JPH1091373A - Network printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To temporarily invalidate the right to access a printer that another user currently has, to enable a specific user to exclusively use the printer at the time of printing on special recording paper, and to improve its operability and maneuverability by providing a function which allows some user to occupy the shared printer. SOLUTION: Hosts 101A to 101H and one network printer 102 are connected by a network 100 and output data from the hosts 101A to 101H are printed out on the network printer. In this network printer system, the network printer 102 is provided with a console panel 103 for setting temporary exclusive use by a specific host.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case where a plurality of host computers are connected to one printer on a network, and when a plurality of host computers share one printer via the network, a specific host computer is used. The present invention relates to a network printer system provided with a mode that can be temporarily used exclusively.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a network system in which a printer which can be shared with a plurality of host computers (hereinafter, referred to as hosts) is connected on a network. In such a system, the printer is shared by a plurality of users (hosts) when printing. For this reason, printing has generally been performed in the order of data reception, or priorities have been assigned to hosts used by users, and printing has been performed based on the priorities.

Further, as a reference technical document related to this, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-157927 discloses "Printing Network System". This printing network system consists of one printing device (printer).
And a plurality of document creation devices (hosts) are connected, different identification numbers are set for the plurality of document creation devices, priorities are set for the identification numbers, and printing is executed based on the priorities. Is what you do.

[0004]

However, in the conventional system as described above, the priority of printing can be set for each user host.
There were the following problems.

[0005] For example, the user A having the first priority
Is a special recording paper (eg, label paper, OH
When printing on special paper (P film, letterhead, etc.), the printer does not recognize the user until the data is sent from the host, no matter how high the priority. There is a possibility that another user with low priority prints out on the set special paper until the host performs printing processing from the host at his / her seat. For this reason, every time the user has to confirm with another user, the printout cannot be performed calmly, and the work efficiency, the operability, and the system efficiency are reduced.

In addition, when printing is performed using the special paper as described above, misprints and paper jams are likely to occur frequently because of poor transportability as compared with ordinary plain paper.

Also, in the case of a printer capable of feeding paper from a different paper feed tray such as a manual paper feed, since the switching of the paper feed tray is generally automatic, the same as at the time of paper end or the like. There is a possibility that data of another user is output from the manual paper feed tray. Further, the manual sheet feeding has a disadvantage that the number of sheets that can be set is small and a large amount of printing cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and is provided with a function that allows a certain user to occupy a shared printer, thereby temporarily granting another user access to the printer. It is an object of the present invention to allow a specific user to occupy and use a printer, for example, when printing on special recording paper, and to improve workability and operability.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network printer system, comprising: a plurality of host computers connected to a single printer on a network; In the network printer system which prints out the output data of the printer by the printer, the printer is provided with an exclusive use mode setting means for setting a temporary exclusive use by a specific host computer.

That is, by setting an exclusive use mode in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only one user on a network, special paper such as OHP film or label paper is set in the printer. When you want to print, you can print smoothly without disturbing other users.
Workability and operability are improved.

In the network printer system according to the present invention, the host computer has an exclusive use mode setting function for temporarily occupying the printer.

That is, an exclusive use mode in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only one user on a network is provided, and the setting / cancellation thereof is performed from a host computer via the network. Thereby, the operability is further improved.

Further, in the network printer system according to the third aspect, the exclusive use mode is set on the host computer, and the output data is printed out one by one according to a key input of the printer. It is.

That is, on a network, an exclusive use mode is provided in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only one user, and the setting / cancellation is performed from a host computer via the network. By pressing the operation key of the printer and printing out one sheet at a time, the number of prints can be controlled while checking the print result each time, and it is possible to respond quickly to misprints when using special paper. And the efficiency of the operation is improved, and it is ensured.

Further, in the network printer system according to the fourth aspect, when a specific host computer occupies the printer exclusively, the other host computer is notified of the exclusive use information.

That is, on a network, an exclusive use mode is provided in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only a single user, and a host computer other than the user occupying the printer is provided with the exclusive use mode.
By notifying information such as the host computer occupying the printer and the amount of data, even if the printer is suddenly occupied and temporarily unavailable to other users, the cause and situation can be accurately determined. It is possible to grasp, and prompt measures can be taken according to the situation.

In the network printer system according to the present invention, a time limit for exclusive use is set when the exclusive use mode is used, and when the time limit is exceeded, the exclusive use time is automatically set. The mode is released.

That is, on a network, an exclusive use mode is provided in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only one user, and a time limit for exclusive use can be set from a printer or a host computer. If the exclusive use mode is not released even after the time limit expires, the mode is automatically released, and when the user forgets to release the mode, the mode automatically returns to the normal mode. Obstacles can be minimized.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a network printer system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Embodiment] (Structure of Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a system structure using a network printer system according to an embodiment. In the figure, 100 is a network such as a LAN, and 101A to 101H are hosts (personal computers) owned by eight users in this case.
And are connected on the network 100. Also,
102 is connected to the network 100 and 101A to 10
This is a network printer connected to 1H.

Each of the hosts 101A to 101H has a printer occupying function, and a name (ID) for each of the hosts 101A to 101H is registered. The host 101A to 101H can be managed by the registered name.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a network printer 10
2 is an operation panel having exclusive use mode setting means for setting / cancelling various settings and setting of the network 100, particularly, a mode such as an exclusive use mode.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the operation panel shown in FIG. 1. The mode key is displayed on the display panel 201, and includes operation keys for selecting and setting the mode keys.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a printer driver for operating the setting and printing of a network printer from the host. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a printer monitor for displaying the use status of the network printer on the host. It is.

(Operation of Embodiment) Next, regarding the operation of the system configured as described above, (Operation Example 1),
(Operation Example 2), (Operation Example 3), (Operation Example 4), and (Operation Example 5) will be described in this order.

In these operation examples, for example, a case where the user A of the host 101A prints out certain data from the host 101A on special paper (such as an OHP film) not set in the network printer 102 will be described. .

(Operation Example 1) First, the user A sets the printer temporary occupation mode (occupation use mode) to O using the operation key on the operation panel 103 on the network printer 102.
N, the host 1 occupying the network printer 102
Enter the registration name (ID) of 01A. That is, users other than the host 101A cannot use the network printer 102 temporarily until the printer temporary occupation mode is released.

Next, a required number of special sheets (such as OHP films) are set in a cassette, and data for the required pages is transmitted from the host 101A to the network printer 102.

Here, when the user wants to perform additional printing such as additional printing or printing error, the necessary number of special papers (such as OHP films) are similarly set in the cassette, and data is output from the host 101A.

When the printout is completed, the user A
Turns off the printer temporary occupation mode using the operation keys on the operation panel 103 and returns to the normal mode.

(Operation Example 2) First, when outputting data from the host 101A, the user A uses a printer driver menu as shown in FIG. In this case, the exclusive print mode is selected from the print menu of the printer driver of the host 101A. That is, also in this case, users other than the host 101A cannot temporarily use the network printer 102 until the printer temporary occupation mode is released.

Next, the required number of special sheets (such as OHP films) are set in a cassette, and the data for the required pages is transmitted from the host 101A to the network printer 102.

When the printout is completed, the user A
Turns off the exclusive print mode from the print menu of the printer driver of the host 101A (see FIG. 3) and returns to the normal mode. That is, the access right of the network printer 102 is restored from another host.

(Operation Example 3) First, when outputting data from the host 101A, the user A uses a printer driver menu as shown in FIG. In this case, the exclusive print mode is selected from the print menu of the printer driver of the host 101A.
From 1A, the data for the required page is transmitted to the network printer 102.

When print output is performed using the exclusive mode, the exclusive mode by the host 101A is set to the network printer 102 via the network 100, and users other than the host 101A can temporarily use the network printer 102. become unable.

Next, a required number of special papers (such as OHP films) are set in the cassette, and the occupation mode Feed key 202 on the operation panel 103 is pressed. When the occupation mode Feed key is pressed, the data transmitted from the host 101A is printed out one by one.

Then, if all the data is output or the exclusive mode is set to O from the print menu of the printer driver,
By performing FF, the network printer 102 returns to the normal mode. That is, the access right of the network printer 102 is restored from another host.

(Operation Example 4) Here, in each of the above-described operation examples, an example will be described in which, when a certain user occupies the network printer 102 exclusively, another user's host is notified of the exclusive use status.

That is, when another host 101B to 101H attempts to output data when the host 101A sets the occupation mode, as shown in FIG. 4, (1) the printer occupation mode is in use (2) Occupied host name or (and) user name (3) Occupation mode status For example, information such as the occupancy setting time, the number of printed sheets, and the amount of transmitted data is displayed.

(Operation Example 5) Here, in each of the above operation examples, a limitation on the occupied use time is provided, and when it exceeds that,
An example in which exclusive use is automatically released will be described.

For example, the system administrator previously sets the occupancy mode time limit arbitrarily from the operation panel 103 of the network printer 102 or the printer driver (see FIG. 3) of the host, and the host 101A sets the occupancy mode. If the mode release is forgotten and the time limit is exceeded, the exclusive mode is automatically released and the mode is returned to the normal mode. That is, the access right of the network printer 102 is restored from another host.

[0042]

As described above, according to the network printer system of the present invention (claim 1), only one user temporarily used in a printer shared by a plurality of users on a network can be used. The exclusive use mode allows you to set special paper such as OHP film or label paper in the printer, and when you want to print, you can print smoothly without disturbing other users. Can be improved.

Further, according to the network printer system of the present invention (claim 2), an exclusive use mode in which a printer temporarily shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only one user is provided on the network,
Since the setting / cancellation is performed from the host computer via the network, the operability can be further improved.

Further, according to the network printer system of the present invention (claim 3), an exclusive use mode in which only one user temporarily used in a printer shared by a plurality of users can be provided on the network,
The setting / cancellation is performed via the network from the host computer, and the operation keys of the printer are pressed to print out one sheet at a time. Therefore, the number of prints can be controlled while checking the print result each time. It is possible to respond quickly to misprints when using paper,
The efficiency of the work is improved, and it is ensured.

According to the network printer system of the present invention (claim 4), an exclusive use mode is provided on the network, in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only a single user,
In order to inform the host computer other than the user who occupies the printer of information such as the host computer occupying the printer and the amount of data, the printer may be suddenly occupied and temporarily used by other users. Even if it becomes impossible, the cause and situation can be accurately grasped, and prompt measures can be taken according to the situation.

According to the network printer system of the present invention (claim 5), an exclusive use mode is provided on a network, in which a printer shared by a plurality of users can temporarily use only one user.
In addition, the time limit for exclusive use can be set from the printer or host computer. If the exclusive use mode is not released even if the time limit is exceeded, the mode is automatically released. Normally, the mode is returned to the normal mode, and the trouble to other users can be minimized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a system configuration using a network printer system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an operation panel in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a printer driver for operating setting and printing of a network printer from a host according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a printer monitor that displays the use status of a network printer on a host according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Network 101A to 101H Host 103 Network Printer 201 Display Panel 202 Occupancy Mode Feed Key

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A network printer system in which a plurality of host computers and a single printer are connected on a network, and output data from the host computer is printed out by the printer. A network printer system comprising a dedicated use mode setting means for setting an exclusive use mode. 2. The network printer system according to claim 1, wherein the host computer has an exclusive use mode setting function for temporarily exclusively using the printer. 3. The network printer system according to claim 2, wherein the exclusive use mode is set on the host computer, and the output data is printed out one by one according to a key input of the printer. 4. The network printer system according to claim 1, wherein when a specific host computer occupies the printer exclusively, the other host computer is notified of the exclusive use information. . 5. When the private use mode is used,
4. The network printer system according to claim 1, wherein a time limit for exclusive use is set, and when the time limit is exceeded, the exclusive use mode is automatically released.