JP6206291B2 - Image processing system, relay device, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system, a relay device, and a program.

  As a prior art described in the publication, for example, Patent Document 1 includes an interface (proxy) for relaying a print service and an image forming apparatus and communicating with each print service for each print service and for each user. It is disclosed to provide a print relay server for registering an alternative virtual printer.

JP 2013-012066 A

  An object of the present invention is to enable a user to easily identify a non-compatible device that does not support a specific protocol used by a terminal device on the terminal device side.

The invention according to claim 1 forms an image on a recording medium and communicates with a non-compliant device that cannot communicate using a specific protocol, communicates with the non-compliant device, and communicates with a terminal device using the specific protocol. and a one-compatible device that performs the corresponding machine, the registration means registers the identification information for discriminating the non-corresponding machine, with respect to the non-corresponding machine registered by the registration unit, the non Notification means for notifying the determination information corresponding to the compatible device, and transmission means for transmitting the determination information corresponding to the non-compatible device to the terminal device based on an inquiry from the terminal device using the specific protocol. And the non-compatible device includes display means for displaying the discrimination information notified from the notification means of the compatible device.
The invention according to claim 2 includes a plurality of the corresponding devices, and each transmission unit of the plurality of corresponding devices has a plurality of the corresponding devices based on an inquiry from the terminal device using the specific protocol. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit of one of the compatible devices transmits the determination information corresponding to one non-compatible device to the terminal device.
According to a third aspect of the invention, includes a plurality of said corresponding machine, the non-corresponding machine, the determination information is already notified information one of said of what has been notified from said notifying means of the other said corresponding machine It has a notification information transmitting means for transmitting to a compatible device, and the registration means of one of the compatible devices does not store the registration of the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compatible device when the notification information is received. The image processing system according to claim 1.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the corresponding device has power information transmission means for transmitting power-off information related to the power-off state of the own device, and the notification information transmission means of the non-compatible device includes the power supply information. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the notification information based on the determination information notified by the corresponding device that transmitted the off information is not transmitted.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the notifying unit of one compatible device is configured to apply the non-compatible device registered by the registration unit to the non-compatible device based on the power-off information of the other compatible device. The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein the discrimination information corresponding to a compatible machine is notified.
The invention according to claim 6 includes a plurality of the corresponding devices, and the corresponding devices transmit the discrimination information to the other corresponding devices with respect to the non-compatible devices registered by the registration unit. Transmission monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the transmission device of the corresponding device transmits the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compatible device based on the monitoring of the transmission monitoring device. An image processing system according to claim 1.
The invention according to claim 7 has communication monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the corresponding machine can communicate with the non-compliant machine that is transmitting by the transmission means, 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit does not transmit the corresponding determination information to the incompatible device that cannot perform communication.
The invention according to claim 8 communicates with a non-compliant device that cannot communicate using a specific protocol, and communicates with a terminal device using the specific protocol, and is displayed on the non-compliant device. And registration means for registering discrimination information for discriminating the non-compliant device, and notification means for notifying the non-compliant device registered by the registration means of the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compliant device And a transmission means for transmitting the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compatible device to the terminal device based on an inquiry from the terminal device using the specific protocol.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the relay device communicates with a plurality of non-compliant devices that cannot form an image on a recording medium and cannot perform communication using a specific protocol, and communicate with the terminal device using the specific protocol. A function for registering discrimination information that is displayed on the non-compliant machine and for judging the non-compliant machine, and that corresponds to the non-compliant machine for the registered non-compliant machine A program for realizing a function of notifying discrimination information and a function of transmitting the discrimination information corresponding to the incompatible device to the terminal device based on an inquiry from the terminal device using the specific protocol.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible for the user to easily discriminate on the terminal device side a non-compatible device that does not support the specific protocol used by the terminal device, as compared with the case where the present invention is not adopted. become.
According to the invention of claim 2, compared with the case where the present invention is not adopted, even when a plurality of compatible devices are included, one determination information for one non-compatible device is transmitted to the terminal device. Can do.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a plurality of compatible devices from notifying the non-compatible device redundantly.
According to the invention of claim 4, when the power of the corresponding device is turned off, the other corresponding device can notify the non-compatible device of the discrimination information.
According to the invention of claim 5, when the power of the corresponding device is turned off, the discrimination information notified from the other corresponding device can be displayed on the non-compatible device.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to transmit the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compatible device to which the discrimination information is not transmitted to the terminal device.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent transmission of discrimination information corresponding to a non-compatible device that cannot communicate.
According to the invention of claim 8, it is possible to provide a relay device that allows the user to easily discriminate on the terminal device side a non-compatible device that does not support the specific protocol used by the terminal device.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a program that allows the user to easily determine on the terminal device side a non-compatible device that does not support the specific protocol used by the terminal device.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a printing system in the present embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of hardware constitutions of the 1st printing device to which this embodiment is applied. (A) is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a print processing unit in the first printing apparatus, and (b) is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a power management unit in the first printing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a non-compatible machine information response unit in the first printing apparatus. (A) is a table showing an example of logical printer information, and (b) is a table showing an example of search response information. (A) is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a print processing unit in the second printing apparatus, and (b) is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a power management unit in the second printing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a logical printer name management unit in a second printing apparatus. It is the block diagram which showed the function structural example of the portable terminal. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an operation example of a printing system according to the first and second embodiments. 6 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure in which the first printing apparatus according to the first embodiment displays a logical printer name on the second printing apparatus and performs a search response. 10 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure for determining notification in the second printing apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing an outline of an operation example when a first printing apparatus that is performing a search response in Embodiment 3 is in a power-off state. 10 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure when the first printing apparatus that has made a search response in Embodiment 3 is in a power-off state. 10 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure when the first printing apparatus that has made a search response in Embodiment 3 is in a power-off state. 10 is a flowchart regarding a processing procedure of the first printing apparatus when the second printing apparatus is disconnected. 6 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure when the second printing apparatus is turned on.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Like AirPrint (registered trademark), every time printing is performed from a so-called mobile device (portable terminal), the mobile device searches for a printer (printing device) that can be used by the mobile device, and the printer obtained by the search A wireless print system that selects a printer to be used for printing from among mobile devices has been put into practical use. In such a wireless print system, generally, a mobile device uses a discovery protocol such as BONJOUR (registered trademark) for a printer connected to the same subnet as the mobile device or a printer connected to a network of a wider range. Is used to make a request (hereinafter referred to as a search request). Based on a response from the printer to the search request (hereinafter referred to as a search response), the names of usable printers are displayed in a list on a screen provided in the mobile device.

  Also, only printers that support BONJOUR and AirPrint (hereinafter referred to as compatible devices) can respond to search requests from mobile devices, and printers that do not support BONJOUR and AirPrint (hereinafter not compatible) Cannot be responded to a search request from a mobile device.

  Here, it is conceivable that the corresponding machine responds to the search request to the non-compliant machine on behalf of the non-compliant machine together with the search request response to itself. However, when this method is simply used, the name of the non-compliant device displayed on the terminal device is based on the response made by the non-compliant device on behalf of the non-compliant device. The name is different. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the user to grasp the correspondence between the name of the non-compliant device displayed on the terminal device and the non-compliant device near the user, for example.

Therefore, in each embodiment described below, the name is notified from the compatible device to the non-compatible device, and the name notified to the non-compatible device is displayed. Also, in the response that the compatible device performs on behalf of the non-compatible device, the name notified to the non-compatible device is sent and the name is displayed on the screen of the terminal device.
In each embodiment, as a name of a usable printer, a logical printer name as an example of discrimination information is used as a name arbitrarily given to a logical printer. Here, the logical printer is a virtual printer that is displayed on the screen of the terminal device, and prints out a job such as print data to the associated IP address when selected on the screen and receiving a print instruction. It is.
Hereinafter, a configuration for realizing the above-described function will be described in detail.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment.
This printing system has a function of forming an image and a first printing apparatus 1A, 1B (hereinafter also collectively referred to as “first printing apparatus 1”) as an example of a compatible machine compatible with AirPrint and BONJOUR, and an image And the second printing apparatuses 2A, 2B, and 2C (hereinafter also collectively referred to as “second printing apparatus 2”) as examples of non-compliant machines that are not compatible with AirPrint and BONJOUR. .
In addition, the printing system includes a network 4 that connects the first printing apparatus 1 and the second printing apparatus 2, and a portable terminal 3 as an example of a terminal apparatus that is compatible with AirPrint and BONJOUR and can communicate with the first printing apparatus 1. And have.

  Note that a plurality of portable terminals 3, a plurality of compatible devices, and a plurality of non-compatible devices can be connected on the network 4, but in FIG. 1, as an example, one portable terminal 3 and two The first printing apparatuses 1A, 1B are connected to three second printing apparatuses 2A, 2B, 2C.

  Each of the first printing apparatus 1 and the second printing apparatus 2 is a physical printer (image forming apparatus) that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper and outputs the image as a printing medium. The first printing device 1 and the second printing device 2 are shared printers in the company, for example. Here, as the first printing apparatus 1 and the second printing apparatus 2, those having only a print function may be used, but those having a copy function, a scan function, a facsimile function, etc. in addition to the print function are used. May be.

  Note that the network 4 shown in FIG. 1 is used for information communication between the first printing apparatus 1 and the second printing apparatus 2, and is configured by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network). In this example, the network 4 connecting the first printing apparatus 1 and the second printing apparatus 2 uses, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) as a communication protocol, and the first printing apparatus 1 and the portable terminal. In a network (referred to as another network) that connects to the network 3, an IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) as an example of a specific protocol is used as a communication protocol. Accordingly, the first printing apparatus 1 supports both TCP / IP and IPP, while the second printing apparatus 2 supports TCP / IP but does not support IPP. In this example, the network 4 is a wired network, and the other networks are wireless networks.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the first printing apparatus 1 to which the present embodiment is applied.
As shown in FIG. 2, the first printing apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 and a memory 102 composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). In addition, the first printing apparatus 1 performs communication between the storage device 103 configured by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) and an external device via the network 4 or another network. And a communication device 104 as an example of means. Further, the first printing apparatus 1 includes an input receiving unit 105 such as a mouse or a keyboard that receives an input operation from a user, and a display device 106 such as a display that displays various information. Note that a touch panel that performs an input operation and displays various information may be used as the input receiving unit 105 and the display device 106. In the first printing apparatus 1, each component is connected to each other via various buses such as a system bus and an input / output bus, and performs communication between the components.

  In the first printing apparatus 1, the CPU 101 controls the operation of the first printing apparatus 1 including image processing by executing processing based on the control program read from the memory 102 or the storage device 103. Note that the control program executed by the CPU 101 is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, for example, in addition to being stored in the memory 102 or the storage device 103 in advance, or provided to the CPU 101 or via the network 4. Or can be provided to the CPU 101.

The hardware configuration of the second printing apparatus 2 (see FIG. 1) is also the same as that of the first printing apparatus 1 described above. However, the communication device 104 provided in the second printing device 2 can perform communication through the network 4 but cannot perform communication through another network.
The hardware configuration of the portable terminal 3 (see FIG. 1) is the same as that of the first printing apparatus 1 and the second printing apparatus 2 described above except that a flash memory is provided as the storage device 103. However, the communication device 104 provided in the portable terminal 3 can perform communication through another network, but cannot perform communication through the network 4.

<First printing device>
FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the print processing unit 11 in the first printing apparatus 1, and FIG. 3B illustrates a functional configuration example of the power management unit 12 in the first printing apparatus 1. It is the block diagram which showed.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the non-compatible machine information response unit 13 in the first printing apparatus 1.
FIG. 5A is a table showing an example of logical printer information, and FIG. 5B is a table showing an example of search response information.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the first printing apparatus 1 includes a print processing unit 11 that processes print job data received from the network 4 or another network, and a power supply of the own apparatus. And a power management unit 12 for management. As shown in FIG. 4, the first printing apparatus 1 includes a non-compliant machine information response unit 13 that makes a search response on behalf of a non-compliant machine in response to a search request using BONJOUR from the mobile terminal 3. .

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the print processing unit 11 stores a job reception unit 111 that receives print job data, a job processing unit 112 that performs image processing on the print job data, and a storage based on the print job data. And an image forming unit 113 that forms an image on a medium. The print processing unit 11 includes a job transfer unit 114 that transfers print job data addressed to the second printing apparatus 2 to the second printing apparatus 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the job receiving unit 111 receives print job data sent from the outside via the communication device 104 (see FIG. 2). Then, the job receiving unit 111 passes the print job data to the job processing unit 112. In addition, if the destination of the print job data sent from the mobile terminal 3 or the like is an incompatible machine (for example, the second printing apparatus 2), the job reception unit 111 passes the print job data to the job transfer unit 114.

The job processing unit 112 performs image processing on the print job data received from the job receiving unit 111 and passes the print job data to the image forming unit 113.
The image forming unit 113 forms an image on a storage medium based on the print job data received from the job processing unit 112.
The job transfer unit 114 transfers the print job data received from the job reception unit 111 to the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compatible machine designated as the destination.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the power management unit 12 supplies power to each part of the own device, and power supply information that monitors the power supply state of the power supply unit 121 and notifies the power state. The power supply monitoring part 122 as an example of a transmission means is provided.
When power is supplied from the commercial power source 121, the power supply unit 121 supplies power to each part of the own device to turn on the own device. In addition, when the supply of power is stopped, the power supply unit 121 turns off the own device without supplying power to each part of the own device.

  The power monitoring unit 122 monitors the supply of power by the power supply unit 121. For example, when the power supply monitoring unit 122 is turned on, the power supply monitoring unit 122 notifies the printer search unit 131 of the non-compatible device information response unit 13 described later. Further, the power supply monitoring unit 122 informs the network 4 that the IP address of the own device and the own device are turned off when the own device is turned off. Broadcast. In the present embodiment, the power monitoring unit 122 of the first printing apparatus 1A that is a compatible machine broadcasts, for example, to the first printing apparatus 1B that is another compatible machine and the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the non-supporting machine information response unit 13 is necessary for performing a search response for a non-supporting machine with the printer search unit 131 that searches for the second printing apparatus 2 (see FIG. 1) on the network 4. And a logical printer creation unit 132 as an example of a registration unit that creates logical printer information and logical printer. The incompatible machine information response unit 13 also includes a logical printer storage unit 133 that stores logical printer information and logical printers, and a logical printer name notification as an example of a notification unit that notifies the second printer 2 of the logical printer name. Part 134.

The non-supporting machine information response unit 13 includes a search response storage unit 135 that stores logical printer information that performs a search response in a search response unit 136 described later, and a search response unit 136 as an example of a transmission unit that performs a search response. .
In addition, the non-supporting machine information response unit 13 sends a search request to the search requesting unit 137 that acquires logical printer information (hereinafter referred to as search response information) that has been searched for by another corresponding machine, and the search requesting unit 137. And a response information storage unit 138 for storing the logical printer information acquired in this manner.

Further, the non-compliant machine information response unit 13 includes a power information acquisition unit 139 that obtains a power status notification from the non-compliant machine and other compatible machines. The incompatible machine information response unit 13 includes a logical printer information acquisition unit 141 that acquires logical printer information corresponding to the incompatible machine.
The unsupported machine information response unit 13 is a search response monitor as an example of a transmission monitoring unit that monitors whether or not the second printing apparatus 2 corresponding to the logical printer information stored in the logical printer storage unit 133 responds to search. Part 142 is provided. The incompatible machine information response unit 13 includes a printer communication monitoring unit 143 as an example of a communication monitoring unit that monitors whether the second printing apparatus 2 stored in the search response storage unit 135 can communicate.

  Then, the non-compliant machine information response unit 13 creates and stores logical printer information and logical printers corresponding to the second printing apparatus 2 that are all non-compliant machines on the network 4, and stores them in the second printing apparatus 2. The logical printer name is notified. Further, in response to the search request from the mobile terminal 3, the non-compatible machine information response unit 13 performs a search response for sending logical printer information corresponding to the second printing apparatus 2 that has notified the logical printer name.

  When the printer search unit 131 receives a notification from the power supply monitoring unit 122 that the own device has been turned on, the printer search unit 131 searches for the second printing device 2 on the network 4. The printer search unit 131 requests and receives an IP address as an example of identification information from the detected second printing apparatus 2.

  The printer search unit 131 according to the first embodiment instructs the search request unit 137 to make a search request. Then, the printer search unit 131 acquires search response information, which is logical printer information to which another corresponding machine has searched and responded, from the search request unit 137. Then, when the search response information corresponding to the detected second printing device 2 is not acquired, the printer search unit 131 determines that the search response of the second printing device 2 has not been performed and notifies the logical printer creation unit 132. The IP address of the second printing apparatus 2 is passed.

  The logical printer creation unit 132 receives the IP address of the second printing device 2 from the printer search unit 131 and creates logical printer information and a logical printer corresponding to the second printing device 2. The logical printer creation unit 132 stores the created logical printer information in association with the logical printer storage unit 133. Then, the logical printer creation unit 132 passes the logical printer information to the logical printer name notification unit 134.

  Here, as specific logical printer information, as shown in FIG. 5A, the logical printer name, the IP address of the own device that is the corresponding machine that created the logical printer information, and the second that is the non-compliant machine. This is information associated with the IP address of the printing apparatus 2. In the compatible machine, for example, “Airprint-A”, “Airprint-B”, “Airprint-C”, etc. are added as logical printer names.

  The logical printer storage unit 133 receives and stores logical printer information from the logical printer creation unit 132. In addition, the logical printer storage unit 133 passes the stored logical printer information to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141 and the search response monitoring unit 142.

The logical printer name notification unit 134 receives logical printer information from the logical printer creation unit 132 and the logical printer information acquisition unit 141. The logical printer name notifying unit 134 notifies the second printing apparatus 2 of the logical printer name and the IP address of the own apparatus based on the IP address of the second printing apparatus 2. The logical printer name notification unit 134 receives notification information indicating whether the logical printer name has already been notified to the second printing apparatus 2 as a response to the notification of the logical printer name from the second printing apparatus 2.
When the logical printer name notification unit 134 receives notification information that the logical printer name has not been notified from the second printing apparatus, the logical printer name notification unit 134 stores the logical printer information in the search response storage unit 135. The logical printer name notifying unit 134 does not store the logical printer information in the search response storage unit 135 when receiving notification information that the logical printer name has already been notified.

  The search response storage unit 135 receives the logical printer information from the logical printer name notification unit 134 and stores it. The search response storage unit 135 passes the logical printer information to a search response unit 136 described later and a printer communication monitoring unit 143 described later. Further, the search response storage unit 135 accepts deletion of logical printer information from the printer communication monitoring unit 143. In the search response storage unit 135, it is assumed that the logical printer information of the own device is also stored in advance.

  When the search response unit 136 receives a search request from the mobile terminal 3, the search response regarding the own device (first printing device 1) that is a compatible device and the search response regarding a non-compatible device (for example, the second printing device 2). I do. Specifically, the search response unit 136 acquires the logical printer information of its own machine and the logical printer information of the second printing apparatus 2 from the logical printer storage unit 133 as a search response, and sends it to the mobile terminal 3.

  When the search request unit 137 receives an instruction to make a search request from the printer search unit 131, the search request unit 137 makes a search request and passes the acquired search response information to the printer search unit 131. In addition, the search request unit 137 periodically makes a search request itself, and stores the acquired search response information in the response information storage unit 138. Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, the search request information is information that associates the logical printer name of the non-compatible device, the IP address of the compatible device that notified the logical printer name, and the IP address of the non-compatible device. It is.

The response information storage unit 138 stores the search response information received from the search request unit 137. In addition, the response information storage unit 138 passes the search response information to a power supply information acquisition unit 139 described later and a search response monitoring unit 142 described later.
The power information acquisition unit 139 acquires the power status notification of other compatible devices or non-compatible devices together with their IP addresses via the network 4. When the power supply information acquisition unit 139 acquires the notification of the power supply state, the power supply information acquisition unit 139 acquires search response information from the response information storage unit 138 and passes the IP address of the non-compatible device to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141.

Specifically, when the power supply information acquisition unit 139 acquires the notification of the power-off state of other compatible devices (power-off information related to power-off) and the IP address of the other compatible devices, based on the search response information, The IP address of the non-supporting machine to which the other corresponding machine has notified the logical printer name is passed to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141.
In addition, when the power information acquisition unit 139 receives the notification of the power-on state of the non-compliant machine and the IP address of the non-compliant machine, the compatible machine that has notified the non-compliant machine of the logical printer name based on the search response information. If it is its own device, it passes the IP address of the non-compatible device to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141.

  Although the power supply information acquisition unit 139 is notified of the power supply state, conversely, the power supply information acquisition unit 139 may make an inquiry about the power supply state to other compatible devices or non-compatible devices. Further, in this case, the power information acquisition unit 139 may inquire based on the search response information acquired from the response information storage unit 138 to the corresponding device that has made many search responses for non-compatible devices. . Furthermore, the power supply information acquisition unit 139 may make an inquiry to all the non-supporting devices and the corresponding devices that have made a search response based on the search response information.

  The search response monitoring unit 142 periodically monitors whether or not a non-compliant device corresponding to the logical printer information stored in the logical printer storage unit 133 is performing a search response. Specifically, the search response monitoring unit 142 acquires search response information from the response information storage unit 138 and acquires logical printer information from the logical printer storage unit 133. Further, the search response monitoring unit 142 detects non-compliant devices that have not been searched for response among non-compliant devices corresponding to the logical printer information stored in the logical printer storage unit 133 based on the search response information. Then, the search response monitoring unit 142 passes the detected IP address of the non-compatible device to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141.

  The printer communication monitoring unit 143 monitors whether or not communication with a non-compatible device corresponding to the logical printer information stored in the search response storage unit 135 is possible via the network 4. Then, if there is a non-compatible device that cannot communicate, the printer communication monitoring unit 143 deletes the logical printer information corresponding to the non-compatible device.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the print processing unit 21 in the second printing apparatus 2, and FIG. 6B illustrates a functional configuration example of the power management unit 22 in the second printing apparatus 2. It is the block diagram which showed.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the logical printer name management unit 23 in the second printing apparatus 2.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the second printing apparatus 2 includes a print processing unit 21 that processes print job data received from the network 4 and other networks, and a power supply of the own device. And a power management unit 22 for management. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the second printing apparatus 2 includes a logical printer name management unit 23 that manages the logical printer name of its own device.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the print processing unit 21 is based on a job receiving unit 211 that receives print job data, a job processing unit 212 that performs image processing on the print job data, and the print job data. And an image forming unit 213 that forms an image on a storage medium.

The job receiving unit 211 receives print job data sent from the outside via the communication device 104 (see FIG. 2), and passes the print job data to the job processing unit 212. Note that the print job data received by the job receiving unit 211 includes transfer job data sent from the portable terminal 3 via the first printing apparatus 1.
The job processing unit 212 performs image processing on the print job data received from the job receiving unit 211 and passes the print job data to the image forming unit 213.
The image forming unit 213 forms an image on the storage medium based on the print job data received from the job processing unit 212.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the power management unit 22 monitors the power supply state of the power supply unit 221 that supplies power to each part of the own device, and notifies the power supply state. A power supply monitoring unit 222.
When power is supplied from a commercial power source, the power supply unit 221 supplies power to each part of the own device to turn on the own device. In addition, when the supply of power is stopped, the power supply unit 221 turns off the own device without supplying power to each part of the own device.

  The power monitoring unit 222 monitors the power supply by the power supply unit 221. When the power supply by the power supply unit 221 is stopped, the power supply monitoring unit 222 notifies the second printing apparatus 2 (see FIG. 1) that the own device is turned off or turned on, and the IP of the own device. The address is broadcast to the first printing apparatus 1 which is a corresponding machine on the network 4.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the logical printer name management unit 23 determines whether or not the logical printer name has already been notified, and the logical printer name reception unit 231 that receives the logical printer name sent from the first printing apparatus 1. And a notification determination unit 232 for performing the operation. Further, the logical printer name management unit 23 transmits the logical printer name registration unit 233 for registering the logical printer name and the notification information to the first printing apparatus 1 when it is determined that the logical printer name has not been notified yet. A notification information transmission unit 234 as an example of a notification information transmission unit. Further, the logical printer name management unit 23 includes a logical printer name display unit 235 as an example of display means for displaying the notified logical printer name on the display device 106 (see FIG. 2).

Further, the logical printer name management unit 23 determines whether or not to cancel the registration of the power-off information acquisition unit 236 that acquires the notification of the power-off state of the first printing apparatus 1 via the network 4 and the logical printer name registration unit 233. And a cancellation determination unit 237 for determining.
The logical printer name receiving unit 231 receives the logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing device 1 from the first printing device 1. In addition, the logical printer name receiving unit 231 passes the received logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing apparatus to the notification determining unit 232.

  The notification determination unit 232 receives the logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 from the logical printer name reception unit 231. The notification determination unit 232 determines whether the logical printer name has already been notified. Then, the notification determination unit 232 passes the notification information and the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 to the notification information transmission unit 234. If the notification determination unit 232 determines that the logical printer name has not been notified yet, the logical printer name and the first printing apparatus 1 are registered in association with the logical printer name registration unit 233 and displayed as a logical printer name. To part 235.

  Specifically, when the logical printer name is not registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233, the notification determination unit 232 determines that the received logical printer name has not been notified yet. Further, the notification determination unit 232 determines that the logical printer name is already notified when the logical printer name is already registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233.

  The logical printer name registration unit 233 receives the logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing device 1 from the notification determination unit 232, and registers the logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing device 1 in association with each other. In addition, the logical printer name registration unit 233 passes the logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 to the notification determination unit 232 and the cancellation determination unit 237.

The notification information transmission unit 234 receives the notification information and the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 from the notification determination unit 232. The notification information transmission unit 234 transmits notification information indicating whether the logical printer name has already been notified to the first printing apparatus 1 based on the received IP address.
When the logical printer name display unit 235 receives the logical printer name from the notification determination unit 232, the logical printer name display unit 235 displays the logical printer name on the display device 106. The logical printer name display unit 235 displays “printer A”, “printer B”, “printer C”, and the like when the corresponding printer has not been notified of the logical printer name.

  The power-off information acquisition unit 236 acquires the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 along with the notification of the power-off state of the first printing apparatus 1 via the network 4. Then, the power-off information acquisition unit 236 passes the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 to the cancellation determination unit 237.

  The cancellation determination unit 237 receives the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 from the power-off information acquisition unit 236. The cancellation determination unit 237 compares the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 corresponding to the logical printer name registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233 with the received IP address. Then, the cancellation determination unit 237 registers the logical printer name in the logical printer name registration unit 233 if the first printing device 1 that has notified the registered logical printer name is the first printing device 1 in the power-off state. Cancel.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the mobile terminal 3.
As shown in FIG. 8, the portable terminal 3 includes a printing device search unit 301 that searches for a usable printing device (printer), and a printable printer list storage that stores logical printer information of the usable printing device in a list. Unit 302. The portable terminal 3 also includes a logical printer name display selection unit 303 that displays a list of logical printer names and accepts selection of a print output destination. Furthermore, the portable terminal 3 includes a print data creation unit 304 that creates print data, and a job transmission unit 305 that transmits a job to a corresponding machine.

  The printing device search unit 301 generates a printing device search event when receiving a printing device search instruction from a user via the input reception unit 105 (see FIG. 2), and uses a discovery protocol (BONJOUR in this example). A printing device search request (an example of an inquiry) is made by broadcasting. In addition, the logical printer information of the printing apparatus that can be used in the portable terminal 3 acquired from the first printing apparatus 1 that is a corresponding machine by a search request using BONJOUR is stored in the printable printer list storage unit 302.

The printable printer list storage unit 302 lists the logical printer information of usable printing devices received from the printing device search unit 301 and stores it as a printable printer list.
The logical printer name display selection unit 303 acquires the printable printer list from the printable printer list storage unit 302 and causes the display device 106 to display a list of logical printer names based on the logical printer information of each printing device. Further, the logical printer name display selection unit 303 accepts input of selection as a print output destination by the user from among the logical printer names displayed on the display device 106, and the selected logical printer information is transmitted to the job transmission unit 305. To pass.

The print data creation unit 304 creates print data based on an instruction received from the user via the input reception unit 105. Also, the print data creation unit 304 passes the print data created by the user's print instruction to the notification determination unit 232 (see FIG. 7).
The job transmission unit 305 receives the logical printer information of the print output destination from the logical printer name display selection unit 303 and receives the print data from the print data creation unit 304. Then, the job transmission unit 305 sets the print data destination as the received print output destination, and sends the print data to the first printing apparatus 1 that is a corresponding machine based on the logical printer information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an operation example of the printing system according to the first and second embodiments.
Here, first, the first printing apparatus 1 that is a compatible machine searches for and finds the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine that has not been searched for response when the power is turned on (step 11). Subsequently, the first printing apparatus 1 creates logical printer information and a logical printer corresponding to the found second printing apparatus 2 (step 12). Then, the first printing apparatus 1 notifies the created logical printer name to the second printing apparatus 2 (step 13). When receiving the notification of the logical printer name from the first printing apparatus 1, the second printing apparatus 2 causes the display apparatus 106 to display the logical printer name (step 14). For example, the name “Printer A” displayed on the display device 106 becomes “Airprinter-A”. Thereafter, the portable terminal 3 makes a search request using BONJOUR of the printing apparatus via another network (step 15).

  In step 15, the portable terminal 3 broadcasts a search packet for a discovery protocol such as BONJOUR. Here, the first printing apparatus 1 as a compatible machine receives a search request for a printing apparatus from the portable terminal 3 via another network, and makes a search response to the search request (step 16). At this time, the first printing apparatus 1 sends a search response regarding its own machine (the first printing apparatus 1), which is a compatible machine, and another machine (second machine) that is a non-compliant machine registered in step 12 via another network. And a search response for the printing device 2). Note that the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine cannot perform a search response to the search request in step 13 by itself even if it is within the range of another network.

  Then, the portable terminal 3 creates print job data as an example of an image formation instruction and sends the created print job data to the first printing apparatus 1 that is a corresponding machine via another network. Transmission is performed (step 17). When the print job data received via another network is destined for the own machine (first printing apparatus 1), the first printing apparatus 1 performs printing based on the print job data on the own machine. .

  On the other hand, when the print job data received via another network is destined for a non-compliant machine (second printing apparatus 2), the first printing apparatus 1 creates transfer job data based on the print job data. At the same time, the generated transfer job data is transferred to the second printing apparatus 2 via the network 4 (step 18). Then, the second printing apparatus 2 forms an image based on the received transfer job data (step 19) and completes this process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart regarding a processing procedure in which the first printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment displays a logical printer name on the second printing apparatus 2 and makes a search response.
First, power is supplied to the power supply unit 121 of the first printing apparatus 1 to turn on the power (step 101). The printer search unit 131 of the first printing device 1 receives the notification of the ON state of the own device from the power supply monitoring unit 122 and searches for the second printing device 2 that is a non-compatible device on the network 4 (step 102). In addition, the printer search unit 131 instructs the search request unit 137 to perform a search request, acquires search response information, and searches for and finds the second printing device 2 that has not been searched for response among the detected non-compatible devices. Whether or not (step 103).

When the first printing apparatus 1 finds the second printing apparatus 2 that has not been searched for response in the printer search unit 131 (YES in step 103), the logical information and the logical printer information corresponding to the second printing apparatus 2 are detected. A printer is created by the logical printer creation unit 132 (step 104).
Further, the first printing apparatus 1 notifies the created logical printer name to the second printing apparatus 2 from the logical printer name notification unit 134 (step 105), and the second printing apparatus 2 logically reports the notified logical printer name. The printer name receiving unit 231 receives it. In this embodiment, the logical printer name is registered without performing notification determination by the notification determination unit 232 of the second printing apparatus 2, and the logical printer name is transferred to the logical printer name display unit 235 for display (step 106). . In addition, the logical printer name notifying unit 134 of the first printing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment stores the logical printer information in the search response storage unit 135 without receiving the notification information.

When the search response unit 136 receives a search request from the portable terminal 3 (step 107), the first printing apparatus 1 acquires logical printer information from the search response storage unit 135 and sends it as a search response (step 108). Further, after receiving the search request, the first printing apparatus 1 receives the job addressed to the second printing apparatus 2 at the job receiving unit 111 (step 109), and the first printing apparatus 1 performs the second printing of the job. The job is transferred from the job transfer unit 114 to the apparatus 2 (step 110).
Note that the first printing apparatus 1 ends the process when the printer searching unit 131 has not found the second printing apparatus 2 that has not been searched for a response (NO in step 103).

  As described above, the first printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment notifies the logical printer name to the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine that has not been searched for a response, and the second printing apparatus 2 uses the logical printer name. Is displayed. The first printing apparatus 1 sends logical printer information including the logical printer name to the portable terminal 3 and makes a search response. Accordingly, the first printer 1 displays the logical printer name as the print output destination, and the second printer 2 displays the logical printer name as the name representing the second printer 2. Then, for example, the user looks at the name displayed on the second printing apparatus 2 nearby, and easily handles the correspondence between the list of logical printer names displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal 3 and the second printing apparatus 2. To grasp.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart regarding a processing procedure for determining notification in the second printing apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment.
First, in the first printing apparatus 1 that is a compatible machine, the processing from step 201 to step 204 is the same as the processing from step 101 to step 104 in FIG. Then, the logical printer name notifying unit 134 of the first printing apparatus 1 notifies the second printing apparatus 2 of the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 together with the logical printer name (step 205).
In the second printing apparatus 2, the logical printer name receiving unit 231 acquires the logical printer name and the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 and passes them to the notification determination unit 232. Subsequently, the notification determination unit 232 determines whether or not the logical printer name has already been notified and registered (step 206).

If the logical printer name is registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233, the notification determination unit 232 determines that the logical printer name has already been notified (YES in step 206). Further, the notification determination unit 232 passes notification information indicating that the IP address and logical printer name of the first printing apparatus 1 have already been notified to the notification information transmission unit 234 and does not register the logical printer name. The notification information transmission unit 234 transmits notification information that the logical printer name has already been notified to the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1.
The logical printer name notifying unit 134 of the first printing apparatus 1 receives the notification information that the logical printer name has already been notified, and stores the logical printer information in the search response storage unit 135 without storing the logical printer information. The search response is not made (step 207).

Further, if the logical printer name is not registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233, the notification determination unit 232 of the second printing apparatus 2 determines that the logical printer name has not been notified yet (NO in step 206). Then, the notification determination unit 232 associates the logical printer name with the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 that is a corresponding machine and registers the logical printer name in the logical printer name registration unit 233 (step 208). In addition, the notification determination unit 232 passes notification information indicating that the IP address and logical printer name of the first printing apparatus 1 have not been notified to the notification information transmission unit 234 and notifies the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1 with the notification information. Send information. The logical printer name notifying unit 134 of the first printing apparatus 1 receives the notification information that has not been notified yet, stores the logical printer information in the search response storage unit 135, and searches for the second printing apparatus 2. Make a response.
Then, the logical printer name display unit 235 of the second printing apparatus 2 receives the logical printer name from the notification determination unit 232 and displays the logical printer name on the display device 106 (step 209).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the logical printer name is already notified and registered to the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compatible machine, the first printing apparatus 1 that is a compatible machine is the second printing apparatus 2. The search response corresponding to is not performed. That is, the second embodiment has a configuration in which one corresponding device makes a search response to a certain non-compatible device, and several logical printer names are duplicated for one second printing apparatus 2. 3 is prevented from being displayed. Therefore, the mobile terminal 3 displays a unique logical printer name notified by one compatible device to one non-compatible device, and the user can associate the second printer 2 with the logical printer name on the mobile terminal 3. It becomes easy to grasp the relationship.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an operation example in the case where the first printing apparatus 1A that is making a search response in the third embodiment is in a power-off state.
First, the first printing apparatus 1A, which is a compatible machine, is turned off via the network 4 with respect to the second printing apparatus 2, which is a non-compliant machine, and the first printing apparatus 1B, which is another compatible machine. (Step 21). Subsequently, the second printing apparatus 2 confirms whether or not the IP address of the corresponding machine that has notified the logical printer name of its own machine corresponds to the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A that is in the power-off state ( Step 22). The first printing apparatus 1B notifies the logical printer name to the second printing apparatus 2 (step 23).

  Then, when the second printing apparatus 2 confirms that the IP address of the corresponding machine corresponds to the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A in the second printing apparatus 2, the second printing apparatus 2 is notified from the first printing apparatus 1B. The logical printer name is displayed (step 24). Furthermore, if there is a search request from the mobile terminal 3 (step 25), the first printing apparatus 1B makes a search response to the search request (step 26).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure when the first printing apparatus that has made a search response in the third embodiment is in a power-off state. This process is executed by the second printing apparatus 2 which is a non-compliant machine.
The second printing apparatus 2 registers the logical printer name notified by the first printing apparatus 1A in the logical printer name registration unit 233 in association with the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A that has notified the logical printer name (step 301). ). Thereafter, the power-off information acquisition unit 236 of the second printing device 2 receives the IP address of the first printing device 1A and the notification of the power-off state from the first printing device 1A (step 302) and passes them to the cancellation determination unit 237. .

The cancellation determination unit 237 acquires the IP address of the corresponding machine that has notified the logical printer name registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233, and determines whether it corresponds to the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A (step 303). ).
The cancellation determination unit 237 deletes the logical printer name from the logical printer name registration unit 233 when the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A corresponds to the IP address corresponding to the logical printer name (YES in step 303). (Step 304). Furthermore, in the second printing apparatus 2, the logical printer name receiving unit 231 notifies the logical printer name from the first printing apparatus 1B, which is a compatible machine different from the first printing apparatus 1A (step 305).

Then, the logical printer name receiving unit 231 passes the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1B and the logical printer name to the notification determination unit 232. Since the logical printer name is not registered in the logical printer name registration unit 233, the notification determination unit 232 registers the received logical printer name in association with the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1B.
Further, the notification information transmission unit 234 receives the IP address and notification information of the first printing apparatus 1B from the notification determination unit 232, and sends the result to the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1B. The logical printer name display unit 235 of the second printing apparatus 2 receives the logical printer name from the notification determination unit 232 and causes the display device 106 to display the logical printer name (step 306).
If the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A does not correspond to the IP address that has notified the logical printer name (NO in step 303), the cancellation determination unit 237 ends.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart relating to a processing procedure when the first printing apparatus 1A that has made a search response according to the third embodiment is in a power-off state. This process is executed by the first printing apparatus 1B, which is another compatible machine provided separately from the first printing apparatus 1A, which is a compatible machine.

  First, the power source information acquisition unit 139 acquires search response information from the response information storage unit 138 periodically, thereby acquiring information on the non-compatible device that has been searched for response (step 401). In addition, the first printing apparatus 1B receives the notification of the power-off state and the IP address of the first printing apparatus 1A from the first printing apparatus 1A, which is a corresponding machine, at the power information acquisition unit 139 (step 402). Further, the power supply information acquisition unit 139 finds a non-compatible device corresponding to the first printing apparatus 1A based on the search response information (step 403), and acquires the IP address of the non-compatible device.

  Subsequently, the power information acquisition unit 139 of the first printing apparatus 1B passes the acquired IP address of the non-compliant machine to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141, and acquires logical printer information corresponding to the non-compliant machine (step 404). . If the logical printer name corresponding to the second printing device 2 found in the logical printer storage unit 133 is not stored in the logical printer storage unit 133, the power information acquisition unit 139 stores the logical printer creation unit 132 in the second printing device 2. Corresponding logical printer information and logical printer are created. Subsequently, the logical printer information acquisition unit 141 passes the logical printer information corresponding to the incompatible device to the logical printer name notification unit 134, and notifies the incompatible device of the logical printer name (step 405).

  When the logical printer name notification unit 134 receives notification information that the logical printer name has not been notified from the second printing apparatus 2, the logical printer name notification unit 134 stores the logical printer information in the search response storage unit 135. In response to the search request from the mobile terminal 3, the search response unit 136 makes a search response for a non-compatible device using the logical printer information stored in the search response storage unit 135 (step 406).

  As described above, in the third embodiment, even when the first printing apparatus 1A, which is a compatible machine, is turned off, the first printing apparatus 1B, which is another compatible machine, performs logical operations on the second printing apparatus 2. Register the printer name. Therefore, even if the power of the first printing apparatus 1A is turned off, the search response of the second printing apparatus 2 is made by the second printing apparatus 2B which is another compatible machine. Then, the job is transferred to the second printing apparatus 2, and the user does not need to be aware of which compatible machine is transferring the job. In addition, the second printing apparatus 2 cannot be used when the first printing apparatus 1A is turned off, and non-compliant machines that cannot be used for printing from the mobile terminal 3 are reduced.

  In the third embodiment, the search response information periodically acquired by the search request unit 137 is used to grasp the non-supporting machine that is making a search response and the corresponding machine that is making the search response. . However, the power information acquisition unit 139 may be configured to receive a list of IP addresses of non-compliant machines that are making a search response together with the power-off information from the first printing apparatus 1A that is another compatible machine.

  In the third embodiment, the configuration in which the notification of the power-off state is broadcast from the first printing apparatus 1A, which is a compatible machine, is shown as an example. However, in the third embodiment, the first printing apparatus 1B that is another compatible machine or the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine may inquire about the power state of the first printing apparatus 1A. In this case, as described above, based on the search response information, there are a method of inquiring a compatible device that has made a large number of search responses of non-compatible devices, and a method of inquiring a compatible device that has made a search response.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart regarding the processing procedure of the first printing apparatus 1 when the second printing apparatus 2 is disconnected.
First, the printer communication monitoring unit 143 of the first printing apparatus 1A, which is a compatible machine, attempts communication with the second printing apparatus 2 corresponding to the logical printer information stored in the search response storage unit 135 (step 501). . If communication with the second printing apparatus 2 that has attempted communication is not possible (NO in step 502), the printer communication monitoring unit 143 deletes the logical printer information of the second printing apparatus stored in the search response storage unit 135. Then, the search response unit 136 switches so that the search response of the second printing apparatus 2 is not made (step 503). If the first printing apparatus 1A can communicate with the second printing apparatus (YES in step 502), the process ends.

  As described above, the first printing apparatus 1 that is a compatible machine communicates with the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine that is making a search response. Do not do. And it prevents that a user transmits a job with respect to the non-compatible machine which cannot be used from the portable terminal 3. FIG.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart regarding a processing procedure when the second printing apparatus 2 is powered on.
First, the first printing apparatus 1A receives the power-on notification and the IP address of the second printing apparatus 2 from the second printing apparatus 2 at the power information acquisition unit 139 (step 601). Based on the search response information acquired from the response information storage unit 138, the power information acquisition unit 139 determines whether the IP address of the corresponding machine that has notified the logical printer name of the second printing apparatus 2 is the IP address of the own apparatus. (Step 602). The power supply information acquisition unit 139 passes the IP address of the second printing apparatus 2 to the logical printer information acquisition unit 141 if the corresponding machine is the IP address of the own apparatus (YES in step 602).

  Then, the logical printer information acquisition unit 141 acquires the logical printer information corresponding to the received second printing device 2 and passes it to the logical printer name notification unit 134 to notify the logical printer name to the second printing device 2 (step). 603). When the logical printer name notification unit 134 obtains notification information that the logical printer name has not been notified of the logical printer name, the logical printer name notification unit 134 stores the logical printer information of the second printing apparatus 2 in the search response storage unit 135. Then, the search response unit 136 switches to perform a search response of the second printing apparatus 2 (step 604). The power supply information acquisition unit 139 ends the process if the IP address of the corresponding device in the search response information is not the IP address of the own device (NO in step 602).

  As described above, the first printing apparatus 1 that is a compatible machine is notified of the power-on state from the second printing apparatus 2 that is a non-compliant machine, and the first printing apparatus 1 makes a search response to the second printing apparatus 2. If it is a compatible machine, the search response of the second printing apparatus 2 is made. Therefore, the second printing apparatus 2 that has been turned on from the power-off state is used as a printing apparatus that can immediately print from the portable terminal 3.

  In the third embodiment, the logical printer name is first given to the second printing apparatus 2 without determining whether or not the first printing apparatus 1 is a compatible machine that has made a search response for the second printing apparatus 2. It is good also as a structure in which the corresponding | compatible apparatus which notified this responds a search response.

  In the first to third embodiments, the corresponding machine is the first printing apparatus 1 that performs image formation. However, the corresponding machine may be configured by a so-called printer server that does not perform image formation. Further, as a means for realizing a configuration in which the first printing apparatus 1 as one compatible machine makes a search response to the second printing apparatus 2 as one non-compatible machine, the second printing apparatus 2 uses a logical printer. An example is shown in which a notification is sent by determining whether a name has already been notified. However, in addition to the configuration in which the second printing apparatus 2 uses the notification information, each first printing apparatus, which is a corresponding machine, uses the search response information to determine which non-compatible machine to perform a search response and sends a search response. It is good also as a structure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Non-corresponding machine information response part 131 ... Printer search part 132 ... Logical printer creation part 133 ... Logical printer storage part 134 ... Logical printer name notification part 135 ... Search response storage part 136 ... Search response part, 137 ... Search request section, 138 ... Response information storage section, 139 ... Power supply information acquisition section, 142 ... Search response monitoring section, 143 ... Printer communication monitoring section

Claims (9)

A non-compliant machine that can not communicate using a specific protocol while forming an image on a recording medium,
Including one compatible device that communicates with the non-compatible device and communicates with the terminal device using the specific protocol,
The corresponding machine is
Registration means for registering discrimination information for discriminating the incompatible device;
Notifying means for notifying the non-compliant machine registered by the registration means of the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compliant machine;
Based on an inquiry from the terminal device using the specific protocol, and having a transmission means for transmitting the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compatible device to the terminal device,
The incompatible machine is
An image processing system comprising: display means for displaying the discrimination information notified from the notification means of the corresponding machine. Including a plurality of the corresponding machines,
Each of the transmission units of the plurality of compatible devices, based on an inquiry from the terminal device using the specific protocol, the transmission unit of one of the corresponding devices corresponds to one non-compatible device The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the determination information to be transmitted is transmitted to the terminal device. Including a plurality of the corresponding machines,
The non-compatible device has notification information transmission means for transmitting notification information related to the fact that the determination information has already been notified from the notification means of another compatible device to one of the compatible devices ,
The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the registration unit of one of the compatible devices does not store the registration of the determination information corresponding to the non-compatible device when the notification information is received . The compatible device has power information transmission means for transmitting power off information related to the power off state of the own device,
The image processing according to claim 3, wherein the notification information transmitting unit of the non-compatible device does not transmit the notification information based on the determination information notified by the compatible device that transmitted the power-off information. system.   The notifying unit of one compatible device, with respect to the non-compatible device registered by the registration unit based on the power-off information of the other compatible device, the determination information corresponding to the non-compatible device The image processing system according to claim 4, wherein notification is performed. Including a plurality of the corresponding machines,
The corresponding device has transmission monitoring means for monitoring whether or not transmission of the discrimination information is being performed by another corresponding device for the non-compatible device registered by the registration means,
The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit of the compatible device transmits the determination information corresponding to the non-compatible device based on monitoring of the transmission monitoring unit. The corresponding device has communication monitoring means for monitoring whether or not communication with the non-compatible device being transmitted by the transmission means can be performed,
The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit of the compatible machine does not transmit the corresponding determination information to the non-compatible machine that cannot communicate. A communication means for communicating with a non-compliant device that cannot perform communication using a specific protocol, and for communicating with a terminal device using the specific protocol;
Registration means for registering discrimination information displayed on the non-compliant machine and for identifying the non-compliant machine;
Notifying means for notifying the non-compliant machine registered by the registration means of the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compliant machine;
A relay apparatus comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the determination information corresponding to the incompatible device to the terminal apparatus based on an inquiry from the terminal apparatus using the specific protocol. In the relay device,
A function of forming an image on a recording medium and communicating with a plurality of incompatible devices that cannot perform communication using a specific protocol, and communicating with a terminal device using the specific protocol;
A function for registering discrimination information displayed on the non-compliant machine and for identifying the non-compliant machine;
A function of notifying the registered non-compliant machine of the discrimination information corresponding to the non-compliant machine;
The program which implement | achieves the function which transmits the said discrimination | determination information corresponding to the said non-corresponding machine to the said terminal device based on the inquiry from the said terminal device using the said specific protocol.

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