JP7230617B2 - Printing system, information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing system, an information processing apparatus, and a program.

A printing method in which a user inputs a print job including print data from a client device to a server device, then operates an image forming device to specify a print job stored on the server device and execute printing of the print job ( hereinafter referred to as "on-demand printing").

Also, for example, when performing on-demand printing with a device such as a printer that does not have a sufficiently wide display screen, there is a technology for setting or operating on-demand printing using the screen of a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

According to the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200010, a mobile terminal and an image forming apparatus (for example, a printer) are connected to the same network as other information processing apparatuses used for printing. However, for example, when an information processing device is connected to a local network such as an intra-company network, it is desirable from a security point of view to connect a personal information terminal owned by a user to the local network. do not have.

The embodiments of the present invention have been made in view of the above problems, and in a printing system that performs on-demand printing using an image forming apparatus connected to a network such as the Internet, the image forming apparatus is connected to a local network. To enable control of printing by using an information terminal that does not exist.

In order to solve the above problems, a printing system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes:
an information terminal connectable to a first network; an image forming apparatus connected to the first network; and a web service connected to the first network for using the image forming apparatus. 1 information processing device,
The first information processing device is
A management unit that associates and manages information of a user of the information terminal connecting to the web service using the connection information acquired from the image forming apparatus and destination information of the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus. and,
a providing unit configured to provide the information terminal with a list of print jobs of the user registered in the web service based on the information of the user managed by the management unit;
a notification unit that notifies the image forming apparatus of information about the print job selected by the user from the list of print jobs;
The image forming apparatus is
a VPN connection that connects to a second network different from the first network by means of a VPN connection;
a job information obtaining unit that obtains the print job based on the information of the print job via the second network;

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in a printing system that performs on-demand printing using an image forming apparatus connected to a network such as the Internet, printing can be controlled using an information terminal that is not connected to a local network. become.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a printing system according to one embodiment; FIG. It is a figure showing an example of hardware constitutions of a computer concerning one embodiment. 1 illustrates an example hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of a web server and an information terminal according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information managed by a web server according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram (1) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram (2) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram (3) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the first embodiment; 4 is a diagram for explaining a print job list according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of a printing system according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a printing system according to a third embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a print control device according to a third embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram (1) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the third embodiment; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram (2) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the third embodiment; FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram (3) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the third embodiment; FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of a printing system according to the fourth embodiment;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a printing system according to one embodiment. The printing system 100 includes, for example, a web server 101, an image forming device 111, a client device 112, a spool server 113, an authentication server 114, a firewall 115, an information terminal 120, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) server 117, and the like.

Of these, the client device 112, spool server 113, authentication server 114, and firewall 115 are connected to a local network 116 such as the office 110, for example.

The client device 112 is, for example, an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, or a smart phone. For example, the client device 112 generates print data that can be printed by the image forming device 111 from document data or image data to be printed, and transmits a print job including the generated print data to the spool server 113 .

The spool server (third information processing device) 113 is, for example, a system including an information processing device such as a PC or a plurality of information processing devices. The spool server 113 receives a print job transmitted from the client device 112, stores the received print job in a storage unit or the like of the spool server 113, and manages the received print job.

The authentication server 114 is, for example, a system including an information processing device such as a PC or a plurality of information processing devices. The authentication server 114 authenticates users who use the printing system 100 . For example, the authentication server 114 authenticates the user 121 who uses the client device 112 and notifies the client device 112 of identification information (hereinafter referred to as a user ID) for identifying the successfully authenticated user.

Preferably, the client device 112 adds the user ID notified from the authentication server 114 to the print job to be sent to the spool server 113 . Accordingly, the user ID of the user 121 can be used to identify the print job of the user 121 among the print jobs stored in the spool server 113 .

A firewall 115 separates an external network (first network) 102 such as the Internet from a local network 116 and restricts access from the external network 102 to the local network 116 . Note that the local network 116 is an example of a second network different from the first network.

The information terminal 120 is an information terminal such as a smart phone or a tablet terminal possessed by the user 121 . The information terminal 120 can be connected to the external network 102 using public wireless communication such as 3G (3rd Generation) or LTE (Long Term Evolution). This allows the information terminal 120 to communicate with the web server 101 without going through the local network 116 .

The image forming apparatus 111 is an electronic device such as a multi-function peripheral, a printer, etc., having a printing function. The image forming apparatus 111 can be connected to the external network 102 using public wireless communication such as 3G or LTE, like the information terminal 120 and the like.

With the above configuration, the user 121 registers a print job in the spool server using the client device 112, then designates the print job stored in the spool server 113 from the image forming device 111 or the like, and executes printing. Demand printing can be performed.

However, if the image forming apparatus 111 is a device such as a printer that does not have a wide operation screen, it is difficult to operate the printer to designate a print job and perform on-demand printing.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the information terminal 120 possessed by the user 121 can be used to obtain a list of print jobs from the spool server 113 and cause the image forming apparatus 111 to print the selected print job. However, connecting the information terminal 120 and the image forming apparatus 111 owned by the user 121 to the local network 116 is not desirable in terms of security.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the information terminal 120 possessed by the user 121 is used to connect to the web server 101 connected to the external network 102, and the list of print jobs is acquired and selected via the web server 101. register the print job.

The web server 101 is, for example, an information processing device such as a PC connected to an external network 102 such as the Internet, or a system including a plurality of information processing devices. The web server 101 provides web services for realizing on-demand printing using the image forming apparatus 111 to the user 121 who logs in using the information terminal 120 .

For example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) including connection information for using a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 is attached or displayed on the image forming apparatus 111 .

A user 121 who performs on-demand printing using the image forming apparatus 111 uses the information terminal 120 to read the two-dimensional code, and uses the extracted connection information to access the image forming apparatus 111 provided by the web server 101. Log in to the corresponding web service.

On the other hand, the image forming apparatus 111 periodically accesses (polling or long polling) a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 provided by the web server 101 to obtain information (use information) of the user 121 who has logged into the web service. (person ID, etc.). Also, the image forming apparatus 111 uses the acquired information of the user 121 to acquire a list of print jobs of the user from the spool server 113 and registers it in the web service.

As a result, the information terminal 120 can obtain a list of print jobs for the user 121 from the web service.

Further, the information terminal 120 displays the acquired list of print jobs on the display screen, and registers the information of the print job selected by the user 121 in the web service.

On the other hand, the spool server 113 periodically accesses (polling or long polling) a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 provided by the web server 101, and acquires print job information registered in the web service. do. Further, the image forming apparatus 111 acquires print data from the spool server 113 based on the acquired print job information, and executes printing.

The VPN server 117 provides VPN connection services. Specifically, even an image forming apparatus connected to the external network 102 outside the firewall 115, such as the image forming apparatus 111, can be connected to the inside of the firewall 115, i.e., through the VPN connection realized by the VPN server 117 or the like. , can be connected to the local network 116 .

It should be noted that the VPN server 117 may be configured by another information processing apparatus.

For example, to establish a VPN connection, VPN authentication is performed using information as shown in Table 1 below (hereinafter referred to as "VPN connection information").

ＶＰＮ接続情報は、例えば、上記（表１）が示すように、「Ｕｓｅｒ＿ｉｄ」、「ＶＰＮサーバアドレス」、「ＶＰＮアカウント」及び「ＶＰＮパスワード」等の情報を含むのが望ましい。

The VPN connection information preferably includes information such as "User_id", "VPN server address", "VPN account" and "VPN password", as shown in Table 1 above, for example.

"User_id" is identification information for using the VPN connection service.

"VPN server address" is an example of information indicating the destination of the VPN server. In this example, "VPN server address" indicates that the VPN server 117 is connected to the address shown in Table 1 above.

"VPN account" is the VPN account used to use the VPN connection service.

"VPN password" is the VPN password used to use the VPN connection service.

For example, a “VPN account” and a “VPN password” are registered in the VPN server 117 in advance. Then, when there is a request to use the service in using the VPN connection service provided by the VPN server 117, the VPN server 117 connects and authenticates the user with the "VPN account" and "VPN password", and the user is authenticated. VPN connection service is provided to users who have

Further, as shown in Table 1 above, it is desirable that there is information of "print job spool server" indicating the destination of the third information processing apparatus corresponding to the VPN connection information. That is, in this example, "print job spool server" indicates that the spool server 113 is connected to the address shown in (Table 1) above.

Further, the web server 101 holds the VPN connection information and the destination of the third information processing apparatus as shown in Table 1 above. Also, as shown in Table 1 above, holding the VPN connection information suitable for each user and the destination of the third information processing apparatus for each user makes it possible to provide a connection destination suitable for the user.

The image forming apparatus 111 acquires from the web server 101 the VPN connection information and the destination of the third information processing apparatus as shown in Table 1 above. Then, when the VPN server 117 is authenticated by the acquired VPN connection information, the image forming apparatus 111 can establish a VPN connection to the local network 116 as a VPN client.

Thus, according to this embodiment, in the printing system 100 that performs on-demand printing using the image forming apparatus 111 connected to the external network 102, printing is controlled using the information terminal 120 that is not connected to the local network. become able to.

Note that the above system configuration is an example. For example, the information terminal 120 may acquire the connection information from the image forming apparatus 111 using short-range wireless communication or the like instead of the two-dimensional code.

Further, the process of registering a list of print jobs in a web service provided by the web server 101 and the process of acquiring print job information from the web service and printing it on the image forming apparatus 111 are performed by the image forming apparatus 111. It may be executed by another information processing device. Furthermore, the printing system 100 may include multiple image forming apparatuses 111 .

<Hardware configuration>
(computer hardware configuration)
The client device 112 and the information terminal 120 shown in FIG. 1 have, for example, the hardware configuration of a general computer 200 as shown in FIG. In addition to the hardware configuration of the computer 200 as shown in FIG. 2, the information terminal 120 may have a camera, a short-range wireless communication unit, a microphone, a speaker, and the like.

Also, the web server 101, spool server 113, VPN server 117, and authentication server 114 shown in FIG. 1 are realized by, for example, a computer 200 or a plurality of computers 200 having a hardware configuration as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to one embodiment; The computer 200 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, a storage device 204, a communication I/F (Interface) 205, an input device 206, a display device 207 , an external connection I/F 208, a bus 209, and the like.

The CPU 201 is an arithmetic device that implements each function of the computer 200 by reading programs and data stored in the ROM 203 or the storage device 204 or the like onto the RAM 202 and executing processing. A RAM 202 is a volatile memory used as a work area for the CPU 201 or the like. A ROM 203 is a non-volatile memory that retains programs and data even when the power is turned off.

The storage device 204 is, for example, a large-capacity storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores an OS (Operating System), applications, various data, and the like. Communication I/F 205 is a communication interface for connecting computer 200 to a network.

Note that when the computer 200 is the information terminal 120, the communication I/F 205 includes a wireless communication I/F for connecting to public wireless communication such as 3G or LTE.

The input device 206 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse or an input device such as a keyboard, and is used to input each operation signal to the computer 200 . A display device 207 is a display device such as a display, and displays processing results and the like by the computer 200 .

An external connection I/F 208 is an interface for connecting an external device to the computer 200 . The external device may include, for example, the recording medium 210 or the like. A bus 209 is connected to each component described above and transmits address signals, data signals, various control signals, and the like.

(Hardware Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment; The image forming apparatus 111 has, for example, a controller 310, an operation panel 320, a communication I/F 330, a plotter 340, a scanner 350, a facsimile control unit (hereinafter referred to as FCU) 360, an external connection I/F 370, and the like.

Preferably, a two-dimensional code 380 including connection information such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for using a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 provided by the web server 101 is attached to the image forming apparatus 111 . ing. Note that the two-dimensional code 380 may be displayed on the operation panel 320 or the like by a program or the like executed by the CPU 311 .

The controller 310 has a general computer configuration, and includes, for example, a CPU 311, a RAM 312, a ROM 313, an NVRAM (Non-Volatile RAM) 314, an HDD 315, and the like.

A ROM 313 is a nonvolatile storage device that stores various programs and data. A RAM 312 is a volatile storage device that temporarily holds programs and data. The NVRAM 314 is a writable non-volatile storage device that stores, for example, setting information. The HDD 315 is a large-capacity storage device that stores various programs and data.

The CPU 311 is an arithmetic unit that realizes overall control and functions of the image forming apparatus 111 by reading programs, data, setting information, or the like from the ROM 313, NVRAM 314, HDD 315, or the like onto the RAM 312 and executing processing. .

The operation panel 320 includes an input section for receiving input from the user and a display section for displaying. A communication I/F 330 is a communication interface for connecting the image forming apparatus 111 to a network.

The plotter 340 is a printing device that prints print data. The scanner 350 is a reading device that reads an original or the like. The FCU 360 performs transmission and reception of fax data.

The external connection I/F 370 is an interface for connecting an external device such as an IC card reader 371 or a short-range wireless communication unit 372 to the image forming apparatus 111 .

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of a web server and an information terminal according to the first embodiment;

(Web server functional configuration)
The web server (first information processing apparatus) 101 includes, for example, a communication unit 401, an authentication unit 402, a correspondence information management unit 403, a request reception unit 404, a job list provision unit 405, a job information notification unit 406, and a storage unit 407. etc.

The web server 101 implements each of the functional configurations described above, for example, by causing the CPU 201 in FIG. 2 to execute a predetermined program. Moreover, at least a part of the functional configurations described above may be realized by hardware.

The communication unit 401 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 in FIG. communicate. Also, the communication unit 401 communicates with the spool server 113 and the like via the firewall 115 .

The authentication unit 402 authenticates the user 121 or the like who logs into the web service provided by the web server 101, and notifies the correspondence information management unit 403 or the like of the user ID that identifies the user 121 who has been successfully authenticated.

When the user 121 possessing the information terminal 120 uses the image forming apparatus 111, the correspondence information management unit (management unit) 403 stores the user ID of the user 121 and the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111. It is managed in association with URL information (destination information). For example, the correspondence information management unit 403 stores and manages correspondence information 501 as shown in FIG. 5A in the storage unit 407 .

FIG. 5A shows an image of an example of correspondence information 501 managed by the correspondence information management unit 403. FIG. In the example of FIG. 5A, the correspondence information 501 includes information such as "printer ID", "destination URL", and "user ID".

“Printer ID” is identification information for identifying the image forming apparatus 111 . The destination URL is URL information of a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . The user ID is identification information that identifies the user 121 logging in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

Returning to FIG. 4, the description of the functional configuration of the web server 101 will be continued.

The request reception unit 404 receives request information such as a job list acquisition request or an authentication request transmitted from the information terminal 120 .

A job list providing unit (providing unit) 405 provides the information terminal 120 possessed by the user 121 with a list of print jobs of the user 121 logging in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

As an example, the image forming apparatus 111 acquires the user ID of the user 121 logging in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 by regular polling or long polling such as Comet. Further, when the user 121 has logged in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, the image forming apparatus 111 acquires a list of print jobs of the user 121 from the spool server 113 and registers it in the web service.

As a result, the job list providing unit 405 can provide the information terminal 120 possessed by the user 121 with a list of print jobs of the user 121 logging in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111. become.

The job information notification unit 406 transmits information of a print job selected by the user 121 from the list of print jobs provided to the information terminal 120 to the image forming apparatus 111 or an information processing apparatus that controls printing by the image forming apparatus 111 . (Second information processing device).

For example, the job information notification unit 406 manages job information registered in a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 through the information terminal 120, and responds to a request from the image forming apparatus 111 or the like to notify the managed job information. Notify information.

FIG. 5B shows an image of an example of job information 502 managed by the job information notification unit 406. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5B, the job information 502 includes information such as "print job ID", "print job name", "date and time", and "selection".

“Print job ID” is identification information given to each print job of the user 121 . "Print job name" is the name of each print job (for example, file name). "Date and time" is information indicating, for example, the date and time when each print job was registered. “Selection” is information indicating whether or not each print job is selected by the user 121 . In the example of FIG. 5B, "True" indicates that the print job has been selected by the user 121, and "False" indicates that the print job has not been selected by the user 121. showing.

The storage unit 407 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 in FIG. 2, the storage device 204, the RAM 202, etc., and stores various information such as the correspondence information 501 and the job information 502, for example.

(Functional configuration of information terminal)
The information terminal 120 has, for example, a communication unit 411, a connection information acquisition unit 412, a job list acquisition unit 413, a display control unit 414, an operation reception unit 415, a job information registration unit 416, a storage unit 417, and the like.

The information terminal 120 implements the above functional configurations by, for example, executing an application program (hereinafter referred to as an application) compatible with the printing system 100 using the CPU 201 shown in FIG. It should be noted that at least part of the functional configurations described above may be realized by hardware.

The communication unit 411 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 201 in FIG. 2, the communication I/F 205, etc., connects the information terminal 120 to the external network 102, and communicates with the web server 101 and the like.

The connection information acquisition unit 412 acquires connection information (for example, URL information) for using a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 used by the user 121 from the image forming apparatus 111 .

As an example, the connection information acquisition unit 412 captures the image forming apparatus 111 used by the user 121 or the two-dimensional code 380 provided in the vicinity thereof with a camera or the like provided in the information terminal 120, and converts the two-dimensional code 380 to Extract the connection information it contains.

As another example, the connection information acquisition unit 412 acquires connection information by performing short-range wireless communication with the image forming apparatus 111 used by the user 121 using the short-range wireless communication unit 372 . It can be.

The job list acquisition unit 413 uses the connection information acquired by the connection information acquisition unit 412 to connect to the web service provided by the web server 101 and acquires a list of print jobs for the user 121 .

For example, the job list acquisition unit 413 accesses the web service provided by the web server 101 by periodic polling or long polling such as Comet, and obtains a list of print jobs of the user 121 registered in the web service. get.

The display control unit 414 causes the display unit of the information terminal 120 to display the list of print jobs acquired by the job list acquisition unit 413 in a selectable manner.

An operation accepting unit 415 accepts a selection operation by the user 121 on the list of print jobs displayed by the display control unit 414 .

The job information registration unit 416 registers print job information reflecting the selection operation received by the operation reception unit 415 in the list of print jobs acquired by the job list acquisition unit 413 in the web service provided by the web server 101 . . For example, the job information registration unit 416 registers job information (an example of a print job) 502 as shown in FIG. 5B in the web service.

The storage unit 407 is implemented by, for example, the program executed by the CPU 201 in FIG. 2, the storage device 204, the RAM 202, and the like, and stores various information such as a list of print jobs and the correspondence information 501, for example.

(Functional Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus)
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; The image forming apparatus 111 includes, for example, a communication unit 601, a service management unit 602, a user information acquisition unit 603, a job list registration unit 604, a job information acquisition unit 605, a print data acquisition unit 606, an image forming unit 607, and a storage unit 608. and a VPN connection unit 609 and the like.

The image forming apparatus 111 implements each of the functional configurations described above, for example, by having the CPU 311 in FIG. 3 execute a predetermined program. It should be noted that at least part of the functional configurations described above may be realized by hardware.

The communication unit 601 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 311 in FIG. 3, the communication I/F 330, etc., connects the image forming apparatus 111 to the local network 116, and communicates with the spool server 113, the authentication server 114, and the like. I do. Also, the communication unit 601 communicates with the web server 101 via the firewall 115 .

The service management unit 602 communicates with the web server 101 and requests the web server 101 to start, end, etc. the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . For example, the service management unit 602 requests the web server 101 to start a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 when the image forming apparatus 111 is activated.

The user information acquisition unit 603 accesses the web service provided by the web server 101 by periodic polling or long polling such as Comet, and acquires the user ID (user example) of information).

A job list registration unit 604 acquires a list of print jobs of the user 121 from the spool server 113 using the user ID acquired by the user information acquisition unit 603, and stores the acquired list of print jobs of the user 121. is registered with the web service provided by the web server 101 .

A job information acquisition unit 605 accesses a web service provided by the web server 101 by periodic polling or long polling such as Comet, and acquires print job information such as the job information 502 registered in the web service. do.

The print data acquisition unit 606 acquires the print job selected by the user 121 or the print data corresponding to the print job based on the print job information acquired by the job information acquisition unit 605 .

The image forming unit 607 is implemented by, for example, the program executed by the CPU 311 in FIG.

The storage unit 608 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 311 in FIG. information.

The VPN connection unit 609 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 311 in FIG. 3, the communication I/F 330, and the like, and performs VPN connection by connecting to the VPN server 117 and the like. For example, the VPN connection unit 609 virtually constructs a dedicated line with the spool server 113 and the like. Then, the VPN connection unit 609 realizes VPN connection by encrypting data to be transmitted and received.

6, the service management unit 602, the user information acquisition unit 603, the job list registration unit 604, the job information acquisition unit 605, the print data acquisition unit 606, etc. may be realized by the information processing apparatus.

<Process flow>
[First embodiment]
Next, the flow of processing of the print control method according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram (1) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the first embodiment. Communication between the Web server 101 and the spool server 113 is performed via the firewall 115 as described above. omitted.

(Print job registration processing)
The processing of steps S701 to S707 shown in FIG. 7 is an example of print job registration processing in which the user 121 registers a print job in the spool server 113 using the client device 112. FIG. Note that the print job registration process in this embodiment is the same as the print job registration process in conventional on-demand printing, so detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

In step S701, the user 121 performs a login operation. For example, the user 121 inputs account information such as a user ID and password to the client device.

In step S<b>702 , the client device 112 requests the authentication server 114 to authenticate the account information of the user 121 .

In step S703, the authentication server 114 authenticates the account information requested by the client device 112, and if the authentication succeeds, notifies the client device 112 of the authentication result indicating that the authentication succeeded.

On the other hand, if the authentication fails, the authentication server 114 sends an authentication result indicating that the authentication failed to the client device 112, and the printing system 100 terminates the process. Here, the following description will be given assuming that the authentication of the account information of the user 121 has succeeded.

In step S704, the user 121 performs a print operation for printing a document, for example, from an application program or the like.

In step S705, the client device 112 converts the document data to be printed into print data using, for example, a printer driver installed in the client device 112, and generates a print job including the print data and management information. do.

In step S<b>706 , the client device 112 transmits the generated print job to the spool server 113 .

In step S707, the spool server 113 stores the print job received from the client device 112 in a storage unit such as the storage device 204 in FIG. 2, for example.

For example, through the above process, the user 121 can register a print job printed by the image forming apparatus 111 in the spool server 113 .

(Startup processing of image forming apparatus)
The processing of steps S711 to S715 in FIG. 7 shows an example of the activation processing of the image forming apparatus 111 that is executed when the user 121 activates the image forming apparatus 111. FIG.

In step S711, the user 121 activates the image forming apparatus 111 for printing. For example, the user 121 turns on the power of the image forming apparatus 111 that has been turned off. Alternatively, the user 121 performs an operation to restore the image forming apparatus 111 in sleep state from the sleep state.

In step S<b>712 , when the image forming apparatus 111 is activated, the service management unit 602 of the image forming apparatus 111 requests the web server 101 to start the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>713 , the web server 101 starts a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . Accordingly, the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 stores and manages the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 and the destination URL in the correspondence information 501 shown in FIG. 5A, for example.

In step S<b>714 , the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of access information (for example, destination URL) for accessing the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S715, the user information acquisition unit 603 of the image forming apparatus 111 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of the user ID. .

As a result, when the user ID corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 is registered in the correspondence information 501 as shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 111 is notified of the existing user ID. On the other hand, when the user ID corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 is not registered, the correspondence information management unit 403 notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of information indicating that the user ID is not registered.

As another example, the user information acquisition unit 603 may use Comet (long polling) standardized by RFC6202 to request the web server 101 to acquire a user ID. In Comet, data is pushed to the client when an event is updated on the server.

For example, in step S721 of FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 111 requests the web server 101 to notify the user ID by Comet.

At this time, the web server 101 that has received the request suspends the response for a predetermined time, and when the user ID is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 (step S722), the user ID is image-formed. The device 111 is notified (step S723). Accordingly, when the user ID is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, the web server 101 notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of the registered user ID.

(Connection processing of information terminal)
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram (2) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the first embodiment. The processing shown in steps S801 to S810 in FIG. 8 is an example of connection processing in which the user 121 uses the information terminal 120 to connect to a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 that wants to print. It is assumed that the print job registration process and the activation process of the image forming apparatus 111 shown in FIG. 7 have been completed at the start of the process shown in FIG.

In step S<b>801 , the user 121 uses the information terminal 120 to perform an acquisition operation for acquiring connection information for connecting to a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

For example, the user 121 activates an image capturing application or the like of the information terminal 120 and performs an operation of capturing an image of the two-dimensional code 380 provided in the image forming apparatus 111 .

As another example, the user 121 may transmit the connection information through short-range wireless communication by bringing an NFC (Near Field Communication) communication unit or the like of the information terminal 120 close to the IC card reader 371 of the image forming apparatus 111 . It may be one that performs an operation to acquire.

In step S<b>802 , the connection information acquisition unit 412 of the information terminal 120 acquires connection information for connecting to a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 from the image forming apparatus 111 . For example, the connection information acquisition unit 412 analyzes a two-dimensional code captured using a camera included in the information terminal 120, and extracts connection information (for example, URL information) included in the two-dimensional code.

In step S803, the user 121 uses the information terminal 120 to obtain a list of print jobs. For example, the user 121 activates a web browser included in the information terminal 120 and accesses the URL or the like acquired by the connection information acquisition unit 412 .

In step S804, the job list acquisition unit 413 of the information terminal 120 requests the web server 101 to acquire a print job list based on the specified URL.

In step S<b>805 , the authentication unit 402 of the web server 101 instructs the information terminal 120 to log in if the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 has not been logged in with the user 121 account.

In step S<b>806 , the job list acquisition unit 413 of the information terminal 120 transmits account information (for example, user ID, password, etc.) of the user 121 to the web server 101 .

In step S807, the authentication unit 402 of the web server 101 authenticates the user account, and if the authentication of the account information is successful, the process proceeds to step S808. On the other hand, when the account information authentication fails, the authentication unit 402 transmits information indicating that the account information authentication has failed to the information terminal 120 . Here, the following description will be given assuming that the authentication of the account information of the user 121 has succeeded.

In step S808, the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 adds the user ID of the successfully authenticated user 121 to the correspondence information 501 shown in FIG. It is stored in association with the printer ID.

In step S809, the web server 101 notifies the information terminal 120 of access information (for example, URL) for obtaining a list of print jobs.

In step S810, the job list acquisition unit 413 of the information terminal 120 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of a print job list.

As a result, when the list of print jobs of the user 121 is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, the job list providing unit 405 of the web server 101 provides the list of registered print jobs to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111. Provided to the information terminal 120 . On the other hand, if the list of print jobs for the user 121 is not registered, the job list providing unit 405 notifies the information terminal 120 of, for example, information indicating that the list of print jobs for the user 121 is not registered. do.

At this time, the job list acquisition unit 413 of the information terminal 120 may request the web server 101 to acquire the print job list of the user 121 using Comet (long polling) described above.

(Print job list registration process)
The process shown in steps S811 to S818 in FIG. 8 is an example of a job list registration process in which the image forming apparatus 111 registers a list of print jobs of the user 121 in a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111. there is

For example, in step S808 of FIG. 8, when the user ID of the user 121 is registered in the association information 501 in association with the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111, the processes from step S811 are executed.

In steps S<b>811 and S<b>812 , the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of the user ID of the user 121 logging in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . For example, the correspondence information management unit 403 notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of the user ID managed in association with the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 in the correspondence information 501 as shown in FIG. .

In step S813, the image forming apparatus 111 acquires the VPN connection information and the destination of the spool server 113 corresponding to the VPN connection information.

In step S<b>814 , the image forming apparatus 111 performs authentication and the like when establishing the VPSN connection using the VPN connection information and the like. Thereafter, when authenticated by the VPN server 117, the image forming apparatus 111 can access the spool server 113, the authentication server 114, etc. within the local network 116 through the VPN connection.

In step S<b>815 , the job list registration unit 604 of the image forming apparatus 111 requests the authentication server 114 to authenticate the user ID notified from the web server 101 .

In step S<b>816 , the authentication server 114 authenticates the user ID transmitted from the image forming apparatus 111 . For example, the authentication server 114 determines whether or not the user ID for which authentication is requested is registered in the authentication server 114, and if it is registered in the authentication server 114, an authentication result indicating that the authentication was successful. to the image forming apparatus 111 . On the other hand, when the user ID is not registered in the authentication server 114 , the authentication server 114 transmits an authentication result indicating that authentication has failed to the image forming apparatus 111 . Here, the following description will be given assuming that the authentication of the user ID has succeeded.

In step S817, the job list registration unit 604 of the image forming apparatus 111 acquires a list of print jobs of the user 121 from the spool server 113 using the successfully authenticated user ID.

In step S<b>818 , the job list registration unit 604 of the image forming apparatus 111 registers the acquired print job list of the user 121 in the web service provided by the web server 101 and corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S819, the job list providing unit 405 of the web server 101 manages the list of print jobs of the user 121 registered from the image forming apparatus 111, and access information for accessing the list of print jobs of the user 121. is notified to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S820, the job information acquisition unit 605 of the image forming apparatus 111 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of job information.

At this time, the job information acquisition unit 605 of the image forming apparatus 111 may request the web server 101 to acquire the job information using Comet (long polling) described above.

(Job information registration processing)
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram (3) showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the first embodiment. 9, the information terminal 120 obtains a list of print jobs of the user 121 from the web server 101, and registers the information of the print job selected by the user 121 in the web server 101. 4 shows an example of job information registration processing.

At the start of the process shown in FIG. 9, the list of print jobs of the user 121 is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 provided by the web server 101 by the process shown in FIG. and

In steps S<b>901 and S<b>902 , the job list providing unit 405 of the web server 10 provides the information terminal 120 with a list of print jobs of the user 121 registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . FIG. 10A shows an image of an example of the print job list provided by the job list providing unit 405 at this time.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an image of an example of a print job list. In the example of FIG. 10A, the print job list 1011 is an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) page for displaying the print job list. As a result, the information terminal 120 can display, for example, a display screen 1021 that displays a print job list on the display screen of the information terminal 120, as shown in FIG.

Note that the print job list 1011 shown in FIG. 10A is an example. The print job list 1011 may be in another format as long as the information terminal 120 can display a print job list display screen 1021 as shown in FIG. 10B, for example.

Here, returning to FIG. 9, the description of the sequence diagram is continued.

In step S903, the display control unit 414 of the information terminal 120 causes the display unit of the information terminal 120 to display a print job list display screen 1021 as shown in FIG. 10B, for example.

In step S904, the user 121 selects a print job on the print job list display screen 1021 shown in FIG. 10B, for example. For example, the user 121 selects the check box 1022 corresponding to the print job to be printed from among the print jobs displayed on the print job list display screen 1021 and selects the “start printing” button 1023 .

In step S<b>905 , the operation reception unit 415 of the information terminal 120 receives a selection operation by the user 121 , and the job information registration unit 416 stores the information of the print job selected by the user in the image forming apparatus 111 . Register for web services. As a result, for example, job information 502 as shown in FIG. 5B is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

(printing process)
The processing shown in steps S906 to S916 in FIG. 9 is an example of print processing in which the image forming apparatus 111 prints a print job selected by the user 121. FIG.

For example, in step S905 of FIG. 9, when the information of the print job selected by the user 121 is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, the processes after step S906 are executed.

In steps S906 and S907 of FIG. 9, the job information notification unit 406 of the web server 101 sends job information 502 registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, for example, as shown in FIG. , to the image forming apparatus 111 .

It is assumed that a VPN connection has been established in advance through steps S813 and S814. Therefore, step S908 and the like shown below are assumed to be performed by VPN connection.

In step S<b>908 , the print data acquisition unit 606 of the image forming apparatus 111 acquires print data corresponding to the print job selected by the user 121 from the spool server 113 based on the job information 502 notified from the web server 101 . get.

In step S<b>909 , the image forming unit 607 of the image forming apparatus 111 prints the print data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 606 .

In step S910, the print data acquisition unit 606 of the image forming apparatus 111 notifies the spool server 113 of a print result indicating that printing of the acquired print job has been completed.

In step S911, the spool server 113 deletes the print job for which printing has been completed.

In step S<b>912 , the service management unit 602 of the image forming apparatus 111 requests the web server 101 to end the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 when the print processing is completed.

In step S<b>913 , the web server 101 terminates the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . Accordingly, the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 deletes the information corresponding to the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 from the correspondence information 501 shown in FIG. 5A, for example.

In steps S914 to S916, the service management unit 602 of the image forming apparatus 111 causes the web server 101 to restart the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 in preparation for the next print processing.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the printing system 100 that performs on-demand printing using the image forming apparatus 111 connected to the local network 116, printing can be controlled using the information terminal 120 that is not connected to the local network. become.

[Second embodiment]
In the second embodiment, an example of processing when the printing system 100 uses an IC card storing the account information of the user 121 to authenticate the user will be described.

<Functional configuration>
The functional configurations of the web server 101 and the information terminal 120 according to the second embodiment may be the same as those of the web server 101 and the information terminal 120 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

(Functional Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus)
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment; The image forming apparatus 111 according to the second embodiment has an IC card processing unit 1101 in addition to the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 111 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The IC card processing unit 1101 is implemented by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 311 in FIG. do. Also, the IC card processing unit 1101 authenticates the acquired account information or the user ID or the like included in the account information using the authentication server 114 .

<Process flow>
Next, the flow of processing of the print control method according to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing of the printing system according to the second embodiment. A detailed description of the same processing as in the first embodiment will be omitted here.

In step S<b>1201 , the user 121 using the image forming apparatus 111 reads, for example, an IC card that stores account information of the user 121 including a user ID with the IC card reader 371 connected to the image forming apparatus 111 . perform a read operation to

In steps S1202 and S1203, the IC card reader 371 reads the account information stored in the IC card and notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of it.

When notified, the image forming apparatus 111 starts VPN connection. For example, the VPN connection procedure is the same as in the first embodiment. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 111 starts VPN connection by performing steps S813 and S814, as in the first embodiment. Note that the VPN connection may be made before the timing shown in the figure.

In step S1204, the IC card processing unit 1101 of the image forming apparatus 111 extracts the user ID of the user 121 from the account information notified from the IC card reader 371, and authenticates the extracted user ID. request to.

As another example, the IC card processing unit 1101 associates and stores the card ID stored in the IC card and the user ID of the user 121, and acquires the user ID corresponding to the card ID. It can be anything.

In step S1205, the authentication server 114, for example, determines whether or not the user ID for which authentication is requested is registered in the authentication server 114. If the user ID is registered in the authentication server 114, the authentication is successful. to the image forming apparatus 111. On the other hand, when the user ID is not registered in the authentication server 114 , the authentication server 114 transmits an authentication result indicating that authentication has failed to the image forming apparatus 111 . Here, the following description will be given assuming that the authentication of the user ID has succeeded.

In step S1206, the job list registration unit 604 of the image forming apparatus 111 acquires a list of print jobs of the user 121 from the spool server 113 using the successfully authenticated user ID.

In step S<b>1207 , the job list registration unit 604 of the image forming apparatus 111 transmits a job list registration request including the user ID of the user 121 and the print job list of the user 121 to the web server 101 .

In step S<b>1208 , the web server 101 starts a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . As a result, the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 stores, for example, the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111, the destination URL, and the user ID of the user 121 in the correspondence information 501 as shown in FIG. are stored in association with each other. A list of print jobs of the user 121 is registered in a web service provided by the web server 101 and corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1209 , the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of access information for accessing the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S1210, the user information acquisition unit 603 of the image forming apparatus 111 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of the user ID. .

At this time, the user information acquisition unit 603 may use Comet (long polling) to request the web server 101 to acquire the user ID, as described above.

In steps S1211 and S1212, the user 121 uses the information terminal 120 to obtain connection information for using a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, as in the first embodiment.

In step S1213, the user 121 uses the information terminal 120 to obtain a list of print jobs.

In step S1214, the job list acquisition unit 413 of the information terminal 120 uses the acquired connection information to transmit an acquisition request to the web server 101 to acquire a list of print jobs. This acquisition request includes, for example, the user ID of the user 121 .

In step S1215, the web server 101, for example, refers to the correspondence information 501 shown in FIG. Confirm that it is associated and stored. When the destination information of the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 and the user ID of the user 121 are associated and stored, the web server 101 omits the authentication process and acquires a list of print jobs. The information terminal 120 is notified of the access information for the access.

In step S1218, the job list acquisition unit 413 of the information terminal 120 accesses (polls) the web service using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of a print job list.

In step S<b>1219 , the job list providing unit 405 of the web server 101 provides the information terminal 120 with a list of already registered print jobs of the user 121 .

In step S1218, the display control unit 414 of the information terminal 120 causes the display unit of the information terminal 120 to display a print job list display screen 1021 as shown in FIG. 10B, for example.

Subsequent processing may be the same as the processing according to the first embodiment shown after step S904 in FIG. 9, for example.

With the above-described processing, the authentication processing of the user 121 and the registration processing of the print job list of the user 121 are performed according to the IC card reading operation by the user 121. Therefore, the processing load on the web server 101 can be reduced. can be reduced.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first and second embodiments, the service management unit 602, the user information acquisition unit 603, the job list registration unit 604, the job information acquisition unit 605, the print data acquisition unit 606, etc. included in the image forming apparatus 111 are , may be included in an information processing apparatus different from the image forming apparatus 111 .

In the third embodiment, the print control apparatus connected to the local network 116 includes a service management unit 602, a user information acquisition unit 603, a job list registration unit 604, a job information acquisition unit 605, a print data acquisition unit 606, and the like. An example of processing in the case of having such information will be described.

<System configuration>
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the printing system 100 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the printing system 100 according to the third embodiment has a print control device 1301 in addition to the system configuration of the printing system 100 according to one embodiment shown in FIG.

The print control apparatus 1301 is, for example, an information processing apparatus such as a PC, and executes processes related to on-demand printing among the processes executed by the image forming apparatus 111 in the first and second embodiments.

As a result, the user 121 can use the information terminal 120 to perform on-demand printing even for the image forming apparatus 111 that does not have a function related to on-demand printing.

Note that the print control apparatus 1301 is an example of a second information processing apparatus that controls printing by the image forming apparatus 111 . The second information processing device may be the client device 112, the spool server 113, or the like. Here, the following description is given assuming that the second information processing apparatus is the print control apparatus 1301 .

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the print control device 1301 according to the third embodiment. The print control apparatus 1301 includes the service management unit 602, the user information acquisition unit 603, the job list registration unit 604, the job information acquisition unit 605, and the image forming apparatus 111 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. It has a print data acquisition unit 606 and the like. Since the function of each functional configuration described above is the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.

The print control device 1301 also has a communication unit 1401, a print control unit 1402, a storage unit 1403, and the like. The communication unit 1401, print control unit 1402, and storage unit 1403 are implemented by, for example, programs executed by the CPU 201 in FIG.

The communication unit 1401 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 311 in FIG. 3, the communication I/F 330, etc., connects the print control apparatus 1301 to the local network 116, and communicates with the spool server 113, the authentication server 114, and the like. I do. Also, the communication unit 1401 communicates with the web server 101 via the firewall 115 .

The print control unit 1402 executes processing for causing the image forming apparatus 111 to print the print job selected by the user 121 based on the information of the print job selected by the user 121 acquired by the job information acquisition unit 605 . For example, the print control unit 1402 transmits the print data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 606 to the image forming apparatus 111 for printing. Alternatively, the information of the print job selected by the user 121 acquired by the job information acquisition unit 605 is notified to the spool server 113 to control printing for the image forming apparatus 111 .

<Process flow>
Next, the flow of processing of the print control method according to the third embodiment will be described.

15 to 17 are sequence diagrams showing examples of processing of the printing system according to the third embodiment. Since the basic processing content is the same as the processing according to the first embodiment, here, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

(Startup processing of image forming apparatus)
In step S1501, the user 121 activates the image forming apparatus 111 used for printing.

When the activation operation is performed, the image forming apparatus 111 starts VPN connection. For example, the VPN connection procedure is the same as in the first embodiment. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 111 starts VPN connection by performing steps S813 and S814, as in the first embodiment. Note that the VPN connection may be made before the timing shown in the figure.

In steps S1502 and S1503, the spool server 113 detects activation of the image forming apparatus 111 by, for example, a coldStart trap function of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). Also, the spool server 113 notifies the print control apparatus 1301 that the image forming apparatus 111 has started. This notification includes, for example, a printer ID that identifies the activated image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1504 , when the image forming apparatus 111 is activated, the service management unit 602 of the print control apparatus 1301 requests the web server 101 to start web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . This request includes, for example, the printer ID of the activated image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1505 , the web server 101 starts a web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 . Accordingly, the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 stores and manages the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 and the destination URL in the correspondence information 501 shown in FIG. 5A, for example.

In step S<b>1506 , the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 notifies the print control apparatus 1301 of access information (for example, destination URL) for accessing the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S1507, the user information acquisition unit 603 of the print control apparatus 1301 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of the user ID. .

At this time, the user information acquisition unit 603 may request the web service to acquire the user ID by Comet (long polling), as described above.

(Connection processing of information terminal)
The connection processing of the information terminal 120 shown in steps S801 to S810 of FIG. 16 is the same as the connection processing of the information terminal 120 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 8, so the explanation is omitted here.

(Print job list registration processing)
In the print job list registration processing shown in steps S1601 to S1608 of FIG. 16, the print control apparatus 1301 executes the print job list registration processing executed by the image forming apparatus 111 in steps S811 to S818 of FIG. It is.

For example, in step S808 of FIG. 16, when the user ID of the user 121 is registered in the association information 501 in association with the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111, the processing from step S1601 is executed.

In steps S<b>1601 and S<b>1602 , the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 notifies the print control apparatus 1301 of the user ID of the user 121 logging in to the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1603 , the job list registration unit 604 of the print control apparatus 1301 requests the authentication server 114 to authenticate the user ID notified from the web server 101 .

In step S1604, the authentication server 114, for example, determines whether or not the user ID for which authentication is requested is registered in the authentication server 114. If the user ID is registered in the authentication server 114, the authentication is successful. to the print control apparatus 1301. On the other hand, if the user ID is not registered in the authentication server 114, the authentication server 114 transmits to the print control apparatus 1301 an authentication result indicating that the authentication has failed. Here, the following description will be given assuming that the authentication of the user ID has succeeded.

In step S1605, the job list registration unit 604 of the print control apparatus 1301 acquires a list of print jobs of the user 121 from the spool server 113 using the successfully authenticated user ID.

In step S<b>1606 , the job list registration unit 604 of the print control apparatus 1301 registers the acquired print job list of the user 121 in the web service provided by the web server 101 and corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1607 , the job list providing unit 405 of the web server 101 manages the list of print jobs of the user 121 registered from the print control apparatus 1301 . Further, the job list providing unit 405 notifies the print control apparatus 1301 of access information for accessing the print job list of the user 121 .

In step S1608, the job information acquisition unit 605 of the print control apparatus 1301 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of job information.

At this time, the job information acquisition unit 605 of the print control apparatus 1301 may request the Web server 101 to acquire job information using Comet (long polling) described above.

(Job information registration process)
Since the job information registration processing shown in steps S901 to S905 in FIG. 17 is the same as the job information registration processing according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 9, description thereof is omitted here.

As in the first embodiment, it is assumed that a VPN connection has already been established in steps S813 and S814. Therefore, it is assumed that steps S908 and the like are performed by VPN connection.

(printing process)
For example, in step S905 of FIG. 17, when the information of the print job selected by the user 121 is registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, the processing from step S1701 is executed.

In steps S1701 and S1702 of FIG. 17, the job information notification unit 406 of the web server 101 transmits job information 502 registered in the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111, for example, as shown in FIG. , to the print control device 1301 .

In step S<b>1703 , the print control unit 1402 of the print control apparatus 1301 transmits a print request including the job information 502 notified from the web server 101 to the spool server 113 .

In step S<b>1704 , the spool server 113 acquires print data of the print job selected by the user 121 based on the job information 502 included in the print request received from the print control apparatus 1301 .

In step S<b>1705 , the spool server 113 transmits the acquired print data to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1706 , the image forming apparatus 111 prints the print data transmitted from the spool server 113 .

In step S<b>1707 , the image forming apparatus 111 notifies the spool server 113 of a print result indicating that printing has been completed, for example.

In step S1708, the spool server 113 deletes the printed print job.

In step S1709, the service management unit 602 of the print control apparatus 1301 requests the web server 101 to terminate the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 in parallel with the processing of steps S1704 to S1708.

In step S<b>1710 , the web server 101 terminates the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user 121 can use the information terminal to perform on-demand printing even for the image forming apparatus 111 that does not have a function related to on-demand printing. .

Note that in step S1703 of FIG. 17, the print control apparatus 1301 acquires print data corresponding to the print job selected by the user 121 from the spool server 113 instead of sending the print request to the spool server 113. can be In this case, the print control apparatus 1301 causes the image forming apparatus 111 to print the print job selected by the user 121 by transmitting the acquired print data to the image forming apparatus 111 .

[Fourth embodiment]
In the fourth embodiment, in a system configuration similar to that of the third embodiment, the printing system 100 uses an IC card in which the account information of the user 121 is stored, as in the second embodiment. An example of processing when authenticating a person will be described.

<Process flow>
FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of the printing system according to the fourth embodiment.

In step S<b>1801 , the user 121 using the image forming apparatus 111 reads an IC card storing the account information of the user 121 including the user ID with the IC card reader 371 connected to the image forming apparatus 111 . perform a read operation to

In steps S1802 and S1803, the IC card reader 371 reads the account information stored in the IC card and notifies the image forming apparatus 111 of it.

When notified, the image forming apparatus 111 starts VPN connection. For example, the VPN connection procedure is the same as in the first embodiment. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 111 starts VPN connection by performing steps S813 and S814, as in the first embodiment. Note that the VPN connection may be made before the timing shown in the figure.

In step S1804, the IC card processing unit 1101 of the image forming apparatus 111 extracts the user ID of the user 121 from the account information notified from the IC card reader 371, and authenticates the extracted user ID. request to.

In step S1805, the authentication server 114, for example, determines whether or not the user ID for which authentication is requested is registered in the authentication server 114. If the user ID is registered in the authentication server 114, the authentication is successful. to the image forming apparatus 111. On the other hand, when the user ID is not registered in the authentication server 114 , the authentication server 114 transmits an authentication result indicating that authentication has failed to the image forming apparatus 111 . Here, the following description will be given assuming that the authentication of the user ID has succeeded.

In step S<b>1806 , the job list registration unit 604 of the image forming apparatus 111 transmits print preparation information including the successfully authenticated user ID and the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 to the spool server 113 .

In step S1807, the spool server 113 acquires a list of print jobs for the user 121 based on the user ID included in the print preparation information.

In step S<b>1808 , the spool server 113 transmits the acquired print job list of the user 121 to the print control apparatus 1301 together with the user ID of the user 121 and the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1809 , the job list registration unit 604 of the print control apparatus 1301 sends a job list including the user ID of the user 121 , a list of print jobs of the user 121 , and the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111 to the web server 101 . Submit a registration request for

In step S<b>1810 , web server 101 starts a web service corresponding to image forming apparatus 111 . As a result, the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 stores, for example, the printer ID of the image forming apparatus 111, the destination URL, and the user ID of the user 121 in the correspondence information 501 as shown in FIG. and are associated with each other and stored. Also, a list of print jobs for the user 121 is registered in a web service provided by the web server 101 and corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S<b>1811 , the correspondence information management unit 403 of the web server 101 notifies the print control apparatus 1301 of access information for accessing the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus 111 .

In step S1812, the user information acquisition unit 603 of the print control apparatus 1301 accesses (polls) the web service at predetermined time intervals, for example, using the notified access information, and requests acquisition of the user ID. .

At this time, the user information acquisition unit 603 may use Comet (long polling) to request the web server 101 to acquire the user ID, as described above.

The processing shown in steps S1211 to S1218 in FIG. 18 is the same as the processing in steps S1211 to S1218 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. With this processing, the information terminal 120 can display a list of print jobs for the user 121 on the display section of the information terminal 120 .

Further, following the process of step S1218 in FIG. 18, for example, the processes shown in steps S904, S905, and S1701 to S1710 shown in FIG. 17 are executed.

Also in the present embodiment, authentication processing of the user 121 and registration processing of the print job list of the user 121 are performed according to the IC card reading operation by the user 121, so the processing load on the web server 101 is reduced. can be reduced.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, in the printing system 100 that performs on-demand printing using the image forming apparatus 111 connected to the local network 116, printing is performed using the information terminal 120 that is not connected to the local network. can be controlled.

The system configuration and functional configuration of the printing system 100 shown in the first to fourth embodiments are examples, and various configurations can be applied to the printing system 100. FIG.

For example, the web server 101 shown in FIG. A configuration including a server may be used. This makes it possible to distribute the load of the web server 101 to a plurality of servers.

Also, at least part of the functional configuration of the print control apparatus 1301 shown in FIG. 14 may be included in the spool server 113 .

[Fifth embodiment]
The image forming apparatus further prints information including information identifying the user, information identifying the print job, information identifying the image forming apparatus, or a combination thereof (hereinafter referred to as "information source information"). is desirable.

Information that identifies a user is, for example, a user ID.

The information specifying the print job is, for example, the date and time when the print job was executed, information specifying the web server used, or information specifying the information terminal used.

The information specifying the image forming apparatus is the ID of the image forming apparatus, the place where the image forming apparatus is installed, or the like.

In this way, if information source information that can identify a user, a print job that has been executed, or a device that has been used, etc. , what circumstances, which device was used, who performed it, or what kind of information was taken out, etc., can be quickly identified. Therefore, security can be enhanced when the source information is printed.

100 printing system 101 web server (first information processing device)
102 external network (first network)
111 image forming apparatus 113 spool server (third information processing apparatus)
115 firewall 116 local network (second network)
120 information terminal 402 authentication unit 403 correspondence information management unit (management unit)
405 job list providing unit (providing unit)
406 job information notification unit (notification unit)
412 Connection information acquisition unit 414 Display control unit 416 Job information registration unit 1301 Print control device (second information processing device)

JP 2013-186824 A

Claims (9)

an information terminal connectable to a first network; an image forming apparatus connected to the first network; and a web service connected to the first network for using the image forming apparatus. 1 information processing device, and
The first information processing device is
A management unit that associates and manages information of a user of the information terminal connecting to the web service using the connection information acquired from the image forming apparatus and destination information of the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus. and,
a providing unit configured to provide the information terminal with a list of print jobs of the user registered in the web service based on the information of the user managed by the management unit;
a notification unit that notifies the image forming apparatus of information about the print job selected by the user from the list of print jobs;
The image forming apparatus is
a VPN connection that connects to a second network different from the first network by means of a VPN connection;
and a job information obtaining unit that obtains the print job based on the information of the print job via the second network. The VPN connection unit acquires VPN connection information including a VPN server destination, a VPN account and a VPN password from the first information processing device ,
The VPN connection unit connects to the second network using the VPN connection information.
The printing system of claim 1. a VPN server connected to the first network;
a third information processing device that provides the print job connected to the second network to the image forming device;
The VPN connection unit acquires a destination of a third information processing device associated with the VPN connection information from the first information processing device,
The VPN connection unit performs the VPN connection with the VPN server,
3. The printing system according to claim 2 , wherein the job information acquisition unit acquires the print job from the third information processing apparatus based on the destination of the third information processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus is
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further printing information source information including information identifying the user, information identifying the print job, information identifying the image forming apparatus, or a combination thereof. printing system. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an IC card processing unit that uses an IC card reader to obtain authentication information from an IC card possessed by the user and authenticates the user. A printing system according to paragraph. 6. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the first information processing apparatus provides information to the image forming apparatus by long polling by Comet. an information terminal connectable to a first network; an image forming apparatus connected to the first network; and a web service connected to the first network for using the image forming apparatus. 1 information processing device, the first information processing device of a printing system comprising:
A management unit that associates and manages information of a user of the information terminal connecting to the web service using the connection information acquired from the image forming apparatus and destination information of the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus. and,
Based on the information of the user managed by the management unit, the image forming apparatus acquires information from a second network different from the first network through a VPN connection, and the image forming apparatus accesses the web service. a providing unit that provides a list of registered print jobs of the user to the information terminal;
a notification unit that notifies the image forming apparatus of information about the print job selected by the user from the list of print jobs;
An information processing device. an information terminal connectable to a first network; an image forming apparatus connected to the first network; and a web service connected to the first network for using the image forming apparatus. 1 information processing apparatus, and a program for causing a printing system to execute a print control method,
A first information processing apparatus provides information of a user of the information terminal connecting to the web service using the connection information acquired from the image forming apparatus, and destination information of the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus. a management step that associates and manages
a providing step in which the first information processing apparatus provides the information terminal with a list of print jobs of the user registered in the web service based on the user information managed in the managing step;
a notification step in which a first information processing device notifies the image forming device of information on the print job selected by the user from the print job list;
a VPN connection step in which the image forming apparatus connects to a second network different from the first network through a VPN connection;
A program for causing an image forming apparatus to execute a job information obtaining step of obtaining the print job based on the information of the print job via the second network. an information terminal connectable to a first network; an image forming apparatus connected to the first network; and a web service connected to the first network for using the image forming apparatus. 1 information processing apparatus, a second information processing apparatus connected to a second network different from the first network, and controlling printing by the image forming apparatus, and a second information processing apparatus connected to the second network A printing system including a third information processing device,
The first information processing device is
A management unit that associates and manages information of a user of the information terminal connecting to the web service using the connection information acquired from the image forming apparatus and destination information of the web service corresponding to the image forming apparatus. and,
a providing unit configured to provide the information terminal with a list of print jobs of the user registered in the web service based on the information of the user managed by the management unit;
a notification unit configured to notify the second information processing apparatus of information about the print job selected by the user from the list of print jobs;
has
The second information processing device is
a job information acquisition unit that acquires the print job from the first information processing apparatus via the second network based on the information of the print job;
a print control unit that transmits a print request including information of the print job to the third information processing apparatus;
has
The image forming apparatus is
a VPN connection that connects to said second network, which is different from said first network, by means of a VPN connection;
has
A printing system in which the third information processing apparatus transmits print data acquired based on the information of the print job to the image forming apparatus via the second network.

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