Output system, terminal device and output method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016253128-A1
Application number	US-201415032352-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 28, 2014
Priority date	Oct 31, 2013
Publication date	Sep 1, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An output system, in which a terminal device, an output device and an output control system are connected via a network, includes a setting management unit that receives a setting for a first function of accumulating output data at the terminal device and a setting for a second function of accumulating the output data at the output control system; a selection reception unit that receives a selection of a function to accumulate the output data, the selection indicating either the first or second function; an accumulation control unit that accumulates the output data at the terminal device or at the output control system; an output data related information retention unit that retains output data related information related to the accumulated output data; and an output unit that acquires the accumulated output data based on the output data related information and outputs the output data at the output device.

First claim

1 . An output system, in which a terminal device, one or more output devices and an output control system including one or more information processing devices are connected via a network, comprising:
a setting management unit that receives a setting for a first function of accumulating output data at the terminal device and a setting for a second function of accumulating the output data at the output control system; a selection reception unit that receives, at the terminal device, a selection of a function to accumulate the output data, which are required to be output, the selection indicating either the first function or the second function; an accumulation control unit that accumulates the output data at the terminal device when the first function is selected and accumulates the output data at the output control system when the second function is selected; an output data related information retention unit that retains output data related information related to the output data accumulated by the selected function at the output control system or at the terminal device, at the output control system; and an output unit that receives the output data related information from the output control system, acquires the output data accumulated at the terminal device or at the output control system based on the output data related information and outputs the output data at the output device.

2 . The output system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:
an output control unit that specifies the output device to which an output request for the output data is sent and sends the output request for the output data to the specified output device when the selection reception unit receives a selection of a function of sending account information of the output data to a predetermined account storage unit at the terminal device;
a first account control unit that records the account information of the output data in the predetermined account storage unit, the output request for the output data being sent to the specified output device by the output control unit, at the terminal device; and
a second account control unit that records the account information of the output data in the predetermined account storage unit when the output device outputs the output data acquired based on the output data related information at the output control system.

3 . The output system as claimed in claim 2 further comprising an authentication processing unit that sends the output request for the output data to the specified output device and executes an authentication process for a user when the selection reception unit accepts the selection of the function of sending account information of the output data to the predetermined account storage unit at the terminal device, wherein the output control unit does not send the output request for the output data to the specified output device when authentication by the authentication processing unit fails, and the first account control unit and the second account control unit record the account information associated with the user in the predetermined account storage unit.

4 . The output system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 further comprising a display unit that displays a selection screen for selecting any one of the first function and the second function, wherein the setting management unit receives a setting whether to display the selection screen for selecting any one of the first function and the second function upon receiving the output request for the output data and a setting of selecting a function in advance when the selection screen is not displayed, the display unit displays the selection screen when the selection screen for selecting any one of the first function and the second function upon receiving the output request for the output data is set to be displayed, and the selection reception unit receives the function selected based on the selection screen or the function selected in advance as the selected function.

5 . The output system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 further comprising:
a flow information retention unit that retains flow information that defines a processing flow in sending the output request for the output data from the terminal device; and
a flow execution unit that executes a processing flow based on the flow information and sends the output request for the output data at the terminal device, wherein the setting management unit receives a setting whether to execute the processing flow based on the flow information upon receiving the output request for the output data, the selection reception unit receives the output request for the output data for which the processing flow is executed based on the flow information when the processing flow based on the flow information is set to be executed, and the selection reception unit receives the output request for the output data accumulated by the selected one of the first function and the second function when the processing flow based on the flow information is set not to be executed.

6 . The output system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the second function of accumulating the output data at the output control system is a proxy output function, the accumulation control unit accumulates the output data at the output control system when the proxy output function is selected, and the output data related information retention unit retains the output data related information including user identification information of an instruction user who sends the output request from the terminal device and user identification information of a proxy user specified by the instruction user as the output data related information related to the output data for which the proxy output function is selected.

7 . The output system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the output data related information retention unit retains the output data related information including information of an accumulation destination of the output data accumulated at the terminal device as the output data related information related to the output data for which the first function of accumulating at the terminal device is selected.

8 . The output system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the flow information can define a process of executing any one of the first function and the second function or a process of determining a setting for outputting based on bibliographic information of the output data.

9 . A terminal device comprising:
a setting management unit that receives a setting for a first function of accumulating output data at the terminal device and a setting for a second function of accumulating the output data at an information processing device connected via a network; a selection reception unit that receives a selection of a function to accumulate the output data, which are required to be output, the selection indicating either the first function or the second function; an accumulation control unit that accumulates the output data at the terminal device when the first function is selected and accumulates the output data at the information processing device when the second function is selected; an output data related information transmission unit that transmits output data related information related to the output data accumulated by the selected function at the terminal device or at the information processing device to the information processing device; and an output data transmission unit that transmits the output data accumulated at the terminal device to an output device when an acquisition request for the output data accumulated at the terminal device is sent to the terminal device based on the output data related information received by

Assignees

• Mori Shinya
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Mori Shinya

Classifications

• G06F3/1254

  Automatic configuration, e.g. by driver · CPC title

• G06F3/1204 Primary

  resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data · CPC title

• G06F3/1298

  Printer language recognition, e.g. program control language, page description language · CPC title

• G06F3/1256

  User feedback, e.g. print preview, test print, proofing, pre-flight checks · CPC title

• G06F3/1267

  Job repository, e.g. non-scheduled jobs, delay printing · CPC title