JP2012053641A - Print management device and print management method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce mixing of interruption printed matter with printed matter of decentralized printing even when interruption printing is performed during decentralized printing processing.SOLUTION: A print management device which can be connected to pluralities of image forming apparatuses and information processing apparatuses through a network includes: means of allotting print requests from information processing apparatuses to a plurality of image forming apparatuses; means of transmitting allotted printing jobs to the respective image forming apparatuses; control means of transmitting a stop instruction for printing to at least one image forming apparatuses among the plurality of image forming apparatuses when receiving interruption notice of a decentralized printing job of the image forming apparatus after printing of the decentralized printing job is started; job re-decentralization means of allotting unexecuted printing jobs among the printing jobs interrupted by the image forming apparatus having received the stop instruction to image forming apparatuses other than the image forming apparatus; and means of transmitting the printing jobs to be re-decentralized to the image forming apparatuses other than the image forming apparatus having transmitted the stop instruction.

Description

  The present invention relates to distributed printing in which printing processing is distributed to a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

  Conventionally, a cluster print technique is used to process a mass print job using an image forming apparatus. In the cluster print technology, a large number of print jobs are not processed by a single image forming apparatus, but a single print job is divided and submitted to a plurality of image forming apparatuses. It is possible to obtain a printed matter faster.

Also, distributed processing status and processing results can be displayed and operated on a single image forming device, making it possible to improve the efficiency of printed matter collection and jobs that are being processed by each image forming device. A method for improving the operation is also proposed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-281593 A

  However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228620, when an interrupt printing function is used to print an image forming apparatus that is executing a distributed print job with priority, subsequent job processing is included in the distributed print job processing result. The result will be included. For this reason, when a plurality of interrupt jobs occur in one job of distributed printing, an operation for removing the interrupted printed material occurs when collecting the printed material, which complicates the user's work.

  Also, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a method of printing by separately dividing a printer that inputs a distributed print job and a printer that does not input a distributed print job. However, if there are few jobs that are not distributed print, Is biased. Although the printer to which the distributed print job is input is in full operation, the printer to which the distributed print job is not input is stopped.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the present invention increases the operating rate of the printer, and even when interrupt printing occurs during the distributed printing process, the printed matter is distributed. The purpose is to reduce the inclusion of interrupted printed matter.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a print management apparatus that can be connected to a plurality of image forming apparatuses and information processing apparatuses via a network. Information from the information processing apparatuses is transferred to the plurality of image forming apparatuses. Print job distribution means for allocating print jobs according to a predetermined ratio, distributed job transmission means for transmitting the distributed print job distributed by the print job distribution means to the respective image forming apparatuses, and printing of the distributed print job. After the start, when receiving a notice that the distributed print job of at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is interrupted due to a predetermined condition, the image forming apparatus stops printing the distributed print job. A distributed job control unit that transmits an instruction, and a distributed print job that has not been printed among distributed print jobs interrupted by the image forming apparatus that transmitted the stop instruction. Redistributing job for allocating a print job allocated by the job redistributing unit to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop command. Transmitting means.

  According to the present invention, even when an interrupt job occurs during distributed printing, it is possible to reduce a user's trouble of collecting printed materials by reducing mixing of printed materials of different jobs into the printed materials of distributed printing.

1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a print system to which a print management server and a printer of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the client terminal and the print management server illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the multifunction machine 300 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the print management system illustrated in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the distributed printing selection screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the distributed printing printer designation | designated screen in embodiment of this invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a third control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an example of a print schedule / finished management table managed by the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fourth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the example which showed the 1st Embodiment of this invention typically. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fifth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the example which showed the 2nd Embodiment of this invention typically. It is the example which showed typically the printed matter of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sixth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an example of a print schedule / finished management table managed by the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a seventh control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the example which showed typically the printed matter of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 8th control processing procedure of the printing management apparatus in embodiment of this invention. 3 is an example of an image diagram showing an operation panel of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an example of a print schedule / finished management table managed by the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the memory map of the recording medium which stores the various data processing program which can be read by the program generator which concerns on this invention.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a configuration of a print system to which a print management server and a printer of the present invention can be applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the print system of this embodiment includes one or a plurality of client terminals 400 (for example, for each user), a plurality of printers 300 (printer A 300a, printer B 300b,...), And a print management server 100. It is connected via a local area network (LAN) 500 and is configured to transmit and receive information. Note that the number of connections of the print management server, client terminal, and printer may be more than the number shown in the figure. The printers to be connected do not need to be of the same type as long as they have the same function.

  Hereinafter, a common description of the client terminal and the printer will be made using the client terminal 400 and the printer 300.

  The system for controlling distributed printing may be any of the print management server 100, the client terminal 400, and the printer 300.

  If the print management server 100 is a system that controls distributed printing, the print management server 100 functions as a print server. The print management server 100 receives a print job from the client terminal 400 and transmits the distributed print job to each printer.

  When the client terminal 400 is a system that controls distributed printing, a print job distributed by the client terminal 400 is transmitted to each printer.

  In the case where the printer 300 is a system that controls distributed printing, the printer 300 functions as a parent device for distributed printing. The printer 300 receives a print job from the client terminal 400 and transmits the distributed print job to each printer serving as a child device.

In the print management server 100, a printer driver is installed, print data received from the client terminal 400 is stored in an internal memory, and the print data is transmitted to the printer via the printer driver based on an output instruction from the printer 300. To do.

  Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus applicable to the client terminal and the print management server illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the client terminal and print management server shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU that comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204. Further, the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 is necessary to realize a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as an OS) that is a control program of the CPU 201 and a function executed by each server or each PC. Various programs to be described later are stored.

  A RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program or the like necessary for execution of processing from the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 into the RAM 203 and executing the loaded program.

  An input controller 205 controls input from a keyboard (KB) 209 or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown). A video controller 206 controls display on a display device such as a CRT display (CRT) 210. In FIG. 2, although described as CRT 210, the display device is not limited to the CRT, but may be another display device such as a liquid crystal display. These are used by the administrator as needed.

  A memory controller 207 is connected to the hard disk (HD), flexible disk (FD), or PCMCIA card slot for storing a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, etc. via an adapter. The access to the external memory 211 such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory is controlled.

  A communication I / F controller 208 is connected to and communicates with an external device via a network (for example, the LAN 500 shown in FIG. 1), and executes communication control processing on the network. For example, communication using TCP / IP is possible.

  Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the CRT 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 203, for example. In addition, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the CRT 210.

Various programs to be described later for realizing the present invention are recorded in the external memory 211 and executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 202 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used when executing the program are also stored in the external memory 211, and a detailed description thereof will be described later.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the printer 300 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral 300 illustrated in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 316 denotes a controller unit, which is connected to the printer unit 312 functioning as an image output device, and is connected to a LAN (for example, the LAN 500 shown in FIG. 1) or a public line (WAN) (for example, PSTN or ISDN). By connecting, image data and device information are input and output.

  In the controller unit 316, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU, which is a processor that controls the entire system. A RAM 302 is a system work memory for the CPU 301 to operate, and is also a program memory for recording a program and an image memory for temporarily recording image data.

  Further, the CPU 301 of the printer obtains information such as whether the printer is normal, out of paper, or jammed from the printer unit 312, and stores the information in the RAM 302. When printer status information is requested from the client terminal 400 or the print management server 100 via the LAN 500 or an external I / F, the printer CPU 301 displays printer status information (normal, out of paper, paper jam, etc.). I will provide a.

  A ROM 303 stores a system boot program and various control programs. A hard disk drive (HDD) 304 stores various programs for controlling the system, image data, and the like.

  An operation unit interface (operation unit I / F) 307 is an interface unit with the operation unit (keyboard) 308. The operation unit I / F 307 serves to transmit the key information input from the operation unit 308 to the CPU 301.

  A network interface (Network I / F) 305 is connected to the network (LAN) 500 to input / output data. A modem (MODEM) 306 is connected to a public line and inputs / outputs data such as FAX transmission / reception.

  Reference numeral 318 denotes an external interface (external I / F), which is an I / F unit that accepts external inputs such as USB, IEEE 1394, printer port, and RS-232C. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 309.

  Reference numeral 320 denotes an image bus interface (IMAGE BUS I / F), which is a bus bridge that connects the system bus 309 and an image bus 315 that transfers image data at high speed and converts the data structure.

  The image bus 315 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE1394. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 315.

  A raster image processor (RIP) 310 develops vector data such as a PDL code into a bitmap image. A printer interface (printer I / F) 311 connects the printer unit 312 and the controller unit 316 and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  An image processing unit 317 performs correction, processing, and editing on input image data, and performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on print output image data. In addition to this, the image processing unit 317 performs image data rotation and compression / decompression processing such as JPEG for multi-valued image data and JBIG, MMR, MH for binary image data.

  The printer unit 312 is a part that converts raster image data into an image on paper. The method is an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt, and ink is ejected from a micro nozzle array directly on the paper. There is an inkjet method for printing an image, but any method may be used. The activation of the printing operation is started by an instruction from the CPU 301. The printer unit 312 has a plurality of paper feed stages so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected, and has a paper cassette corresponding thereto.

  The operation unit 308 has an LCD display unit, displays a character string (displays the print status and the name of the document being printed), and when the displayed key is pressed, the CPU 301 via the operation unit I / F 307. To tell. The operation unit 308 includes a distributed printing restart button (online key) described with reference to FIG.

  The display unit has different display performance depending on the printer, and can be operated via a touch panel or a printer that simply has a liquid crystal screen and displays a character string (displays the print status and the name of the document being printed). The present invention is structured.

  With the configuration described above, the printer 300 can print out print data received from the LAN 500 or the external I / F using the printer unit 312.

  Next, the software configuration of the print management system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the print management system illustrated in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, a client terminal (information processing apparatus) 100 holds print data 401, and finally outputs the print data 401 to distributed print printers (image forming apparatuses) 300a to 300c.

  First, the client terminal 100 sends print data 401 to the print management apparatus 400 to cause the distributed printing printers 300a to 300c to perform distributed printing at a predetermined ratio. The sent print data 401 is stored in the print job storage unit 409 in the print management apparatus 400, distributed to the print job by the print job distribution unit 402, and then the distributed print job is distributed by the distributed job transmission unit 403. Send to each printer.

  When a job that interrupts distributed printing such as interrupt printing interrupts at least one printer (assumed 300a) after distributed printing is started, the distributed job control unit 404 of the print management apparatus 400 performs an interrupt job. Is received from the printer 300a, and thereafter, a command to stop printing of the distributed print job of the printer 300a is transmitted to the printer 300a.

  Next, the job re-distribution unit 405 reads the unprinted distributed print job of the printer 300a that has stopped printing the distributed print job from the print job storage unit 409, and distributed print printers other than the printer 300a (in this case, 300b and 300c). Allocate unprinted distributed print jobs.

  The redistribution job transmission unit 406 transmits the allocated distributed print job to the distributed print printers 300b and 300c other than the printer 300a.

The distributed print printers 300 b and 300 c output the distributed print job transmitted from the distributed job transmission unit 403 and the unprinted distributed print job transmitted from the redistribution job transmission unit 406. On the other hand, the printer 300a that has performed interrupt printing outputs the printed matter of the distributed print job until the printing is interrupted by the interrupt printing and the printed matter of the interrupt printing, but after the interrupt printing is finished, the distributed printing is performed. Since the job is not resumed, it is possible to minimize the mixture of printed materials.

  Next, a basic processing flow of the print management apparatus 400 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. S501 to S509 indicate each step.

  FIG. 5 is started when the print management apparatus 400 receives a print command from the client terminal 100.

  First, when receiving a print command from the client terminal 100, the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400 (hereinafter, the print management apparatus 400) receives print data 401 (print job) from the client terminal 100 in step S501.

  Next, in step S <b> 502, the print management apparatus 400 transmits screen information that instructs the client terminal 100 to specify distributed printing, or in the case of distributed printing, the minimum number of distributed units. A screen image to be transmitted will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the distributed printing selection screen according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is displayed on the CRT 210 of the client terminal 100.

  In FIG. 6, 601 is an input item for the number of copies to be printed, and the user inputs the number of copies to be output.

  Reference numeral 602 denotes a check box that allows the user to specify whether or not to perform distributed printing with a plurality of printers. In the case of 602, since the check box is selected, the setting is set to perform distributed printing.

  Reference numeral 603 denotes an input item for designating the minimum number of distributed printers for distributed printing. The minimum number of distributed units designates the number of printers that perform minimum distributed printing.

Reference numeral 604 denotes a button for starting a printing process, and reference numeral 605 denotes a button for canceling the printing process.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S503 in FIG. 5, the print management apparatus 400 determines whether distributed printing has been designated. Specifically, the determination is made based on whether the check box 602 in FIG. 6 is checked.

  If distributed printing is not designated in step S503, the process proceeds to step S504 to execute normal printing (not shown) in order to execute normal printing processing.

  If the print job received in step S501 is a one-page job, the process proceeds to step S504 in order to execute normal printing processing in step S503.

  On the other hand, if distributed printing is designated in step S503, the process proceeds to the next step S505.

  In step S505, the print management apparatus 400 communicates with the printer managed by the print management apparatus 400, searches for the printer, and grasps the connection status, the printer status, and the like. In step S506, the grasped printer connection status, printer status, and the like are transmitted to the client terminal 100 to allow the user to select printers for distributed printing. Data obtained as a result of communication with the printer in step S505 and an image of the distributed printing printer designation screen in step S506 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a distributed printing printer designation screen according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is displayed on the CRT 210 of the client terminal 100.

  Reference numeral 701 in FIG. 7 displays the connection status of the printer and the status of the printer. Reference numeral 702 denotes a check box that allows the user to designate a printer that performs distributed printing. In the case of FIG. 7, the printer A, printer B, and printer C are designated by the user.

  In this embodiment, the printer that executes the distributed printing is designated by the user as shown in FIG. 7, but the printer that automatically executes the distributed printing may be designated by the print management apparatus 400.

7 is a USB printer directly connected to the client terminal 100, and the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400 communicates with the client terminal 100 in the same manner as when communicating with the printer 300. The client terminal 100 acquires information from the USB printer and transmits data to the print management apparatus 400 to acquire information 703.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG.
When the process of step S506 ends, the process proceeds to step S507.

  In step S507, the print management apparatus 400 determines whether the print job received from the client terminal 100 in step S501 is copy distribution printing or page distribution printing.

  Distributed copy printing (hereinafter referred to as “copy distribution”) refers to distributed printing in which a print job is distributed to a plurality of printers for a job that prints a plurality of copies of the same material. There may be a case where a plurality of copies are printed as one job.

  On the other hand, distributed page printing (hereinafter referred to as page distribution) refers to distributed printing in which a print job composed of sequential pages is distributed and printed to a plurality of printers, and is composed of sequential pages. As long as it is a job, it may be a plurality of jobs or a single job.

  Whether the copy distribution printing or the page distribution printing is performed is determined by a print job transmitted from the client terminal 100. When printing multiple copies of a single-page job or staple printing with a printer capable of staple fixing, the number of copies is distributed, but when printing with a printer that cannot be stapled with a print job consisting of sequential pages, the page Corresponds to distributed printing.

  In step S507, if it is determined that the number of copies is distributed, the process proceeds to step S508. If it is determined that the page is distributed, the process proceeds to step S509.

The process of step S508 will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. S801 to S805 indicate each step.

  First, in step S801 of FIG. 8, the print management apparatus 400 calculates the number of copies to be printed by each printer from the number of copies a input by the user in step S502 and the number of printers b specified in step S506. In the case of FIG. 8, assuming that the number of printers b is equally divided, the number of copies c assigned to each printer is set to c = a / b, but the printer load, printer performance, ink and toner remaining The number of copies allocated to each printer may be adjusted according to the amount.

  Next, in step S802, the print management apparatus 400 transmits the distributed print jobs for the number of prints for each printer calculated in step S801 to each printer, and proceeds to step S803.

  In step S803, the print management apparatus 400 determines whether or not the distributed print job is interrupted by an interrupt job having a higher priority than the distributed print from the printer that is performing the distributed print. For this determination, a method in which the print management apparatus 400 periodically polls the printer, or when an interrupt job occurs on the printer side, the printer management apparatus 400 sends distributed print job suspension information to the print management apparatus 400. There is a way.

  If it is determined in step S803 that the distributed print job of the printer that is executing distributed printing has not been interrupted, the process proceeds to step S805, and steps until all the jobs of the printer that are executing distributed printing are completed. The operation returning to S803 is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S803 that the distributed print job of the printer that is performing distributed printing is interrupted, the process advances to step S804. The process of step S804 will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a third control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. S901 to S904 indicate each step.

  First, in step S901 in FIG. 9, the print management apparatus 400 acquires the current number of copies e of the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted.

  The acquired current number of copies e is managed by a print schedule / done management table described in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is an example of a print schedule / done management table managed by the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In a row 1001 in FIG. 10, the planned number of copies to be printed when the number of copies is distributed to three printers is input. Reference numeral 1002 denotes a state in which the printer A has 10 copies and the printer A has been subjected to interrupt printing.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S <b> 902, the print management apparatus 400 transmits a print stop command for the distributed print job to the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted so that no further printed matter is output. By this print stop command of the distributed print job, the mixture of printed materials can be reduced as much as possible.

  In step S903, the print management apparatus 400 calculates the number of unprinted copies f = ce of the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted, and the process proceeds to the next step S904. The process of step S904 will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fourth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. S1101 to S1106 indicate each step.

  First, in step S1101 of FIG. 11, the print management apparatus 400 subtracts the number b of distributed printers by the number of printers for which the distributed print job is interrupted.

  In step S1102, the print management apparatus 400 allocates the number of unprinted copies f of the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted by the number of remaining distributed print printers. In the case of FIG. 11, assuming that the number of printers is equally divided into the number of printers b, the number of copies g assigned to each printer is set to g = f / b. However, the printer load, printer performance, ink and toner remaining The number of copies allocated to each printer may be adjusted according to the amount.

  In step S1103, the print management apparatus 400 additionally allocates the allocated number of copies g allocated to the remaining distributed print printer as a distributed print job. The print schedule / finished management table showing the allocated result is 1003 in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, 1003 indicates that the remaining 20 copies not printed by the printer A are allocated to the printer B and the printer C in the state where the interrupt printing is entered in the printer A. 10 copies, which are 1/2 of 20 copies, are assigned to 1004.

  In step S1104, the print management apparatus 400 determines whether the number of remaining distributed printers is equal to or less than the minimum number of distributed printers input in step S502.

  If it is determined in step S1104 that the number of remaining distributed printing printers is equal to or greater than the minimum number of distributed printers input in step S502, the process proceeds to step S1106, and the number of additional copies g is maintained with the current priority of the distributed printing job. Send distributed print jobs.

  On the other hand, if the number of remaining distributed printers in step S1104 is equal to or less than the minimum number of distributed printers input in step S502, the priority of the distributed print job of the remaining distributed printer is maximized, and an interrupt job is generated. Set not to enter. Thereafter, in step S1106, the priority of the print job is maximized together with the additional distributed print job, and the distributed print job is transmitted.

As described above, by setting the priority of distributed print jobs to the maximum, interrupt print jobs are accepted when printers with the minimum number of distributed prints are distributed, but only printers with the minimum number of distributed prints or less. When the distributed printing is not supported, it is possible to make sure that the distributed printing can be performed by setting so as not to accept the interrupt print job.

FIG. 12 is an example schematically showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The upper part of FIG. 12 is an example of normal distributed printing, and is an example of the result of distributed printing of 30 copies of printer A to three printers C to C. As in 1201, 30 copies are allocated and printed.

  The lower diagram of FIG. 12 is an example of distributed printing when an interrupt print job occurs in printer A, and shows a case where an interrupt print job 1202 occurs in printer A after printing 10 copies of printer A. .

In the lower diagram of FIG. 12, since only 10 copies are printed by the printer A, the remaining 20 copies are allocated to the printer B and the printer C and printed as 1203.

  With the above configuration, the print stop command for the distributed print job is transmitted to the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted, and no further printed material is output, so that the mixture of printed materials can be minimized.

In addition, by designating the minimum number of distributed prints, it is possible to reliably perform distributed printing.

<Second Embodiment>

  In the first embodiment, a case has been described in which the print job is determined to be distributed copy printing in step S507 of FIG. 5, but in the second embodiment, it is determined to be page distributed printing in step S507 of FIG. The case will be described.

If the print management apparatus 400 determines in step S507 that the print job 401 is distributed page printing, the print management apparatus 400 proceeds to step S509. The process of step S509 will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a fifth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. S1301 to S1308 indicate each step.

  First, in step S1301 of FIG. 13, the print management apparatus 400 searches for a printer by using a pair of a face-down printer and a face-up printer as a set of distributed print printers. A face-down printer is a printer that outputs a printed material with its front side facing down (capable of face-down printing). A face-up printer is a device that outputs printed material, as opposed to a face-down printer. This is a printer that outputs the face up (capable of face-up printing).

  Since a normal printer is capable of face-down printing, whether or not the printer is capable of face-up printing is set in advance as indicated by reference numeral 704 in FIG. 7, a printer capable of face-up printing and a printer capable of face-down printing are searched as one set. In the case of FIG. 7, the printers input with the combination “1.” in 705 are searched as one set.

  Next, in step S1302, the print management apparatus 400 determines each printer from the total number of pages a to be distributed printed (= number of pages of serial number pages × number of printed copies) and the number b of distributed printing printers designated in step S502. The number of copies to be printed is calculated. In the case of FIG. 13, assuming that the number of printers b is equally divided, the number of copies c assigned to each printer is set to c = a / b. However, the printer load, the printer performance, the remaining ink and toner The number of copies allocated to each printer may be adjusted according to the amount.

  Next, in step S1303, the print management apparatus 400 sets a distributed print job in ascending order to a printer capable of face-down printing among the paired printers.

  Subsequently, in step S1304, the print management apparatus 400 sets a distributed print job in descending order to a printer capable of face-up printing among the paired printers.

  In step S1305, the print management apparatus 400 transmits a distributed print job to each distributed print printer in each page order.

A second embodiment realized by the configurations of step S1303 and step S1304 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 14 is an example schematically showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 14 shows an example in which 90 pages of material are distributed and printed on three printers.

  In 1401 of FIG. 14, the printer A capable of face-down printing outputs the data from P1 (1 page) to P30 (30 pages) in ascending order. (Distributed print job in step S1303) On the other hand, the printer B capable of face-up printing outputs the output from P60 (60 pages) to P31 (page 31) in descending order as in 1402. Outputs from P61 (page 61) to P90 (page 90) in ascending order as shown in 1403 for one printer C that did not become the remaining set. By this means, the distributed page printing described in FIG. 15 can be realized.

  FIG. 15 is an example schematically showing a printed matter according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram in which only the printed materials 1401, 1402, and 1403 in FIG. 14 are extracted, and the output order of the printed materials is also taken into consideration.

  The printed material 1401 in FIG. 15 has the printed surface down (ie, face-down printing), and the subsequent printed material 1402 has the surface up (ie, face-up printing). In order to arrange 1401 and 1402 in the page order continuously, if the user overlaps the printed material as indicated by an arrow 1501 so that the front surface of the printed material 1402 is aligned with the back surface of 1401, the page order is displayed together with 1401 and 1402 as 1503. Arrange in the same sort order. Similarly, in order to arrange 1402 and 1403 in the order of continuous pages, when the user overlaps printed materials as indicated by an arrow 1502, the page order is arranged in the same sort order as 1402 and 1403 as indicated by 1504.

With the above procedure, the page management printing is realized in the print management apparatus 400 of the present application.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S1306 in FIG. 13, the print management apparatus 400 determines whether or not the page distribution print job has been interrupted by an interrupt job having a higher priority than the page distribution printing from the printer that is executing the page distribution printing. . For this determination, a method in which the print management apparatus 400 periodically polls the printer, or when an interrupt job occurs on the printer side, the printer management apparatus 400 sends distributed print job suspension information to the print management apparatus 400. There is a way.

  If it is determined in step S1306 that the distributed print job of the printer that is executing page distributed printing has not been interrupted, the process proceeds to step S1308 until the jobs of all printers that are executing distributed printing are completed. The operation of returning to step S1306 is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1306 that the distributed print job of the printer executing page distributed printing is interrupted, the process advances to step S1307. The process of step S1307 will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a sixth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. S1601 to S1604 indicate each step.

  First, in step S1601 of FIG. 16, the print management apparatus 400 acquires the current number of print pages e of the printer in which the page distribution print job is interrupted.

  The acquired current print page number e is managed by a print schedule / done management table described in FIG.

  FIG. 17 is an example of a print schedule / done management table managed by the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In a row 1701 in FIG. 17, the planned number of copies when the number of copies is distributed to three printers is input. Reference numeral 1702 denotes a state in which the printer A has 10 pages and the printer A has received interrupt printing.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S1602, the print management apparatus 400 transmits a print stop command for the distributed print job to the printer in which the page distributed print job is interrupted so that no further printed matter is output.

  In step S1603, the print management apparatus 400 calculates the unprinted page f = ce of the printer in which the page distribution print job is interrupted, and the process proceeds to the next step S1604. The processing in step S1604 will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a seventh control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. Note that S1801 to S1806 indicate each step.

  First, in step S1801 in FIG. 18, the print management apparatus 400 subtracts the number b of page distributed print printers by the number of printers for which the distributed print job has been interrupted.

  When an interrupt job with a higher priority is transmitted from the print management apparatus 400 to the page distributed printing printer, an interrupt job with a higher priority is assigned to one of the printers specified as a set in step S1301. Control to send.

Next, in step S1802, the print management apparatus 400 adds the job of the non-output page f to the printer to which no interrupt job has been transmitted among the printers specified as a set in step S1301.
A case of adding a job of an unoutput page will be described with reference to FIG.

  When interrupt printing is inserted by the printer A as indicated by 1702 in FIG. 17, print jobs P11 (11 pages) to P30 (30 pages), which are unprinted pages, are paired with the printer A. Is added as a job (1704), and is output to the printer B.

Note that the job (1704) of the non-output page f added to the printer for which the interrupt job has not been transmitted by the printer designated as a set in step S1301 is output with the printer in which the output order of the pages is interrupted by the distributed print job. The order is set in reverse.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S1803, the print management apparatus 400 determines whether the number of remaining distributed printers is equal to or less than the minimum number of distributed printers input in step S502.

  In step S1803, if the number of remaining distributed printing printers is equal to or greater than the minimum number of distributed printers input in step S502, the process proceeds to step S1805. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1803 that the number of remaining distributed printing printers is equal to or less than the minimum number of distributed printers input in step S502, the process proceeds to step S1804.

  In step S1804, the print management apparatus 400 sets the priority of the page distributed print job of the page distributed print printer other than the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted to the maximum.

  On the other hand, in step S1805, the print management apparatus 400 sets the priority of the page distributed print job to the maximum only for the printer paired with the printer for which the distributed print job is interrupted.

  By setting the priority of the page distribution print job to the maximum as in the above priority setting, the page distribution print job is changed by the interrupt print job when more than the minimum number of distributed prints are distributed. Only the printer that performs proxy printing for an interrupted printer has the highest priority, and if only the printer with the minimum number of distributed printing is compatible with distributed printing, set it so that it will not accept interrupt print jobs and distribute it reliably. It becomes possible to perform printing.

  Note that when the print management apparatus 400 inserts interrupt printing after this setting, the interrupt print job is preferentially executed by the printer in which the distributed print job has been interrupted. By transmitting the interrupt print job to the printer once the distributed print job is interrupted, printing can be performed without disturbing the output order of the original distributed page print.

  When the processes of step S1804 and step S1805 are completed, the process proceeds to step S1806.

  In step S1806, the print management apparatus 400 transmits the job of the unoutput page f to the printer that is paired with the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted. Further, the print management apparatus 400 sets the priority of the page distribution print job in the printer designated in step S1804 or step S1805. This embodiment will be described with reference to the lower diagram of FIG. 14 and FIG.

  The lower diagram of FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example in which interrupt printing is inserted into the printer A under the same printing conditions as the upper diagram of FIG.

  The lower diagram in FIG. 14 shows a case where an interrupt print job 1404 is generated in the printer A after printing 10 pages of the printer A. FIG. 14 shows an example in which the remaining 11 to 30 page print jobs that should be printed on the printer A are printed on the printer B paired with the printer A for the interrupt printing generated in the printer A. 1405.

  Since the print job 1405 is output in the same order as the output order of the distributed print job 1402 printed by the printer B, the output order of the printer A is reversed. This is the print result of face-up printing. With this means, as will be described with reference to FIG. 19, even when interrupt printing is inserted in the distributed page printing, the print result can be obtained without changing the page order.

  FIG. 19 is an example schematically showing a printed matter according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram in which only the printed materials 1406, 1405, 1402, and 1403 in FIG. 14 are extracted, and the output order of the printed materials is also taken into consideration.

  Similarly to FIG. 15, in the case of FIG. 19, the printed material 1406 and the printed material 1402 + 1405 of printer B are printed as indicated by an arrow 1901 so that the user aligns the front surface of the printed material 1405 with the back surface of 1406. Are arranged in the same sort order as 1406, 1406, 1405, 1402 as shown in 1903. Similarly, in order to arrange 1402 and 1403 in the order of continuous pages, when the user overlaps printed materials as indicated by an arrow 1902, the page order is arranged in the same sort order as 1402 and 1403 as indicated by 1904.

With the above procedure, even when interrupt printing is inserted into the distributed page printing, it is possible to obtain a printing result without changing the page order.

<Third Embodiment>

In the first and second embodiments, it is possible to reduce the mixture of printed materials as much as possible by transmitting a print stop command for the distributed print job to the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted. In the third embodiment, a case will be described in which the distributed print job is resumed after the user who performed the interrupt printing removes the interrupt printed material.
A third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an eighth control processing procedure of the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed by the CPU 201 of the print management apparatus 400, and the CPU 201 loads the control program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it. In addition, S2001-S2004 show each step.

  The flowchart of FIG. 20 is started by a request from a printer in which distributed printing is interrupted by interrupt printing.

  In step S2001 in FIG. 20, the print management apparatus 400 receives an instruction to resume distributed printing from a printer in which distributed printing is interrupted by interrupt printing.

  An image of the operation panel of the printer in which distributed printing is interrupted will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 21 is an example of an image diagram showing an operation panel of the image forming apparatus (printer) of the present invention.

  In FIG. 21, 2101 displays a message “2102 is turned on when the distributed printing is interrupted and the interrupt printing is finished” with the lighting of 2102.

When the user removes the interrupted printed material and presses the online key 2103 in the display state of FIG. 21, the distributed printing restart command in step S2001 is transmitted to the print management apparatus 400.
Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S2002, the print management apparatus 400 acquires the current number of output copies of all the distributed printing printers. An example of acquiring the number of output copies will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 22 is an example of a print schedule / done management table managed by the print management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the row 2201 in FIG. 22, the planned number of copies after the distributed printing is once interrupted is input.

The current number of output copies of the distributed printing printer acquired in step S2002 is input in the row 2202.
Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S2003 of FIG. 20, the print management apparatus 400 sums up the prints that have been output by the distributed printer (= h), and subtracts the total number of copies (= a) from the new number of distributed printers. A value k divided by the number of one added is calculated (k = (a−h) / (b + 1)). Details will be described with reference to FIG.

  Reference numeral 2203 in FIG. 22 is an example of the print schedule / done management table when the printer A resumes distributed printing in the state of the print schedule / done management table 2200.

In 2200, the total number of current print copies is 10 copies + 19 copies + 19 copies = 48 copies, and when the value subtracted from the total print copies of 90 copies is divided by the number of three distributed printing printers, 14 copies are obtained for each printer. Divided one by one. 14 parts of 2204 correspond.
Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S2004 of FIG. 20, the print management apparatus 400 transmits k distributed print jobs to distributed print printers including the printer that interrupted distributed printing.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to restart the distributed print job after the user who performed the interrupt printing removes the interrupt printed matter.

  The predetermined condition described in claim 1 may be interrupt printing from another information processing apparatus or interrupt printing generated by the print management apparatus. Also, some trouble on the printer side (paper jam, out of paper, out of ink, out of toner, etc.) may be used.

  In addition, the print management apparatus may be connected to the printer via the network with the client terminal, and may manage the print status, or may manage the print status of the printer directly connected to the printer from the client terminal (FIG. 7). 702).

  In addition, all the structures which combined any one of said each embodiment are also included in this invention.

  With the above configuration, the print stop command for the distributed print job is transmitted to the printer in which the distributed print job is interrupted, and no further printed material is output, so that the mixture of printed materials can be minimized.

  The configuration of a data processing program that can be read by the program generation device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the memory map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a memory map of a recording medium for storing various data processing programs that can be read by the program generating apparatus according to the present invention.

  Although not specifically shown, information for managing a program group stored in the recording medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.

  Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs in the computer, and a program for decompressing when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

  The functions shown in FIGS. 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 15, and 20 in this embodiment may be performed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external recording medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, a recording medium recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the recording medium in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the programmed program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Therefore, as long as it has the function of the program, the form of the program such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS is not limited.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD, etc. Can be used.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As another program supply method, a browser of a client computer is used to connect to a homepage on the Internet, and the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is stored on a recording medium such as a hard disk from the homepage. It can also be supplied by downloading. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server, an ftp server, and the like that allow a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer are also included in the claims of the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted in the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. .

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are excluded from the scope of the present invention. is not.

  Although various examples and embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will not limit the spirit and scope of the present invention to the specific description in the present specification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 300 Image forming apparatus 400 Print management apparatus 401 Print data 402 Print job distribution part 403 Print job transmission part 404 Distributed job control part 405 Job redistribution part 406 Redistribution job transmission part 407 Image forming apparatus group management part 408 Print Scheduled / completed management table 409 Print job storage unit

Claims (10)

In a print management apparatus connectable to a plurality of image forming apparatuses and information processing apparatuses via a network,
Print job distribution means for allocating a print job to the plurality of image forming apparatuses according to a predetermined ratio of information from the information processing apparatus;
Distributed job transmission means for transmitting the distributed print job distributed by the print job distribution means to the respective image forming apparatuses;
After receiving the notice that the distributed print job of at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is interrupted by a predetermined condition after printing of the distributed print job is started, the image forming apparatus Distributed job control means for transmitting a print stop command for the distributed print job;
Job redistribution means for allocating an unprinted distributed print job to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus among distributed print jobs interrupted by the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop instruction;
Redistribution job transmission means for transmitting a print job allocated by the job redistribution means to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus that transmitted the stop instruction;
A print management apparatus comprising: The predetermined condition is a condition for transmitting an interrupt print job different from the distributed print job to an image forming apparatus in which the distributed print job is interrupted,
The print management according to claim 1, wherein the distributed job control unit does not transmit the unprinted distributed print job to an image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop command even after the predetermined condition is completed. apparatus. The distributed job control means restarts the processing of the distributed print job when there is a request from the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop command after the predetermined condition is completed.
The job redistribution unit allocates an unprinted distributed print job to an image forming apparatus including the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop command, in an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop command.
The print management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the redistribution job transmission unit transmits the distributed print job allocated by the job redistribution unit to each image forming apparatus. When the distributed print job is a page distributed print job for printing a print job composed of sequential pages divided into a plurality of printers according to a predetermined ratio,
Image forming apparatus group managing means for managing the plurality of image forming apparatuses as a pair for every two units;
The image forming apparatus group managing means causes the print output media of the two image forming apparatuses to be managed to be printed face-up and face-down on each image forming apparatus,
The job redistribution unit receives the notification that the distributed print job is interrupted due to the predetermined condition from one of the image forming apparatuses managed by the image forming apparatus group management unit. 4. The print management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein distributed print jobs are allocated in order of sequential pages to an image forming apparatus managed in combination with the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the notification to be interrupted.   Among the image forming apparatuses managed by the image forming apparatus group managing unit, when one distributed print job of the set is interrupted, the priority of the distributed print job processing of the other image forming apparatus The print management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the print management apparatus is set to a highest value.   The predetermined condition is that an image forming apparatus that is not managed by the image forming apparatus group managing unit or that has received a stop command from one of the image forming apparatus groups of the image forming apparatus group managing unit managed by the group. 6. The print management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein control is performed so as not to adapt.   7. The print management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus group managing means combines an image forming apparatus capable of printing face up and an image forming apparatus capable of printing face down as a pair. . In a print management method in a print management apparatus connectable to a plurality of image forming apparatuses and information processing apparatuses via a network,
A print job distribution step of allocating a print job to the plurality of image forming apparatuses according to a predetermined ratio of information from the information processing apparatus;
A distributed job transmission step of transmitting the distributed print job distributed by the print job distribution means to each image forming apparatus;
After receiving the notice that the distributed print job of at least one of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is interrupted by a predetermined condition after printing of the distributed print job is started, the image forming apparatus A distributed job control process for sending a print stop command for the distributed print job;
A job redistribution step of allocating an unprinted distributed print job to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus among distributed print jobs interrupted by the image forming apparatus that has transmitted the stop instruction;
A redistribution job transmission step of transmitting a print job allocated by the job redistribution means to an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus that transmitted the stop instruction;
A print management method characterized by comprising:   A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   A storage medium storing a computer-readable program for causing the computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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