JP2000006499A - Printer and interrupt-control method in printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer and an interrupt control method in a printer that controls the abuse of interrupt printing by providing limitations on users who execute interrupt printing and the number of pages, judges whether interrupt printing is executed instantly or interrupt printing is delayed until the end of a job in accordance with the then status of printing in response to an instruction for interrupt printing, and enables efficient interrupt printing as the whole of a system to be realized. SOLUTION: An LBP has a CPU 20 that limits interruptible jobs in correspondence with passwords input and the number of pages for interrupt printing, prohibits interrupt printing for jobs where printing has not advanced to a predetermined page and jobs having fallen short of predetermined pages, and prohibits interrupt printing until pages to be stapled ends, for jobs for which stapling is specified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which spools print data on a job-by-job basis, and an interrupt control method in the printing apparatus. The present invention relates to a suitable printing apparatus and an interrupt control method in the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional printing apparatus, print jobs are processed in the order of spooling. For this reason,
When a certain user starts printing a document having a very large number of pages, even if there is a document to be printed urgently, it cannot be handled. Therefore, in order to cope with such a situation, there has been proposed interrupt printing in which a job being processed is temporarily interrupted and another job is interrupted and processed.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. That is, in the conventional interrupt printing, in which a job being processed is temporarily interrupted and another job is interrupted for processing, if this interrupt printing is frequently used, a normal print job that is not the interrupt printing is not easily processed, and the order is unordered. There is a problem that the printing environment cannot be maintained.

Further, the above-described interrupt printing has a problem that different jobs which should be separated and discharged are mixed and discharged. For example, when a document of 1000 pages is printed, there is a possibility that one or a plurality of documents of interrupt printing may be mixed in the document, so it is necessary to check all pages after printing.

[0005] Further, in the case where a job being processed is interrupted by another job, the overall processing efficiency is lower than in the case where the current job is completed and then another job is processed. General. For example, if the job being processed has only a few remaining pages, or if the original number of pages is small, the processing is continued as it is, and the processing is continued as it is rather than interrupting the print job and interrupting the job. It is often more efficient to wait until the break before processing the interrupt job.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing by providing a user who executes interrupt printing and a limit on the number of pages. Printing apparatus and printing apparatus which can determine whether to execute interrupt printing immediately or to delay interrupt printing until a job breaks in accordance with the processing status of the printing, and realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system It is a first object of the present invention to provide an interrupt control method in the above.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned point, and it is possible to prevent output sheets from being mixed even when interrupt printing is executed in the middle of a job, thereby eliminating sorting work after printing. A second object is to provide a printing apparatus and an interrupt control method in the printing apparatus which are enabled.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and when an error occurs, the fact is displayed on a display means of a higher-level device so that a document having a high urgency such as an interrupt print document can be displayed. It is a third object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus and an interrupt control method in the printing apparatus, which enable an operator to quickly respond to printing.

[0009]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs. It is characterized by having interrupt means for interrupting and processing another job and interrupt limiting means for limiting the interrupt.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the interruption restricting means restricts interruption according to a password.

In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that an instruction to execute an interrupt and a password can be input from the higher-level device.

In order to achieve the above object, a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the interruption restricting means restricts interruption according to the number of interrupted print pages.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 5 is characterized in that an interrupt execution instruction and an input of the number of interrupt print pages can be input from the higher-level device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, wherein the job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted. And an interrupt determining means for determining the time of the interrupt.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the interrupt judging means interrupts a job being processed and interrupts another job, or executes another job after processing the job being processed up to the break. It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not the job is interrupted.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the interrupt judging means has a function of counting the number of remaining pages of the job being processed. It is characterized in that interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that the interrupt judging means has a function of counting the number of output pages of the job being processed, and the number of output pages is smaller than a set value. Is characterized in that interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, when the staple is designated for the job being processed, the interrupt judging means inhibits interruption of another job until the processing of the stapling target page is completed. It is characterized by doing.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, wherein the job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted. And an interrupt unit for separating the output of the interrupted job from the output of the interrupted job.

In order to achieve the above object, a twelfth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the separating means switches the output destination of the interrupt job and separates the outputs of both jobs.

In order to achieve the above object, a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, when the output of the interrupt job is completed, the separating means has a function of prompting the removal of the output sheet of the job.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device on a job basis, wherein the job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted. And an informing means for informing the user during the processing of the interrupt job.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 15 is characterized in that the notification control means notifies the user of the interruption job by processing the display or by voice during the processing.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, wherein the job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted. And interrupting means for detecting the occurrence of an interruption factor during processing of a job.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 17 is characterized in that, when the occurrence of an interruption factor is detected during the processing of a job, the detection means notifies the type of the interruption to a host device.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 18 is an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, wherein the interrupting a job being processed and another An interrupt step for interrupting and processing a job and an interrupt limiting step for limiting interrupts are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 19 is characterized in that in the interruption restriction step, interruption is restricted according to a password.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 20 is characterized in that an interrupt execution instruction and a password can be input from the higher-level device.

[0029] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 21 is characterized in that in the interruption restriction step, interruption is restricted according to the number of interrupted print pages.

[0030] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 22 is characterized in that an interrupt execution instruction and the number of interrupt print pages can be input from the host device.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in units of jobs, wherein the interrupting a job being processed and another method. An interrupt step for interrupting and processing a job, and an interrupt determining step for determining a point in time of the interrupt are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 24 is characterized in that, in the interrupt determination step, the job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted, It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not the job is interrupted.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 25 has a function of counting the number of remaining pages of the job being processed in the interruption determining step, and when the number of remaining pages is smaller than a set value, It is characterized in that interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 26 has a function of counting the number of output pages of the job being processed in the interrupt determination step, and when the number of output pages is smaller than a set value. Is characterized in that interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 27, wherein in the interrupt determination step, when stapling is specified for the job being processed, interruption of another job is inhibited until the processing of the stapling target page is completed. It is characterized by doing.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 28 is an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in units of jobs, wherein the interrupting a job being processed and another An interrupt step for interrupting and processing a job, and a separating step for separating the output of the interrupted job from the output of the interrupted job are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 29 is characterized in that the separating step switches the output destination of the interrupt job and separates the outputs of both jobs.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 30 is characterized in that in the separating step, when the output of the interrupt job is completed, a function of prompting removal of the output sheet of the job is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 31 is an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, wherein the interrupting a job being processed and another An interrupt step for interrupting and processing a job, and a notification control step for notifying the user during processing of the interrupt job are characterized by the following features.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 32 is characterized in that in the notification control step, during the processing of the interrupt job, the fact is notified by display or sound.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 33 is an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, wherein the interrupting a job being processed and another An interrupt step for interrupting and processing a job and a detecting step for detecting occurrence of an interruption factor during processing of the job are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 34 is characterized in that, in the detecting step, when the occurrence of an interruption factor is detected during the processing of a job, the type is notified to a higher-level device.

[0043]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1] First Embodiment Before describing the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention, the first embodiment of the present invention and second and third embodiments described later. A laser beam printer (hereinafter abbreviated as LBP) is taken as an example of a printing apparatus suitable for applying the present invention, and its configuration will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the present invention is not limited to a laser beam printer, but a printer using another printing method, for example, a liquid crystal shutter printer, LE
The present invention is applicable to various printers such as a D printer, an ink jet printer, a thermal transfer printer, a thermal printer, and a dot matrix printer.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the L according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is explanatory drawing which showed the internal structure of BP, and made a part into cross section. The LBP according to the first embodiment of the present invention uses a data source, that is, an externally connected host computer (201 in FIG. 1) to register a character pattern or form data.
It is possible to register data (fixed format) and the like.
The LBP is composed of the LBP body 100, the printer control unit 1
01, laser driver 102, semiconductor laser 103, rotating polygon mirror 105, electrostatic drum 106, developing unit 10
7, paper cassette 108, paper feed roller 109, transport rollers 110 and 111, fixing device 112, operation panel 113,
The configuration includes a sheet aligning device 114, a stapling mechanism 115, a first discharge tray 116, and a second discharge tray 117.

The structure of each part will be described in detail. The printer control unit 101, laser driver 102, semiconductor laser 103, rotary polygon mirror 1
05, an electrostatic drum 106, a developing unit 107, a paper cassette 108, a paper feed roller 109, a transport roller 110,
111, an operation panel 113, a sheet aligning device 114, a stapling mechanism 115, a first paper output tray 116, and a second paper output tray 117 are provided, and a host computer (201 in FIG. 1) connected to the outside. The supplied character information (character code), form information, macro instructions, etc. are input and stored, and corresponding character patterns, form patterns, etc. are created in accordance with the information, and the image is formed on a recording medium such as recording paper. To form

The printer control unit 101 controls the entire LBP main body 100 and analyzes character information and the like supplied from the host computer. The printer control unit 101 mainly converts the character information into a video signal of a corresponding character pattern and converts the character information into a video signal of a corresponding character pattern. Output to 102. The laser driver 102 is a circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 103, and switches on / off a laser beam 104 emitted from the semiconductor laser 103 according to an input video signal. The semiconductor laser 103 emits a laser beam 104 toward a rotary polygon mirror 105 based on driving by a laser driver 102. The rotary polygon mirror 105 oscillates the laser beam 104 emitted from the semiconductor laser 103 in the left-right direction (in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the drawing).

The surface of the electrostatic drum 106 is scanned and exposed by the laser beam 104 reflected by the rotary polygon mirror 105. Thus, an electrostatic latent image of a character pattern is formed on the surface of the electrostatic drum 106. Developing unit 107
Is provided around the electrostatic drum 106 and develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrostatic drum 106. After development of the electrostatic latent image, it is transferred to a recording paper. Paper cassette 108
Is detachably mounted on the LBP main body 100, and contains, for example, cut sheet recording paper inside. The paper feed roller 109 takes in the cut sheet recording paper stored in the paper cassette 108 one by one into the apparatus. The transport rollers 110 and 111 transport the cut sheet recording paper fed by the paper feed roller 109 to the electrostatic drum 106.
To the side.

The fixing device 112 fixes the toner (powder ink) transferred to the recording paper to the recording paper by heat and pressure. The operation panel 113 includes a switch for operation and, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode).
e) Display and LCD (Liquid Crystal D)
a display means such as a display device is provided. The sheet aligning device 114 temporarily collects and aligns the discharged sheets. When a predetermined number of sheets are ejected to the sheet aligning device 114, the stapling mechanism 115 binds the ejected sheets with a staple. First discharge tray 116, second discharge tray 117
Outputs the stapled paper.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an L according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a BP printer control unit 101 (control system). The printer control unit 101 (control system) of the LBP according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes:
Input / output interface unit 202, input buffer memory 203, font information unit 217, character pattern unit 21
Character pattern generator 204 having a storage area 20
6. RAM 2 having font cache area 207
05, CPU 208, intermediate buffer 209, frame buffer 210, output interface unit 211
, ROM 214, and NVRAM (Non Volat)
ile RAM (non-volatile RAM) 215 and a hard disk interface unit 219. In the figure, 201 is a host computer, 212 is a page printer printing unit (hereinafter abbreviated as a printer unit), 220
Indicates a hard disk.

The LBP printer control unit 101 (control system) according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a character code, an external character font, or form information transmitted from a host computer 201 which is a source of print information. Alternatively, input data 213 including macro registration information and the like,
It is configured to print document information and the like in page units. Note that the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, and the configuration is not limited to the illustrated configuration.

The input / output interface unit 202 exchanges various information with the host computer 201. Input buffer memory 203
Temporarily stores various information input through the input / output interface unit 202. Character pattern generator 204
Is composed of a font information section 217 in which attributes such as width and height of a character and an address of an actual character pattern are stored, a character pattern section 218 in which a character pattern itself is stored, and a read control program therefor. I have. The read control program is included in the ROM 214 and has a code conversion function of calculating a character pattern address corresponding to a character code when the character code is input.

The RAM 205 includes a spool area for temporarily storing print data of a print job, a font cache area 207 for storing a character pattern output from the character pattern generator 204, and a host computer 201.
A storage area 206 is provided for storing external character fonts and form information sent from the company, current printing environment, and the like.
By storing the pattern information once expanded into the character pattern in the font cache area 207 in this way, it is not necessary to decode the same character again and develop the pattern when printing the same character. Deployment speeds up.

The CPU 208 is a central processing unit that controls the entire control system of the LBP. Based on a control program of the CPU 208 stored in the ROM 214, the CPU 208 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 to 8, FIGS. 9 to 11, and FIGS. Flowcharts in FIG. 14 (first embodiment), flowcharts in FIGS. 15 to 17 (second embodiment), FIGS.
23 to a flowchart (third embodiment) of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 213 denotes a host computer 2
01 to LBP, 216 in the figure is LB
This is data transmitted from P to the host computer 201.

The intermediate buffer 209 stores the input data 213
Accumulates an internal data group generated based on. The frame buffer 210 is a buffer that completes reception of one page of data, converts them into simpler internal data, stores the data in the intermediate buffer 209, and stores the print image, and at least in the case of full paint. Can store a print image for one page, and in the case of partial paint, a print image for two bands. The output interface unit 211 generates a video signal corresponding to the pattern information transmitted from the frame buffer 210, and performs interface control with the printer unit 212.

The ROM 214 stores a control program for the CPU 208 and a program for analyzing data input from the host computer 201. Usually, this analysis program is called a translator. The NVRAM 215 is, for example, a general EEPROM.
(Electrically Erasable Pro
The NVRAM 215 stores panel setting values specified by the operation panel 113 shown in FIG. 2. The hard disk interface unit 219 is
Interface control with the hard disk 220 is performed.

The printer section 212 receives a video signal sent from the output interface section 211 and prints image information based on the video signal. Hard disk 2
20 can record any information, and the information is not lost even if the power is cut off. In the present embodiment, print data and printed information are recorded on the hard disk 220 via the hard disk interface unit 219.

Next, L according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A procedure for instructing the BP 100 to execute interrupt printing from the host computer 201 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a window 300 displayed on the display of the host computer 201 connected to the LBP 100. Window 300 is
This is for setting print conditions and giving a print execution instruction using a keyboard or a pointing device (not shown). A field 301 is a field for setting a processing resolution when printing a document.
"Fine" or "Quick" is exclusively selected,
Fine is processed at 600 dpi and Quick is processed at 300 dpi. Although the state of FIG. 3 shows a state in which fine is selected, quick can be selected using a pointing device.

The field 302 is a field for designating a page to be printed. If nothing is input as shown in FIG. 3, all pages of the document are to be printed. A field 303 is a field for setting whether to staple a printed document, and “Yes” or “No” is exclusively selected. Field 304
Is a field for instructing whether to print as interrupt printing or to process as a normal print job.

The state shown in FIG. 3 shows that the job is processed as a normal print job. However, if the field 304 is checked using a pointing device, a field 401 shown in FIG. 4 appears, and interrupt printing is executed for the user. To enter the password for the password. This password is registered in the host computer 201 in advance by the system administrator, and interrupt printing can be performed only after the user inputs a correct password.

For interrupt printing of a document having, for example, 20 or more pages, some value must be input to the field 302, and the number of pages to be specified must be, for example, 20 or less. If this condition is not met, a warning window 500 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display of the host computer 201,
By clicking the pointing device button 501, the error is released, and the window 300 is displayed again. The number of pages is not limited to the above value.

The setting values input to the fields 301, 303 and 304 are added as header information of print data by clicking a print execution button 305 with a pointing device, and transmitted to the LBP 100.

The header information added to the print data is enclosed by {ec}%-HEADER and {ec}%-END. For example, when resolution = fine interrupt printing = no staple = no {Ec}%-HEADER # RESOLUTION = FINE # INTERRUPT = OFF # STAPLE = OFF Header information such as {ec}%-END is attached ({ec} is a hexadecimal IB
Means).

Note that this is an example of the case of normal printing,
When interrupt printing is instructed, # INTERRUPT = ON. If the user clicks a cancel button 306 with a pointing device, the window 300 can be closed without issuing a print execution instruction.

Next, L according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The processing on the BP 100 side will be described.
In 100, so-called multi-task processing is employed in which data reception, data processing, and actual printing processing are performed by separate tasks.

First, the process in which the LBP 100 receives print data from the host computer 201 and spools it as a file on the hard disk 220 in job units will be described. The file system has a structure of a general computer OS (Operation System).
The description is omitted because there is no difference from those used in the above.

The LBP 100 is connected to the host computer 201
Print data from the hard disk 2
In the process of spooling as a file in the file 20, three types of files are used, and the format will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, it is possible to spool a plurality of jobs, and each job is assigned a unique number.
"Job management file" which is a file for performing data processing and print processing, and managing this number
(One file name: “job.ct1”),
This is composed of three fields F6000 to F6002.

F6000 is a generated file number field, and a spool file is generated based on this number.
One job is composed of two spool files, a “header information file” and a “print data file”. For example, when a new spool file is generated with a generated file number of 70, the file name is “info. ... “Header information file” “data.70”... “Print data file”, and the generated file number field is updated to 71 after the spooling is completed.

F6001 is a processing file number field, and a job to be processed next is determined from a plurality of spooled jobs based on this number. For example, when the next job is processed with the processing file number of 70, the print data “data.70” is data processed according to the setting of the header information file “info.70”, and the processing file number is updated to 71. . It should be noted that the data processing referred to in this example means that the spooled print data is interpreted as a command to generate an intermediate code and stored in the intermediate buffer 209.

A print file number field F6002 is used to determine a job to be actually printed and discharged for a processed job based on this number. For example, when printing the next job with a print file number of 70,
According to the setting of the header information file “info.70”,
The intermediate code that has already been data processed and stored in the intermediate buffer 209 is printed, and the print file number is 71.
Will be updated to Note that the print processing in this example is to read the intermediate code in the intermediate buffer 209, develop it on the frame buffer 210, and output it to the printer unit 212 via the output interface unit 211.

The “header information file” is the field F6
100 to F6104. F6100 is a field for storing the processing resolution when processing data, and F6101 is a field for storing whether or not to perform processing as interrupt printing. F6102 is a field for storing the number of data-processed pages as processed information. This field is initialized to 0 at first, counts up each time print data is processed for one page, and when print data for one job is processed to the end,
The fact that processing has been completed to the end is recorded together with the number of pages. F6103 is a field for storing the number of pages actually printed as printed information. In addition, F61
Reference numeral 04 denotes a field for storing whether or not stapling (stapling) is performed in a job unit when outputting sheets.

The “print data file” is the field F6
200. F6200 is a field for storing print data itself to be processed.

Next, L according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show the data spooling process in the BP 100.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and 8
Steps S7010 to S7130 in FIG.

First, in step S 7010, it is determined whether or not data reception has been started, and processing is not advanced until data reception is started. This is because data is input to the input buffer memory 203. It is realized by judging whether or not it has been performed. When data is input to the input buffer memory 203, it is determined in step S7020 whether a spooled file exists. If it is determined that no spooled file exists, in step S7030, the job Initialize the management file.
Here, the generated file number field F6000, the processed file number field F6001, and the print file number field F6002 are all initialized to 10.

Next, the flow advances to step S7040 to acquire header information. If it is determined in step S7020 that a spooled file exists, the flow advances to step S7040 without initializing the job management file. In step S7040, the input buffer memory 2
Read out the header information part of the data input to 03. Next, the flow advances to step S7050 to determine whether or not interrupt printing is specified in the header information section.

If the printing is not the interrupt printing (normal printing), the process proceeds to step S7060 and the spool process for normal printing is performed. In step S7060, a header information file is generated, and each field is initialized. The resolution specified in the header information section is set in the resolution field F6100, and the interrupt print field F61 is set.
"Normal printing" is set in 01. Processed information field F6102 and printed information field F61
In 03, 0 is set as the number of pages.

When the header information has been filed, the print data is written to a print data file in step S7070. The file names of the header information file and the print data file are determined according to the generated file number as described above. Upon completion of the data spooling, in step S7080, the generated file number is updated (counted up), and the process returns to step S7010 to perform spooling processing of the next job.

If it is determined in step S7055 that interrupt printing has been instructed, the flow advances to step S7090 to perform spooling processing for interrupt printing. In step S7090, the print file number stored in field F6002 is acquired, and print file number-1 is set as the number of the job to be spooled. After specifying the number of the job to be spooled, the process advances to step S7100 to generate a header information file and initialize each field. The resolution specified in the header information section is set in the resolution field F6100, and "interrupt printing" is set in the interrupt print field F6101.
The number of pages is set to 0 in each of the processed information field F6102 and the printed information field F6103.

When the header information is converted into a file, the print data is written to a print data file in step S7110. Next, step S7120 and step S71
In step 30, the process file number field F6001 and print file number field F6002 are changed to the spooled job number, and the process returns to step S7010 to perform the spooling process for the next job. In other words, the interrupt printing job is assigned a smaller number than the spooled job.

Next, L according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The data processing of the spooled job in the BP 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. S8010 to S8180 in FIGS. 9 to 11 indicate each processing step.

First, in step S8010, the processing file number is read, and in step S8020, it is determined whether the job to be processed is spooled. When a large number of jobs are spooled on the hard disk 220, it takes a very long time to search for the job with the smallest job number.
The necessary and sufficient condition for “there is a job to be processed” is “the current processed file number is smaller than the current generated file number”. If this condition is satisfied, the job whose processed file number is to be processed is Number.

In step S8020, the processing is not advanced until the necessary and sufficient conditions are satisfied. When the conditions are satisfied and the job number to be processed is specified, the flow advances to step S8030. In step S8030, header information is read from the header information file of the job number specified in step S8020, and step S8040
Then, it is determined from the processed information stored as header information whether or not the job has already been subjected to data processing. If the data processing has been completed, step S805
After updating the processing file number with 0 (counting up),
The process returns to step S8010 to proceed to data processing of the next job.

If it is determined in step S8040 that the data processing has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S8060 to perform data processing. First, in step S8060,
The data processing resolution is determined from the resolution information stored as the header information.
Initialize the processed page counter on M205.
In this example, the number of processed pages stored in the processed information field of the header information file is the initial value of the page counter. Normally, it is 0, but when a job that has been processed halfway by executing interrupt printing is reprocessed, it is initialized to non-zero.

After the initialization of the page counter is completed, the flow advances to step S8080 to determine whether or not the processing file number field of the job management file has been changed, ie, whether or not the value read out in step S8010 is different. . The processing file number field is shown in FIG.
In the spooling process described with reference to FIG. 8, the job is changed when the job of the interrupt printing is spooled, so that the interrupt printing request is notified.

If the processing file number has been changed, that is, if a request for interrupt printing has occurred, in step S8081, the intermediate code that is not completed as data for one page is deleted from the intermediate buffer 209. In step S8082, after updating the processed information field with the value of the processed page counter, the process proceeds to step S801.
Returning to 0, data processing of the job of the number recorded in the processing file number field is performed, but this job is nothing but an interrupt printing job.

If it is determined in step S8080 that the processing file number field has not been changed, the flow advances to step S8090 and the subsequent steps to perform data processing of print data. The file in which the print data is stored is
This is the print data file of the job number specified in step S8010. First, in step S8090, one command is read, and in step S8100, it is determined whether the command is a paper ejection command. If it is determined that the command is a paper ejection command, the process advances to step S8110 to determine whether the page has already been subjected to data processing. This is RAM2
The processed page counter 05 and the number of processed pages stored as processed information in the header information file are compared. If the processed page counter is smaller, it is determined that data processing has been completed.

If it is determined that data processing has not been completed, the flow advances to step S8120 to perform page end processing. The page end processing referred to here means the intermediate buffer 20
9 is to complete the intermediate code being generated as data for one page. Upon completion of the page end processing, the flow advances to step S8130 to update (count up) the processed page counter on the RAM 205, and to step S8130.
Return to 8080. If it is determined in step S8110 that printing has been completed, page termination processing is not performed. In step S8140, an intermediate code that is not completed as data for one page is deleted from the intermediate buffer 209, and the flow advances to step S8130. .

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S8100 that the command is not a paper ejection command, the flow advances to step S8150 to determine whether the command is an end command. If it is determined that the command is not the end command, the process for the command is performed in step S8160, and the process returns to step S8080.
If it is determined that the instruction is the end instruction, step S81
In step 70, the processed information field is updated with the value of the processed page counter, and it is recorded that the job has already been subjected to data processing, and the flow advances to step S8180. In step S8180, the processing file number field is updated (counted up), and the process returns to step S8010 to process the next job.

Next, L according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Data processed in the BP 100 and the intermediate buffer 209
Will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 12 to 14. S9010 to S91 in FIGS. 12 to 14
Reference numeral 80 denotes each processing step.

First, in step S9010, the print file number is read, and in step S9020, it is determined whether the job to be printed is spooled. In step S9020, the process is not advanced until the job to be printed is spooled. When the job is spooled, the process advances to step S9030. Step S9030
In step S9020, the header information is read from the header information file of the job number specified in step S9020. In step S9040, the print resolution is determined from the resolution information stored as the header information.
Then, the printed page counter on the RAM 205 is initialized.

Here, the number of printed pages stored in the printed information field of the header information file is the initial value of the page counter. Normally, it is 0, but if a job that has been printed halfway by executing interrupt printing is to be printed again, it will be initialized to non-zero.

After the initialization of the page counter is completed, the flow advances to step S9060 to determine whether the print file number field of the job management file has been changed, that is, whether the value is different from the value read in step S9010. . The print file number field is shown in FIG.
In the spooling process described with reference to FIG. 8, the job is changed when the job of the interrupt printing is spooled, so that the interrupt printing request is notified. If the print file number has not been changed, the flow advances to step S9070 to read out one page of intermediate data corresponding to the job being printed from the intermediate buffer 209, and step S9080
Then, the data is developed on the frame buffer 210 and output to the printer unit 212 via the output interface unit 211.
A so-called printing process is performed.

However, if the intermediate data for one page has not been created, that is, if the data processing described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 has not proceeded, the print processing stops at this step, and Processing does not proceed until intermediate data for the page is created.

When printing of one page is completed, step S
At 9090, the memory storing the intermediate data of the printed page is released, and at step S9100, the print page counter is updated (counted up), and then, at step S9
At 110, it is determined whether printing of all pages in the job has been completed. It is determined whether or not printing of all pages has been completed by determining that the intermediate data corresponding to the job being printed does not exist in the intermediate buffer 209 and that the data processing has been completed in the processed information field. It can be determined based on whether or not there is.

If all pages have been printed, the flow advances to step S9120 to delete the header information file and print data file for the job, and further to step S9120.
At 130, the print file number field is updated (counted up), and the process returns to step S9010 to process the next job. If it is determined in step S9110 that all pages have not been printed, the process proceeds to step S9110.
The process returns to 9060 and proceeds to the printing process of the next page.

If it is determined in step S9060 that the print file number field has not been changed, the flow advances to step S9140 and the subsequent steps to perform print interruption processing for interrupt printing. First, step S9140
Then, it is determined whether or not the print page counter is greater than 10, and if it is less than 10, the flow advances to step S9070 to perform a normal process. This means that interrupt printing is not permitted for a job for which printing has not progressed to page 10 or for a job having less than 10 pages.

If the print page counter is greater than 10, that is, if the number of printed pages exceeds 10, the flow advances to step S9150 to acquire the total number of pages of the job from the processed information field. Next, in step S9160, it is determined whether the number of remaining pages is greater than 10. However, the total number of pages of the job cannot be obtained.
That is, if the data processing has not been completed, it is determined that the number is larger than the number of remaining pages. If it is determined in step S9160 that the number of remaining pages is 10 or less,
Proceeding to step S9070 to perform normal processing,
If it is determined that the number of remaining pages is 11 or more,
Proceed to step S9170.

In step S9170, it is determined whether or not staple has been designated for the job being printed. This can be done by referring to the staple field F6104 of the header information file. If staples are specified, the process proceeds to step S9070 to perform normal processing, and if staples are not specified,
Proceeding to step S9180, the value of the printed page counter is recorded in the printed information field, and step S9010
And returns to the processing of the next job, that is, the interrupt print job.

As described above, according to the LBP according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the host computer 20
1 and an input / output interface unit 202 for transmitting and receiving various information
A character pattern generator 204 having a font information section 217 and a character pattern section 218; and a RAM 205 having a font cache area 207 and a storage area 206.
And an intermediate buffer 209 for storing an internal data group generated based on the input data; a ROM 214 for storing a control program for the CPU 208 and a program for analyzing input data from the host computer 201; CPU 208 for executing data processing of spooled jobs (FIGS. 9 to 11), printing processing of data stored in the intermediate buffer 209 (FIGS. 12 to 14) based on a control program, and image information. And a printer unit 212 that prints
Interrupt printing is executed based on the input of the password and the number of interrupt printing pages, and interrupt printing is not permitted for jobs whose printing has not progressed to the specified page or less than the specified page, and stapling is specified. Since the interrupted printing is not permitted until the processing of the stapling target page is completed for the job that is being stapled, the following operations and effects are achieved.

During the execution of the interrupt printing, (1) a password is provided in the execution instruction of the interrupt printing, and the execution of the interrupt is permitted only to a specific user. (2) The number of pages that can be printed by one interrupt printing is limited. , Etc.
Prohibit disorderly interrupt printing.

Further, whether the interrupt job transmitted from the host computer is interrupted in the middle of the job depending on the processing status of the job being processed, or is interrupted at the end of the job after the processing is completed Judge. For example, if the job being processed is to be completed soon or if stapling is specified, the interrupt job is executed after the processing of the job is completed.

That is, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the abuse of interrupt printing in the printing system is prevented and the order of the printing environment is maintained by limiting the number of users and the number of pages using a password. There is an effect that can be.

Furthermore, even when interrupt printing is actually accepted, interrupting a job being processed for printing is avoided as much as possible, and a job being processed for printing is interrupted at a break between jobs. This has the effect of reducing the load on the printing system due to the interruption, and at the same time avoiding mixed output (mixing of output of another job during output of a certain job).

Further, since interrupt printing is not performed during the printing process of the job for which stapling is instructed, there is an effect of preventing erroneous stapling.

[2] Second Embodiment In the above-described first embodiment of the present invention, depending on the number of pages of a job under print processing and the timing of an interrupt print request, the print processing is interrupted to interrupt the interrupt job. In some cases, the output of the interrupted job is mixed with the output of the interrupted job, and the sorting operation takes time. Further, in some cases, the user may not notice that the interrupt is output. Hereinafter, output of another job mixedly is referred to as mixed loading.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, an example for preventing mixed printing by interrupt printing beforehand will be described with reference to the drawings by applying to LBP, but the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. The description is omitted because it is the same as that described with reference to FIGS. The procedure for instructing the LBP to execute interrupt printing from the host computer 201 is the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The types of files to be used are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 6 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The processing procedure of the data spooling process is the same as that described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will not be repeated. The data processing procedure of the spooled job is the same as that described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 11 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

Next, L according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 15 to FIG. 1 show print processing for actually performing printing in the BP.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG.
Although S10010 to S10180 in FIG. 17 indicate each processing step, each step 10010 to S10180
Are almost the same as the processing contents in the respective steps shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 of the first embodiment, and therefore, only the different processing steps will be described.

At step S10031, at step S1
Determine whether or not interrupt printing is performed based on the information of the interrupt print field of the header information read in 0030,
If it is interrupt printing, step S10032
Then, after displaying the message 11000 shown in FIG. 18 on a display means such as an LCD display on the operation panel 113 of the LBP, the process proceeds to step S10040. In the case of normal printing, no message is displayed, and step S10040 is performed.
Proceed to.

In the printing process of step S10080, after performing the output tray selection process for the paper, the printing process described in step S9080 of the first embodiment is performed. In the case of normal printing, the first discharge tray 116
Is preferentially selected, but if the paper is already full, the second paper discharge tray 117 is selected. Conversely, in the case of interrupt printing, the second paper discharge tray 117 is preferentially selected.

When printing of all pages is completed, the flow advances to step S10111 to determine whether or not to perform interrupt printing based on the information in the interrupt print field of the header information read in step S10030. If the printing is interrupt printing, the process advances to step S10112 to clear the message displayed in step S10031, and the message 11001 in FIG.
3 is displayed on the LCD display.

When the change of the message is completed in step S10112, the process proceeds to step S10113, in which a buzzer (not shown) is sounded, and then the process goes to an offline state to stop the process. This state is released by the key operation of the operation panel 113 by the operator, and the process proceeds to step S10120 and subsequent steps. If it is determined in step S10111 that the printing is normal printing, the process proceeds directly to step S1012.
The process proceeds after 0.

As described above, according to the LBP according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the host computer 20
1 and an input / output interface unit 202 for transmitting and receiving various information
A character pattern generator 204 having a font information section 217 and a character pattern section 218; and a RAM 205 having a font cache area 207 and a storage area 206.
And an intermediate buffer 209 for storing an internal data group generated based on the input data; a ROM 214 for storing a control program for the CPU 208 and a program for analyzing input data from the host computer 201; To FIG. 8), data processing of spooled jobs (FIGS. 9 to 11), and printing processing (FIGS. 15 to 1).
CPU 208 that executes 7) based on a control program
And a printer unit 212 for printing image information.
The PU 208 executes the interrupt printing based on the input of the password and the input of the number of the interrupt printing pages, and displays a message to that effect on the operation panel 113 when the interrupt printing is being performed. Since the control for selecting the discharge tray is performed, the following operations and effects are obtained.

During execution of interrupt printing, (1) a password is provided in the interrupt printing execution instruction, and only a specific user is allowed to execute the interrupt. (2) The number of pages that can be printed by one interrupt printing is limited. , Etc.
Prohibit disorderly interrupt printing.

Further, whether the interrupt job transmitted from the host computer is interrupted in the middle of the job depending on the processing status of the job being processed, or whether the interrupt job is interrupted at the end of the job after the processing is completed. Judge.

When another job is actually interrupted during the processing of a job, the paper discharge port to be output is switched to prevent the output paper from being mixed. If there is no other discharge port, the print processing is interrupted after the interruption job is completed, and a message for prompting the operator to remove the sheet of the interruption job is displayed. During the processing of the interrupt job, a display indicating that the interrupt job is being performed is displayed so that the user of the interrupted job does not erroneously take a document whose printing has not been completed.

That is, in the second embodiment of the present invention, since a message is displayed on the operation panel 113 during the interruption process, the operator mistakenly recognizes that the processing of the previous (interrupted) job has been completed. In addition, since the discharge tray is switched at the time of interrupt printing, there is an effect that the mixed loading can be prevented.

Further, even if there is only one discharge tray that can be used because of a full load or the like, the process is stopped at the end of the interrupt printing, and the operator is prompted to remove the paper output by the interrupt printing. Therefore, if the operator removes the sheet according to the instruction, it is possible to prevent mixed loading.

[3] Third Embodiment In the above-described first embodiment of the present invention, depending on the number of pages of a job being subjected to a printing process or the like, whether to execute an interrupt of an interrupt print job immediately or Alternatively, it has been determined whether the execution of the interrupt is delayed until the printing process of the job in the printing process is completed. In the latter case, although mixed loading does not occur, there is also an aspect in which a message is displayed or processing is stopped by going offline to prompt the operator to remove paper at the end of interrupt printing.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, when mixed printing is to be avoided by delay execution of interrupt printing, display of a message and offline transition at the end of interrupt printing are not performed, and processing is not stopped as much as possible. An example for this will be described with reference to the drawings by applying to LBP, but the configuration is the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to FIGS. . The procedure for instructing the LBP to execute interrupt printing from the host computer 201 is the same as that described in the first embodiment with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The types of files to be used are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 6 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The processing procedure of the data spooling process is the same as that described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will not be repeated. The data processing procedure of the spooled job is the same as that described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 11 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

Next, L according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIGS. 19 to 2 show print processing for actually performing printing in the BP.
1 will be described. S in FIGS. 19 to 21
Reference numerals 12010 to S12190 denote processing steps.
Since the processing contents in each of steps S12010 to S12190 are almost the same as the processing contents in each step shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 of the second embodiment, only the steps in which the processing is different and step S12190 will be described.

The interrupt print field F6101 of the header information file in the first and second embodiments.
In this case, either “normal printing” or “interrupted printing” is held as information. However, when interrupting printing is to be performed by actually interrupting the job currently being printed, step S12 is performed.
At 190, the interrupt print field F6101 of the interrupt print job is changed from “interrupt print” to “interrupt print 2”. “Interrupt printing 2” means interrupting printing by interrupting the printing process of the job being processed. In this case, mixed printing occurs.

On the other hand, in steps S12032 and S12111, it is determined whether or not “interrupt printing 2” is set by referring to the interrupt printing field of the print job being processed. The process advances to step S12032 or step S12112, and step S12113 to display / change a message and to notify the operator of the completion of the interrupt printing after shifting to offline. Conversely, in the case of “normal printing” or “interrupt printing” in which no congestion occurs, the processing is continued without displaying / changing the message and shifting to offline. If an error has occurred in the printing process in step S12080, the host computer 2
01, and the host computer 201 displays an error on the display based on the transmission.

Next, the above-mentioned step S12080 of LBP
Will be described with reference to flowcharts of FIGS. 22 to 23 and FIG. 24.

First, in step S13010, the above-described processing for selecting a discharge tray is performed. When the discharge tray is determined, in step S13020, the sheet cassette 108
It is determined whether or not proper paper is set in step S130.
Proceeding to 30, the actual print processing is performed. If an appropriate sheet has not been set, the process advances to step S13021 to determine whether or not normal printing has been performed. This is determined based on whether or not “normal printing” has been set in the interrupt print field F6101. .

If it is normal printing, step S13
In step 022, a character string “#ERROR: NOPAPER” indicating the occurrence of an error is transmitted to the host computer 201, and upon receiving this, the host computer 201 informs the display of the occurrence of the error as shown in FIG.
4 is displayed.

On the other hand, if the printing is not the normal printing, that is, if the printing is the interrupt printing, the process proceeds to step S13023.
Character string indicating occurrence of error to host computer 201 "# INTERRUPT-ERROR: NOPAPE
R "is transmitted, and when the host computer 201 receives it, the host computer 201 informs the display of the occurrence of the error as shown in FIG.
A window 1401 shown in FIG.

Step S13022 or step S1
When the notification of the error to the host computer 201 ends in 3023, the process advances to step S13024 to prevent the process from proceeding until the appropriate paper is set. If it is determined in step S13024 that the appropriate paper has been set, the process advances to step S13025 to transmit a character string “#READY” indicating the cancellation of the error to the host computer 201. When the host computer 201 receives this, it displays the character string. The window 1400 or 1401 is closed.

When the notification of the error release ends in step S13025, the flow advances to step S13030 to perform printing. When the printing is completed in step S13030, it is determined whether the printing has been normally performed, that is, whether or not a paper jam has occurred. If the printing has been normally completed, the printing process is completed. If a paper jam has occurred, the flow advances to step S13041 to determine whether or not normal printing has been performed. This is determined based on whether or not “normal printing” has been set in the interrupt print field F6101.

If it is normal printing, step S13
In step S042, a character string “#ERROR: JAM” indicating the occurrence of an error is transmitted to the host computer 201. When the host computer 201 receives this, a window shown in FIG. 1402 is displayed.

On the other hand, if the printing is not the normal printing, that is, if the printing is the interrupt printing, the process advances to step S13043.
A character string "# INTERRUPT-ERROR: JAM" indicating the occurrence of an error is transmitted to the host computer 201, and upon receiving this, the host computer 201 notifies the display of the occurrence of the error on the display as shown in FIG.
A window 1403 shown in FIG.

Step S13042 or step S1
When the notification of the error to the host computer 201 ends in step 3043, the process advances to step S13044 to prevent the process from proceeding until the paper jam is cleared. If it is determined in step S13044 that the paper jam has been cleared, the process advances to step S13045 to transmit a character string “#READY” indicating the cancellation of the error to the host computer 201. When the host computer 201 receives this, it displays the message. The window 1402 or 1403 is closed. When the error cancellation notification ends in step S13045, the process returns to step S13020 to perform printing again.

As described above, according to the LBP according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the host computer 20
1 and an input / output interface unit 202 for transmitting and receiving various information
A character pattern generator 204 having a font information section 217 and a character pattern section 218; and a RAM 205 having a font cache area 207 and a storage area 206.
And an intermediate buffer 209 for storing an internal data group generated based on the input data; a ROM 214 for storing a control program for the CPU 208 and a program for analyzing input data from the host computer 201; To FIG. 8), data processing of spooled jobs (FIGS. 9 to 11), and print processing (FIGS. 19 to 2).
CPU 208 that executes 3) based on a control program
And a printer unit 212 for printing image information.
The PU 208 executes the interrupt printing based on the input of the password and the input of the number of the interrupt printing pages, and displays the message or the interrupt job only when the interrupt printing is actually interrupted by actually interrupting the print processing of the job being processed. Since the control for notifying the operator of the end of the interrupt printing due to the offline shift at the time of the end is performed, the following operations and effects are provided.

During the execution of the interrupt printing, (1) a password is provided in the execution instruction of the interrupt printing, and only a specific user is permitted to execute the interrupt. (2) The number of pages that can be printed by one interrupt printing is limited. , Etc.
Prohibit disorderly interrupt printing.

Further, whether the interrupt job transmitted from the host computer is interrupted in the middle of the job depending on the processing status of the job being processed, or is interrupted at the end of the job after the processing is completed. Judge.

To avoid congestion by delaying the execution of interrupt printing, display of a message and offline transition at the end of interrupt printing are not performed, and processing is not stopped as much as possible.

That is, in the third embodiment of the present invention, even if the interrupt printing is executed, the message display or the message display is performed only when the print processing of the job being processed is actually interrupted and interrupted. Since the interruption printing is notified to the operator due to the offline shift at the end of the interruption job, the processing can be continued when the consolidation does not occur, which has the effect of further improving the usability as a network printer.

When an error occurs, the fact is displayed on the display of the host computer 201,
The operator can respond promptly, which is particularly effective when printing a document having a high degree of urgency, such as an interrupted print document.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. A storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus executes the program code stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by executing reading.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0146]

As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in units of jobs, wherein a job being processed is processed. The provision of the interrupt means for interrupting and processing another job by interrupting the job and the interrupt limiting means for limiting the interrupt provides the following effects. By providing a restriction on interrupt printing, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, the interruption restricting means restricts interruption in accordance with a password, so that the following effects are obtained. By providing a limit to the user who executes interrupt printing, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to input an interrupt execution instruction and a password from the higher-level apparatus, and thus the following effects are obtained. By restricting users who execute interrupt printing, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing,
There is an effect that it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as the whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the interrupt limiting means limits the interrupt in accordance with the number of interrupted print pages, and has the following effects. By setting a limit on the number of interrupt printing pages, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to input an interrupt execution instruction and the number of interrupted print pages from the higher-level apparatus, and thus the following effects are obtained. By limiting the number of interrupt print pages, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt print,
There is an effect that it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as the whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in units of jobs, in which a job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted. And an interrupt determining means for determining the time of the interrupt, the following effects are obtained. By judging the point at which the interrupt printing is executed, it is possible to prevent abuse of the interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as the whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, the interrupt judging means interrupts the current job and interrupts another job, or executes another job after processing the current job up to the break. In order to determine whether to interrupt the job, the following effects are obtained. Efficient interrupt for the entire system by determining whether to execute interrupt printing immediately according to the print processing status at the time of the interrupt printing instruction or to delay interrupt printing until the break of the job There is an effect that printing can be realized.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, the interrupt judging means has a function of counting the number of remaining pages of the job being processed. Since the interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed, the following effects are obtained.
Limiting interrupts according to the number of remaining pages of the job being processed makes it possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and has the effect of enabling efficient interrupt printing as a whole system. .

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the interrupt determining means has a function of counting the number of output pages of the job being processed, and the number of output pages is smaller than a set value. Has the following effects because the interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed. Limiting interrupts according to the number of output pages of the job being processed makes it possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and to achieve efficient interrupt printing as a whole system. is there.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, when the staple is designated for the job being processed, the interrupt judging means prohibits interruption of another job until the processing of the stapling target page is completed. Therefore, the following effects are obtained. By prohibiting the interruption until the processing of the stapling target page is completed, it is possible to prevent the abuse of the interruption printing, and it is possible to realize the efficient interruption printing as the whole system.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus on a job basis, interrupting a job being processed and interrupting another job. And the separating means for separating the output of the interrupted job from the output of the interrupted job, the following effects are obtained. Separating the output of the interrupted job and the output of the interrupted job makes it possible to prevent the output paper from being mixed even when interrupted printing is performed in the middle of the job. There is an effect that can be.

According to the printing apparatus of the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the separating means switches the output destination of the interrupt job and separates the outputs of both jobs, so that the following effects are obtained. By switching the output destination of the interrupt job and separating the job output, it is possible to prevent output paper from being mixed even when interrupt printing is performed in the middle of the job, so that sorting work after printing is omitted. There is an effect that can be.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, when the output of the interrupted job is completed, the separating means has a function of prompting the removal of the output sheet of the job. To play. By prompting the removal of the output paper of the job when the output of the interrupt job is completed, it is possible to prevent the output paper from being mixed even when performing the interrupt printing in the middle of the job. There is an effect that can be omitted.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus on a job-by-job basis, interrupting a job being processed and interrupting another job. And an informing control unit for informing the user during the processing of the interrupt job, the following effects are obtained. By reporting the fact during the processing of the interrupt job, it is possible to prevent the operator from erroneously recognizing that the processing of the previous (interrupted) job has been completed.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, during the processing of the interrupt job, the notification control means notifies the user of the fact by display or by sound, so that the following effects are obtained. By displaying or notifying by voice or the like during the processing of the interrupt job, it is possible to prevent the operator from erroneously recognizing that the processing of the previous (interrupted) job has been completed.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in units of jobs, in which a job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted. The present invention has the following effects because it has an interrupting means for performing the interrupt processing and a detecting means for detecting the occurrence of the interruption factor during the processing of the job. For example, when an error such as a case where an appropriate sheet is not set in the sheet cassette of the printing apparatus is generated, the operator can be notified promptly of the error based on the detection result. This is effective when printing a document with a high degree of urgency, such as

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, when the detecting means detects the occurrence of the interruption factor during the processing of the job, it notifies the type to the host apparatus.
The following effects are obtained. For example, when an error such as a case where an appropriate paper is not set in the paper cassette of the printing apparatus is displayed, the operator can promptly respond by displaying the error on the display unit of the upper apparatus.
This is particularly effective when printing a document with high urgency such as an interrupt print document.

According to the present invention, there is provided an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in job units. Since there is an interrupt step for interrupting and processing another job by interrupting the job and an interrupt limiting step for limiting the interrupt, the following effects are obtained. By providing a restriction on interrupt printing, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the interrupt control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, in the interrupt limiting step, interrupts are limited in accordance with a password.
The following effects are obtained. By providing a limit to the user who executes interrupt printing, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the interrupt control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, an instruction to execute an interrupt and input of a password can be made from the higher-level apparatus.
The following effects are obtained. By providing a limit to the user who executes interrupt printing, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the interrupt control method of the printing apparatus of the present invention, in the interrupt limiting step, the interrupt is limited in accordance with the number of interrupted print pages. By setting a limit on the number of interrupt printing pages, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the interrupt control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, an instruction to execute an interrupt and an input of the number of interrupted print pages can be input from the upper-level device, so that the following effects are obtained. By setting a limit on the number of interrupt printing pages, it is possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as a whole system.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in job units. Since there is an interrupt step for interrupting and interrupting another job for processing and an interrupt determining step for determining the point of interruption, the following effects are obtained. By judging the point at which the interrupt printing is executed, it is possible to prevent abuse of the interrupt printing, and it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as the whole system.

According to the interrupt control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, in the interrupt determining step, the job being processed is interrupted and another job is interrupted, or the job being processed is interrupted. Since it is determined whether another job is to be interrupted after the processing, the following effects are obtained. Efficient interrupt for the entire system by determining whether to execute interrupt printing immediately according to the print processing status at the time of the interrupt printing instruction or to delay interrupt printing until the break of the job There is an effect that printing can be realized.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the interrupt control method of the present invention, the interrupt determination step has a function of counting the number of remaining pages of the job being processed, and the number of remaining pages is set based on a set value. If it is smaller, the interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed, so that the following effects are obtained. Limiting interrupts according to the number of remaining pages of the job being processed makes it possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing, and has the effect of enabling efficient interrupt printing as a whole system. .

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the interrupt control method of the present invention, the interrupt determination step has a function of counting the number of output pages of the job being processed, and the number of output pages is set. When the value is smaller than the value, the interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the job is completed. Limiting interrupts according to the number of output pages of the job being processed makes it possible to prevent abuse of interrupt printing,
There is an effect that it is possible to realize efficient interrupt printing as the whole system.

According to the interruption control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, in the interruption judging step, when stapling is specified for the job being processed, another job is executed until the processing of the stapling target page is completed. The following effects are obtained because the interruption of the interrupt is prohibited. By prohibiting the interruption until the processing of the stapling target page is completed, it is possible to prevent the abuse of the interruption printing, and it is possible to realize the efficient interruption printing as the whole system.

According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in job units. Since there is an interrupt step for interrupting and interrupting another job for processing, and a separating step for separating the output of the interrupted job and the output of the interrupted job, the following effects are obtained. Separating the output of the interrupted job and the output of the interrupted job makes it possible to prevent the output paper from being mixed even when interrupted printing is performed in the middle of the job. There is an effect that can be.

According to the interruption control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention described in claim 29, in the separation step,
Since the output destinations of the interrupt job are switched to separate the outputs of both jobs, the following effects are obtained. By switching the output destination of the interrupt job and separating the output of the job,
Even when interrupt printing is executed in the middle of a job, mixed output paper can be prevented, so that sorting after printing can be omitted.

According to the interruption control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, in the separation step,
When the output of the interrupt job is completed, it has a function of prompting the removal of the output sheet of the job, and thus has the following effects. By prompting the removal of the output paper of the job when the output of the interrupt job is completed, it is possible to prevent the output paper from being mixed even when performing the interrupt printing in the middle of the job. There is an effect that can be omitted.

According to the interruption control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, an interruption control method for a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in units of jobs is provided. Since there is an interrupt step for interrupting and interrupting another job for processing, and a notification control step for notifying the user during the processing of the interrupt job, the following effects are obtained. By reporting the fact during the processing of the interrupt job, it is possible to prevent the operator from erroneously recognizing that the processing of the previous (interrupted) job has been completed.

According to the interrupt control method of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the notification control step notifies the user of the fact by displaying or sound during the processing of the interrupt job. To play. By displaying or notifying by voice or the like during the processing of the interrupt job, it is possible to prevent the operator from erroneously recognizing that the processing of the previous (interrupted) job has been completed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level apparatus in job units. Since it has an interrupting step for interrupting and interrupting another job for processing and a detecting step for detecting the occurrence of an interrupting factor during the processing of the job, the following effects are obtained. For example, when an error such as a case where an appropriate sheet is not set in the sheet cassette of the printing apparatus is generated, the operator can be notified promptly of the error based on the detection result. This is effective when printing a document with a high degree of urgency, such as

According to the interruption control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention described in claim 34, in the detecting step,
When the occurrence of the interruption factor is detected during the processing of the job, the type is notified to the higher-level device, so that the following effects are obtained. For example, when an error occurs, such as when a proper paper is not set in the paper cassette of the printing apparatus, the fact is displayed on the display means of the higher-level apparatus, so that the operator can respond promptly. This is effective when printing a document with a high degree of urgency, such as

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer control unit of a laser beam printer according to first to third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure of a laser beam printer according to first to third embodiments of the present invention and a part of which is a cross section.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a print execution instruction screen from a host computer connected to the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a print execution instruction screen when a host computer connected to the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention designates interrupt printing and instructs execution of printing.

FIG. 5 illustrates an error when an error occurs due to a limitation on the number of pages when an interrupt print is designated from a host computer connected to the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention and print execution is instructed. It is an explanatory view showing a display screen.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams showing a configuration of a used file according to the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram of a job management file, FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram of a header information file,
(C) is an explanatory diagram of a print data file.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a job spooling procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a job spooling procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a job data processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a job data processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a job data processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a job print processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a job print processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a job print processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a job processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a job processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a job processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message for notifying interruption printing and interruption printing end according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a job print processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a job print processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a job print processing procedure in the laser beam printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an actual printing process and a processing procedure when an error occurs in the laser beam printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an actual printing process and a processing procedure when an error occurs in the laser beam printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an error message displayed on a host computer when an error occurs according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 laser beam printer 101 printer control unit 201 host computer 204 character pattern generator 205 RAM 208 CPU 209 intermediate buffer 214 ROM 215 NVRAM 212 printer unit 220 hard disk

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akio Sugaya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Masayoshi Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoshifumi Okamoto 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshiya Mitsubashi 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Takakura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Nobuhiko Sato 3-30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Hideyuki Kitani Inventor 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) in Canon Inc. 2C061 AP01 HH07 HJ06 HK11 HK23 HN05 HR04 2H027 DA43 EJ03 5B021 AA02 AA19 BB04 BB10 CC04 EE01 KK01

Claims (34)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, an interrupt means for interrupting a job being processed and interrupting and processing another job, and an interrupt for limiting an interrupt. A printing apparatus, comprising: a restriction unit. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interruption restriction unit restricts interruption according to a password. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an instruction to execute an interrupt and a password can be input from said higher-level apparatus. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interrupt limiting unit limits the interrupt according to the number of interrupted print pages. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an instruction to execute an interrupt and an input of the number of interrupt print pages can be input from said higher-level device. 6. A printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, an interrupting means for interrupting a job being processed, interrupting another job and processing the job, and judging a timing of the interrupt. A printing apparatus, comprising: 7. The interrupt determination means determines whether to interrupt a job being processed and interrupt another job, or determine whether to interrupt another job after processing the job being processed up to the break. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein 8. The interrupt judging means has a function of counting the number of remaining pages of a job being processed, and when the number of remaining pages is smaller than a set value, prohibits interruption of another job until processing of the job is completed. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the printing is performed. 9. The interrupt judging means has a function of counting the number of output pages of a job being processed, and when the number of output pages is smaller than a set value, interrupting another job until the end of the processing of the job. 8. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the printing is prohibited. 10. The stapling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, when stapling is designated for the job being processed, the interrupt determining means prohibits interruption of another job until the processing of the stapling target page is completed. The printing device according to any one of the above. 11. A printing device for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, an interrupting means for interrupting a job being processed, interrupting another job and processing the job, and outputting the interrupted job. And a separating unit for separating the output of the interrupted job. 12. The printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the separating unit switches the output destination of the interrupt job and separates the outputs of both jobs. 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the separation unit has a function of prompting removal of output sheets of the interrupt job when output of the interrupt job is completed. 14. A printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device on a job basis, wherein said interrupting means interrupts a job being processed, interrupts another job, and processes the interrupted job. And a notification control means for notifying the user of the fact. 15. The printing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the notification control unit displays the notification during processing of the interrupt job by a display or a sound. 16. A printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in job units, comprising: interrupt means for interrupting a job being processed, interrupting another job, and processing the job. A printing device comprising: a detection unit configured to detect occurrence of an interruption factor. 17. The printing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein when the detection unit detects the occurrence of an interruption factor during processing of a job, the detection unit notifies the host apparatus of the type. 18. An interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in units of jobs, comprising: an interrupt step of interrupting a job being processed and interrupting another job for processing; And an interrupt limiting step for limiting the interrupt. 19. The interrupt control method for a printing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein in the interrupt limiting step, interrupts are limited according to a password. 20. The interrupt control method for a printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein an instruction to execute an interrupt and a password can be input from said higher-level device. 21. The interrupt control method in a printing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein in the interrupt limiting step, interrupts are limited according to the number of interrupted print pages. 22. The interrupt control method for a printing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein an instruction to execute an interrupt and the number of interrupt print pages can be input from said higher-level device. 23. An interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in job units, comprising: an interrupt step of interrupting a job being processed, interrupting another job and processing the interrupted job; And an interrupt determining step of determining the time of the interrupt. 24. The interrupt determining step determines whether to interrupt the job being processed and interrupt another job, or to interrupt another job after processing the job being processed up to the break. The interrupt control method in a printing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein 25. The interrupt determination step has a function of counting the number of remaining pages of the job being processed, and if the number of remaining pages is smaller than a set value, interrupting another job until the processing of the job is completed is prohibited. The interrupt control method in a printing apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein 26. The interrupt determination step has a function of counting the number of output pages of the job being processed.
25. The interrupt control method for a printing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein when the number of output pages is smaller than a set value, interruption of another job is prohibited until processing of the job is completed. 27. The interrupt determination step according to claim 23, wherein when stapling is designated for the job being processed, interruption of another job is prohibited until the processing of the stapling target page is completed. An interrupt control method in the printing device according to any one of the above. 28. An interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in job units, comprising: an interrupt step of interrupting a job being processed, interrupting another job and processing the interrupted job; An interrupt control method in a printing apparatus, comprising: a separating step of separating output of a job and output of an interrupted job. 29. The method according to claim 28, wherein in the separating step, an output destination of the interrupt job is switched to separate the outputs of both jobs. 30. The interrupt control method in a printing apparatus according to claim 28, wherein in the separation step, when the output of the interrupt job is completed, a function of prompting removal of the output sheet of the job is provided. 31. An interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device on a job-by-job basis, comprising: an interrupt step of interrupting a job being processed, interrupting another job and processing the interrupted job; And a notification control step of notifying the user during processing of the job. 32. The interrupt control method for a printing apparatus according to claim 31, wherein, in the notification control step, during the processing of the interrupt job, the fact is displayed or notified by voice or the like. 33. An interrupt control method in a printing apparatus for processing print data transmitted from a higher-level device in job units, comprising: an interrupt step of interrupting a processing job, interrupting another job, and processing the job. A detecting step of detecting the occurrence of an interruption factor during the processing of (1). 34. The interrupt control method for a printing apparatus according to claim 33, wherein in the detection step, when occurrence of an interruption factor is detected during processing of a job, the type is notified to a higher-level device.