Patent ID: 9686426
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04N

Claim:
1. A pull printing system comprising: a server being a first computer that stores printing data for pull printing; a plurality of image forming apparatuses that each have a storage and that store the printing data for the pull printing; and a printing data transmitter being a second computer that transmits the printing data for the pull printing to one of a plurality of storage destination devices, wherein the server performs user authentication for a user of the printing data transmitter, the printing data transmitter includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and a storage, the storage in the printing data transmitter includes a printer driver for generating the printing data for the pull printing, and a data transmission program for transmitting the printing data for the pull printing to one of the plurality of storage destination devices, the CPU in the printing data transmitter functions as a port monitor by executing the data transmission program, the port monitor selects a first storage destination device and a second storage destination device as storage destination devices from among the plurality of storage destination devices, the port monitor selects, as each of the first storage destination device and the second destination device, the server, one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, or a cluster of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, the port monitor, when a connection between the first storage destination device and the printing data transmitter is normal, transmits the printing data for the pull printing to the first storage destination device, the port monitor, when the connection between the first storage destination device and the printing data transmitter is abnormal, transmits the printing data for the pull printing to the second storage destination device, the port monitor, when one of the first storage destination device and the second storage destination device is the cluster of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, checks specific conditions of each image forming apparatus of the cluster of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, each image forming apparatus of the cluster of the plurality of image forming apparatuses, when a connection between the image forming apparatus and the printing data transmitter is normal, notifies the port monitor of the specific conditions thereof, the specific conditions of each image forming apparatus of the cluster of the plurality of image forming apparatuses include a remaining storage capacity of the storage of the image forming apparatus, the number of devices that are currently connected to the image forming apparatus, and information as to whether or not the image forming apparatus is in an idle state, the port monitor selects one image forming apparatus of the cluster of the plurality of image forming apparatuses which has the greatest remaining storage capacity of the storage, in which the number of devices that are currently connected thereto has not reached an upper limit, or which is in the idle state, as the storage destination device to which to transmit the printing data for the pull printing, and at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses performs printing based on the printing data for the pull printing transmitted to and stored in the first storage destination device or the second storage destination device.