JP2006159623A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To satisfy both ciphering of a secure print job and productivity of the entire print system. <P>SOLUTION: The print system having a means for controlling print data in units of job and forming an image in units of page by converting the print data into image data in units of page comprises a job state judging means having a confidential mode job requiring authentication before printing in units of job, and a normal mode job not requiring authentication and recognizing, for each job, a state where the image data is not converted for any page, a state where the image data is converted for at least one page, and a state where the image data is converted for all pages, a means for judging whether there is a normal job subjected to conversion processing in advance of the confidential mode job or not, and a judgement means for granting authentication of the confidential mode job. The judgement means for granting authentication grants authentication depending on the results from the means for judging in advance, and the results from the job state judging means for the confidential mode job. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system capable of recording an image on a recording medium based on print information input from an external device.

  In recent years, page printers centered on laser beam printers have rapidly spread, and in offices, more operation methods that are shared by more people than ever before have been proposed.

  Recently, there is an increasing need for print job operations such as changing the order of print jobs as well as how to efficiently handle print jobs based on various needs.

  Furthermore, in response to the recent importance of security for document information, how to increase confidentiality with respect to others is becoming an important factor in the output of printers that can be seen by many users.

  Under such circumstances, secure printing has been proposed as one of print job operations.

  Secure printing is an operation that opens a key (unlocks) when a print job with a key is submitted and the submitter wants to print (when the printed material can be secured without touching others' eyes) The unlocking operation is performed by inputting a password from the panel or the host device.

  A data processing flow in a general page printer is simply expressed as shown in FIG. That is, abstract data such as PDL received from an external device is analyzed and developed, converted into concrete data such as an image, and printing is executed.

  As a general tendency, the amount of data is larger in the concrete data than in the abstract data, and the processing steps (time) required from the image formation to the end of printing have a relationship in which the concrete data is smaller than the abstract data.

  In the data flow as described above, the following methods have been proposed or implemented conventionally.

That is, a method of permitting unlocking from the timing when the secure job is recognized by the printer (for example, Patent Document 1 below), or a method of permitting unlocking after the concrete data conversion and storage of all pages of the secure job is completed. (For example, Patent Document 2 below).
JP 07-148997 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-149000

  As described above, the conventional printing system has the following problems.

  In Patent Document 1, when there is a preceding job, there is a problem that it takes time from unlocking until printing of the secure job is started.

  In Patent Document 2, there is a problem that it takes time to start printing a secure job even when there is no preceding job.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
If there is a job that is being processed prior to the secure designated job, the unlock (print start) permission is permitted when all pages of the secure job are converted into concrete data, and if there is no job that is being processed in advance, When the first page of the secure job is converted into concrete data, unlocking (starting printing) is permitted.

  This makes it possible to start immediately if there is no other concrete data job at the time of unlocking, and to achieve both confidentiality of confidential jobs and overall productivity of the printing system. Is possible.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to the present invention has a means for controlling print data in job units, converts the print data into image data in page units, and forms an image in page units. , A confidential mode job that requires authentication before printing and a normal mode job that does not require authentication for each job, and at least one page is not converted into image data for each job. Whether or not there is a job state determination means for recognizing a state converted to image data, a state in which all pages are converted to image data, and whether or not there is a normal mode job subjected to the conversion processing prior to the confidential mode job And an authentication permission determining means for permitting authentication of the confidential mode job, wherein the authentication permission determining means is the preceding determining means. Results and, depending on the result of the job state determining means for said confidential mode job, to solve the problem by permitting the authentication.

  According to the invention of the present invention, it is possible to achieve both confidentiality of confidential jobs and productivity of the entire printing system.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration including the printer of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes an external device such as a host computer, and reference numeral 102 denotes a laser beam printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) to which this embodiment is applied.

  An engine unit 105 forms a latent image on a photosensitive drum by a well-known electrophotographic process based on image data (binary or multi-valued data), transfers the image to a sheet, and fixes and prints. 103 is an engine Is connected to the unit 105, receives code data (ESC code, various PDLs, etc.) sent from an external device 101 such as a host computer, generates page information consisting of dot data based on this code data, and sends it to the engine unit 105 A controller unit 104 that transmits image data by a predetermined interface means is a panel unit 104 that interfaces with a user (operator), and includes a liquid crystal panel having a touch sensor (not shown) and a keyboard. The user can instruct the printer 102 to perform a predetermined operation by operating the panel unit 104.

  In the present embodiment, a remote panel is configured on a display included in the external device by software that operates on a well-known OS (Windows or the like) of the external device 101, and the user can perform operations equivalent to or higher than those of the panel unit 104. It can be carried out.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the mechanism of the printer of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a printer housing. Reference numeral 202 denotes an operation panel. The operation panel 202 includes switches for operation, an LED display, an LCD display, a liquid crystal display with a touch sensor, and a keyboard. This is a physical aspect of the panel unit 104 shown in FIG.

  A control board storage unit 203 stores an engine unit 105 that executes print process control of the printer and a controller unit 103 that controls the entire printer and analyzes data from the host computer and converts the data into image data.

  A paper cassette 210 holds paper and has a mechanism for electrically detecting the paper size by a partition plate (not shown). Reference numeral 211 denotes a cassette paper feed clutch, which is a cam that separates only the uppermost sheet of paper placed on the paper cassette 210 and conveys the separated paper to the paper feed roller 212 by a driving means (not shown). Thus, the sheet rotates intermittently each time the sheet is fed, and one sheet is fed corresponding to one rotation. Reference numeral 214 denotes a registration shutter that presses the paper and stops paper feeding. The paper feed roller 212 conveys the leading edge of the paper to the registration shutter 214.

  219 is a manual feed tray, and 215 is a manual paper feed clutch. The paper feed clutch 215 conveys the leading edge of the paper to the registration shutter 214.

  With the above-described configuration, it is possible to selectively feed paper from the paper cassettes 210 to 252 and the manual feed tray 219.

  The engine unit 105 communicates with the controller unit 103 according to a predetermined communication protocol, determines a sheet feeding unit from the cassette 210 or the hand tray 219 according to an instruction from the controller unit 103, and performs the above-described operation according to a print start instruction. Then, the sheet feeding is started and the sheet is conveyed to the registration shutter 214.

  An M color cartridge 204 includes an M color photosensitive drum 205 and a developing unit 206 including a toner holding unit (not shown). Reference numeral 207 denotes a laser unit for M color, which includes a laser driver (not shown), a rotary polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, and a beam detector.

  A C color cartridge 260 includes a C color photosensitive drum 261 and a developing unit 262 including a toner holding unit (not shown). A C-color laser unit 263 includes a laser driver (not shown), a rotary polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, and a beam detector.

  Reference numeral 264 denotes a Y color cartridge having a Y color photosensitive drum 265 and a developing unit 266 including a toner holding unit (not shown). Reference numeral 267 denotes a laser unit for Y color, which includes a laser driver (not shown), a rotary polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, and a beam detector.

  Reference numeral 268 denotes a K color cartridge, which includes a K color photosensitive drum 269 and a developing unit 270 including a toner holding unit (not shown). Reference numeral 271 denotes a laser unit for K color, which includes a laser driver (not shown), a rotary polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, and a beam detector.

  Reference numeral 215 denotes a conveyor belt for assisting in sheet conveyance and image transfer.

When the sheet is conveyed to the registration shutter 214, an M color laser emitted from a semiconductor laser (not shown) that is driven on and off by a laser driver in the M color laser unit 271 in accordance with image data sent from the controller unit 103. The beam is scanned in the main scanning direction by the rotating polygon mirror, guided to the M color photosensitive drum 269 via the reflection mirror, and imaged, and scanned in the main scanning direction to form an M color latent image on the main scanning line. . Similarly, a C color latent image, a Y color latent image, and a K color latent image are formed for the C color, the Y color, and the K color, respectively.

  The registration shutter 214 is driven upward in synchronism with the emission of the M color laser beam, and the conveyance of the paper is synchronized with the sub scanning of the M color laser beam. A beam detector disposed at the start of scanning of the M color laser beam forms an M color synchronization signal for determining the main scanning image writing timing by detecting the M color laser beam. send.

  Similarly, the C color, Y color, and K color form a C color synchronization signal, a Y color synchronization signal, and a K color synchronization signal, respectively, but the timing is delayed in accordance with the sub-scanning speed (paper conveyance speed). The transfer position is adjusted.

  Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed by a conveying roller 215, and the photosensitive drums 205, 261, 265, and 269 are rotated by a motor (not shown) and visualized as a toner image by the developing units 206, 262, 266, and 270. Transferred onto paper. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is then heated and fixed by the fixing roller 216, and is discharged to the discharge tray of the printer housing by the discharge roller 218.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the printer controller unit 103 of this embodiment.

◇ I / F unit In the figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a panel interface unit that receives various settings and instructions from the operator from the panel unit 104 by data communication with the panel unit 104.

  A host interface unit 302 is an input / output unit for signals to / from an external device 101 such as a host computer. The host interface unit 302 has a data port for transmitting / receiving print data and a control port for transmitting / receiving control information exclusively. Realized in the communication hierarchy. Transmission / reception data can be stored in a dedicated buffer memory in units of predetermined blocks, and can be used for data exchange with the CPU 309.

  Reference numeral 306 denotes an engine interface unit that is a signal input / output unit for the engine unit 105, which transmits a data signal from an output buffer register (not shown) and controls communication with the engine unit 105.

  Reference numeral 304 denotes a data expansion unit for expanding compressed data. Arbitrary compressed data stored in a RAM 307 (to be described later) is decompressed into image data in line units, and is transferred to the engine interface unit 306 in line units by a DMA control unit 308 (to be described later), thereby performing decompression processing and transfer processing in line units. It has a configuration capable of sequential processing.

  309 is a CPU that controls the entire controller unit 103, 303 is a ROM that stores control codes for the CPU 309, and 307 is a temporary storage RAM used by the CPU. Reference numeral 310 denotes an EEPROM which is a nonvolatile memory means.

  A DMA control unit 308 transfers image data in the RAM 307 to the engine interface unit 306 or transfers arbitrary compressed data in the RAM 307 to the data expansion unit 304 or from the data expansion unit 304 according to an instruction from the CPU 309. The output image data can be transferred to the engine interface unit 306.

  Reference numeral 311 denotes a system bus having an address bus and a data bus. The panel interface unit 301, the host interface unit 302, the image data generation unit, the ROM 303, the image memory, the engine interface unit 306, the AM 307, the DMA control unit 308, the CPU 309, and the EEPROM 310 are each connected to the system bus 311 and on the system bus 311 All functions can be accessed.

  312 is a general-purpose external bus controller, and 313 is a general-purpose external bus. In this embodiment, an IDE-compliant bus is used as a general-purpose external bus. However, the effect of this embodiment is not changed even if other systems such as SCSII are used.

  A hard disk unit 314 is connected to the system bus 311 by a general-purpose external bus 313 and can be accessed from each unit connected to the system bus 311. The CPU 309 logically accesses as a file system.

  The control code for controlling the CPU 309 is composed of an OS that performs time-sharing control in units of load modules called tasks by a system clock (not shown) and a plurality of load modules (tasks) that operate in units of functions.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the data flow of this embodiment. PDL in the figure is a well-known page description language. The intermediate data is a format expressed in PDL, in which a figure is decomposed into predetermined drawing objects, and is compressed in a predetermined format for each object. Generally, conversion efficiency (speed) to image data is higher than that of PDL. The data amount tends to be larger than that of PDL. That is, in this embodiment, it can be expressed that PDL data has a high level of abstraction, image data has a low level of abstraction, and intermediate data has a medium level of abstraction.

  Data flow A is a diagram for explaining data conversion of the present embodiment. PDL data sent from the external device 101 can be spooled in units of jobs. By analyzing the PDL data, it is converted into intermediate data and further developed into image data. The image data is further compressed by a predetermined compression algorithm to obtain compressed data in page units. Data input from the external device 101 can be spooled in the controller unit 103 as compressed data in page units.

  Data flow B is a diagram for explaining the data conversion timing of this embodiment. As will be described later, in this embodiment, analysis (PDL data → intermediate data), decompression (intermediate data → image data), and compression (image data → compressed data) are sequentially processed in units of pages. Therefore, the spool point of data is PDL data for each job and compressed data for each page.

  Further, the data decompression unit 304, the DMA control unit 308, and the engine interface unit 306 sequentially process decompression (compressed data → image data) and data transfer to the engine unit 105. That is, in this embodiment, it can be expressed that printing output can be made directly from compressed data.

Considering the above data spool and conversion timing, it can be expressed that PDL data sent from an external device is converted into compressed data by image generation processing (analysis → decompression → compression) and output to the engine unit 105 while decompressing.
Also,
5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining the control of this embodiment. As described above, in the present embodiment, data can be spooled in PDL in job units and compressed data in page units. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the state of the page, the present embodiment is classified as “Awaiting analysis”, “Analyzing to compressing”, “Waiting for printing”, and “During printing to end paper discharge” as shown in FIGS. can do.

  “Waiting for analysis” is spooled as PDL data. "Analyzing to compressing" is a state during conversion to compressed data. “Waiting for printing” is a state spooled as compressed data.

  In this embodiment, if there is a job that is being analyzed prior to the secure designated job, the permission to output the secure job is granted after all pages of the secure designated job are in the “waiting for printing” state. If there is no job being analyzed prior to the secure designated job, permission to output the secure job is given after the first page of the secure designated job enters the “waiting for printing” state.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 show the above operation example from the relationship between the page state of the secure job and the preceding normal job.

  As in Example 1, when the first regular job is “waiting for analysis”, the second secure job starts the analysis process ahead of the first regular job, that is, in the “analyzing to compressing” state. Become.

  As in Example 2, when the first regular job is in the “analyzing to compressing” state, the later secure job does not overtake the regular job. When there are a plurality of first-arrival normal jobs, the last-arrived secure job is moved in order to the head of the “waiting for analysis” job that is waiting for the job.

  As in Example 3, when the preceding normal job is in the “waiting for printing” state and at least one page of the secure job is in the “waiting for printing” state, permission to execute the output of the secure job is given.

  As in Example 4, even if the preceding normal job is in the “waiting for printing” state, if all pages of the secure job are in the “waiting for printing” state, permission to execute the output of the secure job is given.

  As in Example 5, even if there is no preceding normal job, if no secure job is in the “printing waiting” state, permission to execute the output of the secure job is not given.

  As in Example 6, if there is no preceding normal job and at least one page of the secure job is in the “printing waiting” state, permission to execute the output of the secure job is given.

  7, 8, 9, and 10 are diagrams for explaining the user interface in the present embodiment.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the pseudo panel of the external device 101 and the panel unit 104 display the same information, and can similarly receive an instruction input from the operator.

  The “printer job status” screens of FIGS. 7 and 8 are “document name”, “status”, “owner”, “type”, “progress status”, “start date / time” for all jobs managed by the controller unit 103. , “Secure state” switch.

The “document name” is an ID name for identifying a job in the printer, and is converted into a character string according to a predetermined rule on the display unit based on the job ID determined by the controller unit 105.

  The “status” is determined by a predetermined rule from “reception status”, “generation status”, and “printing status” for each job managed by the controller unit 105 described later.

  “Owner” is a character string for identifying the user who specified printing of the job, and the login name of the user who printed from the “print” screen described later is used.

  “Type” includes “normal” and “secure”. A job that is “secure” is a secure designated job.

  In the “progress status”, the amount of data sent from the external apparatus 101 to the printer 102 is sequentially displayed.

  “Start date and time” is the time when the user decides to execute printing from the external device 101.

  The “secure state” switch is a switch for calling a “secure job” screen described later.

  The “secure job” screen in FIG. 9 is a screen for displaying the status of secure jobs managed by the controller unit 103 and accepting operations. “Document name”, “status”, “owner”, “secure name” ”And“ Secure state ”.

  “Document name”, “status”, and “owner” are the same as those on the “printer job status” screen.

  The “secure name” is a character string set by the user on a “print” screen described later.

  The “secure state” includes “unlocking permission” and “unlocking permission”, and the conditions for changing from “unlocking permission” to “unlocking permission” will be described later.

  The “print” screen in FIG. 10 is a pseudo panel for accepting settings when the user prints and starting printing. The “print” screen includes a “printer name” box, a “property” switch, a “secure designation” box, a “secure name” box, and a “password” box.

  The “printer name” box is a list box for selecting and specifying the name of a target printer that performs printing from among a plurality of printers registered in advance.

  The “property” switch is a switch for calling a screen for performing detailed print settings.

  The “secure designation” box is a check box for designating secure printing.

  The “secure name” box is an edit box for inputting a “secure name” for the user to recognize the target job when unlocking.

The “password” box is an edit box for inputting a “password” for the user to check unlocking permission when unlocking.

  With the above configuration, the user can perform secure designation at the start of printing.

  The relationship between the displays shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be described.

  In the state in which jobs 1 to 4 are being processed by the printer 102 as in the state example 1, the user designates secure as in the operation example 3, with the secure name “confidential document 1”, and the password “***”. When printing is executed, the secure job is displayed as job 5 as in the state example 2. At this time, although not shown, the job 5 is displayed on the “secure job” screen.

  Since the secure job has a higher priority than the normal job, the order is immediately moved ahead of the job 4 that has not started the analysis as in the state example 3.

  When the analysis of at least one page of the secure job is completed as in the state example 4, the print job waiting state is entered. Since job 1, job 2, and job 3 exist at this time, the “secure state” is “unlocking not permitted”. Therefore, when the user presses the unlock button, an “operation not permitted” screen is displayed as in the first operation example.

  Even in the display state of the state example 4, when all pages of the job 5 are waiting to be printed, the display is switched to “unlocking permission” on the “secure job” screen, and when the user presses the unlocking button, the password is input. A prompt screen appears. When the user inputs a password, the “operation not permitted” screen is displayed or the job 5 changes to “printing” and “unlocking” in accordance with the collation result with the password designated at the time of printing.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a control flow according to the present embodiment. A communication control process 401, panel control process 402, job control process 403, page control process 404, image generation process 405, print process 406, and transfer process 407 in FIG. A function processing unit may include an arbitrary number of tasks.

  Reference numeral 410 denotes a PDL data storage unit for storing print data transferred from an external device. PDL data sent from the data processing unit 401 in arbitrary units is stored in units of jobs, and in response to a request from the image generation processing 405. Send PDL data in arbitrary units. Also, flow control is performed for simultaneously performing the input and output for one job. The entity is configured by the HD unit 314 or the RAM 307, and when the data does not enter the predetermined area allocated to the RAM 307, the data is saved in the HD unit 314.

  A compressed data storage unit 411 stores compressed data, and stores compressed data in units of pages. The entity is configured by the HD unit 314 or the RAM 307, and when the data does not enter the predetermined area allocated to the RAM 307, the data is saved in the HD unit 314.

  A job management unit 412 includes a job information table that stores attribute data and the like of printing operations for each job, a FIFO-format storage area (not shown) that stores the job information table, and a job management table that manages the job information table. Composed. The job information table and job management table will be described later. The entity is configured in the RAM 307.

◇ Page management unit 413 is a page management unit that manages a page information table storing attribute data and the like of printing operations for each page, a FIFO-format storage area (not shown) for storing the page information table, and the page information table. Consists of a page management table. The page information table and page management table will be described later. The entity is configured in the RAM 307.

  The communication control process 401 manages data transmission / reception with the external device 101 via the host interface unit 302. The communication control process 401 interprets data sent from the external device 101 and notifies the job control process 403 of control information such as job start and end, and job unit attribute information such as the number of copies. At the same time, PDL data related to image generation is stored in the PDL data storage unit 410.

  On the other hand, the communication control process 401 periodically inquires the job control process 403 about the job status, and notifies the external device 101 of the change information via the host interface unit 302 when the status is changed. .

  Even when the operator makes various mode settings and control instructions using a pseudo panel (not shown) of the external device 101, it is stored in the host interface unit 302 as control data from the external device 101. The unlocking instruction from the external device 101 for the secure designated job in this embodiment is one of the control instructions. When the communication control process 401 recognizes the control instruction, it notifies the job control process 403 as described above.

  Further, the pseudo panel can display a job status based on the change information, and can display or hide a secure job unlock switch.

  The panel control process 402 manages data transmission / reception with the panel unit 104 via the panel interface unit 301.

  Various mode settings and control instructions by the panel operation of the operator are temporarily stored in the panel interface unit 301 as control data from the panel unit 104. The panel control process 402 cyclically monitors the panel interface unit 301 at an appropriate interval, and interprets the data if it exists. If the interpretation result is mode setting data, it is stored in the EEPROM 310. By storing the data in the EEPROM 310, the printer can be operated in a mode desired by the user even after the printer is turned off. If the result of the interpretation is a control instruction, the job control process 403 is notified as a control instruction.

  The job control process 403 uses the job management unit 412 to manage and control jobs. Controls such as job generation, progress management, progress permission, and deletion according to requests from other processes and the convenience of own processing.

  The page control process 404 performs page management and control using the page management unit 413.

  Controls such as page generation, progress management, progress permission, and deletion according to requests from other processes and the convenience of own processing.

In response to an instruction from the job control process 403, the image generation process 405 analyzes the PDL data in the PDL data storage unit 410, and controls page start and end control information and page unit attribute information such as the number of copies. Notify the control process 403. At the same time, the image generation command is recognized and interpreted, converted to page-by-page intermediate data, and stored in an intermediate data storage area (not shown). Further, the intermediate data is expanded in page units, converted into band unit image data, and stored in an image data storage area (not shown). The image data is compressed and converted into page compressed data, and stored in the compressed data storage unit 411 in units of pages.

  The above analysis, decompression, and compression processes are sequentially performed in units of pages. The intermediate data storage area and the image data storage area have a substance in a predetermined area of the RAM 307.

  When the control command is recognized in the PDL data by the analysis process, the page generation process is notified to the page control process 404 as the status information.

  Incidentally, even if intermediate data, image data, and compressed data are handled in band units, and stored in the compressed data storage unit 411, they are managed and stored in page units, and the essence of the configuration of the present invention remains unchanged.

  A print process 406 manages data exchange with the engine unit 105 via the engine interface unit 306. In response to an instruction from the page control process 404, it notifies the engine unit 105 of necessary control information, and executes a print sequence using a predetermined protocol in cooperation with the transfer process 407.

  Further, the status information sent from the engine unit 105 is received and notified to the page control processing 404 as necessary.

  The transfer process 407 controls the data decompression unit 304 and the DMA control unit 308 to transfer the compressed data stored in the compressed data storage unit 411 to the engine unit 105 in accordance with an instruction from the print process 406.

  FIG. 12 is a memory map diagram illustrating the configuration of the job management table and job information table managed by the job management unit 412. In the figure, components related to the present embodiment are shown.

  As shown in the figure, the job management table is composed of “number of management jobs”, “first ID”, and others.

  The “management table” is the total number of jobs existing in the controller unit 105, and the “first ID” is the ID of the previous job information table in the FIFO.

  One job information table is assigned to each job, and is classified into “management information”, “status information”, “page management information”, and “job attribute information”.

  The management information is information for operating and controlling the job, and includes “job ID”, “job type”, “job name”, “owner”, “password”, and the like.

  The “job ID” stores a number (job ID) for identifying a job.

  “Job type” is information sent as part of job data from the external device 101, and stores the distinction between “normal” and “secure”.

  “Job name” is information sent as a part of job data from the external device 101, and stores a job name character string for the user to recognize.

  “Owner” is information sent as a part of job data from the external device 101, and stores a character string of the owner name of the job.

  “Password” is information sent as part of job data from the external device 101, and stores a collation character string when printing of a secure designated job is permitted.

  The “PDL data handle” stores handle information of PDL data of the job stored in the PDL data storage unit 410.

  The status information is information for managing the job status, and includes “reception status”, “generation status”, “print status”, “secure status”, and “print permission flag”.

  The “print permission flag” is a flag for controlling the start of new printing of pages belonging to the job. A value of “permitted” or “not permitted” is set, and an initial value is “not permitted”. Details of other states will be described later.

  The page management information is information for managing pages belonging to the job, and includes “number of generated pages”, “discharge counter”, “first page”, and the like.

  The “number of generated pages” is incremented by 1 every time a page belonging to a job is generated, and the total number of pages managed by the job is stored when the last page of the job is generated. The initial state is zero.

  The “paper discharge counter” is incremented by 1 each time a page belonging to a job is printed and discharged, and as a result, the number of printed pages is stored. The initial state is zero.

  “First page” is the page ID of the first page for inquiring page information of pages belonging to the job. The page ID will be described later.

  The “attribute information” is information sent as a part of job data from the external device 101, or the number of copies specified by the user from the panel unit 104 or the pseudo panel of the external device 101, the paper feed port specification, etc. Information is stored.

  In response to a generation request from the job control processing 403, the job management unit 412 acquires a job information table from a predetermined area of the RAM 307, sets a “job ID”, and sets an address in the FIFO described above. Put down. The order is managed by searching and sorting a plurality of job information tables in the FIFO, and value setting and reference are supported.

  In addition, it supports access to an arbitrary page information table belonging to an arbitrary job.

  FIG. 13 is a memory map diagram illustrating a configuration of a page management table and a page information table managed by the page management unit 413. In the figure, components related to the present embodiment are shown.

◇ Page management table As shown in the figure, the page management table is composed of “number of management pages”, “head ID”, and others.

  The “number of management pages” is the total number of pages existing in the controller unit 105, and the “first ID” is the ID of the previous page information table in the FIFO.

  One page information table is assigned to each page, and is classified into “management information”, “status information”, “page management information”, and “page attribute information”.

  “Management information” is information for operating and controlling the page, and includes “page ID”, “job ID”, “next page ID”, “compressed data handle”, and the like.

  The “page ID” stores a number (page ID) for identifying a page.

  “Job ID” stores the job ID of the job to which the page belongs.

  In the “compressed data handle”, handle information of the compressed data of the page stored in the compressed data storage unit 411 is stored.

  “Status information” is information for managing the status of the page and includes “page status”. Details of the page state will be described later.

  In the “attribute information”, information such as the number of copies specified by the user and the paper feed port is specified.

  In response to a generation request from the page control processing 404, the page management unit 413 acquires a page information table from a predetermined area of the RAM 307, sets a “page ID”, and sets an address in the FIFO described above. Put down. The order is managed by searching and sorting a plurality of page information tables in the FIFO, and value setting and reference are supported.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the state transition of the page state of the page information table described above.

  As shown in the figure, the page status becomes “analyzing” simultaneously with the generation of the page information table, and “developing”, “compressing”, “waiting for printing”, “printing”, “waiting for paper discharge”, “discharge” Transition to “Paper finished”.

  The page state is set by the page control process 404. The page control process 404 is set according to event information received from other processes. The relationship between event information and state transition will be described later simultaneously with the sequence of each process.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining each state transition of “state information” in the above-described job information table.

  As shown in the figure, the “reception state”, “generation state”, “printing state”, and “secure state” become the “initial state” simultaneously with the generation of the job information table.

  The “reception state” transitions from “initial state” to “receiving” and “reception completed”.

  The “generation state” transitions from “initial state” to “waiting for generation”, “being generated”, “1st page generated”, and “all pages generated”.

  The “printing state” transitions from “initial state” to “waiting for printing”, “printing”, “transferred”, and “discharged”.

The “secure state” transitions from “initial state” to “unlocking disallowed”, “unlocking permitted”, and “unlocking”.

  The “reception state”, “generation state”, “printing state”, and “secure state” are set by the job control process 403. The job control process 403 is set according to event information received from other processes. The relationship between event information and state transition will be described later simultaneously with the sequence of each process.

  FIG. 16 is a process sequence diagram for explaining the process control relationships of the communication control process 401, the job control process 403, the page control process 404, and the image generation process 405. A line connecting the processes indicates event information.

  When the communication control processing 401 receives the data E1 from the external device 101 via the host interface unit 302, the communication control processing 401 acquires handle information (data handle) for data storage from the PDL data storage unit 410, interprets the data, and executes the job When the start is recognized, a job generation request E1-1 is issued to the job control process 403 (P1-10-A).

  When the job generation report E2-1 is received, the interpretation processing of the received data proceeds and the job management information E1-2 and job attribute information E1-3 are issued to the job control processing 403 (P1).

  As described above, the job management information E1-2 includes job type, that is, identification information indicating whether the job is a secure job with secure designation or a normal job with normal designation. When the job type is “secure designation”, the job management information E1-2 further includes “password” information.

  Further, when the PDL data is recognized in the received data, the PDL data is sequentially stored in the PDL data storage unit 410 in arbitrary units, and when the interpretation and the storage of all the data constituting the job are completed, the job control processing 403 A reception completion report E1-4 is made to end the series of processes (P1-11).

  The communication control process 401 processes processes P1-10-A and P1-11 in parallel for each communication port.

  Upon receiving the job generation request E1-1, the job control process 403 requests the job management unit 412 to generate a job information table. Upon receiving notification of completion of generation from the job management unit 412, the “reception state” is changed to the “receiving” state, the “secure state” is set to “unlocked”, and the job generation is performed for the communication control processing 402 Issue report E2-1. The job generation report includes the job ID (P2-1).

  When the management information E1-2 is received, the management information E1-2 is stored in the job information table and the “generation state” is changed to the “waiting for generation” state. If the job is designated as secure, the “secure state” is set to “unlocked” (P2-2).

  When the attribute information E1-3 is received, it is stored in the job information table (P2-3).

  Upon receiving the attribute information E1-3 or the image generation completion report E5-7 for an arbitrary job, the “generation status” of all the job information tables existing via the job management unit 412 is inquired, and the “generating” job is When it is recognized that the job does not exist, the “job ID” of the first job in the “waiting for generation” job is designated, the image generation start instruction E2-2 is issued to the image generation processing 405, and the job is “generated”. (P2-4).

  When the page generation request E5-1 is received, the page generation request E2-3 is issued to the page control process 404 as it is. When the page generation report E4-1 is received, 1 is added to the “number of management pages” in the job information table, and a page generation report E2-4 is issued to the image generation processing 405 (P2-5).

  When the compression confirmation report E4-2 is received, 1 is added to the “number of generated pages” in the job information table, and if the “number of generated pages” is 1, the “generation state” is changed to “1st page generated”. At the same time, the “printing state” is changed to the “printing waiting” state (P2-6).

  When the image generation completion report E5-7 is received, the “generation state” of the job is changed to “all pages generated” and the PDL data storage unit 410 is requested to delete the PDL data of the job (P2- 7).

  As described above, the job control process 403 performs the processes P2-1 to P2-6 with event reception as a trigger, and logically performs all processes in parallel.

Page control process Upon receiving the page generation request E2-3, the page control process 404 requests the page management unit 413 to generate a page information table. When the generation completion notification is received from the page management unit 413, the “page state” is changed to “under analysis” and a page generation report E 4-1 is issued to the job control process 403. The page generation report E4-1 includes the page ID (P4-1).

  When the management information E5-2 is received, it is stored in the page information table (P4-2).

  When the attribute information E5-3 is received, it is stored in the page information table.

  When the page confirmation report E5-4 is received, a transition is made to “Under development” (P4-4).

  When the image confirmation report E5-5 is received, the state is changed to “compressing” (P4-5).

  When the compression confirmation report E5-6 is received, the process proceeds to “waiting for printing” and at the same time, the compression confirmation report E4-3 is issued to the job control process 403 (P4-6).

  The page control processing 404 performs processing by using the event reception described above as a trigger, and logically performs all operations in parallel.

  Upon receiving the start instruction E2-2, the image generation processing 405 receives PDL data from the PDL data storage unit 410 by the “data handle” of the designated “job ID” and starts interpretation of the PDL data. When the start of the page is recognized, handle information (data handle) for data storage is acquired from the compressed data storage unit 411, and a page generation request E5-1 is issued to the job control process 403.

  When the page generation report E2-4 is received, the PDL data interpretation process proceeds to issue page management information E5-2 and page attribute information E5-3 to the page control process 403. Further, as described above, when the generation of the intermediate data for one page is completed, the page confirmation report E5-4 is issued to the page control process 404.

Further, as described above, when the generation of the image data for one page is completed, the image confirmation report E5-5 is issued, the generation of the compressed data for one page is completed, and the compressed data storage unit 41
When the storage to 1 is completed, a compression confirmation report E5-6 is issued to the page control process 404.

The above E8 to E16 are repeated for the number of pages in the job, and when the processing of all the data of the job is completed, an image generation completion report E5-7 is issued to the job control processing 403, and the start instruction waiting state is set. Become. (P5)
FIG. 17 is a process sequence diagram for explaining the process control relationship between the job control process 403, page control process 404, print process 406, transfer process 407, and engine interface unit 306. A line connecting the processes indicates event information.

  Upon receiving the print start permission request E4-10 or the page transfer completion report E4-12, the "printing status" of all the job information tables existing via the job management unit 412 is inquired, and there is no "printing" job. If this is recognized, the “printing permission flag” of the head job in the “waiting for printing” and “unlocking” jobs is set to TRUE (P3-10).

  Upon receiving the print start permission request E4-10, the job control process 403 issues a print start permission E3-10 to the page control process 404 if the “print permission flag” of the job is in the “permitted” state. Further, when the page is the first page of the job, the “printing status” of the job is changed to “printing” (P3-11).

  When the page transfer completion report E4-12 is received, if the page is the last page of the job, the “printing state” is changed to “transferred” (P3-12).

  When the page discharge report E4-13 is received, 1 is added to the “discharge counter”, and when the page is the last page of the job, the “printing state” is changed to “discharged” (P3). -13).

  When the page discharge report E4-13 or the image generation completion report E5-7 is received, the “generation status” of the job is “all pages generated” and the “discharge counter” is equal to the “page counter”. Then, the “printing state” is changed to the “all pages printed” state, and the job information table is released after a predetermined time (P3-13).

  The job control process 403 performs processing using the event reception described above as a trigger, and logically operates all processes P3-10 to P3-13 in parallel.

  Upon receiving the page generation completion report E5-6 or the page transfer completion report E6-13, the page control process 404 inquires about the “page status” of all the page information tables existing via the page management unit 413, and prints The “job ID” in the first page information table in the “waiting” page is designated and a print start permission request E4-10 is issued to the job control processing 403 (P4-10).

  When print start disapproval (not shown) is received, a print start permission request E4-10 is issued for the next page. Repeat (P4-10) until print start permission E3-10 is received or there are no more pages to be processed.

  When the print start permission E3-10 is received, the “page ID” of the page is designated and a print start request E4-11 is issued to the print processing 406 (P4-11).

When the page transfer completion report E6-13 is received, the “page state” is changed to the “waiting for paper discharge” state, and the page transfer completion report E4-12 is issued to the job control process 403 (P4).
-12).

  When the page discharge completion report E6-14 is received, the “page state” is changed to the “discharged” state, and the compressed data storage unit 411 is requested to delete the compressed data of the page. When the completion of deletion is received, a page discharge report E4-13 is issued to the job control process 403, and the page information table is released (P4-13).

  The page control process 404 performs processing by using the event reception described above as a trigger, and logically performs all the processes P4-10 to P4-13 in parallel.

  Upon receiving the print start request E4-11, the print process 406 designates a “page ID” to the transfer process 407 and issues a transfer preparation request E6-10 (P6-10).

  When the transfer preparation completion report E7-10 is received, attribute information E6-11, such as designation of a paper feed port, is sent to the engine unit 105 via the engine interface 306, and a print start instruction E6-12 is issued (P6-). 10).

  When the transfer end report E7-11 is received, a page transfer completion report E6-13 is issued to the page control process 404 (P6-10).

  The process P6-10 is a series of operations, and when finished, the print start request E4-11 is waited for.

  When the paper discharge completion report E8-10 is received, it is directly transferred to the page control process 404 (P6-11). P6-10 and P6-11 operate in parallel.

  Upon receiving the transfer preparation request E6-10, the transfer processing 407 obtains a data handle of the page by referring to the page management unit 413 with the designated “page ID”, and sends the page to the compressed data management unit 411. Request preparation of compressed data. Upon receiving the request, the compressed data management unit 411 secures a predetermined area in the RAM 307 when the target data is saved in the HD unit 314, and restores the target data. A ready report is issued.

  Upon receiving the preparation completion report, the transfer process 407 designates the compressed data to the data decompression unit 304 and the DMA control unit 308 and requests the start preparation, and then sends the transfer preparation completion report E7 to the print process 406. -10 is issued (P7).

  When the transfer process 407 detects an end interrupt from the data decompression unit 304 that has completed the transfer process, the transfer process 407 issues a transfer end report E7-11 to the print process 406 (P7). When the above process P7 is completed, the process waits for a transfer preparation request E6-10.

  When the engine unit 105 receives the print start instruction E <b> 6-12, the engine unit 105 performs the above processing and sends an M color synchronization signal, a C color synchronization signal, a Y color synchronization signal, and a K color synchronization signal to the engine interface 306.

  The engine interface 306 inputs the synchronization signal of each color to the data decompression unit 304 and the DMA control unit 308, and the data decompression unit 304 and the DMA control unit 308 that receive the input decompress the compressed data in synchronization with the input. The process and the transfer process to the engine unit 105 are performed simultaneously (P8-10).

  The engine unit 105 issues paper discharge information to the engine interface unit 306 when page discharge is completed. The engine interface unit 306 issues this to the printing process as a paper discharge completion report E8-10.

  FIG. 18 is a process sequence diagram for explaining the process control relationship among the communication control process 401, the panel control process 402, and the job control process 403. A line connecting the processes indicates event information.

  When the communication control process 401 receives the data E1 from the external device 101 via the host interface unit 302, the communication control process 401 interprets the data, and if it is a job control request, issues it to the job control process 403 as a job control request E1-20. To do.

  The “unlock” and “password” input by the operator through the “secure job” display on the external device 101 are processed as one of the job control requests (P1-10-B).

  When the status report (E?) Is received, the printer job display and the secure job display are updated according to the changed status.

  When the panel control process 402 receives the data E10 from the panel unit 104 via the panel interface unit 301, the panel control process 402 interprets the data, and if it is a job control request, issues it to the job control process 403 as a job control request E2-20. (P2-20).

  “Unlock” and “password” input by the operator through the panel unit 104 are processed as one of job control requests.

  When the status report (E?) Is received, the “printer job status” screen display and the “secure job” screen display are updated according to the changed status.

  Upon receiving the job control request E1-20 or the job control request E2-20, the job control process 403 performs an operation on the job in response to the request. If the request is “unlocked”, after performing unlocking determination A, which will be described later, referring to the “secure state” of the job specified in the job control request E2-20, it may be “unlocked”. For example, the “print permission flag” of the designated job is set to “permitted”, the “secure state” is changed to “unlocked”, and the result is sent as a control result report E3-20 (communication control processing 401). Alternatively, it is issued to the panel control process 402). On the other hand, referring to the “secure state” of the job designated by the job control request E2-20, if “unlocking is not permitted”, the result is set as a control result report E3-20 (communication control processing 401 or It is issued to the panel control process 402) (P3-20).

  In parallel with the processing process, when a status transition of “reception state”, “generation state”, “printing state”, or “secure state” of any job managed by the job management unit 412 occurs, the job management unit In response to an event from 412, the transition is recognized, an unlocking determination A described later is executed, and a state change report E 3-21 is issued to the communication control process 401 and the panel control process 402 (P 3-21). .

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the job control process 403.

  As described above, the job control processing 403 includes the “reception status”, “generation status”, “printing status” of any job managed by the job control request E1-20, the job control request E2-20, or the job management unit 412. When the state transition of “secure state” occurs, the following processing is performed.

  First, when “job type” of all jobs managed by the job management unit 412 is searched and “secure job” is found (S2), it is searched whether or not there is a job whose processing is more advanced than that job. When it is determined that there is a preceding job (S3), referring to the “generation state” of the job and “all pages have been generated” (S4), the “secure state” is changed to the “unlocking permitted state” ( S5).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S3 that there is no preceding job, if the “first page has been generated” with reference to the “generation state” of the job (S6), the “secure state” is changed to the “unlocking permitted state”. (S7).

  As described above, according to the configuration and control of this embodiment, when there is a job that is being processed ahead of the secure designated job, unlocking (start printing) when all pages of the secure job are converted into concrete data. ) When permission is given and there is no job being processed in advance, unlocking (printing start) permission can be granted when the first page of the secure job is converted into concrete data.

  In addition, this makes it possible to start immediately if there is no other job converted into concrete data when unlocked.

[Other embodiments]
The data flow shown in FIG. 4 of the embodiment is an example and does not affect the essence of the embodiment.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the data flow in another embodiment of the present invention. The PDL, intermediate data, and image data in the figure are the same as in the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the PDL data sent from the external device 101 can be spooled on a job basis. Further, it is possible to convert the PDL data into intermediate data in page units and spool it as the intermediate data in the controller unit 103. Therefore, the spool point of data is PDL data for each job and intermediate data for each page.

  Further, instead of the data decompression unit 304, a data expansion accelerator (not shown) is a constituent element. In this embodiment, instead of the data decompression unit 304, a data expansion accelerator (not shown) is a component. This data expansion accelerator is a unit that supports the conversion from intermediate data to image data in hardware. The data expansion accelerator, the DMA control unit 308, and the engine interface unit 306 are used to expand (intermediate data → image data) and the engine. Data transfer to the unit 105 is sequentially processed in band units.

  Considering the above data spool and conversion timing, it can be expressed that the PDL data sent from the external device is converted into intermediate data by image generation processing (analysis) and output to the engine unit 105 while developing.

  As described above, the spool point according to the present embodiment is particularly effective in a data flow spooled in at least two places: a data format that cannot be synchronously converted for image formation and a data format that can be synchronously converted for image formation. is there.

  Therefore, the present invention can be implemented even with intermediate data having an intermediate level of abstraction.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system to which the present invention is applied. It is a schematic diagram of a paper transport mechanism of a printer to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a printer controller to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure explaining the data flow in an Example. It is a figure explaining processing operation in an example. It is a figure explaining processing operation in an example. It is a figure explaining the user interface in an Example. It is a figure explaining the user interface in an Example. It is a figure explaining the user interface in an Example. It is a figure explaining the user interface in an Example. It is a figure explaining the processing-operation flow in an Example. It is a figure explaining the data structure in an Example. It is a figure explaining the data structure in an Example. It is a figure explaining the state transition in an Example. It is a figure explaining the state transition in an Example. It is a figure explaining the processing sequence in an Example. It is a figure explaining the processing sequence in an Example. It is a figure explaining the processing sequence in an Example. It is a control flowchart in an Example. It is a figure explaining the data flow in another Example. It is a figure explaining the data flow in a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

101 External device 102 Laser beam printer 103 Controller unit 104 Panel unit 105 Engine unit

Claims (6)

In a printing system having means for controlling print data in units of jobs, converting the print data into image data in units of pages, and performing image formation in units of pages.
There are confidential mode jobs that require authentication before printing and normal mode jobs that do not require authentication for each job,
Job status determination means for recognizing a state where no page is converted into image data, a state where at least one page is converted into image data, and a state where all pages are converted into image data, for each job;
Preceding determination means for determining whether or not there is a normal mode job subjected to the conversion process prior to the confidential mode job;
It has an authentication permission determination means that permits authentication of confidential mode jobs,
The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the authentication permission determination unit permits the authentication according to a result of the preceding determination unit and a result of a job state determination unit for the confidential mode job.   2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein when the authentication permission determining unit determines that there is no preceding job, the job state determining unit converts at least one page of the confidential mode job into image data. A printing system, wherein authentication is permitted in a case where it is determined that the state has been performed.   3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein when the authentication permission determination unit determines that there is a preceding job, the job state determination unit converts all pages of the confidential mode job into image data. A printing system that permits authentication only when it is determined to be in a state.   4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the print data for each job is abstract data such as PDL, and the image data for each page is concrete data such as compressed data. And printing system.   5. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the authentication is a collation of a password set in advance in job unit data and a password designated in a print execution instruction. A printing system, wherein the printing system is shifted to a state of accepting the print execution instruction.   6. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the image formation is image formation by an electrophotographic process.