JP7392509B2 - Systems, programs, and information processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system, a program, and an information processing device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a notification technique in which an information processing apparatus notifies information regarding an image forming job input to an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In information processing apparatuses connected to image forming apparatuses, techniques for notifying information regarding image forming jobs are known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology for notifying error information in an image forming system in which at least one host PC is connected to one digital multifunction device, and when an error occurs in the digital multifunction device, , a technique has been disclosed in which information for recovering from the error is transmitted from the digital multifunction device to the host PC.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-157929

After transmitting an image forming job to an image forming apparatus, the information processing apparatus cannot know whether the image forming job is completed or not. Therefore, users do not know when their image forming job will be completed. For example, if the image forming device is a printer, the print job may not be completed when the user moves to the printer, and the user may have to wait until the print job is completed. Problems arise, such as forgetting to go and pick up the item. As in Cited Document 1, notification when an error occurs is known, but there is room for improvement regarding notification when no error occurs.

This specification discloses a technique for improving notification by an information processing apparatus of information regarding an image forming job input to the image forming apparatus.

A system made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems is a system including an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus that transmits an image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the information processing apparatus An image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus via a communication interface included in the apparatus, the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus together with apparatus identification information that identifies the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus together with apparatus identification information that identifies the information processing apparatus. A first program is installed in the computer of the information processing apparatus, and the first program receives a completion notification sent from the image forming apparatus to the communication interface of the information processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus receives the image forming job sent from the information processing apparatus and the apparatus identification information sent from the information processing apparatus together with the image forming job. in the case of executing image formation based on the image forming job, and after completing the image forming based on the image forming job, using the device identification information received by the image forming apparatus together with the image forming job, The first program transmits the completion notification indicating completion of execution of the image forming based on the image forming job to the information processing apparatus that is the transmission source of the image forming job, After transmitting the formation job to the image forming apparatus, the communication interface with the reception port opened receives the completion notification addressed to the information processing apparatus from the image forming apparatus to which the image forming job is transmitted. In this case, causing the computer of the information processing device to execute a completion information notification process that causes a user interface provided in the information processing device to notify completion information indicating completion of execution of the image formation based on the image formation job. It is characterized by

In the system having the above configuration, an image forming job is input from the information processing device to the image forming device. Thereafter, the information processing apparatus receives an image formation completion notification from the image forming apparatus, and uses a first program installed in the information processing apparatus to send information indicating the completion of the image forming job to the user interface of the information processing apparatus. Notify via. This allows the user to know that the image formation based on the image formation job has been completed, thereby improving notification by the information processing apparatus.

Also new and useful are control methods, computer programs, devices, and computer-readable storage media that store the computer programs for implementing the functions of the devices described above.

According to the technology disclosed in this specification, a technology for improving notification by an information processing apparatus of information regarding an image forming job input to an image forming apparatus is realized.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a printing procedure of the image processing system according to the embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for preparing a notification program according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a setting screen. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of monitoring processing. It is a diagram showing an example of notification. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of completion information notification processing. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a 1st cancellation process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 2nd cancellation process. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of job transmission monitoring processing. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing another aspect of the completion information notification procedure according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments embodying an apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an image processing system that includes a multifunction peripheral (hereinafter referred to as "MFP") and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC") in which a device driver for the MFP is incorporated. be.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image processing system 100 (an example of a system) of the present embodiment includes MFPs 20 (an example of an image forming apparatus), 21, and 22, and PCs 10 (an example of an information processing apparatus) and 11 that control these MFPs. , 12. In the image processing system 100, PCs 10, 11, and 12 and MFPs 20, 21, and 22 are communicably connected via wired LAN cables.

Note that the image processing device and information processing device that constitute the image processing system 100 are not limited to those illustrated. Further, the connection between the PC 10, etc. and the MFP 20, etc. is not limited to a wired LAN cable or a USB cable, but may be wireless communication such as a wireless LAN.

The PC 10 includes a CPU 11 (an example of a computer) that executes various processes, a ROM 12 that stores BIOS, etc., a RAM 13 that is used as a temporary storage area when the CPU 11 performs various processes, and stores various programs and data. The computer includes a controller 30 (an example of a computer) having a nonvolatile memory 14 containing stored information.

Any example memory may be a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above-mentioned examples, non-transitory media also include recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. Furthermore, non-transitory media are also tangible media. On the other hand, electrical signals that carry programs downloaded from servers on the Internet are a type of computer-readable signal medium, but non-transitory computer-readable storage Not included in media.

The PC 10 also includes a user interface 15 (hereinafter abbreviated as "UI") consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., a display 16 consisting of a liquid crystal display, etc., and a communication interface 18 (hereinafter abbreviated as "communication IF"). These are electrically connected to the controller 30 and controlled by the controller 30. The UI 15 and the display 16 are examples of a user interface. Communication IF 18 is an example of a communication interface. Note that a speaker or a smart speaker connected to a PC such as Alexa may be used as an example of the user interface.

The PC 10 includes an operating system (hereinafter abbreviated as "OS"), application programs (for example, document creation software, diagramming software, spreadsheet software, photo data editing software, etc.), and device drivers that control the MFPs 20, 21, and 22. , a notification program (a first program, an example of a program) that notifies information in response to a notification from an MFP, and a status monitor (an example of a second program) that monitors the status of each MFP 20. Note that the various programs may be installed by being stored on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be downloaded and installed from a server on a network. The PCs 11 and 12 are also similar to the PC 10.

The MFP 20 only needs to have a function of forming an image on paper, and the image forming method may be an electrophotographic method, an inkjet method, or other general image forming method. Further, it may be possible to form a color image and a monochrome image, or it may be possible to form only a monochrome image. In addition, the MFP 20 has an image reading function, a FAX transmission function, and a FAX reception function.

The MFP 20 has a notification function that, when receiving an image forming job from a PC (PCs 10, 11, and 12 in this embodiment), notifies the PC that sent the image forming job of execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job. . The image forming job is, for example, a print job or a scan job.

Furthermore, when executing a print job with a large number of pages, the MFP 20 has a function of transmitting a partial completion notification indicating completion of printing of a predetermined page every time printing of a predetermined page (for example, 100 pages) is completed. The predetermined number of pages may be a fixed value, a variable value set via the MFP 20 or the device driver 40, or a variable value set according to the number of prints included in the print job. Note that the MFPs 21 and 22 are also configured in the same manner as the MFP 20.

Next, the operation of the PC 10 when the MFP 20 performs printing in the image processing system 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2. Note that in FIG. 2, the graphic engine 51 and spooler 52 are provided as part of the OS 50.

In FIG. 2, a device driver 40 is, for example, a printer driver for the MFP 20, and processes image data to be printed and generates print data based on image data on which the processing has been reflected. Examples of processing include composition of watermarks, headers, footers, etc., magnification changes such as enlargement and reduction, image rotation, and aggregation such as 2in1 and 4in1.

Furthermore, the status monitor 41 monitors the status of MFPs whose device drivers are installed in the PC 10 among all the MFPs that are communicably connected to the PC 10 . Specifically, the status monitor 41 refers to management information managed by the OS 50 regarding information regarding device drivers installed in the PC 10, and identifies the MFP to be monitored. The status monitor 41 may accept, via the UI 15, an operation for selecting an MFP to be monitored from among the MFPs in which the device driver is installed, and may select that MFP as the monitoring target. In this embodiment, the status monitor 41 monitors the MFPs 20, 21, and 22 and periodically acquires status information thereof.

Specifically, the status monitor 41 monitors the operating status (for example, running, standby, sleep, etc.) and, if an error occurs in the MFP, the type of error (for example, paper jam, etc.). Obtained as status information. Furthermore, if a warning has occurred in the MFP, the status monitor 41 acquires the type of warning (eg, ink warning, etc.) as status information. Note that errors and warnings of the MFP are examples of abnormal states. Status information including the type of error or warning is an example of abnormality information. The process of acquiring status information is an example of a "status notification acquisition process." The process of displaying status information is an example of a "status information display process." The status monitor 41 displays status information acquired from the MFPs 20, 21, and 22 on the display 16 for the user to recognize. Note that the status monitor 41 may monitor all MFPs connected to the PC 10.

The notification program 42 also acquires execution information from the MFP to which the image forming job is sent by the PC in which it is installed, and displays information based on the acquired execution information. The difference between the status monitor 41 and the notification program 42 is that the status monitor 41 periodically accesses the MFP from a PC and displays status information, whereas the notification program 42 displays information when receiving a notification from the MFP. It is to display. The operating procedure of the notification program 42 will be described later.

In this embodiment, a program set including the status monitor 41 and the notification program 42 is provided by the device manufacturer of the MFP and installed on the PC. The program set may be provided as part of the OS. Furthermore, for example, the status monitor 41 and the notification program 42 may not be provided by the device maker, but one may be provided as part of the OS and the other may be provided by the device maker.

Note that, similar to the status monitor 41, the notification program 42 queries the MFP to which the image forming job is transmitted for status information, and displays the completion information when receiving status information indicating the completion of the image forming job. Good too. Further, the same operation may be performed using the status monitor 41. In this case, both the status monitor 41 and the notification program 42 are examples of "programs". This operation will be explained in another aspect later.

The graphic engine 51 is a module that controls the device driver 40. The graphic engine 51 accepts instructions from the application program 61 and passes the instructions to the device driver 40.

The spooler 52 is a module that has a function of temporarily storing print data generated by the device driver 40 and sequentially outputting the print data to a designated MFP. In this specification, when "the device driver 40 sends print data to the MFP 20", it means "the device driver 40 stores the print data in the spooler 52", and the spooler 52 actually prints the data to the MFP 20. It does not mean that the data has been sent.

When the PC 10 causes the MFP 20 to print, as shown in FIG. 2, the application program 61 built into the PC 10 first receives a print instruction from the user and outputs a print start notification. Then, the graphic engine 51, which is part of the OS, receives the print start notification and starts acquiring image data to be printed from the application program 61.

When the graphic engine 51 starts acquiring image data, it issues a drawing command to the device driver 40 . Upon receiving a drawing command, the device driver 40 generates a bitmap image (BMP image) based on the drawing command, and further generates PDL format print data based on the BMP image.

After generating the print data, the device driver 40 stores the print data in the spooler 52 . When the print data is stored in the spooler 52, the spooler 52 transmits the stored print data to the MFP 20. The MFP 20 that has received the print data performs printing based on the print data.

Next, in the image processing system 100 of the present embodiment, a control procedure by the notification program 42 when the notification program 42 notifies the completion of printing by the MFP 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. The notification program 42 is a resident program that is executed when the PC 10 is started. When the notification program 42 is started, the CPU 11 executes the preparation process shown in FIG. 3 .

Note that the following processing and each processing step in the flowchart basically shows the processing of the CPU 11 according to instructions written in the program. That is, the processes such as "judgment", "extraction", "selection", "calculation", "determination", "identification", "acquisition", "reception", and "control" in the following explanation are performed by the CPU 11. represents. The processing by the CPU 11 also includes hardware control using the API of the OS 50 of the PC 10. In this specification, the operation of each program will be explained without describing the OS 50. That is, in the following description, a statement to the effect that "program B controls hardware C" may also refer to "program B controls hardware C using an API of the OS." Note that "acquisition" is used as a concept that does not require a request. That is, the process of receiving data without a request from the CPU 11 is also included in the concept of "the CPU 11 obtains data." Furthermore, "data" in this specification is represented by a computer-readable bit string. Furthermore, data having substantially the same meaning and content but different formats shall be treated as the same data. The same applies to "information" in this specification.

The CPU 11 first obtains notification function setting information from the MFP (S11). Before executing the process of S11, the notification program 42 identifies the MFP that the status monitor 41 is monitoring, and communicates with the identified MFP. Note that the notification program 42 may obtain information for specifying the MFP to be monitored from the status monitor 41, or may obtain management information managed by the OS 50 regarding information regarding device drivers installed in the PC 10. The MFP may be identified by referring to . The notification function setting information is stored in the memory of the MFP. The CPU 11 requests the MFP specified as a monitoring target to transmit notification function setting information stored in the memory of the MFP to the PC 10. Upon receiving the request, the MFP reads the notification function setting information from the memory and sends it back to the PC 10. The CPU 11 uses the communication IF 18 to receive notification function setting information transmitted from each MFP, and stores it in the RAM 13. That is, the notification program 42 functions as a client that requests information from the MFP, and the MFP functions as a server that provides the requested information. In this embodiment, the notification program 42 acquires notification function setting information from the MFPs 20, 21, and 22 that are monitored by the status monitor 41.

The CPU 11 determines whether there is an MFP that can notify based on the notification function setting information acquired in S10 (S13). The notification function setting information includes information indicating whether the notification function is enabled or disabled in the MFP, and information indicating that the MFP will not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed. include.

The information indicating whether the notification function is enabled or disabled in the MFP is enabled when the MFP is shipped from the factory. When the MFP receives an operation that instructs to enable or disable the notification function via the MFP's operation panel, or receives information instructing to enable or disable the notification function via the MFP's communication IF, the MFP stores memory Update the information in.

Information indicating that the MFP will not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed is not stored in the MFP when shipped from the factory. As will be described later, when the notification program 42 receives a selection operation of "OFF" on the radio button R31 of the edit screen D3 shown in FIG. 4 (S17: NO), the notification program 42 sends a restriction signal indicating that notification is unnecessary. It is associated with the identification information of the PC and transmitted to all MFPs specified as monitoring targets (S21). Upon receiving the restriction signal, the MFP stores in its memory information indicating that the MFP will not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed, in association with the identification information of the PC.

Note that in the process of S13, the determination may be made based on whether or not the MFP to be monitored by the status monitor 41 is a model that supports the notification function. Further, in the process of S13, the determination may be made based on the model name acquired from each MFP in the process of S11, the model name acquired from the status monitor 41, or the model name acquired by referring to the management information of the OS 50. good.

Although the CPU 11 includes information indicating that the notification function is enabled in the MFP in the notification enable setting information acquired in S11, the MFP does not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed. If there is notification function setting information that does not include information indicating this, it is determined that there is an MFP that can notify (S13: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of S15.

Note that the CPU 11 determines that all of the notification enable setting information acquired in S11 is information indicating that the notification function is disabled in the MFP, and that the MFP does not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed. If the notification enable setting information includes at least one of the following, it is determined that there is no MFP capable of notifying (S13: NO). In this case, the CPU 11 ends the process shown in FIG. 3 without opening the reception port.

The notification program 42 can accept settings for notifying information via the setting screen D3 shown in FIG. The notification program 42 may display the setting screen D3 when started for the first time. Further, the notification program 42 may display the setting screen D3 when an operation requesting display is received via the UI 15. The notification program 42 may display the setting screen D3 every time it is started. The setting screen D3 is provided with radio buttons R31 to R37. Radio button R31 accepts the setting of whether or not to display completion information when a completion notification is received. Radio button R33 accepts setting of display time for displaying information. Radio button R35 accepts settings for the type of information to be displayed. Radio button R37 accepts setting of timing for displaying completion information when multiple jobs are submitted.

The notification program 42 stores information received via the setting screen D3 in a storage area for the notification program 42 provided in the nonvolatile memory 14. For example, information received via radio button R31 is stored as display permission information. Further, the information received using the radio button R33 is stored as the notification time. Information received using radio button R35 is stored as a notification target. Information received using radio button R37 is stored as notification timing. The notification timing is an example of display frequency information.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the CPU 11 that has determined that notification is possible in S13 reads and acquires display permission information from the nonvolatile memory 14 (S15), and determines whether the acquired display permission information is information indicating display permission. (S17).

That is, when the CPU 11 selects "OFF" of the radio button R31 using the UI 15, the display permission information stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 includes information indicating that the completion information is not displayed. In this case, the CPU 11 determines that display is not possible (S17: NO), and transmits a restriction signal to the MFP to restrict transmission of notifications to the PC 10 (S21). The process in S21 is an example of "restriction process." The restriction signal may be sent to all MFPs connected to the PC 10, or may be sent only to the MFP that sent the notification function setting information indicating that the notification function is to be executed in S11.

For example, when the MFP 20 receives a restriction signal transmitted from the PC 10, the MFP 20 associates information indicating that the MFP will not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed with the identification information of the PC 10, and Store in memory. As a result, the MFP 20 will no longer notify the PC 10. After that, the CPU 11 ends the process shown in FIG. As a result, the MFP 20 does not send a completion notification to the PC 10 even though the notification program 42 does not notify completion information, and the MFP 20 and the PC 10 do not need to perform unnecessary communication.

Note that, for example, if a selection operation of "ON" is received on the radio button R31 on the setting screen D3 at another time, the notification program 42 will not notify the PC on which the notification program 42 is installed from the MFP. A cancellation signal instructing to cancel the information indicating the information is sent to the MFP to be monitored. Upon receiving the cancellation signal, the MFP deletes from memory information indicating that the MFP will not notify the PC in which the notification program 42 is installed. This allows the MFP to notify the PC. Therefore, the notification program 42 can cause the MFP 20 to notify the PC 10 or not, depending on instructions input to the UI 15. Note that, at the beginning of the preparation process, the notification program 42 determines whether the display permission information is set to display permission (whether "ON" is selected in the radio button R31 of the setting screen D3). It's okay. If the notification program 42 determines that display is possible (“ON” has been selected), the notification program 42 transmits a release signal to all of the MFPs to be monitored when performing the process in S11, so that the information is stored in the memory of the MFP. The MFP may be made to delete the information contained in the information.

On the other hand, when the CPU 11 selects "ON" of the radio button R31 using the UI 15, the display permission information stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 includes information indicating whether the completion information can be displayed. In this case, the CPU 11 determines that display is possible (S17: YES), and opens the reception port of the communication IF 18 (S19). The process in S19 is an example of a "release process." By opening the reception port, the CPU 11 becomes able to receive notifications addressed to itself from each MFP via the communication IF 18.

Specifically, the notification program 42 and the MFP are programmed to use predetermined port numbers. If the notification program 42 determines that display is possible, it instructs the OS 50 to open a reception port so that data can be received using TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) using a predetermined port number. For example, when the MFP 20 completes printing a print job sent from the PC 10, it specifies a predetermined port number and sends a completion notification to the print job sender (PC 10). The OS 50 stores a predetermined port number and a program that instructs the opening of the port in association with each other. Therefore, when the communication IF 18 receives data (for example, a notification of completion) transmitted to a predetermined port number, the OS 50 can pass the data to the notification program 42. In other words, by opening the reception port, the notification program 42 can receive data sent from each MFP to its own device via the OS 50. That is, the notification program 42 functions as a server that provides a completion notification notification service, and the MFP functions as a client that inputs a completion notification to the notification service. Hereinafter, "the notification program 42 receives the notification" means "the notification program 42 receives the notification received by the OS 50 via the reception port from the OS 50." The CPU 11 that has opened the reception port ends the process. Note that the opened reception port is closed when the notification program 42 is terminated.

Next, a description will be given of a monitoring process for monitoring the execution status of a print job. The notification program 42 executes the monitoring process shown in FIG. 5 upon opening the receiving port. For convenience, the monitoring process is shown as a continuous process in FIG. 5, but it may actually be an intermittent process. In the following description, the notification program 42 notifies various information by displaying on the display 16, but the notification method is not limited to this, and may include audio output or the like.

Note that the OS 50 executes various processes in parallel with the processing of the notification program 42. For example, the OS 50 transmits a print job stored in the spooler 52 from the application program 61 via the device driver 40 . The print job specifies the MFP 20 that executes printing. The OS 50 sends the print job to the designated MFP 20. In addition to designating the MFP 20, the print job is attached with information that identifies the sender of the print job and job identification information that identifies the print job. The information identifying the sender is, for example, an IP address or a Mac address. The information identifying the sender may be another type of network address or the serial number of the PC 10. The information that identifies the transmission source is an example of "device identification information."

Upon receiving the print job, the MFP 20 executes printing. The MFP 20 sequentially receives a plurality of print jobs and prints them. The plurality of print jobs may include a plurality of print jobs transmitted from the PC 10, or may include print jobs transmitted from the PCs 11, 12, and the like. When printing the print job received from the PC 10, the MFP 20 transmits a notification according to the execution status. The notification includes device identification information and job identification information attached to the print job that executed printing. The notification also includes a predetermined port number programmed into MFP 20. That is, the MFP 20 sends various notifications to the PC 10 that sent the print job. The monitoring process is a process in which the notification program 42 monitors various notifications sent from the MFP 20.

First, the CPU 11 determines whether any notification has been received from the MFP via the opened reception port (S101). If the CPU 11 does not receive any notification transmitted from the MFP via the reception port using the communication IF 18 (S101: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether a timeout condition is satisfied (S108). The timeout condition is that the second threshold time elapses after the OS 50 starts sending the print job to the MFP. The transmission start time may be obtained by inquiring the spooler 52, for example. Alternatively, the notification program 42 may monitor the spooler 52 to determine the print job transmission start time. The second threshold time may be a fixed value, a set value set by the user, or a variable value depending on the total number of prints of the print job. When the CPU 11 determines that the timeout condition is not satisfied (S108: NO), the process returns to S101.

When the CPU 11 determines that the notification waiting time has exceeded the second threshold time (S108: YES), the CPU 11 displays uncompleted information indicating that the print job is not completed on the display 16 (S109). For example, the CPU 11 pops up a dialog DL11 that displays a message as shown in FIG. 6A, according to the display time set via the radio button R33 in FIG. 4, for example. Then, for example, the CPU 11 displays, in the dialog DL11, a message indicating that the job is incomplete, such as "There is an incomplete job." This allows the user to check the message without the hassle of displaying or deleting the message. In addition, in the following, when informing information according to a notification, a dialog DL11 of the same size is displayed at the same display position on the display 16 for the same display time, and only the content of the information displayed on the dialog DL11 is different. shall be. For example, a user who specifies the MFP 20 to print can see the uncompleted message and recognize that since the MFP 20 is not printing, there is no need to go to the MFP 20 to pick up printed matter.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 11 acquires status information of the MFP to which the job is to be sent (S111), and displays the status information using the display 16 (S113). For example, the CPU 11 refers to the status information of the MFP 20 that the status monitor 41 has acquired from the MFP 20, and if information indicating busy is included, the CPU 11 displays the message "Printing has not been completed because the status monitor 41 is busy. Please wait for a while." A dialog DL11 that displays a message indicating the status of the MFP 20 such as "" is displayed as a pop-up using the display 16. At the same time, the status monitor 41 may display that it is busy, for example, via an icon A21 as shown in FIG. 6(C). For example, when the CPU 11 obtains error information such as a paper jam, the CPU 11 displays a dialog DL11 that displays an error message such as "Printing has not been completed due to a paper jam. Please remove the paper." 16 to display a popup. Therefore, the user who sees the message knows the status of the MFP 20 and can easily take measures such as repairs appropriate for executing the print job at an early stage. After displaying the incomplete information and status information, the CPU 11 returns to S101 and waits for notification. The processes from S108 to S113 are an example of "incomplete notification process."

Note that the processes of S109 and S113 may be performed together, and the incomplete information and status information may be notified together. Further, either the processing in S109 or the processing in S111 to S113 may be omitted, and only one of the incomplete information and the status information may be displayed. Further, a cancel button may be provided in the dialog DL11 that displays incomplete information or status information so that printing can be canceled. This is convenient because, for example, if the printing is likely to take a long time to complete, the user can cancel the printing. Further, the status monitor 41 may display the status information in a pop-up manner in the same manner as the notification of incomplete information in S109. In this case, the notification program 42 may omit the processing of S109 and S113.

When the CPU 11 determines that some notification has been received from the MFP via the reception port (S101: YES), the CPU 11 determines the notification target (S103). For example, when "Completion only" of the radio button R35 is selected using the UI 15 on the setting screen D3 shown in FIG. I remember. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 11 determines that the notification target is only completion (S103: YES), and determines whether a completion notification has been received (S105). The process in S105 is an example of a "completion detection process." If the received notification is not a completion notification, the CPU 11 determines that no completion notification has been received (S105: NO), and returns to the process of S101.

On the other hand, if the received notification is a completion notification, the CPU 11 determines that a completion notification has been received (S105: YES), notifies completion information (S107), and then returns to the process of S101.

The completion information notification process in S107 will be explained with reference to FIG. The CPU 11 determines the notification timing (S401). When the CPU 11 accepts the selection of "When each job is completed" via the radio button R37 on the setting screen D3 shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 11 determines that the notification timing is every time (S401: every time). Therefore, the CPU 11 notifies completion information (S403) and ends the process.

On the other hand, when the CPU 11 receives the selection of "When all jobs are completed" via the radio button R37 on the setting screen D3 shown in FIG. are doing. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 11 determines that the notification timing is only the last (S401: only the last), and determines whether the received completion notification is the last completion notification (S405).

For example, the CPU 11 compares, for print jobs with the same job identification information, the number of times the spooler 52 sent the print job to the MFP 20 and the number of completion notifications that the MFP 20 sent after completing the print job received from the spooler 52. do. If the number of transmissions and the number of completion notifications do not match, the CPU 11 determines that it is not the last completion notification (S405: NO). In this case, the CPU 11 ends the process without notifying completion information. On the other hand, if the number of transmissions and the number of completion notifications match, the CPU 11 determines that this is the last completion notification (S405: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 notifies completion information (S403) and then ends the process.

Here, the completion information is reported in the same manner as when the status monitor 41 reports error information. For example, as shown in FIG. 6(A), the CPU 11 displays completion information as a pop-up (an example of the first aspect). Specifically, a dialog DL11 of a predetermined size (an example of a first size) is displayed in a central area (an example of a first area) of the display 16. A completion message such as "Printing has been completed" is displayed in the dialog DL11. Dialog DL11 is displayed for a predetermined display time.

On the other hand, the status monitor 41 also displays abnormality information (for example, error information, warning information) in a pop-up manner (first mode). That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(B), the status monitor 41 displays a dialog DL21 of a predetermined size for displaying abnormality information in the central area of the display 16 for a predetermined display time. Note that when the status monitor 41 displays information other than the abnormality information (for example, the remaining amount of ink), the status monitor 41 displays the task bar using the display 16 as shown in FIG. 6(C) (an example of a second aspect). ). That is, information is notified via the icon A21 displayed in the task bar area DA11. The notification program 42 easily attracts the user's attention in the same manner as the abnormal information by displaying the completion information in the same manner as the abnormal information.

Note that the notification mode of completion information in S403 is the same as the notification mode of incomplete information, status information, start information, progress information, etc. in S109, S113, S119, and S123 of FIG. 5, except for the display content of dialog DL11. . Therefore, information such as incomplete information, status information, start information, and progress information is also reported in the same notification manner as error information and warning information of the status monitor 41, and is easily recognized by the user as information indicating the status of the printer.

In this embodiment, the dialogs DL21 and DL11 are pop-up displayed in the same size, at the same display position, and for the same display time, so that the notification mode of error information etc. by the status monitor 41 and the notification mode of completion information etc. by the notification program 42 are different. It's in the same way. On the other hand, the notification mode of error information etc. by the status monitor 41 and the notification mode of completion information etc. by the notification program 42 are not limited to pop-up display, and may be the same in other modes. For example, the status monitor 41 and the notification program 42 may each display error information, completion information, etc. in a toast display. For example, if either the size and display position of the dialogs DL11 and DL21 are the same, it is assumed that the notification mode of error information etc. by the status monitor 41 and the notification mode of completion information etc. by the notification program 42 are the same mode. Good too.

By being notified of print job completion information, the user can confirm that printing has been completed by viewing the completion message in the dialog DL11 that pops up, even if the user is performing work other than the print job. , you can go to the MFP 20 to pick up printed matter. Therefore, the user does not have to wait in front of the MFP 20 for printing to be completed. Further, the user can notice that his or her printed matter is in the MFP 20 based on the completion information, and can prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printed matter. In addition, since only completion information can be notified using radio button R31, it is possible to limit the frequency of pop-up displays to only notification of completion information, depending on the user's preference, and reduce the annoyance of notifications. .

In response to the above, for example, when "all" of the radio button R35 is selected using the UI 15 on the setting screen D3 shown in FIG. It is stored in the gender memory 14. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 11 determines that the notification targets are all (S103: All), and determines whether a start notification has been received (S115). The process in S115 is an example of "start reception process."

If the CPU 11 determines that the start notification has been received (S115: YES), the CPU 11 determines whether the start information notification conditions are satisfied (S117). For example, the CPU 11 compares the transmission start time at which the transmission of the print job was started with the current time, and determines whether or not the first threshold time is exceeded. When determining that the first threshold time has not been exceeded, the CPU 11 determines that the start information notification condition is not satisfied (S117: NO), and proceeds to the process of S121, which will be described later. The first threshold time may be a fixed value or a value set by the user.

On the other hand, when determining that the first threshold time is exceeded, the CPU 11 determines that the start information notification condition is satisfied (S117: YES), reports the start information (S119), and then proceeds to the process of S121. The process in S119 is an example of "start information notification process." For example, the CPU 11 pops up a start message such as "Printing has started." If printing is started immediately after inputting a print job to the MFP 20, the importance of the start information is not high, and displaying the start information immediately may cause the user to feel troubled. Therefore, the notification program 42 can avoid bothering the user by displaying the start information after the first threshold time has elapsed. Further, the user knows that the MFP 20 has started printing by reporting the start information, and can predict when printing will be completed. Further, the start information can prevent forgetting to take out printed matter printed by the MFP 20.

In the process of S121, the CPU 11 determines whether partial completion information has been received. The process in S121 is an example of "partially completed reception process." When the received notification is a notification indicating progress, the CPU 11 determines that a partial completion notification has been received (S121: YES), and notifies progress information (S123). The process of S123 is an example of a "partial completion notification process." For example, when executing a print job with a large number of pages, the MFP 20 transmits a partial completion notification indicating completion of printing of 100 pages every time printing of a predetermined page (for example, 100 pages) is completed. For example, when the CPU 11 receives a partial completion notification indicating that printing of the 100th page has been completed, the CPU 11 displays a progress message such as "Printing up to page 100 has been completed" in the dialog DL11 along with a cancel button. do. Dialog DL11 is displayed as a pop-up. As a result, even if a large number of sheets are to be printed and printing takes a long time, the user can confirm that the printing is halfway completed based on the progress information. Therefore, it is possible to give the user a sense of security. Note that the cancel button may be displayed together with the start message.

On the other hand, if the received notification is not a notification indicating progress, the CPU 11 determines not to receive a partial completion notification (S121: NO), and proceeds to the process of S125 without reporting progress information. In the process of S125, the CPU 11 determines whether the cancel button displayed together with the progress message or the like has been pressed. If it is determined that the cancel button has been pressed (S125: YES), the CPU 11 executes the first cancel process (S129). After that, the CPU 11 returns to the process of S101.

The first cancellation process will be explained with reference to FIG. 8. The CPU 11 transmits a print cancellation instruction to the main body (MFP) that executes the print job (S201). For example, when the MFP 20 receives a print job transmitted from the PC 10 and receives a print cancel instruction transmitted using the notification program 42, it stops the printing in progress and deletes the print job. S201 is an example of "first cancellation processing". Therefore, the CPU 11 can cause the MFP 20 to cancel printing while the MFP 20 is in the middle of executing a print job.

After transmitting the print cancellation instruction, the CPU 11 notifies the print cancellation information using the display 16. For example, the CPU 11 uses the display 16 to pop up a dialog DL11 that displays a print cancellation message such as "Printing is being canceled."

The CPU 11 that has notified the printing cancellation information displays printed matter information indicating that the printed matter is in the main body using the display 16 (S205), and ends the process. The process of S205 is an example of "first printed matter notification process." Since the cancel button is pressed after the MFP 20 starts printing, the MFP 20 has printed matter that has been partially executed for the print job. By displaying the printed matter information on the display 16, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printed matter remaining in the MFP 20.

In this way, when canceling on the PC 10 side, the user can confirm that printing by the MFP 20 has been canceled by notifying the printing cancellation information. Further, by notifying the printed matter information, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printed matter remaining in the MFP 20.

Returning to FIG. 5, if the CPU 11 determines that the cancel button has not been pressed (S125: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether the cancellation notification sent by the MFP 20 to the PC 10 has been received via the reception port (S127). ). The MFP 20 can receive a cancel operation for canceling a print job using the operation panel of the MFP 20 . When the MFP 20 receives a cancellation operation, it transmits a cancellation notification with device identification information, job identification information, etc. attached to the print job.

When the received notification is a cancellation notification, the CPU 11 determines that a cancellation notification has been received (S127: YES), and executes the second cancellation process (S131). After that, the CPU 11 returns to the process of S101.

The second cancellation process will be explained with reference to FIG. 9. The CPU 11 determines whether there are any unsent jobs (S301). That is, the CPU 11 determines whether a print job remains in the spooler 52 and the print job is being sent from the spooler 52 to the MFP 20. If the job remains in the spooler 51, the CPU 11 determines that there is an unsent job (S301: YES). In this case, the CPU 11 outputs a transmission cancellation instruction to cancel the transmission of the print job to the spooler 52 (S303). Upon receiving the transmission cancellation instruction, the spooler 52 stops transmitting the print job and deletes the print job that is being transmitted. Therefore, the CPU 11 can cancel the transmission of the print job while the spooler 52 is in the middle of transmitting the print job.

After transmitting the transmission cancellation instruction, the CPU 11 notifies the cancellation information (S305). For example, the CPU 11 uses the display 16 to pop up a dialog DL11 that displays a cancellation message such as "Printing has been cancelled."

Then, the CPU 11 notifies printed matter information indicating that the printed matter is in the main body (S307). The process of S307 is performed after receiving the start notification. Therefore, the printed matter remains in the MFP 20. Therefore, the CPU 11 uses the display 16 to display a pop-up message such as "Printed matter remains. Please go pick it up."

Note that if there are no print jobs remaining in the spooler 52, the CPU 11 determines that there are no unsent print jobs (S301: NO). In this case, since the transmission of the print job cannot be canceled, the process advances to step S307.

In this way, when printing is canceled on the MFP 20 side, the cancellation information is displayed so that the user notices that his or her printing has been canceled and can retry printing. Further, by notifying the printed matter information, it is possible to prevent the user from forgetting to take out the printed matter remaining in the MFP 20.

Returning to FIG. 5, when determining that the cancellation notification has not been received (S127: NO), the CPU 11 determines whether or not a completion notification has been received (S105). Since the processing from S105 onwards has been described above, the explanation will be omitted.

In this way, not only the completion notification but also the start information, progress information, etc. are notified, so that the user can keep track of the execution status of his or her printing. Even in this case, each piece of information is broadcast in response to a notification received via an open reception port, so the communication load and processing load are reduced compared to polling or the like.

Next, the operation of the PC 10 when transmitting a print job from the spooler 52 to the MFP 20 in the image processing system 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. When the CPU 11 detects the transmission of a print job, the CPU 11 executes the job transmission monitoring process shown in FIG. 10 in parallel with the notification process shown in FIG. Execute by.

The CPU 11 inquires about the job from the spooler 52 (S501). The CPU 11 determines whether the spooler 52 has completed sending all jobs (S503). If the CPU 11 does not complete the transmission of all jobs (S503: NO), the CPU 11 displays the transmission information using the display 16 (S505). For example, the CPU 11 displays a job sending message such as "Print job is being sent" along with a cancel button. The process in S505 is an example of "transmission notification process."

The CPU 11 determines whether the cancel button has been pressed (S507). If the cancel button is not pressed (S507: NO), the CPU 11 returns to the process of S501. The CPU 11 repeats the processing from S501 to S507, and ends the processing when the spooler 52 completes sending all jobs (S503: YES).

On the other hand, if the cancel button is pressed (S507: YES), the CPU 11 transmits a print cancel instruction to cancel printing to the main body to which the print job is sent (S509). Then, the CPU 11 displays print cancellation information using the display 16 (S511). Thereafter, the CPU 11 determines whether a start notification has been received (S513). If the start notification has been received (S513: YES), part of the print job has been executed and some printed matter remains in the MFP 20. Therefore, the CPU 11 notifies the printed matter information (S515) and then ends the process. On the other hand, if the CPU 11 has not received the start notification (S513: NO), the printing is canceled before the MFP 20 executes the printing, and there is no printed material in the MFP 20, so the CPU 11 performs the processing without notifying the printed material information. end. The processes in S509, S511, and S515 are the same as the processes in S201, S203, and S205, so the description thereof will be omitted. The process in S509 is an example of "second cancellation process." The process of S515 is an example of "second printed matter notification process".

As described above, in the image processing system 100 of this embodiment, a print job is input from the PC 10 to the MFP 20. Thereafter, the PC 10 receives a print job completion notification from the MFP 20, and uses the notification program 42 installed in the PC 10 to notify information indicating the completion of the print job via the display 16 of the PC 10. This allows the user to know that printing based on the print job has been completed, thereby improving notification on the PC 10.

Note that another method of notifying the completion information is to detect the completion of printing by the MFP by polling and display the completion information. An example of another aspect is shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 11. In this embodiment, the completion information is displayed using the status monitor 41 (an example of a program).

When notifying the completion information of the MFP 20 on the PC 10 in the image processing system 100 of this embodiment, first, when the status monitor 41 is started, the status monitor 41 acquires driver information, which is information on the device driver to be monitored, from the OS 50. do.

Furthermore, if there is a device driver, the status monitor 41 is configured to notify the OS 50 that a job has been registered when a job that uses the device driver to be monitored is registered. Hereinafter, this notification will be referred to as a "job registration notification."

After the status monitor 41 performs notification settings for the OS 50, it starts periodically inquiring about the status of all the devices that are monitored by the status monitor 41. That is, the status monitor 41 functions as a client that requests information from the MFP, and the MFP functions as a server that provides the requested information. In this way, the status monitor 41 starts monitoring the status of the MFP 20.

Thereafter, when a print job using the device driver 40 to be monitored is registered in the PC 10, a job registration notification is output from the OS 50 to the status monitor 41, making it possible to report information.

When the print job ends, the OS 50 outputs a job end notification to the status monitor 41. Note that the end of the print job means that the print data of the final page has been output from the spooler 52. When the status monitor 41 receives a job completion notification, it notifies completion information.

In this manner, the status monitor 41 monitors the status of the MFP 20 to which the print job has been sent from the OS 50, and when it detects that printing has been completed, notifies completion information. Therefore, the user goes to pick up the printed matter at the timing when the completion information is notified, and is prevented from waiting in front of the MFP 20 due to unfinished printing. Also, forgetting to take out printed matter is suppressed.

Note that this embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention in any way. Therefore, the present invention is naturally capable of various improvements and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. In the above embodiment, a print job is described as an example of an image forming job, but the image forming job may be a scan job. A scan job includes processing from reading an image to generating image data.

For example, the notification program 42 may inquire of the MFP regarding the execution status of the print job, and may notify completion information when the actual status indicating the completion of the print job is received. The notification program 42 also acquires status information of the MFP via the spooler 52, and when the spooler 52 acquires status information indicating completion of the print job, sends information indicating that the print job is completed from the spooler 52. The information may be received and the completion information may be notified. The same applies to notification of start information, etc. However, as in the above embodiment, by broadcasting information in response to a notification, the processing load and communication load are reduced compared to the case where information is broadcast by polling.

The manner in which the notification program 42 reports completion information may be different from the manner in which the status monitor 41 reports error information. However, by making the notification mode the same, it becomes easier for the user to understand the completion information. Further, it is possible to attract the user's attention to completion information in the same way as error information.

The processes of S15 to S17 and S21 in FIG. 3 may be omitted. However, by executing these processes, when the completion information is not displayed, it is possible to avoid receiving the completion notification from the MFP 20, and unnecessary communication can be avoided.

The processes of S121 and S123 in FIG. 5 may be omitted. However, after executing these processes and submitting a print job, progress information is reported each time the printing of the print job is completed for a predetermined page, so the user can be informed that printing has been completed up to the predetermined page. You can know. This also improves the notification on the PC 10.

The processes of S117 to S119 in FIG. 5 may be omitted. However, after these processes are executed and the print job is submitted, information indicating that the print job has started is displayed, allowing the user to know that printing has started. notification will be improved.

The process of S117 in FIG. 5 may be omitted. In other words, the start information may be notified regardless of the elapse of the first threshold time. However, if printing is started immediately after inputting a print job, the importance of the start information is not high, and the notification of the start information may cause the user to feel troubled. This can be avoided by executing the process of S117 and determining that the start information notification condition is satisfied if the first threshold time has not elapsed, and not reporting the start information.

The processes of S125 and S129 in FIG. 5 may be omitted. However, the user can cancel the print job in the middle of execution based on the notification by accepting the cancellation while the print job is being executed after submitting the print job. Furthermore, the processes in S127 and S131 may be omitted. However, by executing this process, transmission of the print job from the OS 50 can be canceled in response to a cancel operation on the main body.

The processing in S205 in FIG. 8 and S307 in FIG. 9 may be omitted. However, if you cancel after printing has started, part of the job will be canceled, and the printed matter will remain, but the user may forget to take it. Therefore, by executing the processes of S205 and S307 and notifying the user of the presence of printed matter, it is possible to prevent forgetting to take out printed matter.

The process in FIG. 10 may be omitted. However, by executing this process, notifying the transmission of the print job while it is being sent, and accepting cancellation during the transmission, the user can cancel the job before the MFP 20 executes the print job based on the notification. .

The notification timing may not be selected. However, the convenience of notification is improved by being able to select whether to notify completion information only for the last completion notification or to notify completion information each time a completion notification is received.

The process of S109 in FIG. 5 may be omitted. However, if this processing is executed and printing is not completed even after a long time has elapsed, the notification on the PC 10 can be improved by notifying the user of this fact. For example, if printing is disabled due to a paper jam or the like in the printer 10, it is possible to indicate to the user that there is an abnormality in the printer, and an early restart of printing can be expected.

The processes of S108 to S113 in FIG. 5 may be omitted. However, by executing this process and displaying the status of the MFP 20 when it times out, it is possible to expect early repair of the MFP 20.

If the device driver 40 has a function of dividing the print data received from the application program 61 into predetermined pages and generating multiple print jobs, the MFP receives the multiple print jobs and executes printing. do. Then, the MFP notifies the PC of completion notification every time one print job is completed. In this case, the same job identification information is attached to multiple print jobs and multiple completion notifications. Therefore, the notification program 42 may determine whether the received completion notification is the last completion notification by comparing the number of print jobs with the same job identification information and the number of completion notifications.

In the above embodiment, the notification program 42 notifies completion information and the like through a pump-up display. On the other hand, completion information etc. may be notified by toast display. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the completion information, start information, etc. that are notified in response to the completion notification, start notification, etc. are notified in the same manner (pop-up display). On the other hand, completion information and information other than completion information may be notified in different ways, such as displaying completion information in a pop-up and displaying start information other than completion information on a task bar.

If the MFP has a function of calculating the degree of progress, it may transmit information indicating the degree of progress to the PC as a partial completion notification when a predetermined degree of progress is reached. In this case, the notification program 42 may notify the degree of progress as progress information in response to the partial completion notification.

In the above embodiment, the dialog DL11 that displays a completion message etc. is automatically deleted according to the display time, but even if an OK button is displayed on the dialog DL11 and the OK button operation is accepted, the dialog DL11 is deleted. good.

Furthermore, in any of the flowcharts disclosed in the embodiments, the execution order of a plurality of processes in any plurality of steps can be arbitrarily changed or executed in parallel as long as there is no inconsistency in the processing contents.

Furthermore, the processing disclosed in the embodiments may be executed by a single CPU, multiple CPUs, hardware such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Further, the processes disclosed in the embodiments can be realized in various forms such as a recording medium recording a program for executing the processes, or a method.

100 Image processing system 10 PC
11 CPU
18 Communication IF
20 MFP
42 Notification program

Claims (15)

A system comprising an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus that transmits an image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the information processing apparatus transmitting information to the image forming apparatus via a communication interface provided in the information processing apparatus. transmitting an image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the image forming job being transmitted to the image forming apparatus together with apparatus identification information that identifies the information processing apparatus;
A program set including a first program and a second program different from the first program is installed in the information processing device,
The first program is configured to cause the computer of the information processing device to:
causing the communication interface of the information processing device to perform an opening process to open a reception port for receiving a completion notification transmitted from the image forming device;
The image forming apparatus includes:
When an image forming job sent from the information processing device and the device identification information sent from the information processing device together with the image forming job are received, image formation based on the image forming job is executed, and the image forming job After completion of the image formation based on the image formation job, the completion notification indicating the completion of execution of the image formation based on the image formation job is sent using the device identification information received by the image forming apparatus together with the image formation job. sending the image forming job to the information processing device that is the sending source of the image forming job;
The second program causes the computer of the information processing device to:
a status notification acquisition process that periodically acquires a status notification indicating the status of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
executing a status information display process of displaying status information indicating a status of the image forming apparatus on a display that is a user interface included in the information processing apparatus, based on the status notification acquired by the status notification acquisition process; and in the status information display process, when the status notification acquired by the status notification acquisition process indicates an abnormal status of the image forming apparatus, the status information indicating the abnormal status is displayed on the display in a first manner. and when the status notification acquired by the status notification acquisition process indicates a status different from the abnormal status of the image forming apparatus, the status information indicating the status different from the abnormal status is displayed on the first display on the display in a second mode different from the mode,
The first program is
After the information processing device transmits the image forming job to the image forming device, the communication interface with the open reception port transmits the completion notification addressed to the information processing device to the destination of the image forming job. When received from the image forming apparatus, the computer of the information processing apparatus:
executing completion information notification processing that causes completion information indicating completion of execution of the image formation based on the image formation job to be displayed on the display in the first mode ;
A system characterized by: The system according to claim 1 ,
The first program is
In the completion information notifying process, the completion information is displayed in a first size in a first area of the display, and the first area is a display area where the second program detects an abnormality of the image forming apparatus in the status information display process. The area is an area where information is displayed and is different from an area where the second program displays information other than abnormality information of the image forming apparatus in the status information display process, and the first size is The second program has a size that displays abnormality information of the image forming apparatus in the status information display process, and the second program displays information that is not abnormal information of the image forming apparatus in the status information display process. The size is different from that of
A system characterized by: In the computer of the information processing device,
Execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job is acquired from the image forming apparatus through a communication interface included in the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the acquired execution information. The image forming job is a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
Furthermore, the computer
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, a completion information notification process is executed to notify a user interface of the information processing apparatus of completion information indicating completion of execution of the image forming job. height,
Furthermore, the computer
causing the communication interface included in the information processing device to perform an opening process to open a reception port for receiving a notification transmitted from the image forming device;
In the completion detection process,
After the information processing apparatus transmits the image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the communication interface with the reception port opened sends a completion notification which is one of the execution information and is addressed to the information processing apparatus. By receiving the completion notification of the image forming job, completion of execution of the image forming job is detected, and the image forming job transmitted from the information processing device is sent together with device identification information that identifies the information processing device. transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and when the image forming apparatus completes image formation based on the image forming job received from the information processing apparatus, using the apparatus identification information received together with the image forming job, transmitting the completion notification indicating completion of execution of the image forming job to the information processing apparatus that is the transmission source of the image forming job;
Furthermore, the computer
If information indicating whether display is possible is set in the display availability information indicating whether or not to display the completion information, the completion detection process and the completion information notification process are executed, and the display availability information is set to display whether the completion information is displayable. Information that indicates either display is not possible is the information that is set,
Furthermore, the computer
When information indicating that display is not allowed is set in the display permission/prohibition information, causing the image forming apparatus to execute a restriction process of outputting a restriction signal that restricts transmission of the completion notification to the information processing apparatus; The image forming apparatus that has received the restriction signal does not transmit the completion notification to the information processing apparatus even if image formation based on the image forming job received from the information processing apparatus has been completed.
A program characterized by: In the computer of the information processing device,
Execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job is acquired from the image forming apparatus through a communication interface included in the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the acquired execution information. The image forming job is a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
Furthermore, the computer
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, a completion information notification process is executed to notify a user interface of the information processing apparatus of completion information indicating completion of execution of the image forming job. height,
Furthermore, the computer
causing the communication interface included in the information processing device to perform an opening process to open a reception port for receiving a notification transmitted from the image forming device;
In the completion detection process,
After the information processing apparatus transmits the image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the communication interface with the reception port opened sends a completion notification which is one of the execution information and is addressed to the information processing apparatus. By receiving the completion notification of the image forming job, completion of execution of the image forming job is detected, and the image forming job transmitted from the information processing device is sent together with device identification information that identifies the information processing device. transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and when the image forming apparatus completes image formation based on the image forming job received from the information processing apparatus, using the apparatus identification information received together with the image forming job, transmitting the completion notification indicating completion of execution of the image forming job to the information processing apparatus that is the transmission source of the image forming job;
Furthermore, the computer
The image forming apparatus executes a partial completion reception process of receiving a partial completion notification of the image forming job via the communication interface with the reception port opened, and the image forming apparatus receives the image received from the information processing apparatus. Each time image formation based on a formation job is completed for a predetermined page, the information processing apparatus that is the transmission source of the image formation job sends the partial completion notification indicating completion of image formation on the predetermined page of the image formation job. and send it to
Furthermore, the computer
When the partial completion notification is received in the partial completion receiving process, executing a partial completion notification process that causes the user interface to notify partial completion information indicating completion of execution of a part of the image forming job. let,
A program characterized by: In the computer of the information processing device,
Execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job is acquired from the image forming apparatus through a communication interface included in the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the acquired execution information. The image forming job is a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
Furthermore, the computer
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, a completion information notification process is executed to notify a user interface of the information processing apparatus of completion information indicating completion of execution of the image forming job. height,
Furthermore, the computer
causing the communication interface included in the information processing device to perform an opening process to open a reception port for receiving a notification transmitted from the image forming device;
In the completion detection process,
After the information processing apparatus transmits the image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the communication interface with the reception port opened sends a completion notification which is one of the execution information and is addressed to the information processing apparatus. By receiving the completion notification of the image forming job, completion of execution of the image forming job is detected, and the image forming job transmitted from the information processing device is sent together with device identification information that identifies the information processing device. transmitted to the image forming apparatus, and when the image forming apparatus completes image formation based on the image forming job received from the information processing apparatus, using the apparatus identification information received together with the image forming job, transmitting the completion notification indicating completion of execution of the image forming job to the information processing apparatus that is the transmission source of the image forming job;
Furthermore, the computer
The image forming apparatus executes a start reception process of receiving a start notification of the image forming job via the communication interface in which the receiving port is opened, and the image forming apparatus executes a start reception process based on the image forming job received from the information processing apparatus. when image formation is started, transmitting the start notification indicating the start of execution of the image forming job to the information processing apparatus that is the transmission source of the image forming job;
Furthermore, the computer
when the start notification is received in the start reception process, executing a start information notification process that causes the user interface to notify start information indicating the start of execution of the image forming job;
A program characterized by: In the program according to claim 5 ,
In the start information notification process,
If the elapsed time since the image forming job is sent exceeds the first threshold time, the start information is notified to the user interface, and if the elapsed time does not exceed the first threshold time, the start information is notified. not allowing information to be reported to the user interface;
A program characterized by: In the program according to claim 5 or claim 6 ,
to the computer;
During the period in which the start information is reported to the user interface in the start information notification process, a first cancel instruction for canceling the image forming job that is currently being formed is received, and upon receiving the first cancel instruction; in response, executing a first cancellation process for canceling the image forming job;
A program characterized by: The program according to claim 7 ,
to the computer;
If the image forming job is a print job and the print job is canceled in the first cancellation process, executing a first print notification process that causes the user interface to notify print information indicating that there is a print product.
A program characterized by: In the computer of the information processing device,
Execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job is acquired from the image forming apparatus through a communication interface included in the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the acquired execution information. The image forming job is a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
Furthermore, the computer
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, a completion information notification process is executed to notify a user interface of the information processing apparatus of completion information indicating completion of execution of the image forming job. height,
Furthermore, the computer
During a period from when the image forming job is registered in the operating system of the information processing apparatus until the transmission of the image forming job to the image forming apparatus is completed, transmission information indicating that the image forming job is being transmitted is transmitted. a transmission notification process for causing the user interface to notify;
During a period in which the transmission information is reported to the user interface in the transmission notification process, a second cancellation instruction for canceling the image forming job that is being transmitted is received, and in response to receiving the second cancellation instruction; , a second cancellation process for canceling the image forming job;
to execute,
A program characterized by: The program according to claim 9 ,
to the computer;
When the image forming job is a print job, the print job is canceled in the second cancellation process, and execution of the print job has started, print information indicating that there is a print job. executing a second printed matter notification process that causes the user interface to notify the
A program characterized by: In the computer of the information processing device,
Execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job is acquired from the image forming apparatus through a communication interface included in the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the acquired execution information. The image forming job is a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
Furthermore, the computer
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, a completion information notification process is executed to notify a user interface of the information processing apparatus of completion information indicating completion of execution of the image forming job. height,
In the completion information notification process,
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, if there is no other image forming job sent from the information processing apparatus remaining in the image forming apparatus, and if the operating system of the information processing apparatus is When there is no other image forming job remaining in the system to be sent to the image forming apparatus, the completion information is notified to the user interface, and the image forming apparatus is sent to the image forming apparatus to perform the other image forming job sent from the information processing apparatus. If a job remains, or if the operating system of the information processing device has another image forming job to be sent to the image forming device, the completion information is not reported to the user interface;
A program characterized by: The program according to claim 11 ,
In the completion information notification process,
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process,
If information indicating the last is set in the display frequency information indicating the display frequency of the completion information, there is no other image forming job sent from the information processing apparatus remaining in the image forming apparatus, and the information If there is no other image forming job remaining in the operating system of the processing device to be sent to the image forming device, the completion information is notified on the user interface, and the completion information is sent from the information processing device to the image forming device. If there is another image forming job remaining, or if there is another image forming job remaining in the operating system of the information processing apparatus to be sent to the image forming apparatus, the completion information is not reported to the user interface. ,
If information indicating "every time" is set in the display frequency information, regardless of whether there are other image forming jobs remaining in the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus to be sent to the image forming apparatus, the completion Information is reported on the user interface, and the display frequency information is information in which information indicating either last or every time is set.
A program characterized by: In the computer of the information processing device,
Execution information indicating the execution status of the image forming job is acquired from the image forming apparatus through a communication interface included in the information processing apparatus, and the image forming job is transmitted to the image forming apparatus based on the acquired execution information. The image forming job is a job transmitted from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
Furthermore, the computer
When the completion of execution of the image forming job is detected in the completion detection process, a completion information notification process is executed to notify a user interface of the information processing apparatus of completion information indicating completion of execution of the image forming job. height,
Furthermore, the computer
If the elapsed time since the image forming job was sent exceeds a second threshold time, execute incomplete notification processing to notify the user interface of incomplete information indicating that there is an incomplete image forming job. let,
A program characterized by: The program according to claim 13 ,
In the incomplete notification process,
If the elapsed time since the image forming job was sent exceeds the second threshold time, the state information indicating the state of the image forming apparatus is acquired, and the acquired state information is sent to the user along with the incomplete information. Notify the interface,
A program characterized by: a communication interface;
a user interface;
computer and
An information processing device comprising:
The computer includes:
Executing an opening process that causes the communication interface to open a reception port for receiving a completion notification sent from the image forming apparatus, the information processing apparatus causes the image forming apparatus to perform image forming via the communication interface. The image forming job is sent to the image forming apparatus together with device identification information that identifies the information processing apparatus, and the image forming apparatus transmits the image forming job sent from the information processing apparatus and the image forming job. When the device identification information transmitted from the information processing device is received together with the formation job, execute image formation based on the image formation job, and after completion of the image formation based on the image formation job, together with the image formation job. Using the device identification information received by the image forming device, transmitting the completion notification indicating completion of execution of the image forming based on the image forming job to the information processing device that is the transmission source of the image forming job. death,
Furthermore, the computer
a status notification acquisition process that periodically acquires a status notification indicating the status of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus via the communication interface;
executing a status information display process of displaying status information indicating a status of the image forming apparatus on a display serving as the user interface of the information processing apparatus based on the status notification acquired by the status notification acquisition process; In the status information display process, when the status notification acquired by the status notification acquisition process indicates an abnormal status of the image forming apparatus, the status information indicating the abnormal status is displayed on the display in a first manner. and when the status notification acquired by the status notification acquisition process indicates a status different from the abnormal status of the image forming apparatus, the status information indicating the status different from the abnormal status is displayed on the first display on the display in a second mode different from the mode,
Furthermore, the computer
After transmitting the image forming job to the image forming apparatus, the communication interface with the reception port opened transmits the completion notification addressed to the information processing apparatus from the image forming apparatus to which the image forming job is transmitted. When received, executing completion information notification processing that causes completion information indicating completion of execution of the image formation based on the image formation job to be displayed on the display in the first mode ;
An information processing device characterized by:

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