JP2006113932A - Restarting device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restart a printing apparatus without causing unfinished printing and a transmission error at a transmission source. <P>SOLUTION: A computer 100 comprises a transmission processing part 116 for establishing all the available connections to all the receiving ports capable of receiving a print job out of network ports of a printer 200, a print job monitoring part 112 for monitoring the state of print jobs received by the printer 200 according to information acquired from the printer 200 after the establishment of all the connections, and a restart instruction part 114 for giving a restart instruction to the printer 200 after the print job monitoring part 112 detects the end of all the print jobs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for restarting a printing apparatus such as a printer.

  Conventionally, for example, when updating the firmware of a printer connected to a network remotely via a network, the firmware file is transmitted from the computer to the printer via the network, and then the computer or the like. By restarting the printer remotely via the network, the firmware is reflected in the printer.

In such a case, as a method for remotely restarting the printer from a computer or the like via a network, there has conventionally been the following method.
1) Method of restarting using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) When a command that sets a predetermined value to the variable prtGeneralReset is given as a Set Request command from SNMP to a printer from a computer or the like, The printer restarts.
2) How to restart using a print job When a print job including an EJL PRINTERRESET command (command to reboot the printer) is sent from a computer to the printer, and the printer interprets the print job in a language, At that point, the printer restarts.

  In addition, conventionally, as a related technique, the thing of the following patent documents 1-3 is mentioned.

JP 2001-223743 A JP 2001-34582 A JP 2003-54087 A

However, the conventional restart method described above has the following problems.
That is, in the case of the method 1), when the above command is given to the printer, the printer immediately restarts regardless of whether or not the print job is interrupted. In the case of the method 2), if the printer interprets the language of the print job after receiving the print job including the command, the printer is immediately restarted.

  Therefore, in any of the methods, when there is a print job that is being printed when the printer is restarted, there is a problem in that printing for the print job is cut off. Also, if there is a print job being received when restarting, the printer that sent the print job starts to receive the print job, but the print job is It looks like it was destroyed without being processed. As a result, since the print job is recognized as a transmission error at the transmission source, there is a problem in that the print job must be retransmitted.

Such a problem will be described with reference to FIG. 10, taking the restart method of 2) as an example.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing each processing state of the printer when the printer is restarted by the restart method 2). In FIG. 10, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents each process performed by the printer, that is, reception processing, language interpretation processing, and printing processing.

  In FIG. 10, it is assumed that print jobs A, B, and C are transmitted from different apparatuses to the printer, and that the print job B includes the above-described EJL PRINTERRESET command. First, the printer receives print job A, performs reception processing, performs language interpretation processing from the portion where reception processing has been completed, and further performs printing processing from the portion where language interpretation processing has ended. When all the reception processing is completed for the print job A, the printer next receives the print job B, performs the reception processing, and further completes the language interpretation processing for the print job A. For B, language interpretation processing is performed from the portion where the reception processing is completed. When all the reception processing is completed for the print job B, the printer next receives the print job C and performs the reception processing. Thereafter, when the above-mentioned EJL PRINTERRESET command is interpreted during the language interpretation processing for print job B, the printer is immediately restarted.

  At this time, since the print job A is still in the printing process, the printing is completely cut off, and the print job B is still in the reception process, so that a transmission error occurs at the transmission source. There was a problem that.

  In the above description, the case where the printer is remotely restarted from another device such as a computer (that is, the restarting device) via the network has been described. However, the printer may be restarted by itself. The above-described methods 1) and 2) can be used, and the same problem can occur in such a case.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and to enable a printing apparatus to be restarted without causing printing to be completely cut off or causing a transmission error at the transmission source. It is to provide.

In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, a first restart device of the present invention is a restart device for restarting a printing device connected via a network,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
A print job monitoring unit that monitors the status of a print job received in the printing device based on information acquired from the printing device after all connections have been established;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
It is a summary to provide.

  In this way, in the first restarting device, the connection execution unit opens all connections to all receiving ports of the printing device. Therefore, even if an attempt is subsequently made to transmit a print job from another apparatus to the printing apparatus, all the transmission is blocked, and the printing apparatus cannot receive a new print job. The print job monitoring unit monitors the status of the print job received by the printing apparatus. Therefore, even if a print job received before the connection is established remains in the printing apparatus, the status of the print job is monitored by the print job monitoring unit. Further, the restart command unit gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit. Therefore, the printing apparatus is restarted after confirming the completion of printing or cancellation for all print jobs remaining in the printing apparatus.

  Therefore, according to the first restarting device, when the printing device is restarted, there is no print job being received, so that no transmission error occurs at the transmission source. Further, when the printing apparatus is restarted, there is no print job that is being printed, so that the printing is not cut off.

A second restart device of the present invention is a restart device for restarting a printing device connected via a network,
A print job monitoring unit that monitors a status of a print job received in the printing apparatus based on information acquired from the printing apparatus;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
It is a summary to provide.

  In this way, in the second restart device, the print job monitoring unit monitors the status of the print job received by the printing device, so even if the print job remains in the printing device, The status is monitored by the print job monitoring unit. In addition, the restart command unit gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit. After the end of printing is confirmed, the printing apparatus is restarted.

  Therefore, according to the second restarting device, when the printing device is restarted, there is no print job being printed, so that the printing does not become completely cut off.

A third restart device of the present invention is a restart device for restarting a printing device connected via a network,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
After all the connections are established, a restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus;
It is a summary to provide.

  In this way, in the third restart device, the connection execution unit establishes all connections to all the reception ports of the printing device, and thereafter transmits a print job from the other device to the printing device. Any attempt to do so will be blocked and the printing device will not be able to receive a new print job. The restart command unit gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after all connections have been established. Therefore, the printing apparatus is restarted in a state where a new print job is not received by the printing apparatus.

  Therefore, according to the third restarting device, when the printing device is restarted, there is no print job being received, and therefore no transmission error occurs at the transmission source.

  In the restarting apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the information acquired from the printing apparatus by the print job monitoring unit is information acquired from an MIB of the printing apparatus. Since the MIB is information that is generally disclosed by the network device so as to inform the outside of its own status, the restart device can easily use the network device to determine the status of the print job in the printing device via the network. It becomes possible to monitor.

  In the restart device of the present invention, the restart command unit may give the restart command using SNMP, or may give the restart command using a print job.

  By using such a method, the restarting device can restart the printing device remotely via the network.

The first printing apparatus of the present invention is a printing apparatus that can be restarted by itself.
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
A print job monitoring unit that monitors the status of a print job received in the printing apparatus after all connections have been established;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after completion of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
It is a summary to provide.

  As described above, in the first printing apparatus, the connection execution unit establishes all the connections to all the reception ports of the printing apparatus, and then transmits a print job from the other apparatus to the printing apparatus. However, all transmissions are blocked and the printing apparatus cannot receive a new print job. In addition, since the print job monitoring unit monitors the status of the print job received in the printing apparatus, even if the print job received before the connection is established remains in the printing apparatus, the print job status Is monitored by the print job monitoring unit. Further, the restart command unit gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit. Accordingly, the printing apparatus restarts itself after confirming the completion of printing or cancellation of all remaining print jobs.

  Therefore, according to the first printing apparatus, when the printer is restarted by itself, there is no print job being received, so that no transmission error occurs at the transmission source. In addition, when restarting by itself, there is no print job being printed, so that the print does not run out.

The second printing apparatus of the present invention is a printing apparatus that can be restarted by itself,
A print job monitoring unit for monitoring a status of a print job received in the printing apparatus;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after completion of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
It is a summary to provide.

  In this way, in the second printing apparatus, since the print job monitoring unit monitors the status of the print job received by the printing apparatus, even if the print job remains in the printing apparatus, the print job status Is monitored by the print job monitoring unit. The restart command unit gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit. Accordingly, the printing apparatus restarts itself after confirming the completion of printing for all the remaining print jobs.

  Therefore, according to the second printing apparatus, when the printer is restarted by itself, there is no print job that is being printed, so that the printing is not cut off.

The third printing apparatus of the present invention is a printing apparatus that can be restarted by itself,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
After all the connections are established, a restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself;
It is a summary to provide.

  As described above, in the third printing apparatus, the connection execution unit establishes all connections to all the reception ports of the printing apparatus, and thereafter, transmits a print job from the other apparatus to the printing apparatus. However, all transmissions are blocked and the printing apparatus cannot receive a new print job. The restart command unit gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after all connections have been established. Therefore, the printing apparatus restarts itself without receiving a new print job.

  Therefore, according to the third printing apparatus, when the printer is restarted by itself, there is no print job being received, so that no transmission error occurs at the transmission source.

In the restart device of the present invention, the restart command unit may give the restart command using SNMP, or may give the restart command using a print job.
By using such a method, the printing apparatus can be restarted by itself.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to such a device invention such as a restart device or a printing device, but can also be realized as a method invention such as a restart method. Further, aspects as a computer program for constructing those methods and apparatuses, aspects as a recording medium recording such a computer program, data signals embodied in a carrier wave including the computer program, etc. It can also be realized in various ways.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. Configuration of the first embodiment:
B. Operation of the first embodiment:
B-1. Printing process:
B-2. Restart process:
C. Effects of the first embodiment:
D. Configuration of the second embodiment:
E. Operation of the second embodiment:
F. Effects of the second embodiment:
G. Variations:
G-1. Modification 1:
G-2. Modification 2:
G-3. Modification 3:
G-4. Modification 4:
G-5. Modification 5:

A. Configuration of the first embodiment:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a computer constituting a restart device and a printer that can be restarted by the restart device as a first embodiment of the present invention. The computer 100, which is a restart device, includes a CPU 110 for performing various processes and controls according to a computer program, a memory 120 for storing the computer program and various data, and various peripheral devices. An I / O unit 130 for exchanging, an input device 140 for inputting an instruction from a user, a monitor 150 for displaying data contents and the like, and a network 300 are connected to the network 300. And a network interface unit 160 for exchanging data and the like with other devices.

  Among these, the CPU 110 reads out and executes the computer program from the memory 120, thereby functioning as functional blocks such as the print job monitoring unit 112, the restart command unit 114, and the transmission processing unit 116. The transmission processing unit 116 includes an SNMP client unit 116a, a Port 9100 client unit 116b, an LPR client unit 116c, and the like. Each functional block may be constructed in hardware.

  On the other hand, the printer 200 includes a CPU 210 for performing various processes and controls in accordance with a computer program such as firmware, a memory 220 for storing the computer program and various data, and data between various peripheral devices. Data is exchanged between the I / O unit 230 for exchange, the printer engine 250 that is a mechanism part that actually performs printing, and other devices on the network 300 connected to the network 300. A network interface unit 260 for performing the operation.

Among these, the CPU 210 reads out and executes the computer program from the memory 220, thereby functioning as functional blocks such as a print processing unit 212, a language interpretation processing unit 214, and a reception processing unit 216. The reception processing unit 216 includes an SNMP server unit 216a, a Port 9100 server unit 216b, an LPR server unit 216c, and the like. Note that the Port 9100 server unit 216b, the LPR server unit 216c, and the like are generated in correspondence with a protocol whose operation state is enabled in the printer 200, as will be described later. For example, the Port 9100 server unit 216b is generated when the non-procedural protocol operation state is enabled, and the LPR server unit 216c is generated when the LPR (Line PR inter daemon protocol) operation state is enabled. Is done. Each functional block may be constructed in hardware.
Further, the memory 220 stores MIB (Management Information Base) data 222 of the printer 200.

  Further, the network 300 includes a local area network (LAN), an intranet, the Internet, a combination of these, and the like.

  In this embodiment, the computer 100 shown in FIG. 1 is restarted as the restart device in the claims, the printer 200 as the printing device, the network 300 as the network, and the print job monitoring unit 112 as the print job monitoring unit. The command unit 114 corresponds to a restart command unit, and the transmission processing unit 116 corresponds to a connection execution unit.

B. Operation of the first embodiment:
B-1. Printing process:
Before describing the restart process, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, a normal print process will be briefly described. An example in which a print job is transmitted from the computer 100 to the printer 200 and printing is performed by the printer 200 will be described as an example.

  When the user issues a print command to the computer 100 using the input device 140, the computer 100 generates a print job based on data to be printed by an application (not shown) or a printer driver (not shown). At this time, it is assumed that the print protocol is set to a non-procedural protocol in the printer driver.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the Port 9100 client unit 116b of the computer 100 in the printing process. Next, the transmission processing unit 116 designates the IP address set in the printer 200 as the connection destination address, and designates “9100” normally assigned to the non-procedural protocol as the connection destination port number. As a result, the Port 9100 client unit 116b accesses the printer 200 on the network 300 via the I / O unit 130 and the network interface unit 160. Connection is made (step S102).

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the Port 9100 server unit 216b of the printer 200. On the other hand, in the printer 200, the Port 9100 server unit 216b waits for connection to the reception port having the port number “9100” (step S202), and then the computer 100 connects to the port as described above. Then, after a predetermined connection confirmation, a connection is established (step S204). In this way, a connection is established from the computer 100 to the reception port having the port number “9100” of the printer 200.

  In the computer 100, when the Port 9100 client unit 116b detects that a connection has been established (step S104), it transmits the generated print job to the printer 200 (step S106).

  In the printer 200, the Port 9100 server unit 216 b waits until a print job is received at the reception port having the port number “9100” (step S 206). Thereafter, when the print job is received from the computer 100, it is interpreted as language. The data is passed to the processing unit 214 (step S208). The language interpretation processing unit 214 interprets the received print job in language, and the print processing unit 212 causes the printer engine 250 to execute printing via the I / O unit 230 according to the result. On the other hand, when the port 9100 server unit 216b passes the received print job to the language interpretation processing unit 214, the port 9100 server unit 216b determines whether or not the connection is disconnected (step S210). If not disconnected, the process returns to step S206. If so, the process returns to the first step 202.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the communication functions of the computer 100 and the printer 200 when performing the printing process, divided into layers. As shown in FIG. 4, when a connection is established between the Port 9100 client unit 116b of the computer 100 and the Port 9100 server unit 216b of the printer 200, a print job is transferred from the Port 9100 client unit 116b to the transport layer in the computer 100. Are transmitted to the printer 200 via TCP, IP of the Internet layer, and Ethernet (registered trademark) of the network interface layer. On the other hand, in the printer 200, the transmitted print job is received by the Port 9100 server unit 216 b through Ethernet (registered trademark), IP, and TCP, and then passed to the print processing unit 212 through the language interpretation processing unit 214. .
As described above, normal printing processing is executed.

  In the printer 200, the LPR server unit 216c performs the same process as described above in parallel with the process of the Port 9100 server unit 216b. That is, since “515” is normally assigned as the port number in the LPR, the LPR server unit 216c waits until connection is established with the receiving port with the port number “515” among the network ports of the printer 200. When another device is connected to the port, the connection is established through a predetermined connection check in the same manner. Thereafter, when a print job is received from the apparatus, it is passed to the language interpretation processing unit 214. However, since the language interpretation processing unit 214 can accept only one print job at a time, if a print job is delivered from both the Port 9100 server unit 216b and the LPR server unit 216c, it will be received on a first-come-first-served basis. The server unit waits until the processing in the language interpretation processing unit 214 ends. The processing after passing the print job to the language interpretation processing unit 214 is the same as that in the case of the Port 9100 server unit 216b, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

B-2. Restart process:
Next, the restart process which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail. Consider the case where the firmware of the printer 200 is updated remotely via the network 300 as an example. A new firmware file has already been downloaded from the computer 100 to the printer 200 via the network 300. In order to reflect the firmware on the printer 200, the printer 200 needs to be restarted. Therefore, in order to remotely restart the printer 200 from the computer 100 via the network 300, first, when the user issues a restart command for the printer 200 to the computer 100 by the input device 140, the computer 100 will be shown in FIG. The process shown is started.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a restart processing procedure in the computer 100. First, the transmission processing unit 116 designates an IP address set in the printer 200 as a connection destination address, and designates “161” normally assigned to SNMP as a connection destination port number. As a result, the SNMP client unit 116a inquires of the printer 200 on the network 300 via the I / O unit 130 and the network interface unit 160 about the operational status of the protocol using SMNP. On the other hand, in the printer 200, the SNMP server unit 216 a accesses the MIB data 222 stored in the memory 220, reads out information indicating the protocol operation status in the printer 200 from the MIB data 222, and sends it to the computer 100. Answer. In the computer 100, the SNMP client unit 116a checks what protocol is enabled in the operation state based on the information (step S302).
As a result, it is assumed that the protocol whose operation state is enabled in the printer 200 is now a non-procedure protocol and LPR.

  Therefore, first, the transmission processing unit 116 designates “9100” normally assigned to the non-procedural protocol as the connection destination port number. As a result, the Port 9100 client unit 116b accesses the printer 200 via the I / O unit 130 and the network interface unit 160, and connects to the reception port having the port number “9100” among the network ports of the printer 200. (Step S304).

  On the other hand, in the printer 200, as described above, the Port 9100 server unit 216b waits for connection to the reception port of the port number “9100” (step S202 in FIG. 3). When the connection is made to the port, the connection is established through a predetermined connection confirmation (step S204 in FIG. 3). In this way, a connection is established from the computer 100 to the reception port having the port number “9100” of the printer 200.

  In the computer 100, when the Port 9100 client unit 116b detects that the connection has been established (step S306), the transmission processing unit 116 next designates “515” normally assigned to the LPR as the connection destination port number. To do. As a result, the LPR client unit 116c accesses the printer 200 via the I / O unit 130 and the network interface unit 160, and connects to the reception port having the port number “515” among the network ports of the printer 200. (Step S308).

  On the other hand, in the printer 200, as described above, the LPR server unit 216c stands by until a connection is made to the reception port with the port number “515”. After confirming the connection, the connection is established. In this way, a connection is established from the computer 100 to the receiving port of the port number “515” of the printer 200 this time.

  As described above, the computer 100 establishes connections to all reception ports corresponding to the respective protocols whose operation states are enabled in the printer 200, that is, all reception ports that can receive a print job. It will be a tension. As a result, in the printer 200, all the reception ports that can receive the print job are blocked. Therefore, even if another device tries to transmit the print job to the printer 200 via the network 300, all the transmission is blocked. Will be. Accordingly, after that, the printer 200 cannot receive a new print job.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the communication functions of the computer 100 and the printer 200 when the restart process is performed, divided into layers. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, for the non-procedural protocol, the Port 9100 client unit 116b is connected to the Port 9100 server unit via TCP, IP, Ethernet (registered trademark), network cable, Ethernet (registered trademark), IP, TCP. Similarly, the LPR server unit 216c is connected to the LPR client unit 116c via the TCP, IP, Ethernet (registered trademark), network cable, Ethernet (registered trademark), IP, and TCP. A connection is established. Incidentally, regarding the SNMP, the SNMP client unit 116a makes an inquiry to the SNMP server unit 216a via the transport layer UDP, IP, Ethernet (registered trademark), network cable, Ethernet (registered trademark), IP, UDP. Made.

  In this way, in the computer 100, when the LPR client unit 116c detects that the connection has been established (step S310), the transmission processing unit 116 next sets “161” assigned to SNMP as the connection destination port number. specify. As a result, the print job monitoring unit 112 sends all print jobs existing in the printer 200 (that is, already received) to the printer 200 via the SNMP client unit 116a, the I / O unit 130, and the network interface unit 160. All print jobs) are inquired by SMNP about the print status. On the other hand, in the printer 200, the SNMP server unit 216 a accesses the MIB data 222 stored in the memory 220, reads out information indicating the print status for each print job from the MIB data 222, To answer. In the computer 100, the print job monitoring unit 112 checks the print status of all print jobs existing in the printer 200 based on the information, and detects whether the print job is completed (step S312). ). At this time, if the print status indicated by the information is “Print Waiting” or “Printing”, the print job has not been completed yet, but the print status is “Print Successs Completed”. Is “Print End”, and “Print Cancel” is “Cancel End”.

  Therefore, if any of the print jobs is not “printing finished” or “cancel finished” as a result of the check, the print job monitoring unit 112 returns to step S312 again and causes the printer 200 to print the print job. Queries the status to see if each print job is finished. Then, the status of the print job is monitored until all the print jobs are “print end” or “cancel end”.

  When it is detected that all the print jobs are “printing complete” or “cancel complete”, the restart command unit 114 then causes the SNMP client unit 116 a, the I / O unit 130, and the network interface unit 160 to operate. Then, a restart command is given to the printer 200 by SNMP (step S316). That is, using SNMP, a command that sets a predetermined value (for example, 5) to the variable prtGeneralReset is given as a Set Request command. As a result, in the printer 200, when the SNMP server unit 216a receives and interprets this command, the printer 200 itself is restarted as a trigger.

  In this way, the computer 100 can remotely restart the printer 200 via the network 300. As a result, the firmware downloaded to the printer 200 is reflected on the printer 200 after restarting, and the firmware update is completed.

C. Effects of the first embodiment:
As described above, in this embodiment, when the computer 100 establishes connections to all the reception ports in the printer 200, the printer 200 cannot receive a new print job. Therefore, when the printer 200 is restarted, there is no print job being received in the printer 200, so that a transmission error does not occur in the transmission source device that transmits the print job. Even if a print job that has been received before the connection is established remains in the printer 200, the status of the print job is monitored by the computer 100. ”Or“ Cancel end ”is detected, a restart instruction is given to the printer 200. Accordingly, the printer 200 is restarted after “printing end” or “cancel end” is confirmed for all print jobs existing in the printer 200. Therefore, when the printer 200 is restarted, there is no print job that is being printed, so that printing does not run out.

  Such effects of the present embodiment will be further described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing each processing state of the printer when the printer is restarted by the restart processing of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents each process performed by the printer, that is, reception processing, language interpretation processing, and printing processing.

  In FIG. 7, it is assumed that print jobs A and B are respectively transmitted from different apparatuses to the printer. First, the printer 200 receives the print job A, performs reception processing, performs language interpretation processing from the portion where the reception processing is completed, and further performs printing processing from the portion where the language interpretation processing is completed. When all the reception processing is completed for the print job A, the printer 200 next receives the print job B, performs the reception processing, and further completes the language interpretation processing for the print job A. For job B, language interpretation processing is performed from the portion where reception processing has been completed. At this time, if the connection from the computer 100 to the reception port of the printer 200 is started, the connection from the computer 100 to all the reception ports in the printer 200 is performed after the reception processing for the print job B is completed. Will be blocked and all receiving ports will be blocked. Accordingly, thereafter, the printer 200 cannot receive a new print job.

  Thereafter, the printer 200 performs print processing for the print job B from the portion where the language interpretation processing is completed, completes all print processing for the print job A, and completes all print processing for the print job B. . As a result, “print end” or “cancel end” is detected for all print jobs, and the printer 200 is restarted.

  At this time, since the printer 200 has not received a new print job, a transmission error does not occur at the transmission source. At this time, the print processing for all print jobs A and B has been completed, so that the print is not cut off.

D. Configuration of the second embodiment:
In the first embodiment described above, the printer 200 is remotely restarted from the computer 100 via the network 300. However, in this embodiment, the printer 200 restarts itself.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a printer that can be restarted by itself as a second embodiment of the present invention. The printer 200 in the present embodiment is different from the printer in the first embodiment in that the CPU 210 functions as a print processing unit 212 and a language interpretation processing unit 214, as well as a print job monitoring unit 213 and a restart command unit 215. 1 also functions as a transmission / reception processing unit 217 instead of the reception processing unit 216 shown in FIG. Among them, the transmission / reception processing unit 217 includes an SNMP client unit 217d, a Port 9100 client unit 217e, an LPR client unit 217f, and the like in addition to the SNMP server unit 217a, the Port 9100 server unit 217b, the LPR server unit 217c, and the like. Among these, the Port 9100 server unit 217b, the LPR server unit 217c, the Port 9100 client unit 217e, the LPR client unit 217f, and the like are generated in the printer 200 corresponding to the protocol whose operation state is enabled.
In FIG. 8, since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

E. Operation of the second embodiment:
Now, the restart process which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described. Consider a case where the printer 200 detects its own abnormality and restarts itself. When the printer 200 detects a preset abnormality, the printer 200 starts substantially the same processing as the processing shown in FIG.

  First, the transmission / reception processing unit 217 specifies a loopback address (127.0.0.1) as a connection destination address in order to connect to itself, and uses “161” normally assigned to SNMP as a connection destination port number. specify. As a result, the SNMP client unit 217d inquires of the SNMP server unit 217a about the operation status of the protocol using SMNP. On the other hand, the SNMP server unit 217a accesses the MIB data 222 stored in the memory 220, reads out information indicating the protocol operation status in the printer 200 from the MIB data 222, and replies to the SNMP client unit 217d. . Based on the information, the SNMP client unit 217d checks what protocol is enabled in the operation state (step S302). As a result, it is assumed that the protocol whose operation state is enabled in the printer 200 is now a non-procedure protocol and LPR.

  Therefore, the transmission / reception processing unit 217 designates the loopback address (127.0.0.1) as the connection destination address, and designates “9100” normally assigned to the non-procedural protocol as the connection destination port number. As a result, when the Port 9100 client unit 217e connects to the reception port of the port number “9100” among the network ports of the printer 200 (step S304), the Port 9100 server unit 217b that has been waiting waits for a predetermined connection confirmation. To establish a connection (step S306). In this way, the printer 200 establishes a connection to the reception port having the port number “9100”.

  Next, the transmission / reception processing unit 217 designates the loopback address (127.0.0.1) as the connection destination address, and designates “515” normally assigned to the LPR as the connection destination port number. As a result, when the LPR client unit 217f connects to the reception port of the port number “515” among the network ports of the printer 200 (step S308), the waiting LPR server unit 217c confirms the predetermined connection. To establish a connection (step S310). In this way, the printer 200 establishes a connection to the receiving port having the port number “515”.

  As described above, the printer 200 has established a connection to all the reception ports corresponding to the respective protocols whose operation states are enabled, that is, all the reception ports that can receive the print job. become. As a result, in the printer 200, since all the reception ports are blocked, even if an attempt is made to transmit a print job from another device to the printer 200 via the network 300, all the transmission is blocked. Accordingly, thereafter, the printer 200 cannot receive a new print job.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the communication function in the printer 200 when performing the restart process divided into layers. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, for the non-procedural protocol, a connection is established from the Port 9100 client unit 217e to the Port 9100 server unit 217b via TCP, IP, and TCP. A connection is established from 217f to the LPR server unit 217c via TCP, IP, and TCP. Incidentally, regarding the SNMP, the SNMP client unit 217d also makes an inquiry to the SNMP server unit 217a via UDP, IP, and UDP.

  Next, the transmission / reception processing unit 217 designates the loopback address (127.0.0.1) as the connection destination address, and designates “161” assigned to SNMP as the connection destination port number. As a result, the print job monitoring unit 213 uses the SNMP client unit 217d to the SNMP server unit 217a for all print jobs existing in the printer 200 (that is, all print jobs that have already been received). Inquires about the printing state by SMNP. On the other hand, the SNMP server unit 217a accesses the MIB data 222 stored in the memory 220, reads out information indicating the print status for each print job from the MIB data 222, and passes through the SNMP client unit 217d. To the print job monitoring unit 213. Based on the information, the print job monitoring unit 213 checks the print status of all print jobs existing in the printer 200, and detects whether the print job has ended (step S312).

  Therefore, if any of the print jobs is not “print end” or “cancel end” as a result of the check, the print job monitoring unit 213 prints again to the SNMP server unit 217a via the SNMP client unit 217d. Queries the print status of the job and checks whether each print job is completed. Then, the status of the print job is monitored until all the print jobs are “print end” or “cancel end”.

When the print job monitoring unit 213 detects that all the print jobs are “printing completed” or “cancel completed”, the restart command unit 215 then receives the SNMP server unit 217a via the SNMP client unit 217d. In response to this, a restart command is given by SNMP (step S316). As a result, in the printer 200, when the SNMP server unit 217a receives and interprets this command, it restarts the printer 200 itself as a trigger.
Thus, the printer 200 can restart itself. As a result, for the predetermined abnormality 200, after the restart, the abnormality is resolved.

F. Effects of the second embodiment:
As described above, in the present embodiment, the printer 200 cannot establish a new print job because it establishes connections to all the reception ports. Therefore, when the printer 200 is restarted, there is no print job being received in the printer 200, so that a transmission error does not occur in the transmission source device that transmits the print job. Even if a print job that has been received before the connection is established remains in the printer 200, the status of the print job is monitored by the printer 200. Alternatively, if “cancel end” is detected, a restart command is given to the printer 200 itself. Accordingly, after confirming “printing end” or “cancellation end” for all print jobs existing in the printer 200, the printer 200 restarts itself. Therefore, when the printer 200 is restarted, there is no print job that is being printed, so that printing does not run out.

G. Variations:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

G-1. Modification 1:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the printer 200 is restarted using SNMP has been described as a method for restarting the printer 200. However, instead of this, the printer 200 may be restarted using a print job.

  For example, the case where it applies to a 1st Example is demonstrated. Assume that the print job is transmitted from the computer 100 to the printer 200 by LPR. The transmission processing unit 116 designates the IP address set in the printer 200 as the connection destination address, and designates “515” assigned to the LPR as the connection destination port number. The restart command unit 114 transmits a print job including a restart command by LPR to the printer 200 via the LPR client unit 116c, the I / O unit 130, and the network interface unit 160. Specifically, a print job including an EJL PRINTERRESET command (command for rebooting the printer) is transmitted. On the other hand, in the printer 200, the LPR server unit 216c receives this print job, and the language interpretation processing unit 214 interprets the print job in language. Then, when the language interpretation processing unit 214 interprets the restart command, the printer 200 itself is restarted. In this way, the printer 200 can be restarted using the print job. Note that when applied to the second embodiment, the printer 200 can restart itself as in the case of application to the first embodiment.

G-2. Modification 2:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the printer 200 may be configured by a printer main body and a NIC (Network Interface Card). In such a case, the printer engine 250 and the like may be mounted on the printer main body, and the network interface unit 260 and the like may be mounted on the NIC. The CPU and the memory may be separately mounted on the printer main body and the NIC, respectively. In that case, the print processing unit 212, the print job monitoring unit 213, the language interpretation processing unit 214, the restart command unit 215, and the reception processing unit 216 (or the transmission / reception processing unit 217) cause each CPU to appropriately share the functions. It may be.

  In addition, when the printer 200 is configured by the printer main body and the NIC as described above, when restarting the printer, only the NIC may be restarted, or both the printer main body and the NIC are restarted. You may do it. For example, in the method of restarting using SNMP, when a command that sets a predetermined value to the variable nicReset is given as a Set Request command by SNMP, only the NIC in the printer 200 is restarted. Further, as described above, when an instruction that sets a predetermined value in the variable prtGeneralReset is given as a Set Request instruction by SNMP, both the printer main body and the NIC are restarted.

G-3. Modification 3:
In the first embodiment described above, the case where the printer 200 is remotely restarted by the computer 100 has been described. However, the printer 200 is not only restarted by the computer 100 but also by another device connected to the network 300. You may make it make it. For example, a printer different from the printer 200 may be used as another device. That is, if the printer has the same configuration as the printer 200 in the second embodiment, it can be easily realized. Further, when the printer 200 is remotely restarted by another printer as described above, if the other printer has the same configuration as the printer 200 in the second embodiment, naturally, the printer 200 itself can be restarted. Can be activated. In this case, whether the other printer restarts itself or a different printer (in this case, the printer 200) only switches the IP address of the printer to be restarted. Thus, it can be realized by the same processing.

G-4. Modification 4:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the protocol whose operation state is enabled in the printer 200 is the non-procedure protocol and the LPR has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, IPX, IPP, FTP, etc. can be used as the protocol.

G-5. Modification 5:
In each of the above-described embodiments, description has been made on the assumption that one connection can be established for one reception port. However, depending on the protocol, two or more connections may be established for one reception port. In such a case, when establishing a connection to the receiving port, all possible connections are established.

1 is a block diagram showing a computer constituting a restart device as a first embodiment of the present invention and a printer that can be restarted by the restart device. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the Port 9100 client unit 116b of the computer 100 in the printing process. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the Port 9100 server unit 216b of the printer 200. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing communication functions in a computer 100 and a printer 200 when performing a printing process, divided into layers. 10 is a flowchart showing a restart processing procedure in the computer 100. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing communication functions in a computer 100 and a printer 200 when performing a restart process in layers. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating processing states of the printer when the printer is restarted by the restart processing of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a printer that can be restarted by itself as a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing communication functions in the printer 200 at the time of restart processing divided into layers. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating processing states of the printer when the printer is restarted using a print job.

Explanation of symbols

100 ... Computer 110 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 112 ... Print job monitoring part 114 ... Restarting instruction part 116 ... Transmission processing part 116a ... SNMP client part 116b ... Port9100 client part 116c ... LPR client part 120 ... Memory 130 ... I / O unit 140 ... Input device 150 ... Monitor 160 ... Network interface unit 200 ... Printer 210 ... CPU
212 ... Print processing unit 213 ... Print job monitoring unit 214 ... Language interpretation processing unit 215 ... Restart command unit 216 ... Reception processing unit 216a ... SNMP server unit 216b ... Port 9100 Server unit 216c ... LPR server unit 217 ... Transmission / reception processing unit 217a ... SNMP server unit 217c ... LPR server unit 217b ... Port 9100 server unit 217d ... SNMP client unit 217e ... Port 9100 client Part 217f ... LPR client part 220 ... memory 222 ... MIB data 230 ... I / O part 250 ... printer engine 260 ... network interface part 300 ... network A ... printing Job B ... Print job C ... Print job

Claims (14)

A restart device for restarting a printing device connected via a network,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
A print job monitoring unit that monitors the status of a print job received in the printing device based on information acquired from the printing device after all connections have been established;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
A restarting device comprising: A restart device for restarting a printing device connected via a network,
A print job monitoring unit that monitors a status of a print job received in the printing apparatus based on information acquired from the printing apparatus;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
A restarting device comprising: A restart device for restarting a printing device connected via a network,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
After all the connections are established, a restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus;
A restarting device comprising: In the restarting device according to claim 1 or 2,
The restarting apparatus, wherein the information acquired from the printing apparatus by the print job monitoring unit is information acquired from an MIB (Management Information Base) of the printing apparatus. In the restart device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The restart apparatus is characterized in that the restart command unit gives the restart command using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). In the restart device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The restart apparatus is characterized in that the restart command unit gives a restart command using a print job. A printing device that can restart itself,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
A print job monitoring unit that monitors the status of a print job received in the printing apparatus after all connections have been established;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after completion of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
A printing apparatus comprising: A printing device that can restart itself,
A print job monitoring unit for monitoring a status of a print job received in the printing apparatus;
A restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself after completion of all print jobs is detected by the print job monitoring unit;
A printing apparatus comprising: A printing device that can restart itself,
A connection execution unit that establishes all connections that can be established with respect to all reception ports that are capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
After all the connections are established, a restart command unit that gives a restart command to the printing apparatus itself;
A printing apparatus comprising: The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
The printing apparatus, wherein the restart command unit gives the restart command using SNMP. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restart command unit gives a restart command using a print job. A restart method for restarting a printing apparatus,
(A) establishing all possible connections to all receiving ports capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
(B) monitoring the status of a print job received at the printing device after all connections have been established;
(C) providing a restart command to the printing apparatus after the end of all print jobs is detected as a monitoring result;
A restart method comprising: A restart method for restarting a printing apparatus,
(A) monitoring the status of a print job received at the printing device;
(B) a step of giving a restart instruction to the printing apparatus after completion of all print jobs is detected as a monitoring result;
A restart method comprising: A restart method for restarting a printing apparatus,
(A) establishing all possible connections to all receiving ports capable of receiving a print job among network ports of the printing apparatus;
(B) a step of giving a restart command to the printing apparatus after all connections have been established;
A restart method comprising:

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