparatus to perform image formation, transmit image data and processing information including information for forming the image represented by the image data to a server, store the image data in its own device, and transmit the image data to the image forming apparatus when the server requests the transmission of the image data.

[0019] The image forming program according to the 13th aspect causes a computer to acquire processing information including information for forming an image represented by image data from a server, select either acquisition of the image data from the server or acquisition of the image data from an information processing device, in the case of acquisition of the image data from the information processing device, transmit a transmission request for the image data to the server, receive the image data from the information processing device, and execute control to perform image formation using the received image data and the processing information.

Effects of the Invention

[0020] According to the 1st aspect, it is possible to provide an information processing device capable of performing image formation without selecting a transmission destination of image data for each image formation either in a server or an image forming apparatus.

[0021] According to the 2nd aspect, processing can be performed with a lower load compared to the case of monitoring a request for image data by polling.

[0022] According to the 3rd aspect, by transmitting image data and processing information to a server, it becomes possible to receive a request for print data from the server.

[0023] According to the 4th aspect, when an image forming apparatus performs printing, it becomes possible to verify whether the image data is the image data to be printed.

[0024] According to the 5th aspect, after confirming the connection with the image forming apparatus, the image data can be transmitted to the image forming apparatus.

[0025] According to the 6th aspect, even when the connection with the image forming apparatus cannot be established, it becomes possible to transmit image data from the server to the image forming apparatus.

[0026] According to the 7th aspect, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing image formation without selecting a transmission destination of image data for each image formation either in a server or an image forming apparatus.

[0027] According to the eighth aspect, it becomes possible to verify whether the image data received from the information processing device is image data to be used for image formation.

[0028] According to the ninth aspect, it is possible to prevent the inclusion of images created by other users.

[0029] According to the tenth embodiment, it is possible to form an image even when image data cannot be received from the information processing device.

[0030] According to the eleventh embodiment, an information processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, an information processing program, and an image forming program can be provided that enable image forming without selecting a destination for sending image data to either a server or an image forming apparatus for each image forming operation.

[0031] According to the twelfth embodiment, an information processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, an information processing program, and an image forming program can be provided that enable image forming without selecting a destination for sending image data to either a server or an image forming apparatus for each image forming operation.

[0032] According to the 13th embodiment, an information processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image forming system, an information processing program, and an image forming program can be provided that enable image forming without selecting a destination for sending image data to either a server or an image forming apparatus for each image forming operation. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0033] [Figure 1] This figure shows the schematic configuration of the image forming system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the main components of the electrical system of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This block diagram shows the main electrical components of the cloud server and information processing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of each part of the image forming system according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure illustrates an example of a processing pattern when printing with an image forming apparatus in the image forming system according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a settings screen displayed on an information processing device. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates the process in the image forming system according to this embodiment, specifically when the image forming apparatus acquires print data from the information processing device and prints according to pattern A. [Figure 8] This sequence diagram shows an example of the processing flow when uploading print data to a cloud server when printing with pattern A in the image forming system according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] This sequence diagram shows an example of the processing flow in the image forming system according to this embodiment, where, after processing information and print data are uploaded to the cloud server, the image forming apparatus follows pattern A, and the image forming apparatus acquires processing information from the cloud server and print data from the information processing device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0034] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming system according to this embodiment.

[0035] As shown in Figure 1, the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment comprises an image forming apparatus 12, a cloud server 14, and an information processing device 16. In this embodiment, only one image forming apparatus 12, cloud server 14, and information processing device 16 are shown, but multiple instances of each may be provided. Furthermore, the information processing device 16 may be a personal computer, or a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone.

[0036] The image forming apparatus 12 and the information processing apparatus 16 are each connected to an internal communication line 17, such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or an intranet. The internal communication line 17 and the cloud server 14 are each connected to an external communication line 18, such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) or the Internet. The image forming apparatus 12, the cloud server 14, and the information processing apparatus 16 are each capable of sending and receiving various types of data to and from each other via the internal communication line 17 and the external communication line 18.

[0037] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main electrical components of the image forming apparatus 12 according to this embodiment.

[0038] As shown in Figure 2, the image forming apparatus 12 according to this embodiment includes a control unit 20 which includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20B, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20C as an example of a second processor. The CPU 20A controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 12. The RAM 20C is used as a work area, etc., when various programs are executed by the CPU 20A. The ROM 20B stores various control programs and various parameters in advance. The various parts of the control unit 20 of the image forming apparatus 12 are electrically connected by a system bus 42.

[0039] On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 12 according to this embodiment is equipped with an HDD (hard disk drive) 26 for storing various data and application programs. The image forming apparatus 12 is also equipped with a display control unit 28 connected to a user interface 22, which controls the display of various operation screens on the display of the user interface 22. The image forming apparatus 12 is also equipped with an operation input detection unit 30 connected to the user interface 22, which detects operation instructions input via the user interface 22. In the image forming apparatus 12, the HDD 26, the display control unit 28, and the operation input detection unit 30 are electrically connected to a system bus 42. In this embodiment, an example is described in which the image forming apparatus 12 is equipped with an HDD 26, but it is not limited to this, and a non-volatile storage unit such as flash memory may also be provided.

[0040] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 12 according to this embodiment includes a reading control unit 32 that controls the optical image reading operation by the document reading unit 46 and the document feeding operation by the document transport unit, and an image forming control unit 34 that controls the image forming processing by the image forming unit 24 and the transport of paper to the image forming unit 24 by the transport unit 25. The image forming apparatus 12 also includes a communication line interface (communication line I / F) unit 36 ​​connected to an internal communication line 17 for sending and receiving communication data with other external devices such as a cloud server 14 connected to the internal communication line 17, and an image processing unit 44 for performing various image processing. The image forming apparatus 12 also includes a facsimile interface (facsimile I / F) unit 38 connected to a telephone line (not shown) for sending and receiving facsimile data with a facsimile device connected to the telephone line. The image forming apparatus 12 also includes a transmission / reception control unit 40 that controls the sending and receiving of facsimile data via the facsimile interface unit 38. In the image forming apparatus 12, the transmission / reception control unit 40, the reading control unit 32, the image forming control unit 34, the communication line interface unit 36, the facsimile interface unit 38, and the image processing unit 44 are electrically connected to the system bus 42.

[0041] With the above configuration, the image forming apparatus 12 according to this embodiment uses the CPU 20A to access the RAM 20C, ROM 20B, and HDD 26, respectively. The image forming apparatus 12 also uses the CPU 20A to control the display of information such as operation screens and various messages on the user interface 22 display via the display control unit 28. The image forming apparatus 12 also uses the CPU 20A to control the operation of the document reading unit 46 and document transport unit via the reading control unit 32. The image forming apparatus 12 also uses the CPU 20A to control the operation of the image forming unit 24 and transport unit 25 via the image forming control unit 34, and to control the transmission and reception of communication data via the communication line interface unit 36, respectively. The image forming apparatus 12 also uses the CPU 20A to control the transmission and reception of facsimile data via the facsimile interface unit 38 by the transmission and reception control unit 40. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 12 uses the CPU 20A to understand the operation content in the user interface 22 based on the operation input detection unit 30, and performs various controls based on this operation content. In the following, the process of forming an image on paper may be referred to as printing.

[0042] Next, the main electrical components of the cloud server 14 and information processing device 16 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the main electrical components of the cloud server 14 and information processing device 16 according to this embodiment. Since the cloud server 14 and information processing device 16 are basically configured like a general computer, the explanation will be given using the cloud server 14 as a representative example, and the explanation of the information processing device 16 will be omitted, with only the corresponding reference numerals shown in Figure 3.

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, the cloud server 14 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 14A, ROM 14B, RAM 14C, HDD 14D, keyboard 14E, display 14F, and communication line interface (I / F) unit 14G. The CPU 14A controls the overall operation of the cloud server 14. The ROM 14B stores various control programs and parameters in advance. The RAM 14C is used as a work area when the CPU 14A executes various programs. The HDD 14D stores various data and application programs. The keyboard 14E is used to input various information. The display 14F is used to display various information. The communication line interface unit 14G is connected to an external communication line 18 and transmits and receives various data with other devices connected to the external communication line 18. The above parts of the cloud server 14 are electrically interconnected by a system bus 14H. In this embodiment, an example of a cloud server 14 equipped with an HDD 14D is described, but it is not limited to this, and other non-volatile storage units such as flash memory may also be provided. Furthermore, the communication line interface unit 16G of the information processing device 16 is connected to the internal communication line 17 and transmits and receives various types of data with other devices connected to the internal communication line 17.

[0044] With the above configuration, the cloud server 14 according to this embodiment uses the CPU 14A to access the ROM 14B, RAM 14C, and HDD 14D, acquire various data via the keyboard 14E, and display various information on the display 14F. The cloud server 14 also uses the CPU 14A to control the transmission and reception of communication data via the communication line interface unit 14G. Note that the CPU 16A corresponds to an example of the first processor.

[0045] Next, the functional configuration of each part of the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment, which is configured as described above, will be explained. Figure 4 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of each part of the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0046] The information processing device 16 has the functions of an application 50, a printer driver 52, and a resident application 54, which are executed by the CPU 16A.

[0047] Applications 50 are various applications with printing capabilities that run on the information processing device 16. Examples include web browsers and text editors.

[0048] The printer driver 52, following instructions from application 50, creates print data as image data and passes it to the resident application 54.

[0049] The resident application 54 receives print data from the printer driver 52 and sends the print data to the image forming apparatus 12 in response to a request for print data acquisition from the cloud server 14. The resident application 54 also executes a process to save the print data to the local cache folder 56. When saving the print data to the local cache folder 56, the security of the print data is ensured by encrypting the print data before saving it, however, the process may be simplified by saving the data without encryption. Alternatively, the option to enable or disable encryption may be made available.

[0050] The cloud server 14 has the functions of a receiving unit 58 and a processing response unit 60, as the CPU 14A executes a program.

[0051] The receiving unit 58 receives processing information representing the processing details, such as print settings, and print data from the resident application 54. At this time, it establishes a WebSocket session and maintains a connection with the information processing device 16 until printing is complete. The processing information includes print settings such as the number of pages to print, image quality, and color / black and white specification, as well as the document name. The document name may be the original file name or the title of the web page, and varies depending on the application that is printing.

[0052] The processing response unit 60 responds to various requests, such as requests to obtain a processing list from the device application 64 of the image forming apparatus 12. The processing response unit 60 also receives a request for print data from the image forming apparatus 12 and transmits the request for print data to the information processing device 16 using a web socket.

[0053] The image forming apparatus 12 has the functions of an apparatus application 64 and an image forming platform 66, as the CPU 20A executes a program.

[0054] The device application 64 has functions for performing processes to display screens such as a list of processes on the user interface 22, as well as processes related to tokens, and functions for passing print data acquired from the cloud server 14 and the resident application 54 to the image forming platform.

[0055] The image forming platform 66 provides basic functions of the image forming apparatus 12, such as displaying information on the user interface 22 and forming images based on print data. For example, the image forming platform is composed of an API (Application Programming Interface).

[0056] Next, the processing pattern when printing with the image forming apparatus 12 in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing pattern when printing with the image forming apparatus 12 in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0057] In the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment, printing by the image forming apparatus 12 is possible using two types of processing patterns, pattern A and pattern B.

[0058] In this embodiment, if the information processing device 16 and the cloud server 14 can connect, printing is performed using pattern A; if the information processing device 16 cannot connect to the cloud server 14, printing is performed using pattern B.

[0059] In Pattern A, the information processing device 16 sends the print data and processing information, which includes information for forming the image represented by the print data, to the cloud server 14, and also saves the print data in its own local cache folder 56. When printing is performed by the image forming apparatus 12, the image forming apparatus 12 obtains the processing information from the cloud server 14 and obtains the print data from either the cloud server 14 or the information processing device 16 to print. In detail, when obtaining print data from the information processing device 16, the cloud server 14 requests the print data from the information processing device 16, and the information processing device 16 obtains the print data by sending the print data to the image forming apparatus 12. The timing of uploading the processing information and print data to the cloud server 14 and the timing of saving the print data to the information processing device 16 do not necessarily have to be simultaneous. For example, the information processing device 16 may save the print data after uploading the processing information and print data to the cloud server 14. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user operates the information processing device 16 to upload processing information and print data from the information processing device 16 to the cloud server 14, and after the print data is saved in the information processing device 16, the user moves in front of the image forming apparatus 12 and operates the user interface 22 to perform printing.

[0060] In Pattern B, the information processing device 16 directly transmits processing information and print data to the image forming apparatus 12, which then performs the printing. Alternatively, a Serverless OnDemand Print (SODP) service can be applied to enable printing from one image forming apparatus 12 to be output by another image forming apparatus 12, allowing printing to be performed by another available image forming apparatus 12 on the network. Furthermore, in Pattern B, when the information processing device 16 directly transmits processing information and print data to the image forming apparatus 12, short-range communication (for example, Wi-Fi® or Bluetooth®) may be used for transmission.

[0061] Furthermore, the timing of deletion of processing information and print data on the cloud server 14 when they are uploaded from the information processing device 16 to the cloud server 14 may be selectable. For example, users may be able to choose to confirm deletion during image formation, not delete, or delete after a predetermined time (e.g., 15 minutes). Additionally, the deletion deadline for print data may be selectable on a contract basis, such as for tenants. For example, users may be able to choose a period from 1 hour to 7 days on a contract basis.

[0062] Furthermore, the print data stored in the information processing device 16 may be deleted at a different time than the print data sent to the cloud server 14. Since the print data on the information processing device 16 is merely a cache, it may be deleted at a shorter interval than the cloud server 14. For example, the print data may be deleted by a predetermined operation of the information processing device 16. Specifically, as a predetermined operation, all print data may be deleted at the time of termination or start of the application 50 that manages the print data on the information processing device 16. As a result, all print data will be deleted upon logout, login, or restart. In addition to this, the data may also be deleted after a predetermined time has elapsed (for example, 5 minutes).

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processing pattern when printing with the image forming apparatus 12 can be set on the settings screen on the information processing apparatus 16. Figure 6 shows an example of the settings screen displayed on the information processing apparatus 16.

[0064] In the example in Figure 6, there are four possible pattern settings: pattern A only ("A only" in Figure 6), pattern B only ("B only" in Figure 6), pattern B if pattern A fails ("A→B" in Figure 6), and pattern A if pattern B fails ("B→A" in Figure 6). Figure 6 shows an example where "A→B" is selected.

[0065] Furthermore, the settings screen in Figure 6 allows you to configure the address of the cloud server 14 (server address in Figure 6), the address of the image forming apparatus 12 (MF machine address in Figure 6), and the network interface name.

[0066] Furthermore, it is possible to set a timeout value to determine if a processing pattern has failed, and if the time set by the timeout value has elapsed, it will be determined that the printing has failed.

[0067] Note that the server address, MF machine address, network interface name, and timeout value in Figure 6 are displayed when the administrator is performing operations, but may be hidden under normal circumstances.

[0068] Next, we will explain the general flow of processing performed in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment, which is configured as described above. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the flow when the image forming apparatus 12 acquires print data from the information processing apparatus 16 and prints in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment, in pattern A described above.

[0069] First, the user operates the application 50 on the information processing device 16 to instruct it to print.

[0070] When a print command is issued, the printer driver 52 generates print data and passes it to the resident application. The resident application 54 then sends the print data and processing information to the cloud server 14 and saves the print data to the local cache folder 56 of the device. When sending the print data and processing information to the cloud server 14, the information processing device 16 and the cloud server 14 establish a WebSocket session. WebSocket is a communication standard for bidirectional communication between the web browser of the information processing device 16 and the web server running on the cloud server 14. By establishing a communication session using this standard, bidirectional communication becomes possible between the information processing device 16 and the cloud server 14.

[0071] When printing, the user moves to the image forming apparatus 12 and operates the user interface 22 of the image forming apparatus 12 to obtain a list of jobs from the cloud server 14. A job refers to a process or a set of processes that the image forming apparatus 12 executes to achieve a predetermined function.

[0072] When a user operates the user interface 22 of the image forming apparatus 12 and selects the target job from the job list, the apparatus application of the image forming apparatus 12 sends a request for print data and a job identifier to the cloud server 14. The job identifier corresponds to an example of an identifier for identifying print data.

[0073] On the cloud server 14, the processing response unit 60 receives a request for print data from the image forming apparatus 12, issues a token corresponding to the job identifier of the requested print data using a communication path established using the WebSocket protocol, and sends the request for print data to the information processing device 16 with the token attached.

[0074] When the information processing device 16 receives a request for print data from the cloud server 14, the resident application 54 responds to the request from the cloud server 14 to acquire print data and sends the print data to the image forming apparatus 12.

[0075] As a result, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires and verifies the print data and token, and then performs printing.

[0076] Next, we will describe the specific processing flow in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0077] First, we will explain the processing flow when uploading print data to the cloud server 14 when printing using pattern A. Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow when uploading print data to the cloud server 14 when printing using pattern A in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0078] When a user operates the information processing device 16 to configure print settings in application 50 and issues a print command, application 50 sends the configured print settings to the printer driver 52 and issues a command to create print data.

[0079] The printer driver 52 responds to a print data creation instruction from the application by sending print settings to the resident application 54 and performing a print data creation event to create the print data.

[0080] The resident application 54 checks the pattern settings from the print settings sent from the printer driver 52, and if the setting is to use only pattern A, or to use pattern B if pattern A is not available, it performs the following processing.

[0081] In other words, the resident application 54 performs user authentication with the cloud server 14. If authenticated, it sends processing information, including the document name and print settings, along with the print data, to the cloud server 14. The resident application 54 also encrypts the print data and saves it to the local cache folder 56 of its own device, and notifies the user that processing is complete. When sending the print data and processing information to the cloud server 14, the information processing device 16 and the cloud server 14 establish communication using a WebSocket. After sending the processing information to the cloud server 14, it is either deleted without being saved, or partially deleted. An example of partially deleted processing information is, for example, the document ID.

[0082] Next, we will describe the processing flow when, after processing information and print data have been uploaded to the cloud server 14, the image forming apparatus 12 acquires processing information from the cloud server 14 using pattern A and acquires print data from the information processing device 16. Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment when, after processing information and print data have been uploaded to the cloud server 14, the image forming apparatus 12 uses pattern A, and the image forming apparatus 12 acquires processing information from the cloud server 14 and acquires print data from the information processing device 16.

[0083] When a user moves in front of the image forming apparatus 12 and operates the user interface 22 to launch the apparatus application 64, the apparatus application 64 requests a list of document names from the cloud server 14.

[0084] The cloud server 14, in response to a request from the device application 64 for a list of document names, returns a list of document names to the processing response unit 60.

[0085] When a user operates the user interface 22 to select a document name and issues a print command, the device application 64 sends the selected document information, job identifier, and address information of the image forming apparatus 12 to the cloud server 14. Note that the print settings may be changed as appropriate when selecting the document name.

[0086] When the receiving unit 58 of the cloud server 14 receives document information, a job identifier, and the address information of the image forming apparatus 12 from the device application 64, the processing response unit 60 updates the job status to indicate that it is time to acquire print data. As a result, the processing response unit 60 issues a token as the job identifier and requests print data with the token from the resident application 54. The processing response unit 60 also sends the token issued as the job identifier to the device application 64 of the image forming apparatus 12.

[0087] When the resident application 54 receives a request for tokenized print data and the address information of the image forming apparatus 12 from the cloud server 14, it performs a connection check with the device application 64 of the image forming apparatus 12 based on this address information.

[0088] If the connection between the image forming apparatus 12 and the information processing apparatus 16 is confirmed, the resident application 54 requests print data to the local cache folder 56. On the other hand, if the connection between the image forming apparatus 12 and the information processing apparatus 16 cannot be confirmed, the cloud server 14 is notified of the connection failure. As a result, the cloud server 14 sends the print data to the image forming apparatus 12, and the apparatus application 64 acquires the image data.

[0089] The local cache folder 56 sends the requested print data to the resident application 54.

[0090] The resident application 54 decrypts the encrypted print data obtained from the local cache folder 56. The resident application 54 also sends the token and the decrypted print data to the device application 64.

[0091] The device application 64 verifies the token. That is, it checks if it matches the job identifier of the job specified in the device application 64, and if it matches, it issues a print command to the image forming platform 66. As a result, the image forming platform 66 prints by forming an image based on the print data. Note that until the token verification by the device application 64 is complete, print requests from other users may be held in abeyance.

[0092] Thus, in the image forming system 10 according to this embodiment, the request for print data stored in the local cache folder 56 of the information processing device 16 is made from the cloud server 14, rather than from the image forming apparatus 12. As a result, the information processing device 16 does not need to be in a state where it is always accepting data acquisition requests from the image forming apparatus 12, and security is improved compared to the case where the information processing device 16 is always in a state where it is accepting acquisition requests.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the information processing device 16 obtains print data requests from the cloud server 14 using WebSockets, but this is not the only option. For example, the resident application 54 of the information processing device 16 may obtain the job status and confirm that it is time to obtain print data, such as by periodically communicating with the cloud server 14 using polling or maintaining a connection with the cloud server 14 using long polling, thereby obtaining the print data request and sending the print data to the image forming apparatus 12.

[0094] Furthermore, while the above embodiment illustrates a configuration in which the response processing unit 60 of the cloud server 14 issues a token to identify a job, the system is not limited to this configuration. When a print instruction is given in the device application 64 of the image forming apparatus 12, a token to identify the print job is issued based on this print instruction, and the token is sent to the cloud server 14 along with a request for print data to be sent to the cloud server 14, which then sends it to the resident application 54 of the information processing device 15.

[0095] Furthermore, although the CPU was described as an example of a processor in the above embodiment, the term "processor" refers to a broader term that includes general-purpose processors (such as CPUs) and specialized processors (such as GPUs: Graphics Processing Units, ASICs: Application Specific Integrated Circuits, FPGAs: Field Programmable Gate Arrays, and programmable logic devices).

[0096] Furthermore, the operation of the processor in the above embodiments may not be performed by a single processor, but may be performed by multiple processors located in physically separate locations working together. Also, the order of the processor operations is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments, but may be changed as appropriate.

[0097] Furthermore, the processing performed in each part of the image forming system 10 according to the above embodiment may be performed by software, by hardware, or by a combination of both. Also, the processing performed in each part of the image forming system 10 may be stored as a program on a storage medium and distributed.

[0098] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it is of course possible to implement it in various modified forms without departing from its spirit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0099] 10 Image Forming Systems 12 Image forming apparatus 14 Cloud Servers 16 Information Processing Devices 16A CPU 20A CPU 54 Resident Applications 56 Local Cache Folder 64 Device Applications 66 Image Forming Platform

Claims

1. The processor comprises, When an instruction to form an image is received for the image forming apparatus, the image data and processing information including information for forming the image represented by the image data are sent to the server, and the image data is stored in the apparatus. The server receives a request to transmit the image data, which includes an identifier for identifying the image data and address information of the image forming apparatus. An information processing device that, when the server requests the transmission of the image data, identifies the image data stored in the device that corresponds to the identifier based on the identifier, and controls the transmission of the identified image data to the image forming apparatus identified based on the address information.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor establishes communication with the server via a web socket and receives a request from the server to transmit the image data including the identifier and the address information.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor establishes a WebSocket session when transmitting the image data and the processing information to the server.

4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processor receives a request from the server to transmit the image data with an identifier that identifies the image data, and transmits the identifier and the image data to an image forming apparatus.

5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processor, when transmitting the image data to the image forming apparatus, checks the connection with the image forming apparatus and transmits the image data to the image forming apparatus if a connection is possible.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processor notifies the server that it is not possible to connect to the image forming apparatus if it is not possible to connect to the image forming apparatus.

7. The processor comprises, Processing information, including information for forming the image represented by the image data, is obtained from the server. Based on the processing information, a request for image formation is received, and in response to the request for image formation, if the image data is to be obtained from the server, a request for the acquisition of the image data is sent to the server, and if the image data is to be obtained from the information processing device, a request for the transmission of the image data and the address information of the image forming device are sent to the server. An image forming apparatus that receives the image data from the server or the information processing apparatus and controls the apparatus to perform image formation using the received image data and the processing information.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processor sends a request to the server to send the image data, assigns an identifier to identify the image data, receives the image data with the identifier from the information processing apparatus, and controls the image forming apparatus to perform image forming when the identifier sent to the server matches the identifier received from the information processing apparatus.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processor suspends other users' image forming requests until verification of the matching of the identifier is completed.

10. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the processor receives the image data from the server if it cannot receive the image data from the information processing device.

11. Information processing equipment and Image forming apparatus and A server that can be connected to each of the aforementioned information processing apparatus and the aforementioned image forming apparatus, Equipped with, The information processing device comprises a first processor, When an instruction to form an image is received for the image forming apparatus, the image data and processing information including information for forming the image represented by the image data are sent to the server, and the image data is stored in the apparatus. The server receives a request to transmit the image data, which includes an identifier for identifying the image data and address information of the image forming apparatus. When the server requests the transmission of the image data, the device identifies the image data associated with the identifier from the image data stored in the device based on the identifier, and performs control to transmit the identified image data to the image forming apparatus identified based on the address information. The image forming apparatus includes a second processor, The second processor is, The processing information is obtained from the server, Based on the processing information, the system receives a request for image formation. In response to the request for image formation, if the system obtains the image data from the server, it requests the server to obtain the image data. If the system obtains the image data from the information processing device, it sends a request to transmit the image data and the address information of the image forming device to the server. The system receives the image data from the server or the information processing device and controls the system to perform image formation using the received image data and the processing information. Image forming system.

12. On the computer, When an instruction to form an image is received for the image forming apparatus, the image data and processing information including information for forming the image represented by the image data are sent to the server, and the image data is stored in the apparatus. The server receives a request to transmit the image data, which includes an identifier for identifying the image data and address information of the image forming apparatus. An information processing program that, when the server requests the transmission of the image data, identifies the image data stored in the device that corresponds to the identifier based on the identifier, and controls the transmission of the identified image data to the image forming apparatus identified based on the address information.

13. On the computer, Processing information, including information for forming the image represented by the image data, is obtained from the server. Based on the processing information, a request for image formation is received, and in response to the request for image formation, if the image data is to be obtained from the server, a request for the acquisition of the image data is sent to the server, and if the image data is to be obtained from the information processing device, a request for the transmission of the image data and the address information of the image forming device are sent to the server. An image forming program that receives the image data from the server or the information processing device and performs control to form an image using the received image data and the processing information.

Images