JP2007083501A - Image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus which prevents an outputted article by another printing job from being mixed up among a plurality of numbers of printed articles. <P>SOLUTION: When a plurality of the numbers of printing jobs are issued, even in an application for practicing a plurality of the numbers of printing by a system that the printing application issues the printing jobs by the numbers of designated numbers by a user to an instrument without designating a plurality of the numbers as printing data, information on the numbers is buried in the printing data, and the information on the numbers are interpreted by the printer side when the printing data are interpreted so that they are reflected in the time when the printing jobs are practiced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus having a network function and a print driver using the image processing apparatus.

  Printers and multifunction peripherals with network functions have become widespread, and forms commonly used by being connected to a plurality of PC clients such as offices are becoming common.

  When a print job is issued from a PC or the like to a printer or a multifunction device equipped with a print function, it is common for the user to control the number of copies by a PC print driver or an application that is trying to execute printing. . There are two main types of implementation of multiple copies. One is a widely used method, which embeds copy number information in print data, interprets the copy number information when interpreting the print data on the printer side, and reflects it when executing the print job. The other is an uncommon method, in which the print application issues a print job to the device for the number of copies specified by the user without specifying a plurality of copies as the print data.

For example, Patent Document 1 can be cited as a conventional example.
JP 2001-134401 A

  In the latter method, that is, when a print application issues a print job for the number of times specified by the user without specifying a plurality of copies as print data, the printer that receives the print job It is impossible to identify whether or not a plurality of distinct print jobs waiting in the first place are received when a plurality of identical data are instructed to be printed. Therefore, for example, when a user issues 20 print jobs from an application that adopts the latter method, a print job that is output as a single copy is issued 20 times continuously to the printer.

  Naturally, when the printer is shared with a plurality of client PCs via a network, there may be a plurality of PCs that request printing at the same time. The printer queues the jobs in the order received, prints them out of the queues in the registered order, and executes the print job, so even in such a shared state, there is no printing service without incurring resource contention or mixed output. It is possible to provide.

  However, the above-described job control by queuing performed on the printer side is performed in units of jobs. Therefore, as described above, in the case of an application that does not specify a plurality of copies as print data, and that executes a plurality of copies by a method in which the print application issues a print job to the device for the number of copies specified by the user. In this case, the multi-copy printing that the user has instructed to execute is input to the device as a plurality of jobs. If only 20 copies of the 20 copies are still sent to the device, another client may When print processing is requested to the same device, there is a case in which another printed material is mixed between the 10th and 11th output products.

  As a result of the above, the user must check whether another printed material is mixed in the printed material. This tends to increase as the print volume has increased dramatically in recent years and the sharing environment has been improved by improving the network capability of the device. In addition, there are a few minority applications that can print multiple copies using this method, but there are applications that use such a method in applications that are widely used in the world and used frequently every day. The frequency with which the above-described problems occur is high.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and a print application issues a print job to a device for the number of copies specified by the user without specifying a plurality of copies as print data. Even in an application that performs multi-copy printing in the case of instructing multi-copies printing by embedding the copy information in the print data and interpreting the copy information on the printer side when interpreting the print data and reflecting it when executing the print job It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus that provides the same operability and improves the convenience of an output product by preventing an output product from another print job from being mixed between a plurality of printed products.

  In order to solve the problems, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention has the means or function described in claims 1 to 9.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art and prints multiple copies in such a way that the print application issues a print job to the device for the number of copies specified by the user without specifying multiple copies as print data. The same operability as when multiple copies are instructed by a method in which copy information is embedded in the print data and the printer interprets the copy information when interpreting the print data and reflects it when the print job is executed. In addition, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus that improves the convenience of an output product by preventing the output product from another print job from being mixed in between multiple copies.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an external view of a device to which the present invention is applied.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the device in FIG. In the device configuration shown in this example, main modules are connected to each other by a system bus 201 that mediates transmission and reception of data and control signals. These configurations are examples used in the description of the embodiments, and the present invention can be applied to any configuration as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  The operation unit 202 is a part composed of one or a plurality of keys and a display device that are usually provided in the device, and is a part that inputs and outputs operations for the user's device.

  The primary storage device 203 and the secondary storage device 204 are devices such as a semiconductor storage device and a magnetic recording device that are used by the system for printing processing and for storing data used by the system temporarily or for a long time.

  The network adapter 205 is a device that transmits / receives information to / from an external device connected via the network 1, and the protocol analysis unit 206 processes the data received by the network adapter 205 according to the protocol that can be processed within the device. It is for converting to a different format. However, since the functions of the network adapter 205 and the protocol analysis unit 206 are not the essence of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The PDL interpretation unit 207 functions to convert print target data (PDL data) into image data. The converted image data is sent to the print engine 209 via the engine controller 208 to perform physical printing processing. Done. A description of these detailed configurations is also omitted for the same reason as described above.

  The scan engine 211 and the scan engine controller 210 are devices for optically scanning a paper document and converting it into electronic information. A description of these detailed configurations is also omitted for the same reason as described above.

  The billing management unit 212 is a module in charge of management for performing billing correctly according to the usage status of the user's device and the amount of consumables required for print processing.

  The job management unit 214 is a module that controls the job to be input to the device. In addition to normal job cancellation and priority change processing, the job management unit 214 also performs control when a special job that is a feature of the present invention is input. Done in the module.

  The print queue 215 is for managing print jobs submitted to the device in the order of submission. The print job is executed by transmitting the job located at the head of the queue to the PDL interpretation unit 207. At the time of job cancellation or priority change processing performed in the job management unit 214, the processing result is reflected in the internal state of the queue.

  The main controller 213 controls the overall operation of each module described above, and executes the steps for realizing the functions of the present invention.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an operation mode when a device according to the present invention and a plurality of clients are connected via a network.

  As shown in the figure, a device 302 and four PCs from clients A (304) to D (303) are connected to a network 301.

  Here, the client is assumed to be a PC that issues a print job to the device 302. However, this is only an example of an environment for explaining the effect of the invention in this embodiment, and other forms. Needless to say, the present invention is effective as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a print driver setting screen displayed on the PC screen when the user selects print processing from the application executed on each client in FIG.

  For the purpose of the following explanation, when printing of a plurality of copies is instructed with the application, the print application does not designate a plurality of copies as print data, and the print application is sent to the device by the number of copies designated by the user by the print application. It is assumed that the application is issued to That is, when the user issues 20 print jobs from the application, the print job output as 1 copy is issued to the printer 20 times continuously.

  Naturally, the same effect can be obtained even if the present invention is applied to an application that issues an instruction to print a plurality of copies as print data.

  As shown in the figure, when a user inputs a required number of copies in the number of copies field 402 when instructing printing of a plurality of copies, the result is reflected in the output result of the printer that executes printing. When the print start button 403 is pressed, setting information that has been set by the user so far is passed to the application, and a print job is issued based on the setting information and transmitted to the device.

  There are a plurality of items that the user can set for a print job. However, in the description of this embodiment, setting items other than the number of copies are not important, and only the number of copies is treated as a user setting here. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is effective even if any other setting is made by the user as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the data configuration of a group start special job transmitted to a device before a print driver to which the present invention is applied transmits print data when a client issues a print job. It is.

  The data of the group start special job is divided into four fields. The header area 501 and the termination information 504 are for processing when the device receives job data. Since these pieces of information are irrelevant in explaining the effects of the present invention, they are omitted.

  When the device according to the present invention receives job data, the job type identification information 502 indicates whether the received job is a normal print job as shown in FIG. 6 or a special job as shown in FIG. This is a field for storing information for identifying.

  The group ID 503 indicates that even when the device of the present invention transmits a plurality of copies to the device by issuing a job for the number of copies as described above, a plurality of jobs issued by a single print instruction by the user can be received on the device side. It is for making it recognize as a unit.

  Whether the above-described control is executed on the device side using the group ID and special job will be described later.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of a normal print job that is transmitted to a device by a print driver to which the present invention is applied when a client issues a print job.

  Ordinary print job data is divided into six fields. The header area 601 and termination information 606 are for processing when the device receives job data. Since these pieces of information are irrelevant in explaining the effects of the present invention, they are omitted.

  The job type identification information 602 indicates whether the received job is a normal print job as shown in FIG. 6 or a special job as shown in FIG. 5 or 7 when the device according to the present invention receives job data. This is a field for storing information for identifying.

  The group ID 603 indicates that even when the device of the present invention transmits a plurality of copies to the device by issuing a job for the number of copies as described above, a plurality of jobs issued according to a single print instruction by the user are transmitted on the device side. It is for making it recognize as a unit.

  Whether the above-described control is executed on the device side using the group ID and special job will be described later.

  The print setting information 604 is a field for storing setting information when the user performs various settings to be reflected in the print result by the print driver.

  Data 605 is an area in which image data to be printed is stored.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the data configuration of a group end special job transmitted to a device after a print driver to which the present invention has been applied finishes transmitting print data when a client issues a print job. is there.

  The data of the group end special job is divided into four fields. The header area 701 and the termination information 704 are for processing when the device receives job data. Since these pieces of information are irrelevant in explaining the effects of the present invention, they are omitted.

  The job type identification information 702 indicates whether the received job is a normal print job as shown in FIG. 6 or a special job as shown in FIG. 5 or 7 when the device according to the present invention receives job data. This is a field for storing information for identifying.

  Even when the device of the present invention transmits a plurality of copies to the device by issuing a job for the number of copies as described above, the group ID 703 indicates that a plurality of jobs issued according to a single print instruction by the user is transmitted on the device side. It is for making it recognize as a unit.

  Whether the above-described control is executed on the device side using the group ID and special job will be described later.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of job type identification information in the fields constituting the various jobs shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. Values shown in the figure are stored in the above-described fields, and the type of job is made possible by viewing the values on the receiving device side.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the processing flow from the print setting of the print driver to the end of the actual print processing according to the present invention.

  When the user selects print processing from the application, a print driver setting screen as shown in FIG. 4 is output, and a processing request is first waited for the user to perform necessary setting processing (step S901).

  If there is an input from the user, it is determined whether or not it is a press of the print start button 403 (step S902). If not, the process proceeds to step S903, and other buttons are pressed. Alternatively, processing at the time of data input is executed. The setting of the number of copies is also included in the processing content of step S903.

If it is determined in step S902 that the print start button 403 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S904 to determine the group ID that is a feature of the present invention.
The group ID determined in S904 is set in the group ID field of the group start special job (step S905), and the group start special job is transmitted to the device (step S906).

  There are various ways to acquire a group ID.For example, a group ID is managed on the device side, and a group ID is issued by a client request or a server that issues a group ID is provided separately from the device. Also good. Alternatively, arbitrary numbers and character strings issued on the client side may be added, and any method may be used as long as the uniqueness is practically high. Therefore, it goes without saying that the present invention is effective when the group ID is issued by any method as long as the items described in the claims are satisfied.

  After step S906, the process proceeds to step S907 to issue a normal print job. As described with reference to FIG. 4, when printing of a plurality of copies is instructed with the application assumed in the description of this embodiment, the number of copies specified by the user by the print application is specified without specifying a plurality of copies as print data. In this step, the number of jobs corresponding to the number of copies set by the user is issued to the device. Therefore, the print driver transitions to a normal print job end waiting state in order to transmit the group end special job after transmission of all normal print jobs is completed (step S908).

  When the transmission of the normal print job is completed, the print driver issues a group end special job (step S909), and the print processing ends.

  FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a job submission status that is specifically submitted to a device in order to explain the effects of this embodiment. The four fields shown will be described.

  The job number field is a unique number assigned in order when the device receives a job, and is managed by the job management unit 214.

  The reception time field indicates the time when the device receives the job.

  The job type field and the group ID field are information necessary for realizing a mechanism for collectively managing a group of separately issued jobs, which is a feature of the present invention, and will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the job type identification information and the contents of the group ID stored in the job issued by the print driver according to the present invention are shown.

  Three types of job types are identified: a group start special job, a group end special job, and a normal job.

  Since a print job transmitted from a print driver to which the present invention is not applied does not include the above-described job type identification information and group ID, the job type field is a normal job, and the group ID field is a group job. It is expressed by having no ID.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of job information managed by the print queue 215. Unlike the job management unit 214, the print queue 215 holds only jobs that are actually printed as entries. Therefore, the group start special job and the group end special job are not held in the print queue 215.

  As shown in the figure, the job information managed by the print queue 215 holds job information by information consisting of two fields of a job ID 1101 and a group ID 1102.

  FIG. 12 shows the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 17: 40.35.01 in the job input state shown in FIG. Since the queue has a FIFO configuration, an explanation will be given here assuming that entries are input from the right side of the figure and are extracted from the left side. The leftmost job becomes the job being executed, and the job is deleted from the entry when the execution is completed.

  In the description, an entry in the print queue 215 is represented by a square in which a job ID and a group ID are described. If the group ID does not exist, only the job ID is displayed.

  In FIG. 12, only one job having the job ID 1031 is entered at this time, and the job is immediately executed.

  FIG. 13 shows the internal state of the print queue 215 at the time 18: 30.25.73 in the job input state shown in FIG. At time 18: 30.25.73, the job with job ID 1032 is submitted, but in this example, it is assumed that the job with job ID 1031 is still running, so there are two jobs in the queue. Shows the situation.

  As a matter of course, when the job with the job ID 1031 is completed at the time 18: 30.25.73, since the entry of the job is deleted from the print queue 215, only the job with the job ID 1032 is stored in the print queue 215. Will exist.

  FIG. 14 shows a situation in which the time is not specified but the job with the job ID 1031 is completed after a lapse of time from the state of FIG. Furthermore, when the processing of the job with job ID 1032 is completed as time elapses, the entry disappears from the print queue 215.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at the time 18: 35.38.26 in the job input state shown in FIG. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the job with the job ID 1032 has been completed at the time 18: 35.38.26.

  At time 18: 35.38.26, according to the information in FIG. 10, the group start special job with the group ID 903 with the job ID 1033 is received. However, as described above, only the print target job is held as an entry in the print queue 215, so the print queue entry at this point remains empty.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at the time 18: 35.38.30 in the job input state shown in FIG. According to the information in FIG. 10, the normal job of the group ID 903 of the job ID 1034 is received at the time 18: 35.38.30. However, according to the device of the present invention, the normal job having the group ID is not put in the print queue 215 until the corresponding group end special job is received, and thus is in this state.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.33 in the job input state shown in FIG. According to the information in FIG. 10, a normal job without a group ID of job ID 1035 is received at time 18: 35.38.33. Since this is a normal job without a group ID, the device can immediately start processing this job, and is placed in the print queue 215. Therefore, one job with the job ID 1035 exists in the print queue 215 at this time, and the print processing is immediately executed by the device.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.36 in the job input state shown in FIG. According to the information in FIG. 10, the normal job of the group ID 903 of the job ID 1036 is received at the time 18: 35.38.36. However, the job is not put in the print queue 215 for the reason described in FIG.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.39 in the job input state shown in FIG. According to the information in FIG. 10, the normal job of the group ID 903 of the job ID 1037 is received at the time 18: 35.38.39. However, the job is not put in the print queue 215 for the reason described in FIG.

  FIG. 20 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.43 in the job input state shown in FIG. According to the information in FIG. 10, the group end special job with the group ID 903 with the job ID 1038 is received at the time 18: 35.38.43.

  At this stage, if the print queue 215 is locked and the job submission from other clients is blocked, all the normal jobs of the group ID 903 are submitted to the print queue 215, which is a problem to be solved by the present invention. When printing is instructed, the print application does not specify a plurality of copies, but the print application issues a print job to the device for the number of copies specified by the user. Even if it is done, it is possible to prevent a print job issued from another client from interrupting.

  As shown in the drawing, jobs having the same group ID 903 entered at time 18: 35.38.30, time 18: 35.38.36, and time 18: 35.38.39 are continuously entered in the print queue 215.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.44.79 in the job input state shown in FIG. According to the information in FIG. 10, at time 18: 35.44.79, a normal job having no job ID 1039 group ID is received. For the reason described in FIG. 17, the job is immediately put in the print queue 215.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining a main control processing flow when a print job is input in the job management unit 214.

  First, a print job input waiting state is entered (step S2201), and when the input of a job is detected, a process for determining the job type of the input job is performed in step S2202.

  Proceeding to step S2203, it is determined whether or not the job type determined in step S2202 is a group start special job, and if it is a group start special job, the process proceeds to step S2204 to execute reception processing of the group start special job and step again. Return to the print job input waiting state of S2201.

  If it is determined in step S2203 that the submitted job is not a group start special job, the process advances to step S2205 to determine whether the job is a group end special job.

  If it is determined that the job is a group end special job, the process proceeds to step S2206 to execute reception processing of the group end special job and return to the print job input waiting state in step S2201 again.

  If it is determined in step S2205 that the submitted job is not a group end special job, the process advances to step S2207 to determine whether the job is a normal print job.

  If it is determined that the print job is a normal print job, the process advances to step S2208 to execute a normal print job reception process, and returns to the print job input waiting state in step S2201 again.

  If the input job is not a normal print job in step S2207, the device regards it as an error, performs error processing (step S2209), and returns to the print job input waiting state in step S2201 again.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining details of the group start special job reception process in step S2204 in FIG.

  First, a group ID included in the job is extracted (step S2301), and then it is determined whether or not the extracted group ID is already registered (step S2302).

  As a result of the determination, if the group ID has already been registered, the group start processing is instructed twice, so that it is treated as an error, error processing is performed (step S2303), and the processing ends.

  If it is determined in step S2302 that the group ID is not registered, the group ID extracted in step S2301 is registered in the job management unit 214 (step S2304), and a timer is started (step S2305).

  The timer is the same in order to avoid continuing job information that will not be executed in the device when the group end special job is not submitted for some reason after the group start special job is submitted. This is for executing timeout error processing when a group job is not submitted within a certain time.

  The process ends after setting the timer.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart for explaining details of the normal print job reception process in step S2208 in FIG.

  First, the group ID included in the job is extracted (step S2401). If the group ID is not included in step S2401 in step S2403, it means that the print job should be executed immediately. Then, the job is entered into the print queue 215 and the process is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S2403 that the job includes a group ID, the process advances to step S2404 to determine whether the group ID has already been registered (step S2404).

  If the group ID is not registered as a result of the determination in step S2404, it is handled as an error, error processing is performed (step S2405), and the process is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S2404 that the group ID has already been registered, unlike the processing of a normal job having no group ID, the job is immediately stored in the secondary storage device 204 instead of submitting the job to the print queue 215. The print job data is saved (step S2406). This data remains stored in the secondary storage device 204 until the corresponding end-of-group special job arrives or a timeout error occurs.

  Following step S2406, the process proceeds to step S2407, where the elapsed time of the timeout timer is reset and the process ends.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart for explaining details of the group end special job reception processing in step S2206 in FIG.

  First, a group ID included in the job is extracted (step S2501), and then it is determined whether the extracted group ID is already registered (step S2502).

  If it is determined that the group ID is not registered, an error process is performed (step S2503), and the process ends.

  If it is determined in step S2502 that the group ID is registered, the job management unit 214 selects a normal print job having the same group ID recorded in the secondary storage device 204 (step S2504).

  Next, the print queue 215 is locked and the print job input from the client is temporarily blocked. This is a process for preventing other jobs from interrupting while a plurality of jobs having the same group ID are being input to the print queue 215.

  When the print queue 215 is locked, jobs having the same group ID selected in step S2504 are input to the print queue 215 in the order of input to the device (step S2506). When all the corresponding jobs are queued, the process is completed in step S2505. The lock of the print queue 215 that has been performed is released (step S2507), and the job can be submitted again from the client.

  The process ends when the lock of the print queue 215 is released.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining the behavior when the priority of a job in the print queue 215 to which a job having a group ID is input is changed.

  FIG. 27 shows the result of moving the print queue forward by increasing the priority of the job whose job ID is 1039 when the internal state of the print queue is as shown in FIG. Is.

  If the priority order of a normal print job is changed, when the job priority is increased by one, the job of exchanging the priorities of the immediately preceding job and the own job is performed. However, as shown in the figure, the job immediately before the job with the job ID 1039 is the job with the job ID 1037 and the group ID 903. The job and the job ID 1036 are the group ID 903 and the job ID 1034 is the job with the group ID 903. It should be controlled as a group of three jobs.

  Therefore, if the priority of the job with the group ID 903 is exchanged between the job with the job ID 1039 and the immediately preceding job ID 1037, the job with the job ID 1039 is interrupted between the three jobs with the group ID 903. And the problem to be solved by the present invention will occur.

  Therefore, when changing the priority of a job in the present invention, if the job immediately before the own job is a group of jobs having a group ID, the own job is moved to a position that has overtaken all those jobs. Processing is required. The state of FIG. 27 shows the result of applying the above processing.

  FIG. 27 shows an example in which only one job priority is changed, but when changing a plurality of priorities, the same method can be used by repeating the method described in FIG. 27 by the number of priorities. Since an effect is obtained, the description when changing the plurality of priorities is omitted. In the case of lowering the priority, the processing content is the same except for the difference in the movement direction inside the queue, and the description is omitted.

  Further, when the own job is a group having a group ID, it will be described later.

  FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining the behavior when a job in the print queue 215 to which a job having a group ID is input is canceled.

  FIG. 29 shows the result of canceling a job with a job ID of 1039 when the internal state of the print queue is as shown in FIG. Normally, a print job is canceled for each job entered in the queue. However, in the present invention, control is performed so that jobs having the same group behave as a single job. Therefore, although it is possible to cancel only a part of jobs having the same group, such behavior is not preferable in view of the problem to be solved by the present invention.

  Therefore, when canceling a job group having the same group, it is necessary to behave so that all corresponding jobs are canceled. . The state of FIG. 29 shows the result of applying the above processing.

  FIG. 30 shows a basic screen of the operation unit 202 of the device according to the present invention. Since the device assumed in the present embodiment uses, as an example, a multi-function device having a copy function, a scan function, a box function, and various transmission functions in addition to the function as a printer, buttons for these functions are displayed.

  The print job cancel and priority change processing can be selected by pressing the system status / cancel button 3001.

  FIG. 31 shows a state where the system status / cancel button 3001 is pressed and the print button 3101 is pressed on the screen shown in FIG. As described above, since it is a multi-function device, various buttons having functions unnecessary for explaining the effects of the present invention are included, but explanations thereof will be omitted.

  A job status screen 3102 displays a job number, job type, group ID, and the like as information on the print job entered in the print queue 215 at the top of FIG. Since the meaning of each piece of information has already been performed, description thereof will be omitted. When one of the fields of the corresponding job field on the job status selection screen is pressed, the job is selected and becomes a job operation target.

  At the bottom of the job status screen 3102, there are a cancel button 3103, a priority increase button 3104, and a priority decrease button 3105. The job selected on the above-described job status screen is the processing target.

  For a job having a group ID, if even one job having the group ID is selected, all other jobs having the same group ID are controlled to be selected.

  When the close button 3106 is pressed, the screen of FIG. 31 is closed and the screen of FIG. 30 is restored.

  FIG. 32 shows a screen immediately after pressing the stop button 3103 with the job having the group ID 903 selected in the job state shown in FIG. As described above, when a job having a group ID is selected, all jobs having the same group ID are controlled so that they are simultaneously selected, so that all jobs having a group ID 903 are deleted. .

  FIG. 33 shows a screen immediately after pressing the button 3104 for raising the priority after selecting the job with the job number 1039 in the job state shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 31, the job having the priority one higher than the job with the job number 1039 is the job with the job number 1037 and the group ID 903. Because the job has a group ID, the priority is controlled so that all jobs with the same group ID are overtaken. As a result, job number 1034. The job with job number 1039 has been moved immediately before the job with group ID 903. I understand.

  FIG. 34 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of job management processing that is instructed by the user on the screen shown in FIG.

  First, in order to accept a request from the user when the screen of FIG. 31 is displayed, the apparatus waits for input from the user (step S3401). If there is an input from the user, the process proceeds to step S3402, and it is determined whether or not the input from the user is a job selection process on the job status screen 3102.

  If it is determined in step S3402 that the job selection process is being performed, the process proceeds to step S3403, and after executing the job selection process, the process again waits for input from the user in step S3401.

  If it is determined in step S3402 that the job selection process has not been performed, the process advances to step S3404 to determine whether or not the user presses the close button 3106. As a result of the determination, if the user presses the close button 3106, the process is terminated without doing anything, and the screen returns to the state shown in FIG. 30 as a result.

  If it is determined in step S3404 that the close button 3106 has not been pressed, the process advances to step S3405 to further determine whether or not the user has pressed the stop button 3103.

  If it is determined that the cancel button 3103 has been pressed, the process advances to step S3406 to determine whether there is a job that is currently selected, and if there is a job that is selected, cancel the job. If there is no job in the selected state (step S3407), nothing is executed and the process returns to the input waiting state from the user in step S3401.

  As a result of the determination in step S3405, if the input from the user is not a press of the stop button 3103, the process proceeds to step S3408 to determine whether or not the button 3104 is a priority raising button.

  As a result of the determination, if the input from the user is a push of the priority raising button 3104, the process proceeds to step S3409, where it is determined whether there is a job that is in the selected state, and there is a job in the selected state. For example, processing for increasing the priority of these jobs is executed (step S3410), and if there is no job in the selected state, nothing is executed and the process returns to the input waiting state from the user in step S3401.

  As a result of the determination in step S3408, if the input from the user is not pressing the button 3104 for increasing the priority, the process proceeds to step S3411 to determine whether the button 3105 is for decreasing the priority.

  As a result of the determination, if the input from the user is pressing the button 3105 for lowering the priority, the process proceeds to step S3412 to determine whether there is a job that is currently selected, and there is a job that is in the selected state. For example, the process of lowering the priority of these jobs is executed (step S3413), and if there is no job in the selected state, nothing is executed and the process returns to the input waiting state from the user in step S3401.

  If the result of the determination in step S3411 is that the input from the user is not a depression of the priority lowering button 3105, other processing is executed (step S3414). . Which process specifically corresponds to other processes is not important in explaining the effect of the present invention, and will not be described.

  FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining details of the job selection processing in step S3403 in FIG.

  First, in step S3501, it is determined whether there is a job that is already selected. In the job operation of this embodiment, selection of a plurality of jobs is not permitted, and it is assumed that job selection is always performed exclusively. However, group jobs are treated as if they were a single job.

  If it is determined in step S3501 that there is a job that is already selected, the selected state of the already selected job is canceled (step S3502), and the process proceeds to step S3503. If the result of determination in step S3501 is that there is no job already selected, nothing is done and the process proceeds to step S3503.

  In step S3503, the job selected on the job status screen 3102 by the user is temporarily selected. In step S3504, it is determined whether the job selected in the previous step has a group ID.

  If the result of determination in step S3504 is that there is no group ID, job selection processing ends at this stage.

  If it is determined in step S3504 that the job selected in step S3503 has a group ID, the process advances to step S3505 to select all jobs having the same group ID. From step S3505, all jobs existing in the device are scanned, and processing for selecting a job having the same group ID as the job selected in step S3503 is performed.

  First, in step S3505, it is determined whether or not scanning has been completed for all jobs. If there are still unscanned jobs, the process proceeds to step S3506 to pick up the next unscanned job, and that job is selected in step S3503. It is determined whether or not the job has the same group ID (step S3507). If it is determined that the job is not the same group, the process returns to step S3505 to perform the same check for the next unscanned job.

  If it is determined in step S3507 that the job has the same group ID as the job selected in step S3503, the process proceeds to step S3508, the job is selected, and then the process returns to step S3505 again. A similar check is performed for the scan job.

  Processing from step S3505 to step S3508 is performed until such processing is checked for all jobs. If it is determined in step S3505 that there are no more unscanned jobs, the job selection process ends.

  FIG. 36 is a flowchart for explaining details of the job cancel processing in step S3407 in FIG.

  First, in step S3601, it is determined whether or not the deletion processing has been completed for all selected jobs. If there are still unprocessed jobs, the process proceeds to step S3602 to select the next job to be deleted and select the job. Delete (step S3603). Thereafter, the process returns to step S3601 again, and is repeated until the processing is completed for all jobs selected as the deletion target. When the deletion is completed for all jobs, the cancel process ends.

  FIG. 37 is a flowchart for explaining details of the processing for raising the priority of a job in step S3410 in FIG.

  First, it is determined whether or not there is a selected job that is being executed, that is, being printed (step S3701). This is due to the specification that the priority of the job being executed cannot be changed in the device in this embodiment. However, this specification is an example related to the device used in the present embodiment, and other specifications, that is, devices that can forcibly change the priority of a job being executed, are not limited as long as the requirements described in the claims are satisfied. Needless to say, the invention is effective.

  If it is determined in step S3701 that there is a job being executed in the selected job, the priority raising process is terminated at that stage. The process advances to step S3702 only when there is no job being executed among the selected jobs. In the case of a job having a group ID, if at least one of the jobs in the same group is being executed, it is determined that the job is being executed in this step.

  In step S3702, it is determined whether the next selected job has a group ID. Since a job having no group ID can be processed alone, the job immediately before the job in the print queue 215 is selected (step S3704). If the selected job has a group ID, the job immediately before the highest priority job in the same group is selected (step S3703).

  The job selected in steps S3703 and S3704 is a candidate for a job whose order is changed after the priority is changed. When step S3703 and step S3704 are completed, the process proceeds to step S3705.

  In step S3705, it is determined whether the candidate job whose order is switched after the priority change selected in steps S3703 and S3704 has a group ID. If the job has a group ID, the same group ID as that job is further determined. Among the held jobs, the job with the highest priority is selected again (step S3706), and then the process proceeds to step S3707. This time, the reselected job is a candidate job whose order is changed after the priority is changed.

  As a result of the determination in step S3705, if the candidate job whose order is changed after the priority change selected in steps S3703 and S3704 does not have a group ID, the process proceeds to step S3707 without doing anything.

  In step S3707, it is determined whether or not a candidate job whose order is changed after the priority change selected in the above processing is being executed. If the job is being executed, the priority change during the execution is not permitted as a specification, and the process of raising the priority of the job selected by the user cannot be performed. Therefore, the process ends here.

  If the job is not being executed, the job selected by the user is moved immediately before the candidate job whose order is changed after the previous priority change, and the process for raising the priority is completed.

  FIG. 38 is a flowchart for explaining details of the job priority lowering process in step S3413 in FIG.

  First, it is determined whether or not there is a selected job that is being executed, that is, that is undergoing print processing (step S3801). This is due to the specification that the priority of the job being executed cannot be changed in the device in this embodiment. However, this specification is an example related to the device used in the present embodiment, and other specifications, that is, devices that can forcibly change the priority of a job being executed, are not limited as long as the requirements described in the claims are satisfied. Needless to say, the invention is effective.

  If it is determined in step S3801 that the selected job is being executed, the priority lowering process ends at that stage. The process advances to step S3802 only when no job being executed exists in the selected job. In the case of a job having a group ID, if at least one of the jobs in the same group is being executed, it is determined that the job is being executed in this step.

  In step S3802, it is determined whether or not the job selected as the target for lowering the priority by the user has the lowest priority in the print queue 215. If the selected job is already at the lowest level, the priority cannot be lowered any more, so the priority lowering process is terminated. Only when it is determined in step S3802 that the priority of the selected job is not the lowest, the process proceeds to step S3803.

  In step S3803, it is determined whether the selected job has a group ID. Since a job having no group ID can be processed alone, the job immediately after the job in the print queue 215 is selected (step S3805). If the selected job has a group ID, the job immediately before the lowest priority job in the same group is selected (step S3804).

  The job selected in step S3804 and step S3805 is a candidate for a job whose order is changed after the priority is changed. When step S3804 and step S3805 are completed, the process proceeds to step S3806.

  In step S3806, it is determined whether the candidate job whose order is changed after the priority change selected in steps S3804 and S3805 has a group ID. If the job has a group ID, the same group ID as that job is further determined. Among the held jobs, the job with the lowest priority is selected again (step S3807), and then the process proceeds to step S3808. This time, the reselected job is a candidate job whose order is changed after the priority is changed.

  As a result of the determination in step S3806, if the candidate job whose order is changed after the priority change selected in steps S3804 and S3805 does not have a group ID, the process proceeds to step S3808 without doing anything.

  In step S3808, the job selected by the user is moved immediately after the candidate job whose order is changed after the previous priority change, and the priority lowering process ends.

An example of the external view of the apparatus to which this invention is applied is shown. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an internal configuration of a device in FIG. It is for showing an example of the operation form when the apparatus by this invention and several clients are connected by the network. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print driver setting screen displayed on a PC screen when a user selects print processing from an application executed on each client in FIG. 3. This is for explaining the data structure of a group start special job transmitted to a device before a print driver to which the present invention is applied when a client issues a print job before transmitting print data. This is for explaining the data structure of a normal print job that is transmitted to a device by a print driver to which the present invention is applied when a client issues a print job. This is for explaining the data structure of a group end special job transmitted to a device after a print driver to which the present invention has been applied finishes transmitting print data when a client issues a print job. This is for explaining a specific example of job type identification information in the fields constituting the various jobs shown in FIGS. This is for explaining the flow of processing from the print setting of the print driver according to the present invention to the end of the actual print processing. In order to explain the effect of the present embodiment, an example of a job submission status that is specifically submitted to a device is shown. This is for explaining the configuration of job information managed by the print queue 215. 10 shows the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 17: 40.35.01 in the job input state shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows the internal state of the print queue 215 at the time 18: 30.25.73 in the job input state shown in FIG. Although the time is not specified, this represents a situation where the job with the job ID 1031 has ended after the time has elapsed from the state of FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.26 in the job input state shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.30 in the job input state shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.33 in the job input state shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.38.36 in the job input state shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at the time 18: 35.38.39 in the job input state shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at the time 18: 35.38.43 in the job input state shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of the internal state of the print queue 215 at time 18: 35.44.79 in the job input state shown in FIG. This is for explaining a main control processing flow at the time of print job input performed in the job management unit 214. FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining details of group start special job reception processing in step S2204 in FIG. 22; FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining details of normal print job reception processing in step S2208 in FIG. 22; FIG. 23 is a flowchart for explaining details of group end special job reception processing in step S2206 in FIG. 22; This is to explain the behavior when the priority of a job in the print queue 215 to which a job having a group ID is input is changed. When the internal state of the print queue is as shown in FIG. 26, the job queue with the job ID of 1039 is incremented by one and represents the result of moving forward in the print queue. . This is to explain the behavior when a job in the print queue 215 in which a job having a group ID is input is canceled. When the internal state of the print queue is as shown in FIG. 28, the result of canceling the job whose job ID is 1039 is shown. It is for showing the basic screen of the operation part 202 of the apparatus by this invention. 30 shows a state where the system status / cancel button 3001 is pressed and the print button 3101 is pressed on the screen shown in FIG. In the job state shown in FIG. 31, a screen immediately after the cancel button 3103 is pressed with the job having the group ID 903 selected is shown. In the job state shown in FIG. 31, the screen immediately after pressing the button 3104 for raising the priority after selecting the job with the job number 1039 is shown. This is to explain the flow of job management processing that is instructed by the user on the screen shown in FIG. FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining details of job selection processing in step S3403 in FIG. 34. FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining details of job cancellation processing in step S3407 in FIG. 34. FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining details of processing for raising the priority of a job in step S3410 in FIG. FIG. 35 is a flowchart for explaining details of a job priority lowering process in step S3413 in FIG.

Claims (11)

Printing means for printing image information, connecting means for connecting to an external device via a network, storage means for storing image information, and job management for receiving and managing jobs from outside the device via the connecting means Having at least means,
The job management means further has a function of recognizing a group start special job and a group end special job, a function of recognizing a group ID added to a normal print job,
When the group start special job is received, among the normal jobs received thereafter, those having the same group ID as that of the group start special job are stored in the storage means without printing after reception. Only do
When the group end special job is received, the normal group having the same group ID received from when the group start special job corresponding to the group ID of the group end special job is received until the group end special job is received. An image processing apparatus, wherein a job is retrieved from the storage device and controllable to execute print processing in the order received.   In devices that can queue multiple print jobs in the device, group start special jobs with the same group ID, group end special jobs, and normal jobs with corresponding group IDs are registered in the print queue as a single print job. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is managed.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the normal job does not have a group ID, the normal job is queued as a normal print job. Selection means for selecting a specific print job for a plurality of print jobs sent to the device, the job management means in the order in the list of print jobs registered in the device for the selected specific print job Has the function to change
When the order in the list of print jobs is changed by the selection unit and the print job management unit,
A group job group consisting of the selected job, a group start special job having the group ID selected by the selection unit and the print job management unit, a group end special job, and a normal job having a corresponding group ID; The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the order is changed, the group job group behaves so that the order is changed as a single job in a lump.   The job selected by the selection unit and the print job management unit is a normal print job having no group ID, or a group start special job having a group ID and a group end special job, and a normal job having a corresponding group ID. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image processing apparatus is one of a group job group.   When the job selected by the selecting unit is canceled by the job managing unit, the selected job is a group job including a group start special job having a group ID and a group end special job and a normal job having a corresponding group ID. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, in the case of a group, the image processing apparatus can be controlled so that all jobs belonging to the group are canceled.   It further has time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time from the time when the group start special job is received, and the group end special job corresponding to the group start special job is not received within a predetermined time set in the device. 2. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the image processing can be controlled so as to automatically cancel the normal print job having the corresponding group ID and the group start special job received so far as timeout. apparatus.   It further has time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time from the last reception of the group start special job or the normal job having the same group ID as the special job, and is the same within a predetermined time set in the device. When a normal job having a group ID of 1 or a corresponding group end special job is not received, the normal print job having the corresponding group ID and the group start special job received so far are automatically canceled as a timeout. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is controllable.   The print driver used in the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group start special job and the group end special job can be issued in addition to the normal job.   The print driver according to claim 9, wherein the normal job can have a group ID.   The program which implement | achieves the step of the said Claim 1-8, or the medium which stored it.

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