JP2007087292A - Print controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent erroneous printing such as feed of a recording medium different from a setting when printing is started from a state that a plurality of jobs different by print settings wait for printing. <P>SOLUTION: A print setting of the first job in a queue is acquired from a spool file stored in an external storage device 112 and is compared with a print setting of a new job for printing to warn that these print settings are different. Print setting information of a preceding job for printing is stored in the external storage device 112, and the print setting information is compared with the print setting of the first job when printing of the first job is started, and a warning is given to a user in the case that the preceding job and the first job have different print settings, whereby the user can obtain a desired print result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus capable of printing without erroneous printing such as feeding a recording medium different from a setting when printing is started from a state in which a plurality of jobs having different print settings are waiting for printing, The present invention relates to a print control method and a job generation method thereof.

  Conventionally, in a printing system in which output information created by an application or the like is converted into print data to be output to a printer by a printer driver on the host computer side and transmitted to the printer, the paper that occurs when no paper is set in the paper feed slot When an error such as a none error occurs or when the user intentionally stops printing, the printing is interrupted and the job enters a print-waiting state. If a new document is printed in this state, it waits for printing. If the print settings are different between the jobs, there is a possibility that the print that was not intended by the user may occur, and incorrect printing such as printing on paper that differs from the settings. There was a risk of causing.

Therefore, for example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, various job attributes including job status values are managed for each job, and when printing, “paper size”, “paper type”, and the like are used. The job attribute information and the paper information in the currently set paper tray are detected. As a result of the comparison, if the corresponding sheet is not stored, the printing process can be prohibited.
JP 2003-131831 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is limited to a printer having a function for detecting the paper information in the paper tray, and needs to exchange information with the printer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and obtains the print setting of the first job in the print queue from the spool file and compares it with the print setting of the job to be newly printed. Means for warning that the print job is different, and print setting information of the job printed last time, and when printing of the first job is started, the print setting information is compared with the print setting of the first job, It is an object of the present invention to provide a print control apparatus that can obtain a desired print result by prompting a warning when the settings are different.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is as follows.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, drawing data is sequentially spooled in units of jobs, the spooled print job is converted into print data that can be analyzed by a predetermined print output device, and printing that can be sent to the print output device A control unit for storing drawing data as a print job in a spool area, and setting print settings from the print job stored in the spool area before storing the drawing data in the spool area by the storage means; Acquisition means for acquiring information; comparison means for comparing print settings of a print job stored in the spool area with print settings of drawing data before being stored in the spool area; and drawing data compared by the comparison means If the print settings are determined to be different, the display means for displaying a warning to the user and the display means Against warning, those comprising a user determination means for determining handling of drawing data, and a management means for managing the print job stored in the spool area on the basis of the determination means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the comparison means performs comparison by using at least one information of a recording medium size, a recording medium type, and a paper feeding method.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the display means displays a print setting for a print job stored in the spool area and a print setting for drawing data before being stored in the spool area.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the display means displays at least one information of a recording medium size, a recording medium type, and a paper feeding method.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the determination unit determines whether to store drawing data at the end of a print job stored in the spool area.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the determination unit determines whether or not to delete all print jobs stored in the spool area.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the determination means determines whether or not to print with the highest priority over any print job stored in the spool area.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the management means stores drawing data at the end of the print job stored in the spool area.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the management unit deletes all print jobs stored in the spool area from the spool area.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the management unit performs printing with the highest priority over any print job stored in the spool area.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, drawing data is sequentially spooled in units of jobs, the spooled print job is converted into print data that can be analyzed by a predetermined print output device, and printing that can be sent to the print output device Storage means for storing drawing data as a print job in a spool area, and storage means for storing print settings of the print job in a storage medium as print setting information before converting the print job into the print data Acquisition means for acquiring the print setting information stored by the storage means, the print setting information acquired by the acquisition means, and the print stored in the spool area and before being converted to the print data When it is determined that the comparison unit for comparing the print settings of the job and the print setting of the print job compared by the comparison unit are different Display means for displaying a warning to the user, determination means for the user to determine the handling of a print job for the warning displayed by the display means, and stored in the spool area based on the determination means Management means for managing the print job.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the comparison means performs comparison using at least one information of a recording medium size, a recording medium type, and a paper feeding method.

  In a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the display means displays print settings of a print job stored in the spool area.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the display means displays at least one information of a recording medium size, a recording medium type, and a paper feeding method.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the determination unit determines whether to continue the process of converting the print job stored in the spool area into the print data.

  In a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the management unit continues the process of converting the print job stored in the spool area into the print data.

  According to the first to tenth aspects of the present invention, the print setting of the first job in the print queue is acquired from the spool file, and the print setting is different from the print setting of the job to be newly printed. In this case, by prompting a warning, the user can reconfirm the print setting and the paper set in the paper feed slot.

  According to the eleventh to sixteenth aspects of the present invention, the print setting information of the job printed last time is held, and the print setting information and the print setting of the first job are started when printing of the first job is started. If the print settings are different from each other and a warning is urged, the user can set a sheet suitable for the print settings and obtain a desired print result.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below based on examples.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing system showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a print output apparatus, and reference numeral 108 denotes a host computer.

  In the print output apparatus 101, a CPU 102 is a mechanism that analyzes image information including control data received from the host computer 108 and controls the entire print output apparatus 101.

  A ROM 103 stores a control program executed by the CPU 102. A RAM 104 loads a program controlled by the CPU 102 from the ROM 103 and temporarily stores it, and functions as a work memory of the CPU 102. Reference numeral 105 denotes a printer engine that performs printing, and includes a cartridge on which a head and ink are mounted, and a control circuit thereof. Reference numeral 106 denotes a data bus or system bus for performing data communication between the components.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes a communication I / F capable of bidirectional communication, which manages communication with the host computer 108. As the serial interface, a plurality of types such as USB and IEEE1394 and the parallel interface such as Centronics and SCSI are assumed, but any interface may be used as long as it realizes bidirectional communication.

  In the host computer 108, 109 is a CPU that controls each unit according to programs stored in the RAM 111 and the external storage device 112. The CPU 109 executes a printer driver (print control program) corresponding to the print output apparatus 101 and operating based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 4 to be described later, and outputs the output information created based on the application program to the print output apparatus 101. The CPU 109 converts the output command to the print output device 101.

  A ROM 110 stores a BIOS program executed by the CPU 109 and font data.

  Reference numeral 111 denotes a RAM for the CPU 109 to write and read data as necessary. When the printer driver is activated, the driver program code is loaded onto the RAM 111.

  Reference numeral 112 denotes an external storage device that stores a program code read by the CPU 109 and realizes a part of the functions of the present embodiment, such as an FD, a CD-RW, and an HDD. The external storage device 112 functions as a device for storing a print setting information file shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 113 denotes an input device control unit that controls an input device 115 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and reference numeral 114 denotes a display device control unit that controls a display device 116 such as a CRT. Reference numeral 117 denotes a data bus or system bus for performing data communication between the components.

  Reference numeral 118 denotes a communication I / F that can communicate with the print output apparatus 101 and can perform bidirectional communication. As the serial interface, a plurality of types such as USB and IEEE1394 and the parallel interface such as Centronics and SCSI are assumed, but any interface may be used as long as it realizes bidirectional communication.

  Printing is performed by the host computer 108. First, when printing is executed by an application, drawing data on the application is passed to the printer driver via the OS. The printer driver temporarily stores the drawing data of the application as a spool file in the external storage device 112 such as an HDD. The spool file stores drawing data and data related to print information.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for creating a spool file by the printer driver.

  First, in step S201, whether printing has stopped in the event of an error such as a paper out error that occurs when no paper is set in the paper feed slot, or whether the user has intentionally stopped printing, and there is a job waiting for printing in the queue If YES, the process proceeds to step S202. If NO, in step S210, the file is stored as a spool file on the host computer 108, and the print data is managed in a queue. A print job in the queue usually has functions for performing operations such as order control, suspension of print processing, and deletion of print data.

  In step S202, the print setting of the first job in the queue is acquired from the spool file stored in the external storage device 112. The spool file holds drawing data and data related to print information, and acquires three print setting information of “paper size”, “paper type”, and “paper feed method” in the data related to print information. In the present embodiment, three pieces of print setting information are acquired and compared, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Next, in step S203, the print setting of the drawing data to be printed is compared with the print setting of the first job existing in the queue acquired in S202. As a result of the comparison, if “paper size” and “paper type” match, it is determined that there is no difference (NO) in step S204, and the process proceeds to step S210. Further, in the case of a print output apparatus having a plurality of paper feed ports, even if “paper size” and “paper type” do not match, there is no difference in step S204 if the “paper feed method” is different (step S204). NO), the process proceeds to step S210. On the other hand, if “paper size” and “paper type” do not match, but “paper feeding method” matches, it means that different paper is being fed from the same paper feed slot. In step S204, it is determined that there is a difference (YES), and the process proceeds to step S205.

  In step S205, since the user is trying to feed different sheets from the same sheet feeding port, the printer driver displays a dialog box as shown in FIG. Although FIG. 3 will be described later, this is a warning dialog displayed when trying to feed different sheets from the same sheet feeding port.

  In step S206, it is determined whether the user presses the button 304 to cancel printing or presses any of the buttons 305, 306, and 307 in the dialog box of FIG.

  When the button 304 is pressed, printing is finished without creating a spool file. If any of the button 305, the button 306, and the button 307 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S207.

  In step S207, if the user presses the button 305 in the dialog box of FIG. 3, the process proceeds to step S208, and all jobs in the queue are deleted. When the button 306 is pressed, the job is arranged at the end of the queue as in normal printing. If the button 307 is pressed, the process advances to step S209, and the job is managed so that printing is performed with the highest priority over all jobs existing in the queue.

  In step S210, drawing data is stored as a spool file on the host computer 108, and the print data is managed in a queue.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warning dialog displayed when different sheets are to be fed from the same sheet feeding port. A message 301 is displayed when trying to feed different sheets from the same sheet feeding port. 302 displays the “paper feeding method” in the print setting of the drawing data to be printed in the message 301. Reference numeral 303 denotes a “paper size” and “paper type” of the print settings of the first job existing in the queue and the print settings of the drawing data to be printed. By displaying these setting information, the user can check the paper set in the paper feed slot, and can also be used as a material for determining whether or not a job existing in the queue is necessary. If a button 304 is pressed, printing can be canceled before the dialog is closed and a spool file is created. When a button 305 is pressed, the dialog is closed and all jobs in the queue are deleted and printing is continued. If a button 306 is pressed, the dialog is closed and the job is arranged at the end of the queue and printing is continued. When a button 307 is pressed, the dialog is closed and printing is continued with the highest priority over all jobs existing in the queue.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the print setting of the first job in the print queue is acquired from the spool file, and the print setting is different from the print setting of the job to be newly printed. By prompting the warning, the user can re-recognize the print settings and the paper set in the paper feed slot.

  Next, a procedure for sequentially printing print jobs managed in the queue from the first job will be described.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Similar to the first embodiment, the second embodiment operates in the printing system shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for sequentially printing the print jobs existing in the queue. First, in step S401, it is checked whether a print setting information file of a previously printed job as shown in FIG. 5 to be described later exists in the external storage device 112. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S402. If it does not exist, the process advances to step S408, and the print setting of the job to be printed is saved in the external storage device 112 as a print setting information file as shown in FIG.

  In step S402, the print setting of the head job at the head of the queue from which printing is started is acquired from the spool file stored in the external storage device 112. Here, three pieces of print setting information of “paper size”, “paper type”, and “paper feeding method” are acquired from the data relating to the print information of the spool file. In the present embodiment, three pieces of print setting information are acquired and compared, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In step S403, “paper size”, “paper type”, and “paper feeding method” are acquired from the print setting information file of the job printed last time as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, three pieces of print setting information are acquired and compared in the same manner as in step S402, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In step S404, the print setting of the first job acquired in step S402 is compared with the print setting of the previously printed job acquired in step S403. As a result of the comparison, if “paper size” and “paper type” match, it is determined that there is no difference (NO) in step S405, and the process proceeds to step S408. In the case of a print output device having a plurality of paper feed ports, even if the “paper size” and the “paper type” do not match, if the “paper feed method” is different, there is no difference in step S405 ( NO), the process proceeds to step S408. On the other hand, if the “paper size” and “paper type” do not match, but the “paper feeding method” matches, a paper different from the previous job printed from the same paper feed slot Since paper is being fed, it is determined that there is a difference (YES) in step S405, and the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S406, since the user is trying to feed a sheet different from the previously printed job from the same sheet feeding port, the printer driver displays a dialog box as shown in FIG. Although FIG. 6 will be described later, this is a warning dialog displayed when a sheet different from the previously printed job is to be fed from the same sheet feeding port.

  In step S407, it is determined whether the user presses the button 604 to cancel printing or presses the button 605 to continue printing in the dialog box of FIG. When the button 604 is pressed, printing is terminated. If the button 605 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S408.

  In step S408, the print setting of the head job at the head of the queue where printing is started from now is stored in the external storage device 112 as a print setting information file. If the print setting information file already exists, it is overwritten.

  In step S409, the content of the head job is converted into a printer command and transmitted to the printer.

  In step S410, it is checked whether there is a job waiting for printing in the queue. If there is any job waiting for printing (NO), the process returns to step S401 to repeat the processing. If there is no print waiting job (YES), the process proceeds to step S411.

  In step S411, the print setting information file stored in the external storage device 112 is deleted.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting information file for a print job stored in the external storage device 112. The print setting information is composed of two elements, a name 501 and content 502. Here, three pieces of print setting information of “paper size”, “paper type”, and “paper feeding method” are written, but it is not necessary to be limited to this.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warning dialog displayed when a sheet different from the previously printed job is to be fed from the same sheet feeding port. A message 601 is displayed when an attempt is made to feed a sheet different from the previously printed job from the same sheet feeding port. Reference numeral 602 displays the “paper feeding method” in the print setting of the print job to be printed in the message 601. Reference numeral 603 displays “paper size” and “paper type” of the print setting of the first job positioned at the head of the queue from which printing is started. By displaying these settings information, the user checks the paper set in the paper feed slot, and if the displayed print settings differ from the paper actually set in the paper feed slot, the paper is displayed here. Can be replaced.

  When a button 604 is pressed, the dialog is closed and printing can be canceled. If a button 605 is pressed, the dialog is closed and printing is continued.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the print setting information of the job printed last time is held, and when the print of the first job is started, the print setting information and the print setting of the first job are set. In comparison, if the print settings are different, the user can obtain a desired print result by prompting a warning.

1 is a block diagram of a printing system. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a spool file creation procedure. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warning dialog displayed when different sheets are to be fed from the same sheet feeding port. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for sequentially printing print jobs existing in a queue. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print setting information file of a print job stored in an external storage device. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a warning dialog displayed when a sheet different from a previously printed job is to be fed from the same sheet feeding port.

Explanation of symbols

101 Print output device 102 CPU
103 ROM
104 RAM
105 Engine 106 Bus 107 Communication I / F
108 Host computer 109 CPU
110 ROM
111 RAM
112 External storage device 113 Input device control unit 114 Display device control unit 115 Input device 116 Display device 117 Bus 118 Communication I / F

Claims (16)

A print control device capable of sequentially spooling drawing data in units of jobs, converting the spooled print job into print data that can be analyzed by a predetermined print output device, and transmitting the print data to the print output device;
Storage means for storing drawing data as a print job in the spool area;
Acquisition means for acquiring print setting information from a print job stored in the spool area before storing the drawing data in the spool area by the storage means;
Comparing means for comparing the print settings of the print job stored in the spool area and the print settings of the drawing data before being stored in the spool area;
Display means for displaying a warning to the user when it is determined that the print settings of the drawing data compared by the comparison means are different;
Determination means for the user to determine the handling of the drawing data in response to the warning displayed by the display means;
Management means for managing print jobs stored in the spool area based on the determination means;
A printing control apparatus comprising:   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison unit performs comparison using at least one information of a size of the recording medium, a type of the recording medium, and a paper feeding method.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a print setting of a print job stored in the spool area and a print setting of drawing data before being stored in the spool area.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays at least one information of a size of the recording medium, a type of the recording medium, and a paper feeding method.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether to store drawing data at the end of a print job stored in the spool area.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not to delete all print jobs stored in the spool area.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether to print with the highest priority over any print job stored in the spool area.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit stores drawing data at a tail end of a print job stored in the spool area.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit deletes all print jobs stored in the spool area from the spool area.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit performs printing with the highest priority over any print job stored in the spool area. A print control device capable of sequentially spooling drawing data in units of jobs, converting the spooled print job into print data that can be analyzed by a predetermined print output device, and transmitting the print data to the print output device;
Storage means for storing drawing data as a print job in the spool area;
Storage means for storing the print settings of the print job in a storage medium as print setting information before converting the print job into the print data;
Obtaining means for obtaining print setting information stored by the storage means;
A comparison unit that compares the print setting information acquired by the acquisition unit with a print setting of a print job stored in the spool area and converted to the print data;
Display means for displaying a warning to the user when it is determined that the print settings of the print jobs compared by the comparison means are different;
Determination means for the user to determine the handling of a print job in response to the warning displayed by the display means;
Management means for managing print jobs stored in the spool area based on the determination means;
A printing control apparatus comprising:   12. The print control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the comparison unit performs comparison using at least one information of a size of the recording medium, a type of the recording medium, and a paper feeding method.   The print control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the display unit displays print settings of a print job stored in the spool area.   12. The print control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the display unit displays at least one of information on a size of the recording medium, a type of the recording medium, and a paper feeding method.   12. The print control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the determination unit determines whether to continue the process of converting the print job stored in the spool area into the print data.   12. The print control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the management unit continues the process of converting the print job stored in the spool area into the print data.

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