JP2007094675A - Print control device and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print control device and its control method for efficiently performing print processing while suppressing the paper changing frequency of a printing device by changing the execution order of print jobs accumulated in the printing device (a printer 20) from the print control device (a print server 10) side. <P>SOLUTION: The print server 10 acquires the names of paper from a plurality of print jobs accumulated in a storage section 21 of the printer 20, in an output control section 13, and determines the print job in which the name of paper of the execution terminated print job coincides with the name of paper of the execution waiting print job, preferentially as an execution job. When the execution job is thus determined, the start of printing for this job is instructed to the printer 20, and the printer 20 starts printing for the job. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing by temporarily storing a print job expanded into image data in a storage device, and more specifically, printing based on paper information acquired from the print job. The present invention relates to a print control apparatus and a control method therefor, in which the execution order of print jobs accumulated in a printing apparatus is changed from the control apparatus side.

  Conventionally, printing apparatuses such as printers and fax machines that perform printing using continuous paper are known. In this continuous paper printer, when the paper used between the continuously accepted print jobs is different, a paper switching operation occurs, which places a great burden on the operator.

In addition, a technique for dealing with such a problem has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a print job is accumulated on a print server for a certain period of time, and the execution order of the one or more accumulated print jobs is indicated on a sheet. It is mentioned about a technique of suppressing the number of times of paper change by changing according to the above.
JP 2000-029674

  However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, since the print execution order is changed on the print server, it is necessary to accumulate print jobs to some extent on the print server. For this reason, after the print execution order is determined on the print server side, data is output to the printer, so that there is a problem that time loss occurs and the printing time becomes longer.

  In recent years, printers with a built-in hard disk that are equipped with a storage device such as a hard disk and that can store print jobs to some extent and perform printing in such a storage device are known. There has been no technology for changing the execution order of print jobs stored in the printer from the server side.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by changing the execution order of the print jobs accumulated in the printing apparatus from the printing control apparatus side, the number of times of paper change of the printing apparatus is suppressed. An object of the present invention is to provide a print control apparatus and a control method thereof that can efficiently perform print processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a print control apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing by temporarily accumulating a print job expanded into image data in a storage apparatus. Alternatively, a job information acquisition unit that acquires paper information from a plurality of print jobs, a determination unit that determines a print job to be executed next based on the paper information acquired by the job information acquisition unit, and a print determined by the determination unit Printing start instruction means for instructing a job to start printing, and the printing apparatus starts printing of the corresponding print job based on the print start instruction from the print start instruction means. .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the determining unit prioritizes an execution order of a print job waiting for execution in which paper information matches a print job that has been executed by the printing apparatus. Features.

  The invention of claim 3 further comprises printing apparatus information acquisition means for acquiring paper information relating to the paper loaded in the printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1, wherein the determining means is for acquiring the printing apparatus information. A priority is given to the execution order of print jobs in which the paper information acquired by the means matches the paper information acquired by the job information acquisition means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the invention, the paper information includes all or a part of a paper type, a paper size, a paper name, the number of pages, and the remaining number of papers. To do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, display means for displaying the status of one or more print jobs stored in the storage device and one or more print jobs in the own device. Is further provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a print control apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing by temporarily storing a print job expanded into image data in a storage apparatus, and the one or plural stored in the storage apparatus. Paper information is acquired from the print job by the job information acquisition unit, a print job to be executed next is determined by the determination unit based on the paper information acquired by the job information acquisition unit, and the print job determined by the determination unit is The start of printing is instructed by a print start instructing unit, and the printing apparatus starts printing the corresponding print job based on the instruction to start printing from the print start instructing unit.

  According to the present invention, paper information is acquired from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the storage device of the printing apparatus, a print job to be executed next is determined based on the acquired paper information, and the determined printing is performed. Since the printing apparatus is instructed to start printing for the job, it is possible to suppress the number of times the paper is changed in the printing apparatus, and to reduce the burden on the operator.

  In addition, since the execution order of print jobs accumulated in the storage device of the printing apparatus can be changed from the print control apparatus side, it has occurred in the conventional method of accumulating the print jobs on the print control apparatus side and changing the execution order. Since there is no time loss, the printing time can be shortened and the printing process can be performed efficiently.

  Embodiments of a print control apparatus and control method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a printing system configured by arranging a printing control apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a case where the print control apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the print server 10 is shown.

  This printing system includes a printer 20 having a storage device (storage unit 21) such as a hard disk for storing a print job (a job composed of one or a plurality of print data and a series of processing instructions), and the printer 20 And a print server 10 that controls the print job stored in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20.

  Here, when the print server 10 receives a print job from a host (not shown), the spool control unit 12 performs a predetermined editing process on the job, and then sends the job to the printer 20 via the printer driver 16. Output.

  The print server 10 serves as various processing function units, a storage unit 11 that is a storage device such as a hard disk for storing print jobs from the host, a spool control unit 12 that performs job management of print jobs, and prints to the printer 20. And a printer driver 16 that outputs a job.

  The spool control unit 12 includes an output control unit 13, a drawing unit 14, and a display unit 15 as various processing function units. The drawing unit 14 has a function of performing print job drawing processing (development to image data, etc.), and the display unit 15 has a function of displaying the job status stored in the print server 10 and the printer 20.

  The output control unit 13 has a function of controlling the operation of the printer 20. In particular, the output control unit 13 instructs the printer 20 to start printing for a print job stored in the printer 20. More specifically, a control command in the printer job language format is transmitted to the printer 20 via the printer driver 16 to control the operation of the printer 20.

  Each print job input from the print server 10 to the printer 20 is assigned unique identification information (hereinafter referred to as a job ID) in the printer 20. The job ID assigned to each print job is reported from the printer 20 to the print server 10, and the output control unit 13 designates this job ID and performs various controls on the printer 20. Become.

  Here, a part of the functional configuration of the output control unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same thing as the said FIG.

  The output control unit 13 includes a job information acquisition unit 13a, an execution job determination unit 13b, and a print start instruction unit 13c as various processing function units.

  The job information acquisition unit 13a has a function of acquiring, from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the printer 20, paper information related to paper used when executing the job (hereinafter simply referred to as paper information). In the print server 10, it is determined whether or not the paper is changed in the printer 20 based on the paper information. This paper information is information including all or part of the paper type, paper size, paper name, number of pages, remaining paper number, etc., for example. In this embodiment, the paper information is the paper name. A case will be described as an example.

  The execution job determination unit 13 b has a function of determining a print job to be executed from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the printer 20. Although details will be described later, a print job to be executed is determined based on the paper information (paper name) acquired by the job information acquisition unit 13a.

  The print start instructing unit 13c instructs the printer 20 to start printing for the print job determined to be executed by the execution job determining unit 13b. More specifically, the job ID corresponding to the print job determined by the execution job determination unit 13b is specified to instruct the printer 20 to execute the job. The above is description of the various processing functions which comprise the output control part 13. FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the printer driver 16 performs a status management of the printer 20 in addition to a function of converting a print job imaged in the spool control unit 12 into a page description language format that can be interpreted by the printer 20. In addition, it has a communication interface function with the storage unit control I / F (Interface) 22 on the printer 20 side.

  On the other hand, the printer 20 is a continuous paper printer that performs printing using continuous paper. In the printer 20, the page description language format print job input from the print server 10 is developed into image data and stored in the storage unit 21. Printing for the print job stored in the storage unit 21 is started together with a print start instruction from the print server 20.

  Note that the printing start timing of the printer 20 may be the time when a predetermined number of jobs or more are accumulated in the storage unit 21, or the time when the print job accumulated in the storage unit 21 exceeds a predetermined data size. It may be. This can be adjusted by changing the operation setting of the print server 10. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which printing is started at a timing when one or more print jobs are accumulated in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20.

  The printer 20 includes a storage unit 21 that stores a print job input from the print server 10 and a storage unit control I / F 22 that performs overall control of the print job stored in the storage unit 21 as various processing function units. Configured. The storage unit 21 may be built in the printer 20 or may be externally connected to the printer 20 as an option.

  The storage unit control I / F 22 includes a drawing unit 22a and a job management unit 22b as various processing function units. The drawing unit 22a has a function of developing a page description language format print job input from the print server 10 into image data, and the job management unit 22b assigns a job ID to the print job expanded into the image data. The job is stored in the storage unit 21 for management. The assigned job ID is reported to the print server 10.

  When a print job 31 is input from the upper level in the print server 10, the job 31 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 11 by the spool control unit 12. The stored print job 32 is subjected to predetermined editing processing in the drawing unit 14 and then sequentially transferred to the printer driver 16. The printer driver 16 converts the data into a predetermined page description language and transmits it to the printer 20.

  On the printer 20 side, the storage unit control I / F 22 develops image data based on the page description language in the print job sent from the print server 10 and stores the image data in the storage unit 21. The series of processes described above are sequentially performed each time a print job is sent to the print server 10, but at this point, printing for the print job 33 stored in the printer 20 is not started.

  When a print job exceeding a predetermined value is accumulated in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20, the print server 10 causes the output control unit 13 to select one or more print jobs accumulated in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20. Print that is executed with priority given to a print job in which the paper name of a print job that has been executed by the printer 20 and the paper name of a print job that is waiting to be executed are acquired by acquiring the paper name used when the job is executed Determine the job.

  When a print job to be executed is determined in this way, the printer 20 is instructed to start printing for the job, and the printer 20 starts printing for the job.

  At this time, the display unit 15 of the print server 10 displays a job state 41 stored in the storage unit 11 on the print server 10 side and a job state 42 stored in the storage unit 21 on the printer 20 side. Will be.

  Here, the outline of the operation in the printing system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  In FIG. 3, when the print server 10 receives a print job from the upper level, the print server 10 transmits the received print job to the printer 20 as needed as long as the storage unit 21 of the printer 20 has free space. And is stored in the storage unit 21.

  When one or more print jobs are accumulated in the printer 20, the print server 10 instructs the start of printing for the job, and the printer 20 starts printing for the job.

  In this case, since the print job is sent from the print server 10 at any time while the printer 20 executes the print process for the job 1, the print jobs of the job 2, job 3, and job 4 are printed in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20. Awaiting execution, the accumulated state is shown. The storage unit 21 stores print jobs in the order of job 2, job 3, and job 4. Basically, print processing is executed in order from the previously stored job 2. Become.

  Turning to FIG. 4, when the printing process for job 1 is completed in the printer 20, a message to that effect is reported to the print server 10. Upon receiving this report, the print server 10 acquires the paper name from the print job stored in the storage unit 21 in the printer 20. This is because a print job using the same sheet as the job 1 that has been executed is prioritized and executed.

  Here, the paper name of job 1 is “P1”, which is the same as the paper name of job 4. For this reason, the print server 10 prioritizes printing for the job 4 that can execute printing without changing paper.

  When the print job to be executed is determined in this way, the print server 10 instructs the printer 20 to start printing job 4, and the printer 20 that has received this instruction starts printing for job 4.

  Next, the operation of the print server 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The print server 10 stands by until a print job is accumulated in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20 (step S101). Here, when the accumulation of the print job in the storage unit 21 is completed (YES in step S101). ), This process is started.

  When this process is started, the print server 10 acquires a paper name from one or more jobs accumulated in the storage unit 21 in the job information acquisition unit 13a (step S102).

  Next, the print server 10 determines a print job to be executed next from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the storage unit 21 using the paper name acquired from the one or more jobs. More specifically, the execution job determination unit 13b determines whether there is a print job that uses the same paper name as that of the print job that has been executed (step S103). Prioritize jobs and determine execution jobs.

  If there is a print job using the same paper (YES in step S104), the print start instruction unit 13c instructs the printer 20 to start printing for the job (step S106). If there is no print job (NO in step S104), the print start instructing unit 13c instructs the printer 20 to start printing for the print job previously stored in the storage unit 21 (step S105).

  If printing is started on the printer 20 side based on the start instruction in step S106, the printing is performed using the paper already loaded in the printer 20, so that the paper is not changed, but the printing in step S105 is not performed. When printing is started on the printer 20 side based on the start instruction, printing is performed using paper that is not loaded in the printer 20, so that the user is notified (display, alarm) of the paper change on the printer 20 side. Ringing, etc.).

  The print server 10 instructed to start printing in this way waits until the printing process ends on the printer 20 side (NO in step S107), but the printing process on the printer 20 side ends and a job end notification is sent. If it is received (YES in step S107), the process returns to step S101, and again waits until a print job is stored in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20.

  As described above, in the present invention, paper information (paper name in the present embodiment) is acquired from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20, and then executed based on the information. Since the print job to be determined is determined and the start of printing for the job is instructed, the number of paper changes of the printer 20 can be suppressed, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

  In addition, since the execution order of print jobs stored in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20 can be changed from the print server 10 side, the time loss caused by the conventional method of storing the print jobs on the print server side and changing the execution order is possible. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened and the printing process can be performed efficiently.

  Next, Example 2 will be described. In the second embodiment, the paper information regarding the paper loaded in the printer 20 and the paper information of one or more print jobs stored in the storage unit 21 are acquired from the printer 20, and the print job is executed based on the information. An embodiment in the case of instructing the printer 20 will be described. In addition, since the whole structure of Example 2 is the same as FIG. 1 which demonstrated Example 1, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 6 illustrates a part of the functional configuration of the output control unit 13 according to the second embodiment. Note that those denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  The output control unit 13 includes a job information acquisition unit 13a, an execution job determination unit 13b, a print start instruction unit 13c, and a printer information acquisition unit 13d as various processing function units.

  The job information acquisition unit 13 a has a function of acquiring paper information from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the printer 20, and the printer information acquisition unit 13 d acquires paper information regarding the paper loaded in the printer 20. It has a function. This paper information is information used to determine whether or not the paper is changed in the printer 20. For example, all or one of paper type, paper size, paper name, number of pages, remaining paper number, etc. In this embodiment, a case where the paper information is a paper name will be described as an example.

  The execution job determination unit 13 b has a function of determining a print job to be executed from one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the printer 20. Although details will be described later, a print job to be executed is determined based on the paper information (paper name) acquired by the job information acquisition unit 13a and the paper information (paper name) acquired by the printer information acquisition unit 13d. The above is description of the various processing functions which comprise the output control part 13 concerning Example 2. FIG.

  Here, an outline of operations in the printing system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

  In FIG. 7, when the print server 10 receives a print job from the upper level, the print server 10 transmits the received print job to the printer 20 as needed as long as the storage unit 21 of the printer 20 has free space. The data is expanded and stored in the storage unit 21.

  When one or more print jobs are accumulated in the printer 20, the print server 10 instructs the start of printing for the job, and the printer 20 starts printing for the job.

  In this case, since the print job is sent from the print server 10 at any time while the printer 20 executes the print process for the job 1, the print jobs of the job 2, job 3, and job 4 are printed in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20. Awaiting execution, the accumulated state is shown. The storage unit 21 stores print jobs in the order of job 2, job 3, and job 4. Basically, print processing is executed in order from the previously stored job 2. Become.

  Turning to FIG. 8, when the printing process for the job 1 is completed in the printer 20, the fact is reported to the print server 10. Upon receiving this report, the print server 10 acquires the paper name loaded in the printer 20 and the paper name of the print job stored in the storage unit 21 in the printer 20. This is because priority is given to a print job using the same paper as that loaded in the printer 20.

  Here, “P1” is loaded in the printer 20, and the name of the sheet loaded in the printer 20 is the same as the sheet name of job 4. For this reason, the print server 10 prioritizes printing for the job 4 that can execute printing without changing paper.

  When the print job to be executed is determined in this way, the print server 10 instructs the printer 20 to start printing of the job 4, and the printer 20 that has received this instruction starts printing for the job 4.

  Next, the operation of the print server 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The print server 10 stands by until a print job is accumulated in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20 (step S201). Here, when the accumulation of the print job in the storage unit 21 is completed (YES in step S201). ), This process is started.

  When this process is started, the print server 10 acquires the name of the paper loaded in the printer 20 in the printer information acquisition unit 13d (step S202), and stores it in the storage unit 21 in the job information acquisition unit 13a. The paper name is acquired from the one or more jobs that have been performed (step S203).

  When the paper name loaded in the printer 20 and the paper name of the print job stored in the printer 20 are acquired in this way, the execution job determination unit 13b uses the same paper name as the paper name loaded in the printer 20. It is determined whether there is a print job using (step S204).

  If there is a print job using the same paper (YES in step S205), the print start instructing unit 13c instructs the printer 20 to start printing for the job (step S207). If there is no print job (NO in step S205), the print start instructing unit 13c instructs the printer 20 to start printing for the print job previously stored in the storage unit 21 (step S206).

  Note that when printing is started on the printer 20 side based on the start instruction in step S207, printing is performed using the paper already loaded in the printer 20, so that the paper is not changed, but in step S206. When printing is started on the printer 20 side based on the start instruction, printing is performed using paper that is not loaded in the printer 20, so that the user is notified (display, alarm) of the paper change on the printer 20 side. Ringing, etc.).

  The print server 10 instructed to start printing in this way waits until the printing process is completed on the printer 20 side (NO in step S208), but the printing process on the printer 20 side is completed and a job completion notification is sent. If it is received (YES in step S208), the process returns to step S201, and again waits until a print job is stored in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the paper information (paper name in this embodiment) relating to the paper loaded in the printer 20 and the paper information of the print job stored in the storage unit 21 of the printer 20 (this embodiment). In the example, the print job name is acquired, the print job to be executed next is determined based on the information, and the start of printing for the job is instructed. This makes it possible to suppress the number of times of paper change and to efficiently perform the printing process.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the case where the print job execution order is changed based on the paper information has been described. However, not the paper information but the hopper, job name, format name, date, host name, and the like. The job execution order may be changed as described above.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the case where the printer 20 is a continuous paper printer has been described. However, the present invention may be applied to a printer using cut paper.

  In addition, the printing apparatus may be other than a printer, and may be, for example, a fax machine, a copier, or a multifunction machine having a printing function.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the case where the print control process according to the present invention is executed by the print server 10 to which the print control apparatus according to the present invention is applied has been described. This process is installed in a computer. You may comprise so that it may be run with a different program.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  The printing control apparatus and the control method thereof according to the present invention can be applied to all printing control apparatuses that control a printing apparatus including a storage device, and in particular, can suppress the number of sheet replacements in a printing apparatus using continuous paper. The printing process can be performed efficiently.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of a printing system configured by arranging a printing control apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows a part of functional structure of the output control part 13 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an operation in the printing system illustrated in FIG. 1 (No. 1). FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an operation in the printing system illustrated in FIG. 1 (part 2). 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the print server 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a part of a functional configuration of an output control unit 13 according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an operation in a printing system according to a second embodiment (part 1); FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an operation in a printing system according to a second embodiment (part 2). 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the print server 10 according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Print server 11 Storage part 12 Spool control part 13 Output control part 13a Job information acquisition part 13b Execution job determination part 13c Print start instruction part 13d Printer information acquisition part 14 Drawing part 15 Display part 16 Printer driver 20 Printer 21 Storage part 22 Storage Control I / F (Interface)
22a Drawing unit 22b Job management unit

Claims (6)

In a print control device that controls a printing device that temporarily stores a print job developed in image data in a storage device and performs printing,
Job information acquisition means for acquiring paper information from one or more print jobs stored in the storage device;
Determining means for determining a print job to be executed next based on the paper information acquired by the job information acquiring means;
Printing start instruction means for instructing start of printing for the print job determined by the determination means,
The printing apparatus includes:
The printing control apparatus, wherein printing of the print job is started based on the print start instruction from the print start instruction unit. The determining means includes
2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein priority is given to an execution order of a print job waiting for execution in which paper information coincides with a print job that has been executed by the printing apparatus. Printing apparatus information acquisition means for acquiring paper information on the paper loaded in the printing apparatus;
The determining means includes
The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein priority is given to an execution order of print jobs in which the paper information acquired by the printing apparatus information acquisition unit and the paper information acquired by the job information acquisition unit match. The paper information is
4. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, comprising all or a part of a sheet type, a sheet size, a sheet name, the number of pages, and the remaining number of sheets. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying one or a plurality of print jobs stored in the storage device and a status of the one or a plurality of print jobs in the own device. Print control device. In a control method of a print control apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus that temporarily stores a print job developed in image data in a storage device and performs printing,
Obtaining paper information from one or more print jobs stored in the storage device by a job information obtaining means;
Based on the paper information acquired by the job information acquisition unit, the next execution job is determined by the determination unit,
Instructing the start of printing for the print job determined by the determining means by the print start instructing means,
The control method of the print control apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus starts printing of the print job based on the print start instruction from the print start instruction unit.

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