JP2006277034A - Distributed printing controller and method for determining candidate for receiving printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique making it possible to immediately print all the copies to be printed by determining printers where the consumable supplies needed for printing will not run out as receiving printers during printing based on a distributed print job. <P>SOLUTION: A distributed printing controller is capable of determining candidates for receiving printers when a print job sent via a network is distributed to receiving printers which serve as receiving ends among printers connected to the network. The distributed printing controller includes a residual amount inquiry part for acquiring residual amount information by asking at least one of the printers about residual amount information related to the residual amount of consumable supplies needed for printing; and a candidate determining part for determining as candidates for receiving printers the printers where the residual amount of consumable supplies is determined to be not less than a predetermined value according to the residual amount information that the residual amount inquiry part has acquired, among the printers that the residual amount inquiry part has asked about the residual amount information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a distributed printing system that distributes a print job to a plurality of printing apparatuses connected to a network.

  In recent years, printing systems in which a plurality of printing apparatuses are connected to the same network and a user can use the plurality of printing apparatuses properly are becoming widespread. In such a printing system, so-called distributed printing has also been proposed in which printing is completed in a short time by distributing print jobs to each printing apparatus in parallel (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-215368 A

  As a distributed printing system that performs the above-described distributed printing, a plurality of printers connected to a network, a client that generates a print job, and a printer having a distributed printing control function (hereinafter referred to as “distributed”). A distribution printing system that determines a distribution destination printer from a plurality of printers and distributes a print job to the determined distribution destination printer. ing.

In the distributed printing system described above, the distribution source printer determines the distribution destination printer by the following method.
When a user has created a distribution destination specification file that specifies printer candidates that are to be used as distribution destinations and stored them in the distribution source printer, the distribution source printer is first specified in the distribution destination specification file. Inquires the printer for the model name, receives a print job sent from another client, etc., whether an error such as a paper jam has occurred and the printer is ready for printing (online status). It is inquired whether the received print job is being printed or not.
The distribution source printer is the same model as the distribution source printer, is in an online state, determines a printer that satisfies all four conditions of not receiving a print job and not printing a print job as a distribution destination printer. It was.

  Of these conditions, by imposing the condition “Online”, printers that have generated errors such as out of paper or paper jam and cannot be printed immediately are excluded from the candidates for the distribution destination printer. I am doing so. “Print job data is not being received” means that the target printer includes not only print job data transmitted from the distribution source printer but also print job data transmitted from other devices (such as a computer). It means that the print job data is not being received, and “print job data is not being printed” means that the received print job data is not being printed. Even if the printer is in an online state, a printer that is receiving or printing print job data may generate an error such as a paper jam, out of paper, or out of toner during printing or when printing is completed. By imposing this condition, such a printer having such a possibility is excluded from the candidates for the distribution destination printer.

  Also, the same model as the distribution source printer is assumed that the quality of the printed matter at each distribution destination printer is determined by causing each distribution destination printer to perform proper printing without converting the data of the print job. This is to unify (for example, resolution and font).

  When the distribution destination printer is determined as described above, a printer having a small amount of consumables necessary for printing such as toner and ink, paper, and photoconductor may be determined as the distribution destination printer. is there. In this case, the printer may run out of toner or paper during printing according to the distributed print job, and may not be able to print all copies to be printed immediately.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and determines a printer that does not run out of consumables necessary for printing during printing according to a distributed print job as a distribution destination printer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that can immediately print all copies to be printed.

  In order to solve at least a part of the above-described problems, a distributed printing control apparatus according to the present invention is configured to distribute a print job transmitted via a network to a distribution destination that is a distribution destination among the printing apparatuses connected to the network. A distributed printing control apparatus capable of determining candidates for the distribution destination printing apparatus when distributed to a printing apparatus, and is required for printing with respect to at least one of the printing apparatuses. Queries the remaining amount information related to the remaining amount of consumables, and obtains the remaining amount information. Based on the remaining amount information acquired by the remaining amount inquiring unit, the remaining amount inquiring unit A candidate determination unit that determines, among the printing apparatuses that have inquired about the remaining amount information, the printing apparatus whose remaining amount of consumables can be determined as a predetermined value or more as a candidate for the distribution destination printing apparatus. Essential To.

With this configuration, the remaining amount inquiry unit inquires and acquires at least one printing apparatus the remaining amount information related to the remaining amount of consumables necessary for printing. Based on this remaining amount information, it is possible to determine whether or not the remaining amount of consumables is greater than or equal to a predetermined value in the inquired printing apparatus. Therefore, the candidate determination unit can determine a printing apparatus that can be determined that the remaining amount of consumables is equal to or greater than a predetermined value as a candidate for the distribution destination printing apparatus.
If the predetermined value is set to a sufficiently large value, the candidate determination unit determines a printing device having a sufficient amount of consumables as a candidate for the distribution destination printing device. The print job can be distributed to the distribution destination printing apparatuses remaining in the printer. As a result, it is possible to avoid running out of consumables during printing according to the distributed print job, and it is possible to print all copies to be printed immediately.

  In the distributed printing control apparatus, the candidate determination unit may have a larger remaining amount of the consumable that can be determined based on the remaining amount information when determining a candidate for the distribution destination printing apparatus. It is preferable to determine the priority order for the candidates for the distribution destination printing apparatus so that the higher the order is.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to determine the distribution destination printing device from the candidates for the distribution destination printing device in order according to this priority, and to assign the number of copies to be printed.

  In the distributed printing control apparatus, when the transmitted print job includes print copy number information and the number of copies indicated by the print copy number information is m (where m is an integer of 2 or more), the distributed print control device When distributing the print job so that the total number of distribution copies to be allocated to the destination printing device is the m copies, the candidates for the distribution destination printing device determined by the candidate determination unit are allocated in order according to the priority order. A distributed number determining unit that determines the number of distributed parts may be provided by repeatedly assigning a predetermined unit number of copies until the total number of copies reaches m parts.

  By adopting such a configuration, the distribution number determination unit gives higher priority to printing devices that have a higher remaining amount of consumables and are less likely to run out of consumables among the candidates for the distribution destination printing device. Since the predetermined unit number of copies is repeatedly assigned in order as the distribution destination printing device, the consumables are eliminated in the distribution destination printing device in the middle of printing according to the distributed print job with a higher possibility. Can do.

  In the distributed printing control apparatus, when the transmitted print job includes print copy number information and the number of copies indicated by the print copy number information is m (where m is an integer of 2 or more), the distributed print control device When the print job is distributed so that the total number of distributed copies to be allocated to the destination printing device is the m copies, the m copies are made equal to the candidates for the distribution destination printing device determined by the candidate determination unit. And a distribution number determination unit for determining the distribution number by allocating a predetermined number of copies in order according to the priority order.

  By adopting such a configuration, the distribution number determination unit gives higher priority to printing devices that have a higher remaining amount of consumables and are less likely to run out of consumables among the candidates for the distribution destination printing device. It is possible to allocate the number of distribution copies as a distribution destination printing device at a higher value, and in the distribution destination printing device, avoiding consumables in the middle of printing according to a distributed print job with a higher possibility. it can.

  In the distributed printing control apparatus, the consumable item may be a printing material such as toner or ink.

  Since printing materials such as toner and ink are consumables necessary for printing, printing according to the distributed printing job is performed by distributing the printing job to the distribution destination printing apparatus in which these printing materials remain sufficiently. It is possible to avoid running out of these printing materials in the middle of printing, and it is possible to print all copies to be printed immediately.

  The present invention can be configured as a printing apparatus incorporating the distributed printing control apparatus in addition to the above-described structure as the distributed printing control apparatus. Further, the present invention is not limited to such an aspect of the apparatus invention, and can be realized as a method invention such as a distribution destination printing apparatus candidate determination method. Further, aspects as a computer program for configuring those methods and apparatuses, aspects as a recording medium recording such a computer program, data signals embodied in a carrier wave including the computer program, etc. It can also be realized in various ways.

  When the present invention is configured as a computer program or a recording medium on which the program is recorded, the entire program for controlling the distributed printing control apparatus may be configured, or only a part that performs the functions of the present invention is configured. It may be a thing. In addition, as a recording medium, various media that can be read by a computer such as a ROM cartridge, a punched card, a printed matter printed with a code such as a bar code, an internal storage device of a computer (memory such as RAM or ROM), and an external storage device Can be used.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. Example:
A1. Overview of distributed printing system configuration and distributed printing process:
A2. Overview of printer configuration:
A3. Candidate printer decision processing and distributed printing processing:
A4. Effects of the embodiment:
B. Variations:

A. Example:
A1. Overview of distributed printing system configuration and distributed printing process:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a distributed printing system as an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the distributed printing system includes a client PC (hereinafter abbreviated as a client) CL and a plurality of printers PRT1 to PRT5 that perform printing using toner as a printing material. PRT1 to PRT5 are connected to the local area network LAN1. Each of these devices is assigned a fixed IP address in advance. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that addresses “IPc” and “IP1” to “IP5” are set in the client CL and the printers PRT1 to PRT5, respectively.

  Among these printers, a custom network board CNB is attached to the printer PRT1. When the custom network board CNB receives a print job, the custom network board CNB determines a destination printer candidate to which the print job is to be distributed, and also determines a destination printer from the candidate printers and distributes the print job. And a distributed printing control function for executing distributed printing, and corresponds to the distributed printing control device in the claims. On the other hand, a standard network board (not shown) is attached to each of the other printers.

As an example, the case where the communication data DT0 including the print job is transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1 is illustrated in the drawing.
The communication data DT0 is roughly divided into a header and print job data. In the header, the IP address “IP1” of the printer PRT1 that is the transmission destination of the communication data DT0 is set as the transmission destination IP address. “19100” is described as a port number (transmission destination port number) for specifying transmission destination software in the PRT 1. In the print job data, “20” is described as the QT value representing the number of copies, which is the number of copies information.

  In this embodiment, a non-procedural protocol is used as a printing protocol. In the non-procedural protocol, “9100” is normally assigned as the port number. In this embodiment, when a print job is transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1 having the distributed print control function, the normal “ “19100” is used instead of “9100”.

  When receiving the communication data DT0, the custom network board CNB of the printer PRT1 passes the print job data to the software waiting at the port number “19100”. In this embodiment, distributed printing software for realizing the distributed printing control function is waiting at the port “19100”. A functional unit realized by the CPU according to the distributed printing software first stores print job data in a memory (not shown). Then, a printer satisfying a predetermined condition is searched from printers connected to the local area network LAN1, and a distribution destination printer candidate (hereinafter referred to as a “candidate printer”) is determined.

  For example, if the printer PRT1 and the printer PRT1 as well as the printers PRT2 and PRT3 are determined as candidate printers, the above-mentioned functional unit prints the 20 units distributed by the three printers PRT1 to PRT3. The number of distributed copies to be printed by each of the printers PRT1 to PRT3 is determined. As a result, for example, when 6 copies, 7 copies, and 7 copies are determined as the number of copies for the printers PRT1 to PRT3, the QT value included in the print job data is set to “ 6 ”and the transmission destination port number is changed to“ 9100 ”instead of“ 19100 ”, and the communication data DT1 is transmitted. Similarly, the QT value is changed to “7 copies”, the transmission destination port is changed to “9100”, and the communication data DT2, 3 are transmitted to the printers PRT2, 3, respectively.

  On the other hand, when the standard network board of the printer PRT2 receives the communication data DT2, it passes the print job data to the software waiting at the port number “9100”. As described above, since the port number “9100” is a port number that is normally assigned to the non-procedural protocol that is the printing protocol, the print job data is transferred to the print control software in the printer PRT2, Printing according to the print job is executed.

In the printer PRT1 having a distributed print control function as well as the other printers PRT3, similarly, printing according to the transmitted print job is executed.
Accordingly, each of the printers PRT1 to PRT3 performs printing of “6 copies”, “7 copies”, and “7 copies”, respectively, and a total of “20 copies” is distributed throughout the system. Will be.
The distribution destination designation file shown in FIG. 1 and the remaining toner values of the printers PRT1 to PRT5 will be described later.

  In the distributed printing system of the present invention, when distributed printing is performed as described above, a distribution destination printer is determined based on the remaining amount of toner of each printer, and a priority order is set for the distribution destination printer, and the priority order is determined. By distributing the print job, the possibility of running out of toner during distributed printing is reduced, and all copies to be printed can be printed immediately.

A2. Overview of printer configuration:
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram mainly showing the configuration of the printer PRT1 in FIG. The printer PRT1 includes a printer main body PRB and the custom network board CNB described above. Among these, the printer main body PRB mainly includes a printer engine 41, a printer controller 42, and a memory 43. The printer engine 41 is a mechanism portion that actually performs printing. The memory 43 includes an MIB storage unit 43a that stores an MIB (Management Information Base) indicating management information such as the operating state of the printer main body PRB and the remaining amount of toner.

  The printer controller 42 receives print job data from the custom network board CNB and stores it in the memory 43, reads out the print job stored from the memory 43, and controls the printer engine 41 according to the print job to execute printing. Further, the printer controller 42 detects the operation state of the printer main body PRB (for example, “printing one copy”, “paper jam”, etc.), and sets these information in the MIB stored in the MIB storage unit 43a. . Further, each time printing is executed in the printer engine 41, the printer controller 42 accumulates and calculates the number of printed sheets and the dot count of the printing surface to predict the remaining amount of toner, and sets the predicted remaining amount of toner in the MIB. Then, in response to an inquiry from a candidate printer determination unit 23 to be described later, the printer controller 42 returns information on the operation state and toner remaining amount set in the MIB to the candidate printer determination unit 23.

On the other hand, the custom network board CNB mainly includes a CPU 20 and a memory 30. In addition, although a communication interface for actually performing network communication is also provided, it is omitted for convenience of explanation.
Among these, the memory 30 includes a remaining toner threshold storage unit 31 that stores a remaining toner threshold used when determining a destination printer, and a destination designation file storage unit that stores a destination designation file. 32.

  Here, the distribution destination designation file is used to specify and limit in advance a printer to be used as a distribution destination as long as a predetermined condition is satisfied among a plurality of printers connected to the local area network LAN1. This file is used for. Further, the threshold value of the remaining amount of toner is a threshold value for designating, as one of the predetermined conditions, how much toner remains in the printer as a destination printer.

  The CPU 20 functions as each functional block shown by reading and executing the above-described distributed printing software from the memory 30. Here, the arrows between the functional blocks indicate the flow of data. Each functional block may be constructed in hardware.

  Among these functional blocks, the TCP / IP interpreter 21 interprets the TCP / IP protocol and communicates with the outside via the network. Specifically, a destination IP address and a destination port number included in the received communication data are detected, or a destination IP address and a destination port number are assigned to the communication data to be transmitted. The non-procedural protocol interpretation units 22A and 22B interpret a non-procedural protocol that is a printing protocol. In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, when the communication data is transmitted as the transmission destination port number with the normal “9100”, the non-procedural protocol interpreting unit 22B functions and is transmitted with the specific “19100”. If there is, the non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 22A functions.

The candidate printer determination unit 23, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, determines candidate printers that satisfy a predetermined condition from printers on the local area network LAN1, and determines the priority order of the candidate printers. The copy number determination unit 24 determines the distribution destination printer and also determines the number of distribution copies to be distributed to each distribution destination printer.
The distribution processing unit 25 stores the print job data received from the client CL in the memory 30, and rewrites the QT value indicating the number of print copies of the stored print job with the QT value indicating the number of distribution copies determined by the number of copies determination unit 24. After that, the print job data is distributed to each distribution destination printer.
The candidate printer determination unit 23 corresponds to the remaining amount inquiry unit and the candidate determination unit described in the claims, and the copy number determination unit 24 corresponds to the distribution copy number determination unit described in the claims.

In FIG. 2, the printer PRT2 has almost the same function and configuration as the printer main body PRB in the printer PRT1 described above. Specifically, in addition to the printer engine 54, the printer controller 53, and the memory 55 (having the MIB storage unit 55a), a non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 52 and a TCP / IP interpretation unit 51 are provided as functional blocks. Although FIG. 1 shows the printer PRT2 as a representative, the printers PRT3 to PRT5 have the same configuration as the printer PRT2.
In addition to the application 13, the client CL includes a non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 12 and a TCP / IP interpretation unit 11 as functional blocks.

A3. Candidate printer decision processing and distributed printing processing:
Subsequently, the distributed printing process and the candidate printer determination process which is a part of the distributed printing process and is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail. First, as a premise, the user stores the remaining toner threshold value in the remaining toner threshold storage unit 31 shown in FIG. 2, and the distribution destination designation file in the distribution destination designation file storage unit 32, respectively. . Specifically, when the user installs the printer PRT1 and performs initial setting, the printer PRT1 is connected to a setting computer or the like, and as for the remaining toner threshold value, the printer in which toner is 30% or more remains. “30%” is stored as a threshold value. Similarly, with respect to the distribution destination designation file, in order to designate all the printers PRT1 to PRT5 shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the distribution destination designation in which IP addresses IP1 to IP5 are described. Store the file.

  Furthermore, as a premise, when the printer PRT1 is powered on by the user, the printer main body PRB and the custom network board CNB are activated, and the candidate printer determination unit 23 acquires the model name of the printer PRT1 from the printer controller 42. To do. Specifically, the candidate printer determination unit 23 designates the IP address “IP1” of its own printer PRT1 as the destination IP address, and queries the model name using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), whereby the CPU 20 The model name is requested to the printer controller 42 via the bus, and the response is received.

  In this embodiment, the remaining amount of toner in each of the printers PRT1 to PRT5 is 30%, 70%, 50%, 5%, and 0.8%, respectively, as shown in FIG. In PRT5, these values are set to MIB by the printer controller.

  Based on the above assumptions, when a print job is transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1, a printer having a remaining amount of toner equal to or greater than a predetermined value (30%) is determined as a candidate printer, and priority is given to the candidate printer. A case where a print job can be distributed according to this priority order will be described as an example.

  When performing distributed printing, the user confirms that the print protocol setting is set to the non-procedural protocol in the printer driver in the client CL, and then sets the port number to the normal “9100”. To a specific “19100”. That is, in this embodiment, by switching the setting of the port number, normal printing is selected for the normal “9100” and distributed printing is selected for the specific “19100”.

  Therefore, when the user issues a print command to the client CL with the number of prints “20”, the application 13 in the client CL shown in FIG. 2 performs a print job with the QT value indicating the number of copies set to “20”. The data is transmitted to the printer PRT 1 via the non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 12 and the TCP / IP interpretation unit 11. At this time, the non-procedural protocol interpreting unit 12 transmits communication data including a print job according to the non-procedural protocol that is a printing protocol, and the TCP / IP interpreting unit 11 uses the communication data as a transmission destination IP address. “IP1” of the printer PRT1 is designated, and “19100” is designated as the transmission destination port number instead of the usual “9100”.

  As a result, communication data DT0 as shown in FIG. 1 is transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1. That is, the communication data DT0 describes “IP1” as the destination IP address, “19100” as the destination port number, and “20” as the QT value (that is, the number of copies).

  In the printer PRT1, the TCP / IP interpreter 21 receives the communication data according to the destination IP address “IP1” included in the communication data DT0, and the destination port number included in the communication data is “19100”. Therefore, it is passed to the non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 22A that handles the communication data transmitted in “19100”.

  On the other hand, the distributed processing unit 25 stands by until a print job arrives at the port number “19100”. When the non-procedural protocol interpreting unit 22A receives communication data including a print job according to the non-procedural protocol, the non-procedural protocol interpreting unit 22A passes the print job data to the distributed processing unit 25 waiting at the port number “19100”. The distributed processing unit 25 stores the received communication data in the memory 30. When the communication data is stored in the memory 30, the candidate printer determination unit 23 executes candidate printer determination processing, which is a characteristic part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of candidate printer determination processing executed by the candidate printer determination unit 23.
When the candidate printer determination process shown in FIG. 3 is started, the candidate printer determination unit 23 shown in FIG. 2 reads the distribution destination designation file from the distribution destination designation file storage unit 32, and the IP specified in the distribution destination designation file. Each device of the address is inquired of its model using SNMP, and a printer of the same model as its own printer PRT1 is extracted based on the responded model name (step S102). As described above, the reason why the printer of the same model as the printer PRT1 is extracted is to cause each distribution destination printer to perform proper printing without performing data conversion of the print job, as in the conventional distributed printing system. This is to unify the quality of the printed matter at each distribution destination printer.

  As described above, the candidate printer determination unit 23 has already acquired the model name of the printer PRT1 when the printer PRT1 is turned on. Based on the acquired model name, the candidate printer determination unit 23 extracts a printer of the same model as the printer PRT1 itself.

  Also, the reason for inquiring the model name for the device having the IP address specified in the distribution destination specification file is as follows. In other words, after creating the distribution destination specification file, the IP address described in the distribution destination specification file is allocated to a printer of a different model from the printer PRT1 or to a device other than the printer by replacing the device. This is to check whether the printer is the same model as the printer PRT1 of its own. Furthermore, it is simultaneously confirmed that the device having the IP address specified in the distribution destination specification file is actually turned on and the network path is reachable.

Next, the candidate printer determination unit 23 inquires of the printer extracted in the process of step S102 about the operation state using SNMP. In this case, as described above, the printer controller of each printer reads the value set for the operation state from the MIB and returns it to the candidate printer determination unit 23. Based on this, a printer that satisfies the following three conditions is selected as a candidate printer (step S104).
1) Online state.
2) Print job data is not being received.
3) The print job data is not being printed.

  Note that these three conditions are the same as the conditions imposed when determining the distribution destination printer in the conventional distributed printing system, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the candidate printer determination unit 23 determines whether or not one or more printers have been selected as the above candidate printers (step S106). If they have not been selected, steps S102 and S104 are performed again. Execute the process.
On the other hand, when one or more printers are selected, the candidate printer determination unit 23 creates a distribution destination candidate file in which the IP address of the candidate printer is described and stores it in the memory 30 (step S108).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the distribution destination candidate file stored in the memory 30.
In FIG. 4, (A) to (C) all indicate the contents of the distribution destination candidate file, and the contents change in this order in the candidate printer determination process.
As shown in FIG. 1, when only the printer PRT5 is printing, the printers PRT1 to PRT4 other than the printer PRT5 are selected as candidate printers as a result of the process of step S104. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4A, the distribution destination candidate file in which the IP addresses IP1 to IP4 are described is stored in the memory 30.

  Next, the candidate printer determination unit 23 reads the distribution destination candidate file from the memory 30, inquires each candidate printer for the remaining amount of toner using SNMP or the like, and determines the remaining amount of toner based on the response result. (Step S110). When the remaining amount of toner in the printers PRT1 to PRT4 is the value shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4B, the remaining amount of toner is recorded following the IP address.

Next, the candidate printer determination unit 23 reads the remaining toner threshold value from the remaining toner threshold storage unit 31, and the remaining toner value of each candidate printer described in the distribution destination candidate file. The printers with the remaining amount of toner smaller than the threshold are excluded from the candidate printers, and the printers are deleted from the distribution destination candidate file (step S112).
As described above, when the threshold value “30%” is set, among the printers PRT1 to PRT4 that are candidate printers, the remaining amount of toner is 5% for the printer PRT4. Will be removed.

Next, the candidate printer determination unit 23 determines whether or not one or more printers that satisfy the condition regarding the remaining amount of toner remain as candidate printers (step S114). The decision process is terminated.
On the other hand, if there are one or more candidate printers, the priority order is determined in descending order of the remaining amount of toner, and the priority order is recorded in the distribution destination candidate file (step S116).

  As described above, when the printers PRT1 to PRT3 other than the printer PRT4 clear the condition regarding the remaining amount of toner, the remaining amounts of toner of the printers PRT1 to PRT3 are “30%”, “70%”, and “50”, respectively. Therefore, the priority order is “printer PRT2”, second place “printer PRT3”, third place “printer PRT1”. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4C, the priority order is recorded in front of the IP address of each printer in the distribution destination candidate file.

  As a result of the candidate printer determination process described above, the printers PRT2, PRT3, PRT1 are determined as candidate printers, and the priority order is determined in this order.

When the candidate printer is determined, the copy number determination unit 24 illustrated in FIG. 2 reads the distribution destination candidate file and the print job data from the memory 30 and determines the number of distribution copies to be allocated to each distribution destination candidate file.
Specifically, as described above, when the printers PRT2, PRT3, and PRT1 are determined as candidate printers and priorities are determined in this order, the QT value of the print job data is “20 copies”. In such a case, the number of copies is determined as follows. That is, in order to assign each candidate printer almost equally, “6 copies” is assigned to each candidate printer, and two copies of the fraction are assigned in order according to the priority order. As a result, “6 copies” is assigned to the printer PRT1, “7 copies” is assigned to the printer PRT2, and “7 copies” is assigned to the PRT3.

As described above, when one or more copies are assigned to the printers PRT1 to PRT3 which are candidate printers, all the printers PRT1 to PRT3 become distribution destination printers.
On the other hand, if the QT value of the print job data is less than the number of candidate printers, for example, “2 copies”, the number of distribution copies is assumed to be assigned to each of the high priority printers PRT2 and PRT3. Will be decided. In this case, one or more distributed copies are assigned to the printers PRT2 and PRT3, so that they are the destination printers. However, since the number of distributed copies is not assigned to the printer PRT1, the printers are not the destination printers.

  When the candidate printer and the number of distribution copies to be assigned to each candidate printer are determined in this way, the distribution processing unit 25 sets the QT value (20 copies) for the received print job to the determined number of distribution copies (6 Or 7 copies), and sent to each destination printer via the non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 22B and the TCP / IP interpretation unit 21, respectively. At this time, the non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 22B transmits communication data including the print job in accordance with the non-procedural protocol that is a printing protocol. The TCP / IP interpreter 21 designates the IP address of each distribution destination printer as the destination IP address of the communication data, and the destination port number is not the port number at the time of reception, The port number “9100” normally assigned by the procedure protocol is designated.

  For example, as described above, when the printers PRT1 to PRT3 are determined as distribution destination printers, and “6 copies”, “7 copies”, and “7 copies” are assigned as the number of distribution copies, respectively, as shown in FIG. As described above, in the communication data DT1 to DT3 transmitted to each distribution destination printer, the destination IP address, the destination port number, and the QT value are specified as follows.

Communication data DT1 to the printer PRT1 → “IP1”, “9100”, “6 copies”
Communication data DT2 to printer PRT2 → “IP2”, “9100”, “7 copies”
Communication data DT3 to printer PRT3 → “IP3”, “9100”, “7 copies”

  In the printer PRT2, which is one of the distribution destination printers, as shown in FIG. 2, the TCP / IP interpreter 51 receives the communication data DT2 according to the transmission destination IP address “IP2” included in the communication data DT2, Further, since the transmission destination port number included in the communication data DT2 is “9100”, it is passed to the non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 52. The non-procedural protocol interpreting unit 52 receives communication data including a print job according to the non-procedural protocol, and passes the print job to the printer controller 53. The printer controller 53 reads “7 copies” as the number of copies from the QT value included in the print job data, and prints the specified number of copies, that is, “7 copies” to the printer engine 54 according to the print job. Is executed.

  Similarly, the printer PRT3, which is another distribution destination printer, executes printing according to the print job for the designated number of copies “7”.

  In the self printer PRT1 that is the distribution destination printer, the TCP / IP interpreter 21 receives the transmitted communication data DT1 based on the destination IP address “IP1” included in the communication data DT1. Further, since the transmission destination port number included in the communication data DT1 is “9100”, the TCP / IP interpretation unit 21 performs the non-procedure handling the communication data transmitted with “9100” as in the case of normal printing. It is passed to the protocol interpretation unit 22B. The non-procedural protocol interpretation unit 22B receives communication data including a print job according to the non-procedural protocol, and passes the print job to the printer controller 42. The printer controller 42 reads “6 copies” as the number of copies from the QT value included in the print job data, and executes the printing according to the print job to the printer engine 41 by the designated number of copies “6 copies”. Let

As described above, in the printers PRT1 to PRT3 that are the distribution destination printers, printing of “6 copies”, “7 copies”, and “7 copies” is executed, respectively. 20 copies "distributed printing will be executed.
In this way, printers having a remaining amount of toner equal to or greater than the predetermined value (30%) are determined as candidate printers, and priorities are set according to the remaining amount of toner for these candidate printers, and printing is performed according to the priorities. Jobs can be distributed and executed.

A4. Effects of the embodiment:
As described above, in the printer PRT1 having the distributed printing control function, the candidate printer determination unit 23 inquires about the remaining amount of toner in addition to the operating state for each printer when determining the candidate printer. I am doing so. Therefore, the candidate printer determination unit 23 can remove printers having a remaining amount of toner less than the threshold value from the candidate printers.

  In addition, since the candidate printer determination unit 23 excludes printers having a remaining amount of toner less than the threshold from the candidate printers, the user can set an arbitrary threshold to determine the remaining amount of toner. Conditions can be set arbitrarily. Therefore, it is possible to set a threshold value so that a printer with a small amount of toner is not determined as a distribution destination printer. By setting the threshold value in this way, printing is being performed according to a distributed print job. Thus, it can be avoided that all the copies to be printed cannot be printed immediately.

In addition, priority is given to the candidate printers in the order of the remaining amount of toner, and the number of distribution copies to be assigned is determined according to this priority order. It is possible to assign more distributed copies to a candidate printer with a larger amount of remaining toner, although it is at most one copy.
As a result, it is possible to avoid the fact that the toner runs out during printing according to the distributed print job and it is not possible to print all the copies to be printed immediately.

B. Variations:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible. .

B1. Modification 1:
In the above-described embodiment, the custom network board CNB included in the printer PRT1 has a configuration having distributed print control functions such as determination of candidate printers, determination of the number of distributed copies, distribution of print jobs to each distribution destination printer, The present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a server may be installed separately from each printer, and the server may have a distributed print control function. Even in such a configuration, the threshold of the remaining amount of toner is stored in advance in the server, and the server inquires each printer of the remaining amount of toner and the like. Printers that are equal to or greater than the value can be determined as candidate printers, and the print job can be distributed.

B2. Modification 2:
In the embodiment described above, when the number of distributed copies to be printed by each candidate printer is assigned, a print job having this distributed number of copies as a QT value is transmitted to each candidate printer one by one. The invention is not limited to this. For example, a print job having a QT value of “1 copy” is sequentially transmitted to each candidate printer according to the priority order, and this print job is processed until the total value of the transmitted print jobs reaches the value of the allocated number of distributed copies. May be repeatedly executed.

For example, as in the above-described embodiment, when the priority order is determined in the order of the printers PRT2, PRT3, PRT1, print jobs having a QT value of “1 copy” in the order of the printers PRT2, PRT3, PRT1, respectively. Send repeatedly. Then, when such a print job is transmitted to the printer PRT3 seven times, the total value of the print jobs transmitted to the printers PRT1 to PRT3 becomes “20”, and therefore the transmission of the print job is stopped.
Even in this case, as in the above-described embodiment, the printers PRT1 to PRT3 print “6 copies”, “7 copies”, and “7 copies”, respectively, and distribute the print jobs according to the priority order. Printing can be executed.

B3. Modification 3:
In the embodiment described above, a printer having a remaining amount of toner less than the threshold value is set as a candidate printer. However, a printer having a threshold value or less may be set as a candidate printer. Further, instead of the threshold value, a toner remaining amount range (for example, 30% or more and less than 70%) may be set, and a printer having the remaining toner amount within this range may be set as a candidate printer.

B4. Modification 4:
In the above-described embodiment, the threshold value of the remaining toner amount is stored in the printer PRT1, and the candidate printer determination unit 23 compares the remaining toner value acquired from each candidate printer with this threshold value to determine the final value. Although candidate printers are determined on the basis of this, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, each printer stores a threshold value for the remaining amount of toner, and each time the printer controller of each printer predicts the remaining amount of toner, the threshold value is compared with the predicted remaining toner amount. Information indicating whether or not the remaining amount of toner falls below the threshold value may be set in the MIB. Then, the candidate printer determination unit 23 inquires and acquires information indicating “whether or not the remaining amount of toner is below” from each candidate printer, and removes the printers that are below the remaining amount of toner from the candidate printers. That's fine.
Even in this case, it is possible to remove a printer having a toner remaining amount smaller than the threshold value from the candidate printers.

In each printer, if the remaining amount of toner is less than a threshold value (for example, 5%), printing is not permitted because there is a possibility that the print result may be faded during printing. Even in this case, a special print mode that permits printing (hereinafter referred to as “eco print mode”) is prepared, and when the on / off setting for this eco print mode can be set, the printer PRT1 Instead of the remaining amount of toner, it may be inquired about the on / off setting for the eco printing mode.
In this case, among the candidate printers, printers for which the eco printing mode is set to ON may be excluded from the candidate printers. In this way, it is possible to exclude printers with a remaining amount of toner less than 5% from candidate printers, and the printed matter on some of the destination printers differs from the printed matter on other destination printers. It can be avoided that the quality of the printed matter is not unified due to fading.

B5. Modification 5:
In the embodiment described above, the remaining toner amount is inquired to each candidate printer as a part of the candidate printer determination process. Instead, each candidate printer is inquired as a process separate from the candidate printer determination process. The remaining toner amount may be inquired.
For example, as a process separate from the candidate printer determination process, the printer PRT1 periodically inquires and acquires the remaining amount of ink from the printers PRT1 to PRT3. Then, when determining the candidate printer, the printer PRT1 may determine the candidate printer based on the acquired latest ink remaining amount.

B6. Modification 6:
In the above-described embodiment, as a candidate printer condition, in addition to the condition that the remaining amount of toner is equal to or greater than the threshold value, “the same model as the printer PRT1 of itself”, “online state”, “printing”. Although a total of four conditions of “not receiving job data” and “not printing print job data” have been imposed, the present invention is not limited to these four conditions. Other conditions may be added and imposed, or at least one of these conditions may be excluded.

B7. Modification 7:
In the above-described embodiment, when determining the number of distributed copies, the fractions assigned to each of the candidate printers are assigned one by one in order according to the priority order. The fractions may be allotted to the first priority printer.

B8. Modification 8:
In the embodiment described above, the distribution destination designation file is stored in the printer PRT1 in advance, but the present invention is not limited to this. If it is desired to use all printers connected to the local area network as a distribution destination as long as a predetermined condition is satisfied, the distribution destination designation file may not be used. In this case, using SNMP or the like, the broadcast is made to the local area network, the IP address of each device connected to the local area network is inquired, and the response IP address is further modeled. The candidate printer determination process shown in FIG. 3 may be executed by inquiring the name.

B9. Modification 9:
In the above-described embodiments, the printers PRT1 to PRT3 have been described with respect to an example in which printing is performed using toner as a printing material. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, an ink cartridge, an ink ribbon, or the like. Ink may be provided. In this case, the candidate printer and the priority order may be determined based on the remaining ink amount obtained by inquiring each printer.
In addition to the printing materials such as toner and ink, the candidate printers and the priority order may be determined based on the remaining amount of consumables necessary for printing such as a photoreceptor and printing paper. Even in this case, it is possible to avoid that these consumables are lost during printing according to the distributed print job, and it is not possible to immediately print all the copies to be printed.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a distributed printing system as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram mainly showing a configuration of a printer PRT1 in FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of candidate printer determination processing executed by a candidate printer determination unit 23. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a distribution destination candidate file stored in a memory 30.

Explanation of symbols

CL ... Client CNB ... Custom network board LAN1 ... Local area network PRT1 to PRT5 ... Printer PRB ... Printer body 11,21,51 ... TCP / IP interpreter 12, 22A, 22B , 52 ... Non-procedural protocol interpreter 13 ... Application 20 ... CPU
23 ... Candidate printer determination unit 24 ... Number of copies determination unit 25 ... Distribution processing unit 30, 43, 55 ... Memory 31 ... Toner level threshold storage unit 32 ... Distribution destination designation File storage unit 41, 54 ... Printer engine 42, 53 ... Printer controller 43a, 55a ... MIB storage unit

Claims (11)

When a print job transmitted via a network is distributed to a distribution destination printing device that is a distribution destination among printing devices connected to the network, the distribution destination printing device candidates can be determined. A distributed printing control device,
A remaining amount inquiry unit that inquires at least one printing device of the printing devices for remaining amount information related to the remaining amount of consumables necessary for printing, and acquires the remaining amount information;
Based on the remaining amount information acquired by the remaining amount inquiry unit, among the printing apparatuses in which the remaining amount inquiry unit inquires about the remaining amount information, the remaining amount of the consumables can be determined to be greater than or equal to a predetermined value. A candidate determination unit that determines a device as a candidate for the distribution destination printing device;
A distributed printing control apparatus. The distributed printing control apparatus according to claim 1,
When the candidate determining unit determines a candidate for the distribution destination printing apparatus, the higher the printing apparatus, the higher the remaining amount of the consumables that can be determined based on the remaining amount information is. A distributed printing control apparatus that determines a priority order for the candidates for the distribution destination printing apparatus. The distributed printing control apparatus according to claim 2,
When the transmitted print job includes print copy number information and the number of copies indicated by the print copy number information is m (where m is an integer of 2 or more), the total number of distributed copies to be allocated to the distribution destination printing apparatus In the case where the print job is distributed so as to be the m copies,
By repeatedly assigning the number of distributed copies to the candidates of the distribution destination printing apparatus determined by the candidate determining unit in order according to the priority order, by a predetermined unit number of copies until the total number of copies allocated becomes the m copies. A distributed printing control apparatus comprising: a distributed number determining unit for determining. The distributed printing control apparatus according to claim 2,
When the transmitted print job includes print copy number information and the number of copies indicated by the print copy number information is m (where m is an integer of 2 or more), the total number of distributed copies to be allocated to the distribution destination printing apparatus In the case where the print job is distributed so as to be the m copies,
By assigning the m copies to be equal to the candidates for the distribution destination printing apparatus determined by the candidate determination unit, and by assigning a predetermined number of unit copies in order according to the priority, A distributed printing control apparatus comprising a distributed number determining unit for determining the number of copies. The distributed printing control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The distributed printing control apparatus, wherein the consumable is a printing material such as toner or ink.   6. A printing apparatus comprising the distributed printing control apparatus according to claim 1. A distribution destination for determining candidates for the distribution destination printing device when a print job transmitted via the network is distributed to distribution destination printing devices among the printing devices connected to the network. A printing device candidate determination method comprising:
A first step of querying at least one printing device of the printing devices for remaining amount information related to a remaining amount of consumables necessary for printing, and acquiring the remaining amount information;
Based on the obtained remaining amount information, among the printing devices that have inquired about the remaining amount information, the printing device whose remaining amount of consumables can be determined to be a predetermined value or more is determined as a candidate for the distribution destination printing device. A second step of:
A destination printing apparatus candidate determination method comprising: The distribution destination printing apparatus candidate determination method according to claim 7,
For the determined candidates for the distribution destination printing apparatus, a priority order is determined such that the higher the printing apparatus, the higher the remaining amount of the consumables that can be determined based on the remaining amount information is. A distribution destination printing apparatus candidate determination method further comprising the step of: A computer program for determining a candidate for a distribution destination printing device when a print job transmitted via a network is distributed to a distribution destination printing device as a distribution destination among printing devices connected to the network Because
A function of querying at least one printing device among the printing devices for remaining amount information related to the remaining amount of consumables necessary for printing, and acquiring the remaining amount information;
Based on the obtained remaining amount information, among the printing devices that have inquired about the remaining amount information, the printing device whose remaining amount of consumables can be determined to be a predetermined value or more is determined as a candidate for the distribution destination printing device. Function to
A computer program for realizing a computer. The computer program according to claim 9,
A function for determining the priority order of the determined candidates for the distribution destination printing device such that the remaining amount of the consumables that can be determined based on the remaining amount information is higher in the printing device. And a computer program for causing the computer to realize the program.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the computer program of Claim 9 or Claim 10.

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