Printing system and method of controlling same
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorNoriaki Tanaka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed are a printing system and a method of controlling the same, in which a terminal device storing image information to be printed is specified by an order management unit (203) in accordance with print requests from a plurality of terminal devices. Depending upon whether the specified terminal device and a printer to perform printing are connected locally or via a network (204), the specified terminal device is instructed to transfer the image information to a printer to perform printing. As a result, printing can be performed efficiently by a plurality of printers in response to print requests from a plurality of terminal devices connected via a network.
Claims17
An information processing apparatus connected via a network to a plurality of terminal devices, the information processing apparatus for instructing a specified terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices to transfer image data to a printer in response to a print request received by the information processing apparatus from one of the plurality of terminal devices, said apparatus comprising:
- an order management database storing management information about the image data stored in the specified terminal device;
- a specifying unit adapted to specify a terminal device in which the image data to be printed has been stored in accordance with the print request and the stored management information, wherein the print request includes information for designating the printer as a print destination;
- and
- a first designating unit adapted to instruct the terminal device specified by said specifying unit to transfer the image data to the printer designated as the print destination without passing the image data through the information processing apparatus;
- and
- management unit adapted to manage record information including a printing date indicating the printing was performed by the printer based on the instruction by said first designating unit.
A method of controlling an information processing apparatus connected via a network to a plurality of terminal devices, the information processing apparatus for instructing a specified terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices to transfer image data to a printer in response to a print request received by the information processing apparatus from one of the plurality of terminal devices, said method comprising:
- storing management information in an order management database, the management information about the image data stored in the specified terminal device;
- specifying a terminal device, in which the image data to be printed has been stored, in accordance with the print request and the stored management information, wherein the print request includes information for designating the printer as a print destination;
- instructing the terminal device specified at said specifying step to transfer the image data to the printer designated as the print destination without passing the image data through the information processing apparatus;
- and
- managing record information including a printing date indicating the printing performed by the printer based on the instruction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.