JP2010097521A - Printing system and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for suppressing deficiencies caused by promoting printing by determining whether or not printing is possible. <P>SOLUTION: When it is determined that printing is possible, consumption articles of an expected consumed amount out of an actual remaining amount of the consumption articles are reserved for printing print job data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system and a printing method.

  There is known a technique for informing the future remaining amount of each of the recording materials of a plurality of colors and informing the user that a processing instruction is urged. The personal computer can execute a print job transmitted to the image printing apparatus based on the resource information of the image printing apparatus and the print condition of the preceding print job that has already been accumulated. Techniques for predicting whether or not are also known.

Japanese Patent No. 3360728 JP 2007-328494 A

  However, there are cases where various problems occur when printing is performed by determining whether printing is possible. For example, after it is determined that printing is possible and before the completion of the printing, it may not be possible to appropriately determine whether another printing is possible.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the above-described problems, and provide a technique capable of suppressing the occurrence of problems due to the determination of whether printing is possible and the progress of printing. The purpose is to do.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

Application Example 1 In a printing system, a printer, a job control unit that outputs print job data to cause the printer to perform printing, and the print job data in response to a determination request from the job control unit A determination unit that determines whether or not printing is possible, and the job control unit generates determination information including an expected amount of consumables used in the printer before outputting the print job data, The determination unit determines whether or not the print job data can be printed according to the determination information and information related to the status of the printer, and the job control unit determines that the printing is possible as a result of the determination. The print job data is output, and when the determination unit determines that the printing is possible, the determination unit outputs the expected usage amount of the actual remaining amount of the consumables. The 耗品, reserved for printing of the print job data, the printing system.

  According to this configuration, when it is determined that printing is possible, consumables for the expected usage of the actual remaining amount of consumables are reserved for printing the print job data. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems caused by determining whether printing is possible and proceeding with printing.

Application Example 2 In the printing system according to Application Example 1, the information related to the status of the printer includes the remaining amount of the consumables that can be used in the printer, and it is determined that the printing is possible. The condition for this includes that the available remaining amount is equal to or greater than the expected usage amount, and the reservation of the expected usage amount is (1) when it is determined that printing is possible, Calculating an expected remaining amount that is a remaining amount obtained by subtracting the estimated usage amount from the actual remaining amount; and (2) another print before printing of print job data determined to be printable is completed. And performing the determination by using the expected remaining amount as the available remaining amount in response to receiving a determination request regarding job data.

  According to this configuration, by using the expected remaining amount, which is the remaining amount obtained by subtracting the estimated usage amount from the actual remaining amount of the consumable item, as a usable remaining amount, a determination regarding another print job data is performed. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately make a determination on another print job data and reserve consumables.

[Application Example 3] In the printing system according to Application Example 2, in the case where it is further determined that the reservation of the expected usage amount is (3) printing of the other print job data is possible. Subtracting the expected usage of the other print job data from the expected remaining amount.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately reserve consumables for another print job data.

Application Example 4 The printing system according to Application Example 2 or Application Example 3, further including a first type client device including the job control unit, a second type client device not including the job control unit, A plurality of client devices including a job transfer unit that receives print job data and supplies the received print job data to the printer, the job transfer unit from the first type client device, When a print request for the determined print job data determined to be printable is received, the determined print job data is supplied to the printer, and the job transfer unit determines that printing is possible Before the completion of printing of the print job data, the second type client device issues a print request for non-determined print job data whose printability has not been determined. (A) the job transfer unit rejects the reception of the non-determined print job data; and (B) the new determination when the determination unit receives a new determination request. In response to the request, the job transfer unit receives the non-determined print job data, and in response to completion of printing all the print job data determined to be printable, A process of supplying non-determined print job data to the printer; and (C) the determination unit prohibits determination of whether printing is possible in response to a new determination request, and the job transfer unit includes the non-determined print job data. And a process of supplying the non-determined print job data to the printer in response to completion of printing of the determined print job data.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems in a printing system that uses both determined print job data and non-determined print job data.

[Application Example 5] In the printing system according to Application Example 4, the prohibition of the determination of whether printing is possible according to the new determination request includes: (I) rejecting the new determination request; A printing system including: receiving the new determination request, and determining whether printing can be performed according to the new determination request in response to completion of printing of the non-determination job data. .

  According to this structure, it can suppress that a malfunction arises due to a new judgment request.

Application Example 6 In a printing method, before outputting print job data, determination information including the expected usage of consumables used in the printer is generated, and the determination information and information about the status of the printer The print job data is determined to be printed or not, and if the determination result indicates that the printing is possible, the print job data is output and the printing is determined to be possible. A printing method for reserving, for printing the print job data, the consumables corresponding to the estimated usage of the actual remaining amount of the consumables.

  The present invention can be realized in various forms. For example, a printing method and apparatus, a computer program for realizing the function of the method or apparatus, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, etc. Can be realized.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. First embodiment:
B. Second embodiment:
C. Third embodiment:
D. Variation:

A. First embodiment:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing system 900 as an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 900 includes a personal computer 100 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “computer 100” or “client apparatus 100”) and a printer 700. The computer 100 and the printer 700 can communicate with each other via a network NET.

  The computer 100 includes a control unit 110 and a hard disk drive 120. The control unit 110 includes a CPU 112, a RAM 114, and a ROM 116. The CPU 112 implements various functions by executing programs.

  A display device 100z is connected to the computer 100. The display device 100z displays various information including operation menus and images according to instructions from the control unit 110. As the display device 100z, various display devices such as a liquid crystal display and an organic EL display can be employed.

  Although not shown, the computer 100 is also connected to an input device that receives user instructions. For example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel can be employed as the input device.

  The printer 700 includes a control unit 710 and a print engine 720. The control unit 710 controls the print engine 720. The control unit 710 is a computer that includes a CPU 712, a RAM 714, and a ROM 716. The print engine 720 is a printing mechanism that executes printing using given print data. Various printing mechanisms such as a printing mechanism that forms an image by ejecting ink droplets onto printing paper and a printing mechanism that forms an image by transferring and fixing toner onto the printing paper can be adopted as the printing mechanism. . In this embodiment, the print engine 720 performs printing using toner and a photosensitive drum.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of the printing system 900. In the computer 100, a data processing application 210, a printer driver 220, a spooler 230, a spooler control application 232, a port monitor 240, and a prior confirmation application 250 are operating (hereinafter, the spooler control application 232 is referred to as “ Also referred to as “spooler controller 232”. Also, the printer driver 220 is simply referred to as “driver 220”).

  The spooler 230 is a memory that temporarily stores print job data to be described later. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, a part of the storage area of the hard disk drive 120 (FIG. 1) is used as the spooler 230.

  The data processing application 210, the driver 220, the spooler controller 232, the port monitor 240, and the prior confirmation application 250 are programs (program modules) executed by the CPU 112 (FIG. 1). Hereinafter, the execution of processing by the CPU according to the program module is also simply expressed as “module executes processing”. Each module 210, 220, 232, 240, 250 can send and receive data to and from each other via the RAM 114.

  The data processing application 210 is various data processing applications such as an image processing application and a document creation application. The data processing application 210 executes data processing in accordance with a user instruction. Further, the data processing application 210 supplies data representing an image to be printed to the driver 220 in accordance with a user's print instruction.

  The driver 220 generates print job data representing a print job in accordance with data from the data processing application 210 (hereinafter simply referred to as “job data”). Job data is print data representing a print image. Various formats can be adopted as the job data format. For example, PDL data described in PDL (Page Description Language) determined according to the printer 700 may be employed. Further, data represented by a predetermined drawing command may be employed (for example, so-called EMF (Enhanced Meta File) data can be employed as such data). In any case, any format that can be used by the printer 700 (job processing unit 810) can be adopted as the job data format.

  The driver 220 stores the generated job data in the spooler 230. The spooler controller 232 transmits the job data stored in the spooler 230 to the printer 700. Transmission of job data is controlled by the port monitor 240. The port monitor 240 transmits job data to the printer 700 using a connection interface (not shown) connected to the printer 700 (network NET (FIG. 1)).

  In the printer 700, a job processing unit 810, a communication processing unit 820, a determination unit 830, and a print engine 720 are operating. The job processing unit 810, the communication processing unit 820, and the determination unit 830 are programs (program modules) executed by the CPU 712 (FIG. 1). The modules 810, 820, and 830 can transmit and receive data to and from each other via the RAM 714.

  The job processing unit 810 controls the print engine 720 according to the job data received from the computer 100 (supplying print data to the print engine 720). As a result, an image represented by the job data is printed. In this embodiment, a predetermined part of the storage area in the RAM 714 (FIG. 1) is used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing data used for printing. The data stored in the buffer memory is not limited to job data, but includes various data used for printing (for example, dot pattern data generated from job data).

  The print engine 720 includes a current status output unit 722. The current status output unit 722 supplies the resource information RI of the printer 700 to the determination unit 830. The resource information RI represents the current status (current status) of resources that can be used by the printer 700. Details of the resource information RI will be described later.

  In addition, the prior confirmation application 250 of the computer 100 supplies the determination information DI to the determination unit 830. The determination information DI is information regarding printing of job data. Details of the determination information DI will be described later. The prior confirmation application 250 includes a first function 251 that detects the input of a print job, a second function 252 that collects determination information, a third function 253 that controls a spooler, and a fourth function 254 that performs information communication. And a fifth function 255 for notifying the determination result.

  The determination unit 830 determines whether printing is possible by using the resource information RI and the determination information DI (hereinafter, this determination is also referred to as “print determination”). This print determination is performed before job data is supplied from the computer 100 to the printer 700. The prior confirmation application 250 determines whether or not to supply job data to the printer 700 according to the result DR of the print determination.

  In this embodiment, as will be described later, when it is determined that printing is possible, the determination unit 830 reserves resources (for example, toner and printing paper) required for the printing for the printing. . Then, in order to make a new determination according to the reservation, the determination unit 830 uses the expected remaining amount ER. Details of the determination will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of a printing process using prior determination. In the first step S10a, the driver 220 (FIG. 2) generates job data in response to a request from the data processing application 210. In the next step S12a, the driver 220 stores the generated job data in the spooler 230. In the next step S14a, the driver 220 generates determination information DI by analyzing the generated job data.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing print determination using the determination information DI, the resource information RI, and the expected remaining amount ER. In the figure, determination information DI, resource information RI, and expected remaining amount ER are shown. In the present embodiment, the determination information DI includes the following information.
(1) Expected usage, size and type of printing paper required for printing.
(2) Expected amount of toner used for printing.
(3) Expected amount of memory used for printing.

  The expected usage amount of the printing paper represents the total number required for printing according to the job data. The size and type of the printing paper are respectively designated by a user instruction to the data processing application 210 (FIG. 2). The size is selected from a plurality of options (for example, “A4” and “B5”) prepared in advance. The type is selected from a plurality of options (for example, “plain paper” and “glossy paper”) prepared in advance.

  The expected amount of toner used for printing is calculated for each toner color (that is, for each available toner type). As a method for calculating the toner amount (expected usage amount), various methods can be employed. For example, the toner amount may be calculated from the color of each pixel of the print image. Further, the toner amount may be calculated using a dot count associated with the color of each pixel.

  The expected amount of memory used for printing represents the amount of memory required for printing using job data. As such a memory amount, for example, the size of job data can be adopted. When the printer 700 generates dot pattern data from job data, the sum of the job data size and the dot pattern data size may be employed. Such a memory amount (data size) may be estimated from data representing a print image (for example, color data or a drawing command).

  In the next step S <b> 16 a in FIG. 3, the driver 220 (FIG. 2) supplies the determination information DI to the prior confirmation application 250. Here, the driver 220 may automatically supply the determination information DI to the prior confirmation application 250 according to the generation of job data. Further, the prior confirmation application 250 may request the determination information DI from the driver 220 in response to detecting the input of the print job (first function 251 and second function 252).

  In the next step S20b, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) pauses the progress of the print job. In this embodiment, the prior confirmation application 250 supplies an instruction to suspend transmission of job data to the spooler controller 232 (third function 253). The spooler controller 232 suspends transmission of the job data stored in the spooler 230 according to the instruction.

  In the next step S <b> 22 b, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) requests the printer 700 for an identifier unique to the print job (hereinafter simply referred to as “job ID”). In the next step S24c, the determination unit 830 returns a job ID to the computer 100 in response to the request. Various values can be used as the job ID. For example, an ID used for communication between the computer 100 and the printer 700 may be used as the job ID. Further, the determination unit 830 may determine the job ID by a predetermined method in response to the request for the job ID.

  In the next step S26b, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) requests the printer 700 to make a print determination. The prior confirmation application 250 transmits the determination information DI and the job ID to the printer 700 in response to this request. In the next step S30c, the determination unit 830 starts determination in response to the received request.

The determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) requests the current resource information RI from the current state output unit 722 for determination. The current status output unit 722 supplies the resource information RI to the determination unit 830 in response to the request. FIG. 4 shows the resource information RI. The resource information RI includes the following data.
(1) The remaining amount of printing paper in the paper cassette.
(2) Allowable amount of paper discharge tray.
(3) Toner remaining amount.
(4) Life of the photosensitive drum.
(5) Free space in buffer memory

  An arbitrary method can be adopted as a method for the current output unit 722 to specify each of the above-described data. For example, regarding the remaining amount of printing paper, the user inputs the remaining amount of printing paper to the printer 700 when the printing paper is replenished, and the current output unit 722 subtracts the number of printing papers used for printing from the remaining amount. The current remaining amount of printing paper may be specified. Further, the remaining amount may be calculated by dividing the height or weight of the paper in the paper cassette by a predetermined height (thickness) or weight per sheet (the current output unit 722 may calculate the remaining amount). , May include height or weight sensors). In this embodiment, the remaining amount of printing paper is specified for each combination of printing paper size and type. The size and type are set in advance for each paper cassette (not shown) that stores printing paper.

  The allowable amount of the discharge tray means the number of print sheets that can be output to the discharge tray (not shown). Such an allowable amount can be specified by subtracting the current load amount from the predetermined maximum load amount of the discharge tray. The current load amount can be calculated, for example, by dividing the height or weight of the paper in the paper discharge tray by the height (thickness) or weight per sheet (the current output unit 722 is , May include height or weight sensors).

  The remaining amount of toner can be specified by using, for example, the toner weight or the electric resistance in the toner container (the current output unit 722 may include a sensor of weight or electric resistance). Further, the remaining amount of toner may be specified by subtracting the cumulative amount of toner used since the last replacement of the toner cartridge from the predetermined maximum amount of toner associated with the new toner cartridge. In this embodiment, the remaining amount of toner is specified for each toner color.

  In the present embodiment, the life of the photosensitive drum is represented by the number of printable sheets (total number of pages). Such a lifetime can be specified by subtracting the cumulative number of printed pages since the photosensitive drum was last replaced from the predetermined maximum number (maximum page number).

  The free capacity of the buffer memory can be specified by inquiring the job processing unit 810. In this embodiment, the buffer memory is managed by the job processing unit 810. However, any other method can be adopted as a method for specifying the free space.

The determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) uses the acquired determination information DI and resource information RI to determine whether printing is possible (FIG. 4). In this embodiment, it is determined that printing is possible when all of the following five conditions are satisfied. If at least one condition is not satisfied, it is determined that printing cannot be performed.
(C1) The remaining usable amount of printing paper is equal to or greater than the expected usage of printing paper required for printing.
(C2) The permissible allowable amount of the paper discharge tray is equal to or greater than the expected usage amount of printing paper required for printing.
(C3) The remaining amount of usable toner is equal to or greater than the expected amount of toner used for printing.
(C4) The usable life of the photosensitive drum is equal to or longer than the expected amount of printing paper used for printing.
(C5) The available free space in the buffer memory is greater than or equal to the expected amount of memory used for printing.

  At a stage where the resources used for printing are not reserved, the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) uses the current amount (actual remaining amount) represented by the resource information RI as the amount that can be used in each of the conditions C1 to C5. Used as

  As described above, in this embodiment, the determination unit 830 cannot perform printing when there is a shortage of printing paper, toner, and memory, when the allowable amount of the discharge tray is small, and when the life of the photosensitive drum is exhausted. Judge. When all the conditions C1 to C5 are satisfied, the determination unit 830 determines that printing is possible. Then, the determination unit 830 completes the print determination (FIG. 3: step S36c).

If it is determined that printing is possible, the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) reserves the expected usage of the resource in the next step S38c of FIG. Specifically, the determination unit 830 calculates the expected remaining amount ER from the resource information RI and the determination information DI. At the stage where a resource for one job is reserved, the expected remaining amount ER is obtained by subtracting the expected usage amount represented by the determination information DI from the current amount (actual remaining amount) represented by the resource information RI. The remaining amount is represented. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the expected remaining amount ER represents the following data.
(1) Expected remaining amount of printing paper in the paper cassette.
(2) Expected allowable amount of paper discharge tray.
(3) The expected remaining amount of toner.
(4) Expected life of the photosensitive drum.
(5) Expected free space in buffer memory

  The expected remaining amount ER is used for printing determination of another job data when a resource is reserved. Here, the case where the resource is reserved means the case where the printing of the job data determined to be printable is not completed. In this case, the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) uses the amount represented by the expected remaining amount ER as the available amount in each of the conditions C1 to C5 illustrated in FIG. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the remaining amount of the printer resource from being counted in multiple in the print determination. When it is determined that the other job data can be printed, the determination unit 830 reduces the expected usage amount represented by the determination information DI of the other job data from the expected remaining amount ER. To update the expected remaining amount ER. When making a print determination for another job data while the resource is reserved, the determination unit 830 uses the updated estimated remaining amount ER. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately perform a plurality of print determinations and resource reservations according to the respective determination results.

  The prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) requests the printer 700 to confirm the determination status after requesting the print determination (FIG. 3: S32b, S40b). The prior confirmation application 250 transmits a job ID to the printer 700 in response to this request. The print job associated with the print determination is specified by the job ID.

  When the request for confirmation of the determination status is before completion of the print determination associated with the job ID (step S32b), the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) replies that confirmation is in progress (step S34c). ). When the request for checking the determination status is after the completion of the print determination (step S40b), the determination unit 830 returns the print determination result DR to the computer 100 (step S42c). This determination result DR includes information indicating whether printing is possible (OK) or printing is impossible (NG). Further, in the present embodiment, the determination result DR includes information indicating the establishment status of the above-described conditions C1 to C5. The prior confirmation application 250 can specify the unsatisfied condition using the determination result DR.

  In the next step S44b, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) determines whether or not the determination result DR represents “OK”. If the determination result DR represents “OK”, the prior confirmation application 250 instructs the spooler controller 232 to transmit job data (third function 253) in the next step S48b. The spooler controller 232 transmits job data to the printer 700 according to the instruction. In the next step S50c, the job processing unit 810 executes printing according to the received job data.

  If the determination result DR represents “NG”, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) notifies the user of the determination result DR without supplying job data to the printer 700 in the next step S46b. (Fifth function 255). As a result, printing errors in the printer 700 can be suppressed. In this case, the prior confirmation application 250 may release the job ID (the setting of the job ID may be deleted).

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a window for notifying the user of the determination result DR. The prior confirmation application 250 displays this window RW on the display device 100z (FIG. 1). A message indicating that printing cannot be performed is displayed in the window RW. The user can easily confirm that the printing process is stopped by observing this window RW.

  In the window RW, a condition that is not satisfied (that is, a cause that printing cannot be performed) is displayed. A window RW in FIG. 5 indicates that the first condition C1 described above is not satisfied. Thus, when the determination result DR represents “NG”, the prior confirmation application 250 preferably notifies the user of information indicating the cause. For example, when the printing paper is insufficient, it is preferable to notify the type, size, and cassette number of the printing paper. Further, when the toner is insufficient, it is preferable to notify the color of the toner and the model number of the toner cartridge. In addition, when the life of a component (for example, a photosensitive drum) is not sufficient, it is preferable to notify the name and model number of the component. In this way, the user can easily eliminate the cause.

  The window RW further includes a print cancel button SB and a print resume button RS. The user can cancel printing by operating the print cancel button SB. In response to the operation of the print cancel button SB, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) supplies an instruction to delete the job data from the spooler 230 to the spooler controller 232. In response to the instruction, the spooler controller 232 deletes the job data without transmitting it. As a result, it is possible to prevent a printing error from occurring in the printer 700.

  Further, the user can resume printing by operating the print resume button RS. In the window RW, the cause for determining that printing cannot be performed is displayed. The user may operate the print restart button RS after eliminating the cause. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the user may operate the print resume button RS after supplying A4 size plain paper to the first paper cassette.

  In response to the operation of the print restart button RS, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) returns the process to step S14a in FIG. The prior confirmation application 250 requests the determination information DI from the driver 220. In response to the request, the driver 220 generates determination information DI and supplies it to the prior confirmation application 250. Then, the process proceeds according to the procedure following step S14a in FIG. If the cause has been resolved, the new determination result DR represents “OK”. As a result, printing is performed. Note that the jump destination of the process according to the operation of the print restart button RS is not limited to step S14a, and any step before the print determination (S30c) can be employed. For example, the process may return to step S26b.

  In this embodiment, communication between the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) and the printer 700 is controlled by the fourth function 254. In addition, communication between the determination unit 830 and the computer 100 is controlled by the communication processing unit 820.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation example of the printing system 900. This operation example shows a case where a determination result DR representing “OK” is obtained. FIG. 6 shows a part of the operation according to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  First, the user operates the data processing application 210 (FIG. 2) to select a printer to be used for printing (operation [10]) and instruct to execute printing (operation [12]).

  In the computer 100, the prior confirmation application 250 suspends transmission of job data (operation [22]). The driver 220 generates job data and generates determination information DI (operation [24]). The prior confirmation application 250 transmits the generated determination information DI to the printer 700 (operation [26]).

  In the printer 700, the determination unit 830 receives the determination information DI (operation [30]) and confirms the resource information RI (operation [32]). Then, the determination unit 830 makes a print determination (operation [34]), and transmits the determination result DR to the computer 100 (operation [36]). In the example of FIG. 6, the determination result DR represents “OK”.

  In the operation example shown in FIG. 6, since the determination result indicates “OK”, the determination unit 830 reserves the expected usage amount represented by the determination information DI (operation [35]). The reservation procedure is as described in step S38c of FIG. This reservation is made before transmission of the determination result DR. However, a reservation may be made after transmission of the determination result DR.

  When the print determination is performed in a state where the resource is reserved, the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) checks the expected remaining amount ER instead of the resource information RI for the print determination (operation [32 ]).

  In the computer 100, the prior confirmation application 250 receives the determination result DR (operation [40]). Since the determination result DR represents “OK”, the prior confirmation application 250 releases the hold (operation [42]). Then, the spooler controller 232 transmits job data to the printer 700.

  The printer 700 performs printing according to the received job data (operation [50]).

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another operation example of the printing system 900. The difference from the operation example shown in FIG. 6 is that a determination result DR representing “NG” is obtained. FIG. 7 shows a part of the operation according to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  Operations [10] to [40] in FIG. 7 are the same as the operations in FIG. However, the determination result DR represents “NG”. Since the determination result DR represents “NG”, no resource is reserved. In the computer 100, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 2) displays the determination result DR (window RW) on the display device 100z (operation [44], FIG. 5).

  The user confirms the window RW (FIG. 5), and replenishes or replaces resources to eliminate the cause (operation [60]). Thereafter, the user instructs the computer 100 to resume printing (operation [70]). The prior confirmation application 250 resumes the printing process. When the cause is eliminated, a series of operations from the operation [24] in FIG. 6 is performed. When the cause is not solved, a series of operations from the operation [24] in FIG. 7 is repeated.

  Further, the user may cancel printing without resuming printing. In this way, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as a printing error occurring in the printer 700.

  As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, before job data is supplied to the printer 700, whether printing is possible is determined according to the determination information. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems caused by determining whether printing is possible and proceeding with printing. For example, since reception of job data that may not be printed by the printer 700 is suppressed, it is not necessary to increase the memory capacity of the printer 700 excessively. Further, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a printing error in the printer 700. As a result, the burden on the administrator of the printing system 900 can be reduced.

  Further, since the driver 220 (FIG. 2) that generates the job data also generates the determination information DI, it is possible to prevent the configuration of the printing system 900 from becoming excessively complicated. Instead of the driver 220, the spooler controller 232 may generate the determination information DI by analyzing the job data stored in the spooler 230. In this way, the determination information DI can be appropriately generated. In this case, the spooler controller 232 corresponds to a “determination information generation unit” in the claims. In this case, job data stored in the spooler 230 can be processed. For example, two job data may be converted into one job data by combination. The spooler controller 232 may analyze the processed job data and generate the determination information DI. Note that the spooler controller 232 may perform such processing in accordance with a user instruction.

  When the determination result DR represents “OK”, the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) reserves resources for the expected usage amount represented by the determination information DI. Therefore, even when printing determination of another job data is performed before printing is completed, it is possible to prevent the resources of the printer 700 from being counted multiple times. In addition, when it is determined that another job data can be printed in a state where the resource is reserved, the determination unit 830 updates the estimated remaining amount ER and uses the updated estimated remaining amount ER. Make a print decision. Therefore, reservation of resources for a plurality of printing is appropriately performed.

  In this embodiment, the driver 220 (FIG. 2), the spooler 230, the spooler controller 232, and the prior confirmation application 250 as a whole correspond to the “job control unit” in the claims (FIG. 2). . The computer 100 corresponds to a “job control device”.

  In this embodiment, the printer 700 may be commonly used by a plurality of client devices. In any case, the determination unit 830 (FIG. 2) may perform print determination and resource reservation in the order in which the print determination request is received.

  The job data supplied to the printer 700 preferably includes a job ID. In this way, the determination unit 830 can easily determine whether or not the printing of the job data determined to be printable has been completed. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the prior confirmation application 250 may notify the spooler controller 232 of the job ID. It should be noted that any other method can be adopted as a method for determining whether or not the determination unit 830 has printed the job data determined to be printable. For example, the total number of job data determined to be printable may be compared with the total number of completed prints.

B. Second embodiment:
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment of the printing system. The difference from the printing system 900 shown in FIG. 1 is that the printer 700 is commonly used by a plurality of computers (100, 101) via the print server 300. The print server 300 operates as a job control apparatus that supplies job data to the printer 700.

  The printer 700 of this embodiment is the same as the printer 700 of FIG. The hardware configuration of each of the computers 100 and 101 is the same as that of the computer 100 of FIG. The hardware configuration of the print server 300 is the same as that of the computer 100 of FIG. The print server 300 includes a control unit 310 and a hard disk drive 320. The control unit 310 includes a CPU 312, a RAM 314, and a ROM 316.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating functions of the printing system 900A of the present embodiment. 2 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that the functions of the spooler 230, the port monitor 240, the spooler control application 232, and the prior confirmation application 250 are executed by the print server 300 instead of the client device (for example, the computer 100). It is only a point to be done. In FIG. 9, client devices other than the computer 100 among the plurality of client devices are not shown. However, each client device has the same driver 220A.

  Also in the present embodiment, the printing process is performed in the same manner as in the embodiments shown in FIGS. However, steps S12a to S16a in FIG. 3 are executed by the spooler controller 232 of the print server 300 (FIG. 9). First, the driver 220A of the client apparatus 100 generates job data as in the embodiment of FIG. 2 (S10a). A print controller (not shown) of the computer 100 transmits (supplies) the generated job data to the print server 300 (the supply of job data corresponds to a print request). The spooler controller 232 of the print server 300 stores the received job data in the spooler 230 (S12a). Further, the spooler controller 232 generates the determination information DI by analyzing the stored job data (S14a). Then, the spooler controller 232 supplies the generated determination information DI to the prior confirmation application 250 (S16a).

  The processes performed by the advance confirmation application 250 of the print server 300 (FIG. 9) and the printer 700 are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. The prior confirmation application 250 supplies the determination information DI to the printer 700 and acquires the determination result DR from the printer 700. The prior confirmation application 250 notifies the user of the determination result DR. In the present embodiment, the prior confirmation application 250 transmits a notification instruction of the determination result DR to the transmission source of the job data (in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the transmission source is the computer 100). In the computer 100, the driver 220A notifies the user of the determination result DR according to the received instruction. This notification is performed similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG. The driver 220 </ b> A receives a user instruction for this notification and transmits the received user instruction to the print server 300. The prior confirmation application 250 executes processing according to the instruction. In addition, the notification of the determination result DR in the computer 100 may be realized by a program different from the driver 220A.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation example of the printing system 900A. The operation example of FIG. 10 shows a case where the determination result DR indicates “OK”, similarly to the operation example shown in FIG. There are two differences from the operation example shown in FIG. The first difference is that operation [14] is added. The second difference is that the operations [22] to [26], [40], and [42] are performed by the print server 300 instead of the computer 100. In FIG. 10, the same operations as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same numbers as in FIG.

  The operations [10] and [12] are the same as the operations [10] and [12] shown in FIG. In the next operation [14], the computer 100 (driver 220A in FIG. 9) generates job data in the shared print queue in response to a print request from the data processing application 210. The shared print queue is a memory that temporarily stores job data for the shared printer 700 (for example, a part of the storage area of the hard disk drive 320 (FIG. 8) is used as a common print queue). A print controller (not shown) of the computer 100 transmits print queue job data to the print server 300.

  The subsequent operations [22] to [50] are the same as the operations [22] to [50] shown in FIG. As a result, the printer 700 prints an image desired by the user.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another operation example of the printing system 900A. The operation example of FIG. 11 shows a case where the determination result DR indicates “NG”, similarly to the operation example shown in FIG. There are three differences from the operation example shown in FIG. The first difference is that operation [14] is added. This operation [14] is the same as the operation [14] of FIG. The second difference is that the operations [22] to [26] and [40] are performed by the print server 300 instead of the computer 100. The third difference is that the operation [46] is performed instead of the operation [44] of FIG. In FIG. 11, the same operations as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same numbers as in FIG.

  Operations [10] to [40] in FIG. 11 are the same as the operations in FIG. However, the determination result DR represents “NG”. Since the determination result DR represents “NG”, no resource is reserved. In the print server 300, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 9) causes the computer 100 to display the determination result DR. Specifically, the prior confirmation application 250 transmits the determination result DR to the computer 100. In the computer 100, the driver 220A notifies the user of the determination result DR. In this embodiment, the driver 220A displays a window RW similar to that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 on the display device 100z.

  The user confirms the window RW (FIG. 5), and replenishes or replaces resources to eliminate the cause (operation [60]). Thereafter, the user instructs the computer 100 to resume printing (operation [70]). In the computer 100, the driver 220A (FIG. 9) transmits a user instruction to the print server 300. In the print server 300, the prior confirmation application 250 resumes the printing process. When the cause is eliminated, a series of operations from the operation [24] in FIG. 10 is performed. If the cause has not been resolved, a series of operations from the operation [24] in FIG. 11 is repeated. Further, the user may cancel printing without resuming printing.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the print server 300 that supplies job data to the printer 700 according to the determination result DR is commonly used for a plurality of client apparatuses. That is, the print server 300 generates the determination information DI for the print job data according to the print request and supplies the job data according to the determination result DR in response to each of the print requests from the plurality of client devices. And execute. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the configuration of each client device from becoming excessively complicated. For example, it is not necessary to install the prior confirmation application 250 on each client device.

  In this embodiment, the entire spooler 230 (FIG. 9), the spooler controller 232, and the prior confirmation application 250 correspond to the “job control unit” in the claims (FIG. 9). The print server 300 corresponds to a “job control device”.

C. Third embodiment:
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of the functions of the printing system. The printing system 900B includes a first client device 100A, a second client device 100B, a print server 300B, and a printer 700B. The hardware configurations of the client apparatuses 100A and 100B, the print server 300B, and the printer 700B are the same as the configurations of the client apparatuses 100 and 101, the print server 300, and the printer 700B shown in FIG. is there.

  In the present embodiment, the first client device 100A includes a data processing application 210, a printer driver 220, and a prior confirmation application 250, similarly to the client device 100 of the embodiment shown in FIG. The first client device 100A includes a shared print queue 260 that temporarily stores job data. The entire driver 220, shared print queue 260, and prior confirmation application 250 correspond to a “job control unit” in the claims. The first client device 100A corresponds to a “first type client device” in the claims. The printer driver 220 generates job data and stores it in the shared print queue 260. Further, the printer driver 220 generates determination information DI and supplies it to the prior confirmation application 250. The prior confirmation application 250 acquires the job ID from the print server 300B, and supplies a print determination request to the print server 300B. This request includes determination information DI. The prior confirmation application 250 receives the determination result DR from the print server 300B. If the determination result DR indicates “OK”, the prior confirmation application 250 outputs the job data from the shared print queue 260 to the print server 300B. Note that instead of the prior confirmation application 250, another program may control the job data stored in the shared print queue 260 in response to an instruction to the prior confirmation application 250.

  The second client device 100B includes a data processing application 210, a printer driver 220B, and a shared print queue 260. The prior confirmation application 250 is not installed in the second client device 100B. The second client device 100B corresponds to a “second type client device” in the claims. The printer driver 220B generates job data and stores it in the shared print queue 260. A print controller (not shown) acquires the job ID from the print server 300B, and outputs the job data stored in the shared print queue 260 to the print server 300B. As described above, the second client device 100B outputs the job data to the print server 300B without print determination (preliminary confirmation).

  The generation of job data, the generation of determination information DI, the control of job data output according to the determination result DR, and the reservation of resources (consumables) for the expected usage amount are the same as in the above embodiments. Done.

  The print server 300B includes a spooler 230, a spooler controller 232B, a port monitor 240, and a determination unit 830B. The configurations and operations of the spooler 230 and the port monitor 240 are the same as those in the above-described embodiments. The spooler controller 232B controls the job data stored in the spooler 230 in the same manner as the spooler controller 232 in each embodiment described above. Hereinafter, the spooler controller 232B is also referred to as a “job transfer unit 232B”. The determination unit 830B makes a print determination in the same manner as the determination unit 830 of each of the embodiments described above. In the present embodiment, the determination unit 830B includes a determination unit 832 and a communication unit 834. The determination unit 832 performs the print determination described above. The communication unit 834 controls communication between the determination information DI and the determination result DR.

  FIG. 12 also shows the working area WA of the print server 300B. The working area WA is a part of the storage area of the RAM 314 (FIG. 8), and temporarily stores data used by the job transfer unit 232B and the determination unit 830B. In this embodiment, the working area WA stores a job ID table JT and two flags F1 and F2 in addition to the determination result DR and the expected remaining amount ER.

  The job ID table JT is a table of job IDs of print job data determined to be printable. If the determination unit 830B determines that printing is possible, the determination unit 830B adds the job ID to the job ID table JT. Further, when the printing is completed, the job transfer unit 232B deletes the job ID of the printing from the job ID table JT. As a result, the job ID table JT represents a list of job IDs of job data for which printing is determined to be possible and printing has not been completed. Note that any method can be adopted as a method by which the job transfer unit 232B confirms the completion of printing. For example, the job transfer unit 232B may receive a completion notification from the printer 700B (job processing unit 810).

The first flag F1 represents the state (status) of determination by the determination unit 832. In the present embodiment, the first flag F1 represents one selected from the following three states.
(1) Idle
(2) Busy
(3) Complete
“Idle” indicates that the determination unit 832 is waiting for a new print determination request. “Busy” indicates that the determination unit 832 is executing a print determination. “Complete” indicates that the print determination has been completed and the determination result DR has not been read out. The determination unit 832 updates the value of the first flag F1 as appropriate.

  The second flag F2 indicates whether or not the printer 700B is printing job data without print determination (preliminary confirmation) (hereinafter, such printing is referred to as “print without prior confirmation”). The fact that the second flag F2 is “True” indicates that the printer 700B is executing printing without prior confirmation. The fact that the second flag F2 is “False” indicates that the printer 700B is not executing printing without prior confirmation. The second flag F2 is “False” when the printer 700B is waiting for new job data and when the printer 700B is executing printing of job data determined to be printable. The job transfer unit 232B appropriately updates the value of the second flag F2.

  The determination unit 830B executes print determination in response to reception of determination information DI (request for print determination) from a client device (for example, the client device 100A). The determination unit 830B acquires the resource information RI from the printer 700B for printing determination. The print determination is performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiments. Then, the determination unit 830B transmits the determination result DR to the print determination request source (for example, the first client device 100A).

  The job transfer unit 232B supplies the received job data to the printer 700B. In this embodiment, the job transfer unit 232B supplies the job ID to the client device in response to a request from the client device (for example, the client device 100A). Note that the job ID issuance may be realized by a program different from the job transfer unit 232B.

  The printer 700B includes a job processing unit 810 and a print engine 720. The print engine 720 includes a current status output unit 722. The configuration and operation of these elements 810, 720, and 722 are the same as those in the above-described embodiments. The job processing unit 810 executes printing according to the received job data. Further, the current status output unit 722 supplies the resource information RI to the print server 300B in response to a request from the print server 300B (determination unit 830B).

  In this embodiment, the print server 300B handles both determined job data and non-determined job data. Here, the determined job data is job data determined to be printable. Non-determined job data is job data supplied without printing determination. The amount of resources (expected usage) used for printing non-judgment job data is not specified. Therefore, once printing of non-determined job data is started, it is difficult to accurately predict the remaining amount of resources after the printing is completed until the printing is completed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the print server 300B exclusively executes print determination and non-determined job data printing.

  FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example of the printing system 900B. This sequence diagram shows a case where the print server 300B (FIG. 12) receives a print determination request during printing of non-determined job data.

  In the first step S100a, the printer driver 220B of the second client device 100B (FIG. 12) generates job data in response to a request from the data processing application 210. Then, the second client device 100B (print controller (not shown)) transmits a print request to the print server 300B.

  In the next step S102c, the job transfer unit 232B of the print server 300B (FIG. 12) transmits a response indicating permission to the second client device 100B in response to the print request. Here, the job transfer unit 232B determines the job ID and transmits it to the second client device 100B. Note that any format can be adopted as a response format indicating permission. For example, data representing permission at the communication protocol level may be employed.

  In the next step S104a, the second client device 100B (not shown print controller) transmits job data and a job ID to the print server 300B. In this operation example, it is assumed that there is no unprocessed print determination request at this point. In this case, even if printing of non-determined job data is started, there is no problem in printing determination (estimation of the remaining amount of resources). Accordingly, in the next step S106c, the job transfer unit 232B transmits the received job data to the printer 700B. The printer 700B (job processing unit 810) starts printing according to the received job data. Thereafter, in step S112c, the printer 700B completes printing.

  As described above, it is difficult to predict the remaining amount of resources in the first period T1 from the start to the completion of printing of non-determined job data. Therefore, in this embodiment, the determination unit 830B (FIG. 12) prohibits printing determination during the first period T1. For example, in the operation example of FIG. 13, in step S108b, the first client device 100A (preliminary confirmation application 250) acquires the job ID and requests the print server 300B to make a print determination (preliminary confirmation application 250). Transmits the determination information and the job ID to the print server 300B). Since this request is in the first period T1, the determination unit 830B does not execute the print determination. Then, the determination unit 830B transmits a response indicating that the determination result cannot be supplied to the first client device 100A (step S110c). Any response can be adopted as such a response. For example, a response indicating “confirming (during determination)” may be employed.

  In response to completion of printing of the non-determined job data, the determination unit 830B (FIG. 12) cancels the prohibition of print determination. In the operation example of FIG. 13, in step S114b after the first period T1, the client device 100A (preliminary confirmation application 250) requests the print server 300B to make a print determination. In the next step S116c, the determination unit 830B makes a print determination in response to this request. In the operation example of FIG. 13, it is assumed that the determination result represents “OK”. In this case, the determination unit 830B reserves the resource and transmits a determination result representing “OK” to the client device 100A. In addition, the determination unit 830B adds the job ID to the job ID table JT.

  The determination unit 830B (FIG. 12) may receive the request in step S108b and start the print determination in response to the completion of printing (that is, the determination unit 830B may hold the print determination). ). In this case, in step S114b, the prior confirmation application 250 may inquire the determination result to the print server 300B without transmitting the determination information (similar to steps S32b and S40b in FIG. 3). Instead, the determination unit 830B may reject the request in step S108b. In this case, as shown in step S <b> 114 b in FIG. 13, the prior confirmation application 250 may request print determination by transmitting determination information again.

  In the next step S118b, the prior confirmation application 250 confirms whether or not the received determination result represents “OK”. In the operation example of FIG. 13, since the determination result represents “OK”, the prior confirmation application 250 transmits the job data from the shared print queue 260 to the print server 300B. The prior confirmation application 250 also transmits the job ID to the print server 300B. In the next step S120c, the job transfer unit 232B supplies the received job data to the printer 700B. The job processing unit 810 of the printer 700B starts printing according to the received job data. Then, the job processing unit 810 completes printing (step S122c). Upon completion of printing, the job transfer unit 232B deletes the job ID from the job ID table JT.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating another operation example of the printing system 900B. This sequence diagram represents printing determination and subsequent printing of determined job data. In the first step S130b, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 12) requests the print server 300B to make a print determination. In this operation example, it is assumed that there is no unprocessed print determination request at this point. In the next step S132c, the determination unit 830B starts print determination in response to the request. In the next step S134c, the determination unit 830B completes the print determination. In this operation example, it is assumed that the determination result represents “OK”. Accordingly, in the next step S136c, the determination unit 830B reserves resources. In addition, the determination unit 830B transmits the determination result to the first client device 100A. In the next step S138b, the prior confirmation application 250 transmits job data to the print server 300B according to the determination result indicating “OK”. In the next step S140c, the job transfer unit 232B supplies the received job data to the printer 700B. The job processing unit 810 of the printer 700B starts printing according to the received job data. Then, the job processing unit 810 completes printing (step S142c). Although not described, job ID issuance, job ID addition to the job ID table JT, and job ID deletion from the job ID table JT are performed.

  The determination unit 830B (FIG. 12) prohibits another print determination in the second period T2 (S132c-S134c) from the start to the completion of the print determination. In the present embodiment, when another print determination request is received during the second period T2, the determination unit 830B receives the request and completes the print determination (end of the second period T2). In response, another print determination is started. Thereby, the determination unit 830B can appropriately execute a plurality of print determinations. Note that the determination unit 830B may reject another print determination request without receiving it in the second period T2.

  Further, the job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) prohibits the printing of the non-determined job data in the third period T3 (S132c-S142c) from the start of the printing determination to the completion of the printing of the determined job data. In this embodiment, when a print request for non-determined job data is received during the third period T3, the job transfer unit 232B receives the non-determined job data and prints all the determined job data. Is completed, the non-determined job data is supplied to the printer 700B.

  Here, after receiving the non-determined job data, the determination unit 830B may prohibit new printing determination until the printing of the non-determined job data is completed. For example, the determination unit 830B may receive a new print determination request and start the new print determination in response to the completion of printing of the non-determined job data. Instead, the determination unit 830B may reject a new print determination request without receiving it until the printing of the non-determined job data is completed. In this case, the client device may make a print determination request again.

  In addition, after receiving the non-determined job data and before starting the printing of the non-determined job data, the determining unit 830B may execute a print determination in response to the request when receiving a new determination request. . In this case, the job transfer unit 232B may supply non-determined job data to the printer 700B in response to completion of printing of all determined job data. In other words, the job transfer unit 232B may supply non-determined job data to the printer 700B in response to a change in the status of the printing system 900B to a status where there is no determined job data that has not been printed.

  The job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) uses the job ID table JT and the job ID associated with the job data to determine whether the job data is determined job data or non-determined job data. To identify.

  As described above, in this embodiment, printing determination and non-determining job data printing are executed exclusively. As a result, even when the determined job data and the non-determined job data are used, it is possible to prevent an erroneous printing determination according to the expected usage amount. It is possible to achieve both printing determination and non-determining job data printing.

  FIGS. 15 to 18 are flowcharts showing the procedure of processing applicable to the print server 300B (FIG. 12) of this embodiment. FIG. 15 shows processing by the communication unit 834 of the determination unit 830B. In the first step S200, the communication unit 834 receives the determination information DI and the job ID from the client device. In the next step S202, the communication unit 834 checks (confirms) the first flag F1 (the state of determination by the determination unit 832). If the state is different from “busy” (ie, “idle” or “complete”), the communication unit 834 proceeds to the next step S206. If the state is “busy”, the communication unit 834 waits for the state to change to a state other than “busy” (in this example, “complete”) (S204), and then proceeds to the next step S206. proceed. The prohibition of another print determination in the second period T2 in FIG. 14 is realized by these steps S202 and S204.

  In the next step S206, the communication unit 834 (FIG. 12) supplies the determination information and the job ID to the determination unit 832. In response to this supply, the determination unit 832 starts print determination (details will be described later). In the next step S208, the communication unit 834 checks (confirms) the first flag F1. If the print determination state is “complete”, the communication unit 834 proceeds to the next step S214. If the state is different from “complete” (ie, “busy”), the communication unit 834 waits for the state to change to “complete” (S212), and proceeds to the next step S214. If an inquiry about the determination result is received from the client device before proceeding to step S214, the communication unit 834 transmits a response indicating “confirming (during determination)” to the client device (step S210). . As the reply in step S110c in FIG. 13, the reply in step S210 may be adopted.

  In the next step S214, the communication unit 834 (FIG. 12) reads the determination result DR stored in the memory (working area WA). Then, in the next step S216, the communication unit 834 transmits the determination result DR to the client device. The communication unit 834 may transmit the determination result DR to the client device in response to a request from the client device. Instead, the communication unit 834 may transmit the determination result DR to the client device without a request from the client device.

  The communication unit 834 (FIG. 12) executes the process of FIG. 15 in response to receiving a print determination request from the client device. The processing of FIG. 15 may be executed in parallel in response to each of a plurality of requests. In this case, the communication unit 834 may identify a plurality of requests (jobs) using the job ID.

  FIG. 16 shows processing by the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12). The determination unit 832 acquires resource information RI (actual remaining amount) from the printer 700B at the time of activation, supply of consumables, and replacement of parts, and sets the value of the estimated remaining amount ER to the actual remaining amount. (Step S300). In the next step S302, the determination unit 832 sets the first flag F1 (determination state) to “idle”. Accordingly, in steps 202 and S204 of FIG. 15, the process proceeds to step S206. In the next step S304 in FIG. 16, the communication unit 834 checks (confirms) the second flag F2 (print without prior confirmation). If the second flag F2 indicates “False” (in this case, the printer 700B is not executing printing without prior confirmation), the determination unit 832 proceeds to the next step S308. If the second flag F2 is “True”, the determination unit 832 waits for the second flag F2 to change to “False” (S306), and proceeds to the next step S308. That is, when the printer 700B is printing non-determined job data, the determining unit 832 waits for the printing to be completed. The prohibition of the determination in the first period T1 in FIG. 13 is realized by these steps S304 and S306.

  In the next step 308 of FIG. 16, the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12) receives the determination information DI and the job ID from the communication unit 834. If all the received print determination requests have been determined, the determination unit 832 waits for a new print determination request in step S308. In the next step S310, the determination unit 832 sets the first flag F1 to “busy”. Thereby, in steps S208 and S212 in FIG. 15, the progress of the processing is temporarily stopped. In the next step S <b> 312 in FIG. 16, the determination unit 832 compares the determination information DI with the expected remaining amount ER and makes a print determination. The print determination is the same as in the above embodiments.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a procedure following step S312 of FIG. In step S314, the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12) stores the determination result DR in the working area WA. The determination result DR is set to “OK” or “NG” according to the comparison result in step S310.

  When the determination result DR indicates “OK”, in the next step S318, the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12) subtracts the expected usage amount represented by the determination information DI from the expected remaining amount ER, thereby determining the expected remaining amount. Update quantity ER. In the next step S320, the determination unit 832 adds the job ID to the job ID table JT. Then, the determination unit 832 proceeds to the next step S322.

  When the determination result DR indicates “NG”, the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12) skips steps S318 and S320, and proceeds to step S322.

  In step S322, the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12) sets the first flag F1 to “complete”. Thereby, in steps S208 and S212 of FIG. 15, the process proceeds to step S214.

  In the next step S324 in FIG. 17, the determination unit 832 determines whether or not the determination result DR stored in the memory (working area WA) has been read by the communication unit 834. When the determination result DR is unread, the determination unit 832 waits for the determination result DR to be read (S326: Yes). In response to the determination result DR being read, the determination unit 832 returns to step S302 in FIG. Any method can be adopted as a reading determination method. For example, information regarding the current state of reading may be exchanged between the communication unit 834 and the determination unit 832.

  FIG. 18 shows processing by the job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) and the determination unit 832. In the first step S400, the job transfer unit 232B receives a job ID and job data from the client device. Before receiving all of the job data (at the time when a part of the job data is received), the job transfer unit 232B searches for the job ID from the job ID table JT (step S402).

  If the job data is determined job data, the job ID is searched (S404: YES). That is, the job ID is registered in the job ID table JT. In this case, in the next step S418, the job transfer unit 232B receives the rest of the job data, and supplies the received job data to the printer 700B. Note that the remaining reception of job data may be completed before step S418. The printer 700B executes printing according to the received job data. In response to the completion of printing, the job transfer unit 232B deletes the job ID from the job ID table JT (step S420). Then, the process of FIG. 18 is completed.

  On the other hand, when the job data is non-determined job data, the job ID is not retrieved from the job ID table JT (FIG. 12) (S404: NO). That is, the job ID is not registered in the job ID table JT. In this case, in the next step S406, the job transfer unit 232B determines whether or not the job ID table JT is empty. If at least one job ID is registered in the job ID table JT, the job transfer unit 232B waits for the job ID table JT to become empty (S408). Proceed to the next Step S410. That is, when the job ID of the determined job data is registered in the job ID table JT, the job transfer unit 232B waits for the printing of all the determined job data. Prohibition (holding) of printing of non-determined job data in the third period T3 in FIG. 14 is realized by these steps S406 and S408.

  In response to the completion of printing of all determined job data, the job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) starts printing non-determined job data. First, in step S410, the job transfer unit 232B sets the second flag F2 (print without prior confirmation) to “True”. Thereby, in steps S304 and S306 in FIG. 16, the progress of the processing is temporarily stopped. In step S412 in FIG. 18, the job transfer unit 232B receives the remaining job data, and supplies the received job data to the printer 700B. Note that the remaining reception of job data may be completed before step S412. The printer 700B executes printing according to the received job data. In the next step S414, the determination unit 832 acquires the resource information RI (actual remaining amount) from the printer 700B in response to the completion of printing of the non-determined job data, and sets the value of the expected remaining amount ER to the actual remaining amount. To do. In the next step S416, the job transfer unit 232B sets the second flag F2 (print without prior confirmation) to “False”. Thereby, in steps S304 and S306 in FIG. 16, the process proceeds to step S308. Then, the process of FIG. 18 is completed.

  The job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) executes the process of FIG. 18 in response to receiving a print request from the client device. The processing in FIG. 18 may be executed in parallel in response to each of a plurality of requests. In this case, the job transfer unit 232B may identify a plurality of requests (jobs) using the job ID. When the job transfer unit 232B receives a plurality of jobs (determined job data), the job transfer unit 232B may supply the job data to the printer 700B in the order of reception. The same applies to a plurality of non-determined job data.

  In the embodiment of FIGS. 15 to 18, a new print determination can be executed (FIG. 15) while printing of non-determined job data is suspended (FIG. 18: S406 and S408). In this case, the job transfer unit 232B supplies non-determined job data to the printer 700B after completion of printing of the newly determined determined job data (FIG. 18: S406, S408). That is, when the job transfer unit 232B receives non-determined job data before printing of the determined job data is completed, the determination unit 830B executes a print determination according to a new request, and transfers the job. The unit 232B supplies non-determined job data to the printer 700B in response to the completion of printing of all determined job data. As a result, the determined job data can be given priority over the non-determined job data.

  However, after the job transfer unit 232B receives the non-determined job data, the determination unit 830B (FIG. 12) may prohibit a new print determination until the printing of the non-determined job data is completed. For example, the determination unit 830B may start a print determination in response to receiving a new print determination request and completing the printing of the non-determined job data (ie, the determination unit 830B Judgment may be suspended.) Instead, the determination unit 830B may reject a new print determination request until printing of the non-determined job data is completed. As described above, as a method for prohibiting a new print determination, either hold or rejection can be employed.

  FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating another operation example for prohibiting printing of non-determined job data. Also in this operation example, printing of non-determined job data during the period from the start of print determination to the completion of printing of determined job data is prohibited. The only difference from the above-described operation example is that a request for printing non-determined job data is rejected instead of being suspended. Other processes are the same as those in the above-described embodiment (FIGS. 13 to 18). The configuration of the printing system is the same as that of the printing system 900B shown in FIG.

  In the first step S500b, the prior confirmation application 250 (FIG. 12) requests the print server 300B to make a print determination. The determination unit 830B starts print determination in response to the request (S501c). In this operation example, it is assumed that the determination result represents “OK”. In the next step S502c, the determination unit 830B reserves resources and transmits the determination result to the first client device 100A. In response to receiving the determination result representing “OK”, the prior confirmation application 250 transmits job data to the print server 300B (step S508b). In the next step S510c, the job transfer unit 232B supplies the received job data to the printer 700B. The job processing unit 810 of the printer 700B starts printing according to the received job data. The job processing unit 810 then completes printing (step S512c).

  On the other hand, the second client device 100B transmits a print request to the print server 300B, and subsequently transmits a job data transmission request to the print server 300B in response to receiving the job ID (step S504a). The print server 300B receives the print request in the fourth period T4 (S501c-S512c) from the start of print determination to the completion of printing of the determined job data. In this operation example, the job transfer unit 232B transmits a job ID in response to the print request in the fourth period T4. However, the job transfer unit 232B transmits a reply indicating rejection in response to a transmission request for non-determined job data. Note that the transmission request includes a job ID, and the job transfer unit 232B searches the received job ID from the job ID table JT. If the job ID is not registered in the job ID table JT, the job transfer unit 232B determines that the transmission request relates to non-determined job data, and transmits a reply indicating rejection. It should be noted that any format can be adopted as a response format indicating rejection. For example, data representing busy at the communication protocol level may be employed.

  In the operation example of FIG. 19, the second client device 100B transmits a transmission request to the print server 300B again (step S514a). The print server 300B receives this request after completion of printing the determined job data. In this case, the job transfer unit 232B transmits a response indicating permission to the second client device 100B (S516c). An arbitrary format can be adopted as a response format indicating permission. For example, data representing permission at the communication protocol level may be employed. Three steps S518a, S520c, and S522c following step S516c are the same as the three steps S104a, S106c, and S112c in FIG.

  As described above, the job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) may reject the reception of non-determined job data during the period from the start of printing determination to the completion of printing of determined job data. In this way, it is not necessary to manage the received non-determined job data, so that the processing executed by the printing system 900B can be simplified.

C. Variation:
In addition, elements other than the elements claimed in the independent claims among the constituent elements in each of the above embodiments are additional elements and can be omitted as appropriate. The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

Modification 1:
In the above-described embodiments, various configurations can be adopted as the configuration of the printing system. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the spooler controller 232 may generate the determination information DI without the driver 220 generating the determination information DI. Further, the driver 220 may generate the determination information DI without the spooler controller 232 generating the determination information DI. In addition, each of the driver 220 and the spooler controller 232 may have a function of generating the determination information DI. In this case, first, the driver 220 may generate the determination information DI. Then, when the job data stored in the spooler 230 is processed, the spooler controller 232 may generate the determination information DI of the processed job data.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the print server 300 may be provided with a printer driver. Then, the printer driver of the print server 300 may generate job data according to data received from the client device (for example, the computer 100). In this case, as a format of data supplied from the client apparatus 100 to the print server 300, an arbitrary format independent of the printer 700 can be adopted. For example, so-called JPEG image data may be employed. Simple text data may be adopted. The data supply to the print server 300 by the client device 100 corresponds to a print request.

  Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the determination unit 830 may be incorporated in the print server 300. Further, the print server 300 and the printer 700 may be incorporated into one apparatus.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the print server 300B and the printer 700B may be incorporated into one apparatus.

Modification 2:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the print determination condition is not limited to the condition shown in FIG. 4, and various conditions can be adopted. For example, any part of the plurality of conditions shown in FIG. 4 may be adopted. When the printer uses a paper feed roller as a regular replacement part, it may be determined that printing cannot be performed when the life of the roller is not sufficient.

  In general, as a condition for determining printing, an arbitrary condition indicating whether or not resources used by the printer are sufficient can be employed. Here, the printer resource means a member of the printer, and includes consumables and non-consumables. Examples of the consumable item include toner, ink, and a print medium (for example, paper). Examples of the non-consumable item include various hardware resources such as a memory, a CPU, and a paper discharge tray.

Modification 3:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the information related to the printer status (status) is not limited to the resource information RI and the expected remaining amount ER shown in FIG. Is possible. For example, any part of the information (resource information RI and expected remaining amount ER) shown in FIG. 4 may be adopted. Further, as information regarding the status of the printer, the remaining amount of consumables that can be used by the printer and the ability of non-consumables that can be used by the printer may be adopted. The remaining amount of consumables is not limited to the remaining amount of ink, toner or paper, and the remaining amount of other consumables can be adopted. The capacity of the non-consumable item is not limited to the free space of the memory and the allowable capacity of the paper discharge tray, and the capability of another non-consumable item can be adopted.

  The printer deletes the job data from the memory upon completion of printing. Therefore, as for the estimated remaining amount of free space in the printer memory, the actual free space may be used as it is even when a plurality of job resources are reserved.

Modification 4:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the determination information DI is not limited to the information shown in FIG. For example, any part of the information shown in FIG. 4 may be adopted. In general, as the determination information DI, various types of information relating to resources (printer resources) required for printing job data can be employed. As such information, information on the capability of the non-consumable item (capability required for printing) may be employed. Such information is not limited to the amount of memory required for printing (that is, the amount of data) and the number of print sheets output to the paper discharge tray, and various types of information can be employed. Further, as the information related to the resources required for printing (printer resources), the expected consumption of consumables (expected consumption) may be employed. The predicted usage amount of the consumables is not limited to the usage amount of toner, ink, and paper, and the usage amount of other consumables can be adopted. Various values can be adopted as the value representing the amount of recording material such as ink or toner. For example, a physical quantity (for example, weight or volume) representing the amount of the recording material may be employed, or a dot count may be employed.

Modification 5:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the printing process procedure is not limited to the procedure shown in FIGS. 3 and 13 to 19, and various procedures can be employed. Generally, determination information is generated before job data is supplied to a printer, and whether or not the job data can be printed is determined based on the generated determination information and information on the status of the printer, and printing is possible. If the determination result indicates that, an arbitrary procedure such as supplying job data to the printer can be adopted. For example, the determination unit 830 (FIGS. 2, 9, and 12) may automatically transmit the determination result DR to the prior confirmation application 250 (the computer 100 or the print server 300) upon completion of the print determination.

  Here, when it is determined that printing is possible, the determination unit may reserve consumables for the expected usage of the actual remaining amount of consumables for printing the print job data. preferable. The reservation method is not limited to the method using the expected remaining amount, and various other methods can be employed. Further, the printing method is not limited to the method of each of the above-described embodiments, and various methods can be employed. For example, the determined job data and the non-determined job data may be identified without using the job ID. For example, the prior confirmation application 250 in FIG. 12 may supply a flag indicating that it has been determined to the print server 300B together with the job data instead of the job ID. Further, it is preferable to exclusively perform printing determination and non-determining job data printing. As an exclusive method, not only the method of the above-mentioned embodiment but various methods can be adopted. In each of the embodiments described above, the job ID request corresponds to a print request. However, various other formats can be adopted as the format of the print request. For example, a request including job data may be used as a print request.

  Various timings can be adopted as the timing for resetting the expected remaining amount ER to the actual remaining amount. For example, when the printer is started, when consumables are replenished, when printing of non-determined job data is completed, when there is no job data before printing, when printing of all job data is completed, Any timing selected from the above can be adopted.

  In addition, as the process executed when the determination result DR represents “NG”, various processes for notifying the user of the determination result can be employed. For example, a process of turning on a lamp representing the determination result DR may be employed. Further, a process of displaying the determination result DR on the display device may be employed. Here, in addition to the determination result, it is preferable to notify the user of the cause determined that printing cannot be performed (for example, a lamp indicating the cause may be turned on). In this way, the user can easily eliminate the cause. However, the cause notification may be omitted.

  In any case, it is preferable that the job control unit (for example, the prior confirmation application 250 in FIGS. 2, 9, and 12) executes processing for notifying the user of the determination result. As a process for notifying the user of the determination result, at least one of a process of notifying using a notification device and a process of transmitting a notification instruction to a device having the notification device can be employed. As the notification device, for example, the above-described lamp and display device can be employed.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the job control unit allows the user to select the process after notification. Here, the options are not limited to “print cancel” and “print restart”, and other options may be adopted. The job control unit may execute a predetermined process after the notification. For example, the job control unit may cancel printing.

Modification 6:
In each of the above embodiments, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced with software, and conversely, part or all of the configuration realized by software may be replaced with hardware. Also good. For example, the function of the prior confirmation application 250 in FIG. 2 may be realized by a hardware circuit having a logic circuit.

  In addition, when part or all of the functions of the present invention are realized by software, the software (computer program) can be provided in a form stored in a computer-readable recording medium. In the present invention, the “computer-readable recording medium” is not limited to a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, but an internal storage device in a computer such as various RAMs and ROMs, a hard disk, and the like. An external storage device fixed to the computer is also included.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing system 900 as one Example of this invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a printing system 900. FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of a printing process using prior determination. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing judgment using judgment information DI, resource information RI, and estimated remaining amount ER. It is explanatory drawing which shows the window for notifying a user of judgment result DR. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation example of the printing system 900. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another operation example of the printing system 900. It is explanatory drawing which shows another Example of a printing system. It is a block diagram which shows the function of the printing system 900A of a present Example. It is an explanatory diagram showing an operation example of the printing system 900A. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another operation example of the printing system 900A. It is a block diagram which shows another Example of the function of a printing system. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example of the printing system 900B. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating another operation example of the printing system 900B. The process by the communication unit 834 of the determination unit 830B is shown. The processing by the determination unit 832 (FIG. 12) is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure following step S312 of FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing by a job transfer unit 232B (FIG. 12) and a determination unit 832. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating another operation example for prohibiting printing of non-determined job data.

Explanation of symbols

100, 100A, 100B ... Personal computer (client device)
100z: Display device 110, 310, 710 ... Control unit 112, 312, 712 ... CPU
114, 314, 714 ... RAM
116, 316, 716 ... ROM
120, 320 ... Hard disk drive 210 ... Data processing application 220, 220A, 220B ... Printer driver 230 ... Spooler 232, 232B ... Spooler control application (spooler controller, job transfer unit)
240 ... Port monitor 250 ... Prior confirmation application 251 ... First function 252 ... Second function 253 ... Third function 254 ... Fourth function 255 ... Fifth function 260 ... Shared print queue 300, 300B ... Print server 700, 700B ... Printer 720 ... Print engine 722 ... Current output unit 810 ... Job processing unit 820 ... Communication processing unit 830, 830B ... Judgment unit 832 ... Judgment unit 834 ... Communication unit 900, 900A, 900B ... Printing system SB ... Printing stop button RS ... Printing restart Button RI ... Resource information DI ... Judgment information DR ... Judgment result ER ... Expected remaining amount RW ... Window NET ... Network F1 ... First flag F2 ... Second flag WA ... Working area JT ... Job ID table

Claims (6)

A printing system,
A printer,
A job control unit for outputting print job data to cause the printer to perform printing;
A determination unit that determines whether the print job data can be printed in response to a determination request from the job control unit;
With
Before outputting the print job data, the job control unit generates determination information including an expected usage amount of consumables used in the printer;
The determination unit determines whether or not the print job data can be printed according to the determination information and information related to the status of the printer.
The job control unit outputs the print job data when the result of the determination indicates that the printing is possible,
If it is determined that the printing is possible, the determination unit reserves the consumables for the expected usage of the actual remaining amount of the consumables for printing the print job data. To
Printing system. The printing system according to claim 1,
The information regarding the status of the printer includes the remaining amount of the consumable that can be used in the printer,
The condition for determining that the printing is possible includes that the remaining amount that can be used is equal to or more than the expected usage amount,
Reservation of the expected usage is
(1) When it is determined that printing is possible, calculating an expected remaining amount that is a remaining amount obtained by subtracting the estimated usage amount from the actual remaining amount of the consumables;
(2) The estimated remaining amount is used as the available remaining amount in response to receiving a determination request regarding another print job data before the printing of the print job data determined to be printable is completed. Making the determination,
Including the printing system. The printing system according to claim 2,
The reservation of the expected usage amount further includes (3) subtracting the expected usage amount of the other print job data from the expected remaining amount when it is determined that printing of the other print job data is possible. Including, printing system. The printing system according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising:
A plurality of client devices including a first type client device including the job control unit and a second type client device not including the job control unit;
A job transfer unit that receives print job data and supplies the received print job data to the printer;
Including
When the job transfer unit receives a print request for the determined print job data determined to be printable from the first type client device, the job transfer unit supplies the determined print job data to the printer. ,
Before the printing of the print job data that is determined to be printable by the job transfer unit, the second type client device issues a print request for non-determined print job data that has not been determined to be printable. If received,
(A) a process in which the job transfer unit rejects reception of the non-determined print job data;
(B) When the determination unit receives a new determination request, it determines whether printing is possible according to the new determination request, and the job transfer unit receives the non-determined print job data and prints A process of supplying the non-determined print job data to the printer in response to completion of printing of all the print job data determined to be possible;
(C) The determination unit prohibits the determination of whether printing is possible in response to a new determination request, and the job transfer unit receives the non-determined print job data, and printing of the determined print job data is completed. In response to this, a process of supplying the non-determined print job data to the printer;
One of the processes is executed,
Printing system. The printing system according to claim 4,
Prohibition of whether or not printing is possible in response to the new determination request is as follows:
(I) rejecting the new decision request;
(II) receiving the new determination request, executing a determination as to whether printing is possible according to the new determination request in response to completion of printing of the non-determination job data;
A printing system that includes one of the following: Printing method,
Before outputting print job data, generate judgment information including the expected consumption of consumables used in the printer,
According to the determination information and the information regarding the status of the printer, it is determined whether the print job data can be printed,
When the result of the determination indicates that the printing is possible, the print job data is output,
When it is determined that the printing is possible, the consumables corresponding to the estimated usage of the actual remaining amount of the consumables are reserved for printing the print job data.
Printing method.

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