JP2010260234A - Printing system, printing method and printer driver program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a printing system from being occupied due to mass-printing by setting a limit to the number of printable sheets, and to rapidly process other printing jobs, and after processing the other printing jobs, to print the sheets exceeding the limit of the number of printable sheets without time consumption. <P>SOLUTION: The printing system is configured to connect a plurality of terminals with a printer for performing the printing jobs sent from the terminals via a network, and configured to control the printing jobs received from the terminals. The printer is configured to count the number of printed sheets related to the printing job, and when the number of printed sheets exceeds the upper limit number of printable sheets, performs job-resetting with respect to the printing job, and give to the first terminal, a command to retransmit the printing job by the amount of the unprinted portion together with information on the count. The first terminal receives the command to retransmit the printing job, which has been transmitted previously, then, generates the printing job by the amount of the unprinted portion from the already transmitted printing job based on the information on the count, and then, transmits the generated job to the printer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to the fields of a printing system, a printing method, and a printer driver program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a network printing system has been realized in which an image forming apparatus such as a printer is connected to a network together with a terminal such as a personal computer, and data processed by the terminal is transferred to the image forming apparatus for printing. In such a printing system, mass printing may be a problem.

  For example, when a large number of print requests are made from a certain terminal, the image forming apparatus is occupied only by the print processing for a while. During the mass printing, printing from other terminals cannot be performed, and printing from other terminals can be performed only after waiting for the mass printing to end.

  In order to solve such problems related to mass printing, one method is to set an upper limit on the number of printable sheets. There is known a technique for specifying an upper limit value for the number of printable sheets on the printer main body or terminal management application. According to this technique, an upper limit number of printable sheets that can be printed at one time from the terminal is provided, and the number of printable sheets is determined. When the printable upper limit number is reached, job reset (job cancellation) is performed on the print job, and other print jobs can be executed promptly. For example, a print request from another terminal generated during a large amount of 1000 sheets is temporarily stacked in the job queue. When the previous large amount of print processing reaches 100 printable sheets, the job is reset for the print job, and the large amount of print processing ends. A print request from another terminal stacked in the job queue is promptly executed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which printing is interrupted when the upper limit is reached during printing for the purpose of setting printing restrictions. Further, in Patent Document 2, for the purpose of restricting printing, output processing of a print job on the main body side is temporarily stopped at some timing during printing, and information on the actual number of prints at that time is exchanged with the server. An invention in which the server compares the information with the upper limit value determined by the number of printed records, cancels printing if the upper limit is reached, and resumes printing (output processing) of the job if not exceeded. It is disclosed.

  However, in the method of setting the upper limit of the printable number of sheets, when the determined printable number of sheets is reached, job reset is performed for the print job. For this reason, in order to print the data that could not be printed due to the job reset, the user had to re-create the print job while adjusting the remaining print data. However, if the upper limit of the number of printable sheets is removed, other print jobs cannot be processed while the printer is processing a large-volume print job. Therefore, in a time zone where other users frequently use such as daytime, there is a high possibility that a large amount of print processing will be reset to a job, and when a user performs a large amount of print processing, for example, within the upper limit number of printable sheets (for example, 100 It is unavoidable to make print requests in small increments.

  Similarly, in the inventions described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, print jobs exceeding the number of printable sheets are canceled or discarded, and if it is desired to print the remaining amount, the user can print the remaining amount. The data had to be recreated, which was very time consuming.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention prevents the occupation of the apparatus by mass printing by limiting the number of printable sheets and processes other print jobs promptly. After the other print jobs are processed, the printable sheet number is limited. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system, a printing method, and a printer driver program that can perform printing for an excess amount without trouble.

  In order to solve the above problems, a printing system according to the present invention controls a print job received from a plurality of terminals by connecting a plurality of terminals and a printer that executes a print job from the terminals via a network. The first terminal includes a print job generation unit that generates a print job, a storage unit that stores the print job generated by the generation unit, and a print job generated by the generation unit. A print job transmission unit configured to transmit to the printer; and a print job retransmission request reception unit configured to receive a retransmission request regarding a previously transmitted print job from the printer, wherein the print job generation unit includes the retransmission Based on the count information of the number of printed pages included in the request, printing for the unprinted print job from the print job stored in the storage unit The print job transmission unit transmits the unprinted print job to the printer, and the printer receives the print job transmitted by the transmission unit; A printing unit that executes a print job accepted by the printing unit; and the number of prints of the print job executed by the printing unit is counted, and a predetermined upper limit number of printable sheets and the number of prints in one print job are counted based on the count. In comparison, if the number of prints exceeds the predetermined maximum printable number, the print restriction unit that performs job reset processing for the print job, and the job reset process performed by the print restriction unit, the first A re-transmission requesting unit that attaches the count information to the terminal and makes the re-transmission request for an unprinted print job. It is characterized in.

  In order to solve the above problem, in the printing system, the predetermined upper limit number of printable sheets is preset by the first terminal, and the print job generation unit is set with the predetermined upper limit number of printable sheets. A print job including an upper limit number of print jobs is generated.

  In order to solve the above problem, in the printing system, the predetermined printable upper limit number of sheets is preset by the printer.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the printing system, the print job reception unit of the printer has the predetermined printable upper limit number of sheets in a job queue for storing print jobs in an order executed by the printing unit. The print jobs from the second terminal to which no is set are stacked in priority over the unprinted print jobs from the first terminal.

  In order to solve the above problem, in the printing system, the printing restriction unit of the printer is configured to receive the print job while the printing unit is executing a print job in which the predetermined printable upper limit number is set. The means operates when it receives a print job from the second terminal.

  In addition, what applied the arbitrary combination of the component of this invention, expression, or a component to a method, an apparatus, a system, a computer program, a recording medium, etc. is also effective as an aspect of this invention.

  According to the present invention, by limiting the number of printable sheets, the occupation of the apparatus due to mass printing is prevented, and other print jobs are processed promptly, and after the other print jobs are processed, printing that exceeds the printable number limit is troublesome. It is possible to provide a printing system, a printing method, and a printer driver program that can be eliminated.

1 is a network diagram in an embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the terminal 2 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an embodiment of a printer 1 and a terminal 2. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the flow of the whole operation | movement of the printing system which concerns on this invention. 6 is a flowchart for describing print job generation processing of a terminal 2a. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a printing process and a job reset process of the printer 1. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print job storage processing B1. It is a figure explaining the job stacking order to a job queue. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print job execution processing B2. 6 is a flowchart for explaining print job regeneration processing of the terminal 2a. 6 is a flowchart for describing print job generation processing of a terminal 2a. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print job storage processing B1. It is a figure explaining the job stacking order to a job queue. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print job execution processing B2. 6 is a flowchart for explaining print job regeneration processing of the terminal 2a.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings in each embodiment.

[Embodiment 1]
<Configuration>
First, before describing specific contents of the invention, a printing environment (configuration) for carrying out the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a network diagram in an embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention. A printer 1 and a terminal 2 are connected via a network 3. The printer 1 is a printer device such as an image forming apparatus, for example, and receives the print instruction from the terminal 2 and executes the print instruction. The terminal 2 is a user terminal that issues a print instruction and has a printer driver program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver). The terminal 2 includes a terminal 2a and a terminal 2b, but a plurality of terminals are connected on the network 3. For explanation, the terminal 2a generates a large amount of print jobs for the printer 1, and the terminal 2b generates a print job (not a large amount) while the printer 1 is processing a large amount of print jobs from the terminal 2a.

(Printer)
For the printer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, a multi-function machine in which a plurality of functions such as a printer, a copy, and a scanner are housed in one housing can be applied. The current multi-function peripherals (MFPs) have evolved with MFP-related technologies such as improved CPU performance, increased memory capacity, faster communication technology, and advanced digital image technology. In addition to the above-described functions as a digital copying machine, for example, data such as images and documents can be transmitted and received via a network (including mail), a facsimile, and the like, and various usage forms are provided in a user environment. Therefore, printers are often shared and used simultaneously by a plurality of users in a recent office environment or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the printer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. An image forming apparatus as an embodiment of the printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 11, a storage medium I / F 12, a controller 13, a data communication I / F 14, a scanner 15, a plotter 16, and an HDD. (Hard Disk Drive) 17 are connected to each other.

  The operation panel 11 includes an input device 11a and a display device 11b. The input device 11a includes hard keys and the like, and is used to input each operation signal to the apparatus main body. Further, the display device 11b is configured by a display or the like, and displays, for example, various types of information related to the image forming operation. The data communication I / F 14 includes an interface device 14a, and is an interface that connects the image forming apparatus to a data transmission path such as a network or a fax machine. The HDD 17 stores various data such as received document data and read image data handled by the image forming apparatus. Further, the HDD 17 manages these various data by a predetermined file system or DB (Data Base).

  Various data stored in the HDD 17 includes data input from the recording medium 12b. The recording medium 12b is set in the drive device 12a included in the storage medium I / F 12, and various data are stored in the HDD 17 from the recording medium 12b via the drive device 12a.

  The controller 13 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13b, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 13c. The ROM 13a is executed when the image forming apparatus is activated. Stores programs and various data. The RAM 13b temporarily stores various programs and data read from the ROM 13a and the HDD 17. Further, the CPU 13c executes a program temporarily stored in the RAM 13b. For example, when the print data is received via the data communication I / F 14, the controller 13 reads a program (PDL parser) that can read PDL (Page Description Language) read from the ROM 13a onto the RAM 13b by the CPU 13c. Execute and interpret the print data to generate a bitmap image.

  The scanner 15 includes an image reading device 15a, and optically reads a document placed on a reading surface and generates image data. The plotter 16 has a printing device 16a and prints a bitmap image on a recording sheet by, for example, an electrophotographic process method.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus as an embodiment of the printer 1 according to the present embodiment realizes a plurality of functions such as a copy, a printer, a facsimile, and a scanner with the above hardware configuration.

(Terminal)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The terminal 2 may be a user terminal composed of, for example, a general personal computer. As main components, the terminal 2 includes a CPU 21, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, an auxiliary storage device 24, and a storage medium reading device 25. , The input device 26, the display device 27, and the communication device 28.

  The CPU 21 is composed of a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and is a circuit that controls the entire terminal 1. The ROM 22 is a memory that stores a predetermined control program (software component) executed by the CPU 21, and the RAM 23 executes various control operations by the CPU 21 executing a predetermined control program (software component) stored in the ROM 22. This is a memory used as a work area (work area) when performing.

  The auxiliary storage device 24 is a device that stores various information including a general-purpose OS (Operating System) and the above-described printer driver program, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that is a nonvolatile storage device is used. In addition to the auxiliary storage device 24, the various types of information may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-ROM) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), and other media. Various information stored in the storage medium can be read via a drive device such as the storage medium reader 25. Therefore, various information including the printer driver can be obtained by setting the recording medium in the storage medium reading device 25 as necessary.

  The input device 26 is a device for the user to perform various input operations. The input device 26 includes a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel switch provided so as to be superimposed on the display screen of the display device 27, and the like. The display device 27 is a device that displays a print setting screen or the like displayed by the printer driver on the display screen. The display device 27 includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like. Next, the communication device 28 is a device that communicates with the printer 1 via the network 3. Supports communication according to various network forms including wired and wireless networks.

(function)
Next, functions of the printer 1 and the terminal 2 in the printing system according to the present invention will be described. In the printing system according to the present invention, the terminal 2 can set a printable upper limit number of sheets in one print job and transmit the print job to the printer 1. The printer 1 executes a print job from the terminal 2. When the number of prints exceeds the maximum printable number for a single print job, a job reset (processing) is performed for a print job with a limit on the maximum number of printable prints to limit the occupation of the print job from one terminal. . The job reset may be performed only when a print job is received from another terminal (for example, the terminal 2b) during execution of the print job. This is because there is no problem even if the printer 1 is occupied by mass printing when no print request is made from another terminal. When the job is reset, the print job is canceled, and there are print jobs for which printing has not yet been performed. Therefore, the printer 1 according to the present invention requests the terminal 2 to retransmit the unprinted print job so that the unprinted portion can be printed.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of one embodiment of the printer 1 and the terminal 2. The printer 1 includes an application 201, a UI (User Interface) unit 202, a print job generation unit 203, a storage unit 204, and a transmission / reception unit 205. The UI unit 202, the print job generation unit 203, and the storage unit 204 are included in the printer driver 200. The terminal 2 includes a print job reception unit 101, a job queue 102, a printing unit 103, a print restriction unit 104, and a retransmission request unit 105. Since the details will be described in <Operation> described later, each function will be briefly described here.

  First, regarding the terminal 2, the application 201 is a program created to process a specific job. For example, a document or image created by the application 201 such as word processing software is sent to the printer 1 as a print job by the printer driver 200.

  The UI unit 202 provides a user interface for performing printer-specific settings that cannot be set by the application 201. For example, the printer driver 200 creates and provides a printer setting screen. Further, from the printer setting screen, the upper limit number of printable sheets in one print job can be set by an administrator or the like.

  The print job generation unit 203 has a function of creating information about a character, object, or figure given as numerical data from the application 201 by imaging to create a print job. Also, a print job is created reflecting the contents set on the printer setting screen by the UI unit 202. For example, when the upper limit number of printable sheets is set, information on the upper limit number of printable sheets is attached (embedded) to create a print job (hereinafter also referred to as a print job with an upper limit number of sheets).

  The storage unit 204 stores the upper limit number of print jobs generated by the print job generation unit 203. Although details will be described later, the upper limit number of print jobs stored in the storage unit 204 is used when a print job re-transmission request is received from the printer 1.

  The printer driver 200 includes a UI unit 202, a print job generation unit 203, and a storage unit 204. The printer driver 200 is a type of device driver that is software for controlling the printer 1. The printer driver is under the control of an OS (Operating System), and when the user executes printing from the application 201, the printer driver 200 that receives a processing request from the OS performs actual print data processing and control of the printer 1.

  The transmission / reception unit 205 transmits the print job generated by the print job generation unit 203 to the printer. Further, the printer 1 receives a print job re-transmission request, which will be described later.

  Next, for the printer 1, the print job reception unit 101 receives a print job including the upper limit number of print jobs transmitted by the transmission / reception unit 205 of the terminal 2.

  The job queue 102 is a job queue that stores print jobs received by the print job receiving unit 101. Print jobs in the job queue 102 are processed in the stacking order.

  The printing unit 103 executes a print job in the job queue 102. Specifically, since a print job is executed, print processing is performed.

  The print restriction unit 104 counts the number of prints of the upper limit number of print jobs executed by the print unit 103, compares the printable upper limit number and the print number by counting, and the print number exceeds the printable upper limit number In addition, a job reset process is performed for the upper limit number of print jobs. That is, if the printing process executed by the printing unit 103 exceeds a predetermined printable upper limit number, the printing unit 103 is controlled to cancel the printing process.

  When the job restriction process is performed by the print restriction unit 104, the retransmission request unit 105 adds count information (information about the number of print processed sheets) to the terminal 2, and requests a retransmission request for an unprinted print job. Has the function to perform.

  Note that these functions are actually realized by the computer (printer 1 and terminal 2) by the program executed by the CPU 13c and CPU 21 described above. Next, the operation of the printing system according to the present invention will be described in detail.

<Operation>
Next, the operation of the printing system according to the present invention will be described. In the printing system according to the present invention, the printer 1 executes the print job with the upper limit number from the terminal 2, but if the upper limit number of printable sheets is exceeded, the print job is restricted to limit the occupation of the print job from one terminal. Job reset (processing) is performed for a print job with the maximum possible number of sheets. When the job is reset, the print job is canceled, and there are print jobs for which printing has not yet been performed. Accordingly, the printer 1 requests the terminal 2 to retransmit an unprinted print job so that the unprinted portion can be printed. A description will be given below.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the overall operation flow of the printing system according to the present invention. For explanation, the terminal 2a generates a large amount of print jobs for the printer 1, and the terminal 2b generates a print job (not a large amount) while the printer 1 is processing a large amount of print jobs from the terminal 2a. Hereinafter, A, B, and D shown in the drawings will be described in detail, and C and E will be appropriately described.

(1) Print job generation processing A
The print job generation process A is a process from when the user executes printing from the application 201 on the terminal 2 a until the printer driver 200 generates a print job and transmits the print job to the printer 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining print job generation processing of the terminal 2a.

  First, a print request (command) is made from the application 201 of the terminal 2a. Here, it is assumed that a large amount of printing is performed. For example, 550 sheets of printing paper are printed. In the following description of the present invention, a large amount of printing refers to printing that exceeds the upper limit number of printable sheets, and a small amount of printing refers to printing that does not exceed the upper limit number of printable sheets.

  In generating a print job, the print job generation unit 203 first determines whether the upper limit number of printable sheets is set (step A1). As described above, the printable upper limit number of sheets in one print job can be set from the printer setting screen by the UI unit 202. You can also set the upper limit value. Here, for example, it is assumed that the upper limit number of printable sheets is set to 100 sheets.

  If the printable upper limit number is set, the printable upper limit number (value) is acquired (step A2). Here, the upper limit number of printable sheets is acquired as 100 sheets.

  Then, the print job generation unit 203 images the information about the characters, objects, and graphics given as numerical data from the application 201 by calculation, and creates a print job (step A3). Here, since the print job is created reflecting the contents set on the printer setting screen by the UI unit 202, when the upper limit number of printable sheets is set, information on the upper limit number of printable sheets is attached ( Create a print job with the maximum number of copies. Of course, if the printable upper limit number is not set, the printable upper limit number (value) is not acquired, and a simple print job is generated without any information on the printable upper limit number.

  The storage unit 204 stores the upper limit number of print jobs generated by the print job generation unit 203 (step A4). Although details will be described later, the upper limit number of print jobs in the storage unit 204 is used when a re-transmission request for a print job is received from the printer 1. Note that the mere print job in which the upper limit number of printable sheets is not set is not stored (it is not necessary).

  The transmission / reception unit 205 transmits a print job including the upper limit number of print jobs generated by the print job generation unit 203 to the printer 1 (step A5). Here, if the content of the transmitted print job with the maximum number of sheets is confirmed, information of the maximum number of printable sheets 100 is attached, and the print job is 550 sheets of print paper. For example, it takes about 10 to 20 minutes to complete a print job for 550 sheets by the printer 1, and the printer 1 is occupied during that time.

(2) Print processing and job reset processing B
In the printing process and job reset process B, the printer 1 accepts an upper limit number of print jobs and stores them in the job queue 102. Then, the print job in the job queue 102 is executed. In addition, the number of prints of the executed upper limit number of print jobs is counted, the upper limit number of printable sheets is compared with the number of print sheets, and if the print number exceeds the upper limit number of printable sheets, To perform job reset processing. Further, when the job reset process is performed, the terminal 2 is added with count information (print processed sheet number information), and a re-transmission request for an unprinted print job is made. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining print processing and job reset processing of the printer 1. As shown in the figure, the print job storage process B1 and the print job execution process B2 are roughly divided. A description will be given below.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the print job storage process B1. In the print job storage process B 1, a print job including an upper limit number of print jobs is received and stored in the job queue 102. Note that print jobs stored in the job queue 102 are processed in order from the first one (first in first out method).

  First, the print job receiving unit 101 receives a print job including a print job with an upper limit number of sheets from the terminal 2 (step B101). Here, as described above, it is assumed that a print job with an upper limit number of sheets has been accepted (upper limit number of printable sheets 100 sheets, 550 sheets of printing paper).

  Next, the accepted print job is stored in the job queue 102, but the order in which it is stored in the job queue 102 differs depending on the case. That is, the print job storage order varies depending on whether or not a stack already exists in the job queue 102 (step B102). The case where the job queue 102 already has a stack means that there is an unprocessed print job that is received before the print job received in step B101.

  If there is no stack in the job queue 102, the print job is stored as it is in the job queue 102 (step B103). This is because there is no stack in the job queue 102, so the storage order does not matter. The state of the job queue 102 at this time is shown in FIG.

  If there is a stack in the job queue 102, it is determined whether or not the printable upper limit number of sheets is set for the print job (step B104). Here, since the upper limit number of print jobs are accepted, it is determined that the upper limit number of printable sheets is set, and the print job is stored at the end of the job queue 102 (step B105). The state of the job queue 102 at this time is shown in FIG.

  Returning to step B104 again, if the printable upper limit number of sheets is not set in the print job, the print job is stored before the first upper limit number of print job in the job queue 102 (step B106). More specifically, the case where the printable upper limit number is not set in the print job is a print job in which the printable upper limit number is not particularly limited. Here, for example, a print job from the terminal 2b is a print job in which a large amount of printing is not performed and the number of print sheets is about several sheets. Therefore, the upper limit number of printable sheets is not set in the terminal 2b. If there is a print job with an upper limit number in the job queue 102, such a print job is stored before this so that the print job is processed with priority over the print job with the upper limit number. The state of the job queue 102 at this time is shown in FIG. Of course, if there is no upper limit number of print jobs in the job queue 102, the print job may be stored at the end of the job queue 102.

  The print job storage process accepted by the printer 1 has been described above including various cases. However, in this case, it is assumed that no other print jobs are stored in the job queue 102, and therefore, only a print job with an upper limit number of sheets (upper limit number of printable sheets 100 sheets, 550 sheets of print paper) is stored in the job queue 102. The description will be made assuming that it is stored. Then, the stored upper limit number of print jobs is executed in the print job execution process B2.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the print job execution process B2. In the print job execution process B2, the print job stored in the job queue 102 is executed. For a print job with an upper limit number for which the upper limit number of printable sheets is set, job reset processing is performed when the print number reaches the upper limit number. This will be described below.

  First, the printing unit 103 loads a print job from the job queue 102 (step B201), and determines whether or not the printable upper limit number is set for the loaded print job (step B202). If the printable upper limit number is not set, the printing unit 103 executes printing for all pages of the print job (step B203). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a next print job to be processed in the job queue 102 (step B204). If there is a print job, the process proceeds to the next print job (step B201), and there is no print job. Terminates the print job execution process (END). Note that the print job in which the upper limit number of printable sheets is not set is, for example, a print job in which the upper limit number of printable sheets is not limited. Here, as described above, for example, the print job is from the terminal 2b.

  On the other hand, if the printable upper limit number of sheets is set for the loaded print job, it is determined whether or not the upper limit number of print jobs is due to a retransmission request (step B205). The re-transmission request is a request for re-transmission of an unprocessed print job from the printer 1 to the terminal 2a when job reset processing is performed. That is, it is determined whether or not the print job is a print job retransmitted in response to this re-transmission request. Since the retransmitted print job is divided in units of the maximum printable number (value) in the terminal 2a, the maximum number of prints included in the print job is the maximum printable maximum number (value). This will be described later again. If the print job with the upper limit number is a request for retransmission, the printing unit 103 executes printing for all pages of the print job (step B203). Since the retransmitted print job is divided in units of the maximum printable number (value), the number of prints included in the print job does not exceed the maximum printable number.

  If the print job with the upper limit number is not a request for retransmission, printing is executed in units of the upper limit number (step B206). Specifically, since the content of the print job with the upper limit number here is the maximum number of printable sheets of 100 sheets and 550 sheets of print paper, printing is first executed in units of the upper limit number of sheets, that is, in units of 100 sheets. Note that the print restriction unit 104 counts the number of printed sheets.

  When all the print jobs are completed (step B207), the process proceeds to a step of determining whether or not there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B204) as described above. Note that the case where the print job ends is, for example, that the content of the upper limit number of print jobs is set to 100 printable upper limit sheets, but does not correspond to the printable upper limit when it is 70 print sheets. Therefore, there are cases where 70 pages are printed and the print job is terminated. On the other hand, the case where the print job does not end is a case where the content of the upper limit number of print jobs corresponds to the printable upper limit such as 100 printable upper limit sheets and 550 print sheets.

  If the print job does not end, it is determined whether there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B208). If there is no print job to be processed, the print processing is continued as it is even if the upper limit number is exceeded (to step S206). This is because there is no problem even if the printer 1 is occupied by mass printing when no print request is made from another terminal. Accordingly, printing is repeatedly performed in units of the upper limit number of sheets (step B206), and each time print processing is performed in units of the upper limit number of sheets, it is determined whether there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B208).

  On the other hand, if there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B208), the upper limit number of print jobs currently being processed exceeds the printable upper limit number, and the original purpose is to prevent the printer 1 from being occupied. Thus, the print restriction unit 104 performs job reset processing for the upper limit number of print jobs currently being processed (step B209). As a result, the print processing is canceled for the upper limit number of print jobs currently being processed. In other words, the occupation is released from a large number of print jobs. Here, regarding the print job with the upper limit number of sheets in the previous example, it is assumed that a print request is made from the terminal 2b before the print processing for 100 sheets is completed, and there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 ( FIG. 5, C). Then, at the time of job reset processing, the maximum number of print jobs with the maximum number of sheets is 100 printed and the number of unprinted processed sheets is 450.

  Note that printing is executed in units of the upper limit number of sheets (step B206), and the presence or absence of another print job in the job queue is determined in units of the upper limit number of sheets (step B208). This is to allow the occupation of. However, when another print job is stacked in the job queue, the job can be canceled immediately.

  The re-transmission request unit 105 makes a re-transmission request for the print job (step B210). That is, by the job reset process, the print process with the upper limit number of print jobs being processed is canceled, but the print jobs for the unprinted process still remain. Therefore, it requests the terminal 2a to retransmit the unprinted print job. If an unprinted print job is retransmitted, all the pages can be printed by executing the print job again. At this time, the count information of the number of print processed sheets is attached to the re-transmission request (for example, the number of print processed sheets is 100).

  Then, the printing unit 103 again loads a print job from the job queue 102 and executes the print job. The print job executed here is a print job from the terminal 2b that has finally obtained the order of the print processing only after being released from the occupation of the printer 1 of the previous large number of print jobs.

(3) Print job regeneration process D
The print job regeneration process D is a process in which the terminal 2a receives a request for retransmitting a print job for unprocessed print from the printer 1 and transmits the print job again. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the print job regeneration process of the terminal 2a. In response to the retransmission request, the flowchart is started.

  The print job generation unit 203 acquires the original upper limit number of print jobs stored in the storage unit 204 (step D1). Further, the count information attached to the retransmission request is acquired (step D2).

  Next, the unprinted pages are divided by the upper limit unit, and the print job is regenerated (step D3). This will be specifically described. The contents of the original print job with the upper limit number of sheets acquired from the storage unit 204 are the upper limit number of printable sheets of 100 sheets and 550 sheets of print paper, and the number of print processed sheets is 100 sheets from the count information. Therefore, there are 450 unprinted pages, and if the upper limit number of sheets is divided by 100, a total of five print jobs for 100 sheets, 100 sheets, 100 sheets, 100 sheets, and 50 sheets are used. Is generated. As described above, since the upper limit number of printable sheets set is a value that occupies the printer 1 in one print job and is allowed to be printed to the maximum extent, it is retransmitted. The divided job is not reset again. This prevents repeated job resetting even for a large number of print jobs. Also, information on the upper limit number of printable sheets is attached to these divided print jobs. This is because it is used for determining the storage order of the job queue (B104 in FIG. 8) as described above.

  The transmission / reception unit 205 sequentially retransmits the generated print jobs (with the upper limit number of sheets) to the printer 1 (step D4). These print jobs received by the printer 1 are reprinted (FIG. 5, E) (steps proceeding to FIG. 10, B205, Y). In this way, all print jobs for unprocessed printing are executed.

  Thereafter, in the reprint process (FIG. 5E), a print job in which the upper limit number of printable sheets is not set during execution of the first print job for unprocessed prints by the printer 1, for example, “print job” When “α” is accepted, the job is interrupted in the job queue 102 (FIG. 8, step B106). Accordingly, “divided job a (for 100 sheets)” → “print job α (no upper limit number of sheets)” → “divided job b (for 100 sheets)” → “divided job c (for 100 sheets)” → “divided job d” (100 sheets) "->" Divided job d (50 sheets) "is executed in this order.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, it has been described that the terminal 2 can set the printable upper limit number of sheets in one print job and transmit the print job to the printer 1. However, in the second embodiment, the upper limit number of printable sheets is described. An embodiment in which these settings are set on the printer 1 side will be described. By setting the upper limit number of printable sheets on the printer 1 side having the job cancel function, the print job from a plurality of terminals 2 on the network 3 is not dependent on the function of the printer driver of the terminal 2. The upper limit number of printable sheets can be set centrally. Hereinafter, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

(function)
The printer 1 executes a print job from the terminal 2. When the number of prints exceeds the maximum printable number for a single print job, the printer 1 resets the job for a print job that exceeds the maximum printable number of sheets to limit the occupation of the print job from one terminal ( Process). The job reset may be performed only when a print job is received from another terminal (for example, the terminal 2b) during execution of the print job. This is because there is no problem even if the printer 1 is occupied by mass printing when no print request is made from another terminal. When the job is reset, the print job is canceled, and there are print jobs for which printing has not yet been performed. Accordingly, the printer 1 requests the terminal 2 to retransmit an unprinted print job so that the unprinted portion can be printed.

  Refer to FIG. 4 again. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of one embodiment of the printer 1 and the terminal 2. Although the functional configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, the content of each function is different, and therefore the following description will be given (only functional units having differences will be described).

  Regarding the terminal 2, the UI unit 202 provides a user interface for performing printer-specific settings. As a difference from the first embodiment, the upper limit number of printable sheets in one print job is not set (cannot) from the printer setting screen by the printer driver 200.

  The print job generation unit 203 has a function of creating a print job, and creates a print job by reflecting the contents set on the printer setting screen by the UI unit 202. However, as a difference from the first embodiment, when creating a print job, the print job is not created with information on the upper limit number of printable sheets (embedded).

  The storage unit 204 stores the print job generated by the print job generation unit 203 (a normal print job without an upper limit number). Accordingly, the generated print job is temporarily stored in the storage unit 204 and used when a re-transmission request for a print job is received from the printer 1 upon job reset. When the job is not reset and the print job is processed normally, the print job is notified and the corresponding print job is deleted from the storage unit 204. This is to prevent an increase in storage capacity.

  Next, regarding the printer 1, the print job receiving unit 101 receives a print job (a normal print job without an upper limit number) transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 205 of the terminal 2.

  The print restriction unit 104 counts the number of printed sheets executed by the printing unit 103, compares the printable upper limit number set in advance with the printer 1 with the count, and the print number exceeds the printable upper limit number. If it is, the job reset process is performed for the print job. That is, when the printing process executed by the printing unit 103 exceeds a predetermined maximum printable upper limit number set in advance in the printer 1, the printing unit 103 is controlled to cancel the printing process.

  When the job restriction processing is performed by the print restriction unit 104, the retransmission request unit 105 sends the count information (printed number information) to the terminal 2 and the upper limit number (printable upper limit) preset in the printer 1. And a function for requesting re-transmission of an unprinted print job.

<Operation>
Next, the operation of the printing system according to the second embodiment will be described. Refer to FIG. 5 again. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall operation flow of the printing system according to the second embodiment. Although the overall operation flow is the same as that of the first embodiment, differences in each process shown in the figure will be mainly described below. For the sake of explanation, the terminal 2a generates a large amount of print jobs for the printer 1, and the terminal 2b generates a print job (not a large amount) while the printer 1 is processing a large amount of print jobs from the terminal 2a. , As described above.

(1) Print job generation processing A
The print job generation process A is a process from when the user executes printing from the application 201 on the terminal 2 a until the printer driver 200 generates a print job and transmits the print job to the printer 1. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining print job generation processing of the terminal 2a. 6 is different in that step A1 and step A2 are omitted.

  First, a print request (command) is made from the application 201 of the terminal 2a. Here, it is assumed that a large amount of printing is performed. For example, 550 sheets of printing paper are printed.

  Then, the print job generation unit 203 images the information about the characters, objects, and graphics given as numerical data from the application 201 by calculation, and creates a print job (step A3). In the second embodiment, since the upper limit number of printable sheets is not set, a simple print job is generated without any information on the upper limit number of printable sheets.

  The storage unit 204 stores the print job generated by the print job generation unit 203 (a normal print job without an upper limit number) (step A4).

  The transmission / reception unit 205 transmits the print job generated by the print job generation unit 203 to the printer 1 (step A5).

(2) Print processing and job reset processing B
In the printing process and job reset process B in the second embodiment, the printer 1 accepts a print job and stores it in the job queue 102. Then, the print job in the job queue 102 is executed. In addition, the number of prints of the executed print job is counted, and the upper limit number of printable sheets set in advance by the printer 1 is compared by counting. If the number of prints exceeds the upper limit number of printable sheets, the print job Job reset processing is performed for. Further, when the job reset process is performed, the terminal 2 is added with count information (print processed sheet number information), and a re-transmission request for an unprinted print job is made. Refer to FIG. 7 again. Also in the second embodiment, the print job storage process B1 and the print job execution process B2 are roughly divided.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the print job storage process B1. In the print job storage process B 1, a print job including the upper print job is accepted and stored in the job queue 102. Note that print jobs stored in the job queue 102 are processed in order from the first one (first in first out method). Note that FIG. 8 is different from step B104 in step B106.

  First, the print job receiving unit 101 receives a print job from the terminal 2 (step B101). Next, the accepted print job is stored in the job queue 102, but the order in which it is stored in the job queue 102 differs depending on the case. That is, the print job storage order varies depending on whether or not a stack already exists in the job queue 102 (step B102). The case where the job queue 102 already has a stack means that there is an unprocessed print job that is received before the print job received in step B101.

  If there is no stack in the job queue 102, the print job is stored as it is in the job queue 102 (step B103). This is because there is no stack in the job queue 102, so the storage order does not matter. The state of the job queue 102 at this time is shown in FIG.

  If there is a stack in the job queue 102, it is determined whether or not the print job is due to a retransmission request (step B107). As described above, the re-transmission request is a request for re-transmission of unprocessed print jobs from the printer 1 to the terminal 2a when the job reset process is performed. That is, it is determined whether or not the print job is a print job retransmitted in response to this re-transmission request. If the print job is due to a retransmission request, it is stored at the end of the job queue 102 (step B105). The state of the job queue 102 at this time is shown in FIG.

  Returning to step B107 again, if the print job is not a request for retransmission, the print job is stored before the print job for the first retransmission request in the job queue 102 (step B108). This is because priority is given to processing of a print job that is not based on a retransmission request. The state of the job queue 102 at this time is shown in FIG.

  The storage process of the print job accepted by the printer 1 has been described above. Next, the stored print job is executed in the print job execution process B2.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the print job execution process B2. In the print job execution process B2, the print job stored in the job queue 102 is executed. For a print job exceeding the maximum printable number, job reset processing is performed when the number of prints reaches the upper limit. 10 is different in that, for example, steps B202, B203, and B205 are deleted. This will be described below.

  First, the printing unit 103 loads a print job from the job queue 102 (step B201), and executes printing in an upper limit sheet unit (upper limit printable sheet number) preset in the printer 1 (step B211). The reason why printing is performed in units of the upper limit number of sheets is to perform job reset when the printing process reaches the upper limit number of sheets. For example, assuming that the upper limit number of printable sheets is 100 and preset in the printer 1 and the content of the print job is 550 sheets of printing paper, printing is first executed in units of the upper limit number of sheets, that is, in units of 100 sheets. Note that the print restriction unit 104 counts the number of printed sheets.

  If all print jobs are completed (step B207), the process proceeds to a step of determining whether or not there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B204). Note that the case where the print job ends is a case where the content of the remaining print number of the print job is equal to or less than the upper limit number, for example, equal to or less than 100, because printing is executed in units of the upper limit number in step B211.

  If the print job does not end, it is determined whether there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B208). If there is no print job to be processed, the print processing is continued as it is even after the upper limit number is exceeded (to step S211). This is because there is no problem even if the printer 1 is occupied by mass printing when no print request is made from another terminal. Accordingly, printing is repeatedly performed in units of the upper limit number of sheets (step B211), and each time printing processing is performed in units of the upper limit number of sheets, it is determined whether there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B208).

  On the other hand, if there is a print job to be processed next in the job queue 102 (step B208), the print job currently being processed has exceeded the maximum printable number, and printing is performed from the original purpose of preventing the printer 1 from being occupied. The restriction unit 104 performs job reset processing for the print job currently being processed (step B209). As a result, the print processing of the print job currently being processed is canceled.

  The re-transmission request unit 105 makes a re-transmission request for the print job (step B210). By the job reset process, the print job being processed is canceled, but there are still print jobs for the unprinted process. Therefore, it requests the terminal 2a to retransmit the unprinted print job. At this time, the information on the count of the number of printed sheets and the information on the upper limit number (upper limit number of printable sheets) set in advance in the printer 1 are attached to the retransmission request (for example, the number of printed sheets is 100, (Up to 100 sheets)

  In the second embodiment, it is possible to set whether to limit the upper limit number of printable sheets according to the terminal. In this case, before proceeding to the flowchart of FIG. 15, the transmission source terminal of the print job is determined, and if the transmission source is a terminal that does not limit the printable upper limit number of sheets, the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. All pages may be printed for the print job that has been performed.

(3) Print job regeneration process D
The print job regeneration process D according to the second embodiment is a process in which the terminal 2a receives a print job re-transmission request from the printer 1 and transmits the print job again. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the print job regeneration process of the terminal 2a. In response to the retransmission request, the flowchart is started. When comparing FIG. 11, the points D1 and D2 are slightly different.

  The print job generation unit 203 acquires the original print job stored in the storage unit 204 (step D5). In addition, the count information and the information on the upper limit number (printable upper limit number) attached to the retransmission request are acquired (step D6).

  Next, an unprinted page is divided into upper limit sheet units based on the upper limit sheet number information, and a print job is regenerated (step D3).

  The transmission / reception unit 205 sequentially retransmits the generated print jobs to the printer 1 (step D4). These print jobs received by the printer 1 are reprinted (FIG. 5, E), and thus all print jobs for unprocessed prints are executed.

  If the job is not reset and the print job is processed normally (B207, Y in FIG. 15), a print completion notification is received and the corresponding print job is sent from the storage unit 204 to prevent an increase in storage capacity. delete.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the embodiment in which the setting of the upper limit number of printable sheets is set on the printer 1 side has been described. By setting the upper limit number of printable sheets on the printer 1 side having the job cancel function, the print job from a plurality of terminals 2 on the network 3 is not dependent on the function of the printer driver of the terminal 2. The upper limit number of printable sheets can be set centrally.

<Summary>
As described above, in the printing system according to the present invention, while the printer is processing a large number of print jobs, the printer performs job reset to process other print jobs. Request the terminal to resend unprocessed print jobs. The terminal printer driver side refers to the processed number information (count information) and the printable upper limit number information, and if the unprocessed print job exceeds the upper limit number, the print job is determined for each upper limit unit. Are generated and transmitted to the printer again. In this way, a user who performs mass printing can set (specify) the maximum printable number of sheets so that the printing apparatus is not occupied by continuous printing. Is printed after execution of the above, it is possible to automatically print an unprinted print job. In addition, repeated job resets can be prevented even for a large number of print jobs.

  In other words, according to the printing system of the present invention, the device occupancy by mass printing is prevented by limiting the number of printable sheets, and other print jobs are processed promptly. After the other print jobs are processed, the printable number limit is exceeded. It is possible to print the minute without trouble.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Terminal 3 Network 11 Operation panel 11a Input device 11b Display device 12 Storage media I / F
12a Drive device 12b Recording medium 13 Controller 13a ROM
13b RAM
13c CPU
14 Data communication I / F
14a Interface device 15 Scanner 15a Image reading device 16 Plotter 16a Printing device 17 HDD
21 CPU
22 ROM
23 RAM
24 Auxiliary storage device 25 Storage medium reading device 26 Input device 27 Display device 28 Communication device 101 Print job reception unit 102 Job queue 103 Printing unit 104 Printing restriction unit 105 Retransmission request unit 201 Application 202 UI unit 203 Print job generation unit 204 Storage Part

JP 2005-3004 A JP 2008-134443 A

Claims (12)

A printing system in which a plurality of terminals and a printer that executes a print job from the terminal are connected via a network and controls a print job received from the plurality of terminals,
The first terminal is
Print job generation means for generating a print job;
Storage means for storing the print job generated by the generation means;
Print job transmission means for transmitting the print job generated by the generation means to the printer;
Print job retransmission request receiving means for receiving a retransmission request regarding a previously transmitted print job from the printer;
The print job generation unit generates an unprinted print job from the print job stored in the storage unit, based on the count information of the number of printed prints included in the retransmission request, and the print job The transmission means transmits the unprinted print job to the printer,
The printer is
A print job accepting means for accepting a print job sent by the sending means;
Printing means for executing a print job accepted by the accepting means;
The number of prints of the print job executed by the printing unit is counted, the predetermined printable upper limit number of sheets in one print job is compared with the print number, and the print number is the predetermined printable upper limit number. Print limit means for performing job reset processing for the print job,
A resend request means for performing the resend request for an unprinted print job with the count information attached to the first terminal when the job restriction processing is performed by the print restriction means;
A printing system comprising: The predetermined upper limit number of printable sheets is preset by the first terminal,
The print job generation means generates a print job including a print job with an upper limit number set with the predetermined printable upper limit number;
The printing system according to claim 1. The predetermined printable upper limit number of sheets is preset by the printer;
The printing system according to claim 1. Of the printer,
The print job accepting unit receives a print job from a second terminal in which the predetermined printable upper limit number is not set in a job queue for storing print jobs in the order of execution by the printing unit. Stacking in priority over the unprinted print jobs from one terminal,
The printing system according to claim 2. Of the printer,
The print restriction unit operates when the print unit accepts a print job from a second terminal while the print unit is executing a print job in which the predetermined printable upper limit number is set. thing,
The printing system according to claim 2, wherein: A printing method in a printing system in which a plurality of terminals and a printer that executes a print job from the terminals are connected via a network and control a print job received from the plurality of terminals.
The first terminal is
A print job generation procedure for generating a print job;
A storage procedure for storing the print job generated by the generation procedure;
A print job transmission procedure for transmitting the print job generated by the generation procedure to the printer;
A print job retransmission request reception procedure for receiving a retransmission request for a previously transmitted print job from the printer;
The print job generation procedure generates an unprinted print job from the print job stored in the storage procedure based on the count information of the number of printed prints included in the retransmission request, and the print job The sending procedure sends the unprinted print job to the printer,
The printer is
A print job reception procedure for receiving a print job transmitted by the transmission procedure;
A printing procedure for executing a print job accepted by the acceptance procedure;
The number of prints of a print job executed according to the printing procedure is counted, the predetermined printable upper limit number in one print job is compared with the print number, and the print number is the predetermined printable upper limit number. Print limit procedure to perform job reset processing for the print job,
When the job reset process is performed by the print restriction procedure, a retransmission request procedure for attaching the count information to the first terminal and performing the retransmission request for an unprinted print job;
A printing method characterized by comprising: The predetermined upper limit number of printable sheets is preset by the first terminal,
The print job generation procedure includes generating a print job including an upper limit number of print jobs in which the predetermined printable upper limit number of sheets is set;
The printing method according to claim 6. The predetermined printable upper limit number of sheets is preset by the printer;
The printing method according to claim 6. Of the printer,
In the print job reception procedure, a print job from a second terminal in which the predetermined printable upper limit number is not set in a job queue for storing print jobs in the order of execution by the print procedure, Stacking in priority over the unprinted print jobs from one terminal,
The printing method according to claim 7. Of the printer,
The print restriction procedure operates when the print job reception procedure receives a print job from a second terminal while the print procedure is executing a print job in which the predetermined printable upper limit number is set. thing,
The printing method according to claim 7, wherein: 11. The printing method according to claim 6, wherein the first terminal includes:
The print job generation procedure, the storage procedure, the print job transmission procedure, the print job retransmission request reception procedure,
A printer driver program for running   A computer-readable recording medium on which the printer driver program according to claim 11 is recorded.

Images