Patent ID: 11886762
Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  Y | IPC G

Claim 8:
9. The printing control system according to claim 1, wherein
the parent units and the child units are separated into a plurality of groups, at least one of the parent units is connectable, at least one of the child units is connectable, and the first plurality of image forming apparatuses of the connectable parent units and the second plurality of image forming apparatuses of the connectable child units belong to a group of the plurality of groups,
the first memory of each of the parent units further saves parent unit information items of other parent units, the parent unit information items including: information of at least one other parent units that belongs to a same group that the parent unit belongs to; and information of each of the parent units that belongs to the respective groups to which the parent unit does not belong to,
the parent unit controllers further control a first parent unit of the parent units, the first parent unit storing the at least one print data item on the first memory, to transmit the job list information item to the other parent units which are identified by the parent unit information saved in the first parent unit, the job list information item including the job name of the at least one print data items stored on the first memory,
after a second parent unit of the parent units obtains the job list information item transmitted from the first parent unit, the second parent unit transmits the obtained job list information item to the other parent unit that is identified by the parent unit information saved in the second parent unit, and that belongs to a same group that the second parent unit belongs to, and the other parent unit receiving the job list information item from the second parent unit stores the job list information item on the first memory of the other parent unit,
the child unit controllers further control the child unit to transmit the job list request to the parent unit stored in the parent unit connection information item saved in the child unit, and
the parent unit controllers further control the parent unit that obtained the job list request, to transmit the job list response to the child unit as a reply to the obtained job list request, the job list response including the job list information item which is stored on the first memory of the parent unit and requested by the child unit.