JP2006164173A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein, in a plurality of grid computing and distributed processing systems, if there are a plurality of grid servers, and a plurality of distributed processing systems use a single resource, processing speed is reduced significantly. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises means for causing a server to make an inquiry when registering a client, means for allowing a client to refuse a processing request except from a registered server, and means for allowing a dynamic change of the server according to a processing status of the client side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a load distribution system of grid computing is applied to a printer or a multi-function printing apparatus connected to a host computer via an interface.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the architecture of grid computing applied to the present invention.

  Although there are several types of grid computing, what is described here is a type called a desktop grid computing, which executes a job by utilizing the free time of a CPU such as a desktop PC.

  The client in FIG. 1 is a user who submits a job, and the request (job) is passed to a task manager (hereinafter abbreviated as TM), and the contents are conveyed to a dynamic job scheduler (hereinafter abbreviated as DSJ). .

  The DSJ performs overall resource management, selects an optimal resource broker, and notifies the TM (this resource here refers to the CPU free state).

  The Broker registers the information of the resource that is taken up by the resource manager (hereinafter abbreviated as RM) in the DSJ, submits a job to the optimal resource in response to a request from the TM, and sends a completion notification to the TM.

  The TM submits a job to the optimal Broker selected by the DSJ, and thereafter monitors the progress of the job. When the TM receives a completion notification from the Broker, the TM notifies the user of the result. Also, if there is a change / abnormality in the resource (eg, a failure, another job has been accepted, etc.), the RM notifies the Broker.

  The realization of desktop grid computing is that distributed processing is possible by allocating jobs to resources such as CPUs (which are not normally used) that are optimal in such a mechanism.

  Next, the configuration when this technology is applied to the PDL processing of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In the description of FIG. 1, each module constituting the grid computing is treated as a separate one. However, when applied to a printing apparatus, a plurality of modules generally exist in one device.

  In FIG. 2, a client PC that issues a print instruction (job input) inputs a print job, has an TM and DJS function in the image forming apparatus, and has Broker, RM in PC1, PC2, and PC3, for example, using three PCs. A device configuration to which distributed processing by grid computing is applied.

  A job (PDL print job data) input from a client is divided into resources of PCs 1, 2, and 3 via TM and DSJ of the image forming apparatus. At this time, an application program for PDL data image expansion processing is also transmitted from the image forming apparatus at the same time.

  An image that has been distributed and executed for PDL image formation on each PC is collected by an image forming apparatus and finally output using a grid computing mechanism.

This distributed processing target resource may be three or more PCs, and even if it includes the resource of the client PC of the job submission source, the resources of the image forming apparatus on the same network are used as targets. Also good.
“Applicability of grid computing to commercial systems”, [online], IBM professional papers, Internet <URL: http: // www-6. ibm. com / jp / provision / no36 / pdf / 36_ppr1. pdf>

  In recent years, research on gathering the CPU power of computers using grid computing technology and realizing high-speed processing has been active in science-related research, but application to embedded devices is still unparalleled.

  When this technology is applied to an image forming apparatus, it is conceivable that the CPU resource of grid computing connected to the LAN environment of the office used is a PC or server on the LAN. Designation and setup of the target host computer must be flexible and easy for the user of the image forming apparatus.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a user interface capable of easily specifying and setting up a computer to be distributed.

In order to solve the above problems, a system according to the present invention is:
In an image forming apparatus that is connected to a host computer (client) via a host interface, can be set from the operation panel, etc., and can perform load distribution processing by grid computing (hereinafter abbreviated as “grid”).
When the image forming apparatus is a grid job scheduler, the image forming apparatus includes means for selecting, from the operation panel, a device to be a resource of a grid to be a load distribution target.

  When the image forming apparatus has the function of a grid job scheduler, the program software for making a grid resource is selected when the device to be a grid resource to be load-balanced is selected from the operation panel of the apparatus. Means for transmitting to the device;

  When the image forming apparatus has a grid job scheduler function, whether each device is used as a grid resource, even if the device can be a grid resource to be load-balanced by a setting instruction from the operation panel. Means for individually specifying whether or not.

  When grid computing technology is applied to an image forming apparatus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a user interface that makes it easy to specify and set up a target computer for distributed processing for this operation. .

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on the effective embodiments thereof.

[First embodiment]
(Hard structure of image forming apparatus)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus having a copying function. A scanner 201 that is an image input device illuminates an image on paper as a document, and scans a CCD line sensor (not shown) to generate raster image data.

  When the user sets the original paper on the tray 203 of the original feeder 204 and instructs the start of reading in the operation unit 202, the controller CPU of the image forming apparatus gives an instruction to the scanner 201, and the feeder 203 sets the original paper 1 Each sheet is fed, and the scanner 201 performs an original image reading operation.

  An operation unit 202 is a user interface for specifying setting instructions, status display, and various operation settings during a copy operation.

  The printer engine 103, which is an image output device, is a part that prints raster image data on paper. The method includes an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt, an ink jet method in which ink is ejected from a micro nozzle array and an image is directly printed on a sheet, and any method may be used. The printing operation is activated by an instruction from the controller CPU.

  The printer engine 103 has a plurality of paper feed stages so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected, and there are paper cassettes 206, 207, 208 corresponding thereto. The paper discharge tray 205 receives paper that has been printed.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image forming apparatus. The printer controller 102 is connected to the scanner 201 as an image input device and the printer engine 103 as an image output device. On the other hand, the printer controller 102 inputs and outputs print data, image information, and device information to and from the host via the host I / F 308. do.

  The CPU 301 is a controller that controls the entire system. A RAM 302 is a system work memory used for the CPU 301 to operate. The RAM 302 is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data. A ROM 303 is a boot ROM, and stores a system boot program. An HDD 304 is a hard disk drive and stores system software and image data.

  The operation unit I / F 306 controls an interface with the operation unit (UI) 202 and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 202 to the operation unit 202. Further, it plays a role of transmitting information input by the user via the operation unit 202 to the CPU 301. Further, environment setting information such as an operation mode input from the operation unit 202 is stored in the NVRAM 316 which is a nonvolatile memory.

  The host interface 308 inputs / outputs information to / from the host 001. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 307.

  An image bus interface (Image Bus I / F) 305 is a bus bridge that connects a system bus 307 and an image bus 309 that transfers image data at high speed, and converts a data structure. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 309. A raster image processor (RIP) 310 expands a PDL code transmitted from a network into a bitmap image. A device I / F unit 311 connects the scanner 201 and the printer engine 103, which are image input / output devices, and the printer controller 102, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  The scanner image processing unit 312 corrects, processes, and edits input image data. A printer image processing unit 313 performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. The image rotation unit 314 rotates image data. The image compression unit 315 performs JPEG compression / new tone processing for multi-valued image data, and performs compression / decompression processing such as JBIG, MMR, and MH for binary image data.

(Software configuration of image forming apparatus)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the setup flow of the grid target device in the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the server name registration flow in the client. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow when an actual job execution request is received at the client.

  Hereinafter, a client and server registration method and a job execution method will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 5, the server registers the client using the client registration UI unit 502, and when the client is registered, notifies the client 503 that the client has been registered. Next, the flow in the client will be described with reference to FIG. A client registration notification is received 602 from the server, and it is confirmed 603 whether or not the server has already been registered. If the server is not registered, the server name is registered 605 and the process ends. Thereafter, a processing flow when an actual job execution request is notified to the client will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, a job execution request is received 702, and it is confirmed whether the server is registered. If it is an execution request from the same server as the registered server, the job is executed 706 and the process ends. If it is an execution request from a different server, it notifies 704 the server that has requested rejection.

[Second Example]
In the first embodiment, the number of servers that can be registered in the client is set to 1, but there is no problem even if it is set to a plurality of clients as long as the client has high ability.

[Third embodiment]
8, 9, and 10 show processing flows for designating a server by the client according to the second embodiment. In the client, the server is input 802, and in the case where the server has already been input 803, whether or not to overwrite is confirmed 804, and if not, the process ends. If so, the server is set 805, the client name is notified to the server 806, and the process ends.

  Next, FIG. 9 shows a processing flow when the server notifies the server name from the client. First, the client name is received from the client 902, and if it has already been received, 903 ends. If it has not been received yet, the client is additionally registered and the process ends 904. Next, a processing flow for receiving an actual job at the client will be described with reference to FIG. The client receives the job 1002, confirms whether it is a registered server 1003, and if not, notifies the server that sent it a reception rejection notice. If so, the job is received, executed 1005, and the process ends.

[Fourth embodiment]
In the third embodiment, the number of servers that can be registered in the client is set to 1, but there is no problem even if the number of servers is high as long as the client has high ability. The processing flow in that case is shown in FIG. The server receives a client registration notification 1102 and checks whether the maximum number of servers has already been registered. If so, 1104 notifies the server that the client registration has been rejected. 1105 is registered.

[Fifth embodiment]
Next, a processing flow for performing distributed processing dynamically without performing registration processing on the client and server will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, a job request is made to the client searched by an appropriate means on the server side 1302, the client side receives the job request from the server in the reception waiting state 1202, 1203, a Grid job execution state (a number of Grid jobs operate 1208, whether or not the maximum number of jobs that can be executed has been exceeded is determined 1209, and if it has exceeded, the server 1212 is notified of job execution rejection. If it has not exceeded, a request is made to send the job contents to the server 1210, and what job is requested to which server is saved 1211, and the process returns to the reception wait state 1202.

  On the server side, when a job transmission request is received from the client, 1305, the contents of the job (program and data) are transmitted to the client. On the client side, the job is received 1204, the job content is confirmed with the server stored earlier, and if it is different from 1205, the job rejection is notified 1213 to the server. If they are the same, the content is received 1206 and the received job is executed 1207.

[Other Examples]
The program code and related data according to the present invention can be stored in a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) or a CD-ROM and supplied to the computer from there.

  In addition, an object of the present invention is to supply a computer with a storage medium that records a program code of software (control program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the computer apparatus (CPU) stores the storage medium in the storage medium. This is achieved by reading and executing the programmed program code. As a method for supplying a program and data to a computer, a method of storing the program and data in a floppy (registered trademark) disk and supplying it to a computer main body (via a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive) as shown in FIG. .

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

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, in addition to a floppy (registered trademark) disk and a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM Etc. can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

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

It is a figure which shows the structure of the grid computing of background art. It is a figure which shows the structure at the time of applying to the PDL process of background art. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 3rd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 3rd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 3rd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 4th Example. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a 5th Example.

Explanation of symbols

001 Host computer 101 Entire image forming apparatus 102 Entire printer controller 103 Printer engine

Claims (5)

In an image forming apparatus that is connected to a host computer as a client via a host interface and can be configured from an operation panel or the like and can perform load distribution processing by grid computing.
When the image forming apparatus is a grid computing job scheduler, the image forming apparatus includes means for selecting, from the operation panel, a device to be a resource of grid computing to be a load distribution target.   When the image forming apparatus has a grid computing job scheduler function, when selecting a device to be a grid computing resource to be load-balanced from the operation panel of the apparatus, the grid computing resource is used. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for transmitting the information to the device in the previous period.   When the image forming apparatus has the function of a grid computing job scheduler, even if the device is a grid computing resource to be a load distribution target according to the setting instruction from the operation panel, the respective device side is already another The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that rejects from a device side when the resource is a grid computing resource.   The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for receiving a job request from an arbitrary job scheduler according to a current grid job execution status when the image forming apparatus has a resource function. Image forming apparatus.   The load distribution management means of the grid computing includes means for allowing the output to be assigned to the specified image forming apparatus, to reside on the client side, or to be provided to an external server. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1.

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