JP2006195801A - Network print job monitoring printer, network relay device, and network printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To promptly deal with printing errors by causing each of a group of network printers to monitor the print jobs of the other printers. <P>SOLUTION: The network print job monitoring printer comprises network printers, a network path changing means using a network relay device, and a print job monitoring/substituting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a network print job monitoring printer, a network relay device, and a print job monitoring / complementary environment as a system having a plurality of network printers in a printer and a group of printers connected to the same network by a network relay device, and It relates to network printers.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, printers and printer groups connected to a network each have a print failure notification function, and notify a client or a print server as a print failure for a print job of each printer, and also make a substitute print request. It was.

In some cases, the status of each printer is monitored by an application running on the client computer, and the printing status is monitored from the application to each printer by printing failure monitoring or substitution printing instructions (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-054909 A

  However, the conventional example has the following problems.

  When each printer on the network is notified of a print failure for each print job and is transferred to the proxy mode, the print job is retransmitted to other printers, the proxy print processing delay, the network The optimum printing agency for the system such as increased traffic was not performed.

  Further, there has been a problem that it is necessary to operate an application for printing trouble avoidance control of each printer on a server or a client computer.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a network print job monitoring printer, a network relay device, and a network printer capable of promptly responding to a print failure.

  According to the present invention, in a printer and a printer group connected to a network by a network relay device, a printing failure avoidance environment including the network relay device is optimized as a system having a plurality of network printers.

  (1) A network printer group connected to a network relay device mutually monitors print jobs of printers on the same network.

  (2) When the monitoring printer shifts to the print job monitoring state, it notifies the network relay device of the shift to the monitoring mode, and the network relay device sends the print job of the printer under monitoring to the printer under print job monitoring. Broadcast.

  (3) The network printer group connected to the network relay device stores a print job of a printer under monitoring on the same network if it can be printed.

  (4) When the print job of the monitored printer can be printed and a print failure occurs, the monitoring printer notifies the client that the proxy printing is possible and obtains authentication to perform the substitution.

  (5) The monitoring printer cancels the target print job when performing substitution for the printer under monitoring.

  That is, the technical contents of the present invention can solve the above-described problems by including the following configuration.

  [1] In a network system in which a client computer and a computer group and a network printer and a printer group are connected by a network relay device, a means for notifying the network relay device of a print job monitoring mode shift, and a monitored print job What is claimed is: 1. A network print job monitoring printer comprising: means for determining whether proxy printing is possible; means for monitoring and storing a monitored print job; and means for proxying and printing a monitored print job.

  [2] A network relay device comprising: a client computer, a monitored printer, and a means for switching a print job packet transfer path to the monitored printer in accordance with an instruction from the network print job monitoring printer.

  [3] In the network printer and the network relay device, a means for determining the possibility of occurrence of a print failure in the network printer, a means for registering a determination criterion for the possibility of occurrence of a print failure, and a determination of the possibility of occurrence of a print failure A network printer comprising means for requesting a monitoring printer to monitor a print job when a reference is exceeded.

  According to the present invention, by cooperation between a network printer and a network relay device HUB, a printer that does not have its own job and has a light load monitors a print job for another printer, and print jobs for occurrence of a print fault By optimizing the disposal of paper and responding promptly, it is possible to create an optimal printing failure response environment as a network printer system. In addition, system load can be reduced by building a system without running a special application on a server or client computer on the network.

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

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a printer that monitors a print job on a network in this embodiment.

  In step S101, a printer on the network is activated, and the printer enters a print standby state in step S102 and subsequent steps. In this print standby state, the presence / absence of its own print job is used as a criterion for determining its own load state in S102, and if there is a print job, print processing (S103) is performed and the process returns to standby.

  Here, when it is determined that there is no print job and the load on the printer is light, the switch to the print job monitoring mode for another printer is notified to the HUB as a relay device (S104), and the subsequent monitoring standby mode is entered. . In this monitoring standby mode, a print job passing through the HUB is monitored, and if there is a print job for itself, the monitoring stop is notified to the HUB (S107), and the process returns to the print standby for printing in S103.

  In S105, it is determined whether the job is a printable job in the monitoring standby and whether or not to shift to the monitoring / substitute processing mode. This determination criterion is determined from factors such as the type of printer / driver on the client, paper size, color / monochrome, duplex, and stapling.

  If it is determined that proxy printing is possible and the process proceeds to monitoring / substitution processing, the target print job is monitored and stored in its own storage device in S108. It is confirmed whether or not a print failure has occurred in the monitored printer for this print job (S109) or print completion (S110). When printing is completed, the stored print job is discarded (S115) and the process returns to monitoring standby. . If a printing failure occurs, the client confirms permission to continue the substitution in S112. If the permission is obtained, the print job of the monitored printer is canceled and the substitution printing is performed (S113), and the permission is obtained. If not, the stored print job is discarded (S115) and the process returns to the monitoring standby. This operation is performed as the operation of the network printer 2 in the sequence diagram of FIG.

  Next, the operation of the HUB that is the network relay device in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in S201, each port is set by activation and initialization. In S202, the state of the port is constantly monitored, and if there is a change, the port is set immediately (S203). In S204, it is always monitored whether a monitoring mode setting request comes from the printer connected to the port. If there is a request, the target port is set as the monitor port, and the print job for the other printer is also sent to the monitoring printer. It sets so that it may report (S205). Further, if there is a proxy request from the monitoring printer in S206, a setting is made so that the link between the client and the monitored printer is proxyed to the monitoring printer (S207), so that the remaining print job from the client can be taken over by the monitoring printer. To.

  After confirming the end of the print job (S208), the port setting is returned in S209 to complete a series of proxy printing processes. The confirmation of the end of the print job is performed by the HUB monitoring the normal end of the print job or by an instruction from the monitoring printer that has performed proxy printing.

  FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart showing an operation in a case where a monitoring request is made by a network printer (referred to as a monitored printer here) on the print job monitoring side.

  The printer activated in S301 enters a standby state for receiving a print job (S302). Here, when a print job comes, if it is determined in S303 that the print failure occurrence prediction is performed based on the set threshold value from the contents of the print job and the possibility of print failure is high, in S304, the monitored printer on the same network. Request monitoring.

  This criterion is calculated from the failure history in consideration of the use of the duplex unit, sorter, staple, etc. in the corresponding print job in addition to the remaining amount of paper and toner. After the printing process S305, regardless of whether it is under monitoring or not, if printing is completed (S307), the normal end of printing is notified by the client in S308, and the process ends. If the occurrence of a print failure is detected (S309), the print job is stopped and discarded by canceling the print job (S310).

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a general network configuration in this embodiment, that is, a server (group), a client computer (group), and a network printer (group) connected to the HUB.

  The server 401, client computer 402, and HUB 406 are connected via a network 407, and network printers 403 to 405 are also connected to the network 407 via the HUB 406. This network 407 is connected to an external network, here the Internet or an intranet 409, by a gateway 408. The operation of the network printer in FIG. 1 shows the operation in the network printers 403 to 405 in this figure, and the operation of the HUB is the operation of 406.

  FIG. 5 is an example of the internal configuration of the network printers 403 to 405 in FIG.

  The LAN interface 501 is connected to the HUB 406 in FIG. 4 in this embodiment that constitutes a network. Data packets transmitted and received from the LAN interface are decoded by the CPU 502 via the internal bus 504. The memory 505 is used as a CPU program and a data area, and is also used to store data packets obtained from the LAN interface 501. Settings and programs for print job monitoring operations in the network printer are also stored in the memory 505. When the print job monitoring mode for another printer is entered, the monitor print job 506 is also stored in the memory 505.

  When printing processing is performed by the network printer, the print data is sent to the printer engine 508 via the printer engine interface 507 and printed.

  Since the network printer can take various configurations, FIG. 5 is merely an example.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the internal configuration of a network printer having the function of a HUB that is a network relay device.

  Each of the LAN interfaces 601 to 603 is connected to a network printer constituting a network, and corresponds to 403 to 405 in FIG. 4 in this embodiment. The LAN interface 604 is connected to another LAN, the network 407 in FIG. 4 in this embodiment. Data packets transmitted and received from these LAN interfaces are decoded by the CPU 606 via the internal bus 605 and set in the port by a control signal 607 from the CPU 606.

  The memory 608 is used as a CPU program and data area, and is also used to store data packets obtained from the LAN interfaces 601 to 604. Since the memory 608 is directly connected to each LAN interface via the internal bus 605, high-speed access is possible, and a monitoring job from a network printer print job connected to each port can be stored as a monitoring print job 609. ing.

  An internal bus 610 connects the CPU 606 to the memory 608, the printer engine interface 611, and the printer engine 612, and is used for transferring a print job when the CPU 606 transfers a program or performs printing.

  Since the HUB that is a network relay device can have various configurations, FIG. 6 having both the printer and HUB functions is merely an example.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram representing an example of a sequence of a client computer, a network printer, and a network printer that monitors a print job in this embodiment.

  Since the printer 2, which is one of the network printer groups, does not have its own print job and the load is light, the monitoring mode is notified to the HUB that is a network relay device in order to shift to the monitoring mode, and the HUB is a port connected to the printer 2 Is set to a port for broadcasting a print job to another printer (referred to herein as a monitor port). In this state, when the client computer sends the print job 1 to the monitored printer 1, the print job 1 is also broadcast to the monitored printer 2, and the printer 1 performs printing and the printer 2 stores the print job. When printing on the printer 1 is normally completed, the monitoring printer 2 discards the print job 1.

  Next, the print job 2 for the monitored printer 1 is similarly stored in the monitoring printer 1. When a printing failure occurs in the printer 1, a failure notification is sent to the client computer and the monitoring printer 2. Then, the fact that the print job 2 can be processed continuously is transmitted to the client computer. If the proxy permission is granted, the monitored printer 1 is notified of canceling the print job 2 and the client computer is notified of the cancellation of the print fault to prompt the restart of the print job, and the monitoring printer 2 performs proxy printing.

  The sequence when a print job for the printer in this monitoring mode occurs is shown below. Here, when a print job 3 for the monitoring printer 2 occurs, a monitoring stop is sent to the HUB, and a request is made to stop the function as a monitor port for other printers. When the printer 2 finishes the print job 3 for itself, the printer 2 sends a transition to the monitoring mode to the HUB again.

  Next, a case where the printer 1 requests the printer 2 to monitor the print job 4 will be described.

  If the monitored printer 1 determines that the print job 4 is likely to cause a print failure, the monitored printer 1 requests the monitor printer 2 to monitor the print job. Upon receiving the request, the monitoring printer monitors and stores the print job 4 to prepare for a print failure. If the print job ends normally, the monitoring print job 4 is discarded to complete the sequence.

  These print job monitoring operations are continued between network printers connected to the network relay device.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen of the client computer.

  When printing is performed on the network printer 1 in the sequence diagram of FIG. 7, a response is received indicating that a printing failure has occurred and the printer 2 is in the print job monitoring mode for the printer 1 and that the corresponding print job can be printed. Is displayed. Here, the printer 1 is in a print failure state and cannot continue printing, and the printer 2 stores a print job and indicates the conditions under which the print job can be continued. This shows that the printer 3 is on standby and can cancel the print job to the printer 1 and retransmit the print job to the printer 3. If the proxy printing continuation of the printer 2 is selected on this screen, the process proceeds to the proxy printing sequence of the printer 2 in FIG.

  In the present invention, a storage medium in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the CPU or MPU of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can be achieved by reading and executing.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the CPU or MPU, the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, and the OS or the like performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. The function of the above-described embodiment can also be realized by this processing.

  Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a program is distributed to a requester via a communication line from a storage medium in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded.

Flowchart showing the operation of the network / monitoring printer of this embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the network relay apparatus (HUB) in a present Example. Flowchart showing an example of operation of the monitored printer in this embodiment The figure which showed the network structure of HUB, a client computer, a network printer, and a server in a present Example. The figure which showed an example of the internal structure of the network printer of a present Example The figure which showed an example of the internal structure of the printer which has a HUB function of a present Example The figure which shows an example of the sequence between the client computer in this embodiment, a network printer, and HUB. The figure which shows an example of the monitor screen of the client computer in a present Example

Explanation of symbols

402 Client computer (s)
403 to 405 Network printer 406 Network relay device (HUB)
501, 601-604 LAN interface 502, 606 CPU
503, 607 LAN interface control signal 505, 608 Memory 506, 609 Monitoring print jobs 1-3
507, 611 Printer engine interface 508, 612 Printer engine 801 Client computer monitor 805 Printer status display pop-up screen

Claims (8)

In a network system in which a client computer and a computer group are connected to a network printer and a printer group by a network relay device,
Means for notifying the network relay device of the shift to the print job monitoring mode;
Means for determining whether the monitored print job can be subjected to proxy printing;
Means for monitoring and storing monitored print jobs;
A means for delegating and printing a monitored print job;
A network print job monitoring printer. The network print job monitoring printer according to claim 1.
As a condition to determine the proxy possibility for the monitored print job,
Means for judging from the print attributes of client / driver type, print paper type / size, resolution, duplex printing, color / monochrome, stapling presence / absence of sorter,
A network print job monitoring printer. The network print job monitoring printer according to claim 1.
As a condition to determine the proxy possibility for the monitored print job,
Means for determining the load of the monitoring printer and the presence or absence of a print job for the monitoring printer;
A network print job monitoring printer. The network print job monitoring printer according to claim 1.
Means for notifying / registering a printer capable of monitoring the network relay device;
A network print job monitoring printer. The network print job monitoring printer according to claim 1.
Means for confirming approval of the print job to the client computer;
A network print job monitoring printer. According to the instruction of the network print job monitoring printer,
Means for switching the transfer path of the print job packet to the client computer, the monitored printer, and the monitored printer;
A network relay device characterized by comprising: In the network printer and the network relay device,
Means for determining the possibility of occurrence of a printing failure in a network printer;
Means for registering criteria for determining the possibility of printing failure;
A network printer comprising means for requesting a monitoring printer to monitor a print job when the possibility of occurrence of a printing fault exceeds a criterion. The network printer according to claim 7.
A network printer comprising a threshold for remaining toner, remaining paper, and jam frequency as means for determining the possibility of occurrence of a printing failure.

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