JP7552267B2 - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

Conventionally, there is a method for switching the status of a document received by FAX (facsimile) from unread to read in response to a user's output instruction.

For example, according to Patent Document 1, when a user instructs to preview a document, the document's status is switched from unread to read.

In another example, when a user instructs a document to be printed, the document's status can be switched from unread to read.

For example, in the case of print output, a user may instruct the printing of a document, but some or all of the pages of the document may not be printed due to a paper jam or other reasons. When such a case occurs, with the above-mentioned conventional method, the document is managed as having been read, even though the user cannot view the pages that have not been printed. In other words, the status of documents received by fax was not managed appropriately.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program that are capable of appropriately managing documents received by fax.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention comprises a document management unit that stores documents received by fax in a memory unit; an output control unit that controls the output of the stored document based on user operation; and a status management unit that sets the status of the document to unread when the document is stored in the memory unit, and sets the status of the document to read on condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed and the status of the document has been set to read on another information processing device that is not connected to a public line, and when the document is stored in the memory unit and output on the other information processing device at the same time, the status management unit determines whether to release the unread status of the document based on the output result of the document on the other information processing device, which is performed automatically .

The present invention has the effect of enabling proper management of documents received by fax.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of connection of MFPs according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the MFP according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the MFP according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a storage mode of the information processing program according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the MFP according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing program according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an MFP according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a document management table according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed by a FAX operation display unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a print job management table according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the FAX data management table according to the second embodiment at the timing when the state of the print job management table is the state shown in FIG. 10C. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the MFP according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the data configuration of the print job management table according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing yet another example of the data configuration of the print job management table according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a system to which an information processing device according to the third embodiment is applied. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration in a FAX linkage system according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an MFP (parent machine) according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an MFP (child device) according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a FAX data management table according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a print job management table according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the FAX operation display unit. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the setting screen. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation according to the fourth embodiment.

The following describes in detail an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program according to embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

First Embodiment
The information processing device according to the embodiment can be applied to any device that manages documents received by FAX. In the first embodiment, as an example, a case where the information processing device according to the embodiment is applied to an MFP (Multi Function Printer) will be described. The MFP described here is a multifunction device that includes at least a FAX function and a printer function, and further realizes multiple functions such as a scanner function and a copy function in a single housing.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of connections of an MFP 1 according to a first embodiment. The MFP 1 is connected to one or more fax machines 2 (two in the example of Figure 1) via a public line network 3. Each fax machine 2 can send documents to the MFP 1 via the public line network 3. The MFP 1 can also send documents to each fax machine 2 via the public line network 3.

Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, a document refers to a document received by MFP1 via FAX.

The MFP 1 is connected to a network 4 such as the Internet or an intranet. A server 5, a printing device 6, a PC (Personal Computer) 7, etc. are connected to the network 4.

The MFP 1 stores the received document in an internal memory (memory 16 described below). The document stored in the memory can be output in various ways. For example, the document in the memory can be printed by the printer function of the MFP 1 or by the printing device 6. Alternatively, the document in the memory can be distributed to the server 5 or the PC 7. Alternatively, the document in the memory can be transferred to the fax device 2 via the public line network 3. In other words, output can include printing, distribution, or transfer by fax, etc.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of MFP1 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 1 includes a controller 110, a short-range communication circuit 120, an engine control unit 130, an operation panel 140, a network I/F 150, and a public line I/F 160.

Of these, the controller 110 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, which is the main part of the computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 102, a north bridge (NB) 103, a south bridge (SB) 104, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 106, a local memory (MEM-C) 107, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 108, and a HD (Hard Disk) 109, and is configured such that the NB 103 and the ASIC 106 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 121.

Of these, the CPU 101 is a control unit that performs overall control of the MFP 1. The NB 103 is a bridge that connects the CPU 101 with the MEM-P 102, the SB 104, and the AGP bus 121, and has a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 102, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

The MEM-P 102 consists of a ROM 102a, which is memory for storing programs and data that realize the various functions of the controller 110, and a RAM 102b, which is used for expanding programs and data, and as a drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in the RAM 102b may be provided by recording them in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD.

SB104 is a bridge for connecting NB103 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC106 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing purposes that has hardware elements for image processing, and acts as a bridge connecting AGP bus 121, PCI bus 122, HD controller 108, and MEM-C107. This ASIC106 is composed of a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of ASIC106, a memory controller that controls MEM-C107, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between scanner unit 131 and printer unit 132 via PCI bus 122. In addition, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface may be connected to the ASIC 106.

MEM-C107 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer. HD109 is a storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. HD109 controls the reading and writing of data from and to HD109 under the control of CPU101. AGP bus121 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphic processing, and by directly accessing MEM-P102 with high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

The short-range communication circuit 120 also includes a short-range communication circuit 120a. The short-range communication circuit 120 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The engine control unit 130 is further comprised of a scanner unit 131 and a printer unit 132. The operation panel 140 has a panel display unit 140a such as a touch panel that displays the current settings and selection screens and receives input from the operator, and an operation panel 140b consisting of a numeric keypad that receives settings for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that receives a copy start command. The controller 110 controls the entire MFP1, and controls, for example, drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 140. The scanner unit 131 or the printer unit 132 includes an image processing unit such as error diffusion and gamma conversion. The panel display unit 140a is an example of a display device.

The MFP1 can sequentially switch between the document box function, copy function, printer function, and fax function using the application switching key on the operation panel 140. When the document box function is selected, the document box mode is selected; when the copy function is selected, the copy mode is selected; when the printer function is selected, the printer mode is selected; and when the fax function is selected, the fax mode is selected.

The network I/F 150 is an interface for data communication using the network 4. The public line I/F 160 is an interface for sending and receiving documents via the public line network 3. The short-range communication circuit 120, the network I/F 150, and the public line I/F 160 are electrically connected to the ASIC 106 via the PCI bus 122.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of MFP1 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the MFP 1 has a storage unit 16 in which one or more documents that the MFP 1 receives from one or more FAX devices 2 are stored. The storage unit 16 is configured by a storage device that stores data, such as the RAM 102b, the MEM-C 907, or the HD 109. The storage unit 16 may be configured by a storage device other than these. The storage unit 16 may be configured by a removable storage device, or may be configured by a storage device connected to the outside of the MFP 1 via the network 4 or other communication means. The storage device connected to the outside of the MFP 1 via the network 4 or other communication means is, for example, cloud storage that allows data to be stored and shared on the Internet.

The MFP 1 further includes a document management unit 11, an output control unit 12, a status acquisition unit 13, an output result determination unit 14, and a status management unit 15.

The document management unit 11 stores documents received by fax, i.e. documents received from the fax device 2 via the public line network 3, in the memory unit 16. This causes the documents to be accumulated in the memory unit 16.

The output control unit 12 controls the output of documents stored in the memory unit 16.

For example, the user can specify a document and instruct the document to be printed by operating an external device such as the PC 7 or the operation panel 140. Based on the print instruction, the output control unit 12 prints the specified document using the printer unit 132. The output control unit 12 may also send the document to the printing device 6.

Alternatively, the user can specify a document and instruct the delivery of the document by operating an external device such as the PC 7 or the operation panel 140. Based on the delivery instruction, the output control unit 12 delivers the specified document via the network I/F 150.

Alternatively, the user can specify a document and instruct the document to be transferred by fax by operating an external device such as the PC 7 or the operation panel 140. Based on the transfer instruction, the output control unit 12 transfers the specified document via the public line network 3.

The status acquisition unit 13 acquires the document output status.

More specifically, the status acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of pages for which output has been completed among the documents designated as the target for output. For example, if the output is printing, the number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed is counted as the number of pages for which output has been completed. If the output is distribution or forwarding by fax, the number of pages for which distribution or forwarding has been completed is counted as the number of pages for which output has been completed.

The output result determination unit 14 determines whether or not output of all pages of the document specified as the target for output has been completed based on the number of pages acquired by the status acquisition unit 13.

The status management unit 15 manages the status of the document.

Specifically, when a document is stored in the memory unit 16, the status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to "unread." Then, the status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to "read" on the condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed.

The status management unit 15 will not set the status of the document to "read" even after an instruction to output the document has been given, if the output of some or all of the pages of the document has not been completed, in other words, if there are pages among the pages that make up the document that have not been completely output.

For example, when an instruction to print the document is given and the instructed printing is executed, output of all pages of the document may not be completed due to a paper shortage, a paper jam, or an instruction to cancel printing. In such a case, the status management unit 15 does not set the status of the document to read. The status management unit 15 may maintain the status of the document as unread, or may set the status to a name different from either unread or read.

In this way, according to the embodiment, the status of a document specified for output is set to read on the condition that output of all pages of the document is completed.

The functions of the document management unit 11, the output control unit 12, the status acquisition unit 13, the output result determination unit 14, and the status management unit 15 are realized, for example, by the CPU 101 executing an information processing program.

The information processing program 170 is prestored in the ROM 102a, for example, as shown in FIG. 4. The CPU 101 loads the information processing program 170 from the ROM 102a to the RAM 102b, and executes the information processing program 170 loaded in the RAM 102b, thereby functioning as the document management unit 11, the output control unit 12, the status acquisition unit 13, the output result determination unit 14, and the status management unit 15.

That is, the MFP 1 is configured with a processor such as the CPU 101 and memories such as the ROM 102a, the RAM 102b, the MEM-C 107, or the HD 109, and this configuration can be considered as a normal computer configuration. The information processing program 170, which is a computer program, can cause the MFP 1 having the computer configuration to function as the document management unit 11, the output control unit 12, the status acquisition unit 13, the output result determination unit 14, and the status management unit 15.

The storage device in which the information processing program 170 is pre-stored is not limited to ROM 102a. The information processing program 170 may be pre-stored in a non-volatile storage device such as HD 109.

The information processing program 170 may also be configured to be provided by recording it in an installable or executable file format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a digital versatile disk (DVD).

In addition, the information processing program 170 may be configured to be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Also, the information processing program 170 may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

The functions of the document management unit 11, output control unit 12, status acquisition unit 13, output result determination unit 14, and status management unit 15 can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), DSP (digital signal processor), FPGA (field programmable gate array), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each function described above.

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the MFP 1 according to the first embodiment. Note that, here, a case where printing is performed as an example of output is described.

First, the output control unit 12 accepts a print operation (more precisely, an operation instructing printing) performed by the user specifying a document in an unread state (S101). Note that the state of the document is set to unread by the state management unit 15 when the document is stored in the memory unit 16. The print instruction may be input via the operation panel 140 or from an external device such as the PC 7. Note that in the explanation of this diagram, the document specified as the target for printing by the processing of S101 is referred to as the target document.

The status management unit 15 changes the status of the target document from unread to pending (S102). Pending indicates a state in which output such as printing has been instructed, but the document has not yet been read.

The output control unit 12 controls the printer unit 132 to print the target document (S103).

When the printer unit 132 finishes printing the target job, the status acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of pages that have been ejected (S104).

The end of a printing run means that after the printer unit 132 has attempted to print, some factor causes the printer unit 132 to stop the printing operation, or the printer unit 132 is ready to perform the next printing. In other words, the end of a printing run can occur in various cases other than when all pages of the target document have been printed and ejected. For example, the printing run can stop due to a paper shortage, a paper jam, or the cancellation of printing, and this is considered to be the end of the printing run.

The output result determination unit 14 determines whether ejection of all pages of the target document has been completed (S105).

For example, when the target document is stored in the memory unit 16 by the document management unit 11, the status management unit 15 obtains the number of pages that make up the target document. When the output result determination unit 14 obtains the number of pages for which ejection has been completed from the status acquisition unit 13, it obtains the number of pages that make up the target document from the status management unit 15. Then, the output result determination unit 14 determines whether the number of pages that make up the target document and the number of pages for which ejection has been completed match. If the two match, the output result determination unit 14 determines that ejection of all pages of the target document has been completed. If the two do not match, the output result determination unit 14 determines that ejection of all pages of the target document has not been completed.

If it is determined that all pages of the target document have been ejected (S105: Yes), the status management unit 15 sets the status of the target document to "read" (S106), and the operation of the MFP 1 ends.

If it is determined that ejection of all pages of the target document has not been completed (S105: No), the status management unit 15 keeps the status of the target document pending (S107), and the operation of the MFP 1 ends.

In the explanation of FIG. 5, the status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to pending when printing is performed. The status management unit 15 does not necessarily have to set the status of the target document to pending when printing is performed, and may maintain the document status as unread. Also, the name "pending" is an example. In S102, the status management unit 15 may change the document status to any name other than "pending". For example, the status management unit 15 may set the document status to "printing".

Thus, according to the first embodiment, the MFP 1 as an information processing device includes a document management unit 11 that accumulates documents received by FAX in a storage unit 16, an output control unit 12 that controls printing of the document based on a user operation, and a status management unit 15 that manages the status of the document. When a document is received, the status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to unread. Then, on the condition that all pages of the document have been ejected, the status management unit 15 changes the status of the document from unread to read.

This prevents cases where some pages of a document are not printed due to a paper shortage, paper jam, or printing cancellation, and the document is managed as having been read even though the user cannot view those pages. In other words, documents received by fax can be managed appropriately.

The status management unit 15 does not set the document status to "read" if output of some or all pages of the document is not complete.

This prevents cases where some pages of a document are not printed due to a paper shortage, paper jam, or printing cancellation, and the document is managed as having been read even though the user cannot view those pages. In other words, documents received by fax can be managed appropriately.

In addition, the MFP 1 as an information processing device further includes a status acquisition unit 13 that acquires the number of pages of a document that have been printed and ejected, and an output result determination unit 14 that determines whether ejection of all pages of the document has been completed based on the number of pages that have been ejected, and determines that output of all pages of the document has been completed when ejection of all pages of the document has been completed.

This allows the document to be marked as read once all pages have been ejected.

Note that in FIG. 5, printing has been described as an example of output. The operation of the information processing device of the embodiment can be applied not only to printing a document, but also to distributing a document or transferring a document by fax.

In one example, the output control unit 12 controls the distribution of the document. The output control unit 12 can distribute the document to an external device such as the server 5 or the PC 7. The status acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of pages of the document for which distribution has been completed. The output result determination unit 14 determines whether distribution of all pages of the document has been completed based on the number of pages for which distribution has been completed, and determines that output of all pages of the document has been completed when distribution of all pages of the document has been completed. The status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to "read" on the condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed.

When distributing a document, cases may occur in which some or all of the pages of the document are not delivered due to a malfunction of the network 4 or cancellation of the delivery. With the above configuration, if such a case occurs, the status of the document is not marked as read. This prevents cases from occurring in which the document is managed as read even though the user is unable to view some or all of the pages. In other words, documents received by fax can be properly managed.

In another example, the output control unit 12 controls the transfer of a document by fax. The output control unit 12 can transfer the document to, for example, a fax machine 2 via the public line network 3. The status acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of pages of the document that have been transferred. The output result determination unit 14 determines whether the transfer of all pages of the document has been completed based on the number of pages that have been transferred, and determines that the output of all pages of the document has been completed when the transfer of all pages of the document has been completed. The status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to "read" on the condition that the output of all pages of the document has been completed.

When a document is transferred by fax, some or all of the pages of the document may not be transferred depending on the state of the public line network 3 or the state of the destination fax machine 2. With the above configuration, if this occurs, the document is not marked as read. This prevents cases from occurring where the document is managed as read even though the user is unable to view some or all of the pages. In other words, documents received by fax can be managed appropriately.

Second Embodiment
The MFP according to the second embodiment is denoted as MFP 1a. MFP 1a has the same hardware configuration as MFP 1 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the hardware configuration of MFP 1a will be omitted. In the following description, differences from the first embodiment will be described. Descriptions of the same points as the first embodiment will be omitted or will be described briefly.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing program 170 according to the second embodiment. The information processing program 170 according to the second embodiment includes a fax application program (fax app) 180 that realizes a fax function, and a print application program (print app) 190 that realizes a printer function.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of MFP 1a according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, MFP 1a includes fax operation display unit 21, fax receiving unit 22, and fax data management unit 23. The functions of fax operation display unit 21, fax receiving unit 22, and fax data management unit 23 are realized, for example, by CPU 101 executing fax application 180. Note that, like the functional components of the first embodiment, some or all of the functions of fax operation display unit 21, fax receiving unit 22, and fax data management unit 23 can be realized by one or more processing circuits.

The fax operation display unit 21 performs functions such as displaying information on the panel display unit 140a of the operation panel 140 of the MFP 1 and accepting operation input via the panel display unit 140a or the operation panel 140b. The fax operation display unit 21 is an example of a display control unit that displays the status of a document on a display device such as the panel display unit 140a.

The fax receiving unit 22 receives documents via fax.

The fax data management unit 23 has the functions of the document management unit 11 and the status management unit 15. In other words, the fax data management unit 23 stores documents received by the fax receiving unit 22 in the memory unit 16. Furthermore, when the fax data management unit 23 stores a document in the memory unit 16, it sets the status of the document to "unread." On the condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed, the fax data management unit 23 sets the status of the document to "read."

In the second embodiment, printing is given as an example of output.

The fax data management unit 23 uses the fax data management table 181 to manage the state of each document in the storage unit 16. The fax data management table 181 is stored in the storage unit 16, and the fax data management unit 23 can refer to and update the fax data management table 181 in the storage unit 16. The specific configuration of the fax data management table 181 will be described later.

The MFP 1a also includes a print job management unit 31 and a print control unit 32. The functions of the print job management unit 31 and the print control unit 32 are realized, for example, by the CPU 101 executing the print application 190. As with the functional components of the first embodiment, some or all of the functions of the print job management unit 31 and the print control unit 32 can be realized by one or more processing circuits.

The print control unit 32 has the functions of the output control unit 12 (more precisely, the function of controlling printing within the output control unit 12). The print control unit 32 controls the printing of documents using the printer unit 132.

The print job management unit 31 has the function of managing print jobs, as well as the function of a status acquisition unit 13 and an output result determination unit 14.

Specifically, when a print instruction is issued, the print job management unit 31 treats each print instruction as a print job. The print job management unit 31 registers one or more print jobs in the print job management table 191, and manages the execution status of each print job registered in the print job management table 191. The execution status of a print job is referred to as a processing status. The processing status can be one of several states, including waiting to print, printing, and printing completed.

The print job management unit 31 also obtains the number of pages that have been output from the document specified as the target for printing. Specifically, the print job management unit 31 counts the number of pages that have been ejected as the number of pages that have been output. Then, based on the obtained number of pages, the print job management unit 31 determines whether or not the output of all pages of the document specified as the target for printing has been completed. The print job management unit 31 notifies the fax data management unit 23 of the result of the determination.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the fax data management table 181 according to the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, the fax data management table 181 has a table configuration with fields in which the following items are recorded: document ID, reception date and time, recipient, number of pages, unread status, file path, job ID, and job status.

The document ID field records a number (i.e., document ID) for uniquely identifying the received document. The received date and time field records the date and time when reception began. The recipient field records information that indicates the device that sent the document. For example, a fax number is recorded in the recipient field. The number of pages field records the number of pages that make up the document. The unread status field records the status of the document, for example, whether it is unread or read. The file path field records the file path that indicates where the document is stored. When printing, distribution, etc. is instructed, the job ID records a number (i.e., job ID) for uniquely identifying the job of the instructed content. The job status field records the status related to the execution of the job related to document processing.

The job status can be, for example, print instructed, print completed, or print failed. With regard to the job status, print instructed is a state in which execution of a print job has been instructed and the printer is waiting for the execution of the print job to be completed. Print completed is a state in which ejection of all pages that make up the document has been completed. In other words, print completed is a state in which printing has been successful. Print failed is a state in which execution of a print job has been completed without ejection of some or all of the pages that make up the document.

In the example of FIG. 8, information about five documents assigned document IDs 0001 to 0005 is registered in the fax data management table 181. It can be seen that the document with document ID 0001 consists of six pages, the document with document ID 0002 consists of five pages, the document with document ID 0003 consists of three pages, the document with document ID 0004 consists of ten pages, and the document with document ID 0005 consists of two pages. The status of these five documents is all unread.

The user can check the status of documents stored in the memory unit 16 by inputting an instruction to display a list of documents from the operation panel 140 or the like. When the instruction is input, the FAX operation display unit 21 generates a screen showing the status of one or more documents stored in the memory unit 16 based on the FAX data management table 181, and displays the generated screen on the panel display unit 140a.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the FAX operation display unit 21 in the second embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, screen 141 has area 141a in which information on one or more documents is displayed. Here, area 141a displays information on documents with document IDs 0001 to 0004. The information on each document includes the date and time of receipt, sender, original, and status (unread or read). The sender is the information written in the recipient field of fax data management table 181, and the original is the information written in the page number field of fax data management table 181.

The screen 141 also includes an area 141b where instructions can be input. A document transfer button 142 and a document print button 143 are depicted in the area 141b, and the user can operate these buttons by touching them.

When the user selects a document from area 141a and touches document transfer button 142, a setting screen for setting the transfer destination is displayed by the fax operation display unit 21. The user can set one or more transfer destinations, such as a fax number, a folder, an email address, or cloud storage, via the setting screen. The setting screen includes a start key, and when the user touches the start key, transfer of the selected document begins.

When the user selects a document from area 141a and touches document print button 143, a setting screen for setting printing conditions such as double-sided printing and aggregation is displayed by the FAX operation display unit 21. The user can set the printing conditions via this setting screen. This setting screen includes a start key, and when the user touches this start key, printing begins.

The FAX operation display unit 21 may be configured to display the screen 141 shown in FIG. 9 on the display device of an external device such as a PC 7, and to be able to accept operation input from the PC 7 or the like.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the print job management table 191 according to the second embodiment. It is assumed here that the user has input instructions to print three documents with document IDs 0001, 0003, and 0004.

As shown in (A) to (C) of Figure 10, the print job management table 191 has a table structure with fields in which the job ID, total number of pages, number of printed pages, and processing status are recorded. The job ID field records the job ID. The total number of pages field records the number of pages that make up the document. The number of printed pages field records the number of pages that have been ejected, obtained by the print job management unit 31. The processing status field records the status of job execution.

Here, as an example, the processing state can be any one of waiting to print, printing, and printing complete. With regard to the processing state, waiting to print is a state in which execution of a print job has been instructed, but the start of execution of the print job is awaited. Printing is a state in which the print job is currently being executed. Printing complete is a state in which execution of the print job has been completed. Note that, unlike the job state, in the processing state, printing is considered complete when execution of the print job has ended, regardless of whether or not all pages have been ejected.

For example, when the print job management unit 31 registers a print job in response to an instruction from the fax data management unit 23, it sets the processing status of the print job to "waiting to print." When the print control unit 32 starts executing the print job, the print job management unit 31 sets the processing status of the print job to "printing." If the processing status is "printing," the print job management unit 31 monitors the number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed, and updates the record of the item "number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed" in real time. When the print job management unit 31 receives a notification from the print control unit 32 that the execution of the print job has ended, it sets the processing status to "printing completed." Then, the print job management unit 31 determines whether the number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed matches the total number of pages. If the two match, the print job management unit 31 determines that printing has been successful. If the two do not match, the print job management unit 31 determines that printing has failed. The print job management unit 31 notifies the fax data management unit 23 of the determination result.

For example, (A) in FIG. 10 shows the print job management table 191 immediately after an instruction to print three documents with document IDs 0001, 0003, and 0004 has been issued. As shown in this figure, the print job for the document with document ID 0001 is assigned a job ID of 0001, the print job for the document with document ID 0003 is assigned a job ID of 0002, and the print job for the document with document ID 0004 is assigned a job ID of 0003. The total number of pages field contains the same information as that recorded in the number of pages field of the FAX data management table 181.

From the print job management table 191 shown in FIG. 10A, it can be seen that the processing status of the print job with job ID 0001 is printing, and that ejection (i.e. printing) of two pages of the six-page document with document ID 0001 has been completed. In addition, the processing status of the print jobs with job IDs 0002 and 0003 is both waiting to be printed.

The print job management table 191 transitions from the state shown in FIG. 10A to, for example, the state shown in FIG. 10B. According to the print job management table 191 shown in FIG. 10B, the processing state of the print job with job ID 0001 is "printing complete." Since the ejection of pages 6 of the six-page document with document ID 0001 that was the subject of the print job has been completed, it can be read that the printing of the document was successful.

Also, according to the print job management table 191 shown in FIG. 10B, the processing status of the print job with job ID 0002 is printing. It can also be read that the ejection of one page of the three-page document with document ID 0003, which was the target of the print job with job ID 0001, has been completed. The processing status of the print job with job ID 0003 is waiting to be printed.

The print job management table 191 transitions from the state shown in FIG. 10B to, for example, the state shown in FIG. 10C. According to the fax data management table 181 shown in FIG. 10C, the processing state of the print job with job ID 0002 is set to print failure, and the processing state of the print job with job ID 0003 is printing. It can be seen that the document targeted by the print job with job ID 0002 had only two of three pages ejected, and printing ended without completing the ejection (i.e. printing) of the remaining page.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the fax data management table 181 according to the second embodiment at a timing when the state of the print job management table 191 is in the state shown in Figure 10 (C).

As described above, the print job of the document with document ID 0001 is assigned a job ID of 0001, the print job of the document with document ID 0003 is assigned a job ID of 0002, and the print job of the document with document ID 0004 is assigned a job ID of 0003. Therefore, 0001 is recorded in the job ID field of the information related to the document with document ID 0001, 0002 is recorded in the job ID field of the information related to the document with document ID 0003, and 0003 is recorded in the job ID field of the information related to the document with document ID 0004.

In addition, when the state of the print job management table 191 is as shown in FIG. 10C, the processing state of the print job with job ID 0001 is printing complete, and printing has been determined to be successful, so the job state field for the information on the document with document ID 0001 that was the target of printing by that print job records "printing complete." And the unread state field records "read."

At the above timing, it is determined that the print job with job ID 0002 has failed to print. Therefore, the job status field for the document with document ID 0003 that was the target of printing by that print job records "print failed." And the unread status field records "unread" instead of "read."

Also, at the above timing, execution of the print job with job ID 0003 has not yet been completed, so the job status field for the document with document ID 0004 that was the target of printing by that print job records "print instructed." And the unread status field records "unread" instead of "read."

As mentioned above, the user can view information about unread fields in the fax data management table 181 by calling up screen 141.

Figure 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of MFP 1a according to the second embodiment.

First, when a fax is received (S201), the fax receiving unit 22 instructs the fax data management unit 23 to store the document received by fax (S202). The fax data management unit 23 stores the instructed document in the memory unit 16 and registers information about the document in the fax data management table 181 (S203). As described above, the information registered in the fax data management table 181 includes items such as document ID, reception date and time, recipient, number of pages, unread status, file path, job ID, and job status. In S203, the fax data management unit 23 records unread in the unread status field. In addition, the fax data management unit 23 leaves the job ID and job status blank. The fax data management unit 23 records a number given by some method in the document ID field. For example, the fax receiving unit 22 or fax data management unit 23 may assign document ID numbers to each document in ascending order of receipt.

The processes of S201 to S203 constitute the fax reception and storage phase. The fax reception and storage phase is executed when a document is received by fax.

The user can input an instruction to display a list of documents by operating the operation panel 140 (S204). When the instruction is input, the FAX operation display unit 21 generates a screen showing a list of documents stored in the memory unit 16, such as that shown in FIG. 8, and displays it on the panel display unit 140a (S205).

The user can select a document from the displayed screen and input a print instruction (S206). The input print instruction is sent to the fax data management unit 23 by the fax operation display unit 21 (S207).

The print instruction sent to the fax data management unit 23 includes a document ID indicating the selected document. In the explanation of FIG. 12, the document selected as the target for printing in S206 is referred to as the target document.

When the fax data management unit 23 receives the print instruction, it instructs the print job management unit 31 to register a print job for printing the target document (S208). The instruction to register the print job includes a file path.

When the print job management unit 31 receives an instruction to register a print job, it registers information related to the printing of the target document in the print job management table 191 (S209).

As described above, the information registered in the print job management table 191 includes items such as the job ID, total number of pages, number of printed pages, and processing status. The print job management unit 31 generates and records the job ID in some way. For example, the print job management unit 31 may generate an ascending number each time registration of a print job is instructed, and use the generated number as the job ID. Also, for example, in S208, the print job management unit 31 receives notification of the number of pages that make up the target document from the fax data management unit 23, and records the notified number of pages as the total number of pages. The print job management unit 31 records 0 as the number of printed pages, and leaves the processing status field blank.

When the registration of the print job is complete, the print job management unit 31 returns the job ID to the fax data management unit 23 (S210). The fax data management unit 23 then registers the received job ID in the job ID field of the information about the target document in the fax data management table 181 (S211).

The print control unit 32 can sequentially obtain and execute print jobs registered in the print job management table 191. When the print control unit 32 obtains a print job for printing a target document (S212), it executes the print job (S213). The print control unit 32 controls the printer unit 132 to attempt to print the target document.

When the print job execution is completed, the print control unit 32 notifies the print job management unit 31 of the execution result (S214). Note that the print job execution can end not only when the printing is completed normally, but also when the printing is canceled, the paper runs out, or a paper jam occurs. In S214, a notification is given that the print job execution is completed.

While a print job is being executed, the print job management unit 31 monitors the number of pages that have been ejected, and updates the record in the item for the number of printed pages in the print job management table 191 in real time. When the print job management unit 31 receives a notification that execution of a print job has ended, it updates the print job management table 191 in response to the notification (S215). Specifically, the print job management unit 31 sets the record in the item for processing status to "printing completed."

The print job management unit 31 does not need to perform real-time monitoring of the number of pages that have been ejected. When the print job management unit 31 receives a notification that the print job has been completed by the processing of S214, the print job management unit 31 may obtain the number of pages that have been ejected.

Then, the print job management unit 31 determines whether the printing was successful (S216). That is, the print job management unit 31 compares the record in the total page count field with the updated record in the printed page count field. If the two are equal, the print job management unit 31 determines that the printing was successful. If the two are not equal, the print job management unit 31 determines that the printing was unsuccessful.

Then, the print job management unit 31 notifies the fax data management unit 23 of the result of the judgment (S217). The notification of the result of the judgment may include the job ID.

The processes of S216 and S217 described here are one of multiple variations (Variation A). According to another variation (Variation B), for example, the fax data management unit 23 specifies a job ID and inquires of the print job management unit 31 about the status of the execution of the print job (S218). If the execution of the print job has finished when the print job management unit 31 receives the inquiry, it determines whether the printing was successful (S219). In other words, the print job management unit 31 executes the same process as S216. Then, the print job management unit 31 notifies the fax data management unit 23 of the result of the determination (S220). In this way, the fax data management unit 23 may poll the print job management unit 31 to notify the result of the determination.

When the fax data management unit 23 receives the result of the determination as to whether printing was successful or not through the processing of S217 or S220, it updates the record in the job status field of the fax data management table 181 and determines whether to update the record in the unread status field of the fax data management table 181 (S221).

For example, if the fax data management unit 23 receives a result indicating that printing was successful, it changes the record of the unread field to read (S222). Then, the fax data management unit 23 sends an instruction to the fax operation display unit 21 to update the display (S223). Upon receiving this instruction, the fax operation display unit 21 changes the display of the status of the target document on the screen from unread to read, and displays the changed screen on the panel display unit 140a (S224).

If the fax data management unit 23 receives a result indicating that printing has failed, it will keep the records of the unread fields as unread.

In this way, the functions of the document management unit 11, output control unit 12, status acquisition unit 13, output result determination unit 14, and status management unit 15 can be implemented separately in the FAX application 180 and the print application 190.

The division of the functions of the document management unit 11, output control unit 12, status acquisition unit 13, output result determination unit 14, and status management unit 15 is not limited to the division described above.

In one example, the function of the output result determination unit 14 may be provided in the FAX application 180. For example, the print job management unit 31 has a function as the status acquisition unit 13, and the FAX data management unit 23 has a function as the output result determination unit 14. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the print job management table 191 according to the second embodiment in such a case. As shown in FIG. 13, the print job management table 191 has a table configuration with fields in which each item of the job ID, the number of printed pages, and the processing status is recorded. The print job management unit 31 acquires the number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed in real time, and updates the record of the number of printed pages with the acquired number. Then, when the processing status becomes printing completion, the print job management unit 31 transmits the record of the number of printed pages at that time to the FAX data management unit 23. The print job management unit 31 may not obtain the number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed in real time, but may obtain the number of pages for which paper ejection has been completed when the processing status indicates that printing has been completed, and transmit the number to the fax data management unit 23. The fax data management unit 23 determines whether printing has been successful based on whether the number of pages constituting the document matches the number of printed pages received.

In addition, multiple job types may be provided. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing yet another example of the data configuration of the print job management table 191 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, fields are added to the print job management table 191 in which the job type and notification app items are recorded. In this figure, as an example, three jobs are registered whose job types are normal printing, manual printing of fax-stored documents, and copy printing.

A normal printing job is a job to print a document created by the PC 7 or the like, rather than a document received by FAX. A manual printing job of a FAX-stored document is a job to print a document stored in the memory unit 16 in response to a user's operation of the operation panel 140. A copy printing job is a job to print a document read by the scanner unit 131 through manual operation by the user.

The job of manual printing of fax stored documents is associated with the fax application as a notification application. In other words, the status of the job of manual printing of fax stored documents is notified to the fax application 180. The status of other types of jobs that are not associated with the fax application as a notification application is not notified to the fax application 180.

In this way, a print job may contain multiple types.

In the above explanation, printing a document is given as an example of outputting a document received by fax. The technology according to the embodiment that sets the document status to "read" on the condition that output of all pages has been completed can be applied not only when the document is printed, but also when the document is distributed or transferred by fax.

For example, a distribution application that distributes documents stored in the memory unit 16 is running on the MFP 1. The FAX application 180 works in conjunction with the distribution application. Specifically, when an instruction to distribute a document is received, the FAX application 180 sets the status of the document to "read" when distribution of all pages of the document is completed.

In another example, the fax application 180 has a function of transferring documents stored in the memory unit 16 by fax. When an instruction is given to transfer a document by fax, the fax application 180 sets the status of the document to "read" when the transfer of all pages of the document has been completed.

In this embodiment, the status management unit 15 of the fax data management unit 23 sets the status of the document to "read" on the condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed, but this is not limited to the above.

Here, FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a modified example of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, when the output of all pages of the document is completed, the status management unit 15 of the FAX data management unit 23 may display a pop-up screen 161 on the operation panel 140 via the FAX operation display unit 21 to prompt the user to change the document status to read, and may allow the user to set whether or not to set the document status to read. As shown in FIG. 15, the pop-up screen 161 displays a button 162 for changing the document status to read and a button 163 for leaving the document status unread, in addition to the fact that all document output is completed. Then, when the user selects and operates the button 162 on the pop-up screen 161, the status management unit 15 of the FAX data management unit 23 changes the record of the field in the unread status to read, as shown in FIG. 9. On the other hand, when the user selects and operates the button 163 on the pop-up screen 161, the status management unit 15 of the FAX data management unit 23 leaves the record of the field in the unread status unread.

Third Embodiment
Some of the functions of the document management unit 11, the output control unit 12, the status acquisition unit 13, the output result determination unit 14, and the status management unit 15 may be provided in other devices than the MFP.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system to which an information processing device according to the third embodiment is applied. As shown in this diagram, MFP 1b has a functional configuration similar to that of MFP 1 according to the first embodiment. Furthermore, server 5 has a distribution control unit 51 capable of distributing documents stored in storage unit 16. Furthermore, printing device 6 has a print control unit 61 capable of printing documents stored in storage unit 16. Furthermore, PC 7 has a print control unit 71 capable of printing documents stored in storage unit 16 and a distribution control unit 72 capable of distributing documents stored in storage unit 16.

The distribution control unit 51, the print control unit 61, the print control unit 71, and the distribution control unit 72 correspond to the output control unit 12 provided in a device other than the MFP 1b.

In MFP1, the status acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of pages for which output (paper ejection in the case of printing) has been completed by the distribution control unit 51, the print control unit 61, the print control unit 71, the distribution control unit 72, etc. Then, the output result determination unit 14 determines whether output (paper ejection in the case of printing) of all pages of the document has been completed based on the acquired number of pages for which output (paper ejection in the case of printing) has been completed. Then, the status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to "read" based on the result of the determination. More specifically, the status management unit 15 sets the status of the document to "read" on the condition that output (paper ejection in the case of printing) of all pages of the document has been completed.

In addition to the output control unit, the status acquisition unit 13 and the output result determination unit 14 may also be provided in a device other than the MFP 1.

The document management unit 11, output control unit 12, status acquisition unit 13, output result determination unit 14, and status management unit 15 can also be applied to an information processing device having the MFP 1, such as a FAX server that acquires and manages documents received by a FAX receiving device. In other words, the functions of the MFPs 1 and 1a in the first and second embodiments can also be applied to devices other than the MFPs 1 and 1a.

Fourth Embodiment
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.

In the first to third embodiments, it is assumed that document processing such as printing is performed by the MFP 1 alone, but in the fourth embodiment, a case where multiple devices work together to perform document processing, such as a fax linking function, is described. The fax linking function is a function that enables a device that is not connected to a fax line to send and receive faxes by linking a device that is not connected to a fax line (hereinafter referred to as a child device) with a device that is connected to a fax line (hereinafter referred to as a parent device). In the following explanation of the fourth embodiment, explanations of the same parts as the first to third embodiments will be omitted, and only differences from the first to third embodiments will be explained.

The purpose of this embodiment is to manage unread documents received by fax in a fax-linked system by taking into account not only the operations performed on the document but also the execution results of the document processing performed by the device as a result of the operations, and by taking into account not only the execution results when viewed from the device alone but also the execution results of the fax-linked system as a whole.

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a system configuration in a fax linkage system according to the fourth embodiment. The fax linkage system shown in Fig. 17 functions as an information processing system, and links MFP1 connected to a fax line as a parent machine with MFP8 not connected to a fax line as a child machine, so that MFP8, which is another information processing device not connected to a fax line, can also send and receive faxes.

Note that the hardware configuration of MFP8 is no different from the hardware configuration of MFP1 described in Figure 2, so a description of it will be omitted.

Here, we will provide an overview of the fax link function in the fax link system of this embodiment.

MFP1 (parent device: first information processing device) receives documents from FAX device 2 connected via public line network 3 and stores them in a storage device such as HDD 109.

The user of MFP1 (parent device) can select stored documents (received fax documents) from the operation panel 140 or browser and perform processes such as displaying, printing, transferring, and deleting. In addition, printing (manual/automatic) can also be performed on MFP8 (child device: second information processing device) that has been registered in advance.

In addition, MFP1 (parent device) manages whether the document (received fax document) has not yet been processed (hereafter, unread) or has already been processed (hereafter, read), and the user of MFP1 (parent device) can check this information on the operation panel 140.

Figure 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of MFP1 (parent device) in the fourth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 18, in addition to the document management unit 11, output control unit 12, status acquisition unit 13, output result determination unit 14, status management unit 15, and memory unit 16 described above, the MFP 1 further includes a network control unit 17, a screen control unit 18, and a Web control unit 19.

The network control unit 17 transfers documents (fax-received documents) stored in the memory unit 16, such as the HD 109, to the server 5, and transfers and instructs printing of documents (fax-received documents) to the MFP 8 (child device).

As described above, the memory unit 16 also includes a fax data management table 181 used by the fax data management unit 23 and a print job management table 191 managed by the print job management unit 31.

The screen control unit 18 provides a UI for displaying the contents/unread status of documents stored in the memory unit 16 and for performing operations such as printing/transferring/deleting from the operation panel 140 of the MFP1.

In addition to the functions provided by the screen control unit 18, the web control unit 19 provides a UI for retrieving documents stored in the memory unit 16 from a web browser.

Figure 19 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an MFP8 (child device) according to the fourth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 19, the MFP 8 includes a document management unit 81, an output control unit 82, a network control unit 83, and a screen control unit 84.

The document management unit 81 functions as a second document management unit. The document management unit 81 accumulates and manages documents transferred from MFP1 (parent device) in the storage unit 16. The document management unit 81 also sets the status of a document to "read" on the condition that output of all pages of the document transferred from MFP1 (parent device) and accumulated in the storage unit 16 has been completed.

The output control unit 82 controls the output of documents stored in the memory unit 16.

The network control unit 83 receives documents (fax-received documents) transferred from MFP1 (parent unit) and transfers documents requesting MFP1 (parent unit) to send them by fax.

The screen control unit 84 provides a UI for displaying the print status and performing various operations such as requesting fax transmission to MFP1 (parent device) from the operation panel 140 of MFP8.

Next, we will explain the data managed in the memory unit 16 of the MFP1 (parent device).

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the fax data management table 181 according to the fourth embodiment. The fax data management table 181 manages the data to be displayed on the stored received document screen described below. As shown in this figure, the fax data management table 181 has a table configuration with fields in which the document ID, reception date and time, recipient, number of pages, and unread status are recorded.

The document ID field records a number (i.e., document ID) that uniquely identifies the received document.

The received date and time field records the date and time when reception began.

In the recipient field, information is recorded that indicates the recipient or the device that sent the document notified from the public line network 3. For example, a fax number is recorded in the recipient field.

The page count field records the number of pages that make up the document.

The unread status field records the document's status, i.e. whether it is unread or read.

In the example of FIG. 20, information on three documents assigned document IDs 1001 to 1003 is registered in the fax data management table 181. For example, the status of the document with document ID 1001 is unread, the status of the document with document ID 1002 is on hold, and the status of the document with document ID 1003 is on hold.

Fig. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the print job management table 191 according to the fourth embodiment. It is assumed here that the user has input instructions to print four documents with document IDs 0001, 0002, 0003, and 0004. The print job management table 191 manages various data of jobs that are run on MFP1 (parent machine).

As shown in FIG. 21, the print job management table 191 has a table structure with fields in which the following items are recorded: job ID, job type, processing target, document ID, and processing status.

The job ID field records the job ID, which is a number that uniquely identifies the job.

In the job type field, information indicating the type of job being run is recorded. Job types include "manual printing of stored documents (own machine)", "manual printing of stored documents (child machine)", "document transmission", and "report printing". "Manual printing of stored documents (own machine)" indicates that a document was printed on MFP1 (parent machine). "Manual printing of stored documents (child machine)" indicates that a document was transferred to MFP8 (child machine) and a print instruction was issued. "Document transmission" indicates that a document was sent to server 5. "Report printing" indicates that a processing report was printed on MFP1 (parent machine).

The processing target field contains information about the device that is the target of the job, and in the case of printing on a child device, information about the MFP8 (child device) that issued the print instruction is recorded.

The document ID field indicates the document that was the subject of the job and records a number (i.e., document ID) for uniquely identifying the received document. In other words, it is the same as the document ID managed in the FAX data management table 181.

The document ID is data that is managed in both the fax data management table 181 and the print job management table 191, and is the data that links the two tables. When a job related to a stored document (a fax-received document) is completed, the row in the print job management table 191 that has the same document ID is also updated as necessary.

The processing status field records the status of the job execution.

Here, as an example, the processing state can be any one of waiting to print, printing, and printing complete. With regard to the processing state, waiting to print is a state in which execution of a print job has been instructed, but the start of execution of the print job is awaited. Printing is a state in which the print job is currently being executed. Printing complete is a state in which execution of the print job has been completed. Note that, unlike the job state, in the processing state, printing is considered complete when execution of the print job has ended, regardless of whether or not all pages have been ejected.

Next, we will explain the screen displayed by the FAX operation display unit 21 of the MFP1 (parent device) in the fourth embodiment.

Here, FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the FAX operation display unit 21. According to the example shown in FIG. 22, the screen 141 has an area 141a in which information on one or more documents is displayed. Here, area 141a displays information on documents with document IDs from 0001 to 0004. The information on each document includes the reception date and time, sender, original, and confirmation status of the document (whether it is unread or read). The sender is the information written in the recipient field of the FAX data management table 181, and the original is the information written in the page number field of the FAX data management table 181.

The screen 141 also includes an area 141b where instructions can be input. A document transfer button 142, a self-device document print button 144, and a child device document print button 145 are depicted in the area 141b, and the user can operate these buttons by touching them.

When the user selects a document from area 141a and touches document transfer button 142, a setting screen for setting the transfer destination is displayed by the fax operation display unit 21. The user can set one or more transfer destinations, such as a fax number, a folder, an email address, or cloud storage, via the setting screen. The setting screen includes a start key, and when the user touches the start key, transfer of the selected document begins.

When the user selects a document from area 141a and touches the local document print button 144, a setting screen for setting printing conditions such as double-sided printing and aggregation is displayed by the FAX operation display unit 21. The user can set the printing conditions via this setting screen. This setting screen includes a start key, and when the user touches this start key, printing begins.

When the user selects a document from the area 141a and touches the child device document print button 145, the FAX operation display unit 21 displays a setting screen 151 (see FIG. 23) for setting the MFP 8 (child device) to be processed. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the setting screen 151. As shown in FIG. 23, the setting screen 151 displays a list of MFPs 8 (child devices) that can be set as the processing target. The user can set one or more MFPs 8 (child devices) as the transfer destination via the setting screen 151. The setting screen 151 includes a start key 152, and when the user touches the start key 152 after setting the MFP 8 (child device) to be processed, the transfer of the selected document begins.

Next, we will explain the operation of each part in the fax-linked system.

Fig. 24 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in Fig. 24, when a fax is received from the fax device 2 (S301), the MFP1 (parent machine) stores the document received by fax in the memory unit 16, and registers information about the document in the fax data management table 181 and the print job management table 191 (S302).

As described above, the information registered in the fax data management table 181 includes items such as the document ID, the date and time of receipt, the recipient, the number of pages, and the unread status. In S302, the fax data management unit 23 of MFP1 (parent device) records "unread" in the unread status field.

As described above, the information registered in the print job management table 191 includes items such as job ID and job type. In S302, the fax data management unit 23 of MFP1 (parent device) leaves the job ID and job type fields blank. The fax data management unit 23 of MFP1 (parent device) records the document ID in the document ID field.

When the user selects a document from area 141a of screen 141 shown in FIG. 24, touches child device document print button 145, and the MFP8 (child device) to be processed is set, a print instruction to the MFP8 (child device) is received (step S303), and MFP1 (parent device) registers the job ID, job type, processing target, document ID, and processing status in print job management table 191, and issues a print instruction to the MFP8 (child device) to be processed (S304).

For example, as shown in FIG. 21, MFP1 (parent machine) registers the job ID "0002", job type "manual print of stored document (child machine)", processing target "1st floor west", document ID "1003", and processing status "in progress" in the print job management table 191.

In addition, when the above-mentioned printing operation is performed, the fax data management unit 23 of MFP1 (parent device) changes the unread status field in the fax data management table 181 from "unread" to "on hold" (S305).

Then, MFP1 (parent device) receives the print results from MFP8 (child device) (S306).

When the printing operation of MFP8 (child device) is completed normally and MFP1 (parent device) receives a print result of OK from MFP8 (child device), it changes the unread field in FAX data management table 181 to "read" (S307). In other words, when printing a document using MFP8 (child device), the unread field in FAX data management table 181 is changed to "read" when printing on the selected MFP8 (child device) is completed normally.

On the other hand, if printing on MFP8 (child device) fails and MFP1 (parent device) receives a print result of NG from MFP8 (child device), it leaves the unread status field in the FAX data management table 181 as "pending."

In this way, according to this embodiment, unread document management is performed based on not only the operation on the document itself, but also on the job execution results of the information processing device that arise from the operation, and also based on the job execution results of the FAX-linked system as a whole, not on the execution results when viewed from the information processing device alone. This reduces the possibility that the results of unread management of received FAX documents in the FAX-linked system will not meet the user's expectations.

In this embodiment, a print instruction is received from the user in step S303, but this is not limited to the above. MFP1 (parent device) may store documents and set MFP8 (child device) to automatically print at the same time. In this case, MFP1 (parent device) will determine whether to clear the unread status based on the results of automatic printing performed by MFP8 (child device).

1, 8 MFP
2 FAX device 3 Public line network 4 Network 5 Server 6 Printing device 7 PC
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 Document management section 12 Output control section 13 Status acquisition section 14 Output result determination section 15 Status management section 16 Storage section 17 Network control section 18 Screen control section 19 Web control section 21 FAX operation display section 22 FAX receiving section 23 FAX data management section 31 Print job management section 32 Print control section 51 Distribution control section 61 Print control section 71 Print control section 72 Distribution control section 81 Document management section 82 Output control section 83 Network control section 84 Screen control section 101 CPU
102 MEM-P
102a ROM
102b RAM
103 N.B.
104 S.B.
106 ASIC
107 MEM-C
108 HDD controller 109 HD
110 Controller 120 Short-distance communication circuit 120a Short-distance communication circuit 121 AGP bus 122 PCI bus 130 Engine control unit 131 Scanner unit 132 Printer unit 140 Operation panel 140a Panel display unit 140b Operation panel 141 Screen 141a Area 141b Area 142 Document transfer button 143 Document print button 170 Information processing program 180 FAX application 181 FAX data management table 190 Print application 191 Print job management table

JP 2009-115877 A

Claims (12)

a document management unit that stores documents received by FAX in a storage unit;
an output control unit that controls output of the stored document based on a user operation;
a status management unit that sets a status of the document to "unread" when the document is stored in the storage unit, and sets a status of the document to "read" on condition that output of all pages of the document is completed in another information processing device not connected to the public line and the status of the document is set to "read";
Equipped with
the state management unit, when storing the document in the storage unit and outputting the document on the other information processing device at the same time, determines whether to cancel the unread status of the document according to an output result of the document on the other information processing device, which is automatically performed.
Information processing device. The state management unit
not setting the status of the document to read if output of some or all pages of the document is not complete;
The information processing device according to claim 1 . a status acquisition unit for acquiring a status of output of the document;
an output result determination unit that determines whether or not output of all pages of the document has been completed based on the acquired output state of the document;
The information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising: the output control unit controls printing of the document;
the status acquisition unit acquires a number of pages of the document that have been printed and discharged,
the output result determination unit determines whether or not ejection of all pages of the document has been completed based on the number, and determines that output of all pages of the document has been completed when ejection of all pages of the document has been completed.
The information processing device according to claim 3 . The output control unit controls the delivery of the document;
the status acquisition unit acquires the number of pages of the document that have been completely delivered,
the output result determination unit determines whether or not delivery of all pages of the document has been completed based on the number, and determines that output of all pages of the document has been completed when delivery of all pages of the document has been completed.
The information processing device according to claim 3 . the output control unit controls the transfer of the document by FAX;
the status acquisition unit acquires the number of pages of the document that have been transferred by FAX;
the output result determination unit determines whether or not the transfer of all pages of the document by facsimile has been completed based on the number, and determines that the output of all pages of the document has been completed when the transfer of all pages of the document by facsimile has been completed.
The information processing device according to claim 3 . a display control unit that displays a state of the document on a display device based on another operation of the user;
The information processing device according to claim 1 . a network control unit that controls a transfer of the document stored in the storage unit by the document management unit to another information processing device;
the state management unit sets the state of the document to "unread" when the document is stored in the storage unit, and sets the state of the document to "read" under a condition that output of all pages of the document is completed in the other information processing device and the state of the document is set to "read."
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The storage unit is a cloud storage to which the information processing device is connected.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . 1. An information processing system in which a document can be transmitted and received by facsimile from a second information processing device not connected to a public line via a first information processing device connected to the public line,
a document management unit provided in the first information processing apparatus, for storing documents received by FAX in a storage unit;
a network control unit provided in the first information processing device and the second information processing device, the network control unit controlling a transfer of the document stored in the document management unit to the second information processing device;
a second document management unit provided in the second information processing device, the second document management unit setting a state of the document to "read" on condition that output of all pages of the document transferred from the first information processing device and the stored document has been completed;
a status management unit provided in the first information processing device, which sets a status of the document to "unread" when the document is stored in the storage unit, and sets a status of the document to "read" under a condition that output of all pages of the document is completed and the status of the document is set to "read" in the second document management unit;
Equipped with
the state management unit, when storing the document in the storage unit in the first information processing device and outputting the document in the second information processing device at the same time, determines whether to cancel the unread status of the document according to an output result of the document in the second information processing device, which is automatically performed.
Information processing system. Storing the document received by FAX in a storage unit;
setting a status of the document to unread when the document is stored in the storage unit;
controlling output of the stored document based on a user's operation;
a status management step of setting the status of the document to "read" on condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed in another information processing device not connected to the public line and the status of the document has been set to "read";
Including,
In the state management step, when the document is stored in the storage unit and outputted at the other information processing device at the same time, it is determined whether or not to cancel the unread state of the document, depending on an output result of the document at the other information processing device, which is automatically performed.
Information processing methods. A document management function for storing documents received by FAX in a storage unit;
an output control function for controlling output of the stored document based on a user's operation;
a state management function for setting a state of the document to "unread" when the document is stored in the storage unit, and setting a state of the document to "read" on condition that output of all pages of the document has been completed in another information processing device not connected to the public line and the state of the document has been set to "read";
This is realized on a computer .
the state management function, when storing the document in the storage unit and simultaneously outputting the document on the other information processing device, determines whether to cancel the unread status of the document according to an output result of the document on the other information processing device, which is automatically performed.
Information processing program for.

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