JP2001134400A - Print controller, printer and program recording medium for them - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently execute print for the entire printing sheets without visiting a set place of a printer and replenishing paper even when a large amount of print is executed at a time by printing print data for the entire printing sheets as printing objects by distributing it to a plurality of printers if necessary taking account of the amount of paper by remaining at every printer. SOLUTION: When specification of automatic selection to automatically select the printer to be used for the print on the server side is transmitted with a print request from client computers CL1, CL2, a server computer SVR instructs execution of the print by selecting one or two or more printers to be used on the basis of the total number of pages of the print data and the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each printer and when two or more printers to be used are selected, distributes and allocates the total printing pages to each printer on the basis of the remaining amount of paper of each printer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing control device, a printing device, and a program recording medium for them.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in office work, a plurality of printer apparatuses are commonly operated by a plurality of networked client computers in order to suppress excessive capital investment. By the way, the shared printer is installed at a location that is the greatest common denominator in the distance to each client computer, or is installed in a place where it does not interfere with the client computer, so the installation location of the shared printer is far away from each client computer. Often have. Further, a server computer provided in such a printer sharing system transfers a print request from a client computer to a printer device, and sequentially executes a print process according to the request. That is, each printer device operates under the control of the server computer.

[0003]

However, every time the remaining amount of paper is checked, it is difficult to go to a distant place or exchange the paper as needed, and the workability is poor. When a large amount of printing such as described above is performed at one time, the paper must be replenished many times. Therefore, if a large-sized printer with a large paper supply is introduced, it is not necessary to replenish the paper many times, which makes it suitable for an unmanned operation environment such as at night. , As well as higher capital investment costs,
There is a problem that the risk when an error such as a paper jam occurs increases. Further, when the server sequentially transfers and processes the print requests from the clients to the printers, the server transfers the print requests while grasping the print processing status for each of the plurality of printers connected to the network. However, the number of accesses between each printer device and the server increases, the load on the server increases, and each printer device remains in a standby state until a print request is received from the server. This poses a problem in terms of processing efficiency of the entire system. Was left.

A first object of the present invention is to disperse print data of a total number of print sheets to be printed to a plurality of printer apparatuses as necessary, in consideration of the remaining amount of paper for each printer apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to efficiently execute printing for the entire number of prints without going to the installation location of the printer device or replenishing sheets even when performing large-scale printing at one time.

A second object of the present invention is to allow a user to arbitrarily set a printer device to be used for printing in order to distribute print data for a total number of prints to be printed to a plurality of desired printer devices and print the data. When making a selection, you can easily find out which printer device can be used to print the total number of prints with only the remaining amount of paper without going to the installation location of the printer device or refilling paper. Is to be able to confirm.

A third object of the present invention is to determine which printer among a plurality of printers is to be used for printing, if the print request does not specify a printer to be used, the request source The printer device whose installation location is closer to this printer is selected as the printer to be used this time, and if the specified printer is not currently available for printing even if the print request specifies the printer to be used, other printers closer to the specified printer will be used. Printers, so that the user can search for the printer from which the printout is being output or make it immediately available without having to go far.

A fourth object of the present invention is that the management server computer does not need to know the print processing status of the printer device, and when the printer device becomes capable of printing, the management server computer itself prints from the management server computer to itself. An object of the present invention is to obtain a request and perform printing, to reduce the number of accesses between the management server computer and the printer, and to expect improvement in processing efficiency of the entire system.

[0008] The means of the present invention are as follows. According to a first aspect of the present invention (first aspect), a remaining amount obtaining unit that obtains a remaining amount of paper currently set in each of a plurality of printer devices, and a method for printing all print data designated as a print target Printer selection means for selecting one or more printer devices to be used for outputting the print data based on the number of sheets and the remaining amount of paper acquired for each printer device by the remaining amount acquisition means; Means for instructing execution of printing to the used printer device selected by the means, and when a plurality of used printer devices are selected, the print data of the print data is determined based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each selected printer device. Print control means for distributing and allocating the total number of prints to the respective printers and instructing the respective printers to execute printing for the allocated number of prints. When the total number of print data of the print data is allocated to the selected plurality of printers in a distributed manner, the number of prints corresponds to the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each printer without replenishing paper to each printer. Optimum numbers are assigned respectively. The printer selection unit selects the printer device to be used from the printer devices in descending order of the remaining paper amount based on the remaining paper amount corresponding to each printer device acquired by the remaining amount acquisition unit, so that the smaller printer device is used. The number of printers may be selected. Further, in a system having a plurality of printer devices and a client computer connected to a network, a priority determination for determining a priority order of printer devices to be used in accordance with a distance relationship according to an installation location of the plurality of printer devices and the client computer. Means may be provided, and the printer selecting means may preferentially select a printer device having a closer installation location from the client computer according to the priority determined by the priority determining means.
Therefore, in the first invention, by taking into account the remaining amount of paper for each printer device, print data for the total number of prints to be printed is distributed to a plurality of printer devices as necessary, and printed once. Even if you print a lot of paper,
It is possible to efficiently execute printing for the total number of prints without going to the installation location of the printer device or replenishing paper.

The third aspect of the invention (the second aspect) is
Remaining amount obtaining means for obtaining the remaining amount of paper currently set in each of the plurality of printer devices; and printer selecting means for arbitrarily selecting and specifying a plurality of printer devices to be used from among the respective printer devices by an input operation; Based on the total number of print data of print data designated as a print target and the remaining amount of paper acquired by the remaining amount acquisition means corresponding to each printer selected and designated by the printer selection means, Guidance information notifying means for notifying guide information indicating whether printing for the total number of prints is possible without replenishing sheets to the printer device, and when a print instruction is input after the notification of the guide information, Based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each of the selected and designated printers, the total number of print data of the print data is distributed and assigned to each of the printers, and Print control means for instructing each printer device to execute printing for the number of hits, and when distributing and allocating the total number of print data of the print data to the plurality of selected printer devices, The optimum number of sheets corresponding to the remaining amount of paper corresponding to the printer device is assigned. In a system having a plurality of printer devices and a client computer connected to a network, a priority order determination for determining a priority order of the printer devices to be used in accordance with a distance relationship according to an installation location of the plurality of printer devices and the client computer. Means may be provided, and the printer selecting means may preferentially select a printer device having a closer installation location from the client computer in accordance with the priority determined by the priority determining means. Therefore, in the second invention, the user arbitrarily selects a printer device to be used for the printing in order to distribute and print the print data for the total number of prints to be printed to a plurality of desired printer devices. At the same time, you can easily check which printer device can be used to print the total number of prints with only the remaining amount of paper, without having to go to the installation location of the printer device or replenish paper. can do.

[0010] The fifth aspect of the invention (third invention) is:
In a system having a plurality of printer devices and a client computer connected to a network, a first determination unit that determines whether each of the plurality of printer devices is currently in a printable state, and a print request is issued from the client computer. A second determining unit that determines whether the print request is a printer-designated print request that specifies a printer device to be used for the printing, and a case where the second determining unit determines that the print request is a printer request without a printer designation. The priority order of each printer device is determined according to the distance relationship according to the installation location between the client computer and each printer device, and if it is determined that the print request is a designated printer, the designated printer is designated. In addition to giving priority to the device, follow the distance relationship with the location of the designated printer device. Priority determining means for determining the priority of another printer, and a priority determined by the priority determining means from among the printers determined to be in a printable state by the first determining means. Printer selection means for selecting a printer device to be used according to the order, and instructing the printer device selected by the printer selection device to execute printing. Therefore, in the third invention, when determining which printer is to be used for printing among a plurality of printers, if the print request does not specify a printer to be used, the print request is sent to the request source. If a printer device whose location is close to the printer is selected as the current printer to be used, even if the print request specifies the printer to be used, if the specified printer is not currently available for printing, another printer close to the specified printer is used. Can be selected, and the user can search for the printer from which the printout is being output, or immediately obtain the printout without going far.

The invention according to claim 6 (fourth invention) is:
In a system having a printer device connected to a network and a management server computer, management for storing and holding, for each management server computer, storage management information indicating a storage location of print request information stored and managed by one or more management server computers. By referring to the information storage means and the contents of the management information storage means, accessing the storage location of the print request information stored and managed by one or more management server computers, the print request information for itself is stored. Determination means for determining whether the print request information for itself is stored by the determination means, print request acquisition means for acquiring the print request information from the management server computer,
Control means for executing printing in accordance with the print request information obtained by the print request obtaining means, and for changing the print request information stored and managed on the management server computer side after printing to a printed state. It is provided. Therefore, in the fourth aspect, the management server computer does not need to know the print processing status of the printer device, and when the printer device becomes capable of printing, the management server computer itself issues a print request addressed to itself from the management server computer. It is possible to acquire and print, and to reduce the number of times of access between the management server computer and the printer, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the entire system.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG.
Is the system applied in this embodiment, that is,
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a local area network system in which a printer device is shared and operated by a plurality of client computers. This local area network system comprises a server computer SVR
, A plurality of client computers CL1 and CL2 # connected thereto via a private line for the premises, a plurality of printers, that is, a printer PRA which exists independently in the system, and a server computer SVR Printer device PRB connected to the
PRX. Here, each of the printer devices PRA, PRB, PRX is shared and used by each of the client computers CL1, CL2 #, and constitutes, for example, a laser printer or an inkjet printer, and exchanges data with the server computer SVR. And send and receive commands.

FIG. 2 shows each of the printers PRA, PRB,
This is a diagram showing how much paper is currently set in the PRX, and the remaining amount of the standard plain paper set in the cassette paper feeding mechanism CPF of each printer is represented by A.
This is shown for each size and B4 size. Although not shown, each of the printers PRA, PRB, and PRX is provided with a remaining amount detection unit that detects the remaining amount (number of sheets) of the currently set paper. This remaining amount detection unit is A4
In a state where the standard plain papers are stacked for each B4 size, the remaining amount of the sheets is detected by detecting the thickness of the entire sheets in the stacked state. In this case, the detecting means is constituted by a combination of a plurality of light emitting elements and a light receiving element or a combination of a plurality of micro switches. In addition to detecting the thickness of the entire stacked paper, the remaining amount of the paper may be detected based on the weight of the entire paper.

As described above, the paper remaining amount detecting section is provided with A4 / B4
It is difficult to avoid detection errors because the thickness of the entire stack of paper is detected by size.
The detection error for several sheets is taken into account. That is, by adding ± N (N is the absolute value of the detection error) to the detection result, the detection error for several sheets is considered. Here, in the specific example of FIG.
The remaining amount of paper of the printer PRA corresponding to four size paper is “124 ± N”, the remaining amount of paper of the printer PRB is “207 ± N”, and
X indicates that the remaining amount of paper is “118 ± N”, and the total remaining amount of A4 size paper is “449 ± 3N” in the entire system. Similarly, the total paper remaining amount of the entire system corresponding to B4 size paper is “398 ± 3N”.
It shows that it is a sheet.

The server computer SVR functions as a terminal management device for managing each of the client computers CL1, CL2 #, and receives print request information (print job information) transmitted from each client computer, and receives the request. Depending on the contents, each printer PRA,
It functions as a printer server that controls PRB and PRX. Here, when the server computer SVR functions as a printer server, one of a plurality of print request jobs in a queue currently waiting for printing is selected and transferred to the printer device.

When receiving a print request from a client computer, the server computer SVR obtains the remaining amount of paper currently set in each of the plurality of printers for each paper size, and prints the current print request printout. Based on the total number of data to be printed and the remaining amount of paper for each printer, select one or more printers to be used in the current printing, and execute printing for the selected printer. To instruct. At this time, when two or more printer devices are selected, the total number of prints is distributed and assigned to each printer device based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to the selected printer device. That is, the optimum number of sheets corresponding to the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each printer device is assigned without replenishing sheets to the respective printer devices, and printing for the assigned number of sheets is instructed to each printer device. .

As described above, the server computer SVR includes:
When a print request is received from a client computer, a plurality of printers are automatically selected in consideration of the remaining amount of paper for each printer to distribute and print the print data of the total number of prints to be printed. ing. Further, in this embodiment, when the client computer arbitrarily selects a printer device to be used in the current printing, it is determined whether printing for the total number of prints is possible only with the remaining paper amount of each selected printer device. I can check it. That is, FIG. 3 shows a printer selection work screen on the client computer side in this case.
Indicates that the total number of prints to be printed in A4 size is "36
If "0" and the printer device arbitrarily selected by the user is "PRA" or "PRB", 360- (12
4 ± N) − (207 ± N) = 29 ± 2N.
This indicates that 2N sheets are insufficient.
(B) shows a case where a printer PRX is added in addition to the printers PRA and PRB. In this case, 99 ±
This indicates that 3N sheets of paper remain.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a printer priority table PPT provided in the server computer SVR. The printer priority table PPT defines, for each client computer CL1, CL2 #, the priority of the printer device to be used in accordance with the distance relationship according to the installation location between the client computer and a plurality of printer devices. , And the priorities are in the order close to the installation location of the client computer.
By referring to the contents of the printer priority table PPT, the server computer SVR preferentially selects a printer device that is closer to the installation location of the client computer for which printing has been requested. In addition,
The contents of the printer priority table PPT can be arbitrarily rewritten as needed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the server computer SVR and each of the client computers CL1, CL2 #. The server computer SVR and the client computers CL1, CL2 #
Since ‥ basically has the same components, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is also used. CPU1
Is a central processing unit that controls the overall operation of the server computer SVR according to the operating system and various application software in the storage device 2. The storage device 2 stores a database, character fonts, and the like, in addition to an operating system and various application software, and has a recording medium 3 composed of a magnetic, optical, semiconductor memory, and the like, and a drive system therefor. The recording medium 3 is a fixed medium such as a hard disk or a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy desk, a RAM card, and a magnetic card which can be removably mounted. The programs and data in the recording medium 3 are loaded into a RAM (for example, a static RAM) 4 under the control of the CPU 1 as necessary,
4 is saved in the recording medium 3. Further, the recording medium may be provided on an external device side such as a server, and the CPU 1 can directly access and use the program / data in the recording medium via a transmission medium. The CPU 1 can also take in a part or all of the data stored in the recording medium 3 from another device via a transmission medium, and newly or additionally register the data in the recording medium 3. That is, the transmission control unit 5 receives a program / data transmitted from another device constituting the computer communication system via a wired transmission line such as a communication line or a cable or a wireless transmission line such as radio waves, microwaves or infrared rays. And can be installed in the recording medium 3. Further, the program / data may be stored and managed on the external device side such as a server, and the CPU 1 can directly access and use the program / data on the external device side via a transmission medium. On the other hand, a transmission control unit 5, an input unit 6, and a display unit 7, which are input / output peripheral devices, are connected to the CPU 1 via a bus line.
U1 controls their operation.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. here,
Programs for implementing the functions described in these flowcharts are stored in the recording medium 3 in the form of readable program codes, and the CPU 1 sequentially executes operations according to the program codes. Further, the CPU 1 can also sequentially execute the operation according to the above-described program code transmitted via the transmission medium. This is the same in other embodiments to be described later, and an operation unique to this embodiment can be executed using a program / data externally supplied via a transmission medium in addition to a recording medium.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a print driver process (printer selection process) started to be executed in response to a print request from an application in the client computer. First, the server computer SV
A request is made to R to obtain printer paper remaining information (step A1), and then a response to paper remaining information is waited for (step A2). FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the server computer SVR which is started when a request for obtaining printer paper remaining amount information is received from a client computer. First, the server computer SV
R sequentially accesses each printer device on the network to detect all the active printer devices that are currently in the power-on state, obtains the active printer information, and creates a list of the used printer list as a list of used printers. (Step B1).

Then, an unprocessed printer, firstly the first printer, is selected from the used printer list (step B2), and the selected printer is accessed to check the error state (step B3). If a printer error condition such as a paper jam or paper exchange is confirmed (step B4), the selected printer is deleted from the used printer list (step B4).
6) If the printer is not in an error state, the selected printer is accessed to acquire information on the remaining amount of paper detected by the remaining paper amount detection unit (step B5). Next, it is checked whether there are any unprocessed printers from the used printer list (step B7). If there is, the process returns to step B2 to select the next printer. The above operation is repeated until the error state is confirmed (steps B2 to B7). As a result, the currently operating printer obtains the remaining amount of paper in each printer device that is not in an error state, and transmits it to the requesting client computer (step B8).

On the other hand, the requesting client computer, which has made a request for obtaining the remaining paper amount information and is waiting for a response, receives the remaining paper amount information transmitted from the server computer SVR (step A3 in FIG. 6). Then, the icons of the printers that are operating and are not in the error state are displayed (step A4). This printer icon is displayed on the above-described printer selection work screen shown in FIG. Then, the user enters an input-ready state in which an instruction to select a desired printer device or an input of an editing instruction to change the selected content is received by operating an icon on the work screen (step A5). In this state, it is checked whether there is a selection / edit instruction input (step A6). If there is an instruction input, the process proceeds to steps A7 to A11, where the user selects a printer to be used in the current printing arbitrarily. Move on to

That is, when a desired icon is selected on the printer selection operation screen, as shown in FIG. 3, the printer name is highlighted and the remaining paper amount of the selected printer is accumulated. The sum is calculated (step A7). Then, the total value of the remaining printer paper is subtracted from the total number of printed pages (total number of prints) of the current print data (step A8), and the result of the subtraction is displayed and output on the printer selection work screen (step A9). In this case, identification information indicating whether the remaining amount is insufficient or the remaining amount is also displayed. Note that the description example of this flowchart shows a case in which one page of data is printed on one sheet of paper, and thus the total number of printed pages corresponds to the total number of printed pages.

When only the printers PRA and PRB are selected as shown in FIG. 3A, "29 ± 2N" is displayed as the subtraction result, and the total number of printed pages is "36".
It is displayed that there is a shortage of “29 ± 2N” pages for “0”. When a desired printer device is selected in this manner, a guidance display indicating whether printing is possible for the total number of print pages with the remaining amount of paper of the selected printer is performed, and the user confirms the selection and confirms the selected content. When a confirmation instruction indicating whether or not to perform selection is input (step A10), if the instruction indicates cancellation of the selected content, the process returns to step A5 to enter an input enabled state in which an instruction to edit the selected content can be input. .

Further, if it is confirmed that the remaining amount is insufficient with only the currently selected printer, an additional printer is selected. That is, when the printer PRX is additionally selected as shown in FIG. 3B, “99 ± 3N” is displayed as the subtraction result, and the total number of printed pages “360”
Is displayed to indicate that there is room for “99 ± 3N” pages. If the user issues an instruction to confirm the selection, the print request information is displayed together with the printer information for identifying the selected printer. The data is transmitted to the server computer SVR (step A12). On the other hand, if it is determined in step A6 that there is no selection / editing instruction input within a certain period of time, along with the automatic selection designation information indicating that the selection of the printer to be used in the current printing is left to the server computer SVR. Then, the print request information is transmitted to the server computer SVR (step A13).

Upon receiving the print request information from the client computer, the server computer SVR starts executing the operation according to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, it is checked whether the automatic selection designation information has been transmitted together with the print request information (step C1). Here, when the printer information selected by the user is transmitted together with the print request information, the contents of the used printer list created in the remaining paper amount acquisition processing of FIG. 7 are rearranged in the descending order of the remaining paper amount (step C2). ). Further, when the automatic selection designation information is transmitted together with the print request information, the contents of the used printer list are rearranged so that the printer device closer to the installation location of the client computer that issued the print request is prioritized (step C3). In this case, the contents of the used printer list are rearranged by referring to the printer priority table PPT shown in FIG.

After rearranging the contents of the used printer list in this manner, one piece of printer information is selected from the top of the list (step C4), and the total print pages of the print data (the print pages for the unallocated print data) are determined. Only the number of pages slightly more than the remaining amount of paper of the selected printer, that is, the optimum number of pages corresponding to the remaining amount of paper is allocated to the printer (step C5). Then, it is checked whether there are still unassigned print pages (step C).
6). Now, if the remaining amount of paper in the first printer is larger than the total number of print pages of the print data, all the total print pages are allocated to the first printer, so it is determined that there is no unallocated page at this time. If there is an unassigned page, on the condition that there is an unprocessed printer in the used printer list (step C7), the next unprocessed printer is selected (step C4), and an optimal printer corresponding to the remaining amount of paper is selected. The number of pages is allocated to the printer (step C5).

When the total print pages of the print data are allocated to one or more printers according to the remaining amount of paper by repeating such an operation, the process proceeds to step C9, and the process proceeds to step C9. And transmits print data for the number of allocated pages, and instructs execution of printing. Then, after all printing is completed, a print completion notification is sent to the requesting client computer (step C10). On the other hand, before the allocation for the total number of print pages is completed, that is, when all the printers in the used printer list have been selected in a state where unallocated print pages still remain, the request source An all-page print disable notification is transmitted to the client computer (step C8).

As described above, in the first embodiment, the server computer SVR sends the print request and the automatic selection designation to automatically select the printer device to be used for the printing on the server side together with the print request. One or more printers are selected based on the total number of print pages of print data and the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each printer, and execution of printing is instructed. If the number is two or more, the total print pages are distributed and assigned to each printer device based on the remaining amount of paper in each printer device. It is possible to efficiently execute printing for the total number of printed pages without going to the place or replenishing paper. Also, when performing large-volume printing exceeding the maximum paper feed amount of one printer device,
There is an effect that a plurality of small printer devices can be used instead of introducing a large printer device that supplies a large amount of paper. Further, even in the case where batch printing is performed in an unattended operation environment, such as at night, the risk of occurrence of an error such as paper jam can be dispersed.

Here, when selecting the printers to be used, the server computer SVR selects the printers to be used from the printers in the order of the amount of remaining paper, so that a smaller number of printers are used. It is possible to print, and when selecting a printer device to be used based on the total number of print pages of print data and the remaining amount of paper in each printer device, setting of the client computer requested to print and each printer device Since the printer device closer to the installation location is preferentially selected from the client computer in accordance with the distance relationship depending on the location, this is effective when going to retrieve printed matter. As described above, printing is performed using a smaller number of printers, a printer having a closer installation location is preferentially selected and printed from a client computer, and a print completion notification or a print incomplete notification is requested. Since the operation is performed on the original client computer, the inconvenience in the system that operates the printer in a shared manner can be effectively solved.

Further, in the first embodiment, not only the case where the printer to be used is automatically selected on the server side as described above, but also the desired printer can be arbitrarily selected on the client computer side. I have. That is, when a plurality of printers to be used are arbitrarily selected and designated from among the printers displayed as icons on the printer selection work screen shown in FIG. 3, the client computer operates the selected printers. Is obtained from the server computer SVR, and based on each remaining amount of paper and the total number of print pages of the print data, the total number of print pages can be reduced without replenishing paper for each printer. Since the guide information indicating whether or not printing is possible is displayed, in order to distribute and print the print data of the total number of print pages to a plurality of desired printers, the user may go to the installation location of the printer, Even if you do not refill the paper, you can determine which printer device can be used to print the total number of printed pages using only the remaining amount of paper. It can be confirmed. Then, after confirming the guidance display, when the user inputs a print instruction in order to confirm the selection, the total print pages are distributed to the respective printers based on the remaining amount of paper of the selected printer. Since each printer device is instructed to execute printing for the allocated number of pages, the print data for the total number of printed pages is distributed to a plurality of desired printer devices and printed. be able to.

(Second Embodiment) Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Although the first embodiment described above illustrates distributed printing using a plurality of printers, the second embodiment describes whether printing is performed using any one of the plurality of printers. Is determined, and control is performed such as selecting a printer device whose installation location is closer to the client computer that has issued the print request as a printer to be used this time. here,
In both embodiments, basically the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the following mainly describes the features of the second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, the server computer SVR is provided with an alternative printer priority table CPT shown in FIG. 9 in addition to the printer priority table PPT shown in FIG. Here, in the second embodiment, when determining which printer is to be used for printing among a plurality of printers, if the print request from the client is a request that does not specify the printer to be used, By referring to the printer priority table PPT of FIG. 4, a printer device whose installation location is close to the request source is selected as the printer used this time. Also,
If the specified printer is not currently available for printing even if the print request specifies the printer to be used, another printer close to the specified printer is referred to by referring to the alternative printer priority table CPT of FIG. I have to choose.

The alternative printer priority table CP shown in FIG.
T defines a priority order for each printer to preferentially select another printer in an order closer to the installation location of the printer, and the designated printer is currently unable to print, for example,
If there is a paper jam, a paper exchange is in progress, or the like, an alternative printer that substitutes another printer close to the specified printer for the specified printer is defined. The contents of this alternative printer priority table CPT can be arbitrarily rewritten as needed.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the server computer SVR in the second embodiment, which is started each time a print request is issued from a client computer. First, the server computer SVR accesses each printer device on the network to acquire information on all active printers and creates an active printer list (step D1). And
The print request from the client at this time is determined to be a print request that does not specify a printer to be used by the user or a print request that specifies a printer to be used (step D2).
Here, if the print request does not specify the printer to be used,
Referring to the printer priority table PPT of FIG. 4, the contents of the active printer list are rearranged according to the priority (step D3). If the print request specifies a printer to be used, the priority of the designated printer is given the highest priority, and the contents of the alternative printer priority table CPT of FIG. The contents of the active printer list are rearranged according to the order (step D4).

After rearranging the active printer list in this way, the first printer in the list is selected (step D5), the selected printer is accessed, and its error state (paper jam, paper replacement, etc.) is reached. ) Is confirmed (step D6). If a printer error has been confirmed (step D7), a check is made to see if any printer whose status has not been confirmed remains in the active printer list in order to invalidate the printer selected this time (step D8).
If there is, select the next unconfirmed printer (step D
9), the error state is confirmed. As a result, when a printer that is not in an error state is selected, a print instruction is issued to the printer device (step D).
10) After the completion of the printing, the name of the printer to be used and a notification of the completion of the printing are transmitted to the requesting client computer (step D11).

On the other hand, if all the printers in the active printer list are in an error state (steps D7 and D8),
It is checked whether the number of times that the status of the printer has been checked during all operations is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times (step D12).
If less than the specified number, the process returns to step D5. That is, even if the error status of the printer is confirmed once,
Since the error state may be immediately released by a paper jam repair or paper exchange, the error state is checked a specified number of times. Accordingly, when it is confirmed that all the printers in the active printer list are in an error state, the current print job is forcibly terminated (step D1).
3) Send a print incomplete notification to the requesting client computer (step D14).

As described above, in the second embodiment, when determining which printer is to be used for printing among a plurality of printers, a print request for which no printer is used is specified. If there is, the printer device whose installation location is close to the request source is selected as the printer to be used this time, and if the specified printer is currently in a state where printing cannot be performed even if the print request specifies the printer to be used, Since another printer close to the designated printer is selected, it is possible to search for the printer device from which the printed matter is being output, or to obtain the printed matter immediately without going far. As described above, in addition to facilitating the acquisition of the printed matter, the print completion notification and the print non-completion notification are made to the requesting client computer. Will be able to

(Third Embodiment) Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the third embodiment, a server computer does not sequentially transfer a print request from a client to a printer device and processes the print request. When each printer device becomes available for printing, the server computer sends a print request addressed to itself from the server computer. Is acquired and printing is executed.
In the third embodiment, two servers are provided as server computers, and each server is provided, for example, corresponding to a group corresponding to a task, and manages each client computer corresponding to the group. However, each group can share and operate printer devices belonging to other groups.

FIG. 11 shows two server computers SV.
The relationship between R / SVR2 and each printer (in this case, only the printer PRA is shown) is illustrated. Each printer is provided with a management server information table SMT. The contents of the management server information table SMT are stored in each server computer SVR / S
Each of the server computers SVR / S is set in each printer by the setting application of VR2.
The storage management information indicating the storage location of the print request information stored and managed on the VR2 side is stored and held together with the server name. That is, each record in this table has a server name “SVR1” and “SVR2” and a storage management indicating a storage location of the print request information stored and managed in the spool folder SPH on each server computer SVR / SVR2 side. Information, for example, "SPOOL = C: SPOOL \ PR
A "and" SPOOL = E: PRT \ PRA ". Here, each printer device has a management server information table SMT.
, Access the spool folder SPH of the server computer indicated by the server name, search the print request information managed in this spool folder SPH, and if there is print request information for itself, The printing is performed according to the acquired print request information.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a print request acquisition process executed by each printer in the third embodiment. This print request acquisition process is started immediately after the current printing is completed. In addition, in a print waiting state, execution is started at regular intervals by a timer interrupt. First, its own management server information table SMT
(Step E1), accesses the spool folder SPH of the server specified by the "server name" and "save management information" of the acquired record, and acquires print request information from this spool folder (step E1). E2). Then, it is determined whether or not the acquired print request information includes print request information addressed to itself (step E3). If no print request information is included in the obtained print request information, the management server of the own server is determined. It is checked whether there is an unprocessed record of another server in the information table SMT, and if so, the record is acquired (step E4), and the above operation is repeated (steps E2 and E3). Here, if the print request information addressed to itself is not stored and managed in all servers, the print request acquisition process ends at this point.

On the other hand, if any one of the server computers includes print request information destined for itself in the queue of print request information currently waiting to be printed, that is, in the spool folder SPH, the print request information is printed. The printing operation is started according to the request information (step E5). Then, after printing is completed, the spool folder SPH of the server that stores and manages the print request information executed this time is accessed, and the print request information (print request information that has been printed by the current print) in the folder is accessed. It is deleted (step E6). Then, the process returns to step E1, and execution of the print request acquisition process according to this flow is started. That is, when the print request information addressed to the user is acquired and the printing is completed, the print request information addressed to the next self is acquired immediately and the printing is performed. Such an operation is repeated until there is no print request information addressed to itself.

As described above, in the third embodiment, when the printer becomes printable, it obtains print request information addressed to itself from the server computer and executes printing. Unlike the conventional case, the server computer does not need to know the print processing status of each printer device, and the number of accesses between the server computer and the printer device can be reduced, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the entire system. Can be expected.

In each of the embodiments described above, the printer device may be a printer device locally connected to a client computer as long as the printer device can be shared. In the second embodiment described above,
The forced termination of the print job is determined in a loop, but may be determined based on the elapsed time. In the third embodiment described above, one spool folder SPH of the server is used, but a plurality of storage locations may be used.

[0046]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the print data of the total number of prints to be printed is distributed to a plurality of printers as necessary, taking into account the remaining amount of paper for each printer. Thus, even when performing large-volume printing at one time, it is possible to efficiently execute printing for the total number of prints without going to the installation location of the printer device or replenishing paper.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in order to distribute and print the print data of the total number of prints to be printed to a plurality of desired printers, the user can arbitrarily select a printer to be used in the printing. When selecting, based on the remaining amount of paper of each printer and the total number of print data, guide information indicating whether printing is possible for the total number of prints without replenishing paper is displayed. Without going to the installation location of the device or replenishing paper, you can easily check on the spot which printer device is selected and printing can be performed for the total number of prints using only the remaining amount of paper. .

According to the third aspect, when determining which printer is to be used for printing among a plurality of printers, if the print request does not specify a printer to be used, the request source is The printer device whose installation location is closer to this printer is selected as the printer to be used this time. If the specified printer is not currently available for printing even if the print request specifies the printer to be used, Printer can be selected, and the user can search for the printer from which the printed matter is output, and immediately obtain the print without going far.

According to the fourth aspect, the management server computer does not need to know the print processing status of the printer device, and when the printer device becomes printable, the management server computer prints itself from the management server computer to itself. Requests can be acquired and printing can be performed, the number of accesses between the management server computer and the printer device can be reduced, and improvement in the processing efficiency of the entire system can be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a local area network system in which a printer device is shared and operated by a plurality of client computers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating how much paper currently set in each of printer devices PRA, PRB, and PRX remains.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process of selecting a printer device to be used in the current printing on a client computer side while checking whether printing is possible for the total number of print pages with only the remaining amount of paper of each selected printer device. The figure which showed the work screen which selects.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a printer priority table PPT provided in the server computer SVR.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a server computer SVR and client computers CL1 and CL2 #.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a print driver process (printer selection process) started to be executed in response to a print request from an application in the client computer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the server computer SVR which is started when a request for obtaining printer paper remaining amount information is received from a client computer.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a server computer SV that is started to execute when print request information is received from a client computer;
9 is a flowchart showing the operation of R.

FIG. 9 shows a server computer SV in the second embodiment.
R alternative printer priority table CP
The figure which showed T.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of the server computer SVR which is started to be executed each time a print request is issued from a client computer in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating a relationship between two server computers SVR / SVR2 and a printer PRA in the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating print request acquisition processing executed on each printer device side according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 SVR server computer CL1, CL2 client computer PRA, PRB, PRX printer device PPT printer priority table CPT alternative printer priority table 1 CPU 2 storage device 3 recording medium 5 transmission control unit 6 input unit 7 display unit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yohgo Ando 2-229 Sakuragaoka, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Tokyo Office (72) Inventor Masanobu Sugimoto 2-229 Sakuragaoka, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo Office (72) Inventor Tadayoshi Tamari 2-229 Sakuragaoka, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Tokyo Office (72) Inventor, Yoichi Kobayashi 2-229 Sakuragaoka, Higashiyamato-shi, Tokyo Address Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Tokyo Office F-term (reference) 5B021 BB01 BB10 EE04 KK01 5B089 GA13 JA35 JB15 KB04 KC23 LB12

Claims (10)

[Claims] And a printing unit configured to obtain a remaining amount of paper currently set in each of a plurality of printers, a total number of print data of print data designated as a print target,
A printer selecting unit for selecting one or more printer devices to be used for outputting the print data based on the remaining amount of paper acquired for each printer device by the remaining amount acquiring unit; and selecting by the printer selecting unit. Instructing the selected printer to execute printing, and when a plurality of printers are selected, the total number of print data of the print data is determined based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each selected printer. And print control means for instructing each printer device to execute printing for the allocated number of sheets, and the print data to the selected plurality of used printer devices. When distributing and allocating the total number of prints for each printer, the paper Print control apparatus, characterized in that the optimum number corresponding to the allocated respectively. 2. The printer selecting means selects printers to be used from the printers in descending order of the remaining amount of paper based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each printer obtained by the remaining amount obtaining means. 2. The print control device according to claim 1, wherein a smaller number of printer devices are selected. 3. A remaining amount obtaining means for obtaining a remaining amount of paper currently set in each of a plurality of printers, and arbitrarily selecting and specifying a plurality of printers to be used from among the respective printers by an input operation. Printer selection means to perform, the total number of print data of print data designated as a print target,
Based on the remaining amount of paper acquired by the remaining amount acquiring unit corresponding to each printer device selected and designated by the printer selecting unit, the total number of prints can be performed without replenishing sheets to the respective printer devices. Guide information notifying means for notifying guide information indicating whether or not printing is possible, and when a print instruction is input after notifying the guide information, based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each of the selected and designated printer devices. And print control means for instructing each printer device to execute printing for the allocated number of prints while distributing and assigning the total number of prints of the print data to the respective printer devices. When distributing and allocating the total number of print data of the print data to the printers, an optimal number of prints corresponding to the remaining amount of paper corresponding to each printer is allocated. Print control apparatus characterized by the. 4. In a system having a plurality of printer devices and a client computer connected to a network, a priority order of printer devices to be used is determined according to a distance relationship according to an installation location of the plurality of printer devices and the client computer. Priority order determining means is provided, wherein the printer selecting means preferentially selects a printer device having a closer installation location from the client computer according to the priority order determined by the priority order determining means. The print control device according to claim 1 or 3. 5. A system having a plurality of printer devices and a client computer connected to a network, a first determination unit for determining whether each of the plurality of printer devices is currently in a printable state, and a client computer. When a print request is issued from the printer, a second determination unit that determines whether the request is a printer request that specifies a printer device to be used for the printing, and a print request without a printer designation by the second determination unit. Is determined, the priority order of each printer is determined according to the distance relationship according to the installation location between the client computer and each printer, and it is determined that the print request is specified by the printer. The priority is given to the designated printer device, and the distance from the installation location of the designated printer device Priority determining means for determining the priority of another printer in accordance with the order, and determining by the priority determining means from among the printers determined to be in a printable state by the first determining means. Printer selection means for selecting a printer device to be used in accordance with the determined priority order, and instructing the printer device selected by the printer selection device to execute printing. . 6. A system having a network-connected printer device and a management server computer, wherein the management server computer stores storage management information indicating a storage location of print request information stored and managed by one or more management server computers. A management information storage unit separately stored and held; and a storage location of print request information stored and managed by one or more management server computers by referring to the contents of the management information storage unit to request a print request for itself. Determining means for determining whether the information is stored; and obtaining a print request from the management server computer when the determining means determines that the print request information for itself is stored. Means and the print request information obtained by the print request obtaining means. A printer device, comprising: a control unit for executing a print operation and changing the print request information stored and managed on the management server computer side to a printed state after the execution of the print operation. 7. A recording medium having a program code readable by a computer, the program code being readable by a computer for acquiring a remaining amount of paper currently set in each of a plurality of printers, and The total number of prints of the specified print data,
A computer-readable program code for selecting one or more used printer devices to be used for outputting the print data based on the remaining amount of paper acquired for each of the printer devices; and When the user instructs the printer to execute printing, and when a plurality of printers to be used are selected, the total number of print data of the print data is sent to each of the printers based on the remaining amount of paper corresponding to the selected printer. And a computer readable program code for instructing each printer device to execute printing of the assigned number in a distributed manner. 8. A recording medium having a program code readable by a computer, the program code being readable by a computer for acquiring a remaining amount of paper currently set in each of a plurality of printers; A computer-readable program code for arbitrarily selecting and specifying a plurality of printer devices to be used from among the devices by an input operation; a total number of print data of print data specified as a print target;
Guidance information indicating whether or not printing can be performed for the total number of prints without replenishing paper for each of the printer devices based on the acquired paper remaining amount corresponding to each of the selected and specified printer devices. If a print instruction is input after the notification of the guide information, and the print instruction is input after the notification of the guide information, the entire printing of the print data is performed based on the remaining paper amount corresponding to each of the selected and designated printer devices. A recording medium having a computer-readable program code for distributing and allocating the number of sheets to each of the printers and instructing each of the printers to execute printing for the assigned number of sheets. 9. A recording medium having a computer readable program code, the computer readable program code for determining whether each of the plurality of printers is currently in a printable state, and a client computer. When a print request is issued from a computer, a computer-readable program code for determining whether the print request is a printer specification that specifies a printer device to be used for the print, and a print request without a printer specification are determined. The priority order of each printer device is determined according to the distance relationship according to the installation location between the client computer and each printer device, and if it is determined that the print request is a designated printer, the designated printer is designated. The printer has the highest priority, and the setting of the designated printer A computer-readable program code for determining the priority of another printer in accordance with the distance relationship with the place, and the printer priority determined from the printers determined to be in a printable state by the priority determining means. And a computer-readable program code for selecting a printer device to be used in accordance with the selected priority order, and a computer-readable program code for instructing the selected printer device to execute printing. 10. A recording medium having a program code readable by a computer, wherein the management server computer stores storage management information indicating a storage location of print request information stored and managed by one or more management server computers. A computer-readable program code to be separately stored and stored, and the contents of the storage management information are referred to, a storage location of print request information stored and managed by one or more management server computers is accessed, and A computer readable program code for determining whether print request information is stored and, when it is determined that print request information for itself is stored, the print request information is obtained from the management server computer. Computer readable program And a computer-readable program for executing printing in accordance with the acquired print request information, and for changing the print request information stored and managed on the management server computer side to a printed state after execution of the print. A recording medium having a code.