JP2005329679A - Digital multi-functioned machine and printing controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten processing time required from a printing instruction made by a user terminal to printout, and to print out necessary job data immediately. <P>SOLUTION: In a digital multi-functioned machine with a mail box function, a mail box management section 202, when registering job data (PDL data) received from a user terminal in a mail box (HD107), develops the first page of the job data into a page memory 109 in which page data to be printed is developed. The management section 202 makes the first page data already developed in the page memory 109 printed when a printing instruction is made while the job data is being registered, and then makes page data being after the first page and already registered in the mail box (HD107), sequentially developed in the page memory 109 and printed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital multi-function peripheral connected to a personal computer or the like and a print control method.

  Conventionally, a storage device such as a large-capacity hard disk or semiconductor memory for storing image data has been provided, and a sent print job is temporarily stored in these storage devices. A multi-function machine that prints out in response to an output instruction from above is known.

  In such a multi-function peripheral, a plurality of print jobs can be stored, and can be managed by numbers and names, respectively. It is also possible to designate the print job number and name from the user interface (UI) of the printer driver and transmit the print job to a storage location in the storage device corresponding to the designated number.

  The function of sending a print job by designating from a printer driver to a storage device managed by the print job number or name is generally known as a mailbox function. In the mailbox function, an arbitrary mailbox number can be designated from the printer driver, and a print job can be transmitted to a part of the storage device associated with the designated mailbox number.

Also, the sent print job can be taken out by designating a mailbox number by operating the panel of the multifunction machine. At this time, it is possible to set a password for each mailbox number on the panel of the multi-function peripheral, and it is also possible to request the mailbox number and password on the panel at the time of retrieval. By setting a password, it is possible to prevent a print job transmitted by another user from being arbitrarily taken out (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-1111938 A

  However, in the conventional technology, since the sent print job is temporarily stored in a storage device such as a hard disk, the printout is performed after the user instructs printing from a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”). There is a problem that a predetermined processing time is required until it is performed, and that high speed is not achieved.

  That is, in the mailbox function, since the print job data is temporarily stored in the storage device in the form of original image data or compressed data, the time for writing to the storage device or the data for compressing the data is used. Time is required, and the fact that the printing process cannot be started immediately has been a factor that hinders the speed of the printing process.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention reduces a processing time required from a user terminal to issue a print instruction and prints out, and can quickly print out necessary job data and An object is to provide a printing control method.

  The present invention relates to a page memory in which, when registering job data received from a user terminal in a mailbox in a digital multifunction peripheral having a mailbox function, the first page data of the job data is developed as page data to be printed. If there is a print instruction during registration of the job data, after the first page data that has been expanded is printed in the page memory, the page data after the first page data that has been registered in the mailbox Data is sequentially developed in a page memory and printed.

  According to the digital multi-function peripheral and the print control method according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the processing time required from when a print instruction is issued from the user terminal until it is printed out, and to print out necessary job data immediately .

  The digital multifunction peripheral according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a large-capacity first storage unit for storing job data received from a user terminal, and job data to a mailbox set in the first storage unit. Mailbox management means for managing the registration and reading of data, second storage means for sequentially developing page data to be printed of job data for which a print instruction has been issued, and pages developed in the second storage means Printing means for sequentially printing data, and the mailbox management means, when registering job data in the mailbox, regardless of whether there is a print instruction for the job data, the first page data of the job data In the second storage means.

  According to this configuration, the first page data of the job data is expanded in the second storage unit regardless of whether there is a print instruction for the job data. Page data is printed out. By setting the page data after the first page to be printed out from the mailbox while the first page data is being printed out, the page data after the first page can also be printed out. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the processing time required from the printing instruction from the user terminal to the printing out, and to print out the necessary job data immediately.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to the first aspect, when there is a print instruction for the job data during registration of the job data for the mailbox, the mailbox management means includes: After the developed first page data is printed in the second storage means, the page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox is sequentially developed in the second storage means And adopting a configuration for printing.

  According to this configuration, when there is a print instruction for job data while registering the job data in the mailbox, the developed first page data is printed in the second storage unit. Thereafter, the page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox are sequentially developed in the second storage means and then printed. For this reason, even when job data is being registered in the mailbox, if there is a print instruction, the processing time required from the user terminal to the print instruction until it is printed out is shortened, and the necessary job Data can be printed out immediately.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to the second aspect, the mailbox management means stores page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox. When the page data of the job data is further received from the user terminal after being expanded in the second storage unit, the page data is directly expanded in the second storage unit.

  According to this configuration, after the page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox is expanded in the second storage unit, the page data of the job data is further received from the user terminal. The page data is directly expanded and printed in the second storage means. In this case, since the page data is directly expanded in the second storage means without being registered in the mailbox, the processing time required for printing the page data is shortened, and the necessary job data is immediately printed out. can do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to any one of the first to third aspects, when registering job data in the mailbox, the mailbox management means stores the first page data as the first page data. On the other hand, the page data after the first page data is registered in the mailbox, and when there is no print instruction during the registration of the job data, the data is expanded in the second storage means. A configuration is adopted in which registration processing of one job data is performed by registering the first page data thus registered in the mailbox.

  According to this configuration, after the first page data is expanded in the second storage unit, it is registered in the mailbox after it is determined that there is no print instruction during the registration process. This enables immediate printing of the first page data when there is a print instruction during the registration process, and complete registration of job data in the mailbox when there is no print instruction during the registration process. Can do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the top page data is composed of a plurality of page data.

  According to this configuration, since the first page data is composed of a plurality of page data, when there is a print instruction, the plurality of page data expanded in the second storage means are printed out. By setting the page data after the page to be printed out from the mail box while the plurality of page data is printed out, the page data after the page can also be printed out. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the processing time required from the printing instruction from the user terminal to the printing out, and to print out the necessary job data immediately.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the digital multi-function peripheral according to any one of the first to fifth aspects further includes a compression / expansion unit that compresses and decompresses job data registered in the mailbox. The structure to do is taken.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to compress and decompress the job data registered in the mailbox by the compression / decompression unit, thereby reducing the capacity of the mailbox required for registering the job data.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to the sixth aspect, the mailbox management means registers original image data that is not subjected to compression processing on the job data in the mailbox, and all of the job data After the original image data is registered, the original image data registered in the mailbox is compressed by the compression / decompression unit, and the compressed job data is registered in the mailbox.

  According to this configuration, after all the original image data of the job data is registered, the original image data is subjected to compression processing by the compression / decompression unit and registered in the mailbox. For this reason, if there is a print instruction in the middle of job data registration processing in the mailbox, it is not necessary to perform decompression processing on the original image data in the mailbox, so the time required for the decompression processing is reduced. The job data can be printed out.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the digital multi-function peripheral according to the seventh aspect, the mailbox management means sets the compression / expansion means to the mailbox until all the original image data of the job data is registered. Use a configuration that frees up functions other than functions.

  According to this configuration, the compression / decompression unit is released to a function other than the mailbox function until all the original image data of the job data is registered. For this reason, even when compression / expansion means is required by a function other than the mailbox function (for example, a fax function) during registration of original image data, the compression / expansion means can be used with the function.

  A print control method according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is a print control method using a mailbox function, and when registering job data received from a user terminal in a mailbox, the first page data of the job data is stored. When the page data to be printed is expanded in the page memory to be expanded, and when there is a print instruction during registration of the job data, after the first page data expanded in the page memory is printed, The page data after the page data and registered in the mailbox are sequentially developed and printed in the page memory.

  According to this method, if there is a print instruction during registration of job data, the first page data developed in the page memory is printed, and then the page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox. The page data is sequentially developed in the page memory and then printed. Since the first page data is expanded in the page memory instead of the mail box, the first page data can be printed out immediately. For this reason, even when job data is being registered in the mailbox, if there is a print instruction, the processing time required from the user terminal to the print instruction until it is printed out is shortened, and the necessary job Data can be printed out immediately.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the print control method according to the ninth aspect, after page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox are expanded in the page memory, When page data of the job data is received from the user terminal, the page data is directly developed in the page memory and printed.

  According to this method, after the page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox is expanded in the page memory, when the page data of the job data is further received from the user terminal, the page Data is directly expanded in the page memory and printed. In this case, since the page data is directly expanded in the page memory without being registered in the mailbox, the processing time required for printing the page data can be shortened and the necessary job data can be printed out immediately. it can.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration necessary for executing print processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the digital multi-function peripheral 100 includes a CPU 101 that controls the entire apparatus main body. A ROM 103 and a RAM 104 are connected to the CPU 101 via a control bus 102. The ROM 103 stores a program that is read and executed when the CPU 101 controls the apparatus main body. The RAM 104 functions as a work memory for the CPU 101. A function of interpreting data described in a page description language (PDL) sent from a PC (hereinafter referred to as “PDL data”) or a function of managing a mailbox by reading a program in the ROM 103 by the CPU 101 Is realized. Details of the function of the CPU 101 will be described later.

  In addition, a direct memory access controller (DMAC) 105, a CODEC 106, and a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as “HD”) 107 are connected to the control bus 102. The DMAC 105 directly transfers data between the RAM 104 and a page memory described later without using the CPU 101. This enables high-speed data transfer. The CODEC 106 performs compression processing of original image data (band data) generated in the RAM 104 or decompression processing of compressed data registered in the HD 107. The HD 107 registers print image data (hereinafter referred to as “print job”, “job data”, or “job” as appropriate) including original image data (band data) generated in the RAM 104 and compressed data compressed by the CODEC 106. A mail box (to be described later) is set in the HD 107. In such a mailbox, a print job is registered in association with the user. Details of the data structure of the mailbox set in the HD 107 will be described later.

  The DMAC 105 and the CODEC 106 are connected to another control bus 108. A page memory 109 and an engine interface (I / F) 110 are connected to the control bus 108. The page memory 109 stores image data for one page (hereinafter referred to as “page data” as appropriate). The page data of the print job instructed to be printed is sequentially developed in the page memory 109. The engine I / F 110 is an interface between the printer engine 111 of the digital multifunction peripheral 100 and the CPU 101. The page data stored in the page memory 109 is output as a video signal to the printer engine 111 via the engine I / F 110.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating main functions of the CPU 101 of the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When the CPU 101 reads and executes the program stored in the ROM 103, the function shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the CPU 101 functions as a PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201, a mailbox management unit 202, a CODEC control unit 203, and an HD control unit 204.

  The PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 receives PDL data from a PC or the like connected to the digital multifunction peripheral 100. Then, the contents of the PDL data are interpreted to generate intermediate data. Further, a rendering process (drawing process) is performed on the intermediate data to obtain print information.

  The mailbox management unit 202 manages information in the mailbox set in the HD 107. For example, it manages user management information, the number of pages, a storage location, print information (status), and the like of a print job registered in the HD 107. Further, the mailbox management unit 202 writes image data to the HD 107, reads image data from the HD 107, instructs compression of the image data, and expands the image data to the page memory 109.

  The CODEC control unit 203 controls image data compression processing and decompression processing in the CODEC 106. The HD control unit 204 controls writing of image data to the HD 107 and reading of image data from the HD 107. Control of the CODEC 106 by the CODEC control unit 203 and control of the HD 107 by the HD control unit 204 are performed under the instruction of the mailbox management unit 202.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the mailbox set in the HD 107 of the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment. In the figure, the case where various management areas are managed in a table (array) structure is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be managed in a list structure.

  As shown in the figure, the mailbox has a hierarchical data structure such as a mailbox management area, a user management area, a job management area, a page management area, and a page print data file.

  In the mailbox management area, user management information associated with the user is managed. Various information constituting the user management information is managed in the user management area. In the user management area, a user ID for identifying a user, the number of registered jobs (number of registered jobs), information for managing jobs (job management information), and job numbers are managed.

  Various information corresponding to the job number is managed in the job management area. In the job management area, the job number, mailbox type, password, job print information, the number of pages registered in the job (number of registered pages) and information for managing pages (page management information) are managed. In addition, a storage location of information corresponding to the page number is specified. Note that the mailbox type manages whether the mailbox is a normal mailbox or a security mailbox having higher security than a normal mailbox. Security mailboxes improve their security by requiring a password. In the job print information, status information such as whether the job is being printed is managed.

  The storage location of information corresponding to the page number is associated with the page management area. In the page management area, the page number, page print information, and page print data encoding method are managed, and the page print data storage destination is designated. In the page print information, status information such as whether the page is being printed is managed. In the page print data encoding method, the print data encoding method of the page is specified.

  The page print data storage destination is associated with the page print data file. In the page print data file, print image information is registered as a data file.

  Hereinafter, an outline of print control using the mailbox function in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, when registering a print job in the HD 107 (mailbox), reduces the processing time required from the user instructing printing to printing out. The image data of the first page is registered in the page memory 109, while the image data of the second page (the next page of the first plurality of pages) and thereafter are registered in the HD 107.

  The first page in the print job is registered in the page memory 109, but not limited to the case where the image data of the second and subsequent pages is registered in the HD 107. The first plurality of pages are registered in the page memory 109, while the first plurality of pages are registered. The image data on and after the next page of the page may be registered in the HD 107.

  4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining an image of registration processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 shows an image of registration processing of the first page, and FIG. 5 shows an image of registration processing of the second and subsequent pages.

  Here, the registration process in the case of dividing into the first page and the second and subsequent pages is shown, but the registration process in the case of dividing into the first plurality of pages and the next page and subsequent pages of the plurality of pages. The same applies to. The same applies to the following print processing.

  First, the first page registration process will be described.

  In the registration process of the first page, the PDL interpretation / rendering processing unit 201 sends image data obtained by dividing the print information obtained based on the received PDL data into a certain amount of data (hereinafter referred to as “band data” as appropriate) by e-mail. The data is sent to the box management unit 202. The mailbox management unit 202 transfers this band data to the page memory 109. Until the band data for the first page (one page) is stored in the page memory 109, the band data is sent from the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 to the page memory 109 via the mailbox management unit 202.

  The mailbox management unit 202 transfers the band data to the page memory 109 and simultaneously performs a job registration process on the HD 107. Specifically, the original image data of the first page is registered in the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204. For the first page, the original image data is registered in the HD 107 without being compressed unlike the image data of the second and subsequent pages described later.

  Next, the registration process for the second page transfer will be described.

  In the registration process for the second page, the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 also performs mailbox management on the band data obtained by dividing the print information obtained based on the received PDL data, as in the registration process for the first page. To the unit 202. However, the mailbox management unit 202 does not transfer this band data to the page memory 109. The page memory 109 holds the band data (image data) of the first page.

  The mailbox management unit 202 does not transfer band data to the page memory 109 but performs job registration processing on the HD 107. Specifically, the original image data of the second and subsequent pages is transferred to the CODEC 106 via the CODEC control unit 203 and compressed, and the compressed data is registered in the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204.

  When a print instruction is received during such registration processing, first, the image data of the first page stored in the page memory 109 is printed, while the image data of the second and subsequent pages is registered in the HD 107. In this case, the image data of the page is printed. If there is image data of a page not registered in the HD 107, the image data of the page is directly sent to the page memory 109 and printed.

  6 to 8 are diagrams for explaining an image of a printing process in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an image of printing processing of image data (first page image data) in the page memory 109, and FIG. 7 shows printing processing of image data (image data of the second and subsequent pages) in the HD 107. FIG. 8 shows an image of printing processing of image data not registered in the HD 107.

  First, a process for printing image data in the page memory 109 will be described.

  In the printing process of the image data in the page memory 109, the image data of the first page held in the page memory 109 is output to the printer engine 111 via the engine I / F 110 as a video signal. The printer engine 111 prints the image data of the first page.

  At this time, the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 sends band data obtained by dividing the print information obtained based on the received PDL data to the mailbox management unit 202. The mailbox management unit 202 suspends the job registration process to the HD 107 at the page being processed when a print instruction is received. Therefore, the image data of the page being processed at the time when the print instruction is received is registered in the HD 107 as compressed data.

  Next, a process for printing image data in the HD 107 will be described.

  In the printing process of the image data in the HD 107, the mailbox management unit 202 performs a process for extracting a job registered in the HD 107. Specifically, the compressed data of the target page is read from the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204, and the compressed data is transferred to the CODEC 106 via the CODEC control unit 203 and decompressed.

  At this time, the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 suspends transmission of band data obtained by dividing print information obtained based on the received PDL data.

  After performing the job extraction process, the mailbox management unit 202 transfers the decompressed original image data to the page memory 109 as band data. When image data for one page is stored in the page memory 109, the image data of the page is output as a video signal to the printer engine 111 via the engine I / F 110. The printer engine 111 prints the image data of the first page.

  Next, a process for printing image data not registered in the HD 107 will be described.

  In the printing process of the image data not registered in the HD 107, the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 resumes the transmission of the band data obtained by dividing the print information obtained based on the received PDL data. The mailbox management unit 202 transfers the band data sent from the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 to the page memory 109. When one page of image data is stored in the page memory 109, the image data of the page is output as a video signal to the printer engine 111 via the engine I / F 110. The printer engine 111 prints the image data of the first page.

  When the printing of the image data of the job instructed to be printed is completed in this way, the mailbox management unit 202 performs a process for deleting the job registered in the HD 107. Specifically, the corresponding job is deleted from the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204.

  Hereinafter, a specific print control operation in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  First, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When registering a job in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 first receives band data from the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 (ST901). Then, it is determined whether there is an empty page in the page memory 109 (ST902). That is, it is determined whether image data for one page can be stored in the page memory 109.

  If there is an empty page, the band data is transferred to the page memory 109, and the band data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST903). Then, the band data is stored in the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204 (ST904).

  In ST902, if there is no empty page, the band data is transferred to the CODEC 106 via the CODEC control unit 203 and compressed (ST905). Then, the compressed data is stored in the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204 (ST906). If band data for one page has already been developed in the page memory 109, it is determined in ST902 that there is no empty page.

  After the band data is stored in the HD 107 in ST904 or the compressed data is stored in the HD 107 in ST906, it is determined whether one page of image data (band data or compressed data) has been stored (ST907). If image data for one page is not stored, the process returns to ST901 and the processes of ST901 to ST907 are repeated.

  When the processing of ST901 to ST907 is repeated and image data for one page is stored, the page is closed (ST908). Next, it is determined whether image data for all pages of the job has been stored (ST909). If image data for all pages of the job has not been stored, the process returns to ST901 and the processes of ST901 to ST909 are repeated.

  When the processing of ST901 to ST909 is repeated and image data for all pages of the job has been stored, the job is closed (ST910), and the processing ends. By performing such processing, band data for one page is expanded in the page memory 109, while the remaining compressed data of the job is stored in the HD 107. This completes the job registration process for the mailbox.

  If there is no print instruction for the job during the job registration process for the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 uses the band data developed in the page memory 109 when the job is closed in ST910. delete. When the band data on the page memory 109 is deleted in this way, the band data for one page is stored in the HD 107 and the compressed data of the image data for the second and subsequent pages is stored. .

  The deletion of the band data developed in the page memory 109 is not limited to the above timing, and may be executed at other timing. For example, it may be executed when the page memory 109 becomes necessary for another job or the like. The same applies to the following embodiments.

  Next, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When printing a job registered in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 first determines whether there is a free space in the page memory 109 (ST1001). If there is a vacancy, the image data is read from the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204 (ST1002), and it is determined whether the image data has been compressed (ST1003).

  If it is already compressed, the compressed data is transferred to the CODEC 106 via the CODEC control unit 203 and decompressed (ST1004). Then, the decompressed image data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST1005). If it is not already compressed in ST1003, the process of ST1004 is skipped and the image data is directly expanded in the page memory 109.

  After the image data is expanded in the page memory 109, it is determined whether the image data for one page has been expanded (ST1006). If one page of image data has not been developed, the process returns to ST1001, and the processes of ST1001 to ST1006 are repeated.

  When the processing of ST1001 to ST1006 is repeated and image data for one page is developed, printing of the image data of the page is started (ST1007). Next, it is determined whether printing of the image data of the last page of the job has been started (ST1008). If printing of the image data of the last page of the job has not started, the process returns to ST1001, and the processes of ST1001 to ST1008 are repeated.

  When the processing of ST1001 to ST1008 is repeated and printing of the image data of the last page of the job is started, it is determined whether printing of the image data of all pages is completed (ST1009). The determination in ST1009 is repeated until the printing of the image data for all pages is completed.

  When the printing of the image data for all pages is completed, the job is deleted from the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204 (ST1010). Thereby, the printing process of the job registered in the mailbox is completed.

  Next, in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when a job is instructed to be printed while a job is registered in the mailbox will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG.

  When printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 roughly performs the following four processes (ST1101 to ST1104). Specifically, first, as a first process, a process of printing band data held in the page memory 109 (hereinafter referred to as “page memory data print process”): ST1101, and as a second process, stored in the HD 107 Processing for expanding the image data into the page memory 109 and printing the image data (hereinafter referred to as “printing processing after HD data expansion”): ST1102, as a third processing, from the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 The band data is transferred to the page memory 109 and the band data is printed (hereinafter referred to as “normal printing process”): ST1103, as a fourth process, a job that has been printed is deleted from the HD 107 ( Hereinafter, it is referred to as “unnecessary data deletion processing”): ST1104. Hereinafter, each process will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining page memory data printing processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When the page memory data printing process is started, first, the mailbox management unit 202 determines whether there is page data in the page memory 109 (ST1201). If page data is present, printing of the first page is started (ST1202). Simultaneously with the print processing of the first page, band data is received from the PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 201 (ST1203). If there is no page data in the page memory 109, the ST1202 process is skipped and band data is directly received.

  After receiving the band data, mailbox management section 202 determines whether or not switching to compressed storage is performed (ST1204). Here, it is determined whether a print instruction is given at a timing when the image data is stored in the page memory 109 without being compressed, or a print instruction is given at a timing when the image data is compressed and stored in the HD 107.

  If not switched to the compressed storage, the band data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST1205), and the band data is stored in the HD 107 (ST1206). On the other hand, if it has already been switched to compression storage, the band data is compressed (ST1207), and the compressed data is stored in the HD 107 (ST1208).

  After the band data is stored in the HD 107 in ST1206 or the compressed data is stored in the HD 107 in ST1208, it is determined whether image data (band data or compressed data) for one page has been stored (ST1209). If image data for one page is not stored, the process returns to ST1203 and the processes of ST1203 to ST1209 are repeated.

  When the processing of ST1203 to ST1209 is repeated and image data for one page is stored, the page is closed (ST1210). Subsequently, regardless of whether image data for all pages of the job has been stored, the job is temporarily closed (ST1211), and the page memory data printing process is terminated.

  As described above, when there is a print instruction for the job data during registration of the job data to the mailbox, the page memory data printing process is performed, and the image data stored in the page memory 109 is printed. For this reason, even when job data is being registered in the mailbox, if there is a print instruction, the processing time required from the user terminal to the print instruction until it is printed out is shortened, and the necessary job Data can be printed out immediately.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining print processing after HD data development in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When the printing process is started after the development of the HD data, the mailbox management unit 202 first determines whether reading of the image data from the HD 107 is finished (ST1301). Here, the end of the print processing after the HD data expansion is determined. When the reading of the image data is finished, the printing process is finished after the HD data is developed, but ST1301 is skipped until the reading of the image data is finished.

  In ST1302, it is determined whether the page memory 109 is free. If there is a free space, the compressed data is read from the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204 (ST1303). Then, the data is transferred to the CODEC 106 via the CODEC control unit 203 and decompressed (ST1304). Then, the decompressed image data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST1305).

  When image data is expanded in the page memory 109, it is determined whether image data for one page has been expanded (ST1306). If image data for one page has not been developed, the process returns to ST1302, and the processes of ST1302 to ST1306 are repeated.

  If the processing of ST1302 to ST1306 is repeated and one page of image data is developed in the page memory 109, printing of the page is started (ST1307).

  After starting the printing of the page, the process returns to ST1301, and it is determined whether reading of the image data from the HD 107 is finished. If the reading of the image data has not been completed, the processes of ST1302 to ST1307 are repeated until the reading is completed.

  If reading of the image data from the HD 107 is completed while the processes of ST1302 to ST1307 are repeated, the printing process after the HD data development is ended.

  In this way, if there is a print instruction for the job data while registering the job data in the mailbox, the page data after the first page data is printed after the image data of the developed first page is printed in the page memory 109. The page data registered in the mailbox is printed after being sequentially developed in the page memory 109. For this reason, even when job data is being registered in the mailbox, if there is a print instruction, the processing time required from the user terminal to the print instruction until it is printed out is shortened, and the necessary job Data can be printed out immediately.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining normal printing processing in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When the normal printing process is started, first, the mailbox management unit 202 determines whether there is a free space in the page memory 109 (ST1401). If there is a free space, band data is received from PDL interpretation / drawing processing section 201 (ST1402). Then, the band data is transferred to the page memory 109, and the image data is developed in the page memory 109 (ST1403).

  After developing the image data in the page memory 109, it is determined whether the image data for one page has been developed (ST1404). If one page of image data has not been developed, the process returns to ST1401, and the processes of ST1401 to ST1404 are repeated.

  On the other hand, when the image data for one page is expanded, printing processing of the image data of the page is started (ST1405). Next, it is determined whether printing of the image data of the last page of the job has been started (ST1406). If printing of the image data of the last page of the job has not started, the process returns to ST1401 and the processes of ST1401 to ST1406 are repeated.

  If the processing of ST1401 to ST1406 is repeated and printing of the image data of the last page of the job is started, it is determined whether printing of the image data of all pages has been completed (ST1407). The determination in ST1407 is repeated until the printing of the image data for all pages is completed. When the printing of the image data for all pages is finished, the normal printing process is finished.

  In this way, after page data after the second page and registered in the mailbox is expanded in the page memory 109, when page data of the job data is received from the user terminal, the page data is The image is directly expanded and printed on the page memory 109. In this case, since the page data is directly expanded in the page memory 109 without being registered in the mailbox, the processing time required for printing the page data can be reduced, and the necessary job data can be printed out immediately. Can do.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining unnecessary data deletion processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment.

  In the unnecessary data deletion process, the mailbox management unit 202 deletes the job that has been printed by the process up to the normal print process from the HD 107 (ST1501). In this way, unnecessary data deletion processing is performed, and the print-completed job stored in the HD 107 is deleted.

  As described above, according to the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, when registering a job in the mailbox, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is stored in the HD 107. To do. If printing of the job is instructed during the job registration process, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is printed immediately. Thereafter, the image data stored in the HD 107 is expanded in the page memory 109 and the image data is printed sequentially. As a result, when printing the image data stored in the page memory 109, the processing time required to read the image data from the HD 107 and develop it into the page memory 109 is not required, so that the job printing is instructed. It is possible to shorten the time from the time point until the first page is printed. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the processing time required from the printing instruction from the user terminal to the printing out, and to print out the necessary job data immediately.

  In the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, particularly, the case where the image data of the first page in the print job is registered in the page memory 109 while the image data of the second page and thereafter is registered in the mailbox. Explains. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first plurality of pages may be registered in the page memory 109, while the image data on and after the next page of the first plurality of pages may be registered in the mailbox.

  In this case, since the first page data is composed of a plurality of page data, when there is a print instruction, the plurality of page data expanded in the page memory 109 is printed out. By setting the page data after the page to be printed out from the mail box while the plurality of page data is printed out, the page data after the page can also be printed out. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the processing time required from the printing instruction from the user terminal to the printing out, and to print out the necessary job data immediately.

  The digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment further includes a CODEC 106 that performs compression and decompression processing on job data registered in a mailbox. As a result, the job data registered in the mailbox can be compressed and decompressed, so that the capacity of the mailbox required for registering the job data can be reduced.

(Embodiment 2)
The digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment stores the image data stored in the page memory 109 (the image data of the first page) in the HD 107 without compression, and does not process anything thereafter, whereas the second embodiment The digital multifunction peripheral 100 is different in that the image data stored in the page memory 109 is stored in the HD 107 without being compressed, and the image data is later replaced with the compressed data.

  Hereinafter, a specific print control operation in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  First, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  FIGS. 16 and 17 are flowcharts for explaining control of the mailbox management unit 202 when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 16, the same processes as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The flow shown in FIG. 16 is different from the flow shown in FIG. 9 in that after the processing of ST910 is performed, the process proceeds to ST1701 shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, the page image data (uncompressed) stored in the HD 107 together with the page memory 109 is compressed and replaced with the corresponding page image data (uncompressed) in the HD 107.

  In ST910, after the job is closed, the mailbox management unit 202 uses the HD control unit 204 to delete the uncompressed page (hereinafter referred to as “uncompressed final page”) that is the last page of the page stored in the HD 107. (ST1701). Then, the uncompressed final page image data is transferred to the CODEC 106 via the CODEC control unit 203 and compressed (ST1702).

  Here, it is described that there are a plurality of uncompressed pages in the HD 107, but when only the first page is stored in the page memory 109, the first page corresponds to the uncompressed last page. The same applies to the following description.

  Next, the compressed data is stored in the HD 107 via the HD control unit 204 (ST1703). If the compressed data is stored in HD 107, the page is closed (ST1704).

  After the page is closed, the compressed page and the corresponding uncompressed page are replaced (ST1705). If the replacement is completed without any problem, the replaced uncompressed page is deleted (ST1706).

  If the replacement for one page is completed, it is determined whether all pages have been compressed (ST1707). If not all pages have been compressed, the process returns to ST1701, and the processes of ST1701 to ST1707 are repeated until all pages have been compressed.

  Then, while the processes of ST1701 to ST1707 are repeated, if all pages have been compressed, the process of registering the job in the mailbox is terminated. By performing such processing, band data for one page is expanded in the page memory 109, while compressed data of all pages of the job is stored in the HD 107. This completes the job registration process for the mailbox.

  If there is no print instruction for the job during the job registration process for the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 determines that all pages have been compressed in ST1707, and then expands the page memory 109. Delete the recorded band data. When the band data on the page memory 109 is deleted in this way, the compressed data of the image data of all pages is stored in the HD 107.

  Next, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 18, the same processes as those in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 18, since all the image data read from the HD 107 is compressed, there is no processing for determining whether the read image data has been compressed as in ST1003 shown in FIG. Therefore, if there is an empty page memory 109 in ST1001, the compressed data is read from the HD 107 (ST1801). Then, the processing of ST1004 to ST1010 is performed similarly to the flow shown in FIG. Thereby, the printing process of the job registered in the mailbox is completed.

  Next, in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when a job is instructed to be printed while a job is registered in the mailbox will be described.

  Also in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment, when printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 performs page memory data printing processing shown in FIG. (ST1101), HD data post-development print processing (ST1102), normal print processing (ST1103), and unnecessary data deletion processing (ST1104) are performed.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment is different from the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment only in the print processing after HD data development among the four processes described above. The remaining three page memory data print processing, normal print processing, and unnecessary data deletion processing are the same as those in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining print processing after HD data development in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 19, the same processes as those in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 19, if the page memory 109 is empty in ST1302, the image data is read from the HD 107 (ST1901), and it is determined whether the read image data is compressed (ST1902). Is different. Then, the processes of ST1304 to ST1307 are performed in the same manner as the flow shown in FIG. In this way, the print processing after HD data expansion is performed, and the image data stored in the HD 107 is printed.

  As described above, according to the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment, when registering a job in the mailbox, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is stored in the HD 107. To do. If printing of the job is instructed during the job registration process, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is printed immediately. Thereafter, the image data stored in the HD 107 is expanded in the page memory 109 and the image data is printed sequentially. As a result, when printing the image data stored in the page memory 109, the processing time required to read the image data from the HD 107 and develop it into the page memory 109 is not required, so that the job printing is instructed. It is possible to shorten the time from the time point until the first page is printed.

  Further, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is compressed and stored in the HD 107. Thereafter, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is compressed, replaced with the corresponding uncompressed image data, and stored in the HD 107. For this reason, since compressed data can be held in the HD 107 instead of uncompressed image data, the capacity of the HD 107 required to store a job can be reduced.

(Embodiment 3)
The digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment stores the image data expanded in the page memory 109 in the HD 107 and replaces this image data with the compressed data later, whereas the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment. The multi-function device 100 is different in that the image data expanded in the page memory 109 is not stored in the HD 107 at the time of expansion but is compressed and inserted later.

  Hereinafter, a specific print control operation in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment will be described.

  First, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment will be described.

  20 and 21 are flowcharts for explaining the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in the mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 20, the same processes as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 21, the same processes as those in FIG. 17 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 20, after the band data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST903), the band data is not stored in the HD 107, and the process proceeds to ST2101 shown in FIG. 21 without closing the job after finishing the job. This is different from the flow shown in FIG. In FIG. 21, the image data developed in the page memory 109 is compressed and inserted into the HD 107.

  If it is determined in ST909 that image data for all pages of the job has been stored, mailbox management section 202 reads the last page of the page developed in page memory 109 (ST2101). Then, the image data of the read last page is compressed and stored in the HD 107, and then the page is closed (ST1702 to ST1704).

  After the page is closed, the compressed page is inserted into the head of the job stored in the HD 107 and stored (ST2102). Then, the last page on the page memory 109 is released (ST2103).

  After releasing the last page, the mailbox management unit 202 determines whether all compression of the image data expanded in the page memory 109 has been completed (ST2104). If all the compressions are not completed, the process returns to ST2101, and the processes of ST2101 to ST2104 are repeated until all the compressions are completed.

  While the processes of ST2101 to ST2104 are repeated, if the compression of all the image data developed in the page memory 109 is completed, the job is closed (ST2105), and the process of registering the job in the mailbox is terminated. By performing such processing, band data for one page is expanded in the page memory 109, while compressed data of all pages of the job is stored in the HD 107. This completes the job registration process for the mailbox.

  If there is no print instruction for the job during the job registration process for the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 uses the band data expanded in the page memory 109 when the job is closed in ST2105. delete. When the band data on the page memory 109 is deleted in this way, the compressed data of the image data of all pages is stored in the HD 107.

  Next, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment will be described.

  In the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox is the same as the control (FIG. 18) described in the second embodiment. The description is omitted.

  Next, in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when a job is instructed to be printed while a job is registered in the mailbox will be described.

  Also in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment, when printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 performs page memory data printing processing shown in FIG. (ST1101), HD data post-development print processing (ST1102), normal print processing (ST1103), and unnecessary data deletion processing (ST1104) are performed.

  The digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment is different from the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment only in the page memory data printing process among the four processes described above. The remaining three post-development HD data print processing, normal print processing, and unnecessary data deletion processing are the same as those in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining page memory data printing processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 22, the same processes as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 22, after receiving band data in ST1203, mailbox management section 202 determines whether or not switching to storing image data in HD 107 (hereinafter referred to as “HD storage”) (ST2201). Here, it is determined whether a print instruction is given at the timing when the image data is stored in the page memory 109 or a print instruction is given when the image data is stored in the HD 107.

  If it is not switched to the HD storage, the band data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST1205). In the third embodiment, the band data is not stored in the HD 107. On the other hand, if the storage has already been switched to the HD storage, the band data is compressed (ST1207), and the compressed data is stored in the HD 107 (ST1208).

  If it is determined in ST1209 that image data for one page has been stored, it is determined whether or not switching to HD storage has already been performed (ST2202). If it has already been switched to HD storage, the page is closed and then the job is temporarily closed (ST1210, ST1211), and the page memory data printing process is terminated.

  Note that when the storage mode is not switched to the HD storage in ST2202, the image data is not stored in the HD 107, and thus ST1210 and ST1211 are skipped and the page memory data printing process is directly terminated.

  As described above, according to the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment, when registering a job to the mailbox, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is stored in the HD 107. Store. If printing of the job is instructed during the job registration process, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is printed immediately. Thereafter, the image data stored in the HD 107 is expanded in the page memory 109 and the image data is printed sequentially. As a result, when printing the image data stored in the page memory 109, the processing time required to read the image data from the HD 107 and develop it into the page memory 109 is not required, so that the job printing is instructed. It is possible to shorten the time from the time point until the first page is printed.

  Further, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is compressed and stored in the HD 107. Thereafter, after it is determined that there is no print instruction during the registration process, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is compressed, and the compressed data is inserted into the HD 107 and stored. As a result, when there is a print instruction during the registration process, the first page data is immediately printed as will be described later, and when there is no print instruction during the registration process, the job data is completely mailed. You can register in the box.

  Furthermore, since the compressed data can be held in the HD 107 instead of the uncompressed image data, the capacity of the HD 107 required to store the job can be reduced. Furthermore, since uncompressed image data is not stored in the HD 107, the processing time required for storing the unregistered image data in the HD 107 can be reduced.

(Embodiment 4)
The digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment does not store the image data expanded in the page memory 109 at the time of expansion but stores the compressed data of the image data after inserting it. The digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment is different in that the image data expanded in the page memory 109 is not stored in the HD 107 at the time of expansion, and is later stored as original image data that is not compressed. To do.

  Hereinafter, a specific print control operation in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

  First, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

  23 and 24 are flowcharts for explaining control of the mailbox management unit 202 when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 23, the same processes as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 24, the same processes as those in FIG. 21 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 23, after band data is expanded in the page memory 109 (ST903), the band data is not stored in the HD 107, and the process proceeds to ST2101 shown in FIG. 24 without closing the job after finishing the job. This is different from the flow shown in FIG. In FIG. 24, processing for inserting the image data developed in the page memory 109 into the HD 107 is performed.

  If it is determined in ST909 that image data for all pages of the job has been stored, mailbox management section 202 reads the last page of the page developed in page memory 109 (ST2101). Then, the read image data of the last page is stored in the HD 107 (ST2401). Thereafter, the page is closed (ST2402).

  After closing the page, the page is inserted and stored at the head of the job stored in the HD 107 (ST2403). Then, the last page on the page memory 109 is released (ST2103).

  After releasing the last page, mailbox management section 202 determines whether storage of all image data developed in page memory 109 is complete (ST2405). If storage of all image data has not been completed, the process returns to ST2101 and the processes of ST2101 to ST2405 are repeated until storage of all the image data is completed.

  If the storage of all the image data developed in the page memory 109 is completed while the processes of ST2101 to ST2405 are repeated, the job is closed (ST2105), and the process of registering the job in the mailbox is ended. By performing such processing, band data for one page is expanded in the page memory 109, while image data of all pages of the job is stored in the HD 107 (the first page is original image data, the second and subsequent pages are compressed data). ) Is stored. This completes the job registration process for the mailbox.

  If there is no print instruction for the job during the job registration process for the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 uses the band data expanded in the page memory 109 when the job is closed in ST2105. delete. When the band data on the page memory 109 is deleted in this way, the band data for one page is stored in the HD 107 and the compressed data of the image data for the second and subsequent pages is stored. .

  Next, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

  In the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox is the same as the control described in the first embodiment (FIG. 10). The description is omitted.

  Next, in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when an instruction for printing the job is given while the job is registered in the mailbox will be described.

  Also in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment, when printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 performs the page memory data printing process shown in FIG. (ST1101), HD data post-development print processing (ST1102), normal print processing (ST1103), and unnecessary data deletion processing (ST1104) are performed.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment in the page memory data print process and the HD data post-development print process among the above-described four processes. The remaining two normal printing processes and unnecessary data deletion processes are the same as those of the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Further, the page memory data printing process in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the third embodiment. Furthermore, since the HD data post-development printing process in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment, when registering a job to the mailbox, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is stored in the HD 107. Store. If printing of the job is instructed during the job registration process, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is printed immediately. Thereafter, the image data stored in the HD 107 is expanded in the page memory 109 and the image data is printed sequentially. As a result, when printing the image data stored in the page memory 109, the processing time required to read the image data from the HD 107 and develop it into the page memory 109 is not required, so that the job printing is instructed. It is possible to shorten the time from the time point until the first page is printed.

  Further, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is compressed and stored in the HD 107. Thereafter, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is inserted into the HD 107 without being compressed and stored. For this reason, uncompressed image data will be retained, but when printing such uncompressed image data, it can be printed without decompression processing, so when printing of a job is instructed It is possible to shorten the time from when the first page is printed to when the first page is printed.

(Embodiment 5)
The digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fourth embodiment does not store the image data expanded in the page memory 109 in the HD 107 at the time of expansion, and inserts and stores the image data as it is without compressing the image data later. On the other hand, the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment temporarily stores the image data of all the pages in the job as the original image data that is not compressed in the HD 107, and then compresses the image data to corresponding image data. It differs in that it is replaced and stored.

  Hereinafter, a specific print control operation in the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment will be described.

  First, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when registering a job in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment will be described.

  25 and 26 are flowcharts for explaining control of the mailbox management unit 202 when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 25, the same processes as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 26, the same processes as those in FIG. 17 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The flow shown in FIG. 25 is that there is no processing (ST905, ST906) for compressing band data when the page memory 109 has no free space in ST902, and storing the compressed data in the HD 107 (ST905, ST906). 9 is different from the flow shown in FIG. 9 in that the process proceeds to ST1701 shown in FIG. 26 after the closing. In FIG. 26, a process of compressing an uncompressed page stored in the HD 107 and replacing it with an uncompressed page in the HD 107 is performed.

  The flow shown in FIG. 26 is the same as the flow shown in FIG. Also in the flow shown in FIG. 26, when there is no print instruction for the job while performing the job registration process for the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 determines that all pages have been compressed in ST1707. Thereafter, the band data developed in the page memory 109 is deleted. When the band data on the page memory 109 is deleted in this way, the compressed data of the image data of all pages is stored in the HD 107.

  Next, control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in a mailbox in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment will be described.

  In the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment, the control of the mailbox management unit 202 when printing a job registered in the mailbox is the same as the control (FIG. 18) described in the second embodiment. The description is omitted.

  Next, in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment, control of the mailbox management unit 202 when an instruction for printing the job is given while the job is registered in the mailbox will be described.

  Also in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment, when printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox, the mailbox management unit 202 performs page memory data printing processing shown in FIG. (ST1101), HD data post-development print processing (ST1102), normal print processing (ST1103), and unnecessary data deletion processing (ST1104) are performed.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment is different from the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment in the page memory data print process and the HD data post-development print process among the above-described four processes. The remaining two normal printing processes and unnecessary data deletion processes are the same as those of the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In addition, the HD data post-development printing process in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment is the same as that of the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart for explaining page memory data printing processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 27, the same processes as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 27, after receiving the band data in ST1203, mailbox management section 202 determines whether or not the band data is being developed in page memory 109 (ST2701). Here, it is determined whether a print instruction is given at the timing when the image data is stored in the page memory 109 or a print instruction is given when the image data is stored in the HD 107.

  If the data is being developed in the page memory 109, the band data is developed in the page memory 109 (ST1205). On the other hand, if the page memory 109 is not expanded, that is, if it is being stored in the HD 107, the band data is stored in the HD 107 (ST1206). If it is determined in ST1209 that one page of image data has been stored, after the page is closed, the job is temporarily closed (ST1210, ST1211), and the page memory data printing process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the digital multifunction peripheral 100 according to the fifth embodiment, when registering a job to the mailbox, the image data of the first page is stored in the page memory 109, while the image data of the subsequent page is stored in the HD 107. Store. If printing of the job is instructed during the job registration process, the image data stored in the page memory 109 is printed immediately. Thereafter, the image data stored in the HD 107 is expanded in the page memory 109 and the image data is printed sequentially. As a result, when printing the image data stored in the page memory 109, the processing time required to read the image data from the HD 107 and develop it into the page memory 109 is not required, so that the job printing is instructed. It is possible to shorten the time from the time point until the first page is printed.

  In addition, since all image data in the job is temporarily stored in the HD 107 and then all the image data is compressed and replaced and stored, the CODEC 106 requests any processing when registering the job in the mailbox. It will never be done. Therefore, the compression processing and decompression processing by the CODEC 106 can be used for other functions (for example, a facsimile function).

  According to the digital multi-function peripheral and the print control method according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the processing time required from a user instructing printing from a PC to printing out, and to print out necessary job data immediately. This is useful in that it provides a digital multi-function peripheral that is excellent in user usability.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration necessary for executing print processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing main functions in a CPU of a digital multifunction peripheral according to a first embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the data structure of the mailbox set to HD of the digital multi-functional peripheral concerning Embodiment 1 FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an image of registration processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an image of registration processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an image of a printing process in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an image of a printing process in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an image of a printing process in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when printing a job registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining control of the mailbox management unit when printing of a job is instructed while a job is registered in the mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining page memory data printing processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining print processing after HD data development in the digital multi-function peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining normal printing processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining unnecessary data deletion processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when printing a job registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining print processing after HD data development in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining page memory data printing processing in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multifunction peripheral according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multi-functional peripheral according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining control of a mailbox management unit when a job is registered in a mailbox in the digital multi-functional peripheral according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining page memory data printing processing in a digital multifunction peripheral according to the fifth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Digital MFP 101 CPU
103 ROM
104 RAM
106 CODEC
107 Hard disk (HD)
109 page memory 201 PDL interpretation / drawing processing unit 202 mailbox management unit 203 CODEC control unit 204 HD control unit

Claims (10)

  A large-capacity first storage means for storing job data received from a user terminal, a mailbox management means for managing registration and reading of job data to and from a mailbox set in the first storage means, and printing Second storage means for sequentially developing the page data to be printed of the designated job data; and printing means for sequentially printing the page data expanded in the second storage means, The mailbox management means, when registering job data in the mailbox, expands the first page data of the job data to the second storage means regardless of whether there is a print instruction for the job data. A digital multifunction device.   If there is an instruction to print the job data during registration of the job data for the mailbox, the mailbox management unit prints the first page data that has been developed in the second storage unit, and 2. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 1, wherein page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox are sequentially developed and printed in the second storage means.   The mailbox management means expands the page data after the first page data and registered in the mailbox into the second storage means, and further transfers the page data of the job data from the user terminal. 3. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 2, wherein, when receiving, the page data is directly expanded in the second storage means.   When registering job data in the mailbox, the mailbox management means expands the first page data in the second storage means, while registering page data after the first page data in the mailbox, If there is no print instruction during registration of the job data, registration processing of one job data is performed by registering the first page data expanded in the second storage unit in the mailbox. The digital multifunction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 1, wherein the first page data is composed of a plurality of page data.   6. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 1, further comprising a compression / decompression unit that performs compression and decompression processing on job data registered in the mailbox.   The mailbox management means registers original image data that is not subjected to compression processing in job data in the mailbox, and after all original image data of the job data is registered, the original image data registered in the mailbox is 7. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 6, wherein the compression processing is performed by the compression / decompression unit, and the compressed job data is registered in the mailbox.   8. The digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 7, wherein the mailbox management unit releases the compression / decompression unit to a function other than the mailbox function until all original image data of the job data is registered. .   A printing control method using a mailbox function, and when registering job data received from a user terminal in a mailbox, the first page data of the job data is stored in a page memory in which page data to be printed is expanded. If there is a print instruction during registration and registration of the job data, the first page data that has already been developed is printed in the page memory, and the page data after the first page data is registered in the mailbox. A print control method, comprising: sequentially developing and printing already-completed page data in the page memory.   When page data after the first page data and page data registered in the mailbox is expanded in the page memory, and further receiving page data of the job data from the user terminal, the page data is The printing control method according to claim 9, wherein the printing is directly developed in a page memory and printed.

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