JP2007041753A - Printing control for executing distributed printing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain distributed printing in a page unit with a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: A printing controller is incorporated in at least one of a plurality of printers connected to a network. The print controller is provided with: a receiving part for receiving one printing job to request print over a plurality of pages; a distribution destination specifying part for specifying a plurality of distribution destination printers as the destination of printing requested by a first printing job from among a plurality of printers; an assignment page determining part for dividing a plurality of pages whose printing is requested by the first print job into groups corresponding to the distribution destination printers, and determining each page to be assigned to each distribution destination printer; and a transmitting part for transmitting a second printing job to request the print of the assignment pages to the plurality of distribution destination printers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing distributed printing by distributing a print job to two or more printing apparatuses.

  There is known a distributed printing system in which a printing control apparatus connected to a plurality of printing apparatuses via a network distributes a print job to the plurality of printing apparatuses (for example, Patent Document 1). In the prior art, a plurality of pages requested to be printed in one print job are distributed to a plurality of printing apparatuses in units of pages, and printing is performed in parallel, thereby completing a plurality of copies in a short time. be able to.

JP 2002-268850 A JP 2001-1000096 A JP-A-11-110143

  However, in the above prior art, a large-scale system including a dedicated server may be required to realize distributed printing in units of pages.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to realize distributed printing in units of pages with a simple configuration.

  In order to solve at least a part of the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a print control apparatus incorporated in at least one of a plurality of printing apparatuses connected to a network. The print control apparatus according to this aspect includes a receiving unit that receives a first print job that requests printing over a plurality of pages, and a print that is requested by the first print job from the plurality of printing apparatuses. Dividing a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job into a group of the number of distribution destination printing devices, An allocation page determination unit that determines each allocation page allocated to each distribution destination printing device, and a transmission unit that transmits a second print job requesting printing of the allocation page to each of the plurality of distribution destination printing devices. And.

  According to this aspect, the printing apparatus incorporates distributed printing (distributed printing in units of pages) in which a plurality of pages requested to be printed are allocated to a plurality of distribution destination printing apparatuses in units of pages and printed. Performed by the print controller. Therefore, it is possible to realize distributed printing in units of pages with a simple configuration.

  In the print control apparatus according to this aspect, the first print job includes print data corresponding to a plurality of pages for which printing is requested, and the second print job includes the print data as it is. It may include page specifying information for specifying the allocation page. In this way, since the second print job includes the print data included in the first print job as it is, the print control apparatus can easily generate the second print job without processing the print data. it can. As a result, the processing load of the print control apparatus can be reduced, and the print control apparatus can be simplified.

  In the print control apparatus according to this aspect, the second print job may be a print job in which the page specifying information is added to the first print job. In this way, since the second print job is generated simply by adding the page specifying information to the first print job, the print control apparatus can generate the second print job more easily. As a result, the processing load of the print control apparatus can be reduced, and the print control apparatus can be simplified.

  In the print control apparatus according to this aspect, the allocation page may be one or a plurality of continuous pages, and the page specifying information may include information for specifying a start page and an end page of the allocation page. In this way, by specifying the start page and the end page, the distribution destination printing apparatus can easily specify the allocation page.

  In the print control apparatus according to this aspect, the first print job includes page number information for specifying the total number of pages of the plurality of pages requested to be printed, and the allocation page determination unit includes the allocation page determination unit. The number of pages may be determined based on the page number information. In this way, the print control apparatus can easily grasp the total number of pages, and can easily determine an appropriate allocation page based on the total number of pages.

  In the print control apparatus according to this aspect, the first print job further includes print data corresponding to a plurality of pages for which printing is requested, and the first print job is received by the receiving unit. In this case, the page number information may be received before the print data. In this way, since the page number information is received before the print data is received, the print control apparatus can grasp the total page number even if the print data is not received, and the appropriate number of pages can be determined based on the total page number. Assign page can be determined.

  In the printing control apparatus according to this aspect, the allocation page determination unit may make the number of allocated pages allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus substantially equal. In this way, distributed printing in units of pages can be completed in a short time. In such a case, the second print job includes all print data corresponding to a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job, and the distribution destination printing apparatus includes the second print job. When executing the printing requested by the job, the print data is interpreted in page order, and the print data corresponding to the allocation page is selectively printed. If it is not divisible by the number of distribution destination printing apparatuses, the number of allocation pages including pages with the earlier page order among the allocation pages allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus may be increased. A distribution-destination printing apparatus that prints assigned pages including pages with an earlier page order can start printing assigned pages earlier. By printing a large number of pages on such a distribution destination printing apparatus, distributed printing in units of pages can be completed in a short time.

  The present invention can be configured as a printing system including a printing apparatus connected to a network or a plurality of printing apparatuses in addition to the above-described configuration as a printing control apparatus. In addition, the present invention is not limited to such an aspect of the invention, and can be realized as an aspect of a method invention such as a printing method in a plurality of printing apparatuses connected to a network. Further, aspects as a computer program for constructing those methods and apparatuses, aspects as a recording medium recording such a computer program, data signals embodied in a carrier wave including the computer program, etc. It can also be realized in various ways.

  Hereinafter, a printing control apparatus and a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings.

A. First embodiment:
・ Configuration of distributed printing system:
The configuration of the distributed printing system in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a distributed printing system in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of each device constituting the distributed printing system in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the distributed printing system includes a computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a client) CL as a client and a plurality of printers PRT1 to PRT4. The client CL and the printers PRT1 to PRT4 are connected to each other via a local area network (LAN). Since communication between devices is performed using the TCP / IP protocol, each device is assigned an IP address. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that IP addresses “IPc” are set in the client CL and “IP1” to “IP4” are set in the printers PRT1 to PRT4, respectively. Strictly speaking, these IP addresses are not set in the client CL and the printers PRT1 to PRT4 themselves, but are nodes when viewed from the TCP / IP network (specifically, TCP / IP). For example, a network board connected to a network for performing IP communication).

  Among these printers, the custom network board 100 is attached to the printer PRT1. The custom network board 100 has a distributed print control function for distributing print jobs received from the client CL to other printers and executing distributed printing, and corresponds to a print control device in the claims. A standard network board 200 is attached to each of the printers PRT2 to PRT4.

  In FIG. 1, arrows indicated by solid lines indicate a flow in which a print job is transmitted from the client CL to the custom network board 100 of the printer PRT1, and the print jobs are distributed from the custom network board 100 of the printer PRT1 to the printers PRT1 to PRT4. ing. As described above, any of the printers PRT1 to PRT4 can be a distribution destination of distributed printing from the custom network board 100 of the printer PRT1. In the following, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the printers PRT1 to PRT4, the numerals at the end of the reference numerals are omitted and are also referred to as printers PRT. Of the printers PRT1 to PRT4, a printer that is a distribution destination is also referred to as a distribution destination printer.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer PRT1 includes a printer main body PRB1 and the custom network board 100 described above. The printer main body PRB1 mainly includes a printer engine 90 and a printer controller 80. The printer engine 90 actually performs printing. The printer controller 80 receives a print job supplied from a print job receiving unit 60 described later, interprets the print job, controls the printer engine 90, and executes printing. The printer controller 80 includes a printer buffer 82 that temporarily stores data including a supplied print job. Further, the printer controller 80 stores a file 81 (hereinafter referred to as an MIB file) 81 in which various information related to the printer main body PRB1 is collected and saved in a format called MIB (Management Information Base). Various information is stored in the MIB file 81 in units of objects, and object IDs (hereinafter referred to as OIDs) are assigned to the respective objects.

  The custom network board 100 mainly includes a central processing unit (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.

  The CPU 20 reads the program such as the software for executing the above-described distributed printing from the memory 30 and executes it, thereby realizing each functional block shown in the software. Each functional block may be constructed in hardware.

  Functional blocks realized by the CPU 20 include a TCP / IP unit 10, a distribution control unit 50, a print job receiving unit 60, an SNMP manager 40, and an SNMP agent 70.

  The TCP / IP unit 10 interprets the TCP / IP protocol and performs communication with the outside mainly via the network. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are protocols that perform transport layer processing in the TCP / IP protocol. TCP is a protocol for realizing highly reliable connection-type communication. On the other hand, UDP is a protocol that realizes high-speed connectionless communication. The TCP / IP unit 10 performs communication of a print job, which will be described later, using TCP, and performs communication between the SNMP manager 40, which will be described later, and the SNMP agent 70, using UDP.

  The distribution control unit 50 receives a print job for which distributed printing is designated (hereinafter also referred to as a first print job), and distributes the print job to the distribution destination printer. The distribution control unit 50 includes a distributed job receiving unit 52, a distribution destination specifying unit 54, an allocation page determining unit 56, and a print job transmitting unit 58 as sub function blocks. The distributed job receiving unit 52 receives a first print job from an external device such as a client CL via a network. The distribution destination specifying unit 54 specifies a plurality of distribution destination printers that are distribution destinations of the first print job from among a plurality of printers connected to the custom network board 100. The allocation page determination unit 56 divides a plurality of pages that are requested to be printed by the first print job into groups of the specified number of distribution destination printers. The allocation page determination unit 56 sets the pages divided into groups as allocation pages for each specified distribution destination printer. The print job transmission unit 58 transmits a print job that requests the distribution destination printer to print the allocated page (hereinafter also referred to as a second print job) to each distribution destination printer. The processing executed by the distribution control unit 50 as described above will be further described later.

  The print job receiving unit 60 receives a normal print job for which distributed printing is not specified, for example, the above-described second print job, and supplies the received print job to the printer controller 80. The SNMP manager 40 uses a communication protocol called SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) to inquire the SNMP agent 70 included in each of the printers PRT1 to PRT4, and acquires various types of information. The SNMP manager 40 makes an inquiry by specifying information to be acquired by designating the above-described OID.

  In response to the inquiry from the SNMP manager 40, the SNMP agent 70 acquires desired information from the MIB file 81 described above and transmits the information to the SNMP manager 40.

  On the other hand, the memory 30 includes an OID storage unit 32, a distribution destination designation file storage unit 34, and a buffer 36 in addition to storing programs for realizing the functions described above. The OID storage unit 32 stores an OID that is specified when the SNMP manager 40 makes the above-described inquiry. The OID is stored in association with the type of information that can be inquired, and the SNMP manager 40 can acquire the OID to be designated with reference to the OID storage unit 32. The distribution destination designation file storage unit 34 stores the distribution destination designation file. This distribution destination designation file is used when it is desired to specify in advance a printer to be used as a distribution destination in distributed printing among a plurality of printers connected to the LAN. Therefore, when such designation is unnecessary, nothing needs to be stored in the distribution destination designation file storage unit 34. The buffer 36 is a storage unit for the CPU 20 to temporarily store data including the received first print job.

  Since the printers PRT2 to PRT4 have the same configuration, the configuration of the printer PRT2 will be described as a representative. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer PRT2 includes a printer main body PRB2 and the network board 200 described above. The configuration of the printer main body PRB2 has the same configuration as that of the printer main body PRB1 of the printer PRT1 described above. To do. The network board 200 has functions excluding the distributed printing control function among the functions of the custom network board 100 described above. That is, the network board 200 includes the TCP / IP unit 10, the print job receiving unit 60, and the SNMP agent 70. Since each component of the network board 200 has the same function and configuration as the component of the same name of the custom network board 100, the description thereof is omitted.

  Here, as can be understood from the above description, the custom network board 100 mounted on the printer PRT1 has all the functions of the network board 200 mounted on the printers PRT2 to PRT4. From the viewpoint of the distribution control unit 50 of the custom network board 100, the printers PRT1 to PRT4 are all equivalent and can all be designated as distribution destination printers in the distributed printing process described later. The distribution control unit 50 can handle the printer PRT1 including the distribution control unit 50 itself and other printers without distinction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the client CL includes a TCP / IP unit 13 and a print job transmission unit 12 as functional blocks in addition to the application 11. The TCP / IP unit 13 has the same function and configuration as the TCP / IP unit 10 of the custom network board 100 described above. The print job transmission unit 12 generates a print job in response to a print request from the application 11 and transmits the print job generated via the TCP / IP unit 13 to the printer PRT. The first print job for which distributed printing is designated is transmitted only to the printer PRT1 including the custom network board 100, and the normal print job for which distributed printing is not designated is assigned to any of the printers PRT1 to PRT4. It can also be transmitted.

・ About print jobs:
Before describing the distributed printing process, a print job used in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of a print job. FIG. 3A shows the configuration of communication data used for print job communication. FIG. 3B shows the data structure of the print job.

  The print job is transmitted as communication data in a format according to the TCP / IP protocol. The communication data is divided into a header 400 and a data part 450 as shown in FIG. Among these, the header 400 includes a transmission source IP address SA that is an IP address of a device that is a transmission source of the communication data, and a transmission source port number that is a port number for identifying software that is a transmission source in the device. In addition to SP, a destination IP address DA that is the IP address of the device that is the destination of the communication data, and a destination port number DP that is a port number that identifies the software that is the destination in the device Including. Communication data transmitted from the software of the transmission source device is transmitted to the device having the IP address in accordance with the transmission destination IP address DA. Further, in the received device, the communication data is transmitted in accordance with the transmission destination port number DP. Passed to software listening on port number. The data part 450 is a part for storing data to be communicated, and in this embodiment, a print job is stored.

  For example, when the first print job in which distributed printing is designated is transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1, the header 400 of the communication data includes “IP1” which is the IP address of the printer PRT1 as the above-described transmission destination IP address DA. However, “59100” is described as the destination port number DP. “59100” is a port number on which the distribution control unit 50 that receives the first print job is waiting. In the header 400, “IPc” is described as the transmission source IP address SA, and the port number (specific numbers are omitted) on which the print job transmission unit 12 is waiting is transmitted as the transmission source port number SP. On the other hand, when transmitting a normal print job for which distributed printing is not specified from the client CL to the printer PRT1, “9100” is described instead of “59100” described above as the destination port number DP. “9100” is a port number on which the print job receiving unit 60 that receives a normal print job is waiting. That is, in this embodiment, the print job transmission unit 12 specifies whether or not to specify distributed printing by switching the value of the transmission destination port number DP specified at the time of transmission of a print job in response to a user request. Can be selected. In other words, the first print job for which distributed printing is specified refers to a print job received by the distribution control unit 50 waiting at the port number “59100”, and is a normal print job for which distributed printing is not specified. Indicates a print job handed over to the print job receiving unit 60 waiting at the port number “9100”. The content of the print job itself is basically the same between the first print job and the normal print job.

  The data structure of the print job will be described with reference to FIG. The print job JB has a job control language part 501 and a page description language part 502 as shown in FIG. The page description language part 502 is a part in which print data representing print contents is described using a predetermined page description language. As the page description language, ESC / Page, Postscript, or the like can be used. The job control language unit 501 describes attributes necessary for printing the print data described in the page description language unit 502. The job control language unit 501 is described using a predetermined job control language, which is EJL (Epson Job Language) in this embodiment.

  The lower side of FIG. 3B shows a specific example of contents described in the job control language unit 501. The job control language unit 501 includes the total page number information TP, the print mode designation information DX, the number of print copies QT, as well as the print paper size and the type of page description language used for the description of the page description language unit 502, as the attributes described above. Is included. The total page number information TP indicates the total number of pages of print data included in the page description language unit 502. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the total page number information TP describes that the total number of pages is 10. The print mode designation information DX indicates whether the print mode is a duplex printing mode or a simplex printing mode. Specifically, the description “DX = OFF” as shown in FIG. 3B indicates the single-sided printing mode. On the other hand, the description “DX = ON” indicates the duplex printing mode.

  The job control language unit 501 can further include page specifying information PE. The page specifying information PE is information for specifying a page to be printed from all the pages of the print data included in the page description language unit 502. When the page specification information PE is included in the job control language portion 501 of the print job, the printer PRT that has received the print job receives the page specification information PE from the print data included in the page description language portion 502, as will be described later. Selectively print only the pages specified by. The page specifying information PE includes a start page number S and an end page number E. Thus, one or a plurality of continuous pages from the start page number S to the end page number E is designated. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, “5” is described as the first page number (STARTPAGE), and “8” is described as the end page number (ENDPAGE). Therefore, the print job shown in FIG. 3B includes print data for 10 pages from 1 to 10 pages, and it is requested to print 4 pages from 5 to 8 pages. Become. On the other hand, a print job in which the page identification information PE is not included in the job control language unit 501 is interpreted as requesting printing of all pages of the print data included in the page description language unit 502.

・ Distributed printing processing:
The distributed printing process in this embodiment performed using the print job described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the distributed printing process. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of distributed printing processing. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing routine of the distribution destination printer specifying process. FIG. 7 is a table showing an example of the number of pages allocated to the distribution destination printer. In the first embodiment, first, a distributed printing process in the single-sided printing mode, that is, when “DX = OFF” is designated in the first print job will be described. The distributed printing process in the duplex printing mode will be described later as a second embodiment.

  The distributed printing process will be described using the specific example shown in FIG. In this specific example, the first print job JB1 in which distributed printing is designated is transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1. Then, the distribution control unit 50 of the printer PRT1 that has received the first print job JB1 distributes the print requested by the first print job to the four printers PRT1 to PRT4 as the distribution destination printers.

  The first print job JB1 transmitted from the client CL to the printer PRT1 is transmitted as communication data having a header 400 in which “IP1” is described as the transmission destination IP address DA and “59100” is described as the transmission destination port number DP. . Actually, the first print job JB1 is divided into a plurality of TCP packets, and a header 400 is added to each divided packet and transmitted. However, FIG. 4 shows a diagram in which one header 400 is added to the entire first print job JB1 in order to make the diagram easier to see. Such illustration also applies to second print jobs JB21 to JB24 described later.

  The job control language unit 501 of the first print job JB1 includes the total page number information TP described above, and it is described that the total page number Q is 10 in the example shown in FIG. On the other hand, it is not usually necessary to include print data that does not need to be printed in the print job transmitted as the first print job JB1. Accordingly, the job control language unit 501 of the first print job JB1 does not include the page specification information PE, or the page specification information PE that specifies all the page numbers described in the total page number information TP. Is usually included. Assume that the first print job JB1 in the present embodiment does not include page specifying information PE as shown in FIG.

  In the page description language portion 502 of the first print job JB1, print data corresponding to the total number of pages Q is described in the page description language. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, print data DT for 10 pages is described in the page description language unit 502.

  The distributed printing process is a process executed by the distributed control unit 50 provided in the CPU 20 of the custom network board 100. When the printer PRT1 on which the custom network board 100 is mounted is in a state of accepting a print job, the distributed job receiving unit 52 of the distributed control unit 50 is waiting for the above-described first print job JB1 to arrive ( Step S102). When the first print job JB1, that is, the print job whose destination port number DP is “59100” arrives at the printer PRT1 from the client CL (step S102: YES), the distributed job receiving unit 52 receives the TCP / IP unit 10 The first print job JB1 is received via. The distributed job receiving unit 52 first receives the head portion of the print job including the job control language unit 501 (step S104).

  The distribution control unit 50 acquires the total number of pages Q requested to be printed by the received first print job (step S106). Specifically, the distribution control unit 50 reads the job control language unit 501 and acquires the total page number information TP included in the first print job.

  Subsequently, the distribution control unit 50 executes a distribution destination printer specifying process (step S108). The distribution destination printer specifying process is a process executed by the distribution destination specifying unit 54 of the distribution control unit 50. As shown in FIG. 6, when the distribution destination printer specifying process is started, the distribution destination specifying unit 54 acquires the IP address of the device connected on the network (step S202). When the distribution destination designation file is stored in the distribution destination designation file storage unit 34, the distribution destination identification unit 54 refers to the distribution destination designation file and acquires the IP address. In the distribution destination designation file, the IP addresses of printers that are to be used as distribution destinations are listed and described. Such a distribution destination designation file is stored in the printer PRT1 using a setting computer or the like when the printer PRT1 is initialized. If such a distribution destination designation file is used, and if it is desired to use its own printer PRT1 as the distribution destination, the IP address “IP1” of the self printer PRT1 is also described in the distribution destination designation file.

  On the other hand, when the distribution destination designation file is not stored, the distribution destination specifying unit 54 uses the SNMP manager 40 to inquire about the IP address of each device connected to the LAN by broadcast, and responds. Obtained IP address.

  Next, the distribution destination specifying unit 54 acquires information about each device to which the acquired IP address is assigned (step S204). Specifically, the distribution destination specifying unit 54 uses the SNMP manager 40 to make an inquiry to each device by unicast, and acquires the model name and status as a response to the inquiry.

Based on the acquired model name and status, the distribution destination specifying unit 54 searches for a printer that satisfies a predetermined condition from devices connected to the network, and specifies the searched printer as a distribution destination printer ( Step S206). An example of the predetermined condition is shown below.
1. The same model as the self printer PRT1.
2. The power is turned on.
3. The remaining amount of toner is not less than a predetermined threshold.
4). Be online.
5. The printer is not printing (the printer engine 90 is not being driven).

  Information on these items can be acquired by an inquiry from the SNMP manager 40 described above. The condition for selecting the same printer model as the self-printer PRT1 as a destination printer is that, when performing distributed printing, each destination printer does not perform data conversion of the print job and the like. This is to make it happen. As a result, it is possible to unify the quality of printed matter, for example, the resolution and font, at each distribution destination printer. Also, color printing and double-sided printing designation can be executed in a unified manner. 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.

  The conditions 2 to 5 are for preventing a printer that cannot be printed immediately from being selected as a distribution destination printer. The online state refers to a normal state that is not a state in which an error such as running out of paper or a paper jam has occurred (offline state).

  Then, the distribution destination specifying unit 54 determines whether one or more distribution destination printers have been specified (step S208). When one or more printers are specified (step S208: YES), the distribution destination specifying unit 54 ends the distribution destination printer selection process. When one distribution destination printer is not specified (step S208: NO), the distribution destination specifying unit 54 waits for a predetermined period (step S210), and repeats the processing from step S202 to step S208. Hereinafter, in this step, the description will be continued assuming that a total of four printers PRT1 to PRT4 described above are specified as the distribution destination printers.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the description will be continued. When the distribution destination printer is identified, the distribution control unit 50 determines an allocation page to be allocated to each identified distribution destination printer (step S110). The allocation page determination is executed by the allocation page determination unit 56 of the distribution control unit 50. The allocation page determination unit 56 assigns a plurality of pages requested for printing to the number of specified distribution destination printers so that all pages requested for printing are allocated to any one of the distribution destination printers. Divide into groups. Then, the allocation page determination unit 56 sets each group as an allocation page of each specified distribution destination printer. Specifically, the allocation page determination unit 56 determines the start page number S and the end page number E of the allocation page for each distribution destination printer.

Here, the number of assigned pages is determined based on the following two concepts.
1. Assign the same number of pages as possible to each destination printer.
2. If the page is not completely allocated evenly, that is, if the total number of pages Q to be printed is not divisible by the number of distribution destination printers M, the fractional page is the page in the early page order, that is, the page number is small. Pages are allocated one by one in order from the distribution destination printer to which the pages are allocated.

  FIG. 7 shows the number of allocated pages obtained based on the above-described concept when distributed to four distribution destination printers. It is assumed that a page having a lower page order is assigned to a destination printer having a smaller destination printer number m. As shown in FIG. 7, when the total number of pages Q to be printed is divisible by the number M of distribution destination printers, the same number of pages is assigned to each distribution destination printer. For example, if the total number of pages Q = 12, and the number of distribution destination printers is 4, three pages are allocated to each distribution destination printer. On the other hand, if the total number of pages Q is not divisible by the number M of distribution destination printers, the fraction is assigned to two distribution destination printers to which pages in the early page order are assigned. For example, if the total number of pages Q = 14 and the number of distribution destination printers is 4, two pages that are the remainder of dividing the total number of pages by the number of distribution destination printers 4 are pages that are earlier in page order. One sheet is allocated to each of the two distribution destination printers to be allocated.

  Next, a specific calculation method for determining the allocation page described above will be described. It is assumed that the total number of pages requested to be printed = Q, the number of distribution destination printers = M, and the distribution destination printer number assigned in the order in which pages with the earlier page order are assigned = m. Then, the page number P (m) of the allocated pages of the mth distribution destination printer is calculated by the following equation (1).

  Here, the function Int (a) in the expression (1) is a function for extracting the integer part of the numerical value a. For example, Int (3.23) = 3. By substituting numerical values Q, M, and m into this mathematical formula, the numerical values shown in the table shown in FIG. 7 can be calculated. Using P (m), the start page number S (m) and the end page number E (m) of the allocated page of the mth distribution destination printer are calculated by the following equations (2) and (3), respectively.

As can be understood from the above description, the start page number S (m) and the end page number E (m) of the allocation page are functions of the total page number Q, the number M of the distribution destination printers, and the number m of the distribution destination printers. Represented as: In the specific example shown in FIG. 4, since Q = 10 and M = 4,
First distribution destination printer (printer PRT1): S (1) = 1, E (1) = 3
Second distribution destination printer (printer PRT2): S (2) = 4, E (2) = 6
Third destination printer (printer PRT3): S (3) = 7, E (3) = 8
Fourth destination printer (printer PRT4): S (4) = 9, E (4) = 10
It becomes.

  When the start page number S (m) and end page number E (m) of the allocation page are calculated for each distribution destination printer, that is, when the allocation page to be printed by each distribution destination printer is determined, distribution control is performed. The unit 50 transmits a second print job requesting printing of the assigned page to each distribution destination printer (steps S112 to S114). The transmission of the second print job is executed by the print job transmission unit 58 of the distribution control unit 50. FIG. 4 shows second print jobs JB21 to JB24 transmitted to the printers PRT1 to PRT4 as the respective distribution destination printers.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the header 400 of the communication data for transmitting the second print jobs JB21 to JB24, the IP addresses “IP1” and “IP2” of the printers PRT that are the respective distribution destinations as the transmission destination IP address DA. , “IP3” and “IP4” are described. Furthermore, in these headers 400, “9100” is described as the transmission destination port number DP.

  The job control language unit 501 of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 is obtained by adding the above-described page specifying information PE to the job control language unit 501 of the first print job JB1. In the page specifying information PE, the start page number S (m) and the end page number E (m) of the allocation page of each distribution destination printer calculated in step S110 described above are described.

  The page description language part 502 of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 is exactly the same as the page description language part 502 of the first print job JB1. That is, print data corresponding to the total number of pages Q is described in the page description language section 502 of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 in the page description language. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, print data DT for 10 pages is described in the page description language unit 502.

  Transmission of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 will be described step by step. First, the print job transmission unit 58 of the distribution control unit 50 adds the page specifying information PE to the job control language unit 501, and then adds the head portion of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 including the job control language unit 501. Each is sent to each of the printers PRT1 to PRT4 (distribution destination printer) (step S112). Next, the distributed job receiving unit 52 of the distribution control unit 50 receives the portion after the head portion of the first print job JB1 from the client CL, and the print job transmission unit 58 of the distribution control unit 50 receives the received head. The portions after the portion are sequentially transmitted to the printers PRT1 to PRT4 as they are (step S114). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not all parts of the first print job JB1 have been received (step S116). If the distribution control unit 50 determines that all of the first print job JB1 has not been received (step S116: NO), the process returns to step S114. On the other hand, when the distribution control unit 50 determines that the reception of the first print job JB1 has ended (step S116: YES), the process ends.

Processing in Distribution Destination Printer Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, processing in the distribution destination printer, printers PRT1 to PRT4 in the example shown in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing routine for reception processing of a normal print job including the second print job. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing routine for print processing of a normal print job including the second print job.

  First, normal print job reception processing will be described. This process is a process executed by the print job receiving unit 60 of the printer PRT. When the printer PRT is ready to accept a print job, the print job receiving unit 60 waits for a normal print job including the second print job to arrive (step S102). When a normal print job, that is, a print job whose destination port number DP is “9100” arrives at the printer PRT (step S <b> 302: YES), the print job reception unit 60 transmits it via the TCP / IP unit 10. The received print jobs are sequentially received and stored in the printer buffer 82 (step S304). The print job receiving unit 60 determines whether all print jobs have been received (step S306). When all the print jobs are transmitted, the device that transmits the print job transmits a communication connection disconnection request for transmitting the print job. Accordingly, the print job receiving unit 60 can determine whether or not all print jobs have been received depending on whether or not a communication connection disconnection request is present. If the print job receiving unit 60 determines that all print jobs have not been received (step S306: NO), the process returns to step S304. If the print job receiving unit 60 determines that all print jobs have been received (step S306: YES), the reception process is terminated.

  Next, normal print job print processing will be described. This printing process is a process executed by the printer controller 80 of the printer PRT. When the printer controller 80 receives the print job data from the print job receiving unit 60, that is, when the print job starts to be stored in the printer buffer 82 by the above-described reception process, the printer controller 80 starts the print process.

  When starting the printing process, the printer controller 80 first determines whether or not the page specifying information PE is included in the print job (step S402). Specifically, the printer controller 80 retrieves the above-described page specification information PE from the job control language unit 501 of the print job stored in the printer buffer 82, and determines the presence or absence of the page specification information PE. If it is determined that the page specifying information PE is included (step S402: YES), the printer controller 80 acquires the page specifying information PE, that is, the start page number S and the end page number E (step S404), and The process proceeds to step S406. On the other hand, if it is determined that the page specifying information PE is not included (step S402: NO), the printer controller 80 proceeds to step S406 as it is.

  Subsequently, the printer controller 80 initializes the page number n to be processed and sets n = 1 (step S406). The printer controller 80 interprets the print job, and generates image data of a page to be processed, that is, n pages (step S410). Specifically, the printer controller 80 generates image data used by the printer engine 90 for printing, for example, dot data that matches the resolution of the printer engine 90 from print data described in the page description language. Since the print data is described in the page order in the page description language part 502 of the print job, the printer controller 80 interprets the print data included in the page description language part 502 one page at a time from the top. Go.

  When image data of n pages to be processed is generated, the printer controller 80 determines in step S404 whether or not page specifying information PE has been acquired (step S412). If the printer controller 80 determines that the page specification information PE has been acquired (step S412: YES), the printer controller 80 uses the start page number S and the end page number E acquired as the page specification information PE, and S ≦ n ≦ E. It is determined whether or not is established (step S414). That is, the printer controller 80 determines whether the n page to be processed is a page specified by the page specifying information PE.

  The printer controller 80 determines that the n page is a page specified by the page specifying information PE (step S414: YES), or determines that the page specifying information PE is not acquired (step S412: NO). ) Issues a print request for page n to the printer engine 90 (step S416), and proceeds to step S418. When the printer engine 90 receives a print request from the printer controller 80, the printer engine 90 prints n pages using the image data generated by the printer controller 80. On the other hand, if the printer controller 80 determines that the page n to be processed is not a page specified by the page specification information PE (step S414: NO), the printer controller 80 does not issue a print request, but does not issue a print request. Migrate to

  Subsequently, the printer controller 80 determines whether the n page to be processed is the last page of the print data included in the page description language unit 502 (step S418). If the printer controller 80 determines that page n is the last page (step S418: YES), the printing process is terminated. On the other hand, when the printer controller 80 determines that page n is not the last page (step S418: NO), the page number n to be processed is incremented (step S420), and the process returns to step S410. That is, the printer controller 80 repeats the processes of steps S410 to S418 described above for the next page.

  By executing the printing process as described above, the printer PRT executes printing for the page specified by the page specifying information PE when the page specifying information PE is included in the print job. The page is not printed. The printer PRT prints all pages of the print data described in the page description language unit 502 when the page specification information PE is not included in the print job.

  Here, the reason for interpreting the print data and generating image data for pages other than the page specified by the page specifying information PE (a page that is not actually printed) in step S410 will be described. One reason is that, in the page description language unit 502, print data for a page with a large page number may be described by quoting print data for a page with a small page number. For example, an object common to all pages (for example, a header or a footer) is generated so as to be included only once with the print data of the first page, and is not included in the print data of the subsequent page. It may come to refer to. In such a case, when generating the image data, the printer controller 80 refers to a part of the image data of the first page as a part of the image data of the subsequent page. That is, in order to print the assigned page, image data before the assigned page may be used, so the printer controller 80 generates image data in order from the first page, including pages that are not printed. The time required for the printer controller 80 to interpret the print data and generate image data is very short compared to the time required for the printer engine 90 to actually perform printing. Therefore, generating image data for a page that is not to be printed causes little time loss.

  As can be understood from the above description, when receiving the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 including the page specifying information PE, the printers PRT1 to PRT4 as the distribution destination printers print only the allocation page specified by the page specifying information PE. Execute. As a result, the printing requested by the first print job JB1 is completed by each of the distribution destination printers executing the printing of the assigned page.

  According to the first embodiment described above, since the network board 200 built in the printer PRT1 executes distributed printing processing in units of pages, a plurality of printers can be used without using an external device such as a dedicated distributed server. Distributed printing in units of pages can be realized with a simple configuration composed of PRTs.

  Further, the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 are obtained by adding a start page number S and an end page number E as page specifying information PE to the job control language unit 501 of the first print job JB1. Accordingly, the distribution control unit 50 of the network board 200 can easily generate the second print jobs JB21 to JB24. As a result, the processing load on the distributed control unit 50 can be reduced, and the network board 200 can be simplified. More specifically, conventionally, print data included in the first print job JB1 has been processed to generate print data for an assigned page. In such a case, as described above, simply by dividing the print data included in the first print job JB1, such as when the print data of the subsequent page refers to the print data of the previous page, In some cases, print data for the allocated pages could not be generated. In some cases, it is necessary to convert the print data described in the page description language into image data for each page, and then reconvert the image data for the allocated pages into the page description language ( Patent Document 1). In such a case, it is necessary to provide the distributed control device with a configuration that realizes a function for generating print data for the allocated pages as hardware or software. However, in this embodiment, since the print data DT included in the first print job JB1 is included in the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 as they are, such a configuration is not necessary. As a result, the configuration of the distribution control unit 50 can be simplified, and distributed printing in units of pages can be realized with a simpler configuration.

  Further, the client CL only needs to send the first print job JB1 once to the printer PRT1 (distribution control unit 50), and does not need to specify the distribution destination printer or the assigned page. Accordingly, the processing load of the client CL can be made comparable to that of normal printing processing.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the allocation page of each distribution destination printer is determined based on the above-described equations (1) to (3). That is, it is calculated based on the total number of pages Q, the number M of distribution destination printers, and the number m of distribution destination printers. Since the total page number information TP for specifying the total page number Q is included in the job control language unit 501 of the first print job JB1, the distribution control unit 50 can easily grasp the total page number. It is possible to easily determine an appropriate allocation page based on the total number of pages.

  Further, the job control language part 501 including the total page number information TP is arranged at the head of the page description language part 502 in the first print job JB1. That is, the total page number information TP is received by the print job receiving unit 60 before the print data DT. Accordingly, if the distribution control unit 50 receives only the head portion including the job control language unit 501 in the first print job JB1, the distribution control unit 50 determines the allocation page and determines the job control language unit of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24. 501 can be generated. As a result, the distribution control unit 50 transmits the head portion including the job control language unit 501 among the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 to each distribution destination printer, and then transfers the remaining portion of the first print job JB1. It may be received sequentially and transmitted to each distribution destination printer as the remaining portions of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 (see FIG. 5). Therefore, the network board 200 does not need to spool the entire first print job JB1. Therefore, the capacity of the buffer 36 for spooling the first print job JB1 in the network board 200 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the page numbers of the allocated pages of each distribution destination printer are made substantially equal as can be seen from the equations (1) to (3) and FIG. Thereby, distributed printing in units of pages can be completed in a short time. Further, when the total page number Q is not divisible by the number M of the distribution destination printers, the number of allocated pages including pages in the early page order is increased (FIG. 7). As described above with reference to FIG. 9, each printer PRT, which is a distribution destination printer, prints a print job including page identification information PE, regardless of whether or not printing is actually performed. The data DT is interpreted from the top. The printer PRT actually performs printing at the timing when the print data is interpreted for the page to be printed. Accordingly, if it is assumed that the print data interpretation speed is the same in each PRT, the printer PRT that prints the allocated pages including the pages in the early page order (small page number) has the slow page number (the page number of the page number). Printing starts earlier than the printer PRT that prints the allocated page including the (large) page. For this reason, by increasing the number of allocated pages including pages in the early page order, distributed printing can be completed in units of pages in a shorter time.

B. Second embodiment:
As a second embodiment, a distributed printing process in the duplex printing mode will be described. Since the schematic configuration of the distributed printing system in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the description thereof is omitted. With reference to FIGS. 10 to 11, a print job requesting the double-sided printing mode will be described. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a job control language unit 501 of a print job that requests the duplex printing mode. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a printing form in the duplex printing mode.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a print job requesting printing in the duplex printing mode is described as “DX = ON” in the print mode designation information DX included in the job control language unit 501. Further, when “DX = ON” is described in the print mode designation information DX, the print mode designation information DX includes the first page print surface designation information. The first page print surface designation information is either “FC = FR” or “FC = BK”.

  The duplex printing mode is a printing mode in which one page is printed on each side of one printing sheet. As shown in FIG. 11, a surface on which printing is performed first is a first surface F1, and a surface on which printing is performed later is a second surface F2. When the first page print surface designation information is “FC = FR”, as shown in FIG. 11A, the first page (page number 1) is printed on the first surface F1, and the next page (page Number 2) is printed on the second face F2. Therefore, when the first page print surface designation information is “FC = FR”, when the print job is printed by one printer PRT, an odd page is printed on the first surface F1 of the print sheet, and the second page An even page is printed on the surface F2.

  On the other hand, when the first page print surface designation information is “FC = BK”, nothing is printed on the first surface F1 as shown in FIG. The first page (page number 1) is printed on the second surface F2. The next page (page number 2) is printed on the first side of the next printing paper. Therefore, when the first page print surface designation information is “FC = BK”, when the print job is printed by one printer PRT, an even page is printed on the first surface F1 of the print sheet, and the second page is printed. Odd pages are printed on the surface F2.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 12 to FIG. 14, distributed printing processing when the first print job JB1 (FIG. 4) is a print job requesting printing in the duplex printing mode (in duplex printing mode) will be described. . FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing routine for determining the assigned page in the duplex printing mode. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining allocation page determination in the duplex mode. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the determination result of the assigned page in the duplex printing mode.

  The basic processing steps of the distributed printing process when the first print job JB1 is a print job requesting printing in the duplex printing mode are the processes of the distributed printing process in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. It is the same as the step. The difference between the two is the method of determining the allocation page in FIG. 5: Step S110. Hereinafter, determination of the assigned page in the duplex printing mode will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing in more detail the process in step S110 of the distributed printing process in the duplex printing mode. First, the allocation page determination unit 56 of the distribution control unit 50 acquires the above-described first page print surface designation information (step S1102). Subsequently, the allocated page determination unit 56 calculates the total number Qv of print sheets to be output (step S1104). The total number Qv of printing paper is calculated by the following equation (4).

  In the above equation (4), Q is the total number of pages requested to be printed, and is acquired in step S106 in FIG. Further, b is a variable that is set according to the first page print surface designation information. When the first page print surface designation information is “FC = FR”, that is, when the first page is printed on the first surface F1, the variable b = 0. On the other hand, when the first page print surface designation information is “FC = BK”, that is, when the first page is printed on the second surface F2, the variable b = 1. Int is a function for extracting an integer part as described in the above-described equation (1). The example shown in FIG. 13 shows a case where the first print job in which the total number of pages Q = 10 and the first page print surface designation information is “FC = BK” is distributed to three distribution destination printers. Yes. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 13B, the total number of print sheets Qv = 6. FIG. 13A conceptually shows a print result when the first print job JB1 is printed by one printer PRT.

Subsequently, the allocation page determination unit 56 allocates the printing paper to be output to each distribution destination printer (step S1106). Specifically, the allocation page determination unit 56 determines the start sheet number Sv and the end sheet number Ev of the print sheet to be allocated for each distribution destination printer. The paper numbers Sv and Ev are numbers assigned in order from the printing paper on which the pages in the early page order are printed. The number of print sheets to be allocated is determined based on the same concept as when determining the number of allocated pages in the first embodiment. That is,
1. Allocate as many print sheets as possible to each destination printer.
2. In the case where the printing paper cannot be completely evenly allocated, that is, when the total number Qv of printing sheets is not divisible by the number M of the distribution destination printers, the fraction is one by one in order from the distribution destination printer to which the pages in the early page order are allocated. assign.

  Specifically, the start sheet number Sv and the end sheet number Ev are expressed by the equations (5) to (5) in which the total number of pages Q is replaced with the total number Qv of print sheets in the equations (1) to (3) in the first embodiment. 7).

  In the above formulas (5) to (7), Pv (m), Sv (m), and Ev (m) are the number of printing sheets, start sheet number, and end sheet number allocated to the mth distribution destination printer, respectively. Represents. The example shown in FIG. 13 shows a case where the number of distribution destination printers is three, and the start paper number is assigned so that each of the six printing papers to be output is assigned to each distribution destination printer. Sv (m) and end paper number Ev (m) are defined (FIG. 13C).

  Subsequently, the allocation page determination unit 56 determines a page to be printed on the allocated printing paper as an allocation page (step S1108). In the example shown in FIG. 13, the pages to be printed on the first and second print sheets assigned to the first distribution destination printer (m = 1) are the first to third pages. Therefore, the allocation page determination unit 56 calculates the start page number S (1) = 1 and the end page number E (1) = 3 for the allocation page of the first distribution destination printer (see FIG. 13D). ). For the second and third distribution destination printers, S (2) = 4, E (2) = 7, and S (3), respectively, as shown in FIG. = 8, E (3) = 10 is calculated.

Specific calculation formulas for the start page number S (m) and the end page number E (m) are represented by the following formulas (8) to (9).
S (1) = 1, S (m) = 2 × Sv (m) −b−1 (2 ≦ m ≦ M) (8)
E (m) = 2 × Ev (m) −b (1 ≦ m ≦ M−1), E (M) = Q (9)

  Here, FIG. 14A shows an example of the allocation page determined when the first page is printed on the second surface F2, that is, when the first page print surface designation information is “FC = BK”. Show. FIG. 14B shows an example of an allocation page that is determined when the first page is printed on the first surface F1, that is, when the first page print surface designation information is “FC = FR”. . It can be seen that when the allocation page is determined by the above-described equations (8) and (9), the allocation page changes depending on the print surface on which the first page is printed. Specifically, when the first page is printed on the second face F2, the end page number of the assigned page is an odd number except for the assigned page including the last page of the first print job JB1. . The end page number of the assigned page including the last page (Q page) is naturally the page number Q of the last page. In the example shown in FIG. 14A, the end page numbers of the assigned pages of the first and second distribution destination printers are odd numbers 3 and 7, respectively. Since the allocation page of the third distribution destination printer includes the last page (10 pages), the end page number of the allocation page is 10. On the other hand, when the first page is printed on the first face F1, the end page number of the assigned page is an even number except for the assigned page including the last page of the first print job JB1. The end page number of the assigned page including the last page (Q page) is the page number Q of the last page. In the example shown in FIG. 14B, the end page numbers of the assigned pages of the first and second distribution destination printers are even numbers 4 and 8, respectively. Since the allocation page of the third distribution destination printer includes the last page (10 pages), the end page number of the allocation page is 10.

  When the start page number S (m) and the end page number E (m) are determined for each distribution destination printer, that is, when the allocation page of each distribution destination printer is determined, the distribution control unit 50 Returning to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the processing after step S <b> 112 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  Since the processing in the distribution destination printer is the same as that in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the description thereof is omitted.

  According to the second embodiment described above, in addition to the actions and effects described above in the first embodiment, the following actions and effects specific to the duplex printing mode are exhibited. That is, when the first print job JB1 is printed by one printer PRT, pages to be printed on the same print medium are assigned to the same distribution destination printer, so the first print job JB1 is assigned to one printer PRT. It is possible to reproduce the same printing result as when printing with the printer PRT. As a result, the user can obtain a desired print result by distributed printing if he / she does not recognize distributed printing and transmits a print job in the same manner as normal printing.

  If the assigned page is determined by the algorithm shown in the first embodiment without considering the double-sided printing mode, a desired printing result cannot be obtained. FIGS. 14C and 14D show an example when the allocation page is determined by the algorithm shown in the first embodiment. FIG. 14C shows a case where the first page is printed on the second surface F2, and FIG. 14D shows a case where the first page is printed on the first surface F1. In either case of FIGS. 14C and 14D, it can be seen that the second surface F2 becomes a blank surface on which nothing is printed in any of the printing papers in the middle.

  In addition, since the number of allocated pages of each distribution destination printer is made substantially equal, distributed printing in units of pages can be performed in a shorter time while reproducing the same printing results as when printing with one printer PRT. Can be completed.

  Further, since the allocation page is determined according to the first page printing surface designation information, even when the first page is printed on the first surface F1, the second page F2 is printed. Also, it is possible to reproduce the same print result as when the first print job JB1 is printed by one printer PRT.

C. Variation:
・ First modification:
A first modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the data structure of the first print job JB1 in the first modification. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of distributed printing processing in the first modification.

  The first print job JB1 in this modification is different from the first print job JB1 in the first and second embodiments, and the job control language unit 501 has two parts, that is, the first job control language unit 501a. It is divided into a second job control language unit 501b. The first job control language part 501 a is arranged before the page description language part 502, while the second job control language part 501 b is arranged after the page description language part 502. That is, when the first print job JB1 in the present modification is received by the distributed job receiving unit 52 of the distribution control unit 50, the first job control language unit 501a, the page description language unit 502, the second job control. The language parts 501b are received in this order. The second job control language unit 501b describes the total page number information TP among the information included in the job control language unit 501 in the first and second embodiments, and the second job control language unit 501b. Other information is described in. Depending on the specifications of the printer driver of the printer controller 80 and the client CL, the first print job JB1 may have such a structure.

  The distributed printing process in this modification will be described. The difference from the distributed printing process in the first and second embodiments described with reference to FIG. 5 is that step S504 is executed instead of step S104 in FIG. 5 and steps S112 to S116 in FIG. Thus, step S512 is executed (FIG. 16).

  In step S504, the distributed job receiving unit 52 of the distribution control unit 50 receives not only the head portion of the print job but the entire print job. In the next step S106, the distribution control unit 50 needs to obtain the total page number Q by referring to the total page number information TP. Therefore, the second job control language unit received last in the print job. This is because it is necessary to receive 501b.

  In step S512, the print job transmission unit 58 of the distribution control unit 50 transmits the print job to which the page specifying information PE is added to each distribution destination printer as the second print jobs JB21 to JB24. In step S504, since the entire print job has been received, it is not necessary to repeat reception of the first print job JB1 and transmission of the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 as in the first embodiment.

  Since the processes in other steps S102 and S106 to S110 are the same as those in the first and second embodiments, the same reference numerals are given in FIG.

  According to this modification, since it is necessary to receive the entire first print job JB1 at once, it is necessary to secure an area in the buffer 36 that can store the entire first print job JB1. Other than that, the same operations and effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained.

・ Second modification:
In the second embodiment, the double-sided printing mode for printing one page on each side of the printing paper is used, but it can also be applied to other printing modes for printing a plurality of pages on one printing paper. . Other print modes include, for example, a print mode in which a plurality of pages are printed side by side on the first surface F1 of a single print sheet, specifically, a reduced print mode. Alternatively, there is a print mode for printing a plurality of pages on the first surface F1 and the second surface F2, respectively, specifically, a reduced duplex print mode. As a second modification, a case will be described in which a printing mode is used in which two pages are printed on the first surface F1 and the second surface F2, that is, four pages are printed on one printing sheet. FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram for explaining allocation page determination in the second modified example.

  Also in the second modification, the processing steps for determining the allocation page are basically the same as the processing steps in the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17A conceptually shows a print result when the first print job JB1 is printed by one printer PRT. In the example shown in FIG. 17, since printing is started from the second surface F2, the acquired page print surface designation information is “FC = BK”. Further, it is assumed that the total number of pages Q is 20, and the number of distribution destination printers is three. As in the second embodiment, the allocation page determination unit 56 calculates the total number Qv of print sheets to be output using the first page print surface designation information and the total page count Q, and print sheets to be output. Is assigned to each distribution destination printer. In the example shown in FIG. 17, the total number of print sheets Qv = 6 is determined as shown in FIG. 17B, and two sheets should be output to each distribution destination printer as shown in FIG. 17C. Printing paper is allocated.

  Furthermore, the allocation page determination unit 56 determines a page to be printed on the allocated printing paper as an allocation page. In the example shown in FIG. 17, as shown in FIG. 17D, two pages are allocated to the first printing paper, and four pages are allocated to the subsequent printing paper (except for the printing paper to which the final page is allocated). As a result, the start page number S (m) and the end page number E (m) of the allocation page of each distribution destination printer are calculated as shown in FIG.

  As shown above, the same print results as when the first print job JB1 was printed by one printer PRT were reproduced in various print modes for printing a plurality of pages on one print sheet. it can.

・ Other variations:
In the second embodiment, FIG. 12: In step S1102, the first page printing surface designation information is acquired to determine the allocation page, but the number of pages printed on the printing paper on which the first page is printed is specified. If it is possible information, the allocation page can be determined. Therefore, the number of pages to be printed on the printing paper on which the first page is printed may be described as it is in the job control language unit 501, and this may be acquired in step S1102.

  In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the first print job JB1 does not include the page specifying information PE, but one of the print data included in the page description language part 502 of the first print job JB1. The page specifying information PE for specifying the page of the part may be included.

  In such a case, the distribution control unit 50 acquires the page specifying information PE instead of the total page number information TP when acquiring the total page number information TP (FIG. 5: step S106). The distribution control unit 50 counts the number of pages in the range specified by the page specifying information PE and sets it as the total number of pages Q requested to be printed.

Then, after determining the allocation page, the distribution control unit 50 changes the page specification information PE described in the first print job JB1 to the page specification information PE that specifies the allocation page, and performs the second printing. Jobs JB21 to JB24 may be generated. At that time, the start page number and the end page number described in the page specifying information PE appropriately specify a page in the range specified by the page specifying information PE described in the first print job JB1. Adjust to. For example, consider a case where 10 pages from the 5th page to the 14th page are specified by the page specifying information PE described in the first print job JB1. Then, it is assumed that the 10 pages are distributed to four distribution destination printers as in the example shown in FIG. Then, the allocation page is expressed by the above formulas (1) to (3),
First distribution destination printer (printer PRT1): S (1) = 1, E (1) = 3;
Second destination printer (printer PRT2): S (2) = 4, E (2) = 6;
Third distribution destination printer (printer PRT3): S (3) = 7, E (3) = 8;
Fourth distribution destination printer (printer PRT4): S (4) = 9, E (4) = 10;
However, the page specification information PE described in the second print jobs JB21 to JB24 is actually added 4 to each value so that 10 pages from the 5th page to the 14th page are printed. Adjust.

Therefore, the start page number Sa (m) and the end page number Ea (m) of the allocated page after adjustment are
First distribution destination printer (printer PRT1): Sa (1) = 5, Ea (1) = 7
Second distribution destination printer (printer PRT2): Sa (2) = 8, Ea (2) = 10
Third destination printer (printer PRT3): Sa (3) = 11, Ea (3) = 12.
Fourth destination printer (printer PRT4): Sa (4) = 13, Ea (4) = 14
It becomes.

  In the first and second embodiments, each part of the printer PRT may be configured as hardware instead of being configured as software, or may be configured as hardware. It may be configured as software.

  Various types of printer engines 90 in the first and second embodiments can be used. For example, not only a laser type but also any type of printer engine such as an ink jet type, a sublimation type, a dot impact type, and a thermal transfer type can be used.

  As mentioned above, although the Example and modification of this invention were demonstrated, this invention is not limited to these Example and modification at all, and implementation in a various aspect is possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary. It is.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a distributed printing system in a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of each device that constitutes a distributed printing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a print job. Explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of distributed printing processing. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing routine for distributed printing processing. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing routine of a distribution destination printer identification process. A table showing an example of the number of pages allocated to a distribution destination printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing routine for reception processing of a normal print job. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing routine for normal print job print processing. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a job control language unit of a print job that requests a duplex printing mode. The conceptual diagram explaining the printing form in duplex printing mode. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing routine for determining an assigned page in the duplex printing mode. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating determination of the allocation page at the time of duplex mode. The conceptual diagram explaining the determination result of the allocation page at the time of duplex printing mode. Explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of 1st print job JB1 in a 1st modification. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing routine of distributed printing processing in a first modification. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating the determination of the allocation page in a 2nd modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... TCP / IP part 11 ... Application 12 ... Print job transmission part 13 ... TCP / IP part 20 ... CPU
30 ... Memory 32 ... OID storage unit 34 ... Distribution destination designation file storage unit 36 ... Buffer 40 ... SNMP manager 50 ... Distribution control unit 52 ... Distributed job reception unit 54. .. Distributing destination specifying part 56 ... Allocation page determining part 58 ... Print job transmitting part 60 ... Print job receiving part 70 ... SNMP agent 80 ... Printer controller 81 ... MIB file 82. ..Printer buffer 90 ... Printer engine 100 ... Custom network board 200 ... Network board 400 ... Header 450 ... Data part 501 ... Job control language part 501a ... First job Control language part 501b ... second job control language part 502 ... page description language part PRT ... printer PRB ... printer body CL ... client JB ... print job

Claims (11)

Among a plurality of printing devices connected to a network, the printing control device is built in at least one of the printing devices,
A receiving unit that receives a first print job that requests printing over a plurality of pages;
A distribution destination specifying unit that specifies a plurality of distribution destination printing devices that are distribution destinations of prints requested by the first print job from the plurality of printing devices;
An allocation page determining unit that divides a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job into groups of the number of distribution destination printing apparatuses and determines each allocation page allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus;
A transmission unit that transmits a second print job requesting printing of the assigned page to each of the plurality of distribution destination printing apparatuses;
A printing control apparatus comprising: The print control apparatus according to claim 1,
The first print job is:
Including print data corresponding to a plurality of pages for which printing is requested,
The second print job is
A print control apparatus including the print data as it is and including page specifying information for specifying the assigned page. The print control apparatus according to claim 2,
The print control apparatus, wherein the second print job is a print job in which the page specifying information is added to the first print job. In the printing control apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
The allocation page is one or a plurality of continuous pages,
The print control apparatus, wherein the page specifying information is information for specifying a start page and an end page of the allocation page. The print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The first print job includes page number information for specifying the total number of pages of the plurality of pages requested to be printed,
The allocation page determination unit is a print control apparatus that determines the number of pages of the allocation page based on the page number information. The printing control apparatus according to claim 5,
The first print job further includes print data corresponding to a plurality of pages for which printing is requested,
The print control apparatus configured to receive the page number information before the print data when the first print job is received by the receiving unit. The print control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The allocation page determination unit is a print control apparatus that substantially equalizes the number of pages of each allocated page allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus. The print control apparatus according to claim 7.
The second print job includes all print data corresponding to a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job,
The distribution destination printing apparatus interprets the print data in page order when the printing requested by the second print job is executed, and selectively prints the print data corresponding to the allocated page,
When the total page number is not divisible by the number of distribution destination printing apparatuses, the allocation page determination unit determines an allocation page including pages with an earlier page order among the allocation pages allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus. Print control device that increases the number of pages. A printing device connected to a network,
A receiving unit that receives a first print job that requests printing over a plurality of pages;
A distribution destination specifying unit that specifies a plurality of distribution destination printing devices that are distribution destinations of prints requested by the first print job from the printing device itself and other printing devices connected to the network;
An allocation page determining unit that divides a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job into groups of the number of distribution destination printing apparatuses and determines each allocation page allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus;
A transmission unit that transmits a second print job requesting printing of the assigned page to each of the plurality of distribution destination printing apparatuses;
A printing apparatus comprising: A printing method in a plurality of printing devices connected to a network,
In the specific printing device that is one of the plurality of printing devices,
Receiving a first print job requesting printing across a plurality of pages;
Identifying a plurality of distribution destination printing devices to be a distribution destination of printing requested by the first print job from the plurality of printing devices;
Dividing a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job into groups of the number of distribution destination printing apparatuses, and determining each allocation page allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus;
A second print job requesting printing of the allocated page is transmitted to each of the plurality of distribution destination printing apparatuses,
In each of the distribution destination printing devices,
Receiving the second print job from the specific printing device;
A printing method for executing printing of the assigned page based on the second print job. A computer program for causing a computer to control at least one of a plurality of printing devices connected to a network,
A first function for receiving a first print job requesting printing over a plurality of pages;
A second function for identifying a plurality of distribution destination printing apparatuses that are distribution destinations of printing requested by the first print job from the plurality of printing apparatuses;
A third function that divides a plurality of pages requested to be printed by the first print job into groups of the number of distribution destination printing apparatuses, and determines each allocated page allocated to each distribution destination printing apparatus;
A fourth function of transmitting a second print job requesting printing of the assigned page to each of the plurality of distribution destination printing apparatuses;
A computer program for causing the computer to realize the above.

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