IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM

• US 20140139869A1
• Filed: 10/22/2013
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: HONMA, Mikimasa
• Granted Patent: US 9,509,868 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00278 with a printing apparatus, e.g. a laser beam printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00347 with another still picture apparatus, e.g. hybrid still picture apparatus circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between image input and image output device H04N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00352 Input means H04N1/00411 takes precedence; input arrangements for computers G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00954 Scheduling operations or managing resources H04N1/0096 takes precedence; program initiating or switching G06F9/48; allocation of computer resources G06F9/50

Abstract

An image forming apparatus communicably connected to another image forming apparatus through a network includes a printer unit, a communication unit enabling a connection with another image forming apparatus, and a control unit that executes a first operating system (OS) operating on the first image forming apparatus and a control program operating on the first OS and performing a process relating to image formation, and enables a second OS performing other processes in parallel with the operation of the first OS to be operable. The control unit selects and determines another image forming apparatus in which the second OS is operable based on a process state relating to the image formation of the image forming apparatus operating the second OS, transmits an operating state of the second OS at that time point to the other image forming apparatus, and executes the second OS on the other apparatus.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus that is connected to be communicable with one or two or more image forming apparatuses different from each other through a network, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a printer unit that forms an image based on image data and outputs the image onto a sheet;

a communication unit that enables a connection with at least another image forming apparatus through a network; and

a control unit that can execute a first operating system activating on the image forming apparatus and a control program activating on the first operating system and performing a process relating to image formation and enables one or two or more second operating systems performing other processes other than the image formation in parallel with the operation of the first operating system to be operable,

wherein the control unit selects and determines another image forming apparatus in which the second operating system is operable based on a process state relating to the image formation of the image forming apparatus being executed the second operating system, transmits an operating state of the second operating system at that time point to the other image forming apparatus, and executes the second operating system by switching to the other image forming apparatus.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the second operating system in parallel with the operation of the first operating system so as to be operable.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit provides information of a second operation screen in the second operating system to another image forming apparatus connected to the image forming apparatus through a network, and an operation screen server receiving an operation input for the second operation screen provided to the other image forming apparatus is operable.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit receives information of a second operation screen in the second operating system that is provided by an operation screen server executed in another image forming apparatus, and an operation screen client that enables an operation input for the second operation screen is operable.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the process state relating to the image formation based on the type of the input job.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the process state relating to the image formation based on one or both of the amount and the type of a reserved job.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit performs the determination before executing the job in accordance with a state of hardware resources that is based on the job.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the case in which another image forming apparatus that is a target of the switching is unable to be determined based on a state of the other image forming apparatuses on the network, the control unit stops the second operating system in a predetermined state and stores the operating state relating to the second operating system so as to be started to be continued in the same state.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit enables a user to select whether the operation of the second operating system is continued or stopped based on a state of the image forming apparatus in which the second operating system executes.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the case in which the operation is stopped, the control unit stops the second operating system in a predetermined state and stores the operating state relating to the second operating system so as to be started to be continued in the same state.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the case in which the second operating system is executed by another image forming apparatus in accordance with the switching, the control unit stops the second operating system on the other image forming apparatus in accordance with a state of the image forming apparatus in which the second operating system executed before the switching and executes the second operating system by using the image forming apparatus in which the second operating system executed before the switching again.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in the other image forming apparatus in which the second operating system executes in accordance with the switching, an operation screen server is operable which provides information of the second operation screen in the second operating system to still another image forming apparatus that is connected to the other image forming apparatus through a network and receives an operation input for the provided second operation screen, and

wherein, in the control unit, an operation screen client that receives the information of the second operation screen in the second operating system that is provided by the operation screen server operating in the other image forming apparatus and enables an operation input for the second operation screen is operable, and the control unit stops the second operating system on the other image forming apparatus in accordance with a connection state between the operation screen server and the operation screen client and executes the second operating system in the image forming apparatus in which the second operating system executed before the switching again.

13. An image forming system comprising:

the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 as a first image forming apparatus;

a second image forming apparatus including

a printer unit that forms an image based on image data and outputs the image onto a sheet,

a communication unit that enables a connection with at least another image forming apparatus through a network, and

a control unit that can execute a first operating system activating on the image forming apparatus and a control program activating on the first operating system and performing a process relating to image formation and enables one or two or more second operating systems performing other processes other than the image formation in parallel with the operation of the first operating system to be operable; and

a network that connects the first image forming apparatus and the second image forming apparatus to be communicable with each other,

wherein the control unit of the second image forming apparatus receives an operating state of the second operating system transmitted from the first image forming apparatus and executes the second operating system.

14. The image forming system according to claim 13,

wherein, in the control unit of the second image forming apparatus, an operation screen server is operable which provides information of the second operation screen in the second operating system to another image forming apparatus that is connected to the second image forming apparatus through a network and receives an operation input for the second operation screen that is provided for the other image forming apparatus, and

wherein, in the control unit of the first image forming apparatus in which the second operating system was operable before the switching, an operation screen client that receives the information of the second operation screen in the second operating system that is provided by the operation screen server operating in the other image forming apparatus and enables an operation input for the second operation screen is operable, and the control unit of the second image forming apparatus, when the transmission is received and the second operating system is executed, provides information of the second operation screen for the first image forming apparatus in which the second operating system was operable before the switching.