JP3370055B2 - Network printer device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network printer device and a LAN network system, and more particularly to a printer device itself which includes a LAN adapter (Front End Process).
r) is added, and a network adapter that realizes a communication function with the LAN and a full-scale server function in the LAN adapter section, and a LAN that accommodates the network printer
Regarding network system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An information processing system is shown in FIG.
It has changed to a processing method centered on WS (personal computer / workstation). In FIG. 2, HST is a large computer system, and DT is a dam terminal (non-intelligent terminal) connected to the large computer system. PC / W
Processing modes centered on S include stand-alone usage modes and usage modes for sharing resources and peripheral devices by connecting a number of PCs / WS to a LAN to form a network. The stand-alone type is widely used for large-scale users, and the latter type is widely used for large-scale users. FIG. 3 shows a stand-alone usage mode. The PRT is a printer connected to a PC / WS and has an independent configuration. In the world of LAN networks, not a business form in which one maker provides all the devices together, such as a large-scale computer system, but a market in which domestic and foreign makers compete with high-performance, low-cost PC / WS as weapons. Is forming. In such a market environment, it is necessary to provide products that meet the needs of network, open, downsizing, and multi-vendor represented by Neo-Dama.

As shown in FIG. 4, the current LAN network is (a) a PC environment in which a PC (personal computer) is connected to the LAN to form a network, and (b) a WS (workstation) is connected to the LAN to form a network. WS configured
An environment, (c) a mixed environment in which a PC / WS is mixed and connected to a LAN to form a network is widespread. Printers used in a mixed environment also have a connection form as shown in FIG. 4 (c). That is, as in printer PR
Connect T1 locally to each PC / WS,
Print data from WS and high performance P
There is a mode in which the C / WS is used as a server host and the printer PRT2 connected to this server SVR is shared and used, and other modes. PRTi (i = 1, 2, 3) is a printer.

[0004]

The conventional method of accommodating the printer in the LAN network as described above has the following problems. That is, in the printer connection configuration of (a), the printer itself has a low mobility, and since the printer is connected to each PC / WS, the number of printers assorted and the printer installation space are wasted. In the printer connection of (b), once the printer starts the printing process, the type of data to be printed by the printer (for example, complicated figures, graphs, etc.) that spends time in the drawing process is sent to the CPU of the server host. As a result, the performance of the server host is significantly deteriorated. In the printer connection form of (c), when the PCs / WS connected to the LAN network are the same manufacturer, that is,
There is no problem if each PC / WS has the same print data format. This is because the emulation program (for example, Po
This is because stScript, FM sequence, etc.) can be commonly used by each PC / WS. However, if the print data format is different and the emulation program is different,
There is a problem that the printer interprets wrong print data and prints incorrectly.

In the printer connection type, if the communication protocol between the printer and the client is different, there is a problem that print data cannot be received from the client and printing cannot be performed. (d) With the widespread use of LAN networks, the mainframe is connected to the PC / W along with the usage pattern of horizontal cooperation in which the PC / WS is connected.
There are great expectations for the usage pattern of vertical cooperation connected to the S LAN. However, the format of print data is different between the mainframe world and the PC / WS world, and there is a problem that a plurality of printers for printing each data must be prepared. That is, there is an environment where one printer cannot print all.

(E) With improvements in printing technology, printing forms from continuous paper to cut paper have become mainstream. In addition, there is a demand for printing out a large number of sheets in a batch, and a high-speed cut sheet printer of 130 sheets / min has appeared. In such a high-performance and high-function printer, printing for many jobs is performed in a short time, and therefore it is necessary to identify the cut sheets that have been printed for each job. For this reason, there is a method (offset stacking) in which printed cut sheets are alternately staggered and stacked for each job. The printing papers of the job are overlapped without misalignment, making it difficult to distinguish. That is, it is pointed out that the post-processing mechanism of the high-speed printer is inadequate, and an urgent response is desired.

(F) UNIX (registered trademark) environment, that is,
The LAN network environment used in the prior art has the following problems, and its improvement is required. -When used as a remote printer, there is a problem that the client side cannot fully grasp the print completion notification and the detailed notification of the trouble that occurred in the printer.・ Dedicated PC for printer control such as print server
When using / WS, there is a problem that the system becomes expensive, and there is a strong demand for eliminating the dedicated PC / WS. -The print server environment, such as print request methods, print job inquiries, and printer status grasps, is an operation mode that uses line commands, and there is a problem that specialized knowledge is required. It is hoped that an operation mode that does not

(G) When the network printer has a mailbox as a post-processing mechanism, it is required to have the following functions. In other words, in order to prevent the print results from being lost or scattered, or to realize a security operation where you do not want to show the print results to others, store the printed paper in different bins for each user or group. To manage easily, when the client does not specify the bin to store printed paper, or when the bin is full of paper, etc. It is required to be able to easily recognize the usage state, and to be able to easily deal with the case where the storage of the printed paper in the bin and the removal of the printed paper overlap.

A network printer device and a LAN network system for solving the problems (a) to (f) are proposed by Japanese Patent Application No. 5-286806. Therefore,
An object of the present invention is to provide a network printer device that solves the above (g). That is, an object of the present invention is to allow printed sheets to be stored and managed in different bins for each user or group when the network printer device has a mailbox as a post-processing mechanism. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily recognize the usage state of a bin for storing printed paper when the network printer device is provided with a mailbox as a post-processing mechanism. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily cope with a case where the storage of printed paper in the bin and the removal of the printed paper overlap when the network printer device is provided with a mailbox as a post-processing mechanism. It is to be.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. Reference numeral 20 is a network printer device main body, and 23.
Is a printing mechanism composed of a recording system and a paper transport system, 51 is a mail box for storing printed paper in a bin for storing printed paper, 52 is a client, 53 is communication transmission For example, Ethernet. In the printer body, 21 is a LAN adapter (Front End Processor: FEP), 22 is a printer control unit, 24 is print data (spool information), fonts, form overlays, accounting log information, mailbox management information files, etc. A storage medium (hard disk) 26 is a connector for LAN connection. L
In the AN adapter section 21, 21b is a LAN interface driver including a transceiver and the like 21-
3 to 21-6 are various communication protocol control units, 21-8 is a spooling control unit, and 20a is a mailbox control unit.

The LAN interface driver 21b takes in the print information sent from the client 52 via the connector 26 and identifies the communication protocol. The identified communication protocol control units 21-3 to 21-6 perform communication control according to a predetermined protocol and receive print data. The spooling control unit 21-8 sends the print information to the hard disk 24.
The print control unit 22 reads out the print information corresponding to the print job of the highest priority instructed by the queue from the hard disk 24 and spools each page based on the print information. An image of a dot image is generated, and the printing mechanism 23 prints the image on paper. When the mailbox 51 is provided, the mailbox control unit 20a obtains the bin number of the bin storing the printed paper from the print information and controls the storage of the print paper in the bin. That is, the correspondence between the user name or group name and the bin number is registered in advance, and when the mailbox control unit 20a designates the bin for storing printed paper by the user name or the group name, The bin number of the bin storing the printed paper is obtained from the above correspondence, and the printed paper is stored in the bin. Further, a plurality of conditions for specifying the bin for storing the printed paper are registered in advance, the mailbox control unit 20a obtains the bin number of the bin satisfying these conditions, and the print paper is placed in the bin. Store. The client 52 creates print data, inquiry data of device status and job information, change of print attributes, and registration data by operating the menu screen, and sends these requests to the network printer device 20 via the LAN. Further, the client 52 receives the response to the inquiry, displays the response data, and also receives and displays the information such as the paper out, the hardware trouble, etc. automatically sent from the network printer device 20. Also, the client 52
Operates the attribute of each bin of the mailbox 51 and other operations by operating the menu screen.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (A) LAN network incorporating the network printer of the present invention FIG. 5 shows an LA network incorporating the network printer of the present invention.
It is explanatory drawing of a N network system. Figure 5 (a) is U
This is an example incorporated in a NIX OS (operating system) environment, WS is a workstation (client), SVR is a server, NPRT is a network printer connected to a LAN, and TCP / IP respectively.
It is equipped with a protocol and communicates with each other according to the communication protocol. Fig. 5 (b) is a LAN in the Netware OS environment
Is an example of connecting a network printer NPRT to
The PC is a personal computer, and the NPRT is a network printer connected to the LAN, each equipped with the IPX / SPX protocol, and communicate with each other according to the communication protocol.

The network printer NPRT of the present invention
Is a LAN adapter unit (Front En) that has a printer communication function 20 and a full-scale server function.
d Processor: FEP) 21 is added, and T is set in this FEP.
It is equipped with CP / IP, IPX / SPX, and other communication protocols, and has a multi-protocol function for performing communication according to a predetermined communication protocol as appropriate. Therefore, UNI
It can be commonly used for the X OS environment and the Network OS environment, and it is not necessary to design the network printer separately for each environment.

FIG. 5C shows a server SVR in a UNIX environment,
The network printer NPRT of the present invention is connected to a LAN in a UNIX / Network mixed environment in which a workstation WS and a personal computer PC in a Network environment are mixed.
Is an example of connecting. The FEP 21 of the network printer NPRT accepts the print request from the UNIX environment and the print request from the PC environment, distinguishes the determination of TCP / IP protocol or IPX / SPX protocol by the ID of the header part of the packet, and processes each protocol. Hand over to the department. Each protocol processing unit has a multi-task structure, and data processing is performed in parallel. Therefore, the waiting time related to the print request on the client side can be made extremely short as compared with the conventional case. In addition to the form of horizontal cooperation described above, the mainframe HST is connected to the communication transmission line via the LAN controller LANC or the personal computer PC (vertical cooperation form), and a print request from the mainframe HST is received and printed. You can also FIG. 5D shows a configuration in which the network printer NPRT of the present invention is connected to the communication transmission line of the conventional LAN network system. That is, the network printer NPRT of the present invention is directly connected to the existing system, and the network printer NPRT is connected to another existing PC.
It can be configured to be shared by / WS. (B) First Embodiment of Network Printer of the Present Invention (a) Appearance of Network Printer and Configuration of Printing Mechanism FIG. 6 is an external view of the network printer of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of the printing mechanism of the network printer. is there.
In FIG. 6, 1a to 1c are three-stage paper hoppers for accommodating sheets (cut sheets), and 2 and 3 are a left door and a right door, respectively, so that the inside of the printer can be seen when opened.
Reference numeral 4 is a stacker provided at the top of the printer for accommodating discharged sheets, and 5 is an operation panel.

The printing mechanism comprises a process system and a transport system,
As shown in FIG. 7, the process system includes a photosensitive drum 10a,
Pre-charger 10b for uniformly charging the photosensitive drum 10a
And an exposure optical unit 10c that irradiates the photosensitive drum 10a with an optical image to form an electrostatic latent image, and a developing unit 10d that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum with toner to form a toner image. And a transfer / separation unit 10e that transfers the toner image to the conveyed sheet and separates the sheet from the photosensitive drum.
And a charge eliminator equipped with a cleaner that removes the electrostatic charge on the photosensitive drum and the toner that remains on the photosensitive drum.
The cleaner unit 10f is provided. The developing unit 10d includes a toner supplying cartridge 10d-1 and a developing unit 10d-2 for charging the toner and rubbing the toner on a photosensitive drum with a developing roller (not shown) to develop the electrostatic latent image with the toner. I have it. The transfer / separation unit 10e includes a transfer charger and a separation charger, and the transfer charger generates corona discharge from the back surface of the paper to charge the paper to the opposite polarity to the toner image and transfer the toner image to the paper.

The paper transport system includes a pick roller 11a for picking cut paper from the paper hoppers 1a to 1c, a standby roller 11b, a transport roller 11c for transporting the picked paper to the standby roller 11b, and the transferred toner image on the paper. A heat roller fixing device 11d for heat-fixing the sheet, a back side printing conveyance path 11e for conveying the sheet turned over for back side printing to the standby roller 11b, and a back side printing conveyance path for the rear end of the sheet from the heat roller fixing device. An impeller 11f directed to 11e and a switchback roller 11 that feeds a sheet from a heat roller fixing device 11d in a discharge direction and then sends the sheet to a backside printing conveyance path 11e.
g and a guide roller 11 for guiding the discharge of the paper.
h, a discharge roller 11i, and a stacker 11j that stores discharged sheets. Reference numeral 11m is a conveying path for guiding the printing paper supplied from the large-capacity hopper described later in the direction of the arrow A '(to the process system).

(B) Operation of the printing mechanism The pick roller 11 picks the printing paper from the paper hoppers 1a to 1c.
Pick it with a, and send it to the standby roller 11b with the conveying roller 11c. The standby roller 11b synchronizes the toner image and the printing paper so that they arrive at the transfer charger at the same time, and conveys the printing paper to the transfer charger at a predetermined timing.

In parallel with the above, the photosensitive drum 10a is charged by the pre-charging device 10b and is irradiated with a light image by the optical unit 10c to form an electrostatic latent image.
Thus, a toner image is formed. The paper is sent to the transfer / separation unit 10e in synchronism with the standby roller 11b, the toner image is transferred there, and is separated from the photosensitive drum and sent to the heat roller fixing device 11d to heat-fix the toner image. To be done. Then, it is sent in the direction of the switchback roller 11g and is conveyed in the direction of the stacker 11j by the switchback roller.

In the case of single-sided printing, the paper is further conveyed by the guide roller 11h and the discharge roller 11i and discharged to the stacker 11j. On the other hand, in the case of double-sided printing, when the trailing edge of the sheet reaches the impeller 11f, the switchback roller 11g stops the conveying operation to stop the sheet, and the trailing edge of the sheet moves in the counterclockwise direction of the impeller 11f. By the rotation, the trailing edge of the paper is sent to the standby roller 11b by the carrying roller of the backside printing carrying path 11e. After that, as with surface printing,
The paper sent by the standby roller 11b is transferred / separated by the transfer / separation unit 10e.
Then, the toner image is transferred to the back surface and is fixed by the heat roller fixing device 11d. Then, the paper is fed toward the switchback roller 11g, and the stacker 1 is fed by the switchback roller 11d.
The sheet is conveyed in the 1j direction, discharged by the discharge roller 11i to the stacker 11j, and double-sided printing is performed.

According to such a printing mechanism, the paper hopper 1a
1c is mounted from the front side, housed in the apparatus, and ejected to the stacker 11j on the upper side after printing, so space is not required on both sides, and space can be saved.
Since the discharge path is used for the switchback, the apparatus can be downsized and double-sided printing can be performed. 20
A large-capacity hopper that holds about 00 (maximum) sheets can be incorporated in the network printer of FIG.

(C) Network printer equipped with a large capacity hopper FIG. 8 is an external view of a network printer equipped with a large capacity hopper.
Is a left door, a right door, 4 is a stacker provided on the top of the printer for accommodating discharged sheets, 5 is an operation panel, and 6 is a large-capacity hopper. FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of the large-capacity hopper, 6a is a table portion for storing sheets, 6b is a sheet feeding unit for feeding the sheets one by one, and 6c.
Is a power supply unit. In the table portion 6a, 6a-1 is a table on which sheets are placed, 6a-2 is a table hook that determines the lower position of the table, and 6a-3 is a table according to the amount of sheets.
This is a control unit that moves the position of 6a-1 up and down so that a pick roller (described later) can feed out the sheets one by one. In the paper feeding unit 6b, 6b-1 is a pick roller for picking and feeding the sheets one by one from the table portion, 6b-2 is a feed belt, 6b-3 is a feed roller, 6b-4 is a reverse roller,
Reference numeral 6b-5 is a paper passage sensor, and the paper feed path A of the paper feed unit is connected to the paper feed path of the printer body along the dotted line A'in FIG.

(D) Hardware of Network Printer FIG. 10 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of the network printer. 20 is a network printer device, 21 is L
LAN adapter with AN communication function (Front End Pr
ocessor; FEP), 22 is a printer control unit, 2
3 is an engine (printing mechanism), 24 is a hard disk,
Form overlay, font, print data by spooling, device definition information, billing log information,
For storing error log information and the like, 25 is a floppy (registered trademark) disk for downloading form overlays, fonts, programs to the printer device, and 26 is a LAN (Ethernet (registered trademark): Et)
LAN connector for connecting a network printer to the HERNET (registered trademark), 27 is a connector for RS232C or Centronics, 28 is an operator who displays information from the printer device, inputs instruction information to the printer device, and displays status The panel 29 is a power supply unit that supplies power to the printer control unit 22 and the like.

The FEP 21 has a LAN adapter function,
It controls drivers such as Ethernet and Token Ring. Ethernet 10Base5, 10Base
The connection connector 26 is provided so as to be compatible with each of 2 and 10BaseT. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the layout of the LAN connector, and 7 is a rear cover, which is located at the bottom.
0Base5, 10Base2, and 10BaseT connection connectors 26a, 26b, and 26c are provided.
Reference numerals 26a ", 26b", and 26c "are physical medium attachments connected to the respective connectors, and 8 is a LAN cable. One predetermined attachment is connected to the corresponding connector depending on the type of Ethernet. A transceiver is built in the attachment 8a of 10Base5.

Further, the FEP 21 has a connection interface of RS232C or Centronics, and further has a function of controlling a plurality of communication protocols (multi-protocol control function), TCP / IP, IPX / SPX, Ethernet.
Enables acceptance of rtalk, RS232C, Centronics, etc. In addition to the above functions, the FEP 21 accepts print data via the LAN, and uses the bus or scangy (SCS).
It has a function of spooling via I) and a conversation control function (an inquiry and a response function to the inquiry) accompanying communication between the client and the printer. Spooling is a function of, when a print request is made from each client, connecting the request (print job) to a queue and storing print data in the hard disk 24.

The printer control unit 22 refers to the queue to read the highest priority print data from the hard disk 24, and based on a predetermined emulation program, the print data description language (for example, Postscript or PC).
Its main functions are a process of interpreting L (Printer Control Language, etc.), a process of developing print data into a dot image for each page (drawing process), control of an engine unit, and the like. The engine 23 transfers the drawable (printable) image data sent from the printer control unit 22 onto the paper surface to complete the printing process.

(E) Detailed Configuration of Network Printer FIG. 12 is a detailed hardware configuration diagram of the network printer. The same parts as those in FIG. 10 are designated by the same reference numerals. It should be noted that parts (RS232C, etc.) not related to the LAN are omitted. In FEP21, 26a to 26c are 10Base2, 10BaseT and 10Ba, respectively.
It is a connector for se5, and 26a 'and 26b' are 10
It is a transceiver for Base2, 10BaseT,
CSMA / CD collision detection and transmission / reception control are performed. 1
The 0Base5 transceiver 26c 'is provided between the LAN and the connector 26c. Reference numeral 21a is a LAN controller, which is capable of controlling a plurality of communication protocols such as TCP / IP, IPX / SPX, and Ethertalk. 21
b is a system bus, 21c is a microcomputer (M
PU1) and 21d are dual-port RAMs (DPRA) for performing inter-bus communication with the printer control unit 22.
M), 21e is RAM, 21f is ROM, 21g is SC
SI interface unit, 21h is DMA (Direct Memory)
Access) Control unit.

In the printer control section 22, 2
2a is a system bus, 22b is a SCSI bus, 22c,
22d is a SCSI interface unit, 22e is a microcomputer (MPU2), 22f is a drawing LSI, 22
g is a RAM such as a bitmap. Further, 23 is an engine (printing mechanism), 24 is a hard disk, 25 is a floppy disk, and 28 is an operator panel. FIG.
Is a memory configuration diagram of the DPRAM 21d, 21d-1 is an environment information area, 21d-2 is an interface area, and 21d-3 is a spool information area. In the environment information area 21d-1,
Hard disk information (number of cylinders, number of tracks, sector length, starting cylinder number, etc.) and default values for network printers (initial paper feed bin (if mailbox control function is available), initial printing surface, initial emulation, paper size, etc.) It is read from the hard disk 24 and set. Also, the IP address of the client that issued the print request is sequentially stored as communication information. still,
This IP address is referred to when deciding which client is notified of printing completion. In the interface area 21d-2, commands from the FEP 21 to the printer control unit 22, statuses of the printer control unit 22 in response to the commands (normal end, abnormal end, etc.), start address of spool information (print data) stored in the hard disk, spool information The number of bytes and the like are stored. The spool information area 21d-3 stores a sequence (directory) of logical block addresses for storing spool information.

FIG. 14 shows an example of commands exchanged between the FEP 21 and the printer control section 22, and the left column shows F.
The command from the EP 21 to the printer control unit 22, the right column is from the printer control unit 22 to the FEP 21.
Command is shown. The commands from the FEP include commands such as print request, job deletion, job move, print stop, print restart, shutdown (print emergency stop), and error notification. The commands from the printer control unit include commands such as device ready, job end, offline, error offline, online, test command, power-off state saving, and error notification.

(F) Software Configuration of Network Printer FIG. 15 is a software configuration diagram of the network printer, which can be divided into a software portion in the FEP 21 having a LAN adapter function and a software portion in the printer control unit 22.・ Software of FEP part As the software of FEP part, LAN connection interface driver (eg Etherne
t driver) 21-1, RS232C or driver for controlling the connection interface with Centronics, driver 21-2 that realizes the connection between the network printer and external devices, multi-protocol control unit (TCP / IP control, IPX)
/ SPX control, Ethernettalk control, RS232C / Centronics control, etc.) 21-3 to 21-6, communication response control unit 21- that controls communication processing between networks
7, spooling control unit 21-8 for controlling spooling, billing log control unit 21-9, center routine function control unit 21-10, filter control unit 21-11 Step control unit 21-12 for managing processing steps In addition, there is a mailbox control unit (dotted line) 20a described in the second embodiment described later. The connection interface driver (eg Ethernet driver) 21-1 is software included in the transceivers 26a 'to 26c' (Fig. 6), and the multi-protocol control units 21-2 to 21-6 are L-level.
This is software installed in the AN controller 21a.

Process of Multi-Protocol Control Unit FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the process of the multi-protocol control unit. Although the processing of the two types of protocol control units is described, the same processing can be performed in the case of three or more types. The connection interface driver (Ethernet driver) 21-1 takes in a packet (frame) from the LAN and passes it to the multi-protocol control unit. The multi-protocol control unit checks whether the destination address in the packet matches its own address (step 501). As shown in FIG. 17, the Ethernet frame includes an Ethernet header EH, an information section I, and a frame check sequence section FCS. The Ethernet header EH has a preamble PRE for establishing synchronization, a destination address DA, and , A source address SA and a type field TYP are included, and the type of the communication protocol (TCP / I
P and IPX / SPX) are written. In the information field I, the header PHD of each communication protocol,
A network printer header NPH and data DT are included. The transmission unit of the LAN is a frame, and when the frame is packetized and sent, it is called a packet. Therefore, the terms packet and frame are mixed, but the substance is the same.

In step 501, if they match, the packet (frame) is stored in the buffer, and if they do not match, it is discarded (step 502). Next, type field T
The content of YP is checked to identify the communication protocol (step 503), and the buffered frame is passed to the identified protocol control unit (TCP / IP protocol control unit, IPX / SPX protocol control unit) (step 504a, 504b). The identified protocol is TCP
If it is / IP, the TCP / IP protocol control unit is activated and it is confirmed that the IP address included in the frame is its own address (step 505). Next, in order to reconstruct the data composed of a plurality of frames, the buffers are linked for each same ID, and the above process is repeated until the same ID is completed (506, 507). Same ID
When the processing is completed, the data (for example, print data) is passed to the spooling control unit 21-8 which is an upper layer (step 51).
1).

On the other hand, the identified protocol is IPX / SP.
If there is X, the IPX / SPX protocol control unit starts up,
It is confirmed that the IPX address included in the frame is its own address (step 508). The same I is then used to reconstruct the data composed of multiple frames.
The buffer is linked for each D, and the above processing is repeated until the same ID is completed (509, 510). When the same ID is completed, the data (for example, print data) is passed to the spooling control unit (step 511) which is an upper layer.

Spooling control The communication response control unit 21-7 controls relaying of communication and collection of communication information in order to realize a unique communication path function between the client side and the printer device. The spooling control unit 21-8 has a file management function, assigns a job number to print data, spools the print data in the hard disk 24, and registers print job information in the output waiting queue in the print data to control the printer. An environment for delivering jobs to the section 22 is prepared. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of spooling, and FIGS. 19 and 20 are flowcharts of processing of the spooling control unit. In FIG. 18, 21-3 is a TCP / IP control unit, 21-8 is a spooling control unit, 21d is a dual port RAM (DPRAM), 21e is a RAM, and there are two spool buffers SBA, SBB and a cylinder management table. It has an area for storing the CAT and the job queue QUE. Reference numeral 22 is a printer control unit, and 24 is a hard disk (secondary storage device).

The multi-protocol control section carries out the multi-protocol control process of FIG. 16 based on the frame taken in from the LAN to identify the communication protocol. When the communication protocol is TCP / IP, the TCP / IP control unit 21
-3 receives print data according to a predetermined protocol and passes the received data to the spooling control unit 21-8, which is an upper layer.
(Step 521). The spooling controller 21-8 analyzes the command of the network header included in the received data.
In the case of the print request command (step 522), the total print data size is acquired from the received data, and the required number of cylinders is calculated (step 523). Next, the cylinder for writing the print data is secured by referring to the cylinder management table CAT (step 524). If the cylinder cannot be acquired, an abnormal response is transmitted to the print request source and the processing ends (steps 525 and 526).

If the cylinder can be acquired, a confirmation response is transmitted to the print request source (step 527). After that, the print data is continuously received and the first spool buffer SB is received.
Store until A is full (steps 528, 52).
9). If the spool buffer SBA becomes full, SC
The print data is written to the hard disk 24 via the SI interfaces 21g and 22c (see FIG. 12) (step 530), and then the usage flag of the data writing cylinder is set in the cylinder management table (step 531). When the spool buffer SBA is full, the second spool buffer SBB is switched to. As a result, the print data is stored in the spool buffer and written in the hard disk 24 in parallel (step 532). After that, the processes after step 528 are repeated until all print data is received (step 533).

When the reception of all the print data and the storage in the hard disk are completed, the spooling control section 21-8 transmits a response indicating the normal reception end to the print request request source (step 5).
34). As a result, the control file sent from the print request source is received, and job header information, designated emulation, paper feed hopper, double-sided printing instruction, etc. are added to the first 512 bytes of spool information (print data) stored in the hard disk. (Step 535). Next, the spooling control unit 21-8 sets a print request command, spool start address, spool information byte number, etc. in the interface area of the DPRAM 21d, and cylinder number (sequential logical block address: directory) in the spool information area. Are listed (step 536). Thereafter, the output queue (job queue) QUE corresponding to the priority of the print job is queued at the end (step 537). After queuing, an interrupt request is issued to the printer control unit (step 538), the status of the printer call side is confirmed, and spooling control is completed (step 539).

Each time a new job is queued in the job queue QUE held in the RAM 21e, the job information is sent to the printer control unit 22 via the system bus, and the RAM of the printer control unit is sent.
It is stored in 22g. When the printer control unit 22 dequeues the print job from the job queue held in the RAM 22g after the completion of a predetermined print job, the dequeue information is sent to the FEP 21 via the system bus and stored in the RAM 21e of the FEP. The existing job queue QUE is updated. That is, the FEP 21 and the printer control unit 22 have the same job queue. In addition, the job queue is held in the hard disk 24 in order to prevent the job queue from being lost when the power is turned off.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the job queue QUE and the hard disk 24. The print data PDTi (i = 1, 2, ...
..) is stored, and the job queue QU is stored in the RAM 22g.
E is stored. Each job information JBi (i = 1, 2, ...) Constituting the job queue QUE has a pointer (P1) pointing to the start address of the next job information, a pointer (P2) pointing to the start address of the previous job information, It has a job number (JNO.), An IP address (IPA), a print data storage position (disk address AD) in the hard disk 24, and the like. Pointer 22-1 is the first job J
The head address of B1 is pointed to, and hereinafter, each job points to the head of the next job information in order of priority.

.Charging log control, center routine control,
The filter control charge log control unit 21-9 (FIG. 10) has functions such as collection of charge information regarding a job printed by a network printer, logging, and charge management. The center routine control unit 21-10 has a part of a full-scale server function, and in addition to the functions provided as standard, the user can customize and expand the processing function. The center routine control function includes, for example, a ticket gate control function and a banner page information update function.

The ticket gate control function is a function of performing qualification checks such as print requests and operations for network printers, and performing acceptance / rejection. The banner page information update function is a function for the user to add / edit the information to be printed on the banner page. The banner page is a page for job identification that is inserted between printing sheets corresponding to each print job. By utilizing such a center routine function, the security of shared operation of the network printer and the guarantee of the billing process become easy. Filter control unit 21
-11 has a function of performing code conversion of print data, checking, changing, and adding various items of print data.

The software for controlling the center routine and the software for controlling the filter can be downloaded from the floppy disk 25 to the hard disk 24, and can also be registered in the hard disk from the client side. -Software of the printer control unit As the software of the printer control unit 22 (FIG. 15), the I / O control unit 22-that takes out one job connected to the job queue (output waiting queue) and reads spool data from the job information 1. Buffering control unit 22-2 that buffers spool data and passes it to the emulation control unit, emulation control unit that interprets print data (FM sequence program 22-3, Japanese PostScript22
-4, SUN raster 22-5, etc.), RIP (Raster Ima) that creates image data (bitmap data) of a dot image based on print data.
ge processor) control unit 22-6, engine control unit 22-7 that outputs image data of dot image to the engine, read fonts and form overlays from the hard disk 24 through resource management of resource information necessary for printing, and RIP processing program Resource management control unit
22-8, Collect the response information for the inquiry about the device status and job queue requested by the network printer, and
A status control unit 22-9 having a function of delivering the communication response control unit 21-7 of P21, management information (IP address,
For the trouble that occurred in the operation panel control unit 22-10, which has the function of inputting (constants related to printing, etc.) and the information display from the network printer,
Recovery control unit 22-11, which has the function of automatically restarting the printing process, -1 When operating a network printer according to the customer's request, the standard values (IP address, paper size, stacker selection) as a system for printing There is a device attribute management control unit 22-12 having a function of managing

(G) Client (g-1) Client software configuration diagram FIG. 22 is a client software configuration diagram.
Although the hardware configuration of the client is not explicitly shown, the same configuration as that of a normal workstation WS or personal computer PC, that is, a processor, a display device,
It has an input / output unit (keyboard, mouse, etc.) and an external storage medium (hard disk, floppy disk, etc.).
31a is software for menu control (menu control unit), 31b is software for status control (status control unit), 31c is software for line command control (line command control unit), 31d is software for print request control ( A print request control unit), 31e is communication control software (communication control unit), and 31f is an OS.
Is. These software can be written in the memory of the client from a floppy disk or the like.
Further, the hard disk 2 of the network printer device 20
It is also possible to store these software in 4, and to write them in the memory of the client by designating the destination client and the name of the software to be transmitted from the operation panel of the network printer. That is, the program designated by the control of the status control unit 22-12 is read from the hard disk 24 and sent to the communication response control unit 21-7. Then, it is sent to the client by the FTP function of the TCP / IP protocol and stored in the memory. Let

(G-2) Menu control / status control The menu control section 31a is a GUI (Graphical User Int).
erface) -based software that performs menu screen control and other display controls using various toolkits such as Openlook and motif. The status control unit 31b issues an inquiry request to the network printer device regarding job information, receives a response to the inquiry, and receives error information. The user can
The network printer device installed at a remote location has the following functions (1) to (3).

Setting and referring to initialization information (configuration definition information, printer standard value information) of the network printer device,
Ability to update. The details of the configuration definition information and the printer standard value information treated as the initialization information are as follows. That is, the configuration definition information handled as initialization information is: -IP address of printer device-Remote printer name-Online / offline distinction-System standard value of network printer device-Size of paper loaded in hopper-Front-back processing mechanism There are types (such as large capacity hoppers, mailboxes, etc.) implemented as, and printer standard value information handled as initialization information is: -Print format (single-sided / double-sided printing, portrait (portrait) / landscape ( (Landscape))-Paper size-Emulation name-Connecting interface type-Communication protocol type-Form overlay type-Font type-Standard hopper-Standard stacker-Presence / absence of banner page output.

A function of issuing an instruction command for controlling the network printer device and receiving the result. A function to specify print attributes and request print for printing with a network printer. A function that registers, references, deletes, and holds job queues for spooling on network printer devices. A function that refers to, updates, and deletes the status of jobs spooled by network printer devices and the print attributes of jobs. A function that changes the priority of jobs spooled on a network printer device. A function to display, change, and delete the print attributes of the job that you requested to print. A function to instruct reprinting due to error recovery in the network printer. A function to collect, display, and output maintenance information of network printer devices. The maintenance information includes a spool usage rate, a sheet remaining state, a toner remaining state (consumable item supplement information), system log information, and memory dump information.

(G-3) Line command control The line command control unit 31c newly adds a command
It is software that provides operands. Since the UNIX standard command is intended for a line printer, double-sided printing of a high-speed page printer (laser printer), hopper selection, and other instructions cannot be performed. Therefore, in the present invention, a new unique command is added.

FIG. 23 is a table showing a command list.
The upper part is a UNIX standard command, and the lower part is a print command dedicated to the network printer of the present invention. There are lpd compatible method and communication filter method as the printing method.
Four line commands, pr, lpq, lprm, and lpc, are prepared and have the meanings in the figure. The function of each command is lpr: Send job to printer lpq: Display job in job queue lprm: Delete spooling job lpc: Manage printer. It is not sufficient to use a highly functional network printer with only these existing print commands. Therefore, the following eight extended print commands are newly added. The function of each command is nlpr: Sending a job to the network printer device nlpru: Changing the contents of the job requested to the network printer device nlpq: Displaying the job in the job queue of the network printer device nlprm: Deleting the job in the job queue of the network printer device nlpj: Display contents of request job to network printer device nlph: Hold network printer device job /
Release nlpc: Network printer device management nlpset: Network printer device setting. Note that some print commands can specify filters.

Job transmission to the printer by the UNIX standard command is performed in the format of lpr ABCC (A, B, and C are operands and print request conditions). However, this job send command lp
If, for example, the request condition D for double-sided printing is added to r and sent as lpr ABCD, an error will occur. Therefore, in the present invention, the original command nlpr is used as nlpr A B C D, this command is executed by the next print request control unit 31d, and the lpr A B C (D) format, that is, UNIX is allowed. It is converted into a format and sent out. C (D) means that C includes D.

(G-4) Print request control / communication control The print request control unit 31d includes the line command control unit 31c.
When a print request request is received from the
The communication control unit 31e is requested to transmit a print request by appropriately converting the command. The print request control unit 31d also receives a print request from the menu screen. That is, when the menu screen is displayed on the display device and necessary items are picked and data is input, the menu control unit 31a creates line commands and operands corresponding to these data and inputs them to the print request control unit 36d. The print request control unit 36d interprets the line command / operand, converts the command, and transmits the print request to the communication control unit 31e.
Ask. The communication control unit 31e is software for enabling a unique communication path between the client side and the network printer device, and also has a communication function according to another communication protocol, for example, TCP / IP protocol. The communication control unit 31e controls the print request control unit 31d from the menu control unit 31a and the line command control unit 31c.
It has a function of sending the print data input via the TCP / IP protocol to the network printer device. Further, the reply control unit 31e has a function of transmitting inquiry data according to its own protocol. Furthermore,
Information sent from the network printer device (for example, response information to an inquiry, print completion notification, error information, etc.) is received, and the information is sent to the status control unit 31b.
It has a function to pass to.

(G-5) Request for remote control print job at client FIG. 24, FIG. 25, and FIG. 26 are examples of specific Japanese menu screens for remote control of the network printer device, and FIG. FIG. 27 is an explanatory view of the drawing configuration of FIG. FIG. 27 is a flow chart of print request processing from the menu screen. When the menu control program is activated, it is ready to accept command input. Here, if the printer name is specified from the console window, the Japanese menu screen 41 shown in FIG. 25 is displayed.
Is displayed. The Japanese menu screen is operated by clicking the icon with the mouse. By clicking a predetermined icon, the menu display state changes. If the user wants to print a certain file to the network printer device while the Japanese menu screen 41 is displayed, the item "start" 41a is picked (clicked) with the mouse. As a result, the print file designation menu 42 is displayed (FIG. 26, step 55).
2). In this menu, the item "Open" 42a
When is clicked, the file list 42b is displayed. Then, by specifying the file name to be printed from the file list 42b and clicking the item "print specification" 42c,
The designated file name is displayed in the designated file list 42d (steps 553 to 555). The file name is specified by clicking the desired file name or by moving the cursor to the file name and pressing the execution key. Then, if there is another file to be printed, the operations after step 553 are repeated (step 556).

When all the files have been designated and the item "print" 42e is clicked, the menu control section 31a displays the print format designation menu 43 (step 55).
7). If it is not necessary to specify the print format, click the item "Apply" 43a (steps 558 and 55).
9). Thereafter, the menu control unit 31a sends a print request command to the network printer device based on the input data.
Operands (print file, print attribute file, file attribute information) are created and input to the print request control unit 31d. The print request control unit 31d converts a print request command and print data, and the communication control unit 31e uses, for example, TCP.
Network printer device 2 via the / IP protocol
Send to 0. On the other hand, if it is necessary to specify the print format, in the print format specification menu 43, the print attributes (paper orientation, binding position, paper size, margin, number of copies, etc.), print priority, etc. are specified (step 560). ).
Then, when it is necessary to register the designated print attribute, the item "register" 43b is clicked to register. Then, the item "Apply" 43a is clicked (step 55).
9).

Print job list, font list, overlay list display Print job list in the network printer device,
To display a list of fonts and a list of form overlays, in the menu 41, select the item "Display" 41b.
Click. As a result, menu 4 for list selection
Since 4 is displayed, a desired list name is designated. The menu control unit 31a creates an inquiry command / operand (job, font, form overlay, etc.) and inputs it to the print request control unit 31d. Print request control unit 3
When 1d receives the inquiry command / operand, it sends an inquiry request for the instructed list to the communication control unit 31.
Enter in e. The communication control unit 31e transmits an inquiry request to the network printer device 20 using the unique communication protocol. As a result, the network printer device sends the requested list to the client, and the menu control unit 31a receives the list via the communication control unit 31e and the status control unit 31d and displays it on the display screen.

The job list menu 45 displays the name of the file being printed and the file waiting to be printed. In the job list menu 45, if you want to cancel a predetermined print waiting file, or hold setting (hold execution),
If you want to change the priority and the request content of the job, click the item "Cancel" 45a or "Hold" 45b or "Priority" 45c or "Request content" 45d with the file name displayed. Cancel or change. For example, if you want to delete a file that you have already requested to print,
Clicking the item "Cancel" 45a causes the menu control unit 3
1a creates a job control command operand (deletion, job name, etc.) and inputs it to the print request control unit 31d. As a result, the print request control unit 31d inputs a print job deletion request to the communication control unit 31e, and the communication control unit 31e sends the deletion request to the network printer device using the unique plot code. When changing the job contents (for example, changing the priority order), the menu control unit 31a creates a job control command operand (order change, job name, etc.) and inputs it to the print request control unit 31d. Accordingly, the print request control unit 31d transmits a print job content change request to the network printer device 20 via the communication control unit 31e.

Confirmation of print service status and printer operation status To confirm the print service status and printer operation status, click the item "Print service status" 41c and the item "Printer operation status" 41d in the menu 41. The menu control section 31a creates an inquiry command / operand (print service status, printer operation status, etc.) and inputs it to the print request control section 31d. Upon receiving the inquiry command / operand, the print request control unit 31d inputs a request request for the instructed data to the communication control unit 31e, and the communication control unit 31e uses the unique protocol to send the request to the network printer device 20.
Send to. As a result, the network printer device sends the requested print service status and printer operation status data to the client, and the menu controller receives the data via the communication controller and status controller and displays it on the display screen. indicate. Although the Japanese menu screen is shown above, a foreign language menu screen can also be used.

(G-6) The command frame between the client and the network printer has the format structure shown in FIG. Of these, the network printer header NPH is
It has the configuration of FIG. In addition, is a case of downlink and is composed of a command code CMD and an operand OPR. In the case of the upstream from the network printer to the client, is composed of only the response data RPD. FIG. 29 is an explanatory chart of command codes and operands. The command code includes various commands such as print request, inquiry, job control, printer control, print environment setting, and notification information.The data indicated by the right-pointing arrow is the information attached to the command code and sent to the network printer device. The data of the arrow is the response data of the network printer device to the corresponding command. It should be noted that the user is not allowed to operate jobs other than himself (delete, change order, etc.), control the printer (power off, stop / restart printer, etc.) and set the printing environment of the network printer device without permission. No, and only the printer administrator is allowed to perform these operations.

(G-7) Overall Software Processing of Client FIG. 30 is a flow chart of overall software processing of the client. The user uses the menu function to generate (input) an event (step 581). When the event generating operation is completed, the menu control unit 31a generates a line command based on the designated event and inputs it to the print request control unit 31d (step 582). The print request control unit 31d interprets the line command (step 58).
3), if it is a print command, the communication control unit 31e sends the print data to the printer designated by the command operand (steps 584 and 585). On the other hand, if the command is not a print command, the communication control unit 31d identifies whether it is an inquiry command (step 586). Step 587). When the communication control unit 31d receives the response data to the inquiry from the network printer device, it inputs the response data to the menu control unit 31a via the status control unit 31b, and the menu control unit 31d.
a displays the response data on the display screen (step 588). If the command is not the inquiry command in step 586, an error in input is made and error processing and display are performed (step 589).

FIG. 31 is a flow chart of processing when an abnormality is notified from the network printer side. When an abnormality such as a paper jam occurs on the network printer side, a message is transmitted to the client side (step 601). The communication control unit 31d receives the message,
It is passed to the status control unit 31b (step 602). The status control unit 31b monitors the data from the communication control unit 31d, and if the message is a message when an abnormality occurs, passes the message to the menu control unit 31a (step 603). When the menu control unit 31a receives the message, it automatically displays the abnormality of the network printer device on the display screen (step 604).

(H) FEP Overall Control (h-1) FEP Acceptance Processing Flow FIGS. 32 to 34 show F in the network printer device.
It is a flow chart of acceptance processing control of EP. Event
(Step 701), if an event occurs,
It is judged whether it is an interrupt from the printer control unit 22 (step 702). If it is not an interrupt, the connection interface driver (21-1) receives data from the LAN (Ethernet) (steps 703 and 704). Next, the step controller 21-12 checks whether the received data is print data (step 705). If it is not print data, it is checked whether it is a job queue operation request (step 707). If a mailbox is provided as in the second embodiment (described later), it is checked whether it is a mailbox information request (step 706a), and if it is mailbox control, the mailbox control unit 20a activates and the mailbox Request processing is executed (step 706b).

In step 706, if it is a job queue operation request, the spooling controller 21-8 is activated,
The job queue QUE stored in the RAM 21e is operated according to the instruction of the job control command. For example, the job queue is updated, the job is deleted, the hold of the job is designated / released, or the priority of the job is changed (step 70).
7). When the operation of the job queue is completed, the communication response control unit 21-7 is notified and the result of the job queue operation is responded via the communication response control unit 21-7 (step 708). This response data is sent to the requesting client via the multi-protocol control units 21-3 to 21-5 and the connection interface drive 21-1 (steps 709, 710). On the other hand, in step 706, if it is not a job operation request, the step control unit 21-12 checks whether it is an inquiry request or a device attribute information setting request (steps 711, 71).
2) If it is neither an inquiry request nor a setting request, the received data is discarded (step 713). However, if it is either an inquiry request or a setting request, these requests are stored in the DPRAM 21d and passed to the input / output control unit 22-1 of the printer control unit 22 via the system bus.
(Step 714).

On the other hand, in the case of print data in step 705, the multi-protocol control section identifies the communication protocol from the header information of the received packet (step 7).
15), corresponding communication protocol controller, eg TCP
/ IP controller 21-3 is activated to receive data (step 716). Next, the user name, IP address, print data, etc. are taken out (step 717), and it is checked whether the download is the center routine program or the filter program (step 718). If "YES", the spooling controller 22-8 Starts, and the center routine program and the filter program are written in the hard disk 24 via the SCSI interfaces 21g and 22c (step 719). In order to download the center routine program or the filter program from the client, the file transfer command and the program name are input by key operation, and then the execution key is pressed.

If it is not the download of the center routine program or the filter program, the step control unit 21-12 activates the center routine control unit 21-10 to execute the acceptance check (step 720). This reception check is a check as to whether the requester is a person who is registered as a printer user in advance (gate control). If it is not an authorized person, the reception is canceled (steps 721, 72
2) Start the charging log control unit 21-9 and write the job information in the hard disk 24. For example, the cancellation is written in association with the job number (step 723).

FIG. 35 is a flow chart of ticket control, in which the printer user is registered in the hard disk 24 in advance. The step control unit sets the user ID (user name) and the job number and transfers the control to the center routine control unit 21-12 (step 720a). The center routine control unit extracts the available user ID registered in the hard disk 24 (step 720b), checks whether the user ID requesting printing is included in the available user ID (step 720c), and includes it. If not,
Notify that acceptance is not possible (step 720d), and if included, notify acceptance OK (step 720e). Reception O
If K, it is checked whether data conversion or code conversion is necessary (step 724). In the case where a mailbox mechanism is provided as in the second embodiment described later, the mailbox controller is activated to fix the bin number (step 72).
4a). If data conversion or code conversion is required, the filter control unit 21-11 is activated to execute filter control such as data conversion and code conversion of print data (step 725). Thereafter, the center routine control section 21-10 is activated to execute the banner page editing process and the writing of the edited banner page to the print data (step 72).
6).

FIG. 36 is a flow chart of filter control.
With code conversion, you can convert one code into another code,
Or it is the operation to replace the incorrect code with the correct code. Data conversion is a code such as EUC
This is an operation for converting (Extended Universal Code) data into another code, for example, JIS code data. When the filter control unit 21-11 is called (step 725)
a) The data is taken out from the input buffer, code-checked for code conversion, or data conversion is performed (steps 725b and 725c), and the conversion result is stored in the output buffer (725d).

FIG. 37 is a flow chart of the banner page editing process. A template for the banner page is registered in advance on the hard disk. The step control unit 21-12 sets the user ID (user name) and the job number and transfers the control to the center routine control unit 21-10 (step 726).
a). As a result, the center routine control section secures a working buffer (step 726b), then reads the model stored in the hard disk into the buffer and embeds the variable part of the model. For example, user ID
Is converted to a flower character, the flower character and the print date are embedded in the variable portion, and the banner page page is edited (step 72).
6c). When the editing is completed, the banner page is arranged at the head or tail or the head and tail of the print data sent from the client (step 726).
d), the banner page processing is completed. When a banner page is inserted at the beginning and at the end, it is advisable to record the other banner page on each banner page. When the banner page editing process is completed, the spooling controller 21-8 is activated to write the print data (including the banner page) to the hard disk 24 via the SCSI interface (step 727) and the center routine controller 21. -10 is activated to determine the number of printable sheets (step 728).

FIG. 38 is a flow of the center routine control for determining the number of printed sheets. In advance, on the hard disk 24, the allowable total number of printed sheets N and 1 are set for each user or group.
The permissible number of printed sheets n is set. This is 1
This is because the user sets the number of sheets to be printed in advance in consideration of the charge because the fee is charged for each printing of the sheet. Also, the actual number of printed sheets M up to the present is stored. The step controller 21-12 sets the user ID (user name) and the job number and transfers the control to the center routine controller 21-10 (step 72).
8a). As a result, the center routine control unit reads out the allowable total number of printed sheets N, the allowable number of printed sheets n per time, and the actual total number of printed sheets M from the hard disk 24 (step 7).
28b). Next, the number of printed sheets is determined from these N, n, M and the number of pages m requested to be printed (step 728).
c). For example, if n ≧ m and N ≧ (M + m), the number of printed sheets is m, and if n ≧ m and N <(M + m), the number of printed sheets is (M + m−N). Then, the spooling controller 21-8 queues the job information at the end of the job queue (step 729).

The above is the case where the data is input from the LAN, but the print data may be sent from a device having an interface of Centronics or RS232C (serial interface device). In such a case, the occurrence of an event is waited (step 70 in FIG. 32).
1 '), if an event occurs, the printer control unit 2
If the interrupt is not an interrupt, the connection interface driver 21-2 receives the data from the serial interface device and transfers it to the Centronics or RS232C (step 70 ').
3'-704 ', 716'). If the received data is print data, it is checked after the banner page processing in step 726 whether the input is Centronics or RS232C (step 731 '). If "YES", the center routine control unit 21-10 determines the printable number. It decides / instructs (step 731) and transfers it to the input / output controller 22-1 of the printer controller 22 via the system bus (step 732).

(H-2) FEP Post-Cleanup Processing Flow FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the FEP post-cleanup processing in the network printer. In step 702, if the event is an interrupt from the printer control unit 22,
Accept information via system bus (step 7)
51). Next, it is checked whether or not it is an error notification (step 752), and if it is an error notification, error notification processing is performed. That is, the spooling control unit 21-8 holds the spool information and freezes it (step 753), the charging log control unit 21-9 writes the error log information (step 754), and the communication response control unit 21-7. Issues error notification information (step 755). This error notification information is sent to a predetermined client via the multi-protocol control units 21-3 to 21-5 and the connection interface drive 21-1.
(Steps 709, 710). Note that “hold” is the hold bit of a predetermined print job in the job queue.
The job in the hold state is connected to the job queue, but it is not taken out as a print job until the release instruction is issued. The hold time can be set. When the time is set, print jobs that have not been released even after the time has elapsed are dequeued.
Do it at -10.

On the other hand, in step 752, if it is not an error notification, it is checked whether it is a response to the inquiry (step 756). If it is an inquiry response, the communication response control section 21-7 edits the inquiry information and the inquiry response Information is issued (step 757). This inquiry response information is sent to a predetermined client via the multi-protocol control units 21-3 to 21-5 and the connection interface drive 21-1 (steps 709, 710). If the inquiry response is not received at step 756, print completion processing is performed. That is, the spooling control unit 21-8 deletes the spool (print information) from the hard disk 24 and deletes the job information on the DPRAMs 21d-1 to 21d-3. (Step 758). Also, the charging log control unit 21-10
Creates billing information and writes it to hard disk 24
(Step 759). The billing information is for each job,
Print date, print printer device name, user name, job name,
It has a job number, the number of pages to be printed, an IP address, a paper size, and the like. Thereafter, the communication response control unit 21-7 issues a print completion notification (step 760). The print completion notification information is sent to a predetermined client via the multi-protocol control units 21-3 to 21-5 and the connection interface drive 21-1 (steps 709 and 710).

(H-3) Process Flow of Printer Control Unit FIGS. 39 to 41 are process flows of the printer control unit 22. The input / output control unit 22-1 waits for the occurrence of an event (step 801), and if the event occurs, checks whether it is an inquiry response (step 802). In case of inquiry, the status control unit 22-9 is activated. The status control unit 22-9 collects the device status (outputs of various sensors) of the network printer, information on the job being printed, and information on the job queue (step 803). Next, the collected information is passed to the input / output control unit 22-1, and the input / output control unit 22-1 sends it to the communication response control unit 22-7 of the FEP 21 via the system bus (step 804).

If the inquiry request is not made in step 802, it is checked whether the request is for device attribute information (step 805). In the case of requesting device attribute information, the device attribute management unit 22-12 is activated. The device attribute management unit 22-12 determines whether the device attribute information is set / referenced / updated (step 806). In the case of setting / update, the device attribute information sent replaces or updates the old information. Then, the completion notice is input to the input / output control unit 22-1 (step 807). The input / output control unit 22-1 sends the completion notification to the F via the system bus.
Send to the communication response control unit 22-7 of EP21 (step 8)
08). On the other hand, in the case of reference, device attribute information is collected from the device default or hard disk 24 in the environment information area 21d-1 on the DPRAM (step 809), and these device default and device attribute information are input / output control unit 22- 1
To enter. The input / output control unit 22-1 sends these pieces of information to the communication response control unit 22-7 of the FEP 21 via the system bus (step 810).

In step 805, if it is not the device attribute information request, print data processing is performed. That is,
The input / output control unit 22-1 takes out the first job from the job queue stored in the RAM 22g (step 81).
1) The print data is read from the hard disk indicated by the disk address and stored in the first buffer of the buffering control unit 22-2 having the double buffer structure. When the first buffer is full, the print data is stored by switching to the second buffer. After that, the first and second buffers are alternately switched to store print data (step 81).
2). In parallel with storing the print data in one buffer, the emulation control unit reads the print data stored in the other buffer, refers to the emulation designation data included in the print data, and specifies the emulation designation data. Emulation (FM sequence, Japanese
(Postscript, SUN raster, other emulation)
The print data is interpreted based on the above, and the processing result is input to the drawing processing unit (RIP) 22-6 (step 813).
814).

The drawing processing unit 22-6 performs drawing processing (developing processing of dot image into image data) using the interpretation result and the font and form overlay imported under the control of the resource management control unit 22-8 to obtain the image data. Is stored in the RAM 22g (steps 815 and 816). Engine control unit 22-7
Reads the image data of the dot image written in the RAM 22g by the raster scan method and sends it to the engine for printing (step 817). If the printing is performed normally (step 818), the printing process after step 812 is continued. When the printing process is completed without a printing error (step 819), the input / output control unit 22-1 sends the printing completion notification and the billing information to the FEP via the system bus.
21 to the communication response control unit 22-7. In addition, the print completed job is dequeued from the job queue (step 8).
20).

If printing is not completed normally in step 818, an error has occurred and the recovery controller 22-11 executes error analysis processing. First, a data check is performed to check if there is a data error (parity error or the like) (step 831). If there is a data error, the print process is automatically continued, the data process for the next page is performed (step 832), and the process returns to step 812 to perform the subsequent processes. If there is no data error in step 831, it is determined whether the paper is out (step 834). The second
When the mailbox mechanism is provided as in the embodiment, it is checked whether the cover of the mailbox is open (step 833), and the processes after step 832 are executed.

If the paper is out, the paper out information is set (step 835), the operation panel controller 22-10 displays a data error occurrence (step 836), and the status controller 22-9 inputs the error information. FE via output control unit 22-1
It is sent to the communication response control unit of P21 (step 83).
7). If the paper is not out, it is judged whether a jam has occurred (step 838). If a jam has occurred, jam occurrence information is set (step 839), and the processes from step 836 are executed. If a jam does not occur, it is checked whether the stacker is full (step 840). If the stacker is full, stacker full information is set (step 841), and the processes from step 836 are executed. Thereafter, if the mailbox mechanism exists, it is checked whether the mailbox is full, and if full, the mailbox full information is set (steps 842 and 843), and the processing from step 836 onward is executed. If none of the above errors occurs, the hardware error information is set (step 844) and step 83
The processing after 6 is executed.

(I) Modification In the above description, a printer having only a printer function has been described as a network printer device, but a multifunction machine having a facsimile, telephone and copying function also has a printer function, which is a kind of network printer device. Further, in the above, the network printer device is provided with the server function, but the server function is provided to the server connected to the LAN, the printer device is connected to the server, and the network printer including the server and the printer device is provided. You can also do it. (j) Effects of First Embodiment As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. By equipping the network printer with a full-fledged server function, it is possible to build an environment that does not require a PC / WS server. Further, the PC / WS server can concentrate on the original server processing and does not deteriorate the performance for print processing. The network printer of the present invention can be directly connected to Ethernet, which is a typical LAN transmission path, by incorporating a server function. Therefore, it can be connected to any location on Ethernet, and it is possible to operate with excellent portability. Since the network printer of the present invention is a shared printer that is not connected to the PC / WS server, there is no restriction on the distance from the PC / WS server, and the space is saved and the space is saved. That is, there is an advantage that only the installation area of the printer needs to be considered.

Since the multi-protocol control function is provided, it suffices to provide a common connector regardless of the communication protocol of the LAN and connect the connector and the LAN. Therefore, it is cost-effective, and it is not necessary to prepare a network printer according to each communication protocol. For example, even in a LAN network in which a UNIX server / client environment and a Netware personal computer environment coexist, simply by connecting the connector to the LAN,
A high-performance, high-quality network printer can be commonly used from both environments. By having the center routine function, the safety of shared operation of the network printer can be guaranteed by the qualification checking mechanism even in an open environment. Further, by using the editing function of the banner page, it becomes easy to sort the print results, and by printing the system information as information, the transmission means to the user is improved.

The spooling function of the network printer can reduce the elapsed time required for a print request from the client side. As a result, the client side can perform other work because it is released in a short time when making a print request, and the work efficiency can be improved. Remote control of printers and spooled jobs is possible from the client side. The operability can be improved by using the menu dedicated to the network printer. This menu dedicated to the network printer can automatically create various commands for the printer by GUI and Japanese operations, and thus does not require specialized knowledge such as line commands.

(C) Second Embodiment of the Invention In the second embodiment, the network printer of the first embodiment is added with a mailbox mechanism. (a) Function outline of the mailbox mechanism The mailbox mechanism is a dedicated device that stores the discharged paper (printed paper) of the network printer. Have 10 bins at a minimum of 5 bins or 10 bins 3
It is configured to be able to add up to 0 bins. The function of the mailbox mechanism is to store the cut sheet printed by the network printer in the bin designated by the client based on the print request from each client. This function prevents loss of print jobs (print paper),
Jobs can be sorted easily, and security can be ensured by using each bin like a PO box.

(B) Configuration of Mailbox FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the mailbox and the connection to the network printer. The same parts as those in FIGS. 6 and 7 are designated by the same reference numerals. Reference numeral 20 is a network printer main body, and 51 is a mailbox. In the network printer main body 20, 1a to 1c are upper, middle, and lower sheet cassettes (hoppers), 4 is a stacker, 5 is an operation panel, 10 is a recording unit (recording process unit), 11 is a paper transport system, and 21 'is A board (control unit) on which FEP is mounted, 22 'a board (main control unit) on which a printer control unit is mounted, 24 is a hard disk, 25 is a floppy disk, 29a is a high voltage for the pre-charger, the developing section, the transfer charger, etc. Is a low voltage source for supplying a constant voltage to the FEP and the printer controller, and 29c is a main power switch.

In the mailbox 51, 52a-5
2k is a bin for accommodating discharged sheets, 53a to 53k are rotatably provided sheet discharging members, and 54a to 54k are rotations for rotating the sheet discharging members 53a to 53k when the discharged sheets are taken into the bins 52a to 52k. Mechanisms, 55a to 55k are provided at the bottom of each bin, a sensor for detecting that a print job (printing paper) has been taken out, and 56 is a paper transport block that can move up and down while holding one discharged paper. ,
Reference numeral 57 is a guide member that guides the paper transport block.
The paper transport block 56 includes a pair of paper feed rollers 56.
a, 56b and a pair of sensors (for example, optical sensors 56c, 56) that detect a jam in the paper transport block.
d). In FIG. 42, the discharged sheet taking-in member 53g
Is rotated and opened, and the paper transport block 56 is positioned thereon to store the paper in the bin 52g.

Reference numeral 58 is a mailbox control device, and 59 is a power supply unit. When the bin number i is instructed by the network printer main body, the mailbox control device 58 drives the rotation mechanism 54i of the bin 52i to eject the paper ejecting member 5.
3i is opened, and the position of the paper transport block 56 is controlled so that the printed paper is taken in, held / moved, and discharged to the designated bin. Also, the mailbox control device 5
Reference numeral 8 has a function of sending the detection signal of each sensor to the printer body side.

(C) Structure of the bottle / first embodiment of the bottle FIG. 43 is a perspective view when the cover of the bottle is opened / closed,
(a) shows the cover closed and (b) shows the cover open. DR is the cover of the openable bottle,
A tag holder NPL for inserting a name tag, a blue lamp BLP, and a red lamp RLP are provided on the surface of each cover. 55
i is a sensor that detects that a print job (printing paper) has been taken out, and 58i is a sensor that detects opening and closing of the cover and is provided in each bin. It should be noted that when the cover is opened (when the paper is taken out), printing is temporarily stopped.

A name tag can be inserted into the tag holder NPL to enable the bin user to be identified. With this name tag, it is possible to prevent the print job of another person from being taken out by mistake. Blinking of the blue lamp BLP indicates that the job (paper) is being stored,
It is instructed to turn off the light normally and other than storing. When the blue lamp is turned off, the printing paper can be taken out and the OK can be notified. Blinking of the red lamp BLP indicates a hardware trouble, and turning off thereof indicates a normal state. In the above description, the bill holder NPL and the respective lamps BLP and RLP are provided on the cover of the bottle, but they may be provided on the side surface of the bottle. Further, a liquid crystal panel may be provided on the side surface of each bin to display various information.

Second Embodiment of Bottle FIG. 44 shows an embodiment in which a liquid crystal panel is provided on the side surface.
Is a job name / job number display section, 52-2 is a hardware trouble display section, 52-3 is a reserve / free display section, 52-4 is a locked display section, and 52-5 is an overflow display section. The job name / job number display portion 52-1 displays the job name, the job number, or the user name, and the displayed characters blink while the job is stored. When a hardware trouble occurs in the hardware trouble display section 52-2, the word "hard trouble" is displayed and blinks. When no characters are displayed, it indicates a normal state. Reserve / free display 52-3
Indicates whether the bin is reserved or free. When the word "Reserve" is displayed, it means that the bin is reserved by the user. If the word "free" is displayed, it means that no one is reserved and it is open. The locked display section 52-4 displays whether or not the bin is locked (with security).
When the character "locked" is displayed, it is locked (or with security), and when the character "locked" is not displayed, it is unlocked (no security). The overflow display section 52-5 displays whether or not the bin is overflow (full). If the word "Overflow" is displayed,
This indicates that the bin has exceeded the paper storage allowable range. or,
Although not shown, it is also possible to display a limit notice when the number of sheets accommodated in the bin reaches the limit notice number (sheet accommodation rate 80%). Hereinafter, description will be made assuming that each bin is provided with a liquid crystal panel.

(D) Basic Configuration of Mailbox Mechanism FIG. 45 is a basic configuration diagram of the mailbox mechanism. 20 is a network printer device, 51 is a mailbox provided with a large number of bins, and a post-processing mechanism of the network printer device. For accommodating discharged paper, 52 for client (PC / WS connected to LAN environment), 53 for Et
A LAN such as hernet. 52a is software for managing a mailbox operating on the client,
It provides functions such as the use and operation method of mailboxes, and user allocation for using each bin as a PO box. 52
b is software that instructs storage in the mailbox,
Reference numeral 20a is software (mailbox control unit) that operates on the network printer device to control the mailbox.

MBF is a mailbox management information file, which is stored in the hard disk 24 built into the network printer. The contents of this mailbox management information file MBF can be appropriately referenced and updated by the system administrator or general user by operating the client 52. The operation of the mailbox management information file MBF is performed by the client 52.
This is controlled by the mailbox management software (mailbox management unit) 52a. The above is an example in which the mailbox management information file MBF is stored in the hard disk 24 built into the network printer device, but it is also possible to place it on a PC / WS having a file server function. It is also possible to take out the necessary information from the server in the data communication procedure and place it in the storage device in the network printer device 20.

(D-1) Mailbox management section FIG. 46 shows an example of a menu screen by the mailbox management section 52a. The mailbox management unit 52a is composed of software for registering, referencing, updating, and deleting management information in the mailbox management information file MBF,
It has the following functions. -Menu screen compatible operation: Use the menu screen to use and operate the mailbox, assign bin users, and so on. -Managing the number of bins and the bin storage order: Using the menu 61, the number of bins, the number of bins is increased, the bin is removed, and the bin storage order (whether to store from the upper bin or the lower bin)
Direct these to manage these.・ Classification and management of usage attributes for each bin: Bin usage attributes by user name, bin assignment attribute by group name, pin number assignment attribute, free type (no user or group designation) There is an attribute for allocating to the bin and an attribute for allocating to the overflow type bin. An overflow type bin means a bin that is prepared to continue to store printing paper when the other bin is full.

Using the menu 64, the system administrator inputs the name or free type of the user or group assigned to each bin, the password for preventing unauthorized opening, and the overflow type. Security attribute setting function: This is a function for setting the security attribute of the bin in the menu 63, and the presence / absence of security and the security mode can be set.
The security mode includes a password, a user ID, a smoke case, and a key system. The password method is a security mode that opens the door of the bin only when the set password is input.
The D method is a security mode that opens the door of the bin only when the set user ID is entered, the smoke case method is a security mode that hides the print contents from the outside using an opaque bin case, and the key method is It is a security mode using keys. The password in the security mode can be set in the menu 64.

Logging information management: The logging information includes a list of bin allocation information, a list of storage job information for each bin, a list of bin storage rate information, and a list of error information.
In the menu 62, specify the desired logging information,
By specifying the output method (display, print, transfer, transfer destination in the case of transfer), the logging information is output and managed in the specified method. -Operation function of the management information file MBF: The system administrator can freely manage the mailbox without restriction. For example, it is possible to freely assign bins, set the number of bins, output logging information, and set security. However, the range in which the general user can operate is limited to reference of some information and security setting. The mailbox management unit 52a presets the operation range of the system administrator and the general user, and permits the operation within the range. -Support function for adding bins: It is a function to update management information and customize menu screens associated with adding bins.
For the mailbox management information file MBF,
Register the above operation information as appropriate, reference operation, update operation,
It is done by the delete operation.

(D-2) Software for instructing storage in the mailbox There are two methods of storing instructions for storing in which bin a cut sheet printed by the network printer is to be stored: a direct designation method and an indirect designation method. . FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram of each storage instruction method. The direct specification method is a print request command (for example, lp or lpr command in UNIX).
Is a method of directly specifying storage in a mailbox by using a bin number. When the mailbox control unit 20a receives the lp or lpr command instructing the bin number from the client 52, the mailbox control unit 20a controls to store the printed paper in the bin instructed by the bin number. When the bin number is designated by this direct designation method, the printing paper is stored in the bin even if the bin number is assigned to another user.

In the indirect designation method, the correspondence relation between the user name or group name and the storage bin is registered in the mailbox management information file MBF in advance, so that the storage bin of the mailbox is not required to be specified at the time of print request. Is. That is, as shown in FIG. 47, the correspondence between the user name or group name (AA, ZZ ...) And the storage bin is registered in advance in the mailbox management information file MBF, and the user name or group for which the print request is issued. The bin number is obtained by referring to the corresponding relationship from the name, and the printed paper is stored in the bin designated by the bin number. The system administrator registers the correspondence relationship (bin allocation) as shown in FIG.
6 menu 64. Software (storage instruction control unit) 52b for instructing storage in the mailbox
Has a function of making a print request using a menu screen on the client side, and inserts a user name or a group name into a print request command and sends it.

(D-3) Software for controlling the mailbox (firmware) The software for controlling the mailbox (mailbox controller) 20a is a program that operates in the FEP 21 of the network printer device 20, and the mailbox management information. It has an access processing function for the file MBF and a function for controlling the mailbox 51. FIG. 48 is a functional explanatory diagram of the mailbox control unit.

Control Function for Mailbox The processing of the mailbox control section 20a and the instruction to issue to the mailbox 51 are as follows. -Instruction to store the bin number instructed by the direct specification method into the bin-Determine the storage bin number based on the user name and group name and instruct the storage-For the open type that can be stored in the free type (no bin specification) Determining and storing instructions-Bin-Determining an alternative bin in case of trouble and instructing switching to the alternate bin-Cumulative number of sheets stored in bin and overflow check, bin switching instruction in case of overflow-Bin switching instruction in case of hardware trouble -Instructions for displaying the latest stored job name or job number on the liquid crystal panel of the bin (Fig. 44) -Various information on the liquid crystal panel to make it easy to identify the bin when the bin is in use or when trouble occurs ( User name or group name, job name or job number, reserve / free, overflow occurrence, lock Indication for displaying (unlocked), blinking indication of storing bin (you can recognize the storing bin at a glance), blinking instruction for hardware trouble, blinking instruction for overflow, processing for job removal from bin・ Retrieving sense information from the mailbox and processing according to the sense information.

Mailbox Management Information File Access Function The mailbox control unit 20a has a function of writing job storage information in the bin and other various information from the mailbox 51 into the mailbox management information file MBF. The information to be written includes the following. -Record the job name, job number or user name stored in the bin-Record the total number of bins stored-Record the overflow bin-Record the hard error bin-Reset the number of stored sheets after the job is taken out of the bin (record the number of stored sheets 0 ) ・ Setting billing information ・ Writing log information ・ Reading and writing security information.

The information collection mailbox controller 20a collects information for displaying bin information and stored information. Collect the following information for displaying bin information. -Collecting information for collectively displaying bin information-Collecting information for displaying bin information corresponding to a user name or group name-Collecting information for displaying corresponding bin information by job number or job name- Free type bin information collection / Overflow compatible bin information collection (including overflow bin presence / absence information) The following information is collected to display stored information. -Collecting information for displaying jobs stored in all bins at once-Collecting information for displaying jobs stored in a bin corresponding to a user name or group name-Corresponding from job number or job name Collect information to display bin information- Collect information to display jobs stored from bin numbers- Collect information to display bin numbers and stored jobs from free type- Store in bins that support overflow Information for displaying the displayed jobs.

(D-4) Mailbox management information file FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram of the recorded contents of the mailbox management information file MBF. The mailbox management information file MBF stores the number of bins 81, bin storage direction data 82, bin attributes 83, billing information 84, and the like. In the bin attribute 83, (1) user name (group name), (2) overflow type, (3) cumulative number of stored sheets, (4) presence / absence of security (lock / unlock distinction) are associated with each bin. ) And security mode, (5) presence / absence of hardware trouble, (6) presence / absence of overflow, (7) limit notice number of sheets exceeded, (8) one or more stored job names / job numbers, etc. are recorded.

(D-5) Control of Mailbox Control Unit Registration Control in Mailbox Management Information File MBF FIG. 50 is a flow chart of processing in response to a request from the client side. When a client requests a file for mailbox management (step 891),
Judgment whether registration, reference, update, or deletion is made (step 89
2) In the case of registration, it is registered in the corresponding part of the mailbox management information file (step 893), in the case of reference, the requested information is collected and output according to the instructed output method (step 894). In the case of updating, the instructed information is updated (step 895), and in the case of deleting, the designated information is deleted (step 896).

Liquid Crystal Display Control FIG. 51 is a flow chart of liquid crystal display processing. When the power is turned on, the mailbox control unit 20a controls the display on the liquid crystal panel of each bin. That is, first, i = 1 (step 901), the user name or group name of the bin number i is obtained from the mailbox management information file MBF, and the bin attributes (hard trouble occurrence information, reserve / free information, overflow information, lock information) are set. (/ Unlock information, etc.) (step 902), and the collected information is input and displayed on the liquid crystal panel of the bin indicated by the bin number (step 903). Then, it is checked whether the display control of all the bins is completed (step 904), and if not completed, i is incremented (step 905) and the display control of step 902 and thereafter is performed.

Storage Bin Determination and Display Control FIG. 52 is a flow chart of storage bin determination and display control of a print job. The bin number is designated by the indirect designation method. When it comes to printing the highest priority job, the mailbox control unit 20a extracts the user name or group name included in the print data of the job (step 91).
1) The bin number corresponding to the user name or group name is searched from the mailbox management information file MBF (step 912). When the bin number is searched (step 913), the job name and the job number are input and displayed on the liquid crystal panel, and the displayed characters of the job name / job number blink (step 914). Thereafter, each time printing is performed and one sheet is stored, the number of stored sheets in the bin is counted up (step 915) and it is judged whether the number of sheets exceeds the allowable number (step 918). Is displayed and the character is blinked (step 919).

Then, the overflow-corresponding bin is searched from the upper stage or the lower stage of the mailbox, and if it exists, the remaining printing paper is stored in the bin (step 9).
21). Thereafter, the blinking of the job name in the overflowed bin is continued, and the same display as the above is displayed on the liquid crystal panel of the overflow compatible bin (step 922). After that, it is checked whether the print job is completed (step 923),
If not completed, the processing from step 915 is performed. After the printing is completed, the mailbox control unit 20a sends information such as the bin storage job number / job name, the cumulative number of stored bins, the overflow bin bin number, and the hard error bin bin number to the mailbox management information file MBF. (Step 924). On the other hand, step 913
If the bin number cannot be found, the open bin is searched from the top or bottom of the mailbox (step 925), and the open bin is assigned to the print job (step 926). Then, the attributes of the open bin are obtained, the bin attributes, job name / job number, user name / group name are input and displayed on the liquid crystal panel of the open bin, and the job name / job name is displayed to indicate that the bin is being stored. The job number is blinked (step 927), and the processing from step 915 onward is performed. In summary, a plurality of conditions for specifying a bin for storing printed sheets are registered in the mailbox management information file MBF 24 in advance, and the mailbox control unit 20a sets the bins that satisfy the predetermined condition. , And stores printing paper in the bin. That is, when the correspondence between the user name or the group name and the bin number is registered in advance and the bin number corresponding to the user name or the group name included in the print information is obtained from the correspondence relationship, the bin having the bin number is If the above conditions are satisfied, and if each bin is used / unused, and if there is no bin designation for storing printed paper in the print information, the upper or lower row of the mailbox It is assumed that the first unused bin found by sequentially searching satisfies the above-mentioned predetermined condition, and whether each bin is an overflow-compatible bin is managed, and if the bin storing the printing paper is full, the mailbox is The first overflow-corresponding bin obtained by sequentially searching from the upper stage or the lower stage satisfies the above-mentioned predetermined condition,
Store the printed paper in one of the bins.

When the removal of the paper stored in the safety mechanism control bin of the mailbox and the storage in the corresponding bin overlap, the removal from the bin is given priority and the storage in the bin is temporarily performed until the removal is completed. Stop at. Resuming the storage process in the bin is performed by reporting sense information indicating that the lid of the cover case of the bin is closed. This sense information is also reported together with the information that the bin is empty. FIG. 54 is a flow chart of processing of the safety mechanism of the mailbox. When the sense information is generated, the mailbox control unit 20a extracts and checks the sense information (step 951). The sense information includes cover open / close sense information provided for each bin, cut sheet removal sense information, jam detection sense information, and the like, and the sense information is input as a combination of a bin number and information. Is coming.

Then, it is checked whether or not the cut sheet is taken out as sense information (step 952), and if "YES", the fact that the sheet has been taken out is recorded in the bin attribute column of the relevant bin number in the mailbox management information file MBF (for example, the number of accommodated sheets). Is reset to 0).
... Step 953 After that, it is checked whether the cover sensor of the bin is ON notification (cover open) (Step 954). If the cover is open, printing is paused (whether the print pause bit is on).
Check (step 955). If printing is paused,
It waits for sense information from the mailbox (step 956) and waits for the generation of the next sense information. The state of waiting for sense information is a state in which the cover is opened during printing and printing is temporarily stopped. Therefore, after that, when the cover is closed, the printing state is set, and the storage of sheets is restarted.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 955 that the printing is not temporarily stopped, it is checked whether the printing is being executed (step 957). If the printing is not being executed, another processing is executed.
However, if printing is in progress, it is checked whether the bin in which the cover is open and the bin in which it is stored match (step 95).
8) If they do not match, printing is continued (step 95).
9). If they match, it means that the cover of the storage bin was opened during printing, so the printing process is temporarily stopped (step 960) and the cover closed sense information from the mailbox is awaited (step 960). Step 956). If the cover is not open at step 954, it is checked whether the cover is closed (step 961). If not, the conventional sense process is executed because it is a jam or other sense information (962). However, in the case of cover close, it is checked whether printing is temporarily stopped (step 963). If it is temporarily stopped, it is checked whether the cover closed bin number and the storage stopped bin number match (step 964), and if there is a match. For example, the print suspension is released (step 965) and the printing process is restarted (step 966). If "NO" in steps 963 and 964, another process is executed.

(F) Effects of the Second Embodiment By using the mailbox processing mechanism, the cut sheets can be sorted easily, and the sorting labor can be saved. or,
Even in the shared operation of the network printer, since the print result is stored in each bin corresponding to the user, it is possible to prevent the print result from being lost or scattered. Further, in terms of maintenance, it is possible to realize security-like operation in which the print result is not shown to others. In addition, because a dedicated menu is provided to facilitate the operation of the mailbox, you can receive instructions to the mailbox and various information services after storing cut sheets in Japanese through this menu. In the above description, the network printer device has the server function. However, the server connected to the LAN has the server function, the printer device is connected to the server, and the server and the printer device are combined to form a network printer. You can also

(D) Operation Mode of Network Printer Device of the Present Invention FIG. 55 is an explanatory view of the operation mode of the network printer of the present invention. In FIG. 55, (1) is an operation mode applied to the manufacturing industry, in which the office 1001 is connected to each factory and the warehouse 1002 by the LAN cable 1003, and the LAN in the office is connected.
Connect the PC / WS to the cable, LA in each factory and warehouse
The network printer NPR of the present invention is connected to the N cable.
It has a configuration in which T is connected. Although not shown, it is of course possible to provide a network printer device in the office and PC / WS in each factory and warehouse. The network printer device NPRT has a LAN adapter function and can be connected to any place. Therefore, if offices, factory buildings, warehouses, etc. are dispersed in a large site, construct a LAN system as shown in (1) and
By issuing a print request for a slip or the like from the WS (client) to the network printer device NPRT in each factory building or warehouse and printing it, the slip or the like can be distributed. In this case, since the network printer device does not need to be connected to the server, the installation space for the network printer device can be reduced. Further, the state monitoring and operation of the network printer NPRT in each factory and warehouse can be performed from the office.

(2) in FIG. 55 is an operation mode applied to the service industry (department store, etc.).
Connect the LAN cable 2003 between the shipping center and the shipping center 2001 to connect the PC / WS to the LAN cable in the sales floor / office.
And the network printer apparatus NPRT of the present invention is connected to the LAN cable in the shipping center. Although not shown, a network printer is installed in the sales floor / office, and a PC / PC is installed in the shipping center.
WS can be provided. By thus configuring the LAN system, a large number of slips issued at the sales floor and office 2001 can be collectively output to the network printer NPRT of the shipping center 2002. Further, since the network printer device NPRT has a LAN adapter function and can be connected to an arbitrary place, it is possible to move the network printer device NPRT to the sales floor / office 2001 and print only during the New Year holidays. it can. Further, when the printer device is not used, it can be moved to a necessary place.

Additional Notes The present invention has the following characteristic points. (1) In the environment configured in the LAN network,
A network printer device having a printing mechanism that can be directly connected to a LAN communication transmission line (for example, Ethernet). (2) FE with LAN communication function and full-scale server function
A LAN-compatible network printer device having a functional configuration combining P and RIP. (3) LAN connection driver control, LAN connection interface control, conversation control (inquiry, response) associated with communication between the client and the network printer, FEP-RIP connection communication control, as the functional configuration of FEP
And a mechanism that combines print data spooling processing, etc.

(4) A network printer device which combines a method through spooling and two methods through a memory bus as a communication method between the FEP and the printer control section. (5) A function range in which the result printed by the network printer is stored in the network printer as billing information. (6) As a center routine function, a device that has a printing mechanism with a built-in ticket control function. (7) A network printer that has a function to add and edit banner page data independently as a center routine function. (8) The center routine control function has a feature that it has a structure that can be replaced in addition to the system standard provided function. The additional replacement is characterized by a method of downloading from a floppy disk and other clients.

(9) It has a mechanism for controlling the network printer, which has a dedicated multilingual menu to be installed in the client. (10) The control path does not go through the server, but directly communicates between the client and the network printer,
Functional range combined with software that controls network printers. (11) A range of functions in which the setting, reference, and update of the configuration definition information of the network printer device can be operated with digital and analog information from the menu screen. (12) A function range that displays the remaining amount of supply resources such as the remaining amount of hopper paper, large-capacity hopper, etc., and toner, etc. as analog information as the remaining state of the network printer device.

Functional range for analog display of the amount of paper stored in the hopper, large-capacity hopper, and mailbox of the network printer device. (13) A functional range that displays information queue information, job status (waiting for printing, printing, holding, etc.) and spool usage rate as information on the spooling mechanism of the network printer. A range of functions for changing the print attributes of a job (paper size, hopper selection, printing instructions for double-sided / single-sided printing, portrait, landscape, etc.) and priority for the spooling mechanism of the network printer. (14) A functional range in which the billing information of the network printer is output to an external storage medium (floppy disk, etc.) by the instruction on the menu screen, displayed on the client side, or printed by the network printer.

(15) A functional range in which information such as paper end and hardware troubles occurring in the network printer is directly displayed on the client-side menu screen and a reprint instruction is given. (16) Function range for downloading the center routine control function program via the menu screen. (17) Functional range of mailbox management information file and its management software for the purpose of mailbox control and operation management. (18) The mailbox management information file is the information held on the hard disk or memory, and is the functional range of the software that reads and writes the data in the mailbox management information file in response to a request from the client. (19) The range of functions performed by the network printer device's own communication protocol in the method of realizing notification of printing completion or hardware error information as upstream information sent from the network printer device to the client.

(20) As an implementation method for storing various resource information such as fonts and form overlays downloaded from the client in the network printer device,
A function range that is maintained and managed on the hard disk or memory via the file management function. (21) Functional range of software for realizing network printer device sharing in an environment where UNIX and PC coexist on a LAN network. As a multi-protocol function, this software accepts packet data and assigns it to each protocol process.
It is software that processes data for each protocol, such as a CP / IP protocol processing task, an IPX / SPX protocol processing task, and an Ethertalk protocol processing task. (22) A network printer device having a function of controlling acceptance of printing to the network printer device as a center routine control function. (23) A network printer device having silk for adding / editing information to be printed on a banner page as a center routine control function.

(24) As the center routine control function,
A network printer device having a function of controlling the number of pages that can be printed in response to a print request. (25) A network printer device having a qualification check function as a center routine control function in response to an operation request from a client. (26) As a center routine control function, a network printer device having a function of monitoring the retention period expiration of spooled print request data by a hold designation and a cleanup function. (27) As a mailbox that is a post-processing mechanism for printers that handle cut sheets, software that manages the mailbox, software that directs storage in the mailbox, software that controls the mailbox, and hardware for the mailbox. A functional range consisting of. (28) The mailbox is characterized by being used and operated through the mailbox management information file.

(29) The following method is featured as the bin allocation of mailboxes.・ Allocation by user name ・ Allocation by group name ・ Allocation by bin number ・ Allocation by storing in empty bin ・ Allocation by transfer to other bin when storage is full (30) Use from upper bin as storage order for bin ,
It features a selection method used from the lower bin. (31) It features a function to set the security attribute of the mailbox. -Password method-User ID method-Key method-Smoke case adoption method

(32) The feature is that the operation logging information of the mailbox is retained. -List of bin allocation method information-List of storage job information for each bin-Error logging information-List of bin storage rate information (33) The following information is provided on the side of each bin so that the user can easily understand each bin. It is characterized by displaying. -Job number of the stored job-User name currently used-Group name currently used (34) The following information should be displayed on the side of the bin so that the usage status of each bin can be easily seen. Is characterized by. -Unused status display-Storage job presence / absence display (lamp etc.)-Lock / unlock status distinction (presence / absence of security) -Overflow display-Display that storage is currently in progress.

(35) The mechanism for displaying each bin is characterized by the following functional range. -The LCD panel, lamp, and handwritten name tag (36) The mailbox is equipped with a safety mechanism that temporarily stops the storage process even if the user takes out a job from the bin and stores it in the bin. Characterize. (37) Mailbox storage instructions are within the functional range of the direct method of specifying the bin number and the indirect method of storing the user name or group name in the bin registered in the mailbox management information file. (38) The mailbox management information file is accessed via software installed on the client side.This mailbox management information file contains access processing function items, mailbox control function items, and operation items. Management function Function range including function items.

(39) The access processing function item of the mailbox is characterized by the following function range. -Search and assign storage bin number from user name or group name-Search and assign open bin that can be stored when no bin is specified (40) The mailbox control function items are characterized by .・ Accumulation of the number of papers stored in the bin and overflow check Indication of the number to the display mechanism of the bin, blinking indication of the bin during storage Indication when a bin trouble occurs in the mailbox, a system that can be used to easily identify that fact.

(41) The operation management function item of the mailbox is characterized by the following function range. -Record the job name, job number, user name, etc. stored in the bin in the log information-Display the user of the bin and the usage attributes of the bin-Display the stored jobs etc. in batch, partial, Specified function range (42) The mailbox hardware is equipped with the following functional mechanisms. -Equipped with a liquid crystal panel for each bin and having a function to display information for identifying storage-Each bin has a function to report sense information when the storage reaches a certain value or more-Stored in each bin When the paper is taken out, it has a function of reporting that fact. ・ When the paper is taken out, it has a function of temporarily stopping the storage. ・ It has a function of displaying or blinking that it is being stored in the bin.

(43) The range of functions in which the liquid crystal panel for displaying the status of the mailbox is equipped with the following items. -Job number, job name or user name-Hard error-Reserve or open-Storing-Overflow (44) Function range that displays the user using the name tag. (45) Functional range of status display by lamp display and blinking.・ Hard error display by red lamp lighting ・ Job storing display by blue blinking (46) It features a function to prioritize the removal of paper when the storage and removal in the mailbox overlap. A function that temporarily stops the printing process and waits for the paper to be taken out when it is detected.

(47) The timing for raising the sense information as a report of an event from the hardware of the mailbox is characterized by the following two types.・ Sensing report for each bin is a method of reporting when an event occurs ・ Sensing report for each bin is a method of reporting when the bin cover is closed (48) Do not use the mailbox management information file as the mailbox operation mode method.・ Connect the bottle equipped in the network printer
All are stored in order for each print request. -If jobs have been stored in all bins, the network printer device is in a suspended state (Not Ready state). In such a state, wait for one or more bins to become empty. When the user takes out a job from one or more bins (sets it in an empty state) and sets the network printer device in the Ready state, printing is restarted for storage processing in the empty bin.

(49) A functional range in which the printing date, the printing printer device name, the user name, the job name, the job number, the number of printed pages, the paper size, etc. are collected in the network printer device as the billing information. (50) A network printer device having a function of transferring billing information to another client, a function of displaying and printing, and a function of backing up to an external storage medium (3.5 inch floppy or the like). (51) As a filter control function, the functional range of a network printer that has a program operating environment for the purpose of data conversion, checking or modification. (52) As a means for adding or changing the filter control function built into the network printer device, an external storage medium is used.
Functional range that can be realized from (3.5 inch floppy etc.) and other clients. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention can be variously modified according to the gist of the present invention described in the claims, and the present invention does not exclude these.

[0122]

As described above, according to the present invention, the use of the mail box facilitates the sorting of cut sheets and saves labor for sorting. Further, according to the present invention, the correspondence between the user name or group name and the bin number is managed,
When the bin for storing the printed paper is designated by the user name or the group name, the bin number of the bin storing the printed paper is obtained from the above correspondence, and the printed paper is stored in the bin. Therefore, in the shared operation of the network printer, the printing result (printing paper) can be stored in each bin corresponding to the user, and the loss or scattering of the printing result can be prevented.

[0123]

Further, according to the present invention, on the side surface of each bin, the job number or job name of the job stored in the bin,
It has means for displaying the name of the user or group currently in use, the unused state of the bin, the presence / absence of a storage job, the presence / absence of security, the presence / absence of overflow, the presence / absence of trouble, the current storage status, etc. Therefore, the usage state of the bin can be recognized.

Further, according to the present invention, a sensor for detecting the action of taking out the stored paper is provided in each bin, and when the storage of the printed paper in the bin and the take-out of the printed paper overlap, the printing process is performed. Since the printing is restarted when the operation is stopped and the action of taking out the printed paper is completed, it is possible to easily deal with the case where the storing of the printed paper in the bin and the taking out of the printed paper overlap.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a processing form of a mainframe.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a processing mode (standalone mode) centering on PC / WS.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a processing form (LAN network form) centered on a PC / WS.

FIG. 5 is an L incorporating the network printer of the present invention.
It is an explanatory view of an AN network system.

FIG. 6 is an external view of a network printer device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of a printing mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an external view of a network printer device including a large capacity hopper.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of a large capacity hopper.

FIG. 10 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of a network printer.

FIG. 11 is a layout explanatory diagram of a LAN connector.

FIG. 12 is a detailed hardware configuration diagram of a network printer.

FIG. 13 is a memory configuration diagram of DPRAM.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory chart of a BUS command.

FIG. 15 is a software configuration diagram of a network printer device.

FIG. 16 is a process flow diagram of a multi-protocol control unit.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of an Ethernet frame.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of spooling.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart (1) of the processing of the spooling control unit.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart (part 2) of the processing of the spooling control unit.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a job queue and a hard disk.

FIG. 22 is a software configuration diagram of a client.

FIG. 23 is a line command explanatory chart.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a drawing configuration.

FIG. 25 is an example (1) of a Japanese menu screen.

FIG. 26 is an example (2) of a Japanese menu screen.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of print request processing.

FIG. 28 is a configuration diagram of a network printer header.

FIG. 29 is a command explanatory diagram (against the client).

FIG. 30 is a processing flowchart of client software.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart of processing when an abnormality is notified.

FIG. 32 is an FEP processing flow chart (acceptance: No. 1).

FIG. 33 is an FEP processing flow chart (acceptance: part 2).

FIG. 34 is an FEP processing flow chart (cleanup).

FIG. 35 is a flow chart of processing of ticket gate control.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of filter control.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing the process of editing a banner page.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart for determining the number of printed sheets.

FIG. 39 is a process flow diagram (No. 1) of the printer control unit.

FIG. 40 is a process flow diagram (No. 2) of the printer control unit.

FIG. 41 is a process flow diagram (No. 3) of the printer control unit.

FIG. 42 is a configuration diagram of a network printer with a mailbox.

FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the bottle.

FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram of a liquid crystal display of a bottle.

FIG. 45 is a basic configuration diagram of a mailbox mechanism.

FIG. 46 is an example of a menu screen.

FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram of a mailbox storage instruction system.

FIG. 48 is a functional configuration diagram for controlling a mailbox.

FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram of a mailbox management information file.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart of processing for a request.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart of a liquid crystal display process.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart (part 1) of bin determination and display control.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart (part 2) of bin determination and display control.

FIG. 54 is a process flow chart of the safety mechanism of the mailbox.

[Fig. 55] Fig. 55 is an explanatory diagram of an operating form of the network printer of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

20..Network printer main unit 20a..Mailbox control unit 21b..LAN interface drivers 21-3 to 21-6..Various communication protocol control unit 21-8..Spooling control unit 21..LAN adapter (Front End Processor: FE
P) 22 .. Printer control unit 23 .. Printing mechanism 24 composed of recording system and paper transport system .. Storage medium (hard disk) 26. Connector for LAN connection 51. Mailbox 52. Client 53. .Communication transmission lines such as Ethernet

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI B65H 39/11 B65H 39/11 S (72) Inventor Satoru Ueyama 35 Saho, Kato-gun, Hyogo Pref. 72) Inventor Mari Ito 4-1-1 Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor Tomi Sato 4-1-1, Kamedotachu, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor Hisashi Saito 4-1-1 Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor, Yasunari Kida, 35, Saho, Kato-gun, Hyogo Prefecture, Fujitsu Peripherals Limited (56) References JP-A 5-61620 (JP, A) JP-A 4-207540 (JP, A) JP-A 4-227524 (JP, A) JP-A 2-120068 (JP, A) JP-A 5 −4417 (JP, A) JP 60-84549 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/12 B41J 29/38 B41J 29/46 B65H 39/11

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A network printer connected to a LAN, which receives print information from a client from the LAN.
N interface driver, a communication protocol section that controls communication according to the communication protocol, a spooling control section that spools print information in a storage medium and creates a queue for print jobs, and a highest priority order designated by the queue. A printer control unit that reads print information corresponding to a print job from a storage medium and generates an image based on the print information, a printing mechanism that prints the image on a sheet, and a bin for storing a large number of printed sheets. A mailbox for storing printed paper in a predetermined bin, a management means for managing the correspondence between the user name or group name and the bin number, and a bin for storing printed paper is the user name or group. When instructed by the name, the bin number of the bin storing the printed paper is obtained from the above correspondence, The management means is provided with a mailbox control unit for controlling the storage of printed paper in the bin, and the management means associates with each bin the user name or group name, the number of stored sheets, the stored job name / job number, and the occurrence of overflow. A mailbox management information file is created to manage the presence / absence, the occurrence / non-occurrence of a trouble, etc., the correspondence relationship is managed by the mailbox management information file, and the number of stored sheets for each bin, the stored job name / job number, A network printer that manages the occurrence of overflow and the occurrence of trouble. 2. A means for displaying the job number or job name of the job stored in the bin and the name of the user or group currently in use on the side surface of each bin with reference to the mailbox management information file. The network printer device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. Referring to the mailbox management information file, the unused state of the bin, the presence / absence of a storage job, the presence / absence of security, the presence / absence of an overflow, the presence / absence of a trouble, the presence / absence of a trouble on the side of each bin are currently stored. 3. The network printer device according to claim 2, further comprising means for displaying that 4. A network printer device connected to a LAN, which receives print information from a client from the LAN.
N interface driver, a communication protocol section that controls communication according to the communication protocol, a spooling control section that spools print information in a storage medium and creates a queue for print jobs, and a highest priority order designated by the queue. A printer control unit that reads print information corresponding to a print job from a storage medium and generates an image based on the print information, a printing mechanism that prints the image on a sheet, and a bin for storing a large number of printed sheets. A mailbox for storing printed paper in a predetermined bin, a management means for managing the correspondence between the user name or group name and the bin number, and a bin for storing printed paper is the user name or group. When instructed by the name, the bin number of the bin storing the printed paper is obtained from the above correspondence, Each bin is equipped with a mailbox control unit that controls the storage of printed paper in the bin, and a sensor that detects the action of taking out the stored paper, and the mailbox control unit prints to each bin. Monitor whether the storage of printed paper and the removal of printed paper overlap, and if they overlap, stop the printing process according to the pin, and resume printing when the action of taking the printed paper from the pin ends. Network printer device.