JP2003248649A - Printing processor and program using e-mail - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate an understanding by a client of a usage status of a device shared on a network. <P>SOLUTION: A printing processor comprises a communication means for transmitting and receiving e-mails, a wait status determining means for determining whether a printer is in a wait state or not, a subject determining means for determining whether the subject of an e-mail received by the communication means is a specific subject or not, and a mail transmitting means for creating replay mail corresponding to the determination by the wait status determining means and commanding the communication means to transmit it if the subject determining means determines that the e-mail subject is the specific subject. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device having a communication function by electronic mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a network, devices such as a scanner, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction printer (MFP) having these functions are shared by remote users. For example, when a client terminal sends print data to a printing device by a communication function using electronic mail, the printing device prints the print data. Here, since the user is away from the printing device,
The situation such as the occurrence of a failure on the printing device side may not be known. Therefore, as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-142803, when a failure of the printing apparatus is notified by e-mail, the setting and status of the printing apparatus can be acquired by the e-mail. In this proposal, the email address of the notification destination is set for each event such as out of paper. As a result, even if the user is away from the printing apparatus, the state can be known by electronic mail.

[0003]

A device such as a multi-function printer shared on a network may accept a plurality of jobs from a plurality of users (clients) at the same time because of its multi-functionality. In addition, in the case of a copying machine or the like installed in a convenience store, it may happen that there is a line of people who want to use it for some reason. In a device that is supposed to be shared and used in this way, if the device is busy with multiple jobs, the next user who wants to use the device waits for the device (free space). I want to know that it has become). However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-1428
In the device proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 03, etc., it is necessary to set the destination of the electronic mail on the device side in advance in order to receive the notification. Therefore, it is desired that the user can more easily know the usage status on the device side.

An object of the present invention is to allow a client to easily know the usage status of a device shared by a network.

[0005]

A print processing program executed by a computer according to the present invention includes a waiting status determining step for determining whether or not a printing apparatus is in a waiting state, and an electronic mail received by a mail receiving means. Subject judgment step to determine whether the subject is a specific subject, and if the subject judgment step determines that the subject of the received e-mail is a specific subject, a response is sent in response to the judgment in the waiting status determination step. It comprises the step of creating a mail and sending it back to the mail sending means.

In this program, preferably, in the above-mentioned mail sending step, when the electronic mail is received, if the waiting status judging step judges that the electronic mail is in the waiting status, a reply mail stating that the electronic mail is in the waiting status is created. To do.

In this program, it is preferable that the mail sending means has entered the waiting state when the waiting status determining step determines that the electronic mail is in the waiting state after receiving the electronic mail. Create a reply email.

[0008] In this program, it is preferable that in the waiting state determination step, it is determined that the printing apparatus is in a waiting state when a predetermined time has elapsed after the processing of the last job is completed. In addition, these programs are
It is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

In the print processing apparatus according to the present invention, communication means for sending and receiving electronic mail, waiting status determination means for determining whether or not the printing apparatus is in a waiting state, and subject of the electronic mail received by the communication means If the subject judging means for judging whether or not the subject is a specific subject, and the subject judging means judges that the subject of the e-mail is the specific subject, a reply mail is created corresponding to the judgment by the waiting situation judging means. , And a mail sending means for causing the communication means to send.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a network 40.
2 schematically shows a multi-function printing device (MFP) 10 connected to the printer and its surrounding environment. Multifunction printing device 10
Is a device having a plurality of functions such as a print function, a copy function, and an electronic mail transmission / reception function.
The workstation terminal 20, the electronic mail terminal 30 and the like are connected via the. Work station terminal 20
Is a computer terminal connected to the network 40,
Used for business such as creating electronic documents and sending and receiving e-mail. The electronic mail terminal 30 has a function of transmitting and receiving electronic mail. Here, it is assumed that the mobile phone terminal is easy to carry.

In the multi-function printer 10, the operation panel 11 is composed of an input section for receiving an input from the user and a display section for disclosing information to the user. The scanner 12 reads a document original at a predetermined resolution, performs predetermined image processing, and converts the document into electronic data. Print output unit 13
After printing on a predetermined paper surface with electronic data by image forming technology such as electrophotography and inkjet,
Output a printed matter. The arithmetic processing unit 14 includes a CPU,
Performs control processing in the entire device. The network communication unit 15 connects to the network 40 and communicates with other devices 20 and 30 connected on the network.
The data storage unit 16 stores information in this device and various jobs, and is a hard disk device (HD
D) and a device such as a memory. The program storage unit 17 stores various programs executed by the arithmetic processing unit 14, and includes devices such as an HDD and a memory. An electronic mail program for sending and receiving electronic mail via the network communication unit 15 and a waiting state inquiry processing program using electronic mail described later are stored therein. The waiting state is a state in which a user who wants to use the device has to wait for the use of this device (usage state)
Or ready for immediate use (waiting state). This printing device 10 has an e-mail address. The e-mail program used here is an ordinary e-mail program, has an e-mail receiving function and an e-mail sending function, receives an e-mail via an external POP server and the network communication unit 15, and also uses the network communication unit. E-mail is sent via 15 and an external SMTP server.

In FIG. 1, a user 1 has a printing device 10
The user operates the operation panel 11 to use the copy function of the printing apparatus 10. The user 2 is a user who creates an electronic document using the workstation terminal 20 and outputs the created document to the printing apparatus 10 via the network 40. The user 3 wants to use the printing apparatus 10, but since the user 1 or the user 2 has used the printing device 10 first, the user 3 is a user who wants to wait for the next available opportunity. The printing device 10 may be crowded with a plurality of jobs including a copy function. Applicant (for example, user 3)
Inquires about the waiting status of the printing device by e-mail, as will be described below. In response to this, the printing device 10 investigates the waiting situation and sends a reply mail accordingly.

In the first embodiment of the invention, the shared device (printing apparatus) 10 determines the waiting status (usage status or waiting status) when an inquiry about the waiting status is received from an applicant by e-mail. The wait state is a state that is not in use and is waiting for use (that is,
It is in a usable state). If it is in the waiting state, it is notified by sending a reply to the electronic mail. As a result, the user who wants to use the device is informed that the device is in the waiting state. That is, the user 3
If it is desired to know whether the printing device 10 is currently available, send an e-mail to the printing device 10 to make an inquiry.
Email messages are usually sent to the destination address (T
o :), sender's address (From :), destination address (Cc :) of the same contents, and a subject (Subject :) to write a sentence that briefly describes the contents of the mail.
including. If it is a usage inquiry, the sender
In the subject, enter the specific subject specified in advance (for example, "Are you free?").
In the printing apparatus 10, if the subject of the received mail is a specific subject, it is determined that the inquiry is an inquiry about the waiting status, the current waiting status is determined, and the reply mail is transmitted. In this example, when the processing of the last job is completed and the waiting state continues for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes),
The reply mail determines that it is in the waiting state (usable state) and notifies that it is in the waiting state. These 5 minutes are for the purpose of determining whether or not the next user is lined up when there is a line of users.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show an example of a message representing exchange of electronic mail according to the present invention. Figure 2
This is an e-mail message that the user who wants to use sends to the printing apparatus 10. In this e-mail, a specific subject ("Are you free?") Is specified, but the e-mail text does not require any particular description. FIG. 3 is a message of a reply mail from the device 10 for the mail of FIG. In this e-mail, in addition to the message indicating the waiting state, the printing device name and the time of reply are described.

In the system of FIG. 1, it is assumed that the user 3 wants to use the printing apparatus 10, but the user 1 and the user 2 have used it first. Therefore, when the user 3 asks for the next available opportunity, the user 3 uses the electronic mail terminal 30 to send an e-mail having a specific subject ("Are you free?") To the printing device 10 (Fig. 2)
To send. The printing apparatus 10 that has received this transmits the reply mail (FIG. 3) only when the printing apparatus 10 is in the waiting state by the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. By receiving the reply mail from the printing device 10, the user 3 can effectively know whether or not the printing device 10 can be used.

FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing by the arithmetic processing unit 14 of the printing apparatus 10. When the e-mail is received, the subject of the received e-mail is identified (step S101), and it is determined whether the subject is a specific subject (for example, "Are you free?") (S1).
02) If it is not a specific subject, the process for a normal electronic mail is performed (S103), and the mail receiving process is ended. If the specified subject is matched in step S102, the waiting situation is investigated (S
104). For example, by investigating the situation of each part in the device,
The processing status of jobs in the apparatus and the presence / absence of an operation on the operation panel 11 are investigated, and it is counted whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) has elapsed since the last processing or operation was performed, and a predetermined value is determined. When the printing apparatus 10 is in the idle state for the period of time, it is determined to be in the waiting state. If it is determined that the device is in the waiting state (YES in S105), a reply that the device is in the waiting state is returned to the received email (S10).
6) The mail receiving process is ended. On the other hand, if it is determined that the device is not in the waiting state (NO in S105), the reception process is terminated without making a reply. It should be noted that the fact that it is being used may be returned.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. Here, the printing apparatus 10 waits for the printing state to be in a waiting state when a request is made by the user, and informs it by e-mail when it is in a waiting state. Here, the user enters a specific pre-specified subject (for example, "Call me when you are free.") In the subject of the email to indicate that it is a request to be notified when waiting. To do. In the printing apparatus 10, if the subject of the received email is a specific subject, it is determined that the request is a notification of a waiting state, and the email is temporarily stored. Then, when the printing apparatus is in the waiting state, the fact is returned by e-mail. The user can know that the printing apparatus has entered the waiting state by receiving the reply mail. A user who wants to use the device can designate a desired destination on the spot and notify that the device has become available.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show examples of messages representing exchanges of electronic mail. FIG. 5 is an e-mail message sent by the user to the printing apparatus. Although a specific subject ("Call me when you are free.") Is specified, the email body does not require any particular description. FIG. 6 is a message of a reply mail to the mail of FIG. In addition to the message indicating that the printer is in the waiting state, the printing device name and the waiting time are described.

In FIG. 1, the user 3 wants to use the printing apparatus 10, but it is assumed that the user 1 and the user 2 have used it first. Then, the user 3 uses the e-mail terminal to send a specific subject ("C
The electronic mail (FIG. 5) having "all me when you are free.") is transmitted.
According to the flow of the process according to the flow chart of (1), the electronic mail is once put on standby (step S207), and when the device is in the waiting state, the reply mail (FIG. 6) is transmitted for the first time (step S210). By receiving the reply mail (FIG. 6) from the printing device 10, the user 3 can effectively know the timing when the printing device 10 becomes usable.

FIG. 7 shows the flow of processing by the arithmetic processing unit 14 of the printer 10. First, it is determined whether an electronic mail is received (step S201). If there is no received mail, it is investigated whether or not the device is in the waiting state (step S202). If it is not in the waiting state (NO in step S203), the process returns to step S201 and the above-mentioned processing is repeated.

When it is determined in step S201 that there is a received mail, the subject (Subject) of the received electronic mail is identified (step S204), and a specific subject ("Call me when you are free.") It is determined whether there is any (step S205). If it is not a specific subject, the process for a normal electronic mail is performed (step S206), and the process proceeds to step S202 for investigating the waiting status. If it is determined in step S205 that the received email matches the specific subject, the received email is stored in the data storage unit 16 (step S205).
207), and proceeds to step S202 for investigating the waiting situation.

The waiting situation check in step S202 is the same as step S104 in FIG. When it is determined that it is in the waiting state in response to the examination result (step S203), the data storage unit 16 is examined (step S208). Here, if it is determined that there is no electronic mail held in standby in step S207 (step S209), the process returns to step S201 and the above-described flow is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S209 that there is a waiting e-mail, a mail stating that the printing apparatus is in a waiting state is created as a reply to the e-mail and sent to the destination. In step S210, the electronic mail that has been waiting is deleted (step S211). Then, the process returns to step S201 and the above-described processing is repeated.

In the first and second embodiments, different specific subjects are used, but both of these two specific subjects may be accepted. Further, the text of the specific subject is not limited to the above example.

In the first and second embodiments, the case where the multifunctional multifunction printer is a shared device has been described, but it is also possible to similarly inquire about the usage status of other devices. Needless to say.

[0025]

According to the present invention, it is possible to voluntarily inquire the usage status of a printing device shared by a network by e-mail.

Even if the printing apparatus is being used by another user, since the user sends an e-mail at the timing of waiting, it is desired to effectively use the fact that the apparatus is ready for use. Can be notified. The user who receives it can effectively know that the device is ready for use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention and a surrounding environment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a description of an outgoing mail according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a received mail according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an electronic mail receiving process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a description of an outgoing mail according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a received mail according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an email reception process according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 multifunction printer, 11 operation panel,
12 scanner, 13 print output unit, 14 arithmetic processing unit, 15 network communication unit, 16 data storage unit 16, 17 program storage unit, 20 workstation terminal, 30 electronic mail terminal,
40 networks.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A waiting status determining step of determining whether or not the printing apparatus is in an available state, and a subject determining step of determining whether or not the subject of the electronic mail received by the mail receiving means is a specific subject. And, if the subject determining step determines that the subject of the received e-mail is a specific subject, it creates a reply email corresponding to the determination in the waiting situation determining step, and sends it back to the email sending means. A print processing program executed by a computer. 2. In the reply step, when the e-mail is received, if the waiting status judging step judges that the electronic mail is available, a reply mail stating that the electronic mail is available is created. Claim 1
The print processing program described in. 3. In the reply step, after receiving the electronic mail, when the waiting status judging step judges that the electronic mail is in the waiting status, a reply mail stating that the electronic mail is in the usable status is created. The print processing program according to claim 1. 4. The waiting condition determining step according to claim 1, wherein the printing device determines that the printer is in a waiting state when a predetermined time has elapsed after the processing of the last job is completed. Print processing program. 5. A communication means for sending and receiving electronic mail, a waiting status judging means for judging whether or not the printing apparatus is in an available state, and a subject of the electronic mail received by the communication means is a specific subject. A subject determining means for determining whether or not, and when the subject determining means determines that the subject of the e-mail is a specific subject, a reply mail is created corresponding to the determination by the state determining means, and the email is sent to the communication means. A print processing apparatus including a transmission unit.