JP2006202332A - Proxy print processing device and method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems in inflexibly operated proxy printing incapable of switching a proxy method in accordance with the type of data and a job. <P>SOLUTION: This proxy print processing device is provided with a processing means determining the type of data in the operation of proxy printing and operating partial proxy printing or full proxy printing according to the determination result. In this way, switching to manual proxy operation can be carried out during automatic proxy operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a proxy print processing apparatus, a method, a program, and a storage medium that perform proxy print processing.

  Conventionally, in a printer connected to a network, when an error occurs in a printer during printing, the proxy printing is requested to another printer, and the proxy printing is performed by the other printer.

However, in the above conventional example, automatic substitution and manual substitution cannot be switched and used.
Also, it was not possible to switch to manual substitution during automatic substitution.
Also, the proxy method was not switched according to the type of data or job.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the proxy print processing apparatus of the present invention provides:
Means for displaying a screen for designating the number of copies or a screen for designating a page according to the type of job when performing proxy printing;
Means for performing proxy printing of the specified number of copies on the screen for specifying the number of copies;
Means for performing proxy printing of the designated page on the screen for designating the page.

In addition, the proxy print processing apparatus of the present invention is
A discriminating means for discriminating the type of data when performing proxy printing;
And processing means for performing partial proxy printing or full proxy printing in accordance with a determination result by the determination means.

In addition, the proxy print processing method of the present invention includes:
A step of displaying a screen for designating the number of copies or a screen for designating the page according to the type of job when performing proxy printing;
The method includes a step of performing proxy printing for the number of copies designated on the screen for designating the number of copies, and a step of performing proxy printing for the page designated on the screen for designating the page.

The program of the present invention is
A step of displaying a screen for designating the number of copies or a screen for designating the page according to the type of job when performing proxy printing;
A step of causing the computer to execute proxy printing of the designated number of copies on the screen for designating the number of copies and a step of performing proxy printing of the page designated on the screen for designating the page are characterized.

The program of the present invention is
A determination step of determining the type of data when performing proxy printing;
According to the determination result of the determination step, the computer is caused to execute a processing step for performing partial proxy printing or full proxy printing.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, automatic substitution and manual substitution can be switched and used.
In addition, it is now possible to switch to manual substitution during automatic substitution.
In addition, the proxy method can be switched (partial or all) according to the type of data.
In addition, the proxy method can be switched (number of copies or pages) according to the type of job.

  As a result, for example, in the case of a PDL print job in which only the page description language is expanded without using an intermediate file, the user is limited to substituting from the first page, but the print result is sent to a printing apparatus that supports the same page description language. In the case of a print job of a child job derived as a result of using an intermediate file, if the user can confirm that printing has been completed halfway, the user can specify from the next page and substitute printing And by selecting a free normal printing device and substituting a print job that has been re-developed by specifying the page in a page description language that matches that device. In addition, it is possible to perform proxy printing that can output correct results. In addition, if the number of copies is specified, only the remaining number of copies can be specified without performing extra copies, and the printing resources and time can be made effective for the user by minimizing the paper and printing waiting time. It is possible to provide a used printing environment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment suitable for applying the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system to which the present invention can be applied. It is assumed that one or more client computers are connected in this system.

  In FIG. 1, reference numerals 102, 103, and 104 denote information processing apparatuses as client computers (clients), which are connected to a network 106 by a network cable such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and can execute various programs such as application programs. And a printer driver having a function of converting print data into a printer language corresponding to the printer. Note that the printer driver supports a plurality of printer drivers. Of course, it is assumed that the printer can be applied to various types of printers such as a laser beam printer using an electrophotographic system, an inkjet printer using an inkjet system, and a printer using a thermal transfer system. .

  Reference numeral 101 denotes an information processing apparatus as a server (hereinafter referred to as a print server) according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 101 is connected to the network 106 via a network cable and stores files used in the network, Or monitor. The print server 101 manages a plurality of printers connected to the network 106.

  As the configuration, the clients 102 to 104 and the print server 101 are general information processing apparatuses, and the client and the print server each store a print control program for performing different controls.

  The print server 101 is a general information processing apparatus and can simultaneously have the functions of the clients 102 to 104.

  The print server 101 in the present embodiment further stores and prints a print job including print data for which a print request has been issued from the client computers 102, 103, 104, or print data from the client computers 102, 103, 104. Only the job information that does not contain data, manages the print order of the client computers 102, 103, and 104, notifies the client in the print order of permission to send a print job including print data, and the status of the network printer 105 And a function for acquiring various types of print job information and notifying the client computers 102, 103, and 104.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a network printer as a print control apparatus, which is connected to the network 106 via a network interface (not shown), analyzes a print job including print data transmitted from a client computer, and converts it into a dot image page by page. Convert and print page by page. A network 106 is connected to the client computers 102, 103, 104, the server 101, the network printer 105, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The client computers 102, 103, and 104 that are information processing apparatuses have the same configuration, and the server 101 has the same or equivalent hardware. The configuration. Therefore, it demonstrates as a block diagram explaining the structure of a client and a server.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a CPU that is a control unit 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. 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 which is temporary storage means, and functions as a main memory, work area, and 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, related programs, and the like. Further, a spooler which is a spool means is secured here. The spool means is a client spooler in the client, and a server spooler in the print server. In the print server, job information received from the client is stored, and a table for controlling the order is also generated and stored in the external storage means.

Reference numeral 206 denotes a keyboard which is an instruction input unit. The user instructs the client computer and the operator or administrator inputs an instruction of a device control command to the print server.
A display 207 is a display unit that displays commands input from the keyboard 206, the status of the printer, and the like.

A system bus 208 controls the flow of data in a computer that is a client or a print server.
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.

  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 loaded directly from the FD 204 into 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 instructing the client to change the print destination of the print job, or for instructing to change the print order, and in the print server to perform the print job order control. A program for notifying the end of printing of a print job, a request for changing the printing destination, and the like is included. The print control program of the present invention for performing such control may separately divide a module installed in the client and a module installed in the print server, or one print control program is executed. It may function as a client or a print server depending on the environment. Alternatively, a configuration in which a module having a client function and a module functioning as a print server are installed together in a single computer and can be operated simultaneously or in a pseudo manner in a time division manner.

  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 FIG. 4, 400 is the data content of the FD 204, 401 is volume information indicating data information, 402 is directory information, 403 is 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 programmed based on the flowchart described in the embodiment. In this embodiment, the client and the server have 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 FIG. 5, the FD 204 stores a network printer control program and related data described in the present embodiment.

  Next, a print job control system that performs proxy printing processing using a plurality of printers in this embodiment will be described.

  When this print system receives a print job from a Windows (registered trademark) spooler or via an API, after pre-processing, the print system temporarily holds the job inside and newly adds it to the schedule. If there are other high-priority jobs that should be printed before that job, the printing system will first send the high-priority job to the device first, then the next lower-priority job . The printing system continues to follow a job until the printing of the job is completed even after one job is transmitted to the device (however, there are restrictions described later). When the printing of the job is completed successfully, the printing system notifies the user who issued the print job. The form of notification differs depending on the printing method and settings described below.

  If an error occurs during the processing of a print job and printing cannot be completed, the printing system performs the following processing depending on the situation. Details of each will be described later.

Automatic proxy printing When an error that cannot be printed on the device occurs while the print job is waiting for transmission in this printing system, or when transmission is impossible during transmission of the print job, or when a print job is sent to the device If it is detected that an error has occurred on the device side after the transmission and before the print end notification is received, the printing system first changes the print destination to another device that the user has designated in advance for substitution. Try.

Manual proxy printing When the above error / problem occurs, if automatic proxy printing is not set, or if automatic proxy printing cannot be performed, the printing system prompts the user. This is notified, and the user selects whether to change the printing destination by explicitly specifying another device (manual proxy printing), to wait for printing to the original device, or to cancel the job. The printing system executes the process selected by the user.

  Next, an outline of the proxy printing function will be described.

  When this printing system tries to output a print job to the specified printer, if the printer cannot be used, or if an error occurs in the device during printing, the printer specified as the print destination When a situation where printing cannot be executed or when a substitute condition specified by the user occurs in the job, the printing system can change the print destination of the job to another printer.

There are two types of proxy printing:
(1) Automatic proxy printing The printing system changes the printing destination to another printer designated in advance by the user. In this case, substitution is performed without waiting for a user's explicit instruction when a failure occurs.
(2) Manual proxy printing The user explicitly specifies the printing destination.

  If a job for which a substitution condition has occurred is issued from the application using a virtual printer and the printing method of the job is set to automatic substitution, automatic substitution is executed based on the setting. Even if a job with an agent condition is issued using a virtual printer, the job cannot be completed if the job printing method is set to something other than automatic agent or the automatic agent function is used. If this happens, the printing system gives the user an opportunity to perform manual substitution on the UI. In addition, when a job for which a substitution condition has occurred is issued from the application using a printer to which a PDL driver is assigned, automatic substitution is not performed, and the printing system gives the user an opportunity for manual substitution using the UI (manual In addition to selecting a proxy, there is also an option to leave the original printer specified and an option to cancel the printing process).

  When proxy printing is performed regardless of whether automatic or manual, the printing system has job data remaining in the device to which printing was first performed, and the other machine on the network operates the internal job of that device. If the function is supported, delete it.

  Next, settings for automatic proxy printing will be described.

  To perform automatic proxy printing, one or a plurality of printers (output destination printers) using a PDL driver are registered for one printer to which a group printer driver is assigned.

  Priorities must be established for each destination printer. Duplication is not allowed.

  The output destination printer must exist on the same machine as the automatic proxy printer. A printer created by the shared printer function cannot be registered as an output destination printer of the automatic proxy printer on the machine.

  Next, substitution printing generation conditions and transition to substitution printing processing will be described.

  The proxy print generation condition is set for any printer having an output port regardless of whether the group printer driver is assigned or the PDL driver is assigned. When a print job is issued from an application, the setting of the printer to be used becomes a substitute print generation condition for the job. This condition is inherited by the output job when the job is an original job. In addition, when proxy printing is performed, it is inherited by the job after proxy.

  When the following conditions are met, if the job is an original job and the output method is set to automatic proxy, it will shift to automatic proxy, otherwise a dialog will be displayed and the user will have the opportunity to perform manual proxy give. However, the user can individually select which of these conditions will actually perform the proxy printing.

(When an error occurs)
When it is detected that an unprintable error has occurred in the device to be printed while the print job is waiting to be sent inside the printing system.

  When transmission of job data to the device is disabled for some reason (for example, due to power failure of the device) and a communication error with the device is detected.

  When it is detected that an unprintable error has occurred on the device while sending job data to the device.

  After sending print job data to the device, an error that cannot be printed occurs on the device before the print end notification is received.

(When a warning occurs in the device)
When a print job is waiting to be sent inside the printing system and a warning is detected on the device to be printed.

  When it is detected that a warning has occurred on the device while sending job data to the device.

  After sending print job data to the device, a warning occurs on the device before a print completion notification is received.

(When device printing load is high)
Even if the device is processing a print job normally, proxy printing is performed when the print load of the device is high. That is, when a job exceeding the preset threshold value is waiting for printing for the printer to be printed. As the threshold value, one or both of the number of jobs waiting for printing and the total size of jobs waiting for printing can be specified. The range to check the job waiting for printing is in the output port associated with the target printer.

(When output port is paused or error occurs)
The output port is in a paused or error state.

  Next, an example of inhibiting proxy printing by job type will be described.

Proxy printing is not performed for the following types of jobs.
Form Registration Job Secure Job BOX Job FAX Job Next, automatic substitution suppression conditions when automatic substitution printing is set will be described.

Even when automatic substitution is set, depending on the type of device error that has occurred, it can be set not to perform automatic substitution. This also takes into account that, for example, some users select a method of replenishing paper rather than performing proxy printing with another device when the paper is out. The user selects in advance which error is to suppress automatic substitution. The types of errors that can be selected are listed below.
Out of paper jam door / cover full of open paper discharge trays These can be selected independently.

  In the present embodiment, print settings can be centrally instructed to individual printer drivers corresponding to a plurality of printer devices, and a De-spooler (described in detail later) is provided for each printer driver. A driver that generates basic data (general-purpose document data) for generating a general-purpose print file for notifying a drawing command to a printer is called a group printer driver. Each printer driver depending on the printer device is called a member printer driver.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how a print job issued from a general application program such as word processing software is processed in the print job control system in the client server model of this system. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 600 denotes a client machine, which indicates a machine on which a client module of the print job control system operates.

  Usually, when a printing instruction is given, the application program generates a series of drawing commands via the graphic function of the OS, and passes them to Windows (registered trademark) Spooler via the printer driver. Windows (registered trademark) Spooler takes a procedure of passing print job data to the port monitor selected by the user and transmitting it to the printer device.

  In this embodiment, the user designates a print job control system port monitor 621 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control port monitor in this embodiment) and instructs printing. The application program 601 generates a drawing command via a series of OSs.

  Upon receiving the drawing command, the group printer driver 603 generates general-purpose document data for generating a general-purpose print file, and sends it as print job data to the job control port monitor 621 instead of a port monitor that transmits print job data to the printer device. Send. The job control port monitor 621 does not transmit print job data to the printer device 650 but transmits it to the print job control system print service 622 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control print service in the present embodiment). The job control print service 622 has a function of managing the status of the job / device managed by the job control server 630. Further, when the device and the client PC operate in a peer-to-peer connection environment, the job control print service 622 manages information such as the device status and job status notified from the device, and And a function of giving a predetermined command. This corresponds to a function for managing device information and job information of a plurality of printer devices 650.

  The print job control system print manager 623 (hereinafter abbreviated as job control print manager in the present embodiment) checks the state of the print job in the job control print service 622 by the user, This is a program that provides a user interface (UI) for operating.

  The job control print manager 623 transmits / receives information to / from the job control print service 622 via the software interface (API) of the job control print service 622, and mainly an external printer device managed by the job control print service 622. It has a function to acquire the state information as an event. Event notification types include warnings when the amount of toner is low, communication failure between the client and device, memory shortage, full output tray, and other error / warning information notifications, and return from error to normal status Notification of normal information is assumed.

  A print job control system server 630 (hereinafter abbreviated as a job control server in the present embodiment) centrally controls the timing at which the job control print service 622 on each client 600 transmits print job data to the printer device 650 ( Scheduling). The print job control system server 630 monitors the status of the power control status, fault information (paper jam), etc. during printing of each device (printing apparatus) that can communicate via the network, and the job control print service 622. Has a function to notify events. Here, regarding the monitoring of the status change of the printer status, the job control print service 622 can directly acquire a notification (event) of the status change from the printer device.

  The print job control system management console 633 (hereinafter abbreviated as “job control management console” in this embodiment) communicates information / instructions with the job control server 630 via an API for accessing software of the job control server 630. By exchanging, the entire print job control system can be monitored.

  Further, the job control server 630 communicates with each printer device 650 using the device information control module 631 to obtain information about a print job and an operation state in each printer and perform an operation. The acquired information can be transferred to the job control print service 622 on the client 600 side.

  Next, printing from the group printer driver 603 in this embodiment will be described.

  The group printer driver 603 generates the general-purpose document data described above from a series of drawing commands generated by the application program. This general-purpose document data is converted by the job control print service 622 into a general-purpose print file that is an intermediate format file independent of the type of printer device. The configuration of this general-purpose print file will be described later.

  As described above, the general-purpose print file is guided from the Windows (registered trademark) spooler 604 through the job control port monitor 621 (a) to the job control print service 622 (b). The job control print service 622 generates a drawing command based on the general-purpose print file according to the type of job control performed on the print job (c), and then the PDL driver 602 sends the drawing command to the printer device 650. Is a PDL file that can be interpreted. In FIG. 6, an example in which job control print service 622 performs job control for dividing a print job into two for this print job, and an example in which two member jobs are generated is indicated by two arrows (c). Yes. The PDL file generated by the PDL driver 602 passes through the Windows (registered trademark) spooler 604 and the job control port monitor 621 (d), and is again delivered to the job control print service 622 (e). The job control print service 622 transmits PDL print job data to the printer device 650 in accordance with an instruction from the job control server 630 (f).

  The job control print service 622 logically divides one general-purpose print file into a plurality of print jobs in accordance with the instructions in the print instruction document in the general-purpose print file, and transmits them to different printer devices or once. Re-send print job data to another printer device. (C), (d), (e), and (f) in FIG. A indicate the print job data path in such a case.

  On the other hand, when the application software creates a general-purpose print file and the application software directly inputs the general-purpose print file as a print job, the general application is a method of passing information to the group printer driver 603 or the group printer driver 603. The processing content of is different. As described above, in the case of a general application, when passing drawing information to the group printer driver 603, the application calls a Windows (registered trademark) GDI function in the same manner as a normal printer driver, and the group printer driver 603 responds accordingly. General-purpose document data is generated, and the generated general-purpose document data is generated into a general-purpose print file by the job control print service 622. On the other hand, in the case of an application that directly creates a general-purpose print file, the application already has a general-purpose print file and supplies it to the group printer driver 603. The group printer driver 603 rewrites the print instruction in the general-purpose print file based on a preset printing method as necessary, and sends it to Windows (registered trademark) Spooler 604.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a general-purpose print file.
The general-purpose print file used in the present embodiment is composed of a print instruction section 8-a and a document data section 8-b. The print instruction part is a part describing document information and a print instruction. The document data is obtained by converting application data into general-purpose data, and has a data format independent of the printer language.

The print instruction unit includes a header part, a page information part, a print format instruction part, an output method designation part, a group printer driver setting information part, a member printer number, a member printer driver name, and a member printer driver setting information part.
The header part is a part for storing information such as version identification and file information of this file.
The page information part is a part for storing information such as the number of pages of document data in the document data part 8-b and the size of each page.

  The print format instruction unit is a part that stores information related to the output format such as a print page range, the number of copies, document data imposition information (N-UP, bookbinding printing, etc.), a staple command, a punch command, and the like.

  The output method designating unit is a part that stores information such as distributed printing, color / monochrome distributed printing, proxy printing, and broadcast printing as an output method.

  The group printer driver setting information part is a part for storing UI setting information of a group printer driver described later.

The number of member printers is a part for storing the number of member printers associated with the group printer driver.
The member printer driver name is a part for storing the printer driver name of the member printer.

  The member printer driver setting information section is a part that stores, for example, DEVMODE information as setting information of the driver UI of the member printer.

  The member printer driver name and member printer driver setting information section have as many storage areas as the number of member printers stored.

  The group printer driver 603 described with reference to FIG. 6 records the settings on the group printer driver GUI in the print instruction unit 8-a when generating a general-purpose print file. Furthermore, the group printer driver 603 records the data received by GDI as document data converted into general-purpose data in the document data portion of the general-purpose print file.

  Next, the relationship between the Print System provided by Windows (registered trademark) and the print job in the print job control system and the processing outline will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 7, a print job control system 700 shows the range of the print job control system that straddles physical machines on which the server and client control programs operate. The output port (Output Port) 711 managed by the server is associated with the proxy output port (Proxy Output Port) 712 of the job control print service 622 of the client, and the proxy on each client associated with one port. All output ports are managed in a unified manner. In this embodiment, actual print job data is held in the proxy output port 712 of each client. The job control server 630 does not perform transmission processing of the print job data itself, but only instructs the job control print service 622 to transmit a print job. In response to the instruction, the job control print service 622 of the client transmits print job data to the device 650.

  Next, processing when the print job control system 700 performs value-added printing such as proxy printing, distributed printing, and broadcast printing will be described.

  When the print job control system 700 performs value-added printing such as proxy printing, distributed printing, and broadcast printing, as described above, the user or application 601 prints to a printer to which the group printer driver 603 is assigned. Must be issued. The job control print service 622 receives job data processed by the group printer driver 603 as a general-purpose print file via the job control port monitor 621. The job control print service 622 receives this job and issues a job (member job) to another printer to which the PDL driver is assigned via the DeSpooler 701 for printing.

  At this time, the DeSpooler 701 interprets the print instruction part 8-a of the general-purpose print file described with reference to FIG. 8, processes the document data of the document data part 8-b, and converts it into Windows (registered trademark) GDI. , Issue a print instruction to each printer driver and issue a print job. For example, when a 2-UP instruction is recorded in the print format designation section, document data for two pages is reduced and laid out on one sheet of paper. In the case of distributed printing or broadcast printing, a job is issued to a plurality of member printers described in the print instruction section 8-a according to these settings. In the case of proxy printing, when a proxy condition is satisfied, a member job is issued in accordance with a user's operation in advance for automatic proxy and for manual proxy. Further, the instruction information corresponding to each member printer driver is extracted from the printing instruction section 8-a by a module different from the De-spooler described above, and the print instruction for each extracted member printer driver is sent to the De-spooler. A form that allows a spooler to interpret is also assumed.

  Further, when the DeSpooler 701 issues a job to each member printer, it is necessary to create a DEVMODE for each member printer as a print instruction corresponding to the member printer driver. This DEVMODE is described in the print instruction section 8-a. The contents are appropriately reflected in the DEVMODE of each member printer.

  The job control print service 622 on the client side receives the PDL data of each member job rendered by the PDL driver 602 via the job control port monitor 621, notifies the server side of information regarding the received job, It is temporarily stored in its own proxy output queue (Proxy Output Port) 712. Thereafter, after receiving a transmission instruction from the job control server 630, it is transmitted to the print device 650.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the general-purpose print file described above.
The general-purpose print file used in the present embodiment is composed of a print instruction section 8-a and a document data section 8-b. The print instruction part is a part describing document information and a print instruction. The document data is obtained by converting application document data into general-purpose data, and has a data format independent of the printer language.

  The print instruction unit includes a header part, a page information part, a print format instruction part, an output method designation part, a group printer driver setting information part, a member printer number, a member printer driver name, and a member printer driver setting information part.

The header part is a part for storing information such as version identification and file information of this file.
The page information part is a part for storing information such as the number of pages of document data in the document data part 8-b and the size of each page.

  The print format instruction unit is a part that stores information related to the output format such as a print page range, the number of copies, document data imposition information (N-UP, bookbinding printing, etc.), a staple command, a punch command, and the like.

The output method designating unit is a part that stores information such as distributed printing, color / monochrome distributed printing, proxy printing, and broadcast printing as an output method.
The group printer driver setting information part is a part for storing UI setting information of a group printer driver described later.

The number of member printers is a part for storing the number of member printers associated with the group printer driver.
The member printer driver name is a part for storing the printer driver name of the member printer.
The member printer driver setting information section is a part that stores, for example, DEVMODE information as setting information of the driver UI of the member printer.
The member printer driver name and member printer driver setting information section have as many storage areas as the number of member printers stored.

  Note that this file may be a file that can be processed in a form in which the print instruction unit 8-a and the document data unit 8-b can be separated. In this case, the print instruction part exists as a print instruction document file and the document data part exists as a document data file, and these can be combined into one archive format and treated as one file.

  FIG. 9 is an example of a usage method for explaining an apparatus constituting the distributed and proxy printing system of this embodiment. The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart. Note that the processing of each step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11 is executed by a central processing unit provided in a device that is the main body of processing, executing a print control module (program) stored in a ROM, auxiliary storage means, or the like. It shall be realized according to

  When a print instruction is given in an environment in which a print destination is set via the system as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 for the distributed and proxy printing system on the host computer side, the distributed and proxy printing system performs a job. According to the instruction of the control print service (622), the PDL driver (602) performs job division processing, and executes distributed printing at the set distribution ratio (S1101).

  The distributed print destination is subjected to a confirmation process as to whether or not printing can be normally performed (S1102), and transfer is performed as necessary. In the transfer, the job control print service performs distribution destination information in order to track and manage print jobs. Is stored with the intermediate file identifier as a key. The distribution destination information also includes distributed page description language (PDL) print job identifiers, which are stored in the memory.

  Events from the actual input / output device are registered for the print job identifier in the page description language, and are also notified in units of print job identifiers in the page description language, but in the system the print job identifier in the page description language and the identifier on the intermediate file side It is possible to determine what kind of print notification is derived as a result of the original print instruction by the user, and it is also possible to obtain the number of pages output to the printer included in the notification information Yes (S1103).

  Further, the total number of pages owned by the job and the copy number designation information are also acquired and confirmed (S1104).

Next, the job type is confirmed, and in the case of a print job having only a normal PDL description language, the job is re-submitted without specifying the job re-development (S1106), and the designated proxy printing is executed. For a print job in which (S1110) holds an intermediate file (for example, an Adobe PDF data format file or a Microsoft EMF format file), the PDL description language suitable for the re-input destination printer is shown in FIG. Re-development is performed with the number of pages specified by the user (S1107) (S1109), and the re-deployed job is input to the changed output destination (S1110). Further, in the copy designation, re-development is performed with the number of copies designated by the user (S1108) in FIG. 10 (S1109), and the re-deployed job is input to the changed output destination (S1110).
The user can check the operation status and the print result via the print manager (623) which is a device status display unit.

  Next, the flow of proxy printing processing will be described with reference to the flowchart. The processing of each step shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 16 and 17 is performed by a central processing unit provided in a main device of processing by using a print control module (program) stored in a ROM, auxiliary storage means or the like. It shall be realized according to the execution.

  In step S1601, it is determined whether a print job has been received. If it is determined that a print job has not been received, the process advances to step S1605 to perform other processing.

  If it is determined in step S1601 that a print job has been received, the process advances to step S1602, where the print job is processed to determine whether it has been detected that an unprintable error has occurred in the device scheduled to be printed. If it is detected that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to S1606, and if it is not detected that an error has occurred, the process proceeds to S1603. In step S1603, it is determined whether or not a communication error with the device has been detected because the transmission is disabled for some reason (for example, due to power failure of the device) during transmission of job data to the device. If a communication error is detected in S1603, the process proceeds to S1606, and if a communication error is not detected, the process proceeds to S1604. In step S <b> 1604, it is determined whether an error that cannot be printed in the device is detected while job data is being transmitted to the device. If it is detected in S1604 that an unprintable error has occurred, the process proceeds to S1606.

  The processing from S1602 to S1604 is the processing described above (when an error occurs), but the above processing (when a warning occurs in the device) (when the printing load on the device is high) (when the output port is temporarily stopped) is simultaneously performed. May be replaced or replaced.

  Next, in S1606, it is determined whether or not the user has set for automatic substitution. If automatic substitution is set, the process advances to step S1607, and the automatic substitution printing process for changing the printing destination to another printer in accordance with the priority order designated in advance by the user without waiting for an explicit instruction from the user. In step S1608, it is determined whether or not the specified type of error has occurred. If it is determined that the error is of a specific type, the process proceeds to S1610. If it is determined that the error is not a specific type of error, the process proceeds to S1609.

  Here, the specific type of error is one of out of paper, paper jam, door / cover open, full output tray, and the user determines whether to suppress automatic substitution. Set independently for.

Next, in S1609, it is determined whether or not the automatic proxy is successful. If it is determined that the automatic proxy is not successful, the process proceeds to S1610.
Next, the manual substitution process in S1610 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in S1701, it is determined whether or not manual substitution printing is set with the check box 1201 in FIG. If it is determined that the setting for manual proxy printing is not set, the process is terminated. If it is determined that the setting for manual proxy printing is set, the process advances to step S1702. In S1702, it is determined whether or not the check box 1202 in FIG. 12 is set to confirm the details of the job at the time of proxy printing. If it is determined that the setting for confirming the details of the job is not performed during proxy printing, the process proceeds to S1707. If it is determined that the setting for confirming the details of the job is performed during proxy printing, the process proceeds to S1703. In step S1703, it is determined whether or not the setting of displaying a list when substitution occurs in a plurality of printers by the check box 1203 in FIG. If it is determined that the list display is set when substitution occurs in a plurality of printers, the process advances to step S1704 to display the substitution event small dialog screen in FIG. If it is determined that the list display is not set when substitution occurs in a plurality of printers, the process advances to step S1705 to display the substitution event small dialog screen in FIG.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the substitute destination selection buttons 1302 and 1402 are pressed on the substitute event small dialog screen of FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, and if it is determined that the substitute destination selection buttons 1302 and 1402 are pressed, the process proceeds to S1707. If it is determined that the proxy selection buttons 1302 and 1402 have not been pressed, the process advances to step S1715 to determine whether or not the continue buttons 1301 and 1401 have been pressed, and if it is determined that the continue buttons 1301 and 1401 have been pressed. Advances to S1718, and if it is determined that the continue button 1301, 1401 has not been pressed, the process returns to S1703.

  In step S1707, the screen shown in FIG. 15 is displayed. In step S1708, it is determined whether the user selects 1508 printer on the screen of FIG. 15 and presses the proxy print button 1505. The user selects the printer 1508 on the screen of FIG. 15 and presses the proxy print button 1505. If it is determined that the printer 1508 has been selected by the user on the screen of FIG. 15 and it has been determined that the proxy print button 1505 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to S1716. When the user selects a printer, the status of each printer (error status, warning status, status where many jobs are submitted, busy status, port stopped status, etc.) is displayed in the column 1502 in FIG. In the column 1501, a job list of the printer selected in 1502 is displayed. In 1503, a function list of the printer selected in 1502 (color function, duplex printing function, stapling function, paper size, etc.) is displayed. You can select an appropriate printer as a proxy.

  In step S1716, it is determined whether or not the continue button 1506 has been pressed. If it is determined that the continue button 1506 has been pressed, the process advances to step S1718 to continue processing in the printer in which the error has occurred without performing proxy printing. I do. If it is determined that the continue button 1506 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S1717 to perform other processing (processing for updating the printer information displayed in the column 1502 to the latest when the update button 1504 is pressed, If the print cancel button 1507 is pressed, a process for canceling printing is performed).

  In step S1709, the designated printing process is performed by the designated printer. In this case, in step S1710, it is determined whether the print job data to be subjected to proxy printing is general-purpose data (for example, PDF data format, EMF format) or PDL. If it is determined that the print job data to be subjected to proxy printing is PDL unique to a printer that is not general-purpose data, the process advances to step S1761, and all proxy printing is performed instead of partial printing. If it is determined that the data is general-purpose data (for example, PDF data format or EMF format), the process advances to step S1712 to determine whether or not the job for proxy printing is a job for which the number of copies is specified. If it is determined that the job is a copy designation job, the process advances to step S1713 to display a screen for designating the number of copies shown in FIG. 10 to perform partial proxy printing for designating the number of copies. If it is determined that the job is not the number of copies designation job, the process advances to step S1714 to display the screen for designating the number of pages in FIG. 9 and perform partial proxy printing for designating the number of pages.

It is a block diagram explaining the module and input / output device which comprise the distribution and substitution printing system of this Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the information processing apparatus in this Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory map in the block diagram shown in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the memory map of FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship with FD inserted in the FD drive shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed the flow of the process of the client server model of this system. 1 is a diagram illustrating a print job control system of a client server model of this system. It is the figure which showed an example of the structure of the general purpose print file of this system. It is a figure which shows UI example which shows the page designation example of the partial printing function of this system. It is a figure which shows UI example which shows the example of the number of copies of the partial printing function of this system. It is a figure which shows the flowchart which shows the algorithm of distributed and proxy printing in general. It is a figure which shows the example of a property screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a proxy event small dialog. It is a figure which shows the example of a proxy event small dialog. It is a figure which shows the example of manual proxy UI. It is a figure which shows the flowchart which shows the algorithm of proxy printing. It is a figure which shows the flowchart which shows the algorithm of manual substitution printing.

Claims (13)

Means for displaying a screen for designating the number of copies or a screen for designating a page according to the type of job when performing proxy printing;
Means for performing proxy printing of the specified number of copies on the screen for specifying the number of copies;
A proxy print processing apparatus, comprising: a unit that performs proxy printing of a specified page on a screen for specifying the page.   The display means may display a screen for designating the number of copies if the job is a copy designation job when performing proxy printing, and a screen for designating a page if the job is not a copy designation job. Item 3. The proxy print processing apparatus according to item 1. A discriminating means for discriminating the type of data when performing proxy printing;
A proxy printing processing apparatus, comprising: a processing unit that performs partial proxy printing or full proxy printing according to a determination result by the determination unit.   The processing means causes the partial substitution printing process to be performed when the data type is determined to be general-purpose data by the determination means, and is determined that the data type is not general-purpose data by the determination means. 4. The proxy print processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the proxy print processing is entirely performed. A step of displaying a screen for designating the number of copies or a screen for designating the page according to the type of job when performing proxy printing;
A proxy print processing method comprising: performing proxy printing for a specified number of copies on a screen for specifying the number of copies; and performing proxy printing for a page specified on the screen for specifying the page .   The display step includes a step of displaying a screen for designating a number of copies if the job is a copy designation job when performing proxy printing, and a screen for designating a page if the job is not a copy designation job. Item 6. The proxy print processing method according to Item 5. A determination step of determining the type of data when performing proxy printing;
A proxy print processing method, comprising: a process step of performing partial proxy printing or full proxy printing according to the determination result of the determination step.   When the determination step determines that the data type is general-purpose data, the processing step causes a partial proxy printing process to be performed, and the determination step determines that the data type is not general-purpose data. The proxy print processing method according to claim 7, further comprising: performing proxy print processing entirely. A step of displaying a screen for designating the number of copies or a screen for designating the page according to the type of job when performing proxy printing;
A program for causing a computer to execute the proxy printing of the designated number of copies on the screen for designating the number of copies and the step of performing proxy printing for the page designated on the screen for designating the page .   The display step includes a step of displaying a screen for designating a number of copies if the job is a copy designation job when performing proxy printing, and a screen for designating a page if the job is not a copy designation job. Item 10. The program according to Item 9. A determination step of determining the type of data when performing proxy printing;
A program for causing a computer to execute a processing step for performing partial proxy printing or full proxy printing in accordance with a determination result of the determination step.   When the determination step determines that the data type is general-purpose data, the processing step causes a partial proxy printing process to be performed, and the determination step determines that the data type is not general-purpose data. 12. The program according to claim 11, further comprising: performing proxy printing processing entirely. A storage medium storing the program according to claim 9.

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