JP4443482B2 - Internet printing system and program for realizing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an Internet printing system that performs push printing on a printing apparatus connected to a terminal such as a personal computer assigned a private IP address in a local area network from a hosting server, and a program for realizing the Internet printing system.

In order to subscribe to a page on a desired Web server, the user registers the URL and access date and time of the Web page that the user wants to subscribe to, and based on this registration, allows the printing apparatus to access the Web server. A network printing system configured to acquire a desired page and print it on a print medium is known. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-138954) discloses a printing apparatus that accesses and prints hypertext data on a network, and includes address information on the network of hypertext data to be accessed and access. Registration means for registering frequency information, access means for periodically accessing hypertext data existing at a position indicated by address information related to registration according to the access frequency information registered by the registration means, and the access means There is described a printing apparatus comprising: a printing control unit that prints accessed hypertext data.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-138954

When a Web server that holds desired information and a printing apparatus communicate with each other by TCP / IP, the IP address, which is information for communicating with the printing apparatus, is not always fixed. The IP address may change dynamically depending on the operation of the network. When the IP address changes dynamically as described above, in the technology of Patent Document 1, if the IP address of the printing apparatus changes dynamically while the Web server is communicating with the printing apparatus, the Web server There is a problem that the printing apparatus cannot be recognized and printing is interrupted. Because of such problems, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is merely a “pull-type” Internet printing technique in which a printing apparatus unilaterally accesses a Web server and acquires information from the Web server. . On the other hand, it is desired to realize a “push-type” Internet printing technique in which the Web server side mainly transmits information to a printing apparatus to be printed.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention according to claim 1 is directed to a hosting server connected to the Internet, a terminal device assigned a private IP address in a local area network connected to the Internet, and the terminal device In the Internet printing system that prints information stored in the hosting server by the printing device, the hosting server includes a dynamic global IP address and a port number transmitted from the terminal device. And terminal device information storage management means for storing and holding the printer port number of the printing device, and information stored in the hosting server based on the information stored in the terminal device information storage management means And an information transmitting means for transmitting to.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the Internet printing system according to the first aspect, the terminal device periodically sends a dynamic global IP address, a port number, and a printer of the printing device to the hosting server. It has terminal device information regular transmission means for transmitting a port number.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the Internet printing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hosting server divides the information stored in the hosting server into packets for transmission to the terminal device. The terminal apparatus comprises: a packet receiving means for receiving transmitted packets; a packet reception interruption detecting means for detecting interruption of packet reception; and a packet reception interruption detecting means for detecting packet reception. And terminal device information non-periodic transmission means for transmitting a dynamic global IP address, a port number, and a printer port number of the printing apparatus to the hosting server when interruption is detected.

An invention according to claim 4 is a program for realizing the Internet printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

According to the present invention, the hosting server stores and holds the dynamic global IP address, the port number, and the printer port number of the printing apparatus transmitted from the terminal device. Based on the stored information, the hosting server Since the stored information is configured to be transmitted to the terminal device, the hosting server can print to the printing device in a push type. In particular, the terminal device is configured to transmit the dynamic global IP address, the port number, and the printer port number of the printing device to the hosting server periodically or irregularly if necessary. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the terminal device and the printing device cannot be recognized from the hosting server side, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which printing is interrupted halfway.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an Internet printing system according to the present invention, 1 is the Internet, 2 is a hosting server, 3 is a local area network (LAN) in a company or home, and 4-1 to 4-3 are 4 is a terminal device such as a personal computer connected to the LAN, 4-1-1 to 4-3-2 are printing devices connected to the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3, and 5 is a terminal in the LAN 3. It is a modem or a router.

  The present invention can be realized by installing the program according to the present invention in the hosting server 2 and the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 by a predetermined method.

  The terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 are assigned private IP addresses within the LAN 3, but a global IP address is required in order to communicate with outside the LAN 3. 6 is an ISP (Internet Service Provider), and this ISP 6 generally assigns one dynamic global IP address to 5 modem routers.

In general, the ISP 6 assigns a dynamic global IP address to the modem router 5 by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). A method called NAT (Network Address Translator) or NAPT (Network Address Port Translation) is used to convert the dynamic global IP address and the private IP address on the LAN side. Since the NAPT method includes the NAT method, the NAPT method will be described below as a representative. The actual processing of NAPT is as follows.
(1) The source IP of the private IP address and the source port number of the TCP header in the IP packet sent from the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 in the LAN 3 are extracted.
(2) An unused port number is secured in the global IP address that can be used for NAPT, and the port number is made used.
(3) A set of “private IP address and its port number” and “global IP address and reserved port number” is registered in the conversion table.
(4) If a packet whose source is “private IP address and its port number” registered in the conversion table is to be transmitted from the LAN to the Internet, the packet is converted to “global IP address and reserved port number”.
(5) When a packet destined for the “global IP address and reserved port number” registered in the conversion table is sent from the Internet to the LAN 3, the packet is converted into the corresponding “private IP address and its port number”. .
(6) When the application is completed, the “port number” is returned to the unused state so that it can be reused.

  As described above, NAPT associates a dynamic global IP address and port number pair with a private IP address and port number pair.

  By the way, such a dynamic global IP address is fluid and cannot be predicted when it will change. For this reason, the hosting server 2 cannot recognize the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3.

  In the present invention, the hosting server 2 can recognize the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 even if the dynamic global IP address assigned to the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 changes in this way. The hosting server 2 is configured to perform push printing on the printing devices 4-1-1 to 4-3-2 connected to the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3.

  For this purpose, the present invention utilizes the fact that the hosting server 2 is given a universal fixed global IP address. That is, the terminal device 4-1 to 4-3 communicates with the hosting server 2 having a fixed global IP address, and the dynamic global IP address, the port number, and the printing device 4-4 of the terminal device 4-1 to 4-3. The host port 2 is notified of the printer port numbers 1-1 to 4-3-2, and the latest dynamic global IP address, port number, and printing device 4- The printer port numbers 1-1 to 4-3-2 are stored and held and managed so that the host devices 2 can recognize the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a data structure used when data is transmitted from the LAN 3 to the hosting server 2 via the Internet 1. In the figure, the part designated as “transmission destination” is the “fixed global IP address” of the hosting server 2 and its “port number”. The “transmission information” includes “dynamic global IP address”, “port number”, “printer port number”, and “other data” of the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3.

  With such a data structure, the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 notify the hosting server 2 of the dynamic global IP address and the port number managed by NAT and NAPT. In this way, on the hosting server 2 side, the “private IP address” and “port number of the printer” of the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 managed by the program of the present invention are set as the dynamic global IP address and port. Know by number.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a data structure used when transmitting from the hosting server 2 to the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3. In the figure, the portion designated as “transmission destination” is the “dynamic global IP address” and its “port number” corresponding to the private IP address and port number of the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3. “Transmission information (print packet)” is composed of “printer port number” and “data” connected to the printing device 4-1-1 to 4-3-2.

  Due to such a data structure, the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 in which the program of the present invention is installed are configured so that the printer to print the data transmitted from the hosting server 2 is the printing device 4-1-1-1. It is possible to grasp and manage which printer among 4-3-2.

  As described above, the dynamic global IP address may change at the moment when information is not sent from the hosting server 2 to the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 (the moment when it is in a static state). For such a case, in the present invention, the host device 2 obtains the latest dynamic global IP address, the port number managed by NAT, NAPT, and the port number of the printer from the terminal device 4-1 to 4-3 program. It is configured to periodically notify (polling) at an interval time. At the time of such polling, the data structure transmitted from the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 to the hosting server 2 is the same as that shown in FIG. Note that the polling sets an interval time that does not affect the network load.

  As shown in FIG. 4, consider a case where a failure occurs in communication between the hosting server 2 and the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 during transmission of a print job print packet (transmission data packet). Such a failure is caused when a print packet is transmitted as a job from the hosting server 2 (dynamic state), while a certain print packet is being transmitted, the five modem routers on the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 side. This is when the dynamic global IP address changes. In such a case, the present invention responds as follows.

  When such a failure occurs, the hosting server 2 cannot transmit a print packet, and the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 detect a timeout within a job unit. Then, the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 installed with the program of the present invention have the latest dynamic global IP address of the changed dynamic global IP address, the port number managed by NAT, NAPT, and the printer. Inform the hosting server 2 of the port number. In this way, the hosting server 2 requests communication to be resumed, continuously transmits data packets of subsequent print jobs, and continues printing.

  The above mechanism will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of processing performed to maintain a session with the hosting server 2 on the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3. In the figure, the interval time for polling described in S2 is set. In S 3, the dynamic global IP address, port number, printer port number, and other data are transmitted to the hosting server 2. In S4, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. If it has elapsed, the process returns to S2, and the polling interval time is set again.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of processing performed to maintain a session with the hosting server 2 in a dynamic state on the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3. When reception of a print job is started in S5, a print packet shown in FIG. 3 is received in S6. In S7, it is checked whether the session with the hosting server 2 has timed out. If it has timed out, in S9, the dynamic global IP address, port number, printer port number, and other data are sent to the hosting server 2. Send. If not timed out in S7, it is checked in S8 whether reception of all print data is completed. If not completed, the process returns to S6 again. If completed, the process proceeds to S10, and the print job reception process is terminated.

  FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of processing performed to maintain a session with the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 on the hosting server 2 side. As shown in the figure, the session holding operation on the hosting server 2 side receives and holds the dynamic global IP address, port number, printer port number, and other data from the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3. There is to manage.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of processing performed on the hosting server 2 side to maintain a session with the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 in a dynamic state. When the transmission of the print job is started in S14, the print packet shown in FIG. 3 is transmitted (S15). In S16, it is checked whether the session with the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 has timed out, that is, whether it has timed out due to a change in the dynamic global IP address and packet transmission is not possible. If transmission is impossible, the terminal device 4-1 to 4-3 stands by in S16 until the updated latest dynamic global IP address and port number of the terminal device are transmitted again. On the other hand, if transmission is possible in S16, the next packet is transmitted. In S17, it is checked whether or not all print packets have been finally transmitted. If completed, the process ends in S18.

In the present invention, the program of the present invention is installed in the hosting server 2 and the terminal devices 4-1 to 4-3 so that the above processing can be performed. A system in which such a program is installed is also included in the scope of the present invention.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an Internet printing system according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the data transmitted toward a hosting server. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the data transmitted to a terminal device from a hosting server. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a failure occurs during transmission of a print packet for a print job. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed in order to maintain a session by the terminal device side. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed in order to maintain a session in a dynamic state with a terminal device. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed in order to maintain the session with a terminal device by the hosting server side. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed in order to maintain a session in a dynamic state by the hosting server side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Internet, 2 ... Hosting server, 3 ... Local area network (LAN), 4-1 to 4-3 ... Terminal device, 4-1-1 to 4-3-2.・ Printer, 5 ... modem, router, 6 ... ISP

Claims (4)

A hosting server connected to the Internet;
A terminal device assigned a private IP address in a local area network connected to the Internet;
A printing device connected to the terminal device,
In an Internet printing system for printing information stored in the hosting server with the printing device,
The hosting server includes a terminal device information storage management unit that stores and holds a dynamic global IP address, a port number, and a printer port number of the printing device transmitted from the terminal device;
An Internet printing system comprising: information transmission means for transmitting information stored in the hosting server to the terminal device based on information stored in the terminal device information storage management means. The terminal device includes terminal device information periodic transmission means for periodically transmitting a dynamic global IP address, a port number, and a printer port number of the printing device to the hosting server. Internet printing system described in 1. The hosting server has packet dividing means for dividing information stored in the hosting server into packets for transmission to the terminal device,
The terminal device includes packet receiving means for receiving a transmitted packet;
A packet reception interruption detecting means for detecting interruption of packet reception;
Terminal device information non-periodic transmission means for transmitting a dynamic global IP address, a port number, and a printer port number of the printing apparatus to the hosting server when the packet reception interruption detection means detects the interruption of packet reception; The Internet printing system according to claim 1, further comprising: The program for implement | achieving the internet printing system in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3.

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