Patent Application
20190286391
The present invention relates to an information processing terminal, a method of controlling the same, a storage medium, and an image forming apparatus.
There is a “print reservation” in which, when a print reservation job for which a print start time is designated to an image forming apparatus from a printer driver installed on an information processing terminal or the like is inputted, the image forming apparatus starts the printing at the designated time. The purpose of a “print reservation” is to perform printing so not to impede another user by designating a print start time to be the middle of the night or during a lunch break when a user desires mass printing.
Meanwhile, in a case where a print reservation job is executed at a time when a user is absent, such as in the middle of the night, it is not possible to complete the job in the case where a user action is necessary during the job. For example, when a print job exceeds a maximum number of contained sheets that can be stored in the paper feed tray of the image forming apparatus or a maximum number of stacked sheets of a discharge tray, if the printing stops part way through and the sheets that are stacked on the tray are not removed by a user, it will not be possible for the subsequent processing to be continued, and printing will not be completed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-203089 proposes a technique in which, when a print job is sent from a printer driver, if a processing load (for example, the number of print sheets) is greater than or equal to a threshold set in advance, a warning message for confirming whether or not data to be printed is correct is displayed to the user. With this, unnecessary printing is prevented.
However, there is a problem as is recited below in the foregoing conventional technique. For example, in the foregoing conventional technique, since the maximum number of contained sheets that can be stored in the paper feed tray and the maximum number of stacked sheets of the discharge tray differ depending on the image forming apparatus, it is not possible to determine whether or not printing will stop during job processing by a determination according to a threshold that is set in advance. In other words, in the foregoing conventional technique, the objective is to prevent unnecessary printing, and the threshold is set from the perspective of the administrator or user without consideration of the processing capability of the apparatus. Thus, even in a case where a warning message is given, there are cases in which printing does not stop during processing of the job, and even in a case where a warning message is not given, there are cases in which printing does stop during the processing of the job.
The present invention enables realization of a mechanism for determining whether or not printing will stop during processing of a job based on the processing capabilities of an image forming apparatus, and warning the user who inputted the job thereof.
One aspect of the present invention provides an information processing terminal operable to input a print job into an image forming apparatus, the terminal comprising: an acceptance unit that accepts a print job to be inputted into the image forming apparatus via a user operation; a memory device that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to: obtain capability information of the image forming apparatus, and in a case where a total number of print sheets for when the accepted print job will be processed exceeds a maximum number of print sheets that can be processed without the image forming apparatus requiring user action, output a warning message that includes that user action will be required, wherein the maximum number of print sheets is included in the obtained capability information.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling an information processing terminal operable to input a print job into an image forming apparatus, the method comprising: accepting a print job to be inputted into the image forming apparatus via a user operation; obtaining capability information of the image forming apparatus; and in a case where a total number of print sheets for when the accepted print job will be processed exceeds a maximum number of print sheets that can be processed without the image forming apparatus requiring user action, outputting a warning message that includes that user action will be required wherein the maximum number of print sheets is included in the obtained capability information.
Still another aspect of the present invention provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute each step in a method for controlling an information processing apparatus operable to input a print job into an image forming apparatus, the method comprising: accepting a print job to be inputted into the image forming apparatus via a user operation; obtaining capability information of the image forming apparatus; and in a case where a total number of print sheets for when the accepted print job will be processed exceeds a maximum number of print sheets that can be processed without the image forming apparatus requiring user action, outputting a warning message that includes that user action will be required wherein the maximum number of print sheets is included in the obtained capability information.
Yet still another aspect of the present invention provides an image forming apparatus, comprising: an acceptance unit that accepts a print job via a user operation; a memory device that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to: in a case where a total number of print sheets for when the print job accepted by the acceptance unit will be processed exceeds a maximum number of print sheets that the image forming apparatus can process without requiring user action, output a warning message that includes that user action will be required.
Further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the relative arrangement of the components, the numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.
Below, description will be given for a first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, description will be given for a control method in an information processing terminal for when transmitting, from the information processing terminal to an image forming apparatus, a print job (hereinafter, referred to as a print reservation job) for which a print start time (hereinafter, referred to as a reservation time) is designated. Note that, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the configurations described below, and, for example, configuration may be taken to perform some of the processing that is performed in the information processing terminal in the image forming apparatus. For example, in a case where a user inputs a print job via a user interface provided in the image forming apparatus, all of the processes that are described below end up being performed on the image forming apparatus.
<System Configuration>
First, with reference to
<Configuration of Information Processing Terminal>
Next, with reference to
The CPU 201 is a central processing unit that executes information processing when controlling characteristic processing of the present invention. The RAM 202 is a memory for providing a work area of the CPU 201. The auxiliary storage apparatus 203 is a storage apparatus (a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or the like) that provides a control program in the present embodiment.
The image display apparatus 204 is a display unit (specifically, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or the like) that is used for notifying the user of a message. The input apparatus 205 is a user interface that accepts user operations and inputs commands (specifically, a mouse, a keyboard, or the like). The NIC 206 is a network interface card (NIC) for transmitting and receiving data with respect to another network device via the LAN 105.
<Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus>
Next, with reference to
The CPU 301 is a central processing unit that executes information processing when controlling the image forming apparatus 111. The RAM 302 is a memory for providing a work area for the CPU 301 and for temporarily storing data. The auxiliary storage apparatus 303 is a storage apparatus used for temporarily storing data and is used in place of the RAM 302 (a hard disk, a CD-ROM, or the like).
The image display apparatus 304 is a display unit such as a touch panel, and displays the status of an image forming apparatus, error messages, and the like. The input apparatus 305 is a user interface of a touch panel for a user to input commands, and is used by the user for operations such as designation of a desired print job. The NIC 306 is a network interface card for transmitting and receiving data bidirectionally with respect to another network device via the LAN 105.
The print unit 307 prints image data read by the read unit 308 or image data received from an external apparatus onto a sheet. The read unit 308 is a scanner for scanning a paper original placed on an original platen and generating black and white binary or color multi-valued image data. The read image data can be printed by the print unit 307 as is, or stored in the auxiliary storage apparatus 303 and then printed at a particular timing.
The device I/F 310 is connected to the read unit 308 and the print unit 307, and controls data transmission/reception with respect to each of these units. The timer 313 is a timer for performing timing management, and is used for a timing determination when printing a print reservation job at a print start time, for example.
<Software Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus>
Next, with reference to
When performing printing from the application 401 in relation to the image forming apparatus 111, rendering data is outputted by using a graphics engine 402 that similarly can be loaded into the RAM 202 and executed. Here, description is given using the Windows (registered trademark) OS of Microsoft Corporation USA. On Windows (registered trademark), a graphics engine 402 of the OS is typically referred to as a GDI (Graphics Device Interface). The application 401 outputs rendering data referred to as a GDI function to the GDI which is the graphics engine.
The graphics engine 402 similarly loads a printer driver 403 that is prepared for each image forming apparatus into the RAM 202 from the auxiliary storage apparatus 203. After that, the graphics engine 402 converts the output of the GDI function from the application 401 into a DDI (Device Driver Interface) function based on a library, and outputs the DDI function to the printer driver 403. Next, the printer driver 403, based on the DDI function accepted from the graphics engine 402, converts a control command that the printer can recognize into, for example, PDL (Page Description Language). The printer control command resulting from the conversion is outputted as print data to the image forming apparatus 111 through the LAN 105 via the system spooler 404 which is loaded into the RAM 202 by the OS.
Additionally, in the system of the present embodiment, there is a configuration for spooling print data from the application 401 in temporarily intermediate code data. In a case of temporarily spooling, the printer driver 403 converts PDL into intermediate code in units of pages and sends the intermediate code to the spooler 405, and the spooler 405 stores the intermediate code as a spool file 406. By storing intermediate data in units of pages in the spool file 406, it becomes possible to count the number of logical pages of the print job, and to calculate the total number of print sheets in accordance with print settings.
This intermediate code spool file stored in units of pages is referred to as a page description file (PDF). Also, the spooler 405 obtains print settings (print reservation, paper feed unit, discharge destination, N-up, double-sided) related to print data set in relation to the printer driver 403 from the printer driver 403, and stores the settings in the spool file 406 as a file for each job. A setting file stored for each job is referred to as a job setting file (simplified to SDF: Spool Description File). Regarding print settings for print data, an operator makes settings of the printer driver 403 in advance, prior to a print instruction from an application.
Also, the printer driver 403 functions as a capability acquisition unit, and transmits a request to obtain capability information of the image forming apparatus 111 to the image forming apparatus 111 via the LAN 105. The image forming apparatus 111, in response to the request to obtain the capability information from the printer driver 403, transmits to the printer driver 403 information related to a maximum number of print sheets that can be processed as the capability information. Here, the maximum number of print sheets includes information of a maximum number of contained sheets of a paper feed tray (paper feed cassette) and a maximum number of stacked sheets of a discharge tray, and is a maximum value of the number of sheets that can be printed continuously without a user replenishing the paper feed tray with sheets or removing sheets that have been printed and are stacked on a discharge tray.
Next, with reference to
When a user presses an OK button 908 on the designation screen 900, the printer driver 403, in a case where the output method is print, transmits a print job to the image forming apparatus 111 through the LAN 105 via the system spooler 404. Meanwhile, in a case where the output method is print reservation, the printer driver 403 temporarily stores intermediate data via the spooler 405 in the spool file 406, and performs a calculation of the total number of print sheets. In a case where the total number of print sheets of the print job does not exceed the maximum capability of the image forming apparatus 111, the printer driver 403 transmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 111 via the system spooler 404 and the LAN 105. Meanwhile, in a case where the total number of print sheets of the print job exceeds the maximum capability of the image forming apparatus 111, the printer driver 403 displays a warning screen on the image display apparatus 204.
<Processing for Generating Print Data>
Next, with reference to
In step S501, the CPU 201 accepts an instruction to print from a user via the application 401. For example, upon the OK button 908 of the designation screen 900 being pressed, a print job transmitted from the information processing terminal 101 is received. Next, in step S502, the CPU 201 references the output method in the print setting information set on the designation screen 900, and determines whether or not the output method is print reservation. In a case where the output method is print reservation, the processing advances to step S503, and in cases other than print reservation, the processing advances to step S513.
In step S503, the CPU 201 performs a count of the number of logical pages of the print data, and the processing advances to step S504. Details of the method for counting the number of logical pages are described later. In step S504, the CPU 201 performs a count of the total number of print sheets of the print data, and the processing advances to step S505. Details of the method of counting the total number of print sheets are described later. Here, the count value of the total number of print sheets is made to be Z. The total number of print sheets Z is assumed to be something that the printer driver 403 stores in the RAM 202 or the auxiliary storage apparatus 203, and can reference at any time.
In step S505, the CPU 201 obtains the maximum capability information of the image forming apparatus 111, and advances to step S506. Details of the method of obtaining the maximum capability information of the image forming apparatus 111 are described later. Next, in step S506, the CPU 201 performs a comparison to determine whether or not the total number of print sheets Z of the print data exceeds the maximum number of contained sheets of the image forming apparatus 111. In the case where the result of the comparison is that the total number of print sheets Z of the print data exceeds the maximum number of contained sheets of the image forming apparatus 111, the processing advances to step S508, and in the case where the total number of print sheets Z does not exceed the maximum number of contained sheets, the processing advances to step S507.
In step S508, the CPU 201 performs a comparison to determine whether or not the total number of print sheets Z of the print data exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets of the image forming apparatus, and in the case where the result of the comparison is that the total number of print sheets Z exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets, the processing advances to step S509, and as illustrated in the warning screen 1020 of
Meanwhile, in step S507, the CPU 201, similarly to step S508, performs a comparison to determine whether or not the total number of print sheets Z of the print data exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets of the image forming apparatus, and in the case where the result of the comparison is that the total number of print sheets Z exceeds the maximum number of stacked sheets, the processing advances to step S511, and in the case where the total number of print sheets Z does not exceed the maximum number of stacked sheets, the processing advances to step S513. In step S511, the CPU 201, as illustrated in the warning screen 1010 of
In step S512, the CPU 201 accepts from the user a press of the button 1001, 1011, or 1021 for “YES” or the button 1002, 1012, or 1022 for “NO” regarding whether or not to continue printing. In a case where a “NO” button press is accepted, a process for generating print data is ended. Meanwhile, in a case where a “YES” button press is accepted, the processing advances to step S513.
In step S513, the CPU 201 converts intermediate data of a print job that is outputted from the application 401 or stored in the spool file 406 into PDL data to thereby generate print data, and then advances to step S514. In step S514, the CPU 201 transmits print data to the image forming apparatus 111 via the system spooler 404, and ends the processing of this flowchart.
<Number of Logical Pages Count Processing>
Next, with reference to
In step S601, the printer driver 403 accepts input of a print request via the graphics engine 402 from the application 401. In a case where the printer driver 403 accepts a print request, the printer driver 403 advances to step S602, and determines whether or not the accepted print request is a request to start a print job. In the case of a request to start a print job, the processing advances to step S603. In the case where the print request is not a request to start a print job, the processing advances to step S605.
In step S603, the printer driver 403, via the spooler 405, generates an intermediate data file in the spool file 406, and advances to step S604. In step S604, the printer driver 403 executes an initialization of a counter of the number of logical pages of print data, and returns to step S601. In step S605, the printer driver 403 determines whether or not the accepted print request is a request to end the print job, and in the case of an end request, the processing advances to step S606. In step S606, the printer driver 403 determines that the spooling process of the print job has ended, closes the spool file, and ends the processing of this flowchart.
Meanwhile, in a case where the accepted print request is not an end request in step S605, the processing advances to step S607. In step S607, the printer driver 403 performs a determination as to whether or not the accepted print request is a page break, and in the case of a page break, the processing advances to step S608, and in the case where the print request is not a page break, the processing advances to step S609. In step S608, the printer driver 403 increases the counter of the number of logical pages by one, returns to step S601, and accepts the next print request. Meanwhile, in step S609, the printer driver 403 performs a conversion into intermediate data in order to store the print request in the spool file 406, and the processing advances to step S610. In step S610, the printer driver 403, via the spooler 405, stores the intermediate data in the spool file 406, and returns to step S601.
The foregoing is processing for counting the number of logical pages in the print data. A number of logical pages counter is assumed to be something that the printer driver 403 stores in the RAM 202 or the auxiliary storage apparatus 203, and can reference at any time.
<Processing for Counting Total Number of Print Sheets>
Next, with reference to
In step S701, the printer driver 403 references the number of logical pages for print data stored in the RAM 202 or the auxiliary storage apparatus 203 and holds that number. The number of logical pages held here is assumed to be R. After step S701, the processing advances to step S702, and the printer driver 403 determines whether or not an N-up setting for collectively printing a plurality of pages on a single sheet is set in the print job settings. In a case where the N-up setting has been made, the processing advances to step S703, and in the case where the N-up setting has not been made, the processing advances to step S704.
In step S703, the printer driver 403 overwrites the number of logical pages R with a number resulting from dividing R by N, and the printer driver 403 holds the result, and advances to step S704. In step S704, the printer driver 403 determines whether or not a double-sided setting has been made in the print job settings, and in the case where a double-sided setting has been made, advances to step S705, and in a case where a double-sided setting has not been made, advances to step S706. In step S705, the printer driver 403 overwrites R with a number resulting from dividing R by 2, and the printer driver 403 holds the result, and advances to step S706.
In step S706, the printer driver 403 multiplies the number of copies set in the print job by R, and makes the result the total number of print sheets of the print job, and stores it in the RAM 202 or the auxiliary storage apparatus 203.
The foregoing is processing for counting the total number of print sheets in the print data. The total number of print sheets is assumed to be something that the printer driver 403 stores in the RAM 202 or the auxiliary storage apparatus 203, and can reference at any time.
<Processing for Obtaining Image Forming Apparatus Capability Information>
Next, with reference to
In step S801, the printer driver 403, transmits a request to obtain capability information via the LAN 105 to the image forming apparatus 111, and advances the processing to step S802. In step S802, the printer driver 403 determines whether or not a response from the image forming apparatus 111 was received. In a case where a response from the image forming apparatus 111 was received, the processing advances to step S803, and in the case where there is no response, a response is awaited in step S802.
In step S803, the printer driver 403, based on the obtained capability information, obtains the maximum capability information of the image forming apparatus. For example, in the print job setting, the maximum number of contained sheets and the maximum number of stacked sheets are as follows in the case where the print paper size is set to A3 and the paper feed unit is set to automatic, and the discharge tray 2 is set for the discharge destination. For example, in a case where the capability information of the image forming apparatus illustrated in
Also, here, configuration is such that capability information of the image forming apparatus when the print job is executed is obtained. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and for example, configuration may be such that when adding the printer driver 403 to the auxiliary storage apparatus 203, capability information of the corresponding image forming apparatus 111 is obtained, and stored in the RAM 202 or the auxiliary storage apparatus 203 in advance. In such a case, at the time of execution of the print job, it is possible to refer to the stored information without obtaining capability information, and it is possible to perform more high-speed processing.
As described above, the information processing terminal according to the present embodiment accepts a print job inputted into the image forming apparatus via the user operation and obtains capability information of the image forming apparatus. Also, the information processing terminal compares the total number of print sheets for when the accepted print job will be processed and the maximum number of print sheets that the image forming apparatus can process without requiring user action, which is included in the obtained capability information. Furthermore, the information processing terminal, in the case where the result of the comparison is that the total number of print sheets exceeds the maximum number of print sheets, outputs a warning message including that user action will be necessary. In this way, by virtue of the present embodiment, in the case where the total number of print sheets of a print job exceeds the maximum number of contained sheets or the maximum number of stacked sheets of the image forming apparatus, it becomes possible to display a warning message as illustrated in the warning screens 1000, 1010, and 1020. Thus, it is possible to determine whether or not to stop printing during processing of a job based on the processing capabilities of the image forming apparatus and to output a warning message suitable to a user who inputted the job, and thereby the user can know that the print reservation job will stop in the middle of printing. With this, it becomes possible to prevent a print reservation job being started when a user is absent and the print stopping part way through, and the print not being completed.
<Variation>
The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, and various variations are possible. For example, in the foregoing embodiments, control of whether or not to display a warning message or the like only in the case of a print reservation job is performed, but configuration may be taken to perform the warning even when a normal print job is inputted. Note that configuration may be taken to decide whether or not to perform control as described above even for a normal print job in accordance with a setting by an administrator. In such a case, configuration may be taken to control so as to enable setting on each image forming apparatus.
Below, description will be given for a second embodiment of the present invention. In the above-described first embodiment, a comparison of the total number of print sheets of the print data and the capability information of the image forming apparatus was performed, but in the present embodiment, configuration is such that the image forming apparatus obtains information of already received print reservation jobs, and performs a comparison against the total number of print sheets considering the number of print sheets of the already received print reservation jobs that may affect the print reservation job. The internal configuration and software of the information processing terminal 101 and the configuration of the image forming apparatus 111 are similar to in the foregoing first embodiment, and so description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, differences from the foregoing first embodiment are mainly described.
<Print Reservation Job Information>
With reference to
In the print reservation job information 1200, information of the total number of print sheets, the sheet size, the paper feed unit, the discharge destination, and the reserved time is included for each print reservation job that the image forming apparatus 111 received. For example, in the reserved job “job1”, the total number of print sheets is “100 sheets”, the sheet size is “A4”, and the designated paper feed unit is “cassette 1”, the discharge destination is “tray 1”, and the reserved time is “21:00”. In such a case, if the reserved time of the print job being inputted is later than “21:00”, execution will be after the reserved job “job1”, and therefore it will be necessary to consider the number of print sheets of the reserved job. In other words, for the total number of print sheets, it is necessary to compare the maximum number of contained sheets and the maximum number of stacked sheets adding the total number of print sheets 100 of the reserved job “job1” to the numbers of sheets of the print job to be inputted from the current time. Similarly, for other jobs, consideration is necessary. Note that consideration is not necessary in the case of different paper feed units and discharge destinations.
<Processing for Calculating Total Number of Print Sheets>
Next, with reference to
In step S1301, the printer driver 403 performs processing to count the number of logical pages of the print data, but since this processing is the same as step S503, description thereof is omitted. Next, in step S1302, the printer driver 403 performs processing to count the total number of print sheets of the print data, but since this processing is the same as step S504, description thereof is omitted. Here, the total number of print sheets counted in step S1302 is made to be Z.
Next, in step S1303, the printer driver 403 obtains the maximum capability information of the image forming apparatus, but since this is the same as step S505, description is omitted. Next, in step S1304, the printer driver 403, functioning as a reservation information obtaining unit, transmits a request to obtain print reservation job information that was received to the image forming apparatus 111 via the LAN 105, and advances to step S1305. In step S1305, the printer driver 403 determines whether or not a response of received print reservation job information was received from the image forming apparatus 111. In the case where a response was received, the processing advances to step S1306, and in the case where a response has not been received in step S1305, the processing returns to step S1305 and the response is awaited.
In step S1306, the printer driver 403 determines from the obtained received print reservation job information whether there is a print reservation job that is prior to the reservation time designated in the print data, where the print reservation job uses the same paper feed unit and the same discharge tray for the same sheet size. If so, it is determined that there is an already reserved print job that will have an effect, and the processing advances to step S1307; if not, the processing of this flowchart is ended. In step S1307, the printer driver 403 adds the total number of print sheets of the received print reservation job to the total number of print sheets Z held in step S1302, overwrites Z, and ends the processing of this flowchart. Since the processing to display a warning message using the total number of print sheets Z stored in the processing of this flowchart is the same as the processing from step S506 of
As described above, the information processing terminal according to the present embodiment, when a print reservation job is inputted into an image forming apparatus, obtains information of print jobs that were already reserved on the image forming apparatus, and performs a display of a warning message or the like considering the number of print sheets of these print reservation jobs. Accordingly, it is possible to display a warning message in a case where the print data transmitted from the information processing terminal 101 does not exceed the maximum number of contained sheets of the image forming apparatus 111 or the maximum number of stacked sheets of the discharge tray but that will exceed one of them in combination with the already received print reservation jobs.
Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-051522 filed on Mar. 19, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-051522 | Mar 2018 | JP | national |
