JP2004001581A - Printing processing apparatus, information processing apparatus communicable with the apparatus, printing processing method, processing method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that printing data is processed as a batch conventionally, making continuously inputted printing jobs kept waiting until a precedent printing job is completely processed, and that a total load amount cannot be detected before printing data is interpreted to the last, thus hindering a substantial management state of printing jobs from being grasped before a final stage of the process. <P>SOLUTION: A header of job data formed in a packet is analyzed. It is detected on the basis of the analysis of which kind the job data of the packet is. The job data is stored on the basis of the detection into a storage part and managed on the basis of the storage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a print processing apparatus that controls a print job transmitted from a host computer to print out, an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with the print processing apparatus, a print processing method, a processing method, and a storage medium.

A conventional example will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation when data is received from a host computer in a conventional example.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 501 denotes a printing apparatus main body; 502, a host computer (host) for sending data to the printing apparatus 501; 503, an input unit for receiving data sent from the host 502; 505 is a central control unit that controls the entire printing apparatus 501, and 506 is a print processing unit that converts the video signal of each page sent from the print processing unit 504 to print paper. An output unit 507 for transferring and outputting the print paper is a paper cassette for storing and supplying print paper. An operation unit 508 is used by the user to set a print mode and the like.

Conventionally, data for performing printing described in a printer language which starts with a print start command and ends with a print end command is sent from the host 502 to the printing apparatus 501 shown in FIG. 5 (FIG. 8).

In a peripheral device such as a printer, data received from a host computer includes print data (hereinafter referred to as PDL) expressed in a page description language or the like to be actually printed by command information called a job language (hereinafter referred to as JL), and printed. Job control was performed. JL is independent of PDL, but is represented by the same text string as PDL.

Data received from the host 502 is received by the input unit 503 (S601: FIG. 6). The input unit 503 determines that data starting with the print start command is a print job, and treats data until a print end command is detected as one print job.

(4) Upon detecting the print start command (JL), the input unit 503 notifies the central control unit 505 of a job start. Upon receiving the job start notification, the central control unit 505 instructs the print processing unit 504 to start print processing of the print job that is currently being received.

(4) Upon receiving the instruction, the print processing unit 504 fetches data from the input unit 503 and performs print processing of the print job currently being received (S602).

The print processing unit 504 analyzes the data of the print job and, when a video signal for one page is completed, sends the video signal to the output unit 506 and creates a video signal for the next page. When the video signal is sent, the output unit 506 takes in the paper from the paper cassette 507, draws and outputs the video signal on the paper, and discharges the paper. When the print processing unit 504 performs the processing up to the print end instruction of the print job in this manner (S603-YES), it notifies the central control unit 505 of the print end.

(4) The print processing unit 504 continues to process the received print job until it receives the print end command (JL) (S603-No).

Next, the same processing is performed when data of another print job is sent from the host 502. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, this is the case of print job A and print job B.

When a print job is continuously sent from the host 502, the central control unit 505 sends the next print job from the input unit 503 before receiving the print end notification of the previous print job from the print processing unit 504. Print start notification. In this case, the central control unit 505 instructs the print processing unit 504 to start printing the next print job after receiving the print end notification of the previous print job from the print processing unit 504.

(4) Upon completion of print job A 801 (FIG. 8), print processing of print job B 802 is started.

Therefore, if it takes a long time for the print processing unit 504 to analyze a print job, rapid processing cannot be performed in the execution management of another print job that follows.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system embodying a mechanism for performing information acquisition and environment setting in such a conventional printing system.

The conventional printing system has a configuration in which the host computer 109 and the printing apparatus 110 are connected via a predetermined communication medium 1413.

The host computer 109 includes an application unit 1401, a printer driver unit 1402, a transmission buffer 1403, an I / F (interface) driver unit 1404, and a utility unit 1405.

The application unit 1401 provides a graphic user interface to a user and generates image data suitable for the purpose of the user. The printer driver unit 1402 converts the image data generated by the application unit 1401 into page description language (PDL) data that can be printed by the printing apparatus 110.

The transmission buffer 1403 temporarily stores PDL data generated by the printer driver unit 1402. The I / F driver unit 1404 transmits the PDL data stored in the transmission buffer 1403 to the printing device 110, and transmits and receives information of the printing device 110. The utility unit 1405 acquires information of the printing apparatus 110 and provides the information to the graphic user interface, and changes the environment setting of the printing apparatus 110 according to a user's request.

Further, the printing apparatus 110 includes an I / F driver unit 1406, a reception buffer 1407, a JL (job control language) parser unit 1408, a PDL translator unit 1409, a drawing buffer 1410, a drawing unit 1411, and a printer engine unit. 1412 and a device database unit 1413. The I / F driver unit 1406 receives PDL data transmitted from the host computer 109, transmits information on the printing apparatus 110, and receives environment settings. The reception buffer 1407 temporarily secures all data received by the I / F driver unit 1406, and serves as a buffer for delays in subsequent processing.

The ＬJL parser unit 1408 analyzes the received data, and determines the distribution of the process of acquiring the information of the printing apparatus 110 or receiving the PDL data by a predetermined JL and distributes the process. The PDL translator unit 1409 performs a translation process on the PDL to which the PDL data has been sorted by the JL parser unit 1408, and converts the PDL data into intermediate data that is a drawing object suitable for drawing. The device database unit 1413 stores the information of the printing apparatus 110 set by the JL, and acquires the information by the JL or provides the information to the PDL translator unit 1409 in the subsequent stage. The environment information referred to here is, for example, the number of prints.

The drawing buffer 1410 temporarily stores the intermediate data of the drawing object generated by the PDL translator unit 1409 until the printing is actually performed. The drawing unit 1411 actually draws the drawing object temporarily stored in the drawing buffer 1410 to generate image data that is a bitmap image. The printer engine unit 1412 receives the bitmap image generated by the drawing unit 1411 and prints it on a medium such as paper by a known printing technique.

Next, the job control language (JL) will be described. First, a means for transmitting print data using JL will be described.

@JL (Job Language) is data generated and transmitted by the printer driver unit 1402 of the host computer 109 together with PDL, and has a text format structure. JL includes an escape character represented by <ESC>. For example, the processing of the PDL translator unit 1409 which has been operating up to that point is terminated and control is passed to the JL parser unit 1408 to start parser processing, or "LIPS" (LIPS: registered trademark of Canon Inc.) The processing shifts to the PDL translator unit 1409 having the name, and the PDL translating and drawing processing is performed. By the function of JL described above, the printing apparatus 110 can appropriately switch print data composed of a plurality of different PDLs and perform printing.

Next, a description will be given of means for acquiring information of the printing apparatus 110 by JL and setting an environment. For example, in the JL, there is a command generated from the utility unit 905 of the host computer 900, and a command to obtain an initial value of the number of printed pages (COPIES) of the printing apparatus 110 from the printing apparatus 110. Note that COPIES is an example, and other environment information of the printing apparatus 110 can be obtained by corresponding character strings. The JL includes a command generated from the utility unit 1405 of the host computer 109, and includes a command to set the initial value of the number of pages printed by the printing apparatus 110 to “X pages”. By the function of the JL, the host computer 109 can acquire and set information of the printing apparatus 110.
JP-A-07-141132

However, as in the conventional example, there are the following three problems in the print processing in units of print jobs using JL. (1) The entire load of a job cannot be detected unless the data (PDL) to be actually printed in the data received from the host computer is interpreted to the end. (2) The job cannot be recognized until the PDL is interpreted. (3) Job management cannot be performed before the PDL is interpreted.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of print job processing in the print processing unit 504 in the embodiment of the present invention. Conventionally, job management was possible only in the queue 204 and subsequent steps in FIG.

When multiple print jobs are submitted consecutively because the print job was processed as serial information as a unit, subsequent print jobs wait until the print processing of the preceding print job is completely completed. It becomes. More specifically, according to the conventional example, as can be seen from the structure of the printing apparatus 110 in FIG. 14, the print job is once stored in the reception buffer 1407 before being interpreted by the JL parser unit 1408 for recognizing the print job. However, there is a problem that the print data entered into the reception buffer 1407 is not recognized as a print job, and becomes incomplete due to information acquisition and setting of all print jobs entered into the printing apparatus 110.

The print data generated by the application unit 1401 of the host computer 109 is converted into PDL data by the printer driver unit 1402 and transmitted to the printing device 110 via the transmission buffer 1403 and the I / F driver unit 1404. Even if an attempt is made to acquire, set, or control the job of the printing apparatus 110 from the utility unit 1405 during data transmission, the utility unit 1405 is exclusively controlled by the I / F driver unit 1404 until the transmission of all the PDL data is completed. Cannot satisfy the demands of real-time, so the real-time property is impaired.

Further, as an additional problem, since the execution of the print process depends on the status of the preceding print process, the output of the subsequent print job is uncertain, such as when it is output, and extra waiting time is imposed. Will be. Among print jobs, high-priority jobs and low-priority jobs are treated uniformly, so even when printing important documents with high priority, it is necessary to wait until the preceding print job is completed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and data received by a peripheral device such as a printing apparatus is bundled with command information as in the related art, but the command information itself, or a data size following the command information Is included in the command information so that the job can be recognized only by analyzing the command information without interpreting the entire JBL data to be output, and furthermore, a command printing process for analyzing the command information when data is received. And a print control device and a print control device, comprising: means for holding job information analyzed by the command print processing unit, and capable of managing and controlling jobs immediately after data reception or in a series of sequences following data reception. Provided is a storage medium storing a method and a print control program, and a print control system. The target.

た め In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a mechanism having the following configuration.

Input means for receiving and inputting job data packetized into a plurality of packets including a header for identifying the contents of the packet data transmitted from the information processing apparatus through predetermined data communication; First analyzing means for analyzing the header of each packet of the job data input by the means, and storing the input job data in a storage section by separating the type of the input job data based on the analysis of the header by the first analyzing means. And a management unit for managing a job based on job data separated and stored by the processing unit based on the analysis of the first analysis unit.

Alternatively, packet generation means for packetizing print data created based on application data, and transmission control means for transmitting data packetized by the packet generation means to the print processing apparatus by predetermined data communication. , Is provided.

According to the present invention, the print control apparatus separates print data in a print job from job management information, so that job management information can be obtained without analyzing print data.

Also, the job can be recognized without analyzing the print data, the overall load of the job can be detected, and the job can be managed.

Since the print job in the print control device can be managed by the job management information, the print job in the print control device can be controlled in real time by the job control command received from the external device.

(1st Embodiment)
<Configuration of printing device / system>
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing apparatus 110 including a print control apparatus according to the present invention.

The input unit 101 controls communication between the printing apparatus and a client such as the host computer 520. The input unit 101 can receive the print job data shown in FIG. That is, it is possible to receive information having a data structure to which a header portion corresponding to data for managing a print job, document data for performing printing, data for print control, and the like are added. In the case of FIG. 3, the header information is the data capacity, but the type of data is not limited to this. For example, the information may be information for identifying the contents of the data.

The central control unit (CPU) 102 controls the overall control of the printing apparatus 110.

The operation unit 103 provides an I / F when a user directly touches the printing apparatus.

The print processing unit 104 analyzes a command received by the input unit 101, analyzes print data (PDL), and the like.

The storage unit 105 includes a ROM (read only memory), a RAM (random access memory), a secondary storage device, and the like for operating the present apparatus. The RAM is a data storage area with no restrictions on use, and is an area used for a reception buffer of the input unit 101 or data development in the print processing unit 104.

The output unit 106 transfers the print data received through the input unit 101 into image information printable by the print processing unit 104 onto paper. The paper cassette 108 supplies appropriate paper according to the processing of the output unit 106.

FIG. 2 illustrates a print job process using a block diagram in the present invention.

The command analysis unit 201 sequentially analyzes the data received by the input unit 101, that is, each command of the print job shown in FIG. Of the analyzed information, information to be managed as a job is stored in a job table generated in the storage unit 105 and described later in FIG.

The information to be managed is the order of reception (job number, etc.), user name, file name, processing status, etc.

The reception buffer 202 temporarily stores the actual output data in the information analyzed by the command analysis unit 201 in the storage unit 105.

The PDL print processing unit 203 expands the print information (PDL) to be actually output stored in the reception buffer 202 into printable image data.

The queue 204 sequentially stores information passed to the output unit 205 described later in the storage unit 105.

The output unit (engine) 205 performs an actual print process, that is, a process of transferring print jobs sequentially stored in the storage unit 105 to print paper.

<Generation of print data>
The generation of the print job data is performed by the host computer 109. In the present embodiment, the host computer 109 functions as a data generation unit.

Print job data can be classified into three main attributes: (1) data for managing print jobs, (2) document data for print processing, and (3) data for print control. Is described by command information. Header information corresponding to each command information is added to each command information, and the header information and the command information form a pair. The print job data is data in which a pair of header information and command information is described by one or a plurality of combinations.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of print data received from the host computer 109.
Reference numeral 301 denotes a series of commands related to one print process, that is, a job command.
Reference numeral 302 denotes a packet header of a command 303 described later, and the header stores the data size of the command 303.
Reference numeral 303 denotes a command indicating the start of a job. Data from this command to a job end command 309 described below is data to be managed as one job.
Reference numeral 304 denotes a packet header of a command 305 described later, and the header stores the data size of the command 305.
Reference numeral 305 denotes a parameter setting command and setting data.
Reference numeral 306 denotes a packet header of a command 307 described later, and the data size of the data 307 is stored in this header.
Reference numeral 307 denotes print data (PDL information) to be actually printed.
A packet header 308 of a command 309 described later stores the data size of the command 309 in this header.
A job end command 309 is paired with the job start command 303 and identifies job information.
Each of the packet headers 302, 304, 306, and 308 may store information other than the size of the following command, that is, packet identification data. Information other than the data size of the following command is particularly limited. is not.

The packet header information is not limited to a single piece of information, and a plurality of types of information can be described side by side. For example, it is a parallel description of data capacity and identification data indicating whether the data is control data or document data to be printed. The detailed description of the packet header information will be described later with reference to FIG.

The print job 301 is transmitted and received in packet units with the packet header and the parameter as one data block. The packet here is not a lower layer packet called a packet in data communication in a network, but a general concept of a data lump.

The information surrounded by the print start command 303 and the print end command 309 is handled as one print job unit.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of packet header information. The vertical axis indicates bytes, and the horizontal axis indicates bits of each byte. In the drawing, the operation code in the 0th to 1st bytes indicates an ID having a length of 2 bytes indicating the function of the packet. The operation code can take the following values.

{0x0201} Job start operation 0x0202 Job attribute setting operation 0x0204 PDL data transmission operation 0x0205 Job end operation 0x0301 Job control operation Here, "0x" means a hexadecimal number. In the packet header 302, the operation code takes the value of the job start operation “0201”. In the packet header 304, the operation code takes the value of the job attribute setting operation “0202”. In the packet header 306, the operation code takes the value of the PDL data transmission operation “0204”. In the packet header 308, the operation code takes the value of the job end operation “0205”. The job control operation is added to the packet header of a job control command transmitted from the host computer 109 to the printing apparatus 110 in job control, and the operation code takes the value of the job control operation “0301”. The job control operation is used for processing described later with reference to FIG.

The block number in the second and third bytes is a number used for associating a request with a reply when the side that transmitted the job packet requests a reply. For example, if the host computer 109 transmits the job packets with the block numbers = 1, 2, and 3 in succession, and the error packet with the block number = 2 is returned from the printing apparatus 110, the transmission side transmits the second job packet. It is possible to specify that an error has occurred.

$ The parameter length of the 4th to 5th bytes is an area indicating the byte length of the data portion after the 12th byte, and can indicate up to 0 to 64K bytes. The parameter length differs depending on the attribute indicated by the packet header.

The sixth and seventh bytes are areas indicating various flags of the job packet, and indicate the following values, respectively.
Error flag: When this value is 1, it indicates that some error has occurred in the printing apparatus 110. This flag is added to a reply packet sent from the printing apparatus 110 to the host computer 109.
Notification flag: When this value is 1, it indicates that the printing apparatus 110 notifies the host computer 109 that there is some notification item, not a response to the request packet from the host computer 109.
Continuation flag: If this value is 1, it indicates that all data has not been entered in the data portion, and that the remaining data is sent in the next job packet. The next job packet must set the same operation code as the previous packet.
Reply request: 1 is set when a reply packet is required from the host computer 109 to the printing apparatus 110. If it is 0, no reply is returned if the request packet is processed normally. When an error occurs in the printing apparatus 110, a reply packet in which the error flag is set to 1 is always transmitted regardless of the reply request of 0/1.

The user ID in the 8th to 9th bytes and the password in the 10th to 11th bytes are areas used for authentication when setting security restrictions on the operations that can be performed with the request packet.

# Data (parameters and PDL) corresponding to the operation code is stored in the twelfth and subsequent bytes. In the case of a job start operation and a job end operation, no data exists.

(4) In the case of a job attribute setting operation, set a job attribute ID and a job attribute value to be set. The job attribute ID indicates an attribute relating to a job or an identifier corresponding to an environment, and an ID corresponding to a job attribute defined by ISO-10175 (DPA) (ISO: International Organization for Standardization) is assigned in advance. .

ジ ョ ブ Typical job attributes are listed below.

Job attribute ID 0x0101 Job name 0x0103 Job owner name 0x016a Job size In the case of a PDL data transmission operation, PDL data is entered in the data portion. Since the data of one job packet is up to the maximum size that can be stored in the above parameter length, it can be stored up to 64 KB, and the data beyond that is divided into a plurality of PDL data transmission operations and transmitted. In this case, the continuation flag is set to 1.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which a host computer 109 and a printing apparatus 110 are connected via a predetermined communication medium 1518 capable of two-way communication. In the first embodiment of the present invention, a case where a local interface defined by, for example, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1284 is used as the communication medium 1518 will be described as an example. .

The host computer 109 constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an application unit 1501, a printer driver unit 1502, a transmission buffer 1503, an I / F driver unit 1504, a utility unit 1505, The configuration includes a logical channel control unit 1506 and a job packet generation unit 1507.

機能 Explaining the functions of the above components in detail, the application unit 1501 provides a user with a graphic user interface and generates image data suitable for the purpose of the user. The printer driver unit 1502 converts the image data generated by the application unit 1501 into page description language (PDL) data that can be printed by the printing apparatus 110. The transmission buffer 1503 temporarily stores the PDL data generated by the printer driver 1502. The job packet generation unit 1507 generates job packet data from the PDL data stored in the transmission buffer 1503.

The utility unit 1505 acquires the information of the printing apparatus 110 and provides the information to the graphic user interface, or changes the environment setting of the printing apparatus 110 according to the user's request. The logical channel control unit 1506 uses the job packet data sent from the job packet generation unit 1507 as a data channel, obtains the status transmitted and received from the utility unit 1505, and uses the environment setting as a management channel to packetize the data sent from the two logical channels. And convert it into one physical channel. That is, since the communication medium 1518 is physically one bidirectional interface (IEEE1284 interface in the present embodiment), two different types of data are transmitted and received by one interface. I do.

Here, the logical channel control unit 1506 of the present embodiment controls to perform multi-channel communication by using the communication system of IEEE1284.4. The IEEE 1284.4 transmits and receives data in units of credit, issues a credit request for transmission and reception, and performs communication by receiving a credit corresponding to the request. Here, two credits for management are always prepared separately from those for data transmission / reception, so that a control command can be received from a management channel (management credit) even while print data is being received in the printing apparatus, for example. It has become.

The I / F driver unit 1504 transmits the PDL data stored in the transmission buffer 1503 to the printing device 110, and transmits and receives information of the printing device 110.

On the other hand, the printing apparatus 110 constituting the printing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a logical channel control unit 1508, a device database unit 1509, a job preprocessor unit 1510, a reception buffer 1511, and a PDL translator unit. 1512, a drawing buffer 1513, a drawing unit 1514, a printer engine unit 1515, an I / F driver unit 1516, and an information management unit 1517.

The functions of the above-described units will be described in detail. The I / F driver unit 1516 receives PDL data transmitted from the host computer 109, transmits information on the printing apparatus 110, and receives environment settings.

(4) The logical channel control unit 1508 converts the packet data received by the I / F driver unit 1516 into two logical channels, a data channel and a management channel, and passes the logical channel to the subsequent stage. If the packet data received from the host computer 109 is a print job, the packet data is transferred to the job preprocessor unit 1510, and if the packet data is a job management command used for job control, the packet data is transferred to the information management unit 1517.

The job preprocessor unit 1510 corresponding to the additional information analysis unit of the present invention receives the data of the data channel from the logical channel control unit 1508, and receives the data in the reception buffer 1511 according to the operation code written in the packet header information (FIG. 16) of the job packet. , Or sets information in the device database unit 1509. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 7, if the job packet is a job start command, a job number is assigned, a job number is set in the job management table of the device database unit 1509, and the job status information 406 corresponding to the job number is received. Set to Medium. If the job packet is a PDL data command, the PDL data and the job number are transferred to the reception buffer 1511. If the packet is a job attribute packet, the contents of the parameter are set in the job management table of the device database unit 1509. When all the PDL data of a certain job number is stored in the reception buffer 1511, the job preprocessor unit 1510 updates the job status information 406 of the job management table of the device database unit 1509 to “waiting for printing”.

(4) The reception buffer 1511 temporarily holds PDL data to which a job number is assigned, and serves as a buffer for delays in subsequent processing. The device database unit 1509 stores a device database of the printing apparatus 110 and job information for drawing a print job. The job management table of the device database unit 1509 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The information management unit 1517 receives the management packet sent to the management channel, rewrites information in the device database unit 1509 according to the operation code and data written in the management packet, and executes a job according to the data of the management packet. Control. The job control will be described later with reference to FIG.

The PDL translator unit 1512 translates PDL data, converts it into intermediate data of a drawing object suitable for drawing, and stores it in the drawing buffer 1513. When the PDL translator unit 1512 recognizes that the analysis of the job to which a new job number has been allocated from the reception buffer 1511 starts, the PDL translator unit 1512 updates the job status information 406 of the job management table of the device database unit 1509 to “analyzing”. I do.

The drawing buffer 1513 temporarily stores drawing objects until they are actually printed. When one page of intermediate data is stored, the drawing unit 1514 starts printing processing.

The drawing unit 1514 actually draws the drawing object temporarily stored in the drawing buffer 1513 to generate a bitmap image, and transmits the bitmap image to the printer engine unit 1515. When the generation of a bitmap image with a new job number starts, the drawing unit 1514 updates the job status information 406 in the job management table of the device database unit 1509 to “printing”.

(4) The printer engine unit 1515 receives the bitmap image generated by the drawing unit 1514, and prints it on a medium such as paper by a known printing technique.

With reference to FIG. 17, an example of control of a job packet creation process in the job packet generation unit 1507 of the host computer 109 will be described.

The processing up to the point where the user creates the data based on the print data including the job packet transmitted by the host computer 109 using the application 1501 on the host computer 109 is omitted here.

When data discharged from the application is transmitted to the printer driver 1502 through a GDI (Graphical Device Interface) or the like, the printer driver 1502 generates PDL data based on the data input from the GDI and stores the PDL data in the transmission buffer 1503. . When PDL data is sequentially generated in the transmission buffer 1503, the job packet generation unit 1507 starts a job packet generation process.

In step S1701, the job packet generation unit 1507 generates a job start packet and transmits it to the logical channel control unit 1506. The job start packet includes a packet header 302 and a print start instruction 303 in FIG. Here, the operation code of the packet header (FIG. 16) takes a value of “0201” as described above. The data part of FIG. 16 corresponding to the print start instruction 303 contains a job identifier generated by the job packet generation unit 1507.

In step S1702, the job packet generation unit 1507 generates a job attribute packet and sends it to the logical channel control unit 1507. The job attribute packet includes the packet header 304 and the parameter information 305 in FIG. Here, the operation code of the packet header (FIG. 16) takes a value of “0202” as described above. In the data part of FIG. 16 corresponding to the parameter information 305, the attribute ID and the attribute value generated by the job packet generation unit 1507 are entered. As described above, the job attributes include a job name, a job owner name, and a job size. Further, attributes such as a job request time, the number of job pages, and a color mode may be entered. The job name can be obtained from the GDI by the printer driver unit 1502, the job owner name can be obtained from the function attached to the OS when the user logs on, and the job size is the PDL generated by the printer driver 1502. Can be obtained by internal calculation.

In step S1703, the job packet generation unit 1507 acquires the maximum size N of data that can be transmitted. As described above, the maximum size of a job packet in this system is 64 Kbytes.

Next, in step S1704, the job packet generation unit 1507 acquires the size of the data to be transmitted. This obtains the size of the PDL data stored in the transmission buffer 1503. In step S1705, the job packet generation unit 1507 determines whether the size of the transmission data (PDL data) acquired in step S1704 is larger than the maximum size N. If it is determined that the size of the transmission data is larger than the maximum size N, the process proceeds to step S1706, and the job packet generation unit 1507 determines that the PDL, which is the transmission data, has a size N (here, 64 Kbytes) part and Is divided into other parts (remaining parts).

In step S1707, the job packet generation unit 1507 creates packet header information (FIG. 16) of a portion having a size of N among the divided data. The operation code of the packet header information of the transmission data packet takes a value of “0204” as described above. At this time, the continuation flag of the packet header is set to “1”.

In step S1708, the job packet generation unit 1507 connects the packet header information and the transmission data (PDL) to create a job packet that is a transmission data packet. The data portion of the job packet contains the PDL data as it is.

In step S1709, the job packet generator 1507 sends the created job packet to the logical channel controller 1506.

Subsequently, in step S1710, the job packet generating unit 1507 obtains the size of the PDL data of the part that has not been transmitted (the remaining divided part), and returns to the processing of step 1705.

If it is determined in step S1705 that the size of the transmission data is smaller than the maximum size N, the process proceeds to step S1711, where the job packet generation unit 1507 creates packet header information (FIG. 16) for the transmission data. I do. The operation code of the packet header information of the transmission data packet takes a value of “0204” as described above. At this time, the continuation flag of the packet header is set to “0”.

In step S1712, the job packet generation unit 1507 connects the packet header information and the transmission data (PDL) to create a job packet that is a transmission packet.

In step S1713, the job packet generation unit 1507 transmits the created packet to the logical channel control unit 1506, and ends the processing.

In step S1714, the job packet generation unit 1507 generates a job end packet and transmits it to the logical channel control unit 1506. The job end packet includes the packet header 308 and the print end instruction 309 in FIG. Here, the operation code of the packet header (FIG. 16) takes a value of “0205” as described above. In the data portion of FIG. 16 corresponding to the print end command 309, there are actually no parameters or data.

ジ ョ ブ In this way, a job packet is generated and transmitted from the host computer 109 to the printing apparatus 110 via the logical channel control unit 1506.

<Manage print jobs>
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a job management table in which job information of the present invention is stored. Of the analyzed information, information to be managed as a job is managed in a job management table generated in the storage unit 105. The job management table is stored in the device database unit 1509.

In the present embodiment, the job numbers 401 are numbered in the order in which the printing apparatuses and the like receive the jobs. More specifically, the job preprocessor unit 1510 of the printing apparatus 110 assigns a job number, which is job identification information, to each received print job so as to be unique within the printing apparatus 110, and stores the job number in the device database unit 1509. .

The queue number 402 indicates the order of processing in the queue 204 (reception buffer 1511) in ascending order.

The user name 403 stores the name of the user who has submitted the job indicated by the job number 401. This is because the logical channel control unit 1508, which has received the print job from the I / F driver unit 1516, acquires the job owner name from the job attribute packet of the print job and transmits it to the information management unit 1517. The received job owner name is stored in the device database unit 1509 as a user name.

The file name 404 stores the name of the file stored in the queue 204. This is because the logical channel control unit 1508, which has received the print job from the I / F driver unit 1516, acquires the job name from the job attribute packet of the print job, transmits the job name to the information management unit 1517, and the information management unit 1517 receives the job name. The stored job name is stored in the device database unit 1509.

The parameter list handle 405 indicates an information table (not shown) in which various parameters set for the job are stored. This is because the logical channel control unit 1508, which has received the print job from the I / F driver unit 1516, acquires the job attributes (number of pages, color mode, etc.) from the job attribute packet of the print job and transmits it to the information management unit 1517. Then, the information management unit 1517 stores the received job attribute as a parameter in the device database unit 1509.

The job status information 406 indicates the current status of the job indicated by the job number 401. The information management unit 1517 processes each of the job preprocessor 1510 (receiving), the reception buffer 1511 (printing waiting state), the PDL translator unit 1512 (processing: developing), and the drawing unit 1514 (printing). The job number 401 is recognized, and the job status is stored in the device database unit 1509 by giving priority to the processing unit closer to the printer engine unit 1515. That is, when the job of job number 2 is present in the PDL translator unit 1512 and the drawing unit 1514, the job status information 406 is “printing” because the drawing unit 1514 is closer to the printer engine unit 1515.

The information shown in the job management table is not particularly limited to the above as long as it can manage the job, and the meaning of the data is also particularly limited as in the queue number 402 of the present embodiment. is not.

<Process and execute print job data>
The flowchart of FIG. 7 illustrates processing of input data in the printing apparatus 110. The input data can be mainly classified into three types of attributes: (1) data for managing a print job, (2) document data for print processing, and (3) data for print control. The command analysis unit 201 analyzes the input data from this viewpoint.

When the I / F driver unit 1516, which is the input unit 101, receives some data from the host computer 502 (S701), in step S702, the logical channel control unit 1508 and the job preprocessor unit 1510 send the I / F driver unit 1516 The commands received in step 1 are sequentially analyzed.

In step S703, the logical channel control unit 1508 checks whether the analyzed command is a job end packet, and shifts to step S708 if the analyzed command is a job end packet.

If it is not a job end packet, in step S704, the logical channel control unit 1508 checks whether the analyzed command is a job start packet, and if it is a job start command, shifts to step S711.

If it is not a job start packet, in step S705, the logical channel control unit 1508 checks whether the analyzed command is a job attribute packet which is a parameter setting command, and if it is a job attribute packet, the process proceeds to step S712.

If it is not a job attribute packet, in step S706, the logical channel control unit 1508 checks whether the analyzed command is a transmission data packet that is a data command. If it is a transmission data packet, the logical channel control unit 1508 proceeds to step S713.

If it is not a transmission data packet, in step S707, the logical channel control unit 1508 checks whether the analyzed command is a job control command. If the analyzed command is a job control command, the logical channel control unit 1508 transitions to step S714. If the command is not a job control command, unexpected data has been input, and the process returns to step S701.

In step S708, the logical channel control unit 1508 receives the job end command and transfers a series of print job data already received to the job preprocessor unit 1510. Note that the data transfer timing from the logical channel control unit 1508 to the job preprocessor unit 1510 does not need to be performed after all the data is collected as in the present embodiment, and may be sequentially transferred for each specific size. There is no limitation. For example, it may be processing subsequent to step S711 described below.

Next, in step S709, the data analyzed by the job preprocessor 1510 is accumulated in the reception buffer 1511. The timing at which data is transferred from the job preprocessor 1510 to the reception buffer 1511 is not particularly limited.

In step S710, the job preprocessor unit 1510 writes the appropriate number to the queue number 402 in FIG. 4 in the job management table in the device database unit 1509 after the data has been stored in the reception buffer 1511.

In step S711, the job preprocessor unit 1510 receives the job start packet from the logical channel control unit 1508, writes the job number 401 in the job management table of FIG. 4 into the job management table in the device database unit 1509, and receives a series of subsequent commands. Prepare for.

In step S712, the job preprocessor unit 1510 receives the job attribute packet from the logical channel control unit 1508 and adds desired data to the job management table in the device database unit 1509 in 403 to 405 in FIG.

In step S713, the job preprocessor unit 1510 receives the transmission data packet from the logical channel control unit 1508, and stores the PDL data in the transmission data packet in the reception buffer 1511. Here, only the parameter length included in the packet header information of the transmission data packet is stored in the reception buffer 1511 without being analyzed. Therefore, it is not necessary to always analyze the print job data in order to search for the end of the PDL data as in the related art, which has the effect of speeding up the processing.

In step S714, the logical channel control unit 1580 passes the job control command to the information management unit 1517, and the information management unit 1517 searches the job management table of the device database unit 1509 for various jobs corresponding to the received job control command. Perform desired job control. This job control will be described later with reference to FIG.

印刷 The printing device 110 processes the input data in this way. Since the new communication medium 1518 can perform multi-channel communication as described above, it is possible to receive a job packet of a job control command even while receiving a job packet of print data. Thus, an effect is obtained that such cancel control can be performed on the job being received.

FIG. 18 is a schematic flow chart at the time of printing of a printing apparatus which is an example of the print control apparatus of the present invention.

In step S1801, the information management unit 1517 checks whether there is valid data in the queue number 402 of the job management table in the device database unit 1509. If valid data exists, the data necessary for printing is Upon recognizing that it is included in the job management table, the flow shifts to step S1802. The job with the queue number has already been recognized as described above, indicating that the printing process can be started.

In step S1802, the printing process starts. Specifically, the information management unit 1517 sends the PDL translator unit 1512 the job number of the job to be printed and a start command. The PDL translator unit 1512 acquires the PDL data of the designated job number from the reception buffer 1511, performs PDL analysis, converts the data into intermediate data, and stores the intermediate data in the drawing buffer 1513. Accordingly, the information management unit 1517 or the PDL translator unit 1512 updates the job status information 406 corresponding to the corresponding job number in the job management table of the device database unit 1509 from “waiting for printing” to “analyzing”.

Subsequently, in step S1803, after one page of intermediate data has accumulated in the drawing buffer 1513, the drawing unit 1514 starts a series of printing processes. In other words, it acquires the intermediate data stored in the drawing buffer 1513, performs rasterization processing, generates bitmap data, and outputs it to the printer engine unit 1515. At the start of a series of printing processes, the information management unit 1517 or the drawing unit 1514 updates the job status information 406 corresponding to the corresponding job number in the job management table of the device database unit 1509 from “analyzing” to “printing”. I do. When printing of one page is completed, the information management unit 1517 or the drawing unit 1514 reduces the remaining page number information (not shown) corresponding to the corresponding job number in the job management table of the device database unit 1509 by one. I do. In this manner, the printing process for one page is performed.

The means for identifying that the data necessary for printing has been prepared is not particularly limited to the means of the present embodiment.

Next, in step S1804, the information management unit 1517 checks whether printing of all pages of the print job has been completed. If the printing has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S1802, and the printing process of the subsequent page is continuously performed.

Note that, as in steps S1802 to S1804, the means for transferring data necessary for printing is not particularly limited to one page unit.

In step S1805, the information management unit 1517 deletes the job information of the print job that has performed the printing process from the job management table in the device database unit 1509. It is assumed that the job information deleted in this step is temporarily stored in another area.

In step S1806, the data area obtained in step S1802 is released based on the job information temporarily stored in step S1805. The data area here is an area occupied by the data (PDL data and intermediate data) of the print job in the reception buffer 1511 and the drawing buffer 1513.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing job control in a printing apparatus which is an example of the print control apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 9 illustrates the process of step S714 in FIG. 7 in detail. This processing is performed by passing the job control command to the information management unit 1517 when the logical channel control unit 1508 receives the job control command in step S707.

The job control command is generated in the utility unit 1505 of the host computer 109. The job control commands include a status acquisition request command for requesting a job list in the printing apparatus, a job cancel command for requesting to cancel a print job, a job suspend command for requesting to temporarily suspend a print job, and a There are a job restart command for requesting restart, a parameter setting change command for requesting change of parameters of a print job, and the like. Each job control command is also in the job packet format as described above with reference to FIG. 16, and has different attributes depending on the type.

In step S1901, the information management unit 1517 determines whether the received job control command is a status acquisition request command based on an attribute in the job packet. If it is determined that the request is a status acquisition request, the process advances to step S1902.

In step S1902, the information management unit 1517 acquires a job management table stored in the device database unit 1509. Subsequently, in step S1903, the information of each job in the acquired job management table is passed to the I / F driver unit 1516 via the logical channel control unit 1508. The I / F driver unit 1516 converts the received information into a packet format and returns it to the host computer 109 via a communication medium 1518 composed of IEEE1284. By this return, the host computer 109 can recognize the job number uniquely assigned in the printing apparatus 110.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a status monitor of the printing apparatus 110 displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the host computer 109. The job indicated by the “printer JOB list” is a job currently being processed in the printing apparatus 110. Conventionally, only a job for which PDL analysis has been completed can be viewed. However, according to the present invention, a status monitor of a job being received can be recognized.

When the user performs job control (cancel, suspend, resume, change settings, etc.) for a certain job on the utility screen in FIG. 20, as shown in FIG. 21, a pointing device such as a mouse not shown on the utility screen is used. By selecting a document, a job control window 2101 is newly displayed, and a desired job control can be selected. A job control command corresponding to the job control selected here is generated by the utility unit 1505, is converted into a job packet by the logical channel control unit 1506 along with the specified job number, and is transmitted to the printing apparatus 110. The job number uniquely assigned in the printing apparatus 110 can be obtained by returning the status request, so that the job can be controlled.

If it is determined in step S1901 that the request is not a status acquisition request, the process advances to step S1904. In step S1904, the information management unit 1517 determines whether the job control command is a job cancel command based on an attribute in the job packet. If it is determined that the command is a job cancel command, the process advances to step S1905.

In step S1905, the information management unit 1517 determines whether the user has authority to cancel the job, and then cancels the job. First, the information management unit 1517 obtains the job number in the job packet, which is the job cancellation request transmitted from the host computer 109, and assigns the user name of the job number and the user name of the user who transmitted the job cancellation command to the attribute of the job packet. It is determined whether or not the IDs are the same. If they are not the same, there is no cancellation authority, and the processing in steps S1902 to S903 is skipped without canceling. If they are the same, the user has the cancellation right, so the job status information in the job management table in the device database unit 1509 corresponding to the job is acquired. The information management unit 1517 controls job cancellation based on the job status information. That is, when the job status information 406 is “printing”, the job cancellation of four job preprocessors is performed.

First, a job number and a job cancel instruction are issued to the job preprocessor unit 1510. The job preprocessor unit 1510 discards the job packet of the designated job number without transmitting it to the reception buffer 1511 even after receiving the job packet. Next, the information management unit 1517 controls to invalidate the corresponding print job in the reception buffer 1511. The reception buffer 1511 manages the job numbers assigned by the job preprocessor 1510 together with the respective PDL data, so that it is always possible to know which PDL data is which job number. It is now possible to recognize which jobs need to be canceled. Next, the information management unit 1517 transmits the job number and the cancel command to the PDL translator unit 1512. If the job corresponding to the received job number is being analyzed, the PDL translator unit 1512 stops the PDL analysis according to the cancel command. If a job different from the received job number is analyzed, the command is ignored. Next, the information management unit 1517 transmits the job number and the cancel command to the drawing unit 1514. If the drawing unit 1514 is drawing a job corresponding to the received job number, the rendering unit 1514 stops the intermediate data development process according to the cancel command. While the intermediate data different from the received job number is being developed, the processing is continued until the intermediate data of the designated job number is received.

If the job status information is “under processing”, the information management unit 1517 sends a job cancel command to the PDL translator unit 1512, and then proceeds to step S1906. If the job status information is “waiting for printing”, the information management unit 1517 proceeds to step S1906 after finishing the job cancel processing in the reception buffer 1511.

In this way, the job cancellation control in the printing apparatus 110 is performed according to the status of the job. Further, the cancellation of the job is stopped from the side closer to the I / F driver unit 1516 to which the job is input, that is, from the upstream side as the data flow. This is because, when canceling from the side closer to the printer engine unit, data flows when the cancel shifts, resulting in data that cannot be completely deleted. Complete control is possible by deleting from upstream.

Subsequently, in step S1906, the information management unit 1517 deletes all information of the canceled print job in the job management table in the device database unit 1509.

If it is determined in step S1904 that the job is not canceled, the process advances to step S1907. In step S1907, the information management unit 1517 determines whether the job control command is a job interruption command based on an attribute in the job packet. If it is determined that the command is a job suspension command, the process advances to step S1908.

In step S1908, the information management unit 1517 performs job interruption control. The flow of job interruption control and authority determination is the same as that of the above-described job cancellation control, and temporary save is performed instead of cancellation (deletion). The only data saved at this time is the PDL data existing in the reception buffer 1511, and the intermediate data is deleted.

Subsequently, in step S1909, the information management unit 1517 updates the status information 406 of the interrupted print job in the job management table in the device database unit 1509 to “interrupted”.

If it is determined in step S1907 that the job is not interrupted, the process advances to step S19010. In step S1910, the information management unit 1517 determines whether the job control command is a job restart command based on an attribute in the job packet. If it is determined that the command is a job restart command, the process advances to step S1911.

In step S1911, the information management unit 1517 performs authority determination for job restart and job restart control. The job restart authority determination is made by comparing the user name in the job management table corresponding to the job number with the user name indicated by the attribute ID of the job restart job packet, similarly to the above-described job cancellation determination. The job resumption control is performed by returning the job interrupted by the job interruption control described above to the normal printing routine. That is, the PDL data of the print job temporarily saved in the nonvolatile storage medium such as the hard disk is simply returned to the reception buffer 1511 together with the job number. As a result, the print job can be restarted.

Next, in step S1912, the information management unit 1517 updates the status information 406 of the resumed print job in the job management table in the device database unit 1509 to “waiting for printing”.

If it is determined in step S1910 that the job is not to be resumed, the process proceeds to step S1913. In step S1913, the information management unit 1517 determines whether the job control command is a parameter setting change command based on an attribute in the job packet. If it is determined that the command is a parameter setting change command, the process proceeds to step S1914.

In step S1914, the information management unit 1517 checks the authority for changing the parameter setting and controls the parameter setting change. The authority check for changing the parameter setting is performed in the same manner as the authority check when resuming the job. The information management unit 1517 changes the parameter list handle 405 of the job management table in the device database unit 1509 based on the acquired parameter setting change command. The parameter list handle 405 indicates the number of copies, the color mode, and the like. By changing this value, the actual printing form and the number of sheets are changed.

Here, the characteristic configuration of the print control device of the present invention will be described.

A print control device (corresponding to the printing device 110) that analyzes and prints a print job is an input unit (I / D driver unit 1516) that inputs a print job (FIG. 3) in which print management data and print data are separated. ), An analysis unit (corresponding to a job preprocessor unit 1510) that analyzes the print management data from the print job input by the input unit, and manages the print job based on the analysis result of the analysis unit. Management information storage means (corresponding to the device database unit 1509) for storing print management data for the print job. Even if the analysis means does not analyze the print data of the print job, the print management data is stored in the management information storage means. (Corresponding to the description of step S713 in FIG. 7).

When the analysis of a new print job starts, the analysis means assigns job identification information to the print job, sets job identification information in a job management table created in the management information storage means, and sets the print management data. (Corresponding to step S711 in FIG. 7).

A data conversion unit (corresponding to the PDL translator unit 1512) for converting print data (corresponding to PDL data) related to printing execution of the print job into intermediate data (corresponding to a drawing command); An intermediate data storage unit (corresponding to the drawing buffer 1513) for storing intermediate data converted by the image processing unit, and image data to be printed from the intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage unit. (Corresponding to a printer engine 1515).

The print control device includes a printing unit including a printing unit (printer engine unit 1515) for printing image data on a recording medium.

Further, when the job control data is input by the input unit, the print job specified by the print management data stored in the management information storage unit based on the print job and the control command specified by the job control data. The job further includes a job control unit (corresponding to the information management unit 1517 or the CPU 102) that performs control according to the control content.

The print job includes identification information for identifying the print management data (corresponding to the packet header 304, details shown in FIG. 16) and the print management information (corresponding to the job attribute packet parameter information 305). A packet (FIG. 16) and a job packet (FIG. 16) including identification information for identifying the print data (corresponding to the packet header 306) and the print data (corresponding to the print data 307 and PDL data). The job control data includes a job packet including identification information for identifying the control command and the control command (corresponding to the description of FIG. 19).

Also, the input data recognized by the input unit is recognized, the input data recognized as a print job is transmitted to the analysis unit, and the input data recognized as the job control data is recognized by the job control unit. And a data attribute recognizing unit (corresponding to the logical channel control unit 1508) for transmitting the data attribute to the user.

The input unit is capable of bidirectional communication (corresponding to IEEE1284 in the present embodiment), and the input job control data requests a list of print jobs in the print control device (step in FIG. 19). In step S1902, the job control unit controls to return the job information of the job management table set by the job management data of the print job stored in the management information storage unit (step S1902). 1903).

The identification information includes size information indicating the data size of data following the identification information (corresponding to the parameter length in FIG. 16).

The analysis unit analyzes the identification data of the job packet included in the print job, and when it is determined that the job packet being analyzed is the print data, the size indicated by the size information included in the job packet. The data is skipped by the amount (corresponding to the description of step S713 in FIG. 7).

If the input job control data indicates that printing is stopped (equivalent to YES in step S1904), the job control unit prints the print job specified by the job identification number included in the job control data. Control is performed to stop the processing (corresponding to the processing in step S1905).

If the input job control data indicates that printing has been interrupted or resumed (equivalent to YES in step S1907), the job control unit determines whether the print job specified by the job identification number included in the job control data Is controlled so as to interrupt or restart the printing process (corresponding to the process of step S1908).

The job control means controls the job in the order of the analysis means, the data conversion means, and the drawing means (corresponding to the description of steps S1905 and S1908).

<Effects of First Embodiment>
According to the present invention, the additional information is added to the received data of the printing apparatus, and the parameter and the data size of the data following the additional information are included in the additional information, so that the print job can be recognized by analyzing the additional information, You can now see the overall load volume of a print job.

Further, at the time of data reception, an additional information analysis unit for analyzing the additional information and a storage unit for holding job information analyzed by the additional information analysis unit are provided. In this sequence, job management for each command information and execution management such as data conversion can be performed separately.

The processing of the additional information analysis unit of the present invention is much simpler and less burdensome on the processing itself than the analysis processing of output data itself such as PDL shown in the prior art.

(Second embodiment)
In the second embodiment of the present invention, control for enabling the user to change the processing order of the data stored in the queue according to the intention using the system of the first embodiment described above is further performed. explain.

<Prioritization>
If the priority information set by the user in the printer driver unit 1502 of the host computer 109 is stored in the transmission buffer 1503 together with the PDL data, the job packet generation unit 1507 assigns the priority of the job to the parameter information in the job packet. The priority information shown in FIG. When transferring the received print job to the queue 204, the printing apparatus 110 reassigns the queue number 402 and processes the queue in the order according to the specified priority. The priorities are ranked based on the priority information “1, 2, 3,...” Or “A, B, C” transmitted from the host computer 109.

In addition, when the print time is attached in the printing apparatus 110, the context may be determined by designating the print time.

When a new print job is received, the received print job is temporarily registered in the job management table of the device database unit 1509 by the job preprocessor unit 1510 at the lowest priority, and then the job preprocessor unit 1510 The queue numbers are rearranged with reference to the command information indicating the order. When jobs with the same priority are submitted, the queue numbers 402 are assigned in the order in which they were submitted, and when determining based on time, the earlier the designated printing time is, the higher the priority is. Similarly, when the same time is designated, the earlier the job is input, the higher the priority.

FIG. 9 shows an example of print job data in which a print time is set as parameter information as a priority. The time information is displayed in the format of hour (H): minute (M): second (S). In this example, the print designation time of the first input print job C is 12:00: 00, and the print designation time of the later input print job D is 11: 55:00. D is higher than print job C (printing is performed first).

The print jobs registered in the job management table are rearranged under the control of the central control unit 102 based on the priority information.

FIG. 22 shows the job management table to which the priority order is added. The components described in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Here, the priority order 2201 is assigned by the host computer 109. This priority can be changed by a job control command as described with reference to FIG. 19 of the first embodiment. When the priority is changed, the queue numbers are rearranged by the information management unit 1517 again.

<Pause, resume>
As described in the first embodiment, when the central control unit 102 receives an interruption instruction according to an input from the host computer 109 or the operation unit 103, the instruction is sent to the print processing unit 104, and the print processing unit 104 Saves all data necessary for resuming printing in the storage unit 105.

Then, the print processing unit 104 deletes the interrupted print job from the job management table. After that, the priority of the job management table is rearranged. The printing process is performed based on the priority of the sorted print jobs.

When receiving the print restart instruction, the information necessary for restarting the interrupted print job stored in the storage unit 105 is returned to the job management table again, and the print processing of the print job to which the interrupt instruction has been issued is restarted.

(4) The execution order of the print job when the print job is interrupted or resumed is deleted or renumbered by interruption based on the priority of the job registered in the job management table. The renumbering is rearranged under the control of the central control unit 102.

<Limited by host computer / user>
As described in the first embodiment, the identification information of the host computer (client) is added to the job attribute packet of the print information by using the job packet and the attribute ID, and the job management table in the device database unit 1509 is added. Manages client information.

In the second embodiment, control for deleting, suspending, and resuming a job received from a specific PC and subjected to PDL analysis from another PC will be described.

A description will be given of a system capable of restricting deletion, suspension, and resumption of a job being received or being processed, including PDL analysis, based on client information managed in the job management table.

(4) Further, the user identification information is added to the print information, and the user identification information is managed in the job management table.

Here, a system will be described in which a job being received from a specific user or being processed, including during PDL analysis, can be deleted, suspended, resumed, etc. from another PC.

A description will be given of a system capable of restricting deletion, interruption, and restart of a job being received or being processed including PDL analysis, based on user information managed in the job management table.

以下 The following mechanism is required to realize the above system.

First, when the job packet generation unit 1507 of the host computer 109 generates a job attribute packet (step S1702 in FIG. 17), not only the user name (user information) described in the first embodiment but also the host computer 109 Will be added to the client information specifying the device. As the client information, a computer name set in the OS is used.

Next, when the job preprocessor unit 1510 of the printing apparatus 110 sets the parameters of the job attribute packet in the device database unit 1509, the above-described client information is also set together.

(4) Further, the following authority list is prepared in advance in the device database unit 1509 of the printing apparatus 110 by inputting and creating the following authority list from the operation unit of the printing apparatus (not shown) by the administrator or the like. The authority list means that the print job from the user information “A” can be canceled by the user of the user information “A”, and the user of the user information “A, B, C” can control the suspension and the resumption. Is a table in which the user of the user information “A, B” can change the parameter setting. Also, the client information may be set in the authority list as well as the user information. In the second embodiment, the authority list is set and input from the operation unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An authority list set by a specific user such as an administrator is It may be stored in the database unit 1509.

情報 When determining the authority in steps S1905, S1908, S1911, and S1914 in FIG. 19, the information management unit 1517 determines by referring to the authority list, and executes the job control only when they match.

(4) By providing the authority list in this way, job control can be performed for jobs other than the user's own job, and disorderly job control can be prevented.

It is also conceivable to set ranks for user information and client information in the authority list. For example, if cancel is “A” interrupted, resume is “C”, and parameter setting change is “B”, the user or client whose rank is set to “A” will cancel, interrupt, Job control of all resumes and setting changes becomes possible. Users of rank "B" can perform job control of suspending, resuming, and setting changes. Users of rank "C" can perform job control of suspending and resuming. It becomes possible, and the user of rank "D" cannot control jobs other than his / her own job.

権 限 By assigning the rank to the authority in this way, it is possible to perform more detailed job control authority assignment.

{Circle around (4)} When a job is transmitted by the host computer 109, a user or a client who can perform job control on the job may be set in advance.

That is, in the printer driver unit 1502, the user sets client information or user information that permits job control, and the packet header generation unit 1507 sets the information in the job packet. In response to this, in the printing apparatus 110 that receives the data, the job preprocessor unit 1510 stores the client information and the user information that permit the job control in the device database unit 1509, and the information management unit 1517 determines the authority of the job control. It is only necessary to judge whether the client or the user who made the job control request matches the client information or the user information set in the device database unit 1510 when performing the control.

As described above, since the job requester can set the job control authority target for the job, it is possible to reflect the intention of the user who transmitted the job to be controlled, and to perform the job control with more detailed settings. Can be performed.

Here, the characteristic configuration of the print control device of the present invention will be described.

In the print control apparatus described in the first embodiment, the management information storage unit further stores authority information (equivalent to an authority list) indicating authority to perform job control. The control of the job is controlled based on the authority information.

(4) The authority information is set from an operation unit (operation unit 103) of the print control apparatus.

(4) The authority information is input from the outside (host computer 109) via the input means.

The print management data includes priority information, and the order of print processing is rearranged based on the priority information.

(4) A storage medium storing the print control method or the print control program having the above-described mechanism.

The host computer may further include a generation unit configured to generate the print data, a job packet including the print management data and identification information for identifying the print management data, and identification information for identifying the print data and the print data. And a job packet generation unit that generates a print job from a job packet including the following.

<Effect of Second Embodiment>
By adding the priority of the print job as the command information, the priority set for each print job is analyzed by the command analysis unit, and the priority can be managed in the job management table. Accordingly, among the print jobs, the job with the higher priority overtakes the job with the lower priority, and the preceding print processing proceeds. The execution order of the print job when the print job is interrupted or restarted is deleted or renumbered by interruption based on the priority of the job registered in the job management table.

。Eliminates the need to wait until the preceding print job is completed even when printing important documents with high priority.

(5) By restricting the clients and users who can execute job control, confusion can be prevented, and more orderly job control can be performed by the print control apparatus.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but it can be applied to a device including one device (for example, a copier, a facsimile device, etc.). May be applied.

Also, the present invention may be applied to a multifunction device having a plurality of functions (copy, print, fax).

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus as shown in FIG. And MPU) by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

The program is a program code of the control of the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 17 to 19 described in the present embodiment.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

FIG. 24 shows a memory map in a state where the control program of the present invention is loaded into the RAM included in the storage unit 105 and is executable.

In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the control program and related data are directly loaded from the storage medium to the RAM and executed. However, the control program and the related data are temporarily stored in the storage unit 105 from an external storage medium such as an FD. May be stored (installed) in a hard disk, which is a non-volatile storage medium, and loaded from the hard disk to the RAM when the data creation / transmission processing control program is operated.

(4) As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowcharts. However, in brief, each module shown in the memory map example of FIG. Is stored in the storage medium.

That is, the program codes of at least the “command analysis module 1001”, “image data conversion module 1002”, “print processing module 1003”, and “data input module 1004” may be stored in the storage medium.

In the present embodiment, the command analysis module 1001 functions as a command analysis unit which is a job preprocessor unit in the embodiment, and a job management table (FIG. 4) generated in the device database unit in the storage unit 105 stores Function as data storage means. Further, the reception buffer 202 generated in the storage unit 105 for storing data relating to printing execution functions as a second data storage unit.

The image data conversion module 1002 functions as a data conversion unit that is a PDL translator unit for converting data required for print execution among print job data into image data.

The print processing module 1003 functions as a drawing unit that performs print job execution processing based on a print control command.

Further, the data input module 1004 includes data for managing the print job, command information for identifying data for managing the print job, data for the print execution, and data for the print execution. Input means for receiving print job data and the like comprising command information for identifying data, data for the print control instruction, and command information for identifying data for the control instruction (I / F driver unit).

レ ー ザ A laser beam printer may be used as the printing device. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a laser beam printer (hereinafter abbreviated as LBP) in this case. The LBP can input character pattern data or the like and print it on recording paper.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 1140 denotes an LBP main body, which forms an image on recording paper as a recording medium based on a supplied character pattern or the like. Reference numeral 1100 denotes an operation panel on which switches for operation and an LED display are arranged, and 1101 denotes a printer control unit for controlling the entire LBP 1140 and analyzing character pattern information and the like. The printer control unit 1101 mainly converts character pattern information into a video signal and outputs the video signal to the laser driver 1102.

The laser driver 1102 is a circuit for driving the semiconductor laser 1103, and switches on / off a laser beam 1104 emitted from the semiconductor laser 1103 according to an input video signal. The laser beam 1104 is swung right and left by the rotary polygon mirror 1005 to scan on the electrostatic drum 1106. Thus, an electrostatic latent image of a character pattern is formed on the electrostatic drum 1106. This latent image is developed by a developing unit 1007 around the electrostatic drum 1106 and then transferred to a recording sheet. A cut sheet is used as the recording paper, and the cut sheet recording paper is stored in a plurality of paper cassettes 1008 corresponding to a plurality of types of paper mounted on the LBP 1140, and is fed into the apparatus by a paper feed roller 1109 and transport rollers 1110 and 1111. It is taken in and supplied to the electrostatic drum 1106.

The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment has been described using a laser beam printer as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to an inkjet printer described below.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an ink jet recording apparatus IJRA (not shown) that can feed a plurality of types of sheets corresponding to a print job. In the figure, the carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013 has a pin (not shown). Then, it is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. An ink jet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper pressing plate, which presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the moving direction of the carriage. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 denotes a suction unit that suctions the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through an opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 denotes a cleaning blade. Reference numeral 5019 denotes a member that allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction. These members are supported by a main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form and a known cleaning blade can be applied to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 5021 denotes a lever for starting suction for recovery of suction, which moves in accordance with the movement of the cam 5020 engaging with the carriage, and the driving force from the driving motor is controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. Is done. These capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired operations can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the area on the home position side. If this operation is performed, any of the present embodiments can be applied.

Next, a control configuration for executing the recording control of the above-described apparatus will be described with reference to a block diagram shown in FIG. In the figure showing a control circuit, 1700 is an interface for inputting a recording signal, 1701 is an MPU, 1702 is a program ROM for storing a control program executed by the MPU 1701, and 1703 is various data (the recording signal and the recording supplied to the head). Data, etc.). A gate array 1704 controls supply of print data to the print head 1708, and also controls data transfer between the interface 1700, the MPU 1701, and the RAM 1703. Reference numeral 1710 denotes a carrier motor for transporting the recording head 1708, and reference numeral 1709 denotes a transport motor for transporting the recording paper. Reference numeral 1705 denotes a head driver for driving the head, and reference numerals 1706 and 1707 denote motor drivers for driving the transport motor 1709 and the carrier motor 1710, respectively.

The operation of the above control configuration will be described. When a recording signal enters the interface 1700, the recording signal is converted between the gate array 1704 and the MPU 1701 into recording data for printing. Then, the motor drivers 1706 and 1707 are driven, and the recording head is driven according to the recording data sent to the head driver 1705 to perform printing.

(4) The components of the present invention can be incorporated in the control configuration of the ink jet printer as described above, and it is apparent that the present invention can be applied not only to the laser beam printer but also to the above ink jet printer and the like.

According to the present invention, print job data is generated with a pair of command information and header information describing attributes of the command information corresponding to the command information as a basic unit.

The command information includes three types: information for managing a print job, information for executing printing, and information for giving a print control instruction. Such print job data is generated by the data generation unit and transmitted to the print execution unit.

The print job data received by the input unit is analyzed by the command analysis unit in units of command information constituting the print job data.

The data for managing the print job is stored in one storage unit classified according to the print execution order, and the data related to the print execution is stored in another storage unit after being converted into image data by the data conversion unit. You. Each piece of data analyzed and stored for each command information is read and printed according to the control instruction command.

(4) Since print job data received in print job units is processed in parallel in command information units, waiting time is reduced and high-speed processing is possible as compared with serial processing.

(4) Processing can be continuously performed in units of command information without waiting for the entire processing of a print job to be completed, and job management and control in a series of processing subsequent to reception of print job data can be facilitated.

Furthermore, by adding the priority of the print job as the command information, the priority set for each print job is analyzed by the command analysis unit, and the priority can be managed in the job management table. . Accordingly, among the print jobs, the job with the higher priority overtakes the job with the lower priority, and the preceding print processing proceeds. According to the present invention, the print control apparatus separates print data in a print job from job management information, so that it is possible to acquire job management information without analyzing print data.

Also, the job can be recognized without analyzing the print data, the overall load of the job can be detected, and the job can be managed.

Since the print job in the print control device can be managed by the job management information, the print job in the print control device can be controlled in real time by the job control command received from the external device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a print control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates processing of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention using a block diagram. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of communication data according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a job management table according to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a conventional print control device. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a print job in a conventional example. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing of received data by the print control apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating print job data. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating print job data in which a designated print time is set. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a recording medium according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a laser printer. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet printer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the printer. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a conventional print control device. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the print control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of packet header information. 9 is a flowchart illustrating control of a job packet creation process in the host computer of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating control of print processing of the print control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating job control of the print control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a GUI on a utility screen in the host computer of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a view showing a GUI for designating job control on a utility screen in the host computer of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a job management table according to the second embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing that a print control program of the present invention is supplied from a storage medium to a computer system. FIG. 4 is an example of a memory map diagram when a print control program of the present invention operates.

Explanation of reference numerals

Reference Signs List 101 input unit 102 central control unit 103 operation unit 104 print processing unit 105 storage unit 106 output unit 201 command analysis unit 202 reception buffer 203 PDL print processing unit 204 queue 205 output unit 301 A series of commands related to one print process, that is, job commands 302 Packet header of a command 303 described later 303 Command indicating the start of a job 304 Packet header of a command 305 described later 305 Parameter setting command and setting data 306 Packet header of a command 307 described later 307 PDL information actually printed 308 Packet header of command 309 309 job end command 401 job number 402 queue number 403 user name 404 file name 405 parameter list handle

Claims (6)

A print processing device capable of communicating with an information processing device,
Input means for receiving and inputting job data packetized into a plurality of packets including a header for identifying the content of the data of the packet transmitted from the information processing apparatus by predetermined data communication,
First analysis means for analyzing the header of each packet of the job data input by the input means;
Processing means for dividing the type of the input job data based on the analysis of the header by the first analysis means and storing the job data in a storage unit;
A print processing apparatus comprising: a management unit that manages a job based on job data separated and stored by the processing unit based on the analysis of the first analysis unit. An information processing device capable of communicating with a print processing device,
Packet generation means for packetizing print data created based on application data;
An information processing apparatus, comprising: a transmission control unit configured to transmit data packetized by the packet generation unit to the print processing device by predetermined data communication. A print control method in a print processing device capable of communicating with an information processing device,
An inputting step of receiving and inputting job data packetized into a plurality of packets including a header for identifying the content of the data of the packet transmitted from the information processing apparatus by predetermined data communication,
A first analysis step of analyzing a header of each packet of the job data input in the input step;
A processing step of classifying job data input based on the analysis of the header in the first analysis step and storing the job data in a storage unit;
A management step of managing a job based on the job data separated and stored in the processing step based on the analysis of the first analysis step. A processing method by an information processing device capable of communicating with a print processing device,
A packet generation step of packetizing print data created based on the application data;
A transmission control step of transmitting the packetized data in the packet generation step to the print processing apparatus by predetermined data communication. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the print processing method according to claim 3 in a computer-readable form. A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the processing method according to claim 4 in a computer-readable form.

Images