JP2000181656A - Printing data managing device and printing data managing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printing data managing device capable of preventing resources on a printing requesting side from being used uselessly while suppressing cost. SOLUTION: When a printing request receiving part 30 receives a printing request from a client 14, a queue operating part 32 adds the printing request to a printing wait queue 40 and disconnects connection with the client 14. When the printing request is made to be located at the leading address of the queue 40, a data receiving part 34 resumes connection with the client 14, after that, receives printing data corresponding to the printing request and stores them in a spool 38. A data transmitting part 36 eliminates the printing data that finishes printing from the spool 38.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a print data management device and a print data management method, and more particularly to a print data management device and a print data management device for managing print data transmitted from a data processing device connected to a common transmission medium. The present invention relates to a print data management method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional printer gateway network-connected to a plurality of client computers (hereinafter simply referred to as "clients") and a printer by a common transmission medium, a print request is generally transferred following a print request from a client. Print data such as character data and image data is temporarily stored in an area called a spool in a storage device such as a hard disk which is built in or externally connected to the printer gateway, and waits for printing for a destination printer provided in the printer gateway. A print request is added to the queue, and when the print request becomes the head address of the print queue, print data corresponding to the print request is transferred to the printer.

[0003] The gateway referred to here is a communication protocol (hereinafter simply referred to as "protocol") in which a plurality of clients such as personal computers and workstations connected to a network and input / output devices such as scanners and printers are different. In the case where the devices communicate with each other, the devices and the software that intervene between the communicating devices and convert the protocol are referred to. Therefore, the above-described printer gateway receives a print request and print data from the client using a protocol of the client, and transmits print data to the printer using a protocol of the printer that performs printing.

As a technique for managing print data in the printer gateway as described above, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
In Japanese Patent No. 110810, in response to a transfer request for data received via a common transmission medium, the remaining amount equal to or larger than the maximum transfer request amount that can be accepted in one transfer is shared storage means (a spool in the storage device). Equivalent) or not,
A technique is described in which, when the remaining amount is less than the maximum transfer request amount, rejection of the transfer request is rejected, so that the shared storage means is equally lent to requests from a plurality of clients.

[0005]

However, according to the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-110810, as described above, the maximum transfer request that can be received in one transfer in response to the received data transfer request is described. If there is no remaining amount exceeding the amount in the shared storage means (spool), the transfer request is rejected. Therefore, the client rejected the transfer request needs to send the transfer request again, and Since it is not known whether there is a free space, it is necessary to repeatedly transmit the transfer request, and there is a problem that resources on the client side are wasted.

To solve this problem, it is conceivable to increase the storage capacity of the shared storage means as much as possible. In this case, however, the cost of the shared storage means increases.
The problem occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a print data management apparatus and a print data management method capable of preventing waste of resources on a print request side while suppressing costs. The purpose is to do.

[0008]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print data management apparatus for receiving a print request from a data processing apparatus connected to a common transmission medium. A print request storage unit that stores a plurality of the print requests; a data processing device that stores the print request received by the print request reception unit in an empty area of the print request storage unit and transmits the received print request Operating means for operating so as to disconnect the connection with the data processing apparatus which has transmitted the print request to execute the next print request among the print requests stored in the print request storage means, and A data receiving unit for receiving print data corresponding to the print request for executing the next print from the processing device; and storing the print data received by the data receiving unit. It includes a printing data storage unit.

According to the print data management device of the present invention, a print request from a data processing device connected to a common transmission medium is received by a print request receiving unit, and the received print request is received by an operation unit. After the plurality of print requests are stored in the empty area of the print request storage unit, the operation is performed so that the connection with the data processing apparatus that has transmitted the received print request is disconnected.

[0010] Therefore, in a normal data processing apparatus, the print data corresponding to the print request is transmitted subsequent to the print request. However, according to the present invention, the connection is disconnected after receiving the print request as described above. The print data cannot be transmitted.

Note that a personal computer, a workstation, or the like can be applied as the data processing device, and the print data includes character data (character data) and image data.

Further, in the print data management apparatus according to the first aspect, the data processing apparatus transmits the print request for executing the next print among the print requests stored in the print request storage means by the data receiving means. After the connection with the printer is resumed, print data corresponding to the print request for executing the next print is received from the data processing device, and the received print data is stored by the print data storage unit.

As described above, according to the print data management device of the first aspect, the print request received from the data processing device is stored in the empty area of the print request storage means, and then the received print request is transmitted. The data processing device operates to disconnect the connection with the processing device and resumes the connection with the data processing device that has transmitted the print request to execute the next print request among the print requests stored in the print request storage unit. Since the print data corresponding to the print request to execute the next print is received from the device, the print data storage means stores only the print data corresponding to the print request to execute the next print, The storage capacity of the print data storage means can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the data processing device can store the print request and the print data corresponding to the print request. It is not necessary to perform a plurality of times signal, it is possible to prevent the waste of resources of the data processing apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when a print request from a data processing device is received by the print request receiving means and a print request is stored in the print request storage means. When the request is not stored, receiving the print data from the data processing device by the data receiving unit without disconnecting the connection with the data processing device that transmitted the print request received by the operation unit. Is preferred.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print data management method which receives a print request from a data processing device connected to a common transmission medium, and stores the received print request in a plurality of print requests. After being stored in the empty area of the storage means, an operation is performed so as to disconnect the connection with the data processing apparatus which has transmitted the received print request, and the next print request among the print requests stored in the print request storage means is executed. After resuming the connection with the data processing device that has transmitted the print request, receiving the print data corresponding to the print request for executing the next print from the data processing device, and storing the received print data.

Therefore, according to the print data management method of the present invention, the print request received from the data processing device is received after the plurality of print requests are stored in the empty area of the print request storage means capable of storing the print requests. Operate to disconnect from the data processing device that sent the print request, and resume connection with the data processing device that sent the print request to execute the next print request among the print requests stored in the print request storage unit. Since the print data corresponding to the print request to execute the next print has been received from the data processing apparatus after the printing, the means for storing the print data is stored in the means for storing the print data. Is stored, only the print data corresponding to the print request to execute is executed, so that the storage capacity of the means can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the data processing apparatus can be used for printing. The request and transmission of the print data corresponding to the print request is no longer necessary to perform a plurality of times, it is possible to prevent the waste of resources of the data processing apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, a print request is received from a data processing device, and no print request is stored in the print request storage means. In this case, it is preferable to receive the print data from the data processing device without disconnecting the connection with the data processing device that transmitted the received print request.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a network system 10 according to the present embodiment includes a gateway 12, a client 14, and a printer 16 connected to each other by a common transmission medium 18.

The client 14 uses TCP / IP (Transm
ission Control Protocol: Transmission control protocol / Inter
The printer 16 has an XNS (Xerox Network Systems) protocol, and the gateway 12 has a TCP / IP and an XNS protocol. The gateway 12
Correspond to the print data management apparatus of the present invention, and the client 14 corresponds to the data processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the gateway 12 described above, and the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG.
Clients 1 connected by a common transmission medium 18
4, a print request queue 30 for storing a plurality of print requests received by the print request receiving unit 30, and a print request receiving unit 3.
The queue operation unit 32 temporarily disconnects the connection with the client 14 after storing the print request received in the empty space of the print waiting queue 40 when the print request is located at the head address of the print waiting queue 40. A data receiving unit 34 that resumes connection with the client 14 and receives print data corresponding to the print request from the client 14; a spool 38 that stores the print data received by the data receiving unit 34; And a data transmission unit 36 for transmitting the stored print data to the printer 16.

The print request receiving section 30 is the print request receiving section of the present invention, the queue operating section 32 is the operating section of the present invention, the data receiving section 34 is the data receiving section of the present invention, and the spool 38 is the present invention. The print waiting queue 40 corresponds to the print request storage unit of the present invention.

Next, as an operation of the present embodiment, referring to the flowcharts of FIGS.
The processing (process) executed by each of the print request receiving unit 30, the queue operating unit 32, the data receiving unit 34, and the data transmitting unit 36 will be described.

First, referring to FIG. 3, print request receiving section 3
0 Normally executed processing (print request receiving unit process 1)
Will be described.

In step 200 in FIG. 2, the process waits for a print request from the client 14, and if there is a print request, the process proceeds to step 202. The client 14
In the present embodiment, a print request from FTP (File T
ransfer Protocol (file transfer protocol).

In step 202, the print waiting queue 40
Is empty, that is, whether or not a print request is stored in the print waiting queue 40. If not, the process proceeds to step 204.
After storing the dummy print request in the print waiting queue 40, the process proceeds to step 206, and after notifying the data receiving unit 34 of the instruction to receive the print data, returns to step 200 and returns to step 200 again. It waits for a print request from the client 14. As the dummy print request set in the print waiting queue 40 in step 204, for example, a data file of arbitrary data can be applied.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 202 that the print request is stored in the print waiting queue 40 (in the case of a negative determination), the process proceeds to step 208 to start the process of the queue operation unit 32. After that, the process returns to the step 200 to wait for a print request from the client 14 again.

Next, referring to FIG.
The process (print request receiving unit process 2) executed by the print request receiving unit 30 when 0 indicates that data printing has been completed from the data transmitting unit 36 will be described.

At step 250 in the figure, the print request stored at the head address of the print queue 40 is deleted. As a result, the print request corresponding to the print data that has been printed by the printer 16 immediately before the execution of this process is deleted, and the print request stored at the next address in the print queue 40 is moved to the first address. Is done.

In the next step 252, it is determined whether or not the print queue 40 is empty, that is, whether or not a print request is stored in the print queue 40. In the case (case), the process proceeds to step 254 to notify the data receiving unit 34 of the instruction to receive the print data, and thereafter terminates the present process and returns to the original processing.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 252 that the print request is not stored in the print waiting queue 40 (in the case of an affirmative determination), the process of step 254 is not performed, and the process is terminated. Return to the original processing.

Next, referring to FIG.
Is executed in the queue operation unit 32 when is started in step 208 of the above-described print request reception unit process 1 (see also FIG. 3) (queue operation unit process).
Will be described.

In step 300 of the figure, the USER transmitted from the client 14 following the print request
After receiving the PASS command and the PASS command and completing the login of the client 14, the client 1
4 and a STOR command having print information such as client information (host name or IP address), print file name (including directory information), and printer name to be printed as arguments. The print information included in the argument of the STOR command is set as a print request in the print waiting queue 40, and in the next step 302, the connection with the client 14 (connection) is disconnected, and then the queue operation unit process is terminated.

After transmitting the STOR command, the client 14 attempts to transfer the print data to the spool 38 provided in the gateway 12 continuously. Unable to transfer to spool 38.

Next, referring to FIG.
(Data receiving unit process) executed in step (1) will be described.

At step 350 in the figure, step 206 of the above-described print request receiving unit process 1 (see also FIG. 3)
In step 254 of the print request receiving unit process 2 (see also FIG. 4), the process waits for reception of a notification instructing reception of print data. When the notification is received, the process proceeds to step 352.

In step 352, the print waiting queue 40
Is determined to be a dummy print request (stored in step 204 of the print request receiving unit process 1), and if it is a dummy print request (affirmative determination). In step 354, the process proceeds to step 354, where the USER command and the PASS command transmitted following the print request are received from the client 14, and the login of the client 14 is completed.
A data connection with the client 14 is established by processing the command and the STOR command. As a result, the print data transmitted from the client 14 can be received.

Since the client 14 transfers the print data following the STOR command, the data receiving unit 3
In the next step 356, in step 356, the print data transferred from the client 14 is received and stored in the spool 38, and in the next step 358, the print data stored in the spool 38 is sent to the data transmitting unit 36. After the notification to the effect that transmission to the printer 16 is instructed, the process returns to the step 350 to wait for the reception of the notification to instruct the reception of the print data again.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 352 that the request stored in the head address of the print queue 40 is not a dummy print request (in the case of a negative determination), the process proceeds to step 360, The client 14 based on the client information included in the print request stored at the head address of the print queue 40.
Is connected by FTP.

In the next step 362, based on the directory information included in the print request, the directory is moved to the directory in which the print data exists by the CWD (change directory) command. In the next step 364, the printing in the directory exists. The data is received (retrieved) by the RETR command and stored in the spool 38.

When the reception and storage of the print data is completed, the connection with the client 14 is disconnected in the next step 366, and the transmission of the print data to the printer 16 is transmitted to the data transmission unit 36 in the next step 368. After the notification of the instruction is given, the process returns to the step 350 to wait for the reception of the notification of the instruction to receive the print data again.

Next, referring to FIG.
(Data transmission unit process) executed in step (1) will be described.

At step 400 in the figure, the process waits for the reception of a notification to instruct the transmission of print data, which is performed in steps 358 and 368 of the above-described data reception process (see also FIG. 6). Is received, the process proceeds to step 402.

In step 402, it is determined whether or not the printer 16 is available by inquiring of the printer 16, and if not available (in the case of a negative determination).
Goes to step 404 and waits for a predetermined time, then returns to step 402 to repeatedly determine whether or not the printer 16 is available.

In step 402, the printer 16
Is determined to be available (if affirmative)
In step 406, the print data stored in the spool 38 is transmitted to the printer 16.

When the transmission of the print data to the printer 16 is completed, in the next step 408, it is determined by inquiring of the printer 16 whether or not the printing of the transmitted print data has been completed, and the printing is not completed. In this case (in the case of a negative determination), the process proceeds to step 410 and waits for a certain period of time, then returns to step 408 to repeatedly determine whether or not printing of the transmitted print data has been completed.

If it is determined in step 408 that printing of the transmitted print data has been completed (if affirmative), the process proceeds to step 412, where the spool 38
Delete the print data stored in step 4
After sending a notification indicating the end of printing to the print request receiving unit 30 in step 14, the process returns to step 400 to wait for reception of a notification instructing transmission of print data again.

Next, a specific embodiment of the print data management processing by the gateway 12 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

(Embodiment 1) First, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 8, an embodiment when the print queue 40 is empty, that is, when no print request is stored in the print queue 40 will be described. .

The print request receiving unit 30 of the gateway 12 performs FT based on a control connection from the client 14.
When a print request is received by P, the print queue 40
Is empty or not. In this case, it is empty.
After setting a dummy print request in the print queue 40, the data receiving unit 34 is notified that print data is to be received (steps 200 to 2 in FIG. 3).
06). At this time, since no print request is stored in the print waiting queue 40, the print waiting queue 40
The dummy print request set in the print waiting queue 40
Is set to the start address of

The data receiving unit 34, having received the notification to instruct reception of the print data, determines whether or not the head address of the print queue 40 is a dummy print request (steps 350 and 352 in FIG. 6). Here, since a dummy print request is set, the PORT command and the STOR command are processed after receiving the USER command and the PASS command from the client 14 and completing the login.
A data connection is established (corresponding to the processing of step 354 in FIG. 6 and the communication processing A in FIG. 8). As a result, print data can be received from the client 14.

When the data connection is established, the client 14 transmits the print data. Therefore, the data receiving section 34 receives the print data and transfers the print data to the spool 38, and then transmits the print data to the spool 38 to the data transmitting section 36. A notification that the transferred print data is to be transmitted to the printer 16 is provided (corresponding to the processing of steps 356 and 358 in FIG. 6). Further, the data receiving unit 34 sends a notification indicating the end to the client 14 when the reception and transfer of the print data are completed, and in response to the disconnection request from the client 14 having received the notification, Is disconnected (corresponding to the communication processing B in FIG. 8).

The data transmitting unit 36 prints the print data transferred from the data receiving unit 34 to the spool 38
When the printer 16 receives the notification that the printer 16 is to be transmitted, it determines whether or not the printer 16 is available by inquiring about the status of the printer 16. A print request is made by transmitting data (corresponding to the processing in steps 400 to 406 in FIG. 7 and the communication processing C in FIG. 8).

In the printer 16, printing is performed using the print data received from the gateway 12. Therefore, the data transmission unit 36 inquires the printer 16 of the print result to determine whether or not the printing is completed, and the printing is completed. In this case, after the print data for which printing has been completed is deleted from the spool 38, a notification indicating the end of printing is transmitted to the print request receiving unit 30 (step 408 in FIG. 7).
To 414 and the communication process D in FIG. 8).

When the print request receiving unit 30 receives from the data transmitting unit 36 a notification indicating that the printing is completed, the print request receiving unit 30 shown in FIG.
Of the print request receiving unit process 2 is started, the dummy print request stored at the head address of the print wait queue 40 is deleted, and it is determined whether the print wait queue 40 is empty. In this case, the data receiving unit 3 is empty.
The print request receiving unit process 2 is terminated without notifying the print request receiving unit 4 of receiving print data.

(Embodiment 2) Next, an embodiment in which a plurality of print requests are stored in the print queue 40 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

The print request receiving unit 30 of the gateway 12 performs FT based on the control connection from the client 14.
When a print request is received by P, the print queue 40
Is empty or not. In this case, it is not empty.
Activate the queue operation unit 32 (step 200 in FIG. 3,
202 and 208).

The activated queue operation unit 32 receives the USER command and the PASS command from the client 14, completes the login, receives the PORT command and the STOR command, sets the print request in the print waiting queue 40, Then, the connection with the H.14 is disconnected (corresponding to the processing in steps 300 and 302 in FIG. 5 and the communication processing H in FIG. 9).

Therefore, the client 14 tries to send out the print data following the STOR command, but cannot send the print data because the connection is disconnected as described above. That is, when a print request exists at the head address of the print queue 40, print data corresponding to the print request exists in the spool 38, and the print data to be transferred by the client 14 is stored in the spool 38. Since there is a possibility that there is not enough remaining capacity, print data from the client 14 is not accepted.

On the other hand, the data transmission unit 36 periodically determines whether or not the printing by the print data corresponding to the print request stored in the head address of the print waiting queue 40 is completed by inquiring the printer 16. When the printing is completed, the print data stored in the spool 38 is deleted, and then the print request receiving unit 30 is notified that the printing is completed (steps 408 to 408 in FIG. 7). The processing of step 414 and the communication processing I of FIG. 9).

When the print request receiving unit 30 receives from the data transmitting unit 36 a notification indicating the end of printing, the print request receiving unit 30 shown in FIG.
Of the print request receiving unit process 2 is started, the print request stored at the head address of the print wait queue 40 is deleted, and it is determined whether or not the print wait queue 40 is empty. In this case, the present print request receiving unit process 2 is terminated. However, in this case, the print request receiving unit process 2 is not empty. To end.

The data receiving section 34, having received the notification to instruct the reception of the print data, determines whether or not the head address of the print queue 40 is a dummy print request (steps 350 and 352 in FIG. 6). However, since no dummy print request is set here, the client is connected to the client 14 by FTP based on the client information included in the print request stored at the head address of the print queue 40. After logging in to the client 14 by sending a USER command and a PASS command to the client 14,
The directory is moved to the directory where the print data corresponding to the print request exists by the WD command, and the print data is received by the RETR command and transferred to the spool 38 (the processing of steps 360 to 364 in FIG. 6 and the processing in FIG. 9). (Corresponds to communication processing J).

When the transfer of the print data to the spool 38 is completed, the data receiving unit 34 disconnects the connection with the client 14 and sends the print data transferred to the spool 38 to the printer 16 to the data transmitting unit 36. Is transmitted (corresponding to the processing in steps 366 and 368 in FIG. 6 and the communication processing K in FIG. 9).

The data transmission unit 36 transmits the print data transferred from the data reception unit 34 to the spool 38 to the printer 16.
When the printer 16 receives the notification that the printer 16 is to be transmitted, it determines whether or not the printer 16 is available by inquiring about the status of the printer 16. A print request is made by transmitting data (corresponding to the processing of steps 400 to 406 in FIG. 7 and the communication processing L in FIG. 9).

In the printer 16, printing is performed using the print data received from the gateway 12. Therefore, the data transmitting unit 36 inquires the printer 16 of the print result to determine whether or not the printing is completed, and the printing is completed. In this case, after the print data for which printing has been completed is deleted from the spool 38, a notification indicating the end of printing is transmitted to the print request receiving unit 30 (step 408 in FIG. 7).
To 414, and the communication process M in FIG. 9).

When the print request receiving unit 30 receives from the data transmitting unit 36 a notification indicating that the printing has been completed, the print request receiving unit 30 shown in FIG.
Of the print request receiving unit process 2 is started, the print request stored at the head address of the print wait queue 40 is deleted, and it is determined whether or not the print wait queue 40 is empty. In this case, the main print request receiving unit process 2
If the print request is not empty, the print request receiving unit process 2 is terminated after notifying the data receiving unit 34 of an instruction to receive print data.

Thereafter, the data receiving unit 34 and the data transmitting unit 36 repeat the above processing until the print queue 40 becomes empty.

As described in detail above, when the gateway according to the present embodiment receives a print request from a client, it stores the print request in a print waiting queue and disconnects the connection with the client. In a state where print data cannot be received, the connection with the client is resumed at the time when printing according to the print request becomes possible (at the time when the print request is located at the top address of the print queue) and print data is received. Is received, the capacity of the spool can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the client does not transmit the print request and the print data corresponding to the print request a plurality of times. Resources can be prevented from being wasted.

In the gateway according to the present embodiment, when the print request receiving unit receives a print request from a client and the print request is not stored in the print waiting queue, the reception by the queue operating unit is performed. Since the data receiving unit receives the print data from the client without disconnecting the client that transmitted the print request, the time required to receive the print data can be reduced. Processing can be sped up.

In this embodiment, the client 1
4 and the printer 16 are connected to the network one by one, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of devices may be connected to each device. In this case, the gateway 12 can identify the request source of the print request based on the host name or the IP address included in the STOR command, and specify the printer that transmits the print data based on the printer name included in the STOR command. Can be identified.

In this embodiment, the gateway 1
2 describes the case where print data is managed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
Instead of using the gateway 12, a function equivalent to the gateway 12 of the present embodiment may be provided inside the printer. In this case, it is not necessary to use the gateway 12, and it is not necessary to provide the printer with a function corresponding to the data transmission unit 36. Therefore, the cost for realizing the present invention is reduced as compared with the present embodiment. be able to.

In this embodiment, the client 1
4 has TCP / IP, and the printer 1
Although the description has been given of the case where the protocol of X6 is XNS, the present invention is not limited to this, and any protocol other than the above can be applied as the protocol of the client 14 and the printer 16. Therefore, the client 14 and the printer 16 may have the same protocol.

The flow charts shown in FIGS. 3 to 7 show an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and it can be said that changes can be made as appropriate without departing from the contents of the present invention. Not even.

[0075]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print data management apparatus which stores a print request received from a data processing apparatus in an empty area of a print request storage unit, and transmits the received print request. Of the print request stored in the print request storage means, and resumes the connection with the data processing device that has transmitted the print request to execute the next print request. Since the print data corresponding to the print request to execute printing has been received, only the print data corresponding to the print request to execute printing next is stored in the print data storage means. The storage capacity of the means can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the data processing device transmits the print request and the print data corresponding to the print request a plurality of times. Cormorants it is not necessary, it is possible to prevent the waste of resources of the data processing apparatus side, the effect is obtained that.

According to the print data management method of the present invention, a print request received from a data processing device is stored in an empty area of a print request storage means capable of storing a plurality of print requests, and thereafter the received print request is stored. An operation was performed to disconnect the connection with the data processing device that transmitted the request, and the connection with the data processing device that transmitted the print request to execute the next print request among the print requests stored in the print request storage unit was restarted. Since the print data corresponding to the print request for executing the next print is received from the data processing apparatus later, the print data is stored in the storage means for storing the print data in the same manner as in the first aspect of the present invention. Only the print data corresponding to the print request to be executed is stored, so that the storage capacity of the means can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the data processing device can print And eliminates the need for multiple transmission of print data corresponding to the print request, the waste of resources of the data processing apparatus can be prevented, the effect is obtained that.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a gateway according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a print request receiving unit process 1 normally executed in the print request receiving unit of FIG. 2;

4 is a flowchart of a print request receiving unit process 2 executed when the print request receiving unit of FIG. 2 receives a notification indicating the end of printing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a queue operation unit process executed in the queue operation unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a data receiving unit process executed in the data receiving unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a data transmitting unit process executed in the data transmitting unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a sequence of Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a sequence of Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 network system 12 gateway (print data management device) 14 client (data processing device) 16 printer 18 transmission medium 30 print request reception unit (print request reception unit) 32 queue operation unit (operation unit) 34 data reception unit (data reception unit) ) 36 data transmission unit 38 spool (print data storage means) 40 print queue (print request storage means)

Claims (4)

[Claims] A print request receiving unit that receives a print request from a data processing apparatus connected to a common transmission medium; a print request storage unit that stores a plurality of the print requests; and a print request reception unit that receives the print request. Operating means for storing the received print request in the empty area of the print request storage means, and then operating to disconnect the connection with the data processing apparatus which transmitted the received print request, and printing stored in the print request storage means. Data receiving means for receiving a print data corresponding to the next print request from the data processing device after resuming connection with the data processing device which has transmitted the print request to execute the next print request among the requests. And a print data storage unit for storing print data received by the data receiving unit. 2. When a print request from a data processing device is received by the print request receiving unit and no print request is stored in the print request storage unit, the print request received by the operation unit is transmitted. 2. The print data management device according to claim 1, wherein the print data management unit receives print data from the data processing device without disconnecting the connection with the data processing device. 3. Receiving a print request from a data processing device connected to a common transmission medium, storing the received print request in an empty area of a print request storage unit capable of storing a plurality of print requests, and receiving the print request. To disconnect the connection to the data processing device that has transmitted the print request, and to the data processing device that has transmitted the print request to execute the next print request among the print requests stored in the print request storage unit. Receiving print data corresponding to the print request for executing the next print from the data processing device after restarting the printing, and storing the received print data. 4. When a print request from a data processing device is received and no print request is stored in the print request storage unit, the connection with the data processing device that transmitted the received print request is disconnected. 4. The print data management method according to claim 3, wherein the print data is received from the data processing device without performing.