JP7615692B2 - Printing device, printing system, and method for displaying a printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device, a printing system, and a display method for a printing device.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a printing device is known that is communicably connected to another printing device, and when a target job, which is a print job to be printed, is stored in the other printing device, the printing device obtains the target job from the other printing device and prints it.

JP 2020-082468 A

In the printing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the processing capacity of the printing device itself differs from that of other printing devices, the processing capacity of the printing device itself may not satisfy the processing conditions set for the job to be executed, which may result in processing results that are not intended by the user.

The printing device of the present invention is a second printing device communicably connected to a first printing device, and includes a display control unit that causes a display unit to display a job list, which is a selection list of print jobs, a job determination unit that determines a print job selected from the job list as a job to be executed for printing, a job acquisition unit that acquires the job to be executed from the first printing device when the job to be executed is stored in the first printing device, and a first determination unit that determines whether the processing capacity of the second printing device satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for one or more print jobs included in the job list, and the display control unit causes the display unit to display a job list including first information indicating the determination result of the first determination unit.

The printing system of the present invention is a printing system in which a first printing device and a second printing device are communicatively connected, and the second printing device includes a display control unit that causes a display unit to display a job list, which is a selection list of print jobs, a job determination unit that determines a print job selected from the job list as a job to be executed for printing, a job acquisition unit that acquires the job to be executed from the first printing device when the job to be executed is stored in the first printing device, and a first determination unit that determines whether the processing capacity of the second printing device satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for one or more print jobs included in the job list, and the display control unit causes the display unit to display a job list including first information indicating the determination result of the first determination unit.

The display method of the printing device of the present invention is a display method of a second printing device connected to a first printing device so as to be able to communicate with the first printing device, and includes a display control step of displaying a job list, which is a selection list of print jobs, on the display unit, a target job determination step of determining a print job selected from the job list as a target job for printing, a target job acquisition step of acquiring the target job from the first printing device if the target job is stored in the first printing device, and a first determination step of determining whether the processing capacity of the second printing device satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for one or more print jobs included in the job list, and in the display control step, a job list including first information indicating the determination result in the first determination step is displayed on the display unit.

The printing device of the present invention is a first printing device communicably connected to a second printing device, and includes a job list generating unit that generates a job list that is a selection list of print jobs, a processing capability determining unit that determines whether the processing capability of the second printing device satisfies the processing conditions set for each of one or more print jobs included in the job list, and a transmission unit that transmits the job list including determination result information indicating the determination result of the processing capability determining unit to the second printing device.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a parent unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a slave unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a slave unit. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a printing process by a slave unit. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the processing capacity of a printing device. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of processing conditions for a print job. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel of a parent unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel of the first handset; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel of the second handset. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen displayed on the operation panel of the first child device. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a slave unit according to a first modified example. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel of the first child device according to the first modification example. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of the operation panel of the first child device according to a further modified example of the first modified example. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a slave unit according to a second modified example. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel of the first handset according to the second modification. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of the operation panel of the first handset according to a further modified example of Modification 2. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel of the first handset according to Modification 3. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a parent unit according to a fourth modified example.

A printing device, a printing system, and a method for displaying a printing device according to one embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a printing system SY. The printing system SY comprises a terminal device 1, multiple printing devices 2, and a network NW that connects these devices so that they can communicate with each other. The network NW may be an Internet communication network or a LAN (Local Area Network), etc.

The printing system SY includes, as the multiple printing devices 2, a printing device 2 of a parent device 2a and a printing device 2 of a child device 2b. Hereinafter, the "printing device 2 of the parent device 2a" will be simply referred to as the "parent device 2a". Also, the "printing device 2 of the child device 2b" will be simply referred to as the "child device 2b". The printing system SY shown in FIG. 1 includes, as the multiple printing devices 2, one parent device 2a and two child devices 2b. The two child devices 2b are the first child device 2b and the second child device 2b.

In this embodiment, the parent device 2a refers to a printing device 2 that acquires print jobs from the terminal device 1 and stores the acquired print jobs within the device itself. In contrast, the child device 2b refers to a printing device 2 that does not acquire print jobs from the terminal device 1, but acquires print jobs from the parent device 2a.

The printing device 2 according to this embodiment supports an authentication printing function. The printing device 2 acquires login information based on a user's login operation. The login operation is performed by having the authentication card read by the card reader 27 (see FIG. 2, etc.) or by inputting a user ID and password into the operation panel 25 (see FIG. 2, etc.).

When the printing device 2 acquires the login information, it performs user authentication based on the acquired login information, and if the user authentication is successful, it displays a job list 52 (see FIG. 8, etc.) of the approved user on the operation panel 25. The job list 52 is a list for selecting a print job. Furthermore, the "user's job list 52" refers to a list of one or more print jobs associated with a user ID identified from the login information acquired by the login operation. The terminal device 1 adds the user ID to the print job as information for identifying the user's terminal device 1 or the user himself/herself, and transmits it to the parent device 2a.

For example, when a login operation is performed on the parent device 2a, the parent device 2a generates a job list 52 for the logged-in user based on print jobs stored in the parent device, and displays the generated job list 52 on the operation panel 25a of the parent device. When a login operation is performed on the child device 2b, the child device 2b requests the job list 52 for the logged-in user from the parent device 2a, and displays the job list 52 sent from the parent device 2a on the operation panel 25b of the child device.

User authentication may be performed only by the parent device 2a, rather than by each printing device 2. In this case, the child device 2b transmits login information acquired by the user's login operation to the parent device 2a, and if the parent device 2a determines that the user authentication has been successful, it acquires the job list 52 of the logged-in user from the parent device 2a.

When the printing device 2 according to this embodiment displays the job list 52 on the operation panel 25, it determines whether the processing capability of the device itself satisfies the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and if there is a print job that does not satisfy the processing conditions, it displays the corresponding print job by adding a first mark M1 (see FIG. 9). The first mark M1 is an example of "first information". This allows the user to know which of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52 may not produce the intended processing results. Details will be described later.

Note that FIG. 1 illustrates a printing system SY equipped with one parent device 2a and two child devices 2b as multiple printing devices 2, but the number of child devices 2b is not important. Also, the printing system SY illustrated in FIG. 1 includes one terminal device 1, but the number of terminal devices 1 is not important. Also, the terminal device 1 may be any information processing device capable of generating and transmitting print jobs, and the type of device may be anything, such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or PC (Personal Computer).

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the parent unit 2a. The parent unit 2a includes a parent unit control unit 20a, a parent unit communication unit 24a, an operation panel 25a, a printing mechanism 26a, and a card reader 27a. The operation panel 25a is an example of a "display unit."

The parent unit control unit 20a includes a parent unit CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21a, a parent unit ROM (Read Only Memory) 22a, and a parent unit RAM (Random Access Memory) 23a. The parent unit CPU 21a controls each part in the parent unit 2a by expanding the parent unit control program 31 stored in the parent unit ROM 22a into the parent unit RAM 23a.

The parent device control unit 20a may use a processor other than the parent device CPU 21a. The processor may be configured as a hardware circuit such as an ASIC. The processor may also be configured in such a way that one or more CPUs and hardware circuits such as an ASIC work together to operate.

The parent device ROM 22a includes a rewritable ROM, stores a parent device control program 31, and includes a processing capacity information storage area 32 and a print job accumulation area 33. The parent device control program 31 includes a communication control program for communicating with the terminal device 1 and the child device 2b, as well as firmware for controlling hardware such as the printing mechanism 22.

The processing capability information storage area 32 stores processing capability information indicating the processing capability of the device itself. The processing capability information includes print function information indicating the print functions that the device itself can achieve, and print medium information indicating the print media that the device itself can print on. The print function information includes information indicating, for example, whether color printing can be achieved, whether high-quality printing can be achieved, whether special printing such as barcode printing can be achieved, whether specific image processing such as edge processing can be achieved, etc.

The print medium information also includes information indicating whether printing can be done on print media of a specific paper size, whether printing can be done on print media of a specific material, and how many sheets of print media can be printed on for each paper size and material. The parent machine CPU 21a updates the print medium information as needed according to the size and material settings of one or more paper cassettes provided in the device and the number of remaining sheets of print media in each paper cassette.

The print job accumulation area 33 accumulates print jobs sent from the terminal device 1. In response to a request from the child device 2b, the parent device 2a reads the requested print job from the print job accumulation area 33 and transmits the read print job to the child device 2b.

The parent machine RAM 23a is used as a work area for the parent machine CPU 21a to perform various calculation processes.

The parent device communication unit 24a communicates with the terminal device 1 and the child device 2b via the network NW.

The operation panel 25a is an electronic component that combines a display device and a position input device, and accepts various operations from the user and displays various information. In this embodiment, the operation panel 25a is mainly used to display the job list 52 (see FIG. 8, etc.).

The printing mechanism 26a is a printer engine that prints on a print medium such as copy paper. For example, in the case of an inkjet system, the printing mechanism 26a includes an inkjet head, a head drive mechanism, a print medium transport mechanism, etc. Also, in the case of an electrophotographic system, the printing mechanism 26a includes a laser light source, a transfer mechanism, a print medium transport mechanism, etc.

The card reader 27a reads the user's authentication card and obtains the card ID recorded on the authentication card. The parent machine CPU 21a performs user authentication based on the card ID obtained by the card reader 27a, and if the user authentication is successful, generates a job list 52 for the logged-in user based on the print jobs stored in the print job storage area 33.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of handset 2b. Handset 2b includes handset control unit 20b, handset communication unit 24b, operation panel 25b, printing mechanism 26b, and card reader 27b. Operation panel 25b is an example of a "display unit."

The operation panel 25b, the printing mechanism 26b, and the card reader 27b may be configured similarly to those in the parent unit 2a, or may be configured differently. For example, since the printing mechanism 26b is a prerequisite for this embodiment that the processing capabilities differ depending on the printing device 2, it is considered that at least a portion of the configuration is different from that of the printing mechanism 26a in the parent unit 2a. It is also considered that at least a portion of the configuration is different between the printing mechanisms 26b in the first and second child units 2b. Furthermore, when the child unit 2b acquires a card ID using the card reader 27b of the child unit 2b, it performs user authentication based on the acquired card ID, and if the user authentication is successful, it requests the parent unit 2a for the job list 52 of that user.

The child device control unit 20b includes a child device CPU 21b, a child device ROM 22b, and a child device RAM 23b. The child device CPU 21b controls each part in the child device 2b by expanding the child device control program 35 stored in the child device ROM 22b to the child device RAM 23b.

The slave control unit 20b may use a processor other than the slave CPU 21b. The processor may be configured as a hardware circuit such as an ASIC. The processor may also be configured in such a way that one or more CPUs and hardware circuits such as an ASIC work together to operate.

The child unit ROM 22b includes a rewritable ROM, stores a child unit control program 35, and has a processing capacity information storage area 32. The child unit control program 35 includes a communication control program for communicating with the parent unit 2a, as well as firmware for controlling hardware such as the print mechanism 22. The processing capacity information storage area 32 is the same as that provided in the parent unit 2a. Note that the child unit ROM 22b differs from the parent unit ROM 22a in that it does not have a print job accumulation area 33.

The slave unit RAM 23b is used as a work area for the slave unit CPU 21b to perform various calculation processes.

The child device communication unit 24b communicates with the parent device 2a via the network NW.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the slave unit 2b. The slave unit 2b has, as its functional configuration, an execution target job determination unit 210, an execution target job acquisition unit 220, a first judgment unit 230, and a display control unit 240. These functions are realized by the slave unit CPU 21b executing the slave unit control program 35.

The following mainly describes a case where a login operation is performed on the slave unit 2b and the job list 52 is displayed on the operation panel 25b of the slave unit 2b. In this case, the slave unit 2b is an example of a "second printing device."

The execution target job determination unit 210 determines the print job selected by the user from the job list 52 displayed on the operation panel 25b as the execution target job for executing printing. The processing of the execution target job determination unit 210 is an example of a "execution target job determination step."

The execution target job acquisition unit 220 acquires the execution target job determined by the execution target job determination unit 210 from the parent machine 2a. The parent machine 2a is an example of a "first printing device." The processing of the execution target job acquisition unit 220 is an example of an "execution target job acquisition step."

The first determination unit 230 determines whether the processing capacity of the device itself satisfies the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52. Here, the processing capacity of the device itself can be determined based on the processing capacity information stored in the processing capacity information storage area 32 within the device itself.

Processing conditions are conditions that indicate how a print job should be processed. For example, processing conditions include at least one of print function processing conditions and print media processing conditions. Print function processing conditions are conditions that indicate what print function should be used to print a print job. Also, print media processing conditions are conditions that indicate what type of print media should be used and how many copies of the print job should be printed.

The first determination unit 230 determines whether the processing capacity of the device itself satisfies the print function processing conditions set in the print job based on the print function information included in the processing capacity information. The first determination unit 230 also determines whether the processing capacity of the device itself satisfies the print medium processing conditions set in the print job based on the print medium information included in the processing capacity information. When print function processing conditions and print medium processing conditions are set in the print job, the first determination unit 230 determines that the processing conditions are satisfied if the processing capacity of the device itself satisfies both conditions.

Furthermore, when the number of copies is set in the print job as a print media processing condition, the first determination unit 230 calculates the number of prints based on the number of pages specified from the print job and the copy setting, and determines that the processing condition is met when the calculated number of prints is equal to or less than the remaining number of print media in the paper cassette corresponding to the print media processing condition. Note that the "paper cassette corresponding to the print media processing condition" refers to a paper cassette that contains print media of the paper size and material indicated by the print media processing condition. The processing of the first determination unit 230 is an example of a "first determination step".

The display control unit 240 causes the operation panel 25b to display the job list 52 including the first mark M1 (see FIG. 9, etc.) indicating the judgment result of the first judgment unit 230. More specifically, the display control unit 240 causes the operation panel 25b to display the job list 52 in which the first mark M1 is added to the print job for which the processing capacity of the device does not satisfy the processing conditions, among one or more print jobs included in the job list 52. The processing of the display control unit 240 is an example of a "display control step".

When a print job to which the first mark M1 has been added is selected by a user, the display control unit 240 causes the operation panel 25b to display a notification screen 61 (see FIG. 11) including notification information notifying the user that the processing capacity of the device does not satisfy the processing conditions set for the selected print job. The notification screen 61 displays, as notification information, for example, information that the processing capacity of the device is insufficient for the processing conditions set for the selected print job. The operation of selecting a print job is an example of a "specific operation".

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of printing processing by the slave unit 2b. In step S01, the slave unit 2b accepts a login operation from the user.

In step S02, the child device 2b requests the job list 52 of the logged-in user from the parent device 2a.

In step S03, the slave unit 2b obtains the job list 52 of the logged-in user from the master unit 2a. The master unit 2a generates a job list 52 including a job ID, a job name, and processing conditions for each print job, and transmits the generated job list 52 to the slave unit 2b.

In step S04, the slave unit 2b determines whether the processing capacity of the slave unit 2b satisfies the set processing conditions for all print jobs included in the job list 52. If the slave unit 2b determines that the processing capacity of the slave unit 2b satisfies the set processing conditions for all print jobs included in the job list 52, the slave unit 2b proceeds to step S05. If the slave unit 2b determines that the processing capacity of the slave unit 2b does not satisfy the set processing conditions for at least one print job of all print jobs included in the job list 52, the slave unit 2b proceeds to step S06.

In step S05, the slave unit 2b displays a job list 52 that does not include the first mark M1 on the operation panel 25b.

In step S06, the slave unit 2b displays a job list 52 including the first mark M1 on the operation panel 25b (see FIG. 9).

In step S07, the slave unit 2b accepts the user's selection of a print job. The user selects one or more print jobs from one or more print jobs included in the job list 52.

In step S08, the slave unit 2b determines the job to be executed based on the user's selection in step S07.

In step S09, the child device 2b requests the parent device 2a to execute the job. The child device 2b requests the job by sending the job ID of the job to be executed to the parent device 2a.

In step S10, the child device 2b obtains the job to be executed from the parent device 2a.

In step S11, the child device 2b prints the job to be executed acquired from the parent device 2a onto a print medium using the printing mechanism 26b.

Next, the display control of the job list 52 will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 11. First, the prerequisites for the display control will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the processing capacity of the printing device 2. For ease of understanding, the processing capacity of the printing device 2 and the processing conditions that can be set for a print job are assumed to be of four types: "printing function A", "printing function B", "printing medium A" and "printing medium B".

Figure 6 shows, for example, that the processing capabilities of parent device 2a are compatible with all of "print function A," "print function B," "print medium A," and "print medium B." "Compatible with print function A" means that if "print function A" is set as a processing condition for a print job, the print job can be processed using "print function A." Also, "compatible with print medium A" means that if "print medium A" is set as a processing condition for a print job, the print job can be printed on "print medium A."

Figure 6 also shows that the processing capabilities of the first sub-unit 2b are compatible with "printing medium A" and "printing medium B," but not compatible with "printing function A" and "printing function B." Figure 6 also shows that the processing capabilities of the second sub-unit 2b are compatible with "printing function A" and "printing medium A," but not compatible with "printing function B" and "printing medium B."

Figure 7 shows an example of processing conditions for a print job. In the example shown, "Print function A," "Print function B," and "Print medium A" are set as processing conditions for a print job with the job name "Job1." Also in the example shown, "Print medium A" is set as a processing condition for a print job with the job name "Job2," "Print function A" and "Print medium B" are set as processing conditions for a print job with the job name "Job3," and "Print function A" and "Print medium A" are set as processing conditions for a print job with the job name "Job4."

The four print jobs shown in FIG. 7 are associated with the user ID of the same user and are stored in the print job storage area 33 of the parent device 2a. In addition, the operation panels 25 shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 are all displaying a job list 52 including these four print jobs as a result of the same user logging in to each printing device 2.

Figure 8 shows an example of the display on the operation panel 25a of the parent device 2a. When a user performs a login operation, device identification information 51, a job list 52, and a print button 53 are displayed on the operation panel 25a.

The operation panel 25a of the parent unit 2a displays "M" indicating the parent unit 2a as device identification information 51. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing capabilities of the parent unit 2a are compatible with all of "Print function A," "Print function B," "Print medium A," and "Print medium B." Therefore, when the parent unit 2a displays a job list 52 including the four print jobs shown in FIG. 7, it does not add the first mark M1 to any of the four print jobs.

The print button 53 is a button for instructing printing. When the print button 53 is selected after any print job is selected from the job list 52, the parent unit 2a determines the selected print job as the job to be executed, reads the determined job to be executed from the print job accumulation area 33, and prints it.

As shown in FIG. 8, when a login operation is performed on the parent device 2a and the job list 52 is displayed on the operation panel 25a of the parent device 2a, the functional configuration of the parent device 2a is a configuration in which the execution target job acquisition unit 220 is omitted from the functional configuration of the child device 2b shown in FIG. 4.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of the display on the operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b. After the user performs a login operation, the display items displayed on the child device 2b are the same as those on the parent device 2a. Furthermore, when a print job is selected from the job list 52 and then the print button 53 is selected, the child device 2b determines the selected print job as the job to be executed and requests the determined job to be executed from the parent device 2a.

The operation panel 25b of the first sub-unit 2b displays "S1" indicating the first sub-unit 2b as the device identification information 51. As shown in FIG. 6, the processing capability of the first sub-unit 2b corresponds to "printing medium A" and "printing medium B", but does not correspond to "printing function A" and "printing function B". For this reason, when the first sub-unit 2b displays the job list 52 including the four print jobs shown in FIG. 7, the first mark M1 is added to three print jobs other than the job name "Job2" which does not set both "printing function A" and "printing function B" as processing conditions. Note that the operation panel 25b of the first sub-unit 2b shown in FIG. 9 displays a mark including an exclamation point in a filled triangle as the first mark M1, but a mark of another shape may be displayed.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing a display example of the operation panel 25b of the second sub-unit 2b. The operation panel 25b of the second sub-unit 2b displays "S2" indicating the second sub-unit 2b as the device identification information 51. Also, as shown in Figure 6, the processing capability of the second sub-unit 2b corresponds to "print function A" and "print medium A", but does not correspond to "print function B" and "print medium B". Therefore, when the second sub-unit 2b displays a job list 52 including the four print jobs shown in Figure 7, the first mark M1 is added to two print jobs out of the four print jobs other than the job names "Job2" and "Job4", which do not set both "print function B" and "print medium B" as processing conditions.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the notification screen 61. This figure shows an example of the display of the notification screen 61 that is displayed when a print job with the job name "Job1" to which the first mark M1 is added is selected while the job list 52 shown in Figure 9 is displayed on the operation panel 25b of the first sub-unit 2b. The notification screen 61 displays a message 61a indicating that the selected print job cannot be printed, and non-compatible conditions 61b. The non-compatible conditions 61b refer to processing conditions that are set for the selected print job and are not compatible with the first sub-unit 2b that is being operated. The message 61a and the non-compatible conditions 61b are examples of "notification information".

In this way, when a print job to which the first mark M1 is added is selected, the first sub-unit 2b displays the notification screen 61. The notification screen 61 may be hidden after being displayed for a certain period of time, or may be hidden by a user operation. Furthermore, after a print job to which the first mark M1 is added is selected, the first sub-unit 2b does not execute printing even if the print button 53 is selected.

The notification screen 61 may be displayed when the first mark M1 is selected, instead of when a print job to which the first mark M1 is added is selected. In this case, the first sub-unit 2b may be configured to display the incompatible condition 61b on the notification screen 61, and to execute printing when the print button 53 is selected after the print job to which the selected first mark M1 is added is selected. In other words, if the user selects the print button 53 while acknowledging that the print result will be unintended, printing may be permitted.

As described above, the printing device 2 according to the first embodiment determines whether the processing capability of the device meets the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and displays the job list 52 including a first mark M1 indicating the result of the determination. This allows the user to check whether the intended processing results will be obtained when each print job included in the job list 52 is printed by the printing device 2 that is about to perform printing.

The processing conditions also include print function processing conditions that indicate what print function should be used to print the print job. This allows the user to check whether each print job included in the job list 52 will be printed using the intended print function. The processing conditions also include print medium processing conditions that indicate what print medium the print job should be printed on. This allows the user to check whether each print job included in the job list 52 will be printed on the intended print medium.

The printing device 2 also adds a first mark M1 to any print job for which the processing capability of the printing device 2 does not satisfy the processing conditions, among one or more print jobs included in the job list 52. This allows the user to see at a glance which print jobs, among the print jobs included in the job list 52, may not produce the intended print results.

When a print job to which the first mark M1 has been added is selected, the printing device 2 also displays a notification screen 61. This allows the user to understand that the processing capacity of the printing device 2 attempting to execute printing does not satisfy the processing conditions set for the selected print job.

Incidentally, regardless of the above embodiment, the following modified examples can be adopted.
[Modification 1]
Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a slave unit 2b according to Modification 1. The slave unit 2b according to Modification 1 has a configuration in which a second determination unit 250 is added to the functional configuration of the slave unit 2b of the above embodiment (see Fig. 4).

The second judgment unit 250 judges whether the processing capacity of the printing device 2 other than the first child device 2b that is about to execute printing satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52. For example, if the first child device 2b that is about to execute printing is the first child device 2b, the second judgment unit 250 judges whether the processing capacity of each printing device 2 for the parent device 2a and the second child device 2b satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job. In this case, the first child device 2b is an example of a "second printing device", and the parent device 2a and the second child device 2b are examples of a "first printing device".

In addition, in this modified example, the printing device 2 stores not only its own processing capacity information but also the processing capacity information of all printing devices 2 with which it can communicate in the processing capacity information storage area 32 (see FIG. 3). Note that the printing device 2 transmits its own processing capacity information to other printing devices 2 with which it can communicate periodically or when it updates its own processing capacity information, such as when the settings of a paper cassette or the number of remaining sheets of print media in a paper cassette change.

The display control unit 240 in this modified example causes the operation panel 25b to display the job list 52 including the second mark M2 indicating the judgment result of the second judgment unit 250. More specifically, when there is another printing device 2 that satisfies the set processing conditions for any of the print jobs included in the job list 52, the display control unit 240 adds the second mark M2 indicating the other printing device 2 that satisfies the processing conditions to the relevant print job and displays it on the operation panel 25b. The second mark M2 is an example of "second information."

Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the operation panel 25b of the first handset 2b in Modification 1. The operation panel 25b of the first handset 2b in Modification 1 has a display in which the second mark M2 is added to the display of the operation panel 25b of the first handset 2b in the above embodiment (see Figure 9).

For example, a print job with the job name "Job1" has "print function A", "print function B" and "print medium A" as processing conditions (see FIG. 7), so a second mark M2 is added to indicate the parent machine 2a (see FIG. 6) that has the processing capacity to satisfy all of these processing conditions, out of the parent machine 2a and the second child machine 2b. The second mark M2 indicating the parent machine 2a is a mark containing the letter "M" in a rectangle with the upper left corner missing. Also, for example, a print job with the job name "Job2" has "print medium A" set as a processing condition (see FIG. 7), so two second marks M2 are added to indicate the parent machine 2a and the second child machine 2b (see FIG. 6) that have the processing capacity to satisfy this processing condition, out of the parent machine 2a and the second child machine 2b. The second mark M2 indicating the second child machine 2b is a mark containing the letter "S2" in a rectangle with the upper left corner missing.

In this way, according to variant example 1, the user can determine whether the intended processing results will be obtained for each of one or more print jobs included in the job list 52 when the job is printed on a printing device 2 other than the first sub-unit 2b that is about to perform printing.

In the first variant, the child device 2b stores processing capacity information of itself and the other printing devices 2 in itself, but the child device 2b may be configured to obtain processing capacity information of the other printing devices 2 from the parent device 2a. For example, when the parent device 2a sends the job list 52 to the child device 2b, the parent device 2a may add processing capacity information of all printing devices 2 included in the printing system SY and send it. In this case, each child device 2b will send its processing capacity information to the parent device 2a periodically or when it updates its processing capacity information. With this configuration, the child device 2b does not need to store processing capacity information of the other printing devices 2.

As a first modified example, the printing device 2 may display as shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the display on the operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b according to this modified example. The operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b according to this modified example is a display in which an eleventh mark M11 is added to the display on the operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b according to modified example 1 (see FIG. 13). The eleventh mark M11 is a mark indicating the first child device 2b that is about to execute printing. The first child device 2b adds the eleventh mark M11 indicating its own device to a print job whose processing capacity satisfies the set processing conditions, i.e., in the example of FIG. 14, a print job with the job name "Job2", and displays it.

With this configuration, the user can know whether the intended processing result will be obtained when printing each of one or more print jobs included in the job list 52 on all printing devices 2 in the printing system SY. Note that in the case of this modified example, the presence or absence of the eleventh mark M11 makes it possible to know whether the intended processing result will be obtained on the first sub-unit 2b that is about to perform printing, so the display of the first mark M1 may be omitted.

[Modification 2]
Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a slave unit 2b according to Modification 2. The slave unit 2b according to Modification 2 has a configuration in which a third determination unit 260 is added to the functional configuration of the slave unit 2b of the above embodiment (see Fig. 4).

The third determination unit 260 determines whether a printing device 2 other than the first child unit 2b that is about to execute printing is in use. The third determination unit 260 also determines whether the first child unit 2b that is about to execute printing, i.e., the device itself, is in use. In use here refers to the state from when a user logs in to the printing device 2 to when printing by the printing mechanism 26 is completed. Note that even if a user is not logged in, the printing device 2 may be determined to be in use if the operation panel 25 of the printing device 2 is being operated or if a maintenance operation is being performed.

The display control unit 240 in this modified example causes the operation panel 25b to display usage status information 63 (see FIG. 16) indicating the determination result of the third determination unit 260. The usage status information 63 is an example of "third information."

Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the operation panel 25b of the first handset 2b in Modification 2. The operation panel 25b of the first handset 2b in Modification 2 has a display in which usage status information 63 is added to the display of the operation panel 25b of the first handset 2b in the above embodiment (see Figure 9).

The usage status information 63 includes printing device marks 64 indicating all printing devices 2 in the printing system SY. When a printing device 2 indicated by each printing device mark 64 is in use, the printing device 2 displays the printing device mark 64 in use by adding a third mark M3. For example, the example in FIG. 16 shows that the parent device 2a and the first child device 2b are in use because the third mark M3 has been added to the printing device mark 64 including the letter "M" indicating the parent device 2a and the printing device mark 64 including the letter "S1" indicating the first child device 2b.

In this way, according to variant example 2, the user can know whether each of the multiple printing devices 2 included in the printing system SY is in use or not.

As a second modification, the printing device 2 may display as shown in FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the display on the operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b. As shown in FIG. 17, the display on the operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b is a display in which the 13th mark M13 is added to the display on the operation panel 25b of the first child device 2b according to the first modification (see FIG. 13). In this modification, the 13th mark M13 is an example of the third information. The 13th mark M13 is a mark indicating that the printing device 2 indicated by the second mark M2 is in use. For example, the example in FIG. 17 indicates that the parent device 2a is in use because the 13th mark M13 is added to the second mark M2 including the letter "M" indicating the parent device 2a.

In the example shown in FIG. 17, the second mark M2 to which the thirteenth mark M13 has been added may be hidden. In other words, the printing device 2 may be configured to display only the second mark M2 that indicates the printing device 2 that is not in use among the printing devices 2 that have the processing capacity that satisfies the processing conditions.

[Modification 3]
Fig. 18 is a diagram showing a display example of the operation panel 25b of the first slave unit 2b according to the modified example 3. The display of the operation panel 25b of the first slave unit 2b according to the modified example 3 is different from the display of the operation panel 25b of the first slave unit 2b according to the embodiment described above (see Fig. 9) in that a fourth mark M4 is added to and displayed for print jobs for which the processing capacity of the first slave unit 2b satisfies the processing conditions. In the figure, a mark showing a double circle is used as the fourth mark M4, but marks of other shapes may also be used. The fourth mark M4 is an example of "first information".

In this way, according to variant example 3, the user can understand that if the print job to which the fourth mark M4 has been added is printed on the first sub-unit 2b that is about to perform the printing, the print result will be as intended.

[Modification 4]
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the parent device 2a according to the fourth modification. In the above embodiment, each printing device 2 judges whether its own processing capacity satisfies the processing conditions set in the print job, but in the fourth modification, the parent device 2a makes this judgment. In the fourth modification, the parent device 2a is assumed to store not only its own processing capacity information but also the processing capacity information of all the child devices 2b that can communicate in the processing capacity information storage area 32 (see FIG. 2). In the fourth modification, it is assumed that a login operation is performed on the child device 2b, and the parent device 2a obtains the login information from the child device 2b. In this modification, the parent device 2a is an example of a "first printing device", and the child device 2b is an example of a "second printing device".

The parent machine 2a in the fourth modification has, as its functional configuration, a job list generating unit 310, a processing capability determining unit 320, and a transmitting unit 330. These functions are realized by the parent machine CPU 21a executing the parent machine control program 31.

The job list generating unit 310 generates a job list 52 for the logged-in user based on the login information sent from the slave unit 2b. The processing capacity determining unit 320 determines whether the processing capacity of the slave unit 2b on which the login operation was performed satisfies the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52. The processing capacity determining unit 320 determines whether the processing capacity of the slave unit 2b on which the login operation was performed satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job based on the processing capacity information of the slave unit 2b on which the login operation was performed among the processing capacity information of each printing device 2 stored in the processing capacity information storage area 32. The transmitting unit 330 transmits the job list 52 including the determination result information indicating the determination result of the processing capacity determining unit 320 to the slave unit 2b on which the login operation was performed.

The child device 2b, where the login operation has been performed, displays the job list 52 sent from the parent device 2a on the operation panel 25b. As the judgment result information, for example, the first mark M1 shown in the above embodiment can be used. In this case, the child device 2b displays on the operation panel 25b as shown in FIG. 9. In the fourth modification, the first mark M1 is an example of "judgment result information."

In this way, according to variant example 4, the child device 2b can achieve the same effect as the above embodiment without determining whether the processing capacity of the child device 2b satisfies the processing conditions set in the print job.

[Other Modifications]
In the above embodiment, the printing device 2 does not execute printing if its own processing capacity does not satisfy the processing conditions set in the print job, but for specific processing conditions, the printing job settings may be changed to execute printing. For example, if color printing is set as a printing function processing condition in the print job and the first slave unit 2b that is about to execute printing does not support color printing, the first slave unit 2b may convert the print data included in the print job into monochrome printing data and execute printing. In addition, when the printing device 2 changes the settings of the print job, it may display a message to that effect on the operation panel 25b.

In the above embodiment, the printing device 2 displays the job list 52 on the operation panel 25 provided on the printing device 2, but the job list 52 may be displayed on another display device. For example, the job list 52 may be displayed on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone carried by the user.

In the above embodiment, the processing conditions include at least one of the print function processing conditions and the print media processing conditions, but other conditions may also be included. For example, if the printing device 2 is equipped with a finisher such as a stapler function or a hole punching function, the processing conditions may include a condition indicating that these functions should be used.

In the above embodiment, the printing device 2 displays the first mark M1 as the first information indicating that the processing capacity of the printing device 2 does not satisfy the processing conditions set for the print job, but information other than a mark may be displayed. For example, the printing device 2 may indicate that the processing capacity of the printing device 2 does not satisfy the processing conditions set for the print job by changing the text color of the job name of the print job or the color of the option frame including the job name. Alternatively, the printing device 2 may indicate that the processing capacity of the printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for the print job by changing the text color of the job name of the print job or the color of the option frame including the job name. In this case, the text color of the job name or the color of the option frame is an example of "first information". In other words, the printing device 2 may display print jobs that satisfy the processing conditions set for the printing device 2 using different colors so that the user can distinguish between print jobs that do not satisfy the processing conditions set for the processing capacity of the printing device 2.

In the above embodiment, the terminal device 1 sends a print job to the parent device 2a, but the configuration may also be such that an arbitrary printing device 2 from among multiple printing devices 2 in the printing system SY is specified and the print job is sent to that arbitrary printing device 2. In this case, the print job is stored in the arbitrary printing device 2 to which it was sent. Furthermore, when the printing device 2 accepts a login operation from the user, it communicates with all printing devices 2 in the printing system SY and generates a job list 52 for the print jobs stored in each printing device 2. Furthermore, when the printing device 2 accepts a selection of a print job from the user and determines the job to be executed, it requests the job to be executed from the printing device 2 that has stored the job to be executed, and prints the job to be executed obtained from the printing device 2 that has stored the job to be executed.

Although the above describes each of the modified examples, the above embodiment and each of the modified examples, or a combination of multiple modified examples, may be used. In addition, appropriate modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Additional Notes]
The printing device, the printing system, and the method for displaying the printing device will be described below.
The printing device 2 is a second printing device 2 communicatively connected to the first printing device 2, and includes a display control unit 240 that causes a job list 52, which is a selection list of print jobs, to be displayed on a display unit, an execution target job determination unit 210 that determines a print job selected from the job list 52 as an execution target job for executing printing, an execution target job acquisition unit 220 that acquires the execution target job from the first printing device 2 when the execution target job is stored in the first printing device 2, and a first determination unit 230 that determines, for each of one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, whether the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job, and the display control unit 240 causes the display unit to display the job list 52 including first information indicating the determination result of the first determination unit 230.

The printing system SY is a printing system SY in which a first printing device 2 and a second printing device 2 are connected to be able to communicate with each other. The second printing device 2 includes a display control unit 240 that causes a display unit to display a job list 52, which is a selection list of print jobs, a job determination unit 210 that determines a print job selected from the job list 52 as a job to be executed for printing, a job acquisition unit 220 that acquires a job to be executed from the first printing device 2, and a first determination unit 230 that determines whether the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and the display control unit 240 causes the display unit to display the job list 52 including first information indicating the determination result of the first determination unit 230.

The display method of the printing device 2 is a display method of a second printing device 2 connected to a first printing device 2 so as to be able to communicate with the first printing device 2, and includes a display control step of displaying a job list 52, which is a selection list of print jobs, on the display unit, a target job determination step of determining a print job selected from the job list 52 as a target job for printing, a target job acquisition step of acquiring a target job from the first printing device 2 if the target job is stored in the first printing device 2, and a first determination step of determining whether the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and in the display control step, the job list 52 including first information indicating the determination result in the first determination step is displayed on the display unit.

According to this configuration, the second printing device 2 determines whether the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and displays the job list 52 including first information indicating the determination result. This allows the user to know whether the intended processing result will be obtained when printing with the second printing device 2 for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52. This also makes it possible to prevent the processing result of the print job from being unintended by the user.

In the printing device 2 described above, it is preferable that the processing conditions are at least one of print function processing conditions indicating which printing function should be used to print the print job, and print medium processing conditions indicating what type of print medium the print job should be printed on.

With this configuration, for each of one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, the user can determine at least one of the following: whether the print job will be printed using the intended print function and whether the print job will be printed on the intended print medium.

In the above-mentioned printing device 2, it is preferable that the display control unit 240 displays on the display unit a job list 52 to which the first information has been added for a print job, among one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, for which the processing capability of the second printing device 2 does not satisfy the processing conditions.

With this configuration, the user can identify which of one or more print jobs included in the job list 52 may not produce the intended print results.

In the above-mentioned printing device 2, when a specific operation is performed on the first information or the print job to which the first information is added, the display control unit 240 preferably causes the display unit to display notification information that notifies the user that the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 does not satisfy the processing conditions set for the print job that is the target of the specific operation.

With this configuration, the user can learn information about the fact that the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 does not meet the processing conditions set for the print job that is the target of a specific operation.

The printing device 2 described above preferably further includes a second determination unit 250 that determines whether the processing capacity of the first printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and the display control unit 240 preferably causes the display unit to display the job list 52 including second information indicating the determination result of the second determination unit 250.

With this configuration, the user can determine whether the intended processing results will be obtained when printing each of one or more print jobs included in the job list 52 on the first printing device 2.

The printing device 2 described above preferably further includes a third determination unit 260 that determines whether the first printing device 2 is in use, and the display control unit 240 preferably causes the display unit to display third information indicating the determination result of the third determination unit 260.

With this configuration, the user can know whether the first printing device 2 is in use or not.

The printing device 2 is a first printing device 2 communicably connected to a second printing device 2, and includes a job list generating unit 310 that generates a job list 52, which is a selection list of print jobs, a processing capability determining unit 320 that determines whether the processing capability of the second printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each print job for one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and a transmitting unit 330 that transmits the job list 52, which includes determination result information indicating the determination result of the processing capability determining unit 320, to the second printing device 2.

According to this configuration, the first printing device 2 determines whether the processing capacity of the second printing device 2 satisfies the processing conditions set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52, and transmits the job list 52 including the determination result information indicating the determination result to the second printing device 2. Therefore, by referring to the job list 52 displayed on the second printing device 2, the user can know whether the intended processing result will be obtained when printing each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list 52 on the second printing device 2.

1... terminal device, 2... printing device, 52... job list, 210... execution target job determination unit, 220... execution target job acquisition unit, 230... first determination unit, 240... display control unit.

Claims (8)

a second printing device communicatively connected to the first printing device,
a display control unit that displays a job list, which is a selection list of print jobs, on a display unit;
an execution target job determination unit that determines the print job selected from the job list as an execution target job that performs printing;
an execution target job acquisition unit that acquires the execution target job from the first printing device when the execution target job is stored in the first printing device;
a storage unit that stores processing capacity information indicating a processing capacity of the second printing device;
a first determination unit that determines, for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list, whether or not a processing capability of the second printing device satisfies a processing condition set for each of the print jobs based on the processing capability information ;
The printing apparatus, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display the job list including first information indicating a determination result of the first determination unit. The printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing conditions are at least one of print function processing conditions indicating which print function is to be used to print the print job, and print medium processing conditions indicating on what print medium the print job is to be printed. The printing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the display control unit causes the display unit to display the job list to which the first information has been added for the print jobs, among the one or more print jobs included in the job list, for which the processing capability of the second printing device does not satisfy the processing conditions. The printing device according to claim 3, characterized in that the display control unit, when a specific operation is performed on the first information or the print job to which the first information is added, causes the display unit to display notification information that notifies the user that the processing capacity of the second printing device does not satisfy the processing conditions set for the print job that is the target of the specific operation. a second determination unit that determines whether or not a processing capability of the first printing device satisfies the processing condition set for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list;
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display the job list including second information indicating a determination result of the second determination unit. a third determination unit that determines whether the first printing device is in use;
The printing device according to claim 5 , wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display third information indicating a determination result of the third determination unit. A printing system in which a first printing device and a second printing device are communicatively connected,
The second printing device is
a display control unit that displays a job list, which is a selection list of print jobs, on a display unit;
an execution target job determination unit that determines the print job selected from the job list as an execution target job that performs printing;
an execution target job acquisition unit that acquires the execution target job from the first printing device;
a storage unit that stores processing capacity information indicating a processing capacity of the second printing device;
a first determination unit that determines, for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list, whether or not a processing capability of the second printing device satisfies a processing condition set for each of the print jobs based on the processing capability information ;
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display the job list including first information indicating a determination result of the first determination unit. A display method for a second printing device communicatively connected to a first printing device, comprising the steps of:
a display control step of displaying a job list, which is a selection list of print jobs, on a display unit;
an execution target job determination step of determining the print job selected from the job list as an execution target job that performs printing;
an execution target job acquisition step of acquiring the execution target job from the first printing device when the execution target job is stored in the first printing device;
storing processing capability information indicating the processing capability of the second printing device in a storage unit;
a first determination step of determining, for each of the one or more print jobs included in the job list, whether or not a processing capability of the second printing device satisfies a processing condition set for each of the print jobs based on the processing capability information ;
The display method for a printing device, wherein in the display control step, the job list including first information indicating a result of the determination in the first determination step is displayed on the display unit.

Images