JP2006164153A - Connection management and user processing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for avoiding the problem that a device is occupied only by opening a UI and a job cannot be put in anymore. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention is a device equipped with a means which implements scheduling against a request of a printing job from a client which is an information processor, and deals with the job efficiently, and has a means for managing the information processor of the connected client. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  This case relates to an information processing apparatus or the like having a print processing function, and relates to management of the number of connected clients.

  Conventionally, there is a print system that transfers a print job to a printer device from a plurality of clients by a simple print function such as LPR (for example, Patent Document 1). On the other hand, depending on the print system, a print server is necessary because the print order of the print jobs cannot be controlled, or the print job transferred to the printer device cannot be managed or monitored. Servers that have been in each department for business use are no longer necessary due to the use of Web for business, and the introduction of servers only for print servers is also reduced in terms of hardware costs and management costs. It is coming. However, since the demand for print management and print monitoring is high and necessary, a system for embedding a server function in a printer device and managing printer jobs has been devised. In this system, print job information is transmitted from a plurality of clients to the device side, and processing such as job scheduling is performed on the device embedding server side. In addition, when the printer is turned off, it is necessary to restart the printer, and to notify all the clients that the server has started (BroadCast) all at once.

The device embedded job management system (OM Device Scheduler) can efficiently process print jobs from a large number of clients by performing scheduling. The client side (OM Client) can also grasp the status of the scheduled job by referring to the UI.
JP 2004-126943 A

  When the specification of the device embedded job management system is lower than that of the current general server, the performance decreases extremely as the number of clients increases. Therefore, the number of clients is limited to maintain a certain level of performance.

  However, this user restriction is counted as the number of connected users because the device event is acquired even if the client side opens the UI and checks the device status.

  For this reason, if the UI for the limit on the number of users is opened, no more requests can be made to the device, and a print job cannot be submitted.

  In this case, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for avoiding a situation where only a user who opens a UI occupies a device and cannot submit a job.

  In order to achieve the above object, in this case, an information processing apparatus for managing a client to be connected and a means for managing a user divided into two systems as a management method in a device endevette job management system. provide.

  According to the present invention, an efficient device can be used.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a print processing system according to the embodiment.

  In the figure, reference numerals 101, 102, 103, and 104 denote network computers that are connected to the network 107 and can communicate with each other, typically a personal computer (PC), each of which is a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark). A printer driver connected to the network 107 via a cable, capable of executing various programs such as application programs, and having a function of converting print data into a printer language corresponding to the printer is installed. Here, it is assumed that each computer supports a plurality of printer drivers. In addition, it has a function of transferring the print data converted into the printer language corresponding to the printer to the 105 network printer.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a network printer as a print control apparatus, which is connected to the network 107 via the network interface card 106. The print job including print data transmitted from the client computer is analyzed, and a dot image is printed page by page. Convert to and print. Although only one network printer 105 is shown in the figure, it is assumed that a plurality of other network printers are connected. The functions of each network printer may be different.

  A network 107 is connected to the computers 101 to 104, the network printer 105, and the like.

<Configuration of information processing apparatus>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. In the information processing apparatus, the server 101 has the same or equivalent hardware configuration. Therefore, it demonstrates as a block diagram explaining the structure of a server.

  In the figure, reference numeral 200 denotes a CPU as control means of the information processing apparatus, which executes an application program, a printer driver program, an OS, a network printer control program of the present invention, and the like stored in a hard disk (HD) 205, and a RAM 202. Control to temporarily store information, files, etc. necessary for program execution.

  Reference numeral 201 denotes a ROM which is a storage unit, and stores therein various data such as a program such as a basic I / O program, font data used in document processing, and template data. Reference numeral 202 denotes a RAM as temporary storage means, which functions as a main memory, work area, or the like of the CPU 200.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) drive as a storage medium reading means. As shown in FIG. 5 to be described later, a program stored in the FD 204 as a storage medium is loaded into the computer system through the FD drive 203. can do. Note that the storage medium is not limited to the FD, and may be any CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, PC card, DVD, IC memory card, MO, memory stick, and the like.

  Reference numeral 204 denotes a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) as a storage medium, which is a storage medium storing a computer-readable program.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes one of external storage means, which is a hard disk (HD) that functions as a large-capacity memory, and stores an application program, a printer driver program, an OS, a network printer control program, and related programs. Furthermore, a spooler as spool means is secured here.

  In the print server 101, the spool means is a server spooler.

  Reference numeral 206 denotes a keyboard which is an instruction input unit. The user instructs the print server 101 to input device control command instructions and the like.

  A display 207 is a display unit that displays commands input from the keyboard 206, the status of the printer 102, and the like. A system bus 208 controls the flow of data in the computer that is the print server 101.

  Reference numeral 209 denotes an interface which is an input / output unit, and the information processing apparatus exchanges data with an external apparatus via the interface 209.

<Explanation of memory map>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the memory map of the RAM 202 shown in FIG. 2, and is a memory map in a state where the network printer control program loaded from the FD 204 is loaded into the RAM 202 and can be executed.

  In this embodiment, the network printer control program and related data are directly loaded from the FD 204 to the RAM 202 and executed. However, every time the network printer control program is operated from the FD 204, the network printer control program is already executed. May be loaded into the RAM 202 from the HD 205 in which is installed.

  The medium for storing the network printer control program may be a CD-ROM, CD-R, PC card, DVD, or IC memory card in addition to the FD. Furthermore, it is possible to store the network printer control program in the ROM 201, configure it as a part of the memory map, and execute it directly by the CPU 200. In addition, software that realizes the same function as each of the above devices can be used as an alternative to a hardware device.

  The network printer control program may be simply referred to as a print control program. The print control program includes a program for controlling the order of print jobs in the print server 101 and notifying the end of printing of the print job, a request for changing the print destination, and the like.

  Reference numeral 301 denotes a basic I / O program, which has an IPL (Initial Program Loading) function for starting the operation of the OS by reading the OS from the HD 205 into the RAM 202 when the control device is turned on. This is the area that contains the program.

  Reference numeral 302 denotes an operating system (OS), and 303 denotes a network printer control program, which is stored in an area secured on the RAM 202. Reference numeral 304 denotes related data, which is stored in an area secured on the RAM 202. Reference numeral 305 denotes a work area in which an area for the CPU 200 to execute the printer control program is secured.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a memory map of the FD 204 illustrated in FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 400 denotes the data content of the FD 204, 401 denotes volume information indicating data information, 402 denotes directory information, 403 denotes a network printer control program which is a print control program described in the present embodiment, 404 Is the related data. The network printer control program 403 is a program based on the flowchart described in the embodiment. In the present embodiment, the server 101 has the same configuration.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship with the FD 204 inserted into the FD drive 203 shown in FIG. 2, and the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the figure, the FD 204 stores a network printer control program and related data described in this embodiment.

<Example of software configuration in print processing system>
Here, the technical meaning of the terms in the present embodiment will be described.

  In this embodiment, a page description language is generated by interpreting a drawing command (generally called DDI or GDI) output via an OS such as Windows (registered trademark) in accordance with a print instruction in an application. A printer driver that outputs to a device is called a normal printer driver, and the device at this time is called a normal device. Needless to say, the OS is not limited to Windows (registered trademark), and can be applied to any OS having a drawing command. In addition, a combination of a printer driver and a printer output port may be called a printer in distinction from a printer that is a device.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how a print job including a drawing command issued from an application for printing a document or the like is processed in the print job control system in the present system.

  The job control Devoice Scheduler indicates a printer device embedded print server that manages print jobs of a plurality of job control clients and controls printing of each job control client. Here, the flow of processing printed from a certain job control client will be described in relation to the Windows (registered trademark) spooler, job control client, job control device scheduler, and printer device.

When the application 601 starts printing, a series of drawing commands are generated via the OS. The generated drawing command is converted into a predetermined format via a printer driver, and then passed to a Windows (registered trademark) spooler (Windows (registered trademark) Spooler) 602, and via the job control port monitor 603, the hard disk 604. The print job is spooled in the job control client service 605. (Corresponding to (1) (1) '(2) (3) in Fig. 6)
After the print data spooling is completed, the job control client issues a schedule request to the job control device scheduler 606. (Corresponding to (4) in FIG. 6)
A schedule request is a command that requests a job control Device Scheduler to schedule a print job, and is a command that is issued when a print job occurs in a job control client.

  When the job control device scheduler receives a schedule request from the job control client, it performs a schedule process (corresponding to (5) in FIG. 6) by the “schedule function” of the job. The “schedule function” is a function for controlling the print order of jobs printed on the device. When the timing of transmission of the print job to the device is determined based on the “scheduling function”, the job control device scheduler schedules up the print job (transfer start instruction) (corresponding to (6) in FIG. 6). Send to job control client. The order in which the schedule is issued is the order of the job that received the schedule request. That is, when printing is started from an application on a plurality of job control clients, transfer is started from a job that has been spooled first, instead of being transferred to the printer device in the order in which printing was started.

When the job control client receives the schedule up, the job control client starts to transfer the print job to the device. (Corresponding to (7) (7) '(8) in FIG. 6)
The job control Device Scheduler acquires the status (completion, etc.) of the print job from the job management information acquired from the device controller 608 and notifies each job control client. (Corresponding to (9), (10) and (11) in FIG. 6)
The job control client deletes the job that has received the print completion. (Corresponding to (12) and (13) in FIG. 6) If a device error occurs during printing or the like, the job control device scheduler 606 notifies the job control client of the status of the printer device acquired from the device controller 608. (Corresponding to (9), (10) and (11) in FIG. 6)
FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of a print job information list and table managed by the job control client service 605. Note that the print job information table is generated for each job. The job information table used in this embodiment is created inside the job control client service 605 as printer queue information when print job data is transmitted from the port monitor 603 to the job control client service 605. As the number of print jobs 700, the total number of job information tables registered in the job information list is recorded. A job ID 701 is an arbitrary ID assigned to a job information table managed as printer queue information, and is used as an ID for identifying a job. A document name 702 is a name of a document to be printed by the application 601 and is notified when the port monitor 603 transmits print job data to the job control client service 605. A spool file path 704 is a file path in which the print job data transmitted from the port monitor 603 to the job control client service 605 is stored in the HD 604. The scheduled job status 705 is the status of the job schedule request, and is waiting for a schedule request (if the number of scheduled jobs on the Device Scheduler side exceeds the MAX value, it will not be completed immediately even if a job schedule request is requested. ), Schedule request requested, schedule up completed, and when a job is requested, the reception time is also stored. The job attribute 706 stores output destination printer name, output destination printer IP address (port information), and the like as job attribute information.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a job management list managed by the job control Device Scheduler. The number of received jobs 800 indicates the total number of scheduled jobs received from each client by the job control Device Scheduler, and this total is equal to the total number of scheduled job reception information described later. Client IP addresses 801, 802, and 803 hold the IP address and client computer name of the client machine that received the schedule job. Even when a plurality of jobs are received from the same client machine, only one IP address is registered. The schedule reception job information 804, 805, and 806 are held for each job that receives information such as job reception time, job size, number of pages, number of copies, job owner information, and client computer name.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating schedule processing for a printer queue.

  In step S901, the printer queue schedule is managed, and actions such as schedule request, print job transmission completion, print job deletion, and print job completion are monitored. When the above action occurs for the printer queue, the process proceeds to step S902. When no action occurs, standby processing is performed in step S901.

  In step S902, the printer queue in which the above action has occurred is confirmed. If job information exists, the process proceeds to step S903, and if there is no job information, the process proceeds to step S901.

  In step S903, the operation status of the print device corresponding to the printer queue is acquired, and in step S904, it is determined whether the print data can be transferred to the print device.

  In step S904, if the print data can be transferred to the print device, the process proceeds to step S905. If the transfer cannot be performed, the process proceeds to step S901.

  In step S905, a schedule UP request is issued for the job found in step S902, and the process proceeds to step S901.

<User management method>
Fig. 10 shows how to divide basic user management.

  In step 1001, the connection request of the new user is confirmed, and the process proceeds to step 1002.

  In step 1002, it is determined whether the connected user has a scheduled print job. If there is a scheduled print job, the process proceeds to step 1003; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 1004.

  In step 1003, the connected user is managed as user I, and the management user, user number, and connected client name are added as management information.

  In step 1004, the connected user is managed as user II, and the management user, user number, and connected client name are added as management information (FIG. 11).

  FIG. 11 shows an example of information for managing a client.

  As information necessary for management, a user type as information indicating whether a print job is scheduled, a user number for managing the order, information of a client to be connected, and the like are managed as additional information together with the user.

  FIG. 12 shows management after determination as user I.

  In step 1201, the user I is confirmed in step 1004 in FIG.

  In step 1202, print processing of the scheduled print job is performed. After printing is completed, the process proceeds to step 1203.

  In step 1203, it is determined whether the user who has sent the print job has opened the client UI (connected to the device and acquiring an event) after printing. If the user has closed the client UI, the process proceeds to step 1204. If the user has opened the client UI, the process proceeds to step 1205.

  In step 1204, it is excluded from the user management target that the user is not communicating with the device.

  In step 1205, the user acquires an event and is connected to the device, so that the user is placed under management again as user II. Also, at this time, the user type is changed, and the user management information is rewritten by adding a number obtained by adding 1 to the number N of the current user II.

Fig. 13 Additional information when connection time is taken into consideration Information necessary for management includes user type as information indicating whether a print job is scheduled, user number for managing the order, and the client to be connected Together with information, the connection start time is managed together with the user as additional information.

FIG. 14 User Timeout In step 1401, the connection start time of the user managed as user II is confirmed, the time of connection up to now is confirmed, and the process proceeds to step 1402.

  In step 1402, it is determined whether the connection time of the target user is longer or less than the connection time defined as the timeout time. If it is less than the prescribed timeout time, the process proceeds to step 1403, and if it is greater than the prescribed timeout time, the process proceeds to step 1404.

  In step 1405, since the target user is within the timeout period, the user is continuously managed as user II and checked again.

  In step 1406, the target user has exceeded the specified timeout time, so the client is disconnected. Then, the process proceeds to Step 1407.

  In step 1407, the user number of the client under the management of all users II is subtracted by the number of clients disconnected in the previous step 1406.

FIG. 15 is a workflow diagram when the maximum user is connected. In step 1501, a connection request from a new client is confirmed, and the process proceeds to step 1502.

  In step 1502, it is confirmed whether the current number of connected users (user number M of user I + user number N of user II) is larger or smaller than the connection limit number. If the current number of connected users is not full, the process proceeds to step 1503. Otherwise, the process proceeds to the countermeasure method of FIG.

  In step 1503, it is determined whether the newly connected user has thrown the print job or not. If the print job is thrown and scheduled, go to step 1504, otherwise go to step 1505.

  In step 1504, the user who has thrown the print job is added as information such as user type, user number, connection client name, etc., and managed as user I.

  In step 1505, the user who sent the print job is managed as a user II by adding information such as the user type, the user number of the current management number N + 1, and the connected client name.

FIG. 16 Disconnect from User with Young User Number In step 1601, a new connection request is confirmed when the number of connected users is maximum, and the process proceeds to step 1602.

  In step 1602, in order to respond to a new connection request, the connection with the client (user number: II-1) having the smallest user number is disconnected from the management type (: user 2). Then, the process proceeds to Step 1603.

  In step 1603, the client user number included in another management type: user 2 is decremented by one. Then, the client of a new connection request is accepted and the process proceeds to step 1604.

  In step 1604, it is determined whether or not the client request that has made a new connection request is a request for a print job. If the new client request is a print job, the process proceeds to step 1605. If the request is an event request or the like, the process proceeds to step 1606.

  In step 1605, the newly connected client is assigned the largest user number as the management type: user 1, and enters the user management. Thereafter, the management is performed as shown in FIG.

  In step 1606, the newly connected client is managed under the management type: user 2. At that time, the highest user number is given.

Basic system configuration diagram The block diagram explaining the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. Example of RAM memory map shown in FIG. Example of FD memory map shown in FIG. Relation of FD to FD drive Diagram showing the processing of a print job issued from an application An example of a print job information list managed by the job control client service 605 Job control Example of job management list managed by Device Scheduler Diagram showing schedule processing for printer queue How to divide basic user management An example of information for managing clients Management after determination as user I is shown. An example of management information that takes connection time into account Diagram showing user timeout processing Diagram showing processing when full users are connected Diagram showing user management processing for limiting measures

Claims (6)

  An apparatus having means for scheduling and efficiently processing a print job request from a client as an information processing apparatus, and having means for managing the information processing apparatus of the connected client An information processing apparatus.   2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein scheduling has means for receiving only job information in response to a print request and then receiving the job entity.   3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for managing not only a single client but also a plurality of clients.   4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for determining whether the client UI is open when managing the client and managing the client in two systems.   5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for disconnecting from a client in accordance with a certain condition when a connectable client becomes full.   6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting a timeout time for the client in a system for managing the client, and means for disconnecting from the client when the time is full. .

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